Dr. Pratyush Nath Upreti

Pratyush Nath Upreti Few days before the promulgation of Nepal Constitution 2072, I stumbled upon a conversation among some people at a tea stall near my home. The conversation revolved around the role of India in Nepali politics. There were three points that I could take out from that conversation. First, India fully supports Madhesh agenda and, in fact, it was intentionally fomenting agitations to avoid timely constitution. Second, India wanted to avoid the timely constitution because it wanted to restate Nepal as a Hindu kingdom, which was supposedly agreed in a 'Bangkok meeting' between India, ex-king Gyanendra and China, with Russia as a surprise attendee. Third, this meeting happened when Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam deployed the army. In worst-case scenario, the United Nation intervenes and then Russia and China may use Veto Power to support Nepal. Just one week later, an overwhelming majority of Constituent Assembly passed the Constitution. The historic achieveme

On September 14, an overwhelming majority of the Constituent Assembly (CA) rejected an amendment proposal against the clause which states that Nepal is a secular country. But in spite of the CA’s rejection, anti-secular sentiments are being harvested among the citizens. Flawed logic Voices in support of Hindu kingdom or anti-secularism, however, still remain strong. Most seem to equate religious freedom with secularism. And those in favour of reinstating Nepal as a Hindu kingdom make two arguments. One, as a Hindu state, Nepal would achieve a symbolic victory of being established as the only Hindu country in world. Two, a majority of the people are Hindus, therefore, Nepal should not be a secular state. The first argument is lame and the second is equally illogical. Going by this logic, why cannot a Limbu-majority region be declared as Limbuwan state? If demanding ethnic federalism is seen as being against social harmony, the demand for a Hindu state is no less against social harmo

Last week, It was pleasure to listen Prof. Kenneth D. Crews on "copyright exception and limitations particularly focusing on the movement of copyright exemption for Library purpose". The Treaty Proposal on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives aims to have broader public access to knowledge, not confining to traditional format and encouraging a transborder flow of information. Although, this year, the issues was widely discussed in Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights(SCCR) but still a long way to have a consensus. Nepal Copyright law have incorporated an exception for Library work but when it comes to the digital environment, it's a toothless law. The Recent success of Marrakesh Treaty gives a hope for another consensus. Marrakesh Treaty still needs a deposit of 10 instruments of ratification to entry into force. Nepal has kept ratification of Marrakesh Treaty as a priority in Action Plan of Government. ## IP development## cop

Last week, I attended regional meeting organised by Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), Norway and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE) on “Conservation, Use and Exchange of Crop Genetic Resources: Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Food-Secure, Climate- Resilient South Asia”. As an IP enthusiast, it's really sad to witness intellectual property as a non-priority area of the government. As a result, the Plant Genetic Resources and Access to Benefit- sharing Bill, which has been pending since a while, not been pushed ahead. similarly, we already have few Biodiversity strategy, but haven't drafted any legislation yet. In spite of this, it was good to see SAWTEE and other experts are trying their best to develop a good model for Nepal. ## Intellectual Property, Biodiversity#####