The place of fohor in the local politics can be exemplified by a unique style of resistance against NWPP, the dominant communist party of Bhaktapur. As a means of expressing dissent to the NWPP, some supporters of other parties violate the regulation set by the municipality. Mr. Chaitya Raj Shakya, a former deputy Mayor of BM remembers that the major form of resistance is throwing of garbage to the street through the window which usually occurs at midnight.


Education and Safai

In addition to safai, the BM has played equally crucial roles in the promotion of education among its inhabitants. Probably BM is the only municipality in the country which has undertaken different successful projects to enhance the educational capacity of its people. Comrade Bijukchhe justifies why his party, and consequently BM gave so much emphasis on education. He recalls the difficulties he faced when he had to organise people who were non-literate, and therefore, could not read the parties’ documents and pamphlets. From this difficult experience, the communist party workers started a campaign of ‘non-formal education’ so that in Bijukchhe’s words, the people are aware of what is happening within the country and in other parts of the world.

After 1990, the BM acquired the resources and opportunity to demonstrate something what the members of the communist party really believed in. Therefore, the BM, represented by NWPP with overwhelming majority focussed in education sector. Com Bijukchhe warns, “but the education should be integrated with labour.” Following his idea, BM is taking several initiatives to produce human resources equipped with skills necessary in different areas of life. Now in BM alone, there are 121 such educational institutions, of which 15 are ‘skill development training centres’, e.g., computer, language etc.

The achievement of Bhaktapurians in education is an outcome of tough endeavours of NWPP over the years. Until recently, the situation was not very encouraging. The access to education of Jyapus was disappointing. Dr. Krishna Hachhethu, a native scholar from Bhaktapur, recalls his school days, when there were only six high schools in the whole district of Bhaktapur, (now there are 35 high schools in BM only). When he was going to primary school, up to grade 5 in early 1970s, about 50 percent of the school children (in his locality more than 90 percent were Jyapus) were from Jyapu families. In the lower secondary level, up to grade 8, the Jyapu students declined down to 20 percent which eventually went down to 5 percent by grade ten. Now majority of students who completed SLC constitute Jyapus. A sample study of four schools of BM (two public and two private) shows that, 63.09 percent of students at secondary level (grade 8, 9 & 10) are Jyapus (See table II). This can be considered as one of the strongest indicators of transformation of Bhaktapur.

Today, about 1000 students pass SLC exam every year from Bhaktapur, which is 68 percent of total, appeared in the exam, this is the highest percentage of passed students in the country. SLC result has gradually increased from 37.95 percent of ten years ago (1994), to 68.25 today (2004). Among total passed in the year 2003/04, nearly 56 percent have secured first division. (See Table III).

The literacy rate of Bhaktapur city has more than doubled in every twenty years – 27 percent in 1971, 33 percent in 1981, 62 percent in 1991, and 74 percent in 2001, which supposedly rises by a few percent up to the date, is an outcome of ‘mass educational awareness’. This, for Comrade Bijukchhe, could not have been possible, if his party men had not oriented their efforts towards this direction. Non Formal Education (NFE) campaign they initiated while the political parties and their political activities were still banned, during the Panchayat regime, or the efforts they made through a legal platform, i.e. municipality, after 1980s, and more prominently after 1990s in particular. Table IV, V and VI (See Annexure) illustrate BM’s inclination towards enhancement of education of Bhaktapurian.

For many, including NWPP Chair person, Comrade Bijukchhe, tremendous participation of Jyapu children in education in early 1970s and 1980s should be analysed with the success of Land Reforms of 1964 in Bhaktapur. Hachhethu maintains, “The Land Reform Act 1964 was a benchmark in bringing a substantial improvement in the economic conditions of Bhaktapurians, the Jyapu in particular”. The historical efforts of the NWPP and recent efforts of the BM in promoting education is an integral part of the process of planned social and economic transformation of Bhaktapur. Investment in education is directed to transforming Bhaktapur into an ‘imagined city’ as envisioned by Com Bijukchhe in his acclaimed work Saya Barsha Pachhiko Bhaktapur (Bhaktapur after 100 years).


Safai, Tourism and Tradition

Tourism has remained an independent and perennial source of income of BM which is not controlled and regulated by the central government. Considering the economic benefit BM gets from tourism, BM has put all the possible efforts to attract tourists in Bhaktapur. The transformed image of Bhaktapur from a fohor sahar to safa sahar is both reason as well as outcome of ‘tourism.’

For its architectural richness Bhaktapur is known as the Rome of Asia. It has been one of the major attractions of tourists coming to Nepal, for those who come for cultural tourism in particular; Bhaktapur has remained an unavoidable destination. For others, too, this cultural city – a living heritage - has remained equally favourable destination. Bhaktapur, a monthly magazine published by BM, in its every issue therefore quotes:

“Were here nothing else in Nepal save the Darbar Square of Bhaktapur. It would be amply worth making a journey halfway round the globe to see. From the standpoint of the architect and the artist, Bhaktapur is a cave of Alladin. It is jumble of architectural fantasies a vast storehouse of the treasures of Newars art. In the Darbar Square alone are enough of carvings & statues to fill up a score of great museum to overflowing.” (E. A. Powel, 1929. The Last Home of Mystery. London).

Tourism has been the biggest source of income for the BM. It introduced tourism service charge from 16 July 1996, which is 10$ for non-SAARC tourists and NRs. 50 for SAARC tourists now. In the year 2003/04 BM collected NRs. 1706250 from tourists from SAARC countries and NRs. 62984778, that is total of NRs. 64691028 from a total of 119039 tourists. Which is the highest share of BM’s income source. (see Table VI & VII in the Annexes).

Besides these financial benefits, there are number of tourists-based enterprises which benefit from BM’s policy and efforts to bring more tourists to Bhaktapur. For example, there are 58 hotels and restaurants, 14 guest houses, more than 200 curio, handicraft and souvenir shops and 4 others enterprises specifically targeted to and based in tourism industries. Thus, tourism has provided basis for livelihood for a considerable numbers of families in Bhaktapur. Unlike other tourist destinations, entrepreneurs of Bhaktapur are native Bhaktapurians.

Most importantly, the income from tourism is expended according to BM’s overall goal of making a Bhaktapur an ideal city following NWPP broader ideology and interest. BM’s larger share of income comes from tourism but larger share of expenditure is allocated for education - phenomenal and unusual for any other municipalities in the countries. (See Table V & VI in the Annexes).

Among various reasons, NWPP and BM consistently put efforts to establish Bhaktapur as a cultural city, and, eventually a popular tourist destination. Hachhethu (2000) argues that the proposal of ‘cultural city’ is a ‘political strategy’ of NWPP, which is in accordance with political interest of NWPP. However, this is criticised by NWPP.

Bhaktapur has been able to maintain its Bhaktapurness, an image of cultural city to a lager extent also because the population composition of inner cit of Bhaktapur has remained almost same for decades. Immigration in Bhaktapur city is very rare. Besides splinters of families, even construction of new building within BM is very few in the year 2003-2004 (2060-61 BS) only 167 house maps were registered in BM out for which only 87 got approved. For new constructions as well for renovations of old ones, BM provides subsidised woods (in 75% discount rate), tiles, jhigati, and bricks (for free) to maintain cultural integrity of the architecture, at least, in the front part of the houses. This may has implication in political equation as well. This has and still has further implication in governance of BM and setting its priorities.

For its outstanding efforts in preserving cultural heritage, BM has been awarded ‘First Honourable Mention from Asia for 1998-99’ by UNESCO; and has been recognised as ‘Good Standing Member’ by Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC).

Members of the BM have a vision of making Bhaktapur a cultural city – an ultimate tourist destination, for which the city has to be clean -- and all NWPP members have invariably acted in that direction. Unlike the local governments of other tourist centres of Nepal, the BM is successful in maintaining safai which is both the cause and effect of successful promotion of tourism industry in Bhaktapur. The overt and excessive interest of the BM in maintaining safai is, thus, directly related with the tourism industry which is again directly related to the health and well being of the people. The difference between the tourism industry of other parts of the country and Bhaktapur’s tourism industry lies in the fact that Bhaktapur has developed a concrete method of utilising its income for the welfare of the local people. Safai, we argue, should be considered one of such methods.


Conclusion

If “democracy (was) a universal political form signalling progress toward modernity”, then BM led by communist party’s representatives remained more democratic than the ‘democratic’ parties in Nepal did. Not only the political forms and their shifts but also set of ‘anthropological lenses’ have (to be used for) viewing democracy: culture and meanings, circulating discourses, qualities of citizenship, civil society and governmentality, and alternative democracies.

A program of social transformation – towards more modernity, towards more democracy - can achieve its desired goals if it takes into consideration the social, economic and cultural experiences of the people concerned. It is therefore important for a program of social transformation to be compatible with the constraints and opportunities faced by the people in their everyday lives. This is what motivates people to be both the agents and beneficiaries of social changes. Hence, ‘grass-root participatory democracy’ – builds on indigenous political traditions, based on the tradition of voluntarism and self-help, and a spirit that extols the committed and total involvement of all the members of a community in the formulation and implementation of policies for the community’s welfare’. Otherwise, “unless democracy becomes participatory in both nuance and substance it is always in peril”.

The case of Bhaktapur clearly illustrates this. During the Panchayat era the communist party workers went among the people with the agenda to improve their conditions of living. Their participation in Safai Abhiyan and Bhumisudhar Andolan are prime examples in this connection. After 1990, when the same communist party members rose to power and formed the local government, they tried their best to give people what they needed most -such as safai, education, healthcare, employment and so on.

Ideologies hold no power in themselves to change a society. What is required is people’s active involvement in the processes of determining not only the contents but also the course of social transformation. If people actively participate in the process of determining what needs to be changed and how, desired social changes are not difficult to obtain. In Nepal, few programs of social and economic transformation are based on people’s own perception about how they can be made fruitful to them. The BDP’s failure in winning co-operation from the local people can be interpreted as the result of its reluctance to involve the local people in its development and renovation programs. The BM, as we see it, is different in this regard. Even today, the BM implements a program after the concerned people adequately discuss and debate, and reach to the conclusion about how it should be designed and implemented in their respective areas.

The case of the unparalleled success achieved by the BM suggests that transparency and easy access to information are preconditions for the success of any program of social change. The BM is probably the only municipality of Nepal which is transparent about its every activity. It publishes not only its monthly incomes and expenditures but also the decisions made by the municipality board in its monthly magazine titled Bhaktapur. Similarly, the BM publishes in Bhaktapur every important issue which concerns the life of the city and its inhabitants. For example, when the plan for the renovation of Pachpanne Jhyale Durbar (an old palace with fifty-five windows) was undergoing, the BM published the complete architectural design of the proposed building including its estimated cost. In our view, this custom has helped create a constructive a democratic public sphere where people openly think and discuss about how their local government is working and should work.

Another crucial aspect of the functioning of the BM is its leadership pattern. As we see it, the leaders of the BM possess practical knowledge about social, economic and cultural conditions of the people with ‘historical sensitivity’ and are committed to bring about positive changes in these conditions. The NWPP’s traditional policy of involving the low-caste Jyapus in the leadership of the municipality seems to have contributed to creating such a welcome environment. The high participation of Jyapus in the leadership of BM (nearly 90 per cent of the BM’s elected representatives belonged to the comparatively less privileged Jyapu community until the last local level election of 1997) has played important roles in promoting the participation of the real beneficiaries in the programs of Bhaktapur’s social change and economic development. If Bolman and Deal are to be followed, leadership is an ability to pursue others to do what you want (power); to motivate people to get things done through persuasion; and vision. Leadership is, thus, facilitation which empowers people. In this regard, leaders of the BM and guiding party NWPP seem to have possessed all these qualities in them.

Thus, our study of the ‘history, power and ideology’ involved in the management of fohor in Bhaktapur suggests that freedom of expression, free elections, etc. are the means but not the ends of any democracy. A democratic environment can be established by strengthening the public spheres where people freely discuss and evaluate the conditions which affect their everyday lives. However, the success of democracy is judged by the people in terms of the substantive changes in their conditions of living. In the BM, we can see a unique scenario in which freedom of expression and free elections have been successfully utilised for the progress and prosperity of the municipality and its inhabitants. The most important preconditions for the success of a democracy, as we described above, are transparency of the government, participation of people, and commitment of the leaders. The BM, as we see it, to a large extent qualifies in all these regards.

When people have the opportunity to discuss the problems and opportunities associated with their everyday lives among themselves, it is likely that they can also discover the measures to reduce the problems and utilise the opportunities.

One of the most important reasons behind the active participation of the people in BM seems to be the long political process initiated and strengthened by NWPP. As we described above, the NWPP’s policy of involving local people in development works to organise resist against the erstwhile Panchayat system sowed the first seeds of people’s participation in the process of social transformation.

Finally, if good politics and good governance are synonyms phrases: development is possible only through the good governance, and good governance is possible only through good politics. Good politics and good governance, could rise up from participatory politics and sense of responsibility towards people and become transparent. BM establishes a distinct example of this.

Notes: * Bhaktapur Development Project, 1977.
Source: Election Commission of Nepal. (Adopted from Hachhethu 2004).

Annexure 2
Bhaktapur Municipality has set the Regulations for Individual Household with Regard to Garbage Management in the Town.

•	Deposit the garbage at the place specified by BM.
•	Do not litters or throw waste/garbage in the street, squares or any open space and help BM by not letting others to do so
•	Do not litters or throw waste/garbage in the street, squares or any open space and help BM by not letting others to do so.
•	If garbage is deposited without notice of BM, inform the BM as soon as possible.
•	If garbage/waste cannot be deposited the in the specified time in the specified spot, use mobile garbage collectors.
•	Follow rules and regulation set by BM in order to maintain the cleanliness of the city.
•	Pay one rupee a month as the safai tax to the Municipality.

Table II. Caste Compositions of Students of Four High Schools (Two Government Run and Two Privately Run) in Core City of BM

Class	Jyapu (Kishan)	Non-Jyapu Newar	Non-Newar	Dalits	Total
8	318	80	96	7	501
9	275	87	85	6	453
10	248	68	57	6	379
Total	841	235	238	19	1333
Percentage	63.09	17.63	17.85	1.43	100

Source: Field Survey, 2004.

Table III. SLC Results of Bhaktapur Districts in Last Ten Years

Year	Distinctions	First Divisions	Second Divisions	Third Divisions	Total	Percentage
2051	-	184	190	66	440	37.95
2052	-	258	269	51	578	48.9
2053	-	307	327	95	729	38.98
2054	-	416	403	114	933	49.49
2055	-	492	523	140	1155	43.67
2056	-	620	706	230	1556	46.9
2057	-	696	400	30	1126	53.51
2058	-	879	560	12	1451	53.36
2059	-	1047	667	27	1741	56.84
2060	123	1114	725	34	1996	68.24
	Total	123	6013	4770	799

Source: Bhaktapur Municipality, 2004.

Table IV. Educational Institutions in BM

SN	Educational institutions	Numbers
1	Government run Primary School	17
2	Privately run Primary School	22
3	Government Lower-secondary School	9
4	Privately-owned Lower-secondary School	12
5	Government run Secondary School	10
6	Privately run Secondary School	25
7	Government run Campuses	3
8	Government run Campuses	3
9	Government run Campuses	5
10	Government run Campuses	8
11	Government run Campuses	3
12	Government run Campuses	4
	Total	121

Source: Bhaktapur Municipality, 2004.

Table V. Expenditure of BM in the fiscal year 2003/04

SN	Particulars	Expenditure in NRs.
1	Tourism Promotion (renovations, maintenance etc)	20769685
2	Education (Khwopa Colleges etc.)	45443480
3	City Cleaning, garbage management	14851330
4	Salary, allowances of staffs and representatives at BM	17235519
5	Programs grants/donations	10557237
6	Others	13878301
	Total	122735552

Source: Bhaktapur Municipality, 2004.

Table VI. Income of Bhaktapur Municipality from Different Sources in the year 2003/04

SN	Particulars	Income in NRs.
1	Tourism Service Charge	64691028
2	Local Development Tax	21360000
3	Khowpa Higher Secondary	11054941
4	Khowpa College	3073950
5	Khowpa Engineering College	13148335
6	Khowpa Polytechnic Schools	202955
7	Different Local Taxes	10241928
8	Land Selling under Housing Plan	2786440
9	HMG grants	400000
10	Others	1054000
	Total	128013577

Source: Bhaktapur Municipality, 2004.

Table VII. Tourists Visiting Bhaktapur in Last Ten Years (1993/94 – 2003/04).

Year/ Country	‘93/9 4	‘94/9 5	‘95/9 6	‘96/9 7	‘97/9 8	‘98/9 9	‘99/0 0	‘00/0 1	‘01/0 2	‘02/0 3	‘03/0 4
SAARC	-	-	-	-	31880	57728	49764	38741	22100	30592	34125
Non- SAARC	87345	97751	11274 0	11085 2	12135 0	14007 7	14811 7	14131 2	69700	54561	84914

Source: Bhaktapur Municipality, Tourism Service Centre. 2004.

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