When I was in school in Kathmandu, I loved strikes. I usually never bothered why we had them but it was always fun to  get that extra day off, you could stay home, watch tv, chat with friends and even get time to finish that pending assignment. It was a privilege then, now it’s a nuisance.

For the last few months, everytime I read news on Nepal, I’ve always read about a strike going on some part of Nepal… against the king, against the government, against price hike, after some highway accident… the rich against the poor, the weak against the strong , and the list goes on and on.  I wonder if we could have a strike to stop all strikes!

The most recent one caught my eye… businessmen in Nepal have called upon an indefinite general strike urging Maoists to stop attacks and intimidation against them, and demanding the government maintain peace and security at industrial zones. The Maoists have joined the government but havn’t stopped intimidating businessmen. Last Sunday, they abducted and thrashed the owner of Hotel Woodlands, KTM for not fulfilling their demand of Rs 2 million donation.

Nepal’s news source says “Maoist leader Prachanda assured that actions had already been taken against the two cadres involved in the accident. Prachanda however accuses royalists of pumping up the current protests.

 And I spoke to my brother, he’s chilling out again.