It’s a good thing this hasn’t spread to the global warming crowd. About 16 years ago it was predicted that the earth would be toast by now. Algore gave it 10 years in his book. The Nepalese are an even more curious lot, compared to people in The West. There, Bishweshwor Chaudhari, a self-proclaimed holy-man had predicted that a massive earthquake would kill 300,000 people and it was to have begun last week. When it didn’t occur, people went to his house and beat him up. Talk about tough fans. He may get the last laugh though because the period of activity was to continue until July 10th.
When Friday came and went without the slightest tremor, angry residents of the city rushed to Mr Chaudhari’s house and beat him up, declaring him a charlatan and demanding that he be punished. Police intervened and detained him for disturbing the peace.
And this food-for-thought, quite topical but in a different context, illegal immigration.
The incident illustrates how deeply superstitious much of Nepal remains and how easy it is for the unscrupulous to exploit the millions of Nepalis who have little access to basic education and healthcare.
