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The Flag of Nepal: The Land of Temples
Who formed the flag of Nepal?
The flag of Nepal was created by King Prithvi Narayan Shah on December 16, 1962. He was the first king of united Nepal. Nepal for years faced the monarch government and militant political allegations. The king wasn’t ready to give up his powers which was the main dilemma. Different people had different opinions, some wanted the monarch government to get terminated. Others postulated to shift the limited monarchy with limited powers of king.
Structure of the flag
The national flag of Nepal is non-quadrilateral in shape with a white base. The flag consists of two triangles which represent the Himalayan mountains with two celestial bodies depicting faith that Nepal will last as long as sun and moon. The moon epitomizes tranquillity whereas the sun determines ferociousness.
Struggles undertaken for the constitution of Nepal
Nepal was an absolute monarchy from 1990-2008 under the rule of several kings out of which Prithvi Narayan Shah was the first of united Nepal.
Conclusion
After years of struggle, Nepal finally adopted a democratic government on 28 July 2008. Abolishing its 240 years old monarchy successfully launched its constitutional assembly declaring Nepal as a Federal Democratic Republic.
The Issue about Jammu and Kashmir
Conflict arose between Pakistan and India in 1947 over the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir is located in the northern region of India. The two countries have been fighting over this land for 50 years and have resulted in three wars.
India claims the regions due to an instrument of accession signed in 1947. Pakistan claims most of the region based on the territories high Muslim population, while China claims the uninhabited regions of Aksai Chin and the Shaksgam Valley which are near Tibet.
As a result of India gaining independence in 1947, the partition of India occurred in which Pakistan and India were separated into different countries. Soon after both countries claimed to have ownership of the land that is known as Jammu and Kashmir. The maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, put off pledging loyalty to either country in hopes that Kashmir could remain an independent nation. Shortly after this, there was a revolution by his Muslim subjects which caused Pakistan to invade Kashmir.
Warfare occurred between Pakistan and India in 1948 but was eventually put to a stop as the United Nations intervened. In 1972 after the Indo-Pakistan War the United Nations created a “line of control”, but neither country viewed this as an international boundary. Unfortunately, this failed to put a stop to conflict and wars occurred again in 1965 and 1971.
India currently controls half of the Kashmir region although Kashmir citizens have expressed their disapproval of the Indian government since 1989. It has been found that the Indian government has been abusing the human rights of Kashmir citizens in which many civilians have been injured.
Human rights organizations reported that Indian Security forces have killed hundreds of Kashmiris in violent and brutal encounters. Human rights groups in Kashmir have documented more than three hundred cases of "disappearances'' since 1990 but it is believed that the true number is much higher but many family members must live in fear if they contact a lawyer.
Both India and Pakistan have failed to reach an agreement after all these years and this issue still continues today. The citizens of Kashmir live their lives in fear and lives have been overtaken by terror. Many people are concerned about the safety of the Kashmiris after the brutal violence from the Indian government and the current ruling political party the BJP.
Taliban Takeover Afghanistan
President Biden announced that U.S. troops were to retreat from Afghanistan when the Taliban began to show up and claim the country under their rule. The U.S. troops were originally sent after the 9/11 attack which led President Clinton to order the military to kill Osama Bin Laden, the original leader of the Taliban, a radical organization that does not follow the Islamic basic principles.
For 20 years, the U.S. military occupied Afghanistan with many veterans who either came home changed in some way or weren’t able to come home. However, President Trump announced the withdrawal of soldiers from the country from 2020-2021.
Biden followed through with that order saying how Afghanistan needed to take after their own after helping create some sort of stability in the government. The Taliban proved to be a powerful force now having other countries supporting them either in the agreement or out of fear like Pakistan or China.
After the Taliban announced their takeover, many of the representatives and important personnel such as the president of Afghanistan were escorted into a military helicopter at the U.S. embassy.
There was also another military aircraft that fit around 300 individuals. The majority of the passengers were men with some other women and children. However, due to the limited amount of space, many desperate Afghanistan citizens rushed onto the aircraft and held on for dear life.
Asian Representation in the Music Industry
“There’s still lots of work to be done when it comes to Asian representation” (CBC). This phrase is now more relevant than ever, and is close to many people in today’s society, especially those of Asian descent.
Particularly relating to the music industry, it can only been seen recently that KPOP has become socially acceptable. While this is a step in the right direction, Asian culture, including their music is fetishized and still not widely known and unappreciated as Asian stereotypes and the grouping that goes along with that is still very prevalent and very much a standing issue."
While Asian exposure in the media has increased in recent years across the board, it only does so slowly, and in ways that makes it feel like an oddity. Music relating, only as of August 2020 did the KPOP band, BTS, make history as the “first all-South Korean act to land in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 charts”.
With the beginning of this popularization, their music has grown to a globally successful level, however this isn’t the case most of the time. This was a landmark moment for Asian representation in the music industry, as the fight for representation in the US music industry has been prolonging.
Historically speaking, artists of the caucasian race dominate the music industry, which makes sense in the fact that there really aren’t really Asian roots to be built upon in the Northern American music industry. Additionally, as many music-passionate individuals grow up as second-generation Americans, there is always a struggle of not being able to fit in because of being too Asian for North Americans, and too American for the Asian community.