NRN
Association:
The Non Resident Nepalis (NRNs) committed to a vision of making
Nepal a peaceful and prosperous nation have formed Non Resident
Nepali Association (NRNA) during the First Non Resident Nepali
Conference on 11th October 2003.
Likewise,
a meeting of Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN) living in the UK convened
in
London on 6th March 2005.
The
meeting formed an ad-hoc National Coordination Council UK
(NCC-UK) and the committee appointed Mr Mahanta B. Shrestha
as its first
President.
Here
is a full transcript of the NepaliSamajUK's 'Exclusive Interview'
with Mr Shrestha: |
| |
NSUK-1: |
Mr Shrestha,
you are a successful restaurant entrepreneur by profession.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got
inspired to lead NRN-NCC (UK)?
|
Mr
Shrestha: |
I am a successful
restaurant entrepreneur presently I own several restaurants
in West London. The success comes through hard work and innovation
and I was a pioneer for Nepalese cuisine. The restaurant in
Ealing, The Mall is a very popular and won several awards
including King Fisher Curry Capita 2001, Ealing host award
1998 and Curry Guide top 100 in 2004. In my lifetime, as restaurateur
and entrepreneur I helped a lot of Nepalese individuals to
set business and advising the way forward, and now I would
like to further my commitment to help young Nepalese to start
their business. |
NSUK-2: |
Please
inform us about the formation of this committee as we have
heard rumors that this was not publicized enough. |
Mr
Shrestha: |
We
were approached by the International Coordination Committee
(ICC) to start a UK chapter and the NRN committee was formed
and we now have 17 executives from various regions. Circulars
were sent to most of the Nepalese Community informing them
of the NRN. |
NSUK-3: |
What
groups of Non-Resident Nepalis is your committee focused to
support in the UK? Is it primarily businessmen? |
Mr
Shrestha: |
We
do focus a lot on Business but we also do Charity and social
economic development of Nepal. |
NSUK-4: |
What
is the strategic future plan of the committee and how does
the issue of
dual citizenship fit within that plan?
|
Mr
Shrestha: |
Our plan is
to help financially residents working outside of Nepal and
work towards lobbying the Central Government for the introduction
of Dual Citizenship. This needs liaison between the NRN Community
and His Majesty the Government of Nepal. The more support
we have towards this aim the better the chance of success. |
NSUK-5: |
What has the
NRN Association achieved so far since its establishment on
11th October 2003? |
Mr
Shrestha: |
Since
the formation of the NRN we now have 1st UK office at Friendship
House, 1 The Mall, Ealing W5. We have achieved the Basket
of Funds way ahead of the target, this enable us to run our
operations and activities to a high standard. We are working
towards a Website and it should go live in the very near future.
Although the NRN was established in October 2003, the UK section
has only been active since March 2005. I feel we have now
built a good base for promising results and achievements.
|
NSUK-6: |
How
do you see the future prospects of the NRN Association and
what challenges are you facing?
|
Mr
Shrestha: |
I
can envisage a good future with the help of networking with
other NRN sections. We will be promoting Tourism, Culture,
and Language for Nepalese born in the UK, and we will work
hard towards the importance of close coordination with the
Nepali Association in the UK. The challenges will be to capture
young Nepalese to join and help us to Promote For NEPALI BY
NEPALI. Once you got a mixture of old and young, the future
would always look bright. The young one will learn from the
old and experienced one and they will take over to continue
running the NRN. |
NSUK-7: |
Do
you think you need any reforms in the Association itself? |
Mr
Shrestha: |
Not at present,
but if any member of the committee raises this matter, this
will be looked at. |
NSUK-8: |
The Second Global
NRN conference is to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 7th
to 9th October 2005. What specific objectives and results
are you expecting?
|
Mr
Shrestha: |
I would mostly
expect that peace be restored by then. This would open all
avenues to promote Nepal from Tourism to Investment within
the Country. Then it will be the work for NRN to go and promote
this worldwide. |
NSUK-9: |
How
does NRN-NCC UK intend to mutually interact and co-ordinate
with other social or charitable Nepalese organizations in
the UK?
|
Mr
Shrestha: |
I have been
involved in many charitable work for the Nepalese Community,
so has other member of the NRN committee. We will now try
to increase the number of charitable events under the name
of NRN. This is how we intend to co-ordinate NRN with other
social organization. We are also discussing the possibility
of quarterly newsletter to be circulated to the Nepalese community. |
NSUK-10: |
Under the present
circumstances, what are NRN-NCC UK's views on the 1st February
procShresthation by HM King Gyanendra? |
| Mr
Shrestha: |
It
is our policy in the NRN UK not to discuss politics but we
always make it clear that we would like to see peace, tranquillity
and democracy restored. |
NSUK-11: |
Political
developments in Nepal depend on the actions of the Maoists,
Government and various political parties. What role, if any,
do you think the Non-Resident Nepalis can play in bringing
peace to the country? |
Mr
Shrestha: |
The NRN role
as I see it is not to influence the Nepalese Government in
any way the country is run. What we are here for is to take
advantage if a good situation arises to promote Nepal as a
peaceful country and to lobby the UK Government for the benefit
of the Nepalese community in the UK when necessary. |
NSUK-12: |
Do
you have any comments on the Open Forum that NepaliSamajUK
has created? |
Mr
Shrestha: |
The Nepali
Samaj UK open forum is the way forward. It is excellent because
anyone can express their views being right or wrong, and this
could then be taken on board and can only improve relations. |
further
interviews coming shortly..... |
|
|
Mr
Mahanta B Shrestha
President
NRN (NCC-UK) |
|
