In Hope and in Fear provides a unique insight into how ordinary Nepalis experienced and lived through the Maoist insurgency. Their hopes and their fears, and the way in which they responded to and coped with the anxieties, tensions are pressures generated by the conflict, are the central concern of this collection.
Providing a historical background to the launching of the Maoist insurgency in February 1996, the first part of the book also gives perspectives on developments from 1996 up to the `turning point' of late 2001, when the conflict intensified. The second part covers the period from 2001 to 2005, by which time the conflict had become a civil war and there were effectively two regimes in Nepal-the Maoists and the Monarchy. Efforts in February 2005 to consolidate royal power led to growing dissidence and civil unrest in the urban areas, which culminated in massive street demonstrations Jana Andolan II – in April 2006. An eye-witness account of the situation in Kathmandu at this time concludes the book. The essays draw on the experiences, observations and analyses of Journalists, social anthropologists and NGO employees, both Nepalese and `expatriate' (Italian, French, British, American), who spent time travelling through or living in the areas affected by the insurgency and by the conflict between the Maoists and the State security forces to which it gave rise.
