Thursday, August 30, 2007

Nepal To Add Muslim Public Holidays

Sources: Nepal News and Nepal public holidays. Following talks with government team led by Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel on Thursday, MJF chairman Upendra Yadav said his party had called off the agitations after the government agreed that public holidays would be given on Muslim festivals.

Recall that we reported in our post of June 30, that the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) had been threatening with disruptions of the upcoming general elections, if Muslim public holidays were not added to Nepal's, already impressive, list of public holidays.

Although details have not been released, it is most likely that these new public holidays will in fact be allowances for Muslim civil servants to be off work on the day of the main Muslim festivals. As Muslims only make up 4% of Nepal's population, and are probably under represented in the civil service, this is unlikely to have a major effect on business life in Nepal.