Nepal, Oct. 22 -- Dashain, the most extensively celebrated festival in Nepal, has just ended. This is also a festival that reasserts traditional social protocols and hierarchy. The custom of taking blessings from elders during tika, which should be a strictly private, familial, or religious affair, has been politically exploited for long by dictatorial regimes. The Ranas since the latter half of the 19th century, and then the Shahs in the latter half of the 20th century used it to test the loyalty of their supporters, sycophants and henchmen. Unfortunately, though, the rulers of democratic-republican Nepal, acting as if they were superior beings, continue to 'bless' the commoners. What's more, there are takers of the 'blessing' who see th...