Kathmandu, March 16 -- In 1974, I was in Nepal conducting research for my PhD thesis on the country's bureaucracy from 1850 to 1950. Tribhuvan University approved my research project and wrote letters on my behalf to government officials.

Since I had taught as a Peace Corps volunteer here from 1966-1969, I could speak and understand basic Nepali and had some knowledge of the culture and bureaucracy. But I was hardly prepared for the bureaucratic obstacles to study the bureaucracy of the Rana era for which I needed access to original government records.

The records I sought were held by Goswara Tahvil (GT), an office under the Finance Ministry. Its Hakim reported to the Accountant General (AG). The AG reported to the Joint Secretary, who...