NEPAL: Robin Hood of the Himalayas

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New Rupees. Barefooted, still toting his guns as "protection against the lawlessness the central government cannot control," Singh stumped the peasant country, leaving a trail of crisp new Indian rupee notes behind him. Where did the money come from? Some said Red China, others said New Delhi, others said from King Mahendra. No one was quite sure where Singh's loyalty lay, but his popularity could not be denied. Watching the tight, close-lipped organization of the 27 men who had followed Singh into China and out again, some observers were sure that there were certainly Communists among them, and that Singh, newfound friend of India and the Nepal royal family, may be playing a deadly, long-range game for Red China.

None of the regular Nepal parties would have anything to do with him, but new Prime Minister Singh last week put together a Cabinet of Singh's men and the King's men, and announced that the country's first elections would be held "when the moon is full in October."