- Basanta Bhujel
Nation builder Prithvinarayan Shah has said in his Divyapadesh – ‘ Do not allow foreign traders to enter the country, they have made the country poor, they have encouraged the local traders, they have made the people fat, the people are fat. ‘How far-sighted is Nation Builder Shah? It is enough to look at two examples to understand the meaning.
Example No. 1
The rest of the family from the remote village of Lamjung went to Australia three decades ago with only the trail given to them by their mother. Today, those same houses are among the 100 richest people in Australia. With the wealth he has earned in Australia, he has built a large tower in front of the Narayanhiti Palace and the west gate of the current museum. The tower, which is under construction at an investment of about Rs 14 billion, is probably the largest building in Nepal. This building has enhanced Nepal’s reputation. However, Ghale has added a new tourist destination to the country by reconstructing about 500 houses in Laprak village of Gorkha, which was devastated by the earthquake. Apart from this, by investing in water resources and the banking sector, he has created employment for many Nepalis.
Example No. 2
Binod Chaudhary’s grandfather had entered Nepal during the Rana period from Rajasthan, India with a bag of the sari and a lota. At this time, Vinod Chaudhary’s name is at the top of the list of billionaires in the world. Chaudhary has investments in about 55 countries of the world. Chaudhary’s family has made such a big income from Nepal. Ninety-five percent of Chaudhary’s total wealth has left Nepal.
But looking at the presentation of Nepal’s media and the activities of political parties, it is refreshing. Binod Chaudhary, who has been making foreign capital flee the country by hollowing out the country, has always been high on the media. He has bought not only the policymakers of the country but also the political parties. He is in the position of formulating the policy of the country by becoming an MP from the party from which he wants. The rest of the house is anonymous. He wants to employ more people by investing the money earned abroad in Nepal, but he is not able to do so due to legal issues. However, Upendra Mahato, Jiva Lamichhane, and other youths who went abroad without taking a single rupee from Nepal have become rich in the international world at this time. Like the rest of the house, they have tried to enrich the country with the money they have earned abroad, but the government’s policy is not friendly to them. The Marwaris from India have gained a monopoly on the country’s economic policy and law-making. Due to which, indigenous businessmen are not able to invest in their country even if they want to. Prithvi Narayan Shah’s divine message has been implemented in the exact opposite way.
The situation is similar not only in the field of industry and trade but also in the field of technology and intellectual property. Nepali technicians and intellectuals have made great strides abroad. Nepali intellectuals have even formulated the policy of some countries. But they have no place in the homeland. Nepal’s policymaking is being done by foreign intellectuals for their own interests. This is the main reason for the decline of the country.
During the first Constituent Assembly election, citing Article 29 of the United Nations Convention, the demand for an ethnic state was rapidly advancing. Purnakant Adhikari wrote in a national daily that he had drafted the section – ” At that time, we visited various places in North America, South America, Africa, and Australia on behalf of the UN, but found that the livelihoods of the indigenous people were taken away by the immigrants.” I raised the issue that the life of the tribals is becoming more and more difficult. After this, I was given the responsibility of drafting the points related to the protection of the rights of the tribals on behalf of the UN. In that sense, the draft of Article 29 is from my own hands. ‘
After all, it is the Nepalese intellectuals who have created and drafted such an important provision. But in the case of Nepal, the problems of the indigenous tribes are still there and the dollar is being cultivated for these problems. The policy has been formulated by keeping Newar and Chepang in the same basket in the name of indigenous tribes. Gawad has happened here. It is better to give reservations to those who are not in the mainstream, but in the name of reservations, Chepang has to compete with Newars, Madhesis have to compete with Marwaris. Today, Newars have fun in the reservation given in the name of the tribe. Mrs, sister, sister, daughter, full of wives. This is the result of taking the help of foreign intellectuals in the policy-making of the country. Because what is the reality within the tribal tribes? What is the ground reality within the Madhesi community? What is the social condition of women not being able to come into the mainstream? That is not to say that foreign intellectuals know more than indigenous intellectuals. The reality within the Dalits was not even known. What do foreign intellectuals know about the economic inequality between the gold working and the ironworking Dalits? But when reservations were made in the same basket, other Dalits could not compete with the Dalits working in gold. The difference between Mugu’s Thakuri and Narayanhiti’s Thakuri was not understood by foreign intellectuals. Kunwar of Humla and Rana of Kathmandu were put in the same basket and placed in the list of the ruling class. Koirala of Biratnagar and Bhandari of Darchula were kept on the same list of opportunities. What caused this? It is not possible to diagnose the disease without finding the cause. This situation has arisen due to the tradition of forcing indigenous intellectuals to flee abroad and hiring foreign intellectuals in the policy-making of the country. That is the point.
Is it because the country has always been ruled by the same clan and family? Saying that the Rana rule was overthrown, the king was overthrown. Political parties came to power as an alternative. But at the leadership level of political parties, dynasticism and familism took root. Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has been leading the party since 2044 BS. He has not seen his daughter, daughter- in- law, son-in-law and Samadhi anywhere else . Recently, it was reported that Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel had given a high-level political appointment to his wife and niece. According to the news, his successor Upendra Koirala has been given important political appointments seven times since the formation of the UML government in 2051 BS. The situation of the Nepali Congress is the same. Sher Bahadur Deuba became the president saying that the Koirala family had maintained dynastic and familial. But when given the opportunity, Deuba’s first choice was Mrs. Arju Rana, the second choice was Pratibha Rana’s mother-in-law. So far, Deuba has handed over the post of ambassador to RPP to his mother-in-law Pratibha Rana and made her ambassador to Japan. After all, what is the difference between a monarchy and a republic? The people have not felt much different except for having many kings in place of one king.
The main reason for the spread of familism and dynasticism even in party politics is the inability of intellectuals to intervene. Some intellectuals have fled abroad as they could not survive. Some intellectuals have become the vassals of the ruling class and are indulging in their own selfish ends. Some intellectuals have raised the issue, but since they will not get a place in the media, the issue will not reach the people. Because even the media is under the control of this stream. Because Vinod Chaudhary gives advertisements, the rest of the houses cannot spend money on advertisements. The media does not work without advertisements.
(Bhujel Gorkha is a retired engineer in the British Army)
