A Young Man’s Perception of Nepali Politics
It is getting apparent day by day that politics in Nepal is developing into a mixture of joke and ludicrousness. In my sixteen year’s life, I have seen some, if not a lot of Nepali politics. I have been alive enough to see one of the biggest party’s chief leaders celebrate his 80th birthday. I have seen the King being stripped of his 238 year old Crown by the people. I have also seen a dramatic rise of the Maoist Party to the helm of power. The journey of a ‘Maobadi’ rebel to the post of the Prime Minister of the country is quite amazing, isn’t it? I was wondering the other day: how come an unknown political outfit till a few years ago could secure the majority in the Constituent Assembly elections? Usually, as I sit in front of my T.V. watching news and documentaries about the contemporary politics of Nepal, I think: Is politics of Nepal turning into a joke or a matter of ridiculousness?
Two weeks ago, in an Economics class, my teacher was talking about communism and how it affects the rich ones. As he was finishing his lecture, he stopped by me and asked: Isn’t Nepal a communist country? As most of you would expect, I did get angry and furious at him for making such a silly comment (I am sure he knows that Nepal in not a communist country!)The same day in the evening, I was pondering on what he said: was it right for him to make a joke of my country? Then this thought came in my mind: if people of the country can make fun of their own nation, why not that self obsessed arrogant teacher of mine? Nepal is a democratic nation of the world where all kinds of parties are active in political transformation of the country. Yes, through the free and fair elections, communists have secured their victory but it does not mean that Nepal turned into a ‘communist’ state? This is simply underestimating Nepal’s political process.
I do not belong to any kind of political outfits as I have not reached to that age to decide about alignment to a particular politics. But, mind it; I am committed to freedom, justice and equality irrespective of race, religion and birth. I just want my country to be known for good causes rather than being ignored. For a decade or more, Nepal used to be known for the civil war, human rights violations and terrorism. Mere having the Mt. Everest or have Buddha born in our country (that too has been being claimed by a recent Bollywood movie in our neighboring country in South) we can not portray our country’s positive image to outside world. Alertness among young people is required at the moment so that people should not feel ashamed of calling themselves a ‘Nepali’!
So, who do we blame to? Do we blame political parties everything what is happening in Nepal today? No, we don’t blame such ‘useless’ people for destroying the reputation of our countries: we blame ourselves! We blame ourselves for choosing worthless leaders. After all, we are the ones who vote for these leaders and get them into the Parliament. I still don’t understand how people actually believe what these politicians say! I have heard many speeches (most recently being the Obama’s inaugural speech) and in most of them, the leader promises to improve the condition of people. But Nepalese politicians are different. They don’t go for improving the condition: they believe in changing the condition from where it is. They don’t promise us that the price of petrol will fall; they promise us that they will turn Nepal into Switzerland or Singapore! At this point, a famous quote comes in my mind :” first look at your height before going for the good mangoes” (in the mean time you can aim for the smaller and less tastier ones!)Most people in our country don’t have enough for a day’s meal and they aim to make this country a Switzerland! What a joke!
If I keep writing and complaining about these leaders, I know I will be someone similar to them. So, as I end, I want to say something simple: complaining is very easy, doing the same job would be tough. We always complain about our leaders for not doing enough, but if you sit in their chair for two minutes, you will understand everything: you will understand how difficult it is to rule a country with myriad problems. To get deeper understanding of the contemporary political development and prospect of Nepal and Nepali people, I simply ask you to find out the major problems of present day Nepali politics and if possible, find out their solutions so that we can return to order and prosperity, peace and development – my major concerns.
