By DM Thapa
The rich and developed countries have also gone through this ordeal. They suffered and are still suffering from the liberal attitude their governments decided on in dealing with the rights of workers. But the sad part is, they exported these very notions to other countries as well, all in the name of democracy.
There is no doubt workers were exploited to the hilt by the ‘upper class’ people, specially owners of mines and other bigger plants and it was perfectly right for the workers to seek their own rights. At that time when the industrial revolution was taking place, the rich owners of different industries were minting money while those who were working for them were paid a pittance and they put at risk of their life and health at for doing dangerous jobs.
Yes, we are talking about the unions which then were formed to look after the welfare of the workers. This was perfectly alright, as the life of one worker who had to look after his whole family was as precious as the life of any rich businessman who owned mines, different plants and other properties. It is said the rich exploited the downtrodden workers in the beginning, but later as the unions got stronger, they started to tread on the income of their owners and many times virtually made them penniless. There are still strong unions in all these developed and rich nations, but they play their part professionally, at least most of the time and they are also treated with respect by those who employ them.
This author has no grouse about any union and in fact he believes that they help in the industrial growth of any country. But when the unions of whatever sector, turn into political tools, it becomes disastrous. Forget other smaller and lesser developed countries, even the world’s single superpower the United States, has some unions that are so powerful that even the major two parties of that country and their leaders cannot defy what these unions say.
Yes, we know most of the developed and rich countries are democracies and they extend a helping hand to other less fortunate nations of the world. The so-called rich and developed countries have their own liberal style of politics, they have riches, their people are free to a large extent, their lifestyles are envied, their eating habits are copied and normally what they, not only governments but also the people of these countries say and do are taken as the ‘gospel’ and followed by the majority of the people around the world.
But as it says in the wise old saying that ‘one hat does not fit all heads’, it is also true that many countries in the world are different from superpower the USA and other such developed and richer democratic countries. Sadly, these rich and powerful countries feel that they are doing good by exporting their beliefs, social lifestyle and way of living to the entire world. They have made the biggest mistake by trying to thrust down the throat of others, their own beliefs even by military power if needed and other cunning means using many times clever local people who without a blink of an eye would sell their own nation if it benefits them monetarily or politically.
Nepal is one of the countries which depends a lot on foreign help and numerous people are living by receiving foreign funds. We must admit some funds come from genuine governments or people, who really want to help the poverty-stricken citizens of this poor nation. But there are many others, who just want their own policies thrust on this country and at the same time use not only INGOs and NGOs but also individuals to alter Nepalese honesty, tradition, culture and the simple manner in which most Nepalese lived. Whether the political changes have made or destroyed Nepal, perhaps the experts will tell us in their long and shrill doctrines through different media, but what we all can see is the difference in the behavior of the people in general, their greed for wealth no matter from what background they come from and also in the changes in social habits, which many tradition-loving people think are detrimental for the Nepali society.
The worst spoilt in Nepal have been politicians and the people whose mentality has been perfectly good, but who have now started accepting corruption and also other habits that were otherwise good but now have destroyed generations in other countries.
Before we talk about how Nepali society has started to think about and accept and also respect for corruption, let us talk about how we started with the issue of the unions, which once brought not only violence but also a huge economic crisis in the country which are rich and developed now. This author has no grouse against the unions instead he welcomes their presence in most sectors. But there must be a line drawn where some acts have to stop. For example, this author perhaps was the only person who directly criticized some lower-ranked police personnel when they ‘arrested’ their own officers and instead of punishing these erring security men a high-ranking Secretary in the government went and garlanded these people and shook hands with them. This author had questioned why such ‘mutineers’ had been praised by the government instead of being punished. Even in the most ‘free nation’ of the world, the USA, mutineers are hanged to death, though we don’t want such harsh measures here. It was a relief some weeks later when these erring security men and their leaders were punished, but one does not know whether they are in custody or not at present.
Similarly, unions must have a line of control and they must not be allowed to get out of this line unless they want an uncontrolled situation. The student union was first formed for talking about the rights of the students, but they swiftly turned into politically affiliated organizations at the behest of the then-banned political parties and also by foreign powers. Even now, in the recently held elections for student unions, all unions were divided into party lines and some leaders even campaigned for certain contestants, besides the major parties also held serious meetings on the outcome of the elections and also provided funds, as per some reports.
Once more, this author would like to repeat that politics in all forms of unions is not a good indicator of democracy and development. This the world knows and a nation like Nepal can least afford such developments, If the people, specially those climbing the ladder of politics realize this, it would be more fruitful than voting for one union or the other. The main point is using all platforms for political gains is not good for the country, and as we see now for the young students who really want to study and not work as political tools.
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