By Narayan Prasad Mishra
We have a beautiful country with temperate weather featuring stunning natural landscapes of lush green hills, mountains, and snowy peaks. Additionally, we boast unique religious pilgrimage sites that attract Hindus and Buddhists alike, such as the holy Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, the sacred birthplace of Sita (Hindu Goddess, the ideal wife of Lord Rama) the Janaki Mandir in Janakpur, and Lumbini, the holy, birthplace of Lord Buddha. We possess fertile land suitable for cultivating rice, wheat, grains, vegetables, and fruits, and our people are known for their hard work, even finding employment abroad when opportunities are scarce at home. Moreover, our country is rich in water resources, with numerous small and large rivers. However, despite these advantages, our inability to fully utilize these resources for our benefit has led to our country lagging and being classified as one of the poorest in the world. We are all aware of it. We all lament about it.
As a free-thinking citizen of the country, I have written dozens of articles about the root causes of our backwardness: bad governance, corruption, irregularities, mismanagement, the politicization of professionalism, and party dictatorship. Additionally, I have penned numerous articles proposing solutions such as good governance, the rule of law, zero tolerance for corruption and irregularities, the promotion of professionalism, fostering a democratic culture, and establishing a democracy based on truth, justice, and a system of reward and punishment. I have also voiced strongly about the necessity of meeting People’s needs rather than discussing political doctrines. My articles, with various titles listed below and dozens of others published in People’s Review and my online book Nepal and Nepalese Society, bear witness to these efforts. In this context, I sincerely thank Pushpa Raj Pradhan, the Chief Editor of People’s Review, for publishing my articles. However, despite these endeavors, I have yet to see any tangible impact or positive results from them:
– Disfigured Democracy and Nepal
– Politics in the Judiciary and the Judiciary in Politics
– Movements, Revolutions, Progress, and Downfall
– Admirable Speeches and Condemnable Characters
– Corruption and Nepal
– Governance and Nepal
– Nepal and the Death of Professionalism
– Foreign Aid and Nepal
– The University and Politics in Nepal
– Election, Bhagabanda Parties, and Slavish Followers
– The Disappearance of Honesty and the Rising of Dishonesty
– People’s Supremacy and Our Fake Slogan
– Absence of Exemplary Leaders and Our Bad Luck
– Brain Drain, Manpower Recruitment, and Our Problem
– Country, Development, and Evil Politics
– The Country Where Our Writings Have No Value
– A country Without Rewards and Punishment
In this context, I am thrilled to watch Narayan Kazi Shrestha, our honorable Foreign Minister and ex-home minister, compelling speech on YouTube through Online TV Nepal. He delivered that speech a few days ago while still a home minister. As I wrote in my dozens of articles, he addressed our country’s pressing issues, highlighting the root causes of our stagnation and underdevelopment. He emphasized that our nation cannot progress solely relying on foreign aid, remittances, and revenue from customs. Instead, he stressed the need to develop industries and boost production to meet domestic needs and generate revenue. He also lamented that our country is increasingly becoming a place only for senior citizens, with a significant exodus of young men and women seeking opportunities abroad. According to him, nearly 400,000 people leave the country annually.
He criticized the prevailing notion that independent-minded individuals not affiliated with political parties have no place in the workforce, with all professions being politicized. He highlighted the need to depoliticize professions and create an environment where everyone can contribute to the country’s progress, regardless of political affiliation. He rightly said that is also a prime reason for our brain drain, and even questioned who would stay in the country if there were no opportunities to work and serve the nation. His views on professionalism appeal to me, having been a victim of dirty politics at Tribhuvan University under Vice-Chancellor Kedar Bhakta Mathema when Girija Prasad Koirala was the prime minister. My late wife Shanti Mishra, the legendary woman, and I had to leave the university 9 and 14 years before our retirement age of 63. I was just 49 years old. We are the people who can appreciate ourselves for our honest, active, and sincere service to the nation.
Moreover, he underscored the importance of good governance and the rule of law in fostering the country’s development. He vowed to take decisive action against corruption, mentioning specific scandals such as the Lalita Niwas Land Scandal, the Fake Bhutanese Corruption Scandal, and the Gold Smuggling Scandal. He emphasized his commitment to continuing this fight against corruption, regardless of personal risk or pressure. Furthermore, he mentioned implementing reforms such as halting the home minister’s discretionary spending of Rs 1,500,000 per month without proper documentation and ending the practice of awarding medals without transparent criteria, which are widely applauded actions. He also emphatically stated that no political system has any value if it cannot work for the welfare of the people and the country. No system can endure if it fails to meet the needs of the people.
He was undoubtedly honest in his presentation above and should be thanked and admired by all. I wish we had more leaders like him who share similar views and put them into action with honesty and dignity, avoiding the tendency depicted in the Nepali proverb Hatiko Khane Dat Ra Dekhaune Dat Farak Hunchha (The chewing and seeing teeth of elephants are different). I hope he is honest in his speeches.
But I am sorry to hear about his dissatisfaction with the actions of Balen Shah, the Kathmandu mayor, for taking action against squatters living along riverbanks and street vendors occupying the land illegally instead of appreciating him. I believe Mayor Balen Shah has been making sincere efforts to establish good governance and a civilized system in the city for its overall development, utilizing his limited powers to the fullest extent. He has become a role model for development and good governance, unmatched by any other high-ranking officials in the country. Some even think the prime minister or other ministers should emulate his proactive approach without delay and learn from him, and we must have a prime minister like Mayor Shah. The government should appreciate and support him if we have the good government Minister Shrestha wishes to create.
I often ponder that democracy thrives within a robust democratic culture rather than solely relying on constitutional frameworks. The most important culture of democracy is to appreciate someone when there is a point to appreciate, irrespective of whether they are friends or adversaries. At the same time, criticize someone when there is a point to criticize, regardless of your relationship—friends or relatives. It saddens me to observe a deficiency in this cultural aspect in Narayan Kaji’s response to his dissatisfaction over the praiseworthy actions of our Kathmandu Mayor, as mentioned above. This contradicts the commendable views he expressed earlier. Moreover, I firmly believe that we should evaluate democracy based on the degree of equality and justice enjoyed by the people. It is imperative to acknowledge that democracy cannot truly exist without ensuring equality and justice for all.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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