I get it, Janajaati samudaya had it rough. Many were forced to speak Nepali and celebrate festivals that they didn't identify themselves with. Even though you see the Janajaatis in higher position, many still are underrepresented in the core governmental and leadership position in Nepal.

However, is this the biggest issue that Nepal is going through?

Institutions like IAD and WB had predicted in 80s that Nepal will get out of the underdeveloped countries status by 2001. We are far from getting out, we are sinking in deeper.

Every single news that you hear about Nepal is about how things are bad back home. Forget about EU not allowing planes from Nepal land there, we can't even move a disabled plane for days. NPR wrote two reports on Nepal in last 2 weeks, the first one was about fecal material accumulated in Everest, the second is about trash not being picked in Kathmandu municipalities.
We sure have learned how to be shameless.

If a news about Nepal comes, we just cringe and criticize the government back home. We forget that the news is about us, about our country.

We still don't have basic needs being fulfilled, load-shedding is the accepted norm. No water in the pipes, roads that worn out every season and dismally functioning schools are already accepted by the mass.

But forget about these issues. Forget about the constitution drafting process, let's tackle the issue that brings us more votes. Let's tackle the issue that riles up more protestors. Let's talk about Janajaati issue and the issue about how the country should be divided. This is the biggest impediment in drafting the constitution and until it is addressed, I don't care what Nepal goes through. Afterall, म भएँ न नेपाल हुन्छ!

 

I liked the list, few comments:

1. Agreed. Words like "bhote", "Jyapu", "Madhise," are still used as if nothing wrong is said.
We forget that leaders are the mirror of the society, which is a mere collection of people like us. We condemn a corrupt leader, but we never hesitate to pass that extra buck when pulled over. Going to Nepal? Call SP uncle, he will help you go through the custom easily.


2. I don't think this is necessary. I know what you mean, but this will needlessly create more tensions and issue. No need to demolish temples, just channel money appropriately towards educational infrastructure more.

3. Taxing is not the answer always. Matter of fact I take pride in the fact that Nepal has one of the lower corporate tax rates in SAARC nations. Taxation has to be fair and proportionate.

4. Couldn't agree more. I think we are not too bad on catching the culprits (lower levels), what we lack is a follow-through. The perpetrators get out too easily, without much media flare. Also the big guns should be brought to justice as well.

4. Agreed.

5. Heck yeah, agreed.

6. Agreed. You know why we stick to "Buddha was born in Nepal" and "Nepal has the highest mountain in the world?" Because we have nothing else to show. Instead of looking for things to be proud of, why not do something that would make our future to be proud.

Our number one priority is to get rid of all these corrupt politicians. Without doing that nothing is going to happen. Everyone should stop trying to come up with common sense knowledge on what is good for the country, and focus on the real number one priority. Without doing this, there is no hope so no point pedaling hope.

Shahi Baba, I concur, but then maybe you haven't read what Kiddo (and I implictly) mentioned about they being the mirror of our society. I feel your rage, but if your dad gets elected, or you for that reason, ya'll will not be any different than those corrupt politicians.

Not trying to be a devil's advocate here, but laying a concrete foundation starts with reverting to the basic and startup by uprooting the malice of our society and culture.

I get it that janjati had it rough and lots of Nepalis had it rough and the reason people have to keep getting the rough hand is due lawlessness. Only the government can uphold the law but the govt is corrupt so there is no hope till the current govt is gotten rid of and new govt put in place who will obey the law and uphold the law. Do you think that is possible?

How can you uproot malice from a society which is governed by these politicians? If you live in a place where their influence does not reach then it's perhaps possible but not when their incompetence and greed foreshadows any good that you may have in mind.

Shahi baba

What you said echoes the sentiments of most of the people in the country. We want to get rid of corrupt leaders.

But guess what was the common sentiments 30 years back when these leaders were not there? Same. We wanted to get rid of these corrupt Panche leaders.

Why do you think we are back to square one? Are we just dumb to go through a decade of civil war to go back to square one?

The problem is very systematic and albeit complicated. First and foremost, like Sajhasexy stated, we are the problems. Other than Gyanendra's coup about 10 years ago, we haven't had a dictator seize the whole country forcibly. The leaders were elected by our own people. Sure there were some games played, but for the most part we are the reasons why these leaders are there - fair and square.

That means, if we get rid of these leaders, we will only give birth to a new generation of leaders who will follow their footstep. Priorities change once power is had.
It is not only hard but next to impossible to get rid of these leaders, since the multiparty system has completely penetrated our veins. Many, if not most, of the people in any administrative wing of the government are appointed by these parties and many got their with minimal qualifications

Why do we bribe our local officials? Because for the entirety of our existence, that's what we have seen : you need to oil the spokes for the bicycle to run.
We have become lazy and short-sited. We worry about today, we worry about how to get to a particular position. To do so, we go after the political leaders. No wonder many of the administrative wings of Nepal are either not functioning or functioning in a mediocre fashion. Why bother losing that easy cushion that gives me rest today instead of focusing on setting the whole bed for the future.

I agree with Sajhasexy 100% that change has to start within us. I think it's about time we stop wishing for a Lee Kwan (Singapore) or Park Chung-Hee (S. Korea) and start the change within ourselves.

Change has to come from us. That's why I always argue with my friends. Leaders are not the real problem. They are just a reflection of our society.
You need to ask yourself before begging for change from the government. When you were (are) in Nepal, did you follow all the traffic/pedestrian signs? Did you or your relative refuse to give "ghus" even though you are in dire condition?
I can't count officially but I can guess only handful of sajha member or their relative have taken or given "ghus" in their life time. What have you done anything to stop that? Did you atleast argue with your parents for that?
Are you teaching your children to be good and responsible citizen rather than successful citizen?. I am sure you guys grew up by hearing the sentence "yo choro ta chalak cha. yesle bhabisya ma kei pragati garcha?" . Well yeah of course he will mostly end up growing with cheating & screwing people and may become a rich person. Nepalese people somehow appreciate for being "chalak". But is that what you want?
When you were in Nepal or visiting Nepal, did you litter? or asked someone to stop littering? Did you ever argue with parents for intercaste marriage or even talk about it? These are extremely basic questions which you should ask to yourself before pointing finger to the government because when you point a finger to the government you are pointing finger to yourself. These simple steps sounds very basic but they are fundamental things for a developed society.

My point is you don't have to involve in development of the country directly or be a leader. First make a better & honest person. Country is nothing but a bunch of people or societies. It's never too late to make a better human being.

If a nation wants to progress, we must bring a unifying principle rather than dividing principle. A nation is nothing but collective consciousness. You will get what you have. The leaders themselves are part of this collective consciousness. Janajatis evolve and collapse in space-time continuum. Who knows when and where new jatis will born? Who knows when and where the existing jatis will collapse? We must think in a very broad scale rather than just focusing on immediate circumstances. All our conclusions are based on sense perceptions which itself is a faulty perception because all sense organs are impetuous. How can such impulsive behavior bring stable awareness of things which is beyond sense perception? Therefore, we must be very vigilant on our behaviors because our mind is constantly harassed by sensuous impulsion. The out-going tendency of mind is a distraction where mind cannot think of totality in its pristine nature. This difficulty in perception will result in false assumptions and false conclusions. Something appears as red and humans think the redness as an independent reality unconnected with anything. But that redness is connected with everything else. Its existence of being red itself depends on other colors which are not red. Similarly, Janajatis do not have independent existence on their own. One Jati exist because other Jati exist. One jati is not totally disconnected with other Jatis because its existence itself will be jeopardize if other jatis do not exist.
Therefore, my suggestion to Nepalis people is that they should bring a habit of looking on things beyond sense perception. They should bring a habit of broad scale thinking (For example, where will Nepal be after 1 million years). Was there Nepal 1 million years ago? If there was no Nepal yesterday, why do Nepal exist today? If something exist today, and it was not yesterday, then it is also doomed to die someday! Birth of anything means it has brought death along with it. Therefore, Nepalis people should stop wasting their precious time in achieving futile objects. we should aspire to make things as simple as possible, otherwise we will be entangled on worldly affairs in such a way that our mind will have no idea where to start and where to end. Om Shanti.

If you say change has to come from oneself then you are talking about an ideal scenario. Nepal is not an ideal scenario. Lets say you and few of your friends decide on doing the right thing because you are educated and you go ahead and do it. But more than half of the population is not educated and they will not follow the right thing. People have cut throat mentality and they will not leave stone unturned to make that quick profit so if you are going to do the right thing then you become the minority. The rest of the people will get things done by hook or crook while you remain in line trying to get things done the right way.

You guys are talking about an ideal scenario which I am afraid does not exist in Nepal and the only thing that can possibly set things straight is to put back a strong law in place which will force people to do the right thing.

A nation without proper government is a nation of people who have given up.

I won't say I disagree with you. Some of the things we have listed (including UJL's point) is utterly idealistic. That level of morality doesn't exist in developed world, how can we hope for that in an underdeveloped chaotic clusterfuck like our country?
I think it has to be a mix of both. Those who are educated and understand, and wish for the long term good of the country, need to discourage such behavior and encourage contrarion viewpoint. We cannot just blame it on others and do nothing. If CIAA is doing a good job, we need to come out and celebrate that more. If people like SP Ramesh Kharel is transferred, we need to come support him and protest. We gotta save our protests that only fulfills the leaders agenda.
We have to, have to, change the mentality that we have at present. Otherwise even if the development comes, it'd be like India where most part of the country is still battling the 13th century ideology and the distance between rich and poor is monumental.

Nepalma mancheharu raksi khaye pachi matra yesto kura garcha kasari desh bikash garne bhanera. Afusangai desh bikash garne secret recipe bhayeko jasto kura garna khappis hunchan. Nepal ko situation is hopeless as far as politics goes. Unless politics improves there is no hope.

And how do you improve politics Ktmrulez or make it 'go' like you mentioned ?

And this is not just the question for Ktmrulez, I see most of us are hemming and hawwing about how the political situation is bad and that getting rid of corrupt politicians could be the only path to our nation's glory. But wonder how we could change that. So here are again some ideas that could make it possible -

1. Find an autocrat, someone with the likes of Hitler and Saddam Hussein, who could incarcerate and execute all politicians and put forth his own agenda. Paras fits the profile, Baburam and Prachande do too. But the question is, do we want them? How can we find a visionary despot when half the nation struggles to get a high school diploma? Also, how can we keep his relatives and friends in check so they do not misuse his authority like Shah's kins did during monarchy? Also, will that kind of rule embark to a political stability forever especially when west is screaming about capitalism and human rights?

2. Forget a despot, let's elect a virtuous visionary leader or bevy of such leaders, who do not only sell themselves to genteel and educated people of Kathmandu but to people in Maoists infested areas like Dadeldhura and Sindhuli. How do we find such a party? And make them win elections? Last time I checked Bibeksheel party lost in their own backyard during last election; let alone entire nation.

3. Maybe we could build more schools, cheaper schools but with quality education which filters every political, racial, culture and religious influence and introduces courses that underscore in leadership, generosity, maturity, crisis management among many others - so that every graduate from that institution is a visionary. Utopic? Pie in the sky? Maybe. But I think it could be the most sustainable solution towards nation's prosperiety.