Thank you Kate for the amazing post!
Category: Blogging Page 22 of 24
राम-जानकी विवाह पञ्चमी | मिथिलाञ्चलको सबैभन्दा ठूलो पर्व | रामले सीतालाई विवाह गर्नामा तत्कालिन अयोध्याका आफ्नै स्वार्थ थिए होलान् तर त्यो प्राक-ऐतिहासिक विषयमा कुनै अर्कै दिन चर्चा गरूँला | अहिलेको लागि दुई वर्ष यताका कुरा नै काफी छ |
पोहोर साल विवाह पञ्चमीको बेलामा सायद सार्क (जसको अस्तित्व नाममा मात्र सीमित छ) शिखर सम्मेलन थियो | त्यसैले त कट्टर हिन्दुवादीको ताज पहिरीसकेका भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदी अयोध्या, जनकपुर हुँदै काठमाण्डू आउने योजना थियो | पछि सुरक्षाको कारण देखाउँदै उनी त्यो बाटोबाट आएनन् | हुन पनि भारतको सर्वेसर्वा भएर विश्वका प्रभावशाली १० मा उभिइसकेका व्यक्तिलाई आफ्नै सीमा जोगाउन नसक्ने नेपालीले के सुरक्षा दिन सक्थे र ? मोदीले बाटे फेरेकोमा जनकपुरे रिसाउँछन् भन्ठानेको आफ्नै सरकार विरुद्ध पो खनिए | आफैँले सजाएर बनाएका स्वागत द्वार भत्काएर जनकपुर बन्द पनि गराए | (उता अयोध्यातिरका चैँ चिढिएछन्, मोदीलाई हराएरै छाडे यसपालाको राज्य सभा चुनावमा) यो विषयमा एउटा फेसबुक पेजमा दुई पटक गरेर लेखेको पनि थिएँ |
माथिको घटना नलेखेको भए पनि हुन्थ्यो होला तर यसपालाको घटनाले पोहोर सालको घटनासँग कुनै सम्बन्ध राख्छ कि भन्ने मनमा परेकाले लेखिदिएँ | अब यसपालिको त के कुरी गरूँ र ? भन्दा पनि लाज लाग्ने ! राष्ट्रपति विद्यादेवी भण्डारीलाई जनकपुर पुग्ने वित्तिकै ‘अभाव भइरहेको पेट्रोल’ बमले स्वागत गरिएछ | पछि विरोधी समूहले केकस्ता काम गरेछन् भन्ने त टिभी, इन्टरनेट मार्फत धेरैलाई थाहा भइसकेको छ | त्यसको वर्णन मैले सायद गर्न पनि सक्दिनँ ! तर त्यो दुखद घटनामा राष्ट्रपतिलाई नै दोषि देखाउन खोजियो | कतिले त मधेसमा आन्दोलन भइरहेकाले उनी जनकपुर जानै हुँदैनथ्यो सम्म भन्न भ्याए | मैले सोचेँ, ‘ठीकै हो क्यारे ! राष्ट्रपतिले त्यहाँ गएर सुरक्षा चुनौति देखाइदिइन् | उनी नजाँदासम्म सुरक्षाको झुठो प्रत्याभूति त थियो !’
माथिका दई घटनाका आधारमा भारतका प्रधानमन्त्रीलाई स्वागत गर्न नपाउँदा बन्द गर्ने र आफ्नो राष्ट्रपतिको विरोध गर्नेहरूको राष्ट्रियतामा शंका गर्नुपर्छ भनेर माईसंसारको फेसबुक पोष्टमा कमेन्ट पनि गरेको थिएँ | तर विरोधको चुरो कताकता अर्कै थियो कि जस्तो लागेको थियो | मनमा खट्केको त्यो कुरो आज बिहान ‘‘नागरिक” मा आएको समाचार ले पुष्टि गरिदियो |
राष्ट्रपति विद्यादेवी भण्डारी माथि आक्रमण भएको खबर सुन्नु अघि कलर्स टिभीमा ‘इश्कका रंग सफेद’ भन्ने सिरीयल हेर्दै थिएँ | (मित्रहरूले मलाई राष्ट्रियताको कुरा गरेर हिन्दी च्यानल हेर्ने ? भन्दै हप्काउनु होला तर सरकारले नै विदेशी च्यालनल किनेर ‘हेर्’ भनेपछि म जस्तो बबुरोलाई हुटहुटी चलिहाल्दो रहेछ | फेरि विदेशी भाषाका कार्यक्रम, फिल्म हेर्दैमा कोही अराष्ट्रिय हुन्छ भन्नु पनि त संकीर्णताको पराकाष्ठा हो भन्छु म त , कसो ?) विधवा विवाहको विषय उठाइएको त्यो सिरियलको पहिलो एपिसोडहरूमा विधवा महिलालाई कृष्ण जन्माष्ठमी(?) मा मन्दिर जान रोक लगाइएको सिन देखाइएको थियो | मन्दिरको शुद्धिकरण गरिएका दृश्य पनि नआएका होइनन् | त्यसपछि उत्पन्न समस्यामा नै आजसम्म कहानी घुम्दै छ | यता जानकी मन्दिरमा पनि शुद्धिकरण भएछ, राष्ट्रपतिले पूजा गरेको निहुँमा !
जनप्रिय नेता मदन भण्डारीकी विधवा विद्यादेवी भण्डारीको संघर्षको कथाले सायद उपन्यास बन्ला | भन्नेले त पतिको मृत्युमा उनको संलग्नता थियो सम्म पनि भन्छन् | तर अप्रमाणित कुराको पछि लागेर एकल महिलाको रूपमा उनले सहनु परेका पीडालाई नजरन्दाज गर्नु हुँदैन | उनले यस समाजमा भोग्नु परेको पीडाको एउटा अध्याय होइन र जानकी मन्दिरको ‘शुद्धिकरण’ ? ‘आइमाईको बुद्धि !’ भन्दै महिला राष्ट्रपतिका कार्यको विरोध गर्ने विधवाले पूजा गरेको भनेर मन्दिर ‘शुद्धिकरण’ गर्ने कामले समाजमा नीहित संकीर्णता प्रष्ट पार्दैनन् र ?
राष्ट्रपतिजस्तो सर्वोच्च पदमा आसिन महिलालाई समेत हेप्न सक्ने हाम्रो समाजले गरिब महिलाहरूलाई कति पेल्दो हो | बोक्सी, डाइन भन्दै मलमुत्र खुवाइएका कतिपय महिलाहरू आज पनि न्यायको भिख माग्दैछन् | विडम्बना, महिलाहरू नै त्यस्तो लाजमर्दो काम गर्न पछि पर्दैनन् | के ती गरिब, दुःखी नारीहरूको मर्का समाजले बुझ्ला ? बुझ्ला भन्ने त मलाई पटक्कै लाग्दैन |
निष्कर्ष ? यति लामो गन्थनको निष्कर्ष मैले निकाल्नै सकिन | पाठकहरूले नै मद्दत गरिदिनु पर्यो |
(नोट: बिहान ‘नागरिक’ को समाचार शेयर गर्दा मधेसीको संकीर्णता देखियो भनेको थिएँ | यस्तो सोचले देशलाई नै गाँजेको होला | तर पहाडेलाई संकीर्ण देख्नेहरू पनि त वास्तवमा उदार रहेनछन् भन्नेतर्फ संकेत गरेको थिएँ भन्न चाहन्छु |
साथै, नगेन्द्र (नगेन्द्र राज शर्मा?)का निबन्ध पनि सम्झन्छु | नेपालमा महिला सम्बन्धी संकीर्ण सोच कतै काशीबाट त आएनन् ? उनी पटकपटक प्रश्न गर्छन् | माथि उल्लिखित सिरियल त्यतैको परिवेशमा आधारित भएकाले नगेन्द्रको प्रश्न पनि विचारणीय छ |)
The world runs in weird ways. People here run in weirder ways. I didn’t choose to run, however. I walked- from home to college and from college to home, alternately on alternate days. I wanted to save my back.
Whoever has known about the micro-buses in Nepal will understand my problem. These vehicles with low height are meant to carry twenty people max at a time. Four people, including a khalasi ( aka conductor. My teacher once called them handyboy, I don’t know why) can be adjusted in most vehicles (usually manufactured by Toyota or KIA). These vehicles are faster than the buses and mini buses and are also operated on smaller roads. That’s why most people use them. Now the vehicles are not enough for transporting people during the “office-time”. There is always a battle to get a seat. If not, one has to bend their back for at least ten minutes- if luck favours. Otherwise, one might have to stand in that Yoga posture for more than thirty minutes.
I try to avoid such a situation as much as possible. If I have to “stand up” on the micro bus, I will have to bend my low making ninety degrees with my feet. The back pain that sweeps in is the worst. Walking feels much better than this bent standing up.
I walked. This week I walked everyday until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I walked to college in the morning. While returning back home, I thought I climbed on an empty vehicle but unfortunately, it was filled by people in no time. Within seconds, I was squeezed by the people and within ten minutes, I was gasping. The windows were closed because it’s cold in Kathmandu these days. Ironically, I was sweating. People had seen that and had started commenting already. I had to get off. No, not because my destination had arrived but because I could not bear the pain on my back any longer. I got off at Tangal, almost twenty minutes south of my home. I walked again- tired and limping!
The effect showed up on Thursday. I could not dare to walk for forty five minutes between my home and college. I chose micro bus again. Thankfully, I got seats on both occasions that day.
It’s Friday and the pain continues as I write. The only satisfaction is that Saturday is coming up in almost two and a half hours. Hope (the biggest of the troubles released by Pandora) is making me think I can walk to college on Sunday again. Wishing her good luck is all I can do now.
I asked the question last Saturday. How that question came up? How I tried to find answers? What were the conclusions? Coming up in this post.
Background
On Saturday morning, while I went to the barber’s for a haircut, I saw a couple with their daughter there. The little girl’s head was shaved. Her mother said, “She does not have nice hair. Will she grow nice hair after the shave?”
For me, the hair seemed nice. At least it was better than mine. But that’s not the real thing. The girl, like most of the girls, loved her hair and was crying as the electrical razor was moving over her hair. Her mother first said, “We’ll not throw the hair. We will braid it and keep at home.” While the girl was not convinced, “Don’t care what other will say. Your hair will grow up again. You need to be strong. You should not cry. Crying makes you weak.”
The first response my mind gave was that the notion was wrong. Occasional crying has actually helped me psychologically and emotionally. Later on, as I thought more, I felt that she might be right.
[Note: It would be unfair if I did not tell you that the woman was actually obsessed with the hair of her daughter. I was compelled to think that the hair was not bad at all. The couple might have thought about selling the hair to make a wig. I can’t be sure, however. God knows what they wanted to do with it- sell it or keep it on display.]
Discussion
I debated within my mind. Whether or not crying could make someone weak, I could not say. Thankfully, I am a member of a blogging forum, Blogger’s World! (Blogging 101:Alumni, until December 9- you can note the old name on the web address!) I posted this question on Sunday, December 6, 2015 and received comments from about at least ten people.
The first comment came from Piyusha @Wandering Soul.
I strongly disagree that it makes one weak. People certainly perceive the one who is crying as weak, so it may make you look weak. But doesn’t make you weak. and honestly, which is better? To bottle up emotions inside you and not let them out because you are to scared to express yourself or to be brave enough to freely express emotions and hence, emotionally healthy even at the risk of being perceived as weak because people don’t understand emotions as much as they should or as much as they think do.
The next was from Heather @heathernotes.com, began the conversation with the evidence of physiological difference between men and women:
Scientists speculate that women cry more because they have shallower tear ducts than men.
The third one came from Anand/Vibrant @Blabberwockying. His comment was worth a post and he did it as well. In short, he said that crying could be weakness if we do not care when and where to cry. He also said that devotees cry for their God, thus attaining a deeper connection with the higher consciousness. (He was also attacked by other bloggers for the comment, but because that does not meet my objective here, I would want you to click the link to the forum above.)
Cathy Lynn Brooks@cathylynnbrooks.com said that children should be able (allowed) to express emotions and cry. Ishita @!shita believed that crying was healthy no matter however people looked at it. Ria @koko boocro, Amanda @raniamanda, 21 Time traveler agreed that crying was not a weakness at all. It was an emotional outlet, difficult to handle to most people. Darshith Badiyani and Bethany Harvey @Overlooked Nature said that people had to embrace crying as any other human emotions. Rashmi @Mind and Life Matters said that crying was just as important as laughing. Dawn Marie, Indira and shinepositivepower accepted that crying did not make one weak, but was a method of cleansing one’s soul.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to say whether crying makes one weak or not. Though, the participants in the discussion generally agreed that crying did not make one weak, I now believe that it actually depends upon the situation.
When can crying become your strength?
- When you are in a problem and need help, crying can help you get help easily.
- When you feel sad from deep within, shedding a little amount of tears can help your soul.
- Crying can be a process of healing your psyche.
- If you can manipulate someone by crying.
In short, when you cry to let out your emotions, you become healthy. What can be more beneficial to a person than a healthy mind?
When can crying become your weakness?
- When you cry in wrong places and at wrong times.
- When your fears and emotional problems are exposed to your enemies.
- When you can not decide when to cry and when not to.
The Dual Nature of People Who Cry
Being sensitive can make you weak, so is the condition when you become too expressive. Becoming insensitive or inexpressive does not mean you are strong either.*
Almost every one in the discussion believed that we cry while we are emotional and it is difficult to handle someone who cries often. We also say, “Don’t cry,” to someone who is going through an emotional stress. But we also encourage someone to cry if their burden can be decreased.
All in all, crying is a result of overwhelming emotions- sad or happy and it has to be accepted as a part of our emotional, spiritual and bodily health. (Crying is good for your eyes!)
[*Final Note: The topics of sensitivity and expressiveness were also prominently discussed in the forum. Here is the link again. These are the inherent characters of humans, which tell people of your strengths and weaknesses. For example, seeing you cry often (expressiveness) people might say you are weak, even if it is not the case. Also, crying may not always solve one’s problem.]
Communication gap. If there is anything we are suffering in Nepal right now, it’s the lack of communication. Each and every problem, whether it be the issues related to the constitution or matters of ongoing strike in the Terai. Whether it be the economic blockade imposed by the neighbour in the south or the process of making lives easier, there is no communication between the leaders and the common people. There is no enough negotiation between the leaders themselves and whatever they discuss never reaches us. Who knows what they talk in the closed rooms under the dinner lights?
The constitution was promulgated after a so called ‘collection of suggestions.’ A lot of people participated, including me. There was a wave of excitement. Suggestions from people were taken on the audio, visual and written forms. The leaders promised to include the majority of the suggestions in the constitution. Did they do so? No, not all. I doubt if they even listened to or read the suggestions. If they had done so, there would definitely have been no problems.
We wanted to know what was being written in each article of the new constitution. Nothing of that sort happened. They were passed at the rapidity of a Himalayan river flow. We expected the President to read out the contents as he issued the new law book. He didn’t. We thought the Speaker of the CA might. He didn’t either. We now have a constitution for “ourselves”, the content of which we clearly do not know. Some of us might opt to read the document, but not all people in Nepal can read or write. Also, the jargon related to law cannot be understood by all. What we wanted was the radios, TVs and newspapers bringing up the matters of the constitution to be understood by all. Even that did not happen.
Result. A long strike in the Terai that has affected the lives of people all over the country. Neither ex-PM Sushil Koirala nor the current PM K.P. Oli seem to understand that we have been deprived of the accurate information on the constitution. The leaders of Terai have conveyed a message there that the people have been deprived of their rights. We hear occasionally that it is not the case, but there is no formal declaration from the government on the topic. Who knows what’s been written in the Prime Law if they (leaders) don’t clearly tell what the people have got and what they haven’t?
The same is the problem with the leaders from Terai. They say they have certain demands that must be fulfilled. I am sure most of the common people in the Terai do not even realise what they are asking. Those “leaders” who are concentrating on a regional politics must understand that it will not succeed if majority of the people from the country do not want all their demands to be met. If the leaders from Terai want the people of “Pahad” and “Himal” to support them, they should become a national leader and make people understand what they are actually asking for. Who will go asking what they want if they don’t tell?
I have seen comment-wars between “Pahades” and “Madhesis”on Facebook. They don’t convey a positive message. It’s also an example of prevalent racism. However, there is almost no logical discussion. If someone tries to talk logically, one of the other groups gets enraged at them. If a Madhesi talks about welfare of a Pahade, he becomes an outcast. Similar is the situation on the other side. How can you understand one’s problem if you close your ears? How can you expect the other to listen if you express yourself rudely?
Communication is all we need at the moment. In absence of a good talk, there will always be confusions and misunderstandings. We do not want something that happened in this story I read many years ago.
Once, a boy went to his sister-in-law, who had been living with her parents for some months. His brother had quarreled with her and she did not want to go. The boy’s brother was tormented by what he had done to his wife. The boy had come to take her back home. He was treated well by her sister-in-law and her parents. When they asked about his brother, he remembered what grief he was in. His expression showed sadness. They asked again if his brother was alright. He could not say a word about his brother. Tears rolled down his cheeks. His sister-in-law and her parents thought that the boy’s brother had died. She went hurriedly in despair to her home to see her husband alive. The problem was solved, but not without troubles. The boy was condemned for the confusion he had created.
Such is the result of communication gap. That’s why I have been saying to speak up. How do we know what’s in your heart if you don’t tell?
NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, popularly known to the participants as NaNo (though I would prefer WriMo because it’s more a Writing Month and a National Novel. Is the name appropriate, though? I will come to that in a while.) is a global event, (that’s why I will discuss that again!) for the aspiring novelists. Thirty days of work for at least 50,000 words, the golden number for something to be called a novel – did not know before I signed up the event! That’s what NaNoWriMo about.
On October 17 of the year, I saw a post from Rashmi Menon on Blogging 101: Alumni, a forum of WordPressers. I clicked the link and there I was, where I could have been earlier if I had not been confused by the name of the event (it’s irresistibly coming up again and again). Anyway, I signed up. I already had something on my desktop that could be a novel, but I had no plans for it. So I decided- within five minutes since I signed up- that I would write on novel based on a short story I had sent to the Fiction Park section of the Kathmandu Post, but had never been published.
That was the beginning of it. Once I decided what I was going to write (type for most of the part), I built up some characters and drafted their personalities, thanks to an ebook, Crafting Unforgettable Characters, I had downloaded from K.M. Weiland’s website. On the first day of November, I started writing. About twenty six hundred words I typed that day. (Never broke the record. Such enthusiasm! Phew.) And then with the short story I used, I quickly moved to a higher word count than most of my buddies in the website.
Days went on. Managing at least 2,000 words per day, I was cruising slow and steady. Among my buddies, only Kristina Van Hoose was ahead of me. (She was updating her word count at rocket speed and was the first among my buddies to reach the golden number! I can’t really tell how she managed it.) From the second week of the event, festival of Tihar gripped me. The festive mood did affect me, and I was slowed down.
The third week was terrible. College had commenced after the vacation and I had an exam. While focusing on that, I lost hours of time for creating the novel, but whatever time I got, I crawled along. By the end of last week, there have been horrible things. Power cut off, college time, and assignments, all reducing the time I sit in front of my computer. That was when I got traditional. I began writing on a exercise book. And that had its own perks.
Sitting in front of the computer, adding new words to the novel, I have heard complains from my parents and my little sister. Ignoring their talks and discussions, keeping aside the political issues that enrage me, and keeping aside the matter of the fuel crisis going on in the country, I wrote and wrote. I finally reached the golden number in time, but there was a big problem: HOW DO I VALIDATE?
At the end of the 50,000 mark, the website asks to validate the novel (an official word-count) to declare the participant a winner. Now that I wrote the last few parts in a copy and that I can neither scan nor type within the last moment of the event, I don’t know how I will be declared winner by the site. Therefore I decided to declare myself a winner. I even got a feast. Well, actually that was because of the birthday of my mother.
Typing a novel from an unknown location (for the site; Asia: Elsewhere in Asia), updating the word count every hour from a computer that can break down any time, I have learned one great lesson: Novels come out of great effort. Novelists are just as crazy as my father thought. One month is an extremely short time for a quality novel to come out (mine has not finished yet), but it’s an initiation and a great experience. It’s time I get out of the hangover now. (It’s also a high time I get acquainted with all new WordPress, which my friend Anish had said some days back, had lost its word-count on the editor. I saw it while scrolling down. How excited I was seeing that!)
Wait, did I forget something? Oh, yeah. The name of the event of course! You must have noticed the contradiction while I wrote National Novel Writing Month is a global event. Had I known that the event was actually a GloNoWriMo (Global Novel Writing Month) and not only for the USians, I would have prepared myself. Would I have, though? That would definitely have made another story.
“I am not so sure. I had proven, as a very young man, that power was my weakness and my temptation. It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.” (Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling)
I had never thought of Harry Potter series as the one which consists of a sense of revolution at the core. When I had read it two years ago, I had forgotten to notice this and the last chapters of the last book had been lame to me. Now when I read it two years later, I see that Lord Voldemort was neither as powerful nor as clever as that mentioned in the earlier books of the series.
The series contains in its core the struggle for power. Where on this world there is no struggle for power? There are people, who to invoke fear among others, destroy the lives of thousands. They are feared all over and they overpower those who live. Such tyrants never get any respect. And among those who hate them, comes out a leader, who encourages the others to fight.
Harry Potter is one such leader, whose destiny had been changed by the murder of his parents. Voldemort- a tyrant and a fool, who had always seen people begging to him for their lives and kills everyone on his way for the fun of it, was affected by the willingness of Harry’s parents to die instead of their child. The boy unknowingly gets pulled into the struggle since.
The above quote is an important to understand the core of the series. It also carries the question of morality. How many humans have understood that having power might make them corrupt – that they are not worth it? Very few people had understood that. Mahatma Gandhi, for instance and in our case, Ganesh Maan Singh were able to understand the corrupting nature of the power they had to hold. We always think that they could have done better as the heads of each of their countries, but they understood somehow that they were not worth the power they would have. They believed that good leaders are those to whom leadership is thrusted, not those who go and seek for it.
Albus Dumbledore, once he realized that he would not do well with power, confined himself, helping the revolution against the power-seekers – Grindelwald and Voldemort. The above quote also reminds me of another character in the series, who evolves on his own into a leader- Neville Longbottom. He could have suffered the same fate as Harry, and could have been the hero in the story or would not have existed at all. By the end of the series, he gets the recognition as a leader of revolution against Voldemort. Not only that, he becomes worth of the Gryffindor’s sword- previously used by Harry and Ron Weasley – and destroys Nagini- the last horcrux.
The search for an able, worthy leader goes on in the real world, though. And one in a million, we can find such a leader. One who has the power over all, with a lot of respect and also with sense of responsibility towards all is the leader we want for the world. Even more for our Nepal. We need the one who understands these words quoted by Ben Parker to his nephew, Peter (Spiderman):
With great powers, come great responsibilities.
“रेमिट्यान्सले हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र कहिले सम्म धान्ला ?” कसैले कहीं लेखेका थिए |
हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्रको तितो सत्य यसपालीको नाकाबन्दीमा प्रत्यक्ष भएको छ | नाकाबन्दी पछाडि अनेकौं राजनीतिक (वा गैरराजनितिक) र कुटनीतिक कारण होलान | जे भए पनि हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्रमा रहेको कमजोरी छताछुल्ल भएर पोखिएको छ |
आर्थिक नाकाबन्दीहरू हाम्रा लागि नौला होइनन् रे – विज्ञ र मिडिया त्यसै भन्छन् | भारतले सन् ६० को दशकको अन्त्यतिर नाकाबन्दी गर्दा मेरा हजुरबुबा-हजुरआमा आफ्नो जीवनको बीसौं बर्समा हुनुहुन्थ्यो | सन् ८० को अन्त्यतिर भारतले नै गरेको नाकाबन्दीको दौरान मेरा बुबाआमा लगभग बीस बर्षको हुनहुन्थ्यो | तेस्रो पटक नाकाबन्दी भैरहँदा म बीस वर्षको छु | कस्तो अच्चमको संयोग रहेछ ! तर म यसलाई संयोग भन्न चाहन्न | यो हाम्रो राजनीति र अर्थनीतिको असफलता हो |
यो असफलताको लागि अघिल्लो पुस्ता पनि केही हदसम्म जिम्मेवार छ | मेरा हजुरबुबाको पुस्ताको दोष देखाएँ भने अन्याय हुनेछ | उहाँहरूसँग शिक्षा र संचारको पहुँच थिएन | त्यतिबेला सायद नाकाबन्दीले धेरै ठूलो प्रभाव पनि पारेको थिएन | मेरा बुबाआमाले भने शिक्षा पाउनु भएको थियो | संचार मध्यमहरु त्यस समय सिमित थिए तर २०४५ सालको त्यो नाकाबन्दी बारे अवस्य सुन्नु भएको थियो र त्यसको प्रभाव केहि हदसम्म महसुस गर्नुभएको थियो – त्यसबेला सरकारले कुपन मार्फत मट्टीतेल वितरण गरेको थियो रे |
अघिल्लो साता उहाँहरूले ०४५ सालको नाकाबन्दीको कुरा गर्दै गर्दा सोधें, “हजुरहरुले त्यसबेला र अहिले को परिस्थिति बदल्न किन कोसिस गर्न सक्नु भएन ?” उहाँहरूले जवाफ दिनु भएन | सायद उहाँहरुसँग कुनै उत्तर नै थिएन | मेरो प्रश्नले सायद उहाँहरुलाई लज्जित बनायो | यदि मेरा सन्तानले भविष्यमा त्यस्तै प्रश्न गरे भने म त लाजले भुतुक्कै हुन्छु | मलाई मेरा सन्तानले त्यही प्रश्न नगरुन भन्ने म चाहन्छु | के गर्न सक्छु त म ?
केही समय सोचेपछि केहि जवाफ आए | हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र खस्किनाका कारण र तिनको समाधानका लागि केही उपाय मनमा आए | तर एक्लो प्रयासले त केही हुँदैन |
अहिले हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र रेमिट्यान्सले थेगेको छ | युवाहरु परदेश जान्छन्, उता बाट श्रम बेचेर पैसा पठाउँछन् अनि हामी यहाँ पनि सरि त्यो पैसा बगाउँछौँ | तर पैसाले मात्रै अर्थतन्त्र बलियो नहुँदो रहेछ | अरु पनि महत्वपूर्ण तत्वहरू रहेछन् |
पहिलो हो, नीति | हामी सँग आर्थिक उन्नतिका लागि गतिला नीतिको अभाव छ | विगतमा बनेका नीतिहरू पनि राम्ररी कार्यन्वयन भएका छैनन् | राजनीतिक अस्थिरता र भ्रस्टाचारको प्रतक्ष्य प्रभाव हो यो | विकास नीति बनाउनेहरू सरकार परिवर्तनले प्रभावित भएका छन् | अझ पछी आउने सरकारले अघिल्लो सरकारका नीति र कार्यक्रमलाई पूरै बेवास्ता गर्नु नै हाम्रो अधोगतिको सुरुवात थियो | सरकारमा रहेकाहरूले आफ्नो सोच र कर्मलाई परिवर्तन गर्नु पर्ने आवस्यकता देख्दछु म |
Fuel Crisis hits Nepal due to Economic blockade. Source: econitynepal.com
दोश्रो हो, उद्योग | पृथ्वीनारायणले १८३१ मै आफ्नो देशभित्र उद्योगलाई प्रोत्साहन गर्नु भनेका थिए र खाद्यान्न एवम् लत्ताकपडा कहिले पनि निर्यात नगर्नु भनेका थिए | उनि पछिका शासक र नेताहरुले त्यति बुझ्न सकेको भए हामी खाद्यान्न एवम् लत्ताकपडामा आत्मनिर्भर हुनेथियौं | तर राजनीतिक अस्थिरताले हामी असफल भयौं | सरकारी व्यवस्थापनमा रहेका लगभग सबै उद्योगहरु धरासायी भएका छन् ! व्यवस्थापनको यो कमजोरीले हामीलाई भारी पीडा दिएको छ |
तेस्रो हो स्वामित्व | उद्योग व्यवस्थापनमा सरकारी कमजोरीको उदाहरण माथि प्रस्तुत भैसकेको छ | अब लामो समय उद्योग चलाउने हो भने सर्वसाधारणले पनि ती प्रति आत्मीयता देखाउनु पर्ने जरुरी देखिन्छ | उद्योगहरुलाई सार्बजनिक संस्थान बनाउनु पर्छा | यसले सर्वसाधारण र उद्योग बीच आर्थिक एवम् भावनात्मक सम्बन्ध बनाउने छ |
चौथो हो, मानब संसाधन र यसको सही उपयोग | हामी सँग शिप नभएको होइन, न त हामी अल्छी हौँ | यहाँ केही नगर्ने या गर्न नचाहने नेपालीले पनि खाडीमा श्रम बेचेर, ज्यानलाई हत्केलामा राखेर मिहिनेतका साथ कमाएका छन् | सरकारले नै प्रत्यक्ष अप्रत्यक्षरूपमा वैदेशिक रोजगारीलाई प्रोत्साहन गरे जस्तो लाग्छ कहिले त | विदेशमा सिकेका शिपको सहि उपयोग हुन सके त त्यो पनि राम्रो हुन्थ्यो | तर विडम्बना, विदेशबाट फर्किएकाहरु यहाँ काम गर्न चाहँदैनन्, चाहे सरकारी बेवास्ता को कारणले होस् या आफ्नै अनिक्षा का कारणले होस् | उनीहरू फेरी विदेश नै पुग्छन् | यहाँ त दक्ष जनशक्तिलाई पनि ध्यान दिइएको छैन | दक्ष जनशक्तिको पलायन हाम्रो ठूलो समस्या भैसकेको छ | यी समस्याको समाधान हाम्रो हातमा छ | हामीले सक्षम नेतृत्व छान्न सक्नु पर्छ | धेरै खराब नेताहरूको बीचबाट असल नेतृत्व खोज्न एकदम गाह्रो छ | तर त्यो चुनौती स्वीकार्न पर्छ, यदि हाम्रो भविष्य सुनिश्चित गर्ने हो भने |
पाचौं हो, प्राकृतिक स्रोतको उपयोग | हामीसँग साहसी पदमार्गहरु छन् | हामीसँग भएको पानीले उर्जा उत्पादन गर्न र सिचाई गर्न पुग्छ | हाम्रो देशमा भएका जैविक विविधताको उपयोग हामी गर्न सक्छौं | आयुर्वेदले उत्तम मानेका वनस्पतिको उपयोग गरेर हामी सम्वृद्धिको पथमा अघि बढ्न सक्छौं | खनिज पदार्थको उपयोग गर्न सकिन्छ | यी सब सक्षम नेतृत्व र व्यवस्थापनबाट सम्भव छ |
यी सबै एकसाथ अघि बढाउन सकियो भने हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र बलियो नहुने कुरै छैन | हामीलाई आर्थिक वृद्धिको सपना धेरै पटक बाँडिएको छ | अब हामीलाई त्यस तर्फ बढ्न प्रेरित गर्ने नेतृत्व चाहिएको छ | प्रथमतः हामी आफैले आफ्ना कामहरू इमान्दार भएर पूरा गर्नु पर्छा | इन्टरनेटमा लेख लेखेर मात्र त केही नहोला तर यसले मलाई र म वरिपरिका व्यक्तिलाई प्रेरित गर्न सक्यो भने मात्र पनि केहि परिवर्तन अवश्य हुनेछ | हामीले आपसमा इमान्दारिता देखाउने बेला पनि आइसकेको छ | हामी आफ्नो सन्ततिका लागि असल भविष्य चाहन्छौं, होइन र ?
(हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र सुधार्ने अरु उपाय पनि होलान / कृपया कम्मेन्ट गर्नु होला /)
“How long will remittance sustain our economy?” Someone had said somewhere I don’t clearly remember.
The bitter reality of our economy has come forward during this blockade we are currently facing. There might be several political (or non-political) and diplomatic reasons behind the blockade. Whatever the reasons, the weakness of our economy has been exposed.
Economic blockades are not new to us- the experts and the media says so. When economic blockade was imposed by India during the late 60s (1967?), my grand-parents were in their late twenties. During the second blockade by India in late 80s (1989?), my parents were in their twenties. The third time we face the blockade and I am in my twenties. Is this a coincidence? I think not. I think it’s a mistake.
It’s a mistake made by our previous generation. I don’t want to blame my grand-parents. They were far less educated and the impact of blockade might not have been severe. My parents are more educated to them and had access to media – the Gorkhapatra, and Radio Nepal. (Nepal Television had come up not so long ago and many people could not afford a TV set.) They had read and heard about it. They had even felt the influence — coupons and schedules had been introduced to meet demands of kerosene oil.
When they talked of the 80s blockade last week, I asked them, “Why couldn’t you do anything to change the situation?” They did not say anything and I did not pester. It might have been embarrassing to them. It’s obvious I will be embarrassed if my children will ask such a thing in future. I don’t want to be asked the same question. What do I need to do then?
The current economy of Nepal is heavily supported by remittance. Young people go to several countries – mostly India, Gulf countries, Malaysia and South Korea for labour works. Many(including my friends) are in Australia, Europe, the US and Japan for studies and part time jobs (contributing to the remittance). Remittance has ensured that we have money; but this blockade is a proof that money is not enough to sustain economy. There are other important factors.
The first is policy. We lack strong policies that promote economic growth. The policies that have been made during the last 25 years have not been executed well. This is most probably due to political instability and corruption. The policy makers have been influenced by the frequent change in government. Discontinuities of policies made by the previous executives have been seen so often. There is an immediate need of changing the way think and act.
Fuel Crisis hits Nepal due to Economic blockade. Source: econitynepal.com
The second is the industries. Prithvi Narayan Shah had told in 1831 B.S. (almost 240 years ago!) to promote industries within the country and never to import clothes and food. If leaders after him had followed that, we would at least have been independent on manufacturing clothes and food products. We have failed on that mainly due to political influence over industries. ALL THE GOVERNMENT-OWNED INDUSTRIES HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN! This lapse of management has cost us a lot.
The third is ownership. The failure of government in management of industries has been shown above. The only way to run an industry for long is to make people believe that they own them. Industries should be converted into Public Companies. This will help create emotional as well as financial attachment towards the industries.
The fourth is human resource and its proper utilization. We do not lack in skills, neither are we lazy. The same Nepali who don’t not do anything here, works diligently and even under risk in the Gulf for low wages. The government directly and indirectly inspires people to sell labour abroad. It would be good if the skills they learn could be utilized here. But sadly, whether due to the lack of their interest or due to the inefficiency of the government, they do not work here. They somehow manage to go abroad, leaving us lacking in human resource. Similarly, skilled human resources and even experts have been neglected, the result of which is BRAIN-DRAIN. The solution of this goes down to the us. We need to choose the right leaders. Among many bad leaders, to select good ones might be extremely difficult. But that is the challenge we would certainly like to undertake.
The fifth is utilization of natural resources. We are rich in it. We have trekking routes full of adventures. We have water sufficient for production of electricity and for irrigating our fields. We have different types of climate which enrich our bio-diversity. There are herbs like Yarsha Gumba (Cordyceps) which can help improve our economy in no time given their proper management. There are gemstones which can be utilized to alleviate poverty. This is possible through capable management and visionary leadership.
When these are combined, there is no way we can not sustain our economy. We have been given promises of economic growth in the past. What we want is action. We have to be sincerely do our works first. Writing an article in the Internet might not work, but it is a small step to inspire myself and to inspire people around me. It is high time, we become honest with each other. WE DO WANT A BETTER SITUATION FOR OUR CHILDREN, DON’T WE?
(P.S. Will be published in Nepali soon. There might also be other ways to improve our economy which I might have missed. Please let me know by commenting below.)
It began with a war.
A conflict of more than fifty years ensured that the war was inevitable.
One of them had dominated more than half of the world. Their Empire was the one on which the sun never set. They wanted to annex all states within the Indian sub-continent. There was one nation left to defeat.
That Nation had just arisen from bits and pieces in the Himalayas. Some Kings and Lords of the petty states had not been satisfied with the unification. They wanted their shares. They sought help of the Empire to get back their states.
That was a golden opportunity for the Empire. They had discovered weak spots of the Himalayan Nation. They sought out ways to defeat them.
It was not easy, however. The new Mukhtiyar (equivalent to modern day Prime Minister) was a patriot. He would not let the Empire seize his nation. He brought about changes in the military. It enraged the Empire.
The Empire had to make a move soon. They gathered their own army and sent a letter to the Himalayan Nation with some terms. They had to respond it in time, else they had to fight with them.
The Monarch of the Himalayan Nation decided not to respond to that letter. The war began. From east, south and west, the army of the Empire marched. They had dreamed of victory over the majestic Himalayas.
The army of the Himalayan Nation, blessed by the ever tall and proud Himalayas fought bravely with the Empire’s army. Of the five major wars, the Empire won three. The two defeats were heavy. Even the ones they won were not as convincing to them. The soldiers of the Himalayan Nation had fought with all their potential.
Sugauli Treaty (Source: Wikipedia)
The Empire had to change their strategy of dominating the Himalayan Nation. They did an agreement – the Sugauli Treaty in the year 1816. The Himalayan Nation lost almost half of their territory but they stood up as the biggest independent nation in the Indian sub-continent.
The treaty brought about a diplomatic between the Empire and the Himalayan Nation. It was based on the dominance of the Empire, with the then Rana Prime Ministers improving the status of the relation. The friendship agreement of 1923 declared the Himalayan Nation as an independent nation.
The Empire was helped by the Himalayan Nation during the World War II. They had sent their best soldiers into the war. These soldiers were feared wherever they fought. They were the mighty Gurkhas.
The Empire fell. Revolutions around the world after the Great War brought about its downfall. The Empire lost a huge territory. Ranas of the Himalayan Nation fell. The friendship remained. It continues to exist, almost 200 years now. Long live the friendship!
Notes:
- Inspired by presentation of Hamlet in Nepali on the occasion of the 200 years of co-operation between Nepal and Britain.
- In the year 1768 (1825 B.S.), Prithvi Narayan Shah had declared the annexation of Kantipur into Gorkha. That was the formal beginning of Mordern Nepal.
- The then East Company of the British Empire had waged a war against Nepal. During the treaty of 1816, Rana Bahadur Shah was the King and Bhimsen Thapa was the Prime Minister of Nepal.
- During 1923, Chandra Shamsher was the Prime Minister of Nepal. Since then, Gurkhas have been a part of the British Army.
- The relation between Nepal and Britain has been well described by Mr Andy Sparkes in this speech: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/two-hundred-years-of-nepal-britain-relations-a-way-forward