Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Opinion

Uttam Niraula, Coordinator, Asian Youth Humanist Movement, Nepal

I come from Taluwa village-3 in Okhaldhunga district which lies in the eastern mountains where I could attend just the primary classes.

I finished my Higher Secondary level education from Kathmandu Bansbari based Valley Public Boarding High School.

Later, I obtained my Bachelor level in Business, BBS, from the Nepal Commerce Campus, Min Bhavan, in the year 2005.

In the mean time, my inner intuition goaded me to study Masters Level Political Science which is what I am studying at the moment at the Tribhuvan University.

First business then suddenly to political science? How come? Isn’t it puzzling?

Yes! I studied business as per the wishes of my parents. Later I switched onto the realm of Political Science for the latter facilitates one to understand the nitty-gritty’s of the society and beyond, and the social works which further allows to comprehend the societal environment around you.

Being a humanist tip-to-toe, Political Science, as I could see and realize, could well be an effective tool for me to proceed with what I call Humanism. In my estimation, Political Science is a discipline which allows one to understand the social environment better and one can use this platform in order to bring into effect certain changes that are in the larger interests of the society wherein you live. To understand the society better you need to keep abreast with the principles that guide and drive politics first.

But Politics is said to be a dirty game? Isn’t it?

It is not the way people put it! I don’t agree to that buffoonery notion. Yes! Some interested quarters give to understand that politics is a dirty game which it is not. However, politics has been made filthy by some politicians who have used politics as a means to elevate their ranks to power. But for the faults of handful politicians, the entire domain of politics can not and should not be charged. The tragedy has been that in our country politics was provided a bad name by some who equated politics with power and acquiring lucrative posts.

But politics, in my opinion, is above that. Politics should work for the betterment of the society.

Don’t you think that Political science and Humanism do not run in parallel?

Humanism, as I have understood, teaches us of globalism and internationalism which both in effect bring the people of the world together. It allows people belonging to different castes and creeds to come closer which further facilitate the people to understand their own society. It knows no boundaries. Humanism in essence believes in the theory that no one is unequal and thus no one should be marginalized. Those who believe in Humanism conclude that an individual whether he belongs to Nepal or Japan or even in the United States should be treated equal by other individuals and thus be accorded the same status and opportunities so that he or she could enhance his or her status without confronting any problems. Humanism allows the people to know their own society better. Since Political science also deals with international behavior and the conduct between the nations and the people, this discipline complements and supplements the theory of Humanism. There is thus no contradiction in between the two as you prefer to put it.

“Humanism is a party and class-less politics without any strings attached”, is how I define Humanism.

To make it even easier to understand, let me tell you that Humanism has two perspectives. The first is globalism which brings the people together caring little as to which individual is what. This perspective believes in the equal rights for the people. Here stress is added in the equality factor.

The second perspective pertains to “individualism”. The theory underneath individualism believes that each and every human soul is equal and that each and every individual be empowered. Basically, this perspective stresses on the need to authorize the people so that no one is left sheathing behind as regards opportunities, environment, rights and the likes. It also believes in the supposition that the motley of the community of the individuals thus coming to a point in a collective manner must combine their entire efforts in empowering one individual who has perchance lagged behind them until some time back. The idea should be directed towards empowering the one who has been lagging behind in a collective manner.

In practice, nevertheless, political science appears not to have supplemented Humanism as it should have been. It is apparently due to the fact that in terms of behavioral practice the political actors exhibit their reluctance as and when Humanism demands supplementary attitude from them. But then yet it should not be construed that they contradict each other. Theoretically, let me assert, it does supplement. The irony has been that the political leaders housed in different political paraphernalia have yet to come to know the underneath meaning behind Humanism in its real perspective. I presume it would take some time.

A political leader if he boasts that he represented the society possesses no right to consider him as a super-human being. The fact is that he is just an individual. To me even Buddha, Krishna and Jesus Christ were no more no less than a simple human being. Some stories have been crafted by some intelligent brains and disseminated for public consumption about whom we belonging to different religion worship as Gods. This is all a misnomer.

To be honest, I don’t believe in the existence of God. I am an atheist.

What about Hinduism then?

To me it is just a religion and nothing else even if we don’t belong to any religion or whatsoever. The concept of religion is an imposed one, I presume, on the people. Isn’t it funny that a baby born in Nepal is a Hindu and likewise the baby born in Europe is a Christian? Had it been otherwise, I would have been a Christian.

I see that some in the name of religion impose their own beliefs in order to keep the followers of religion tames. Religion breeds superstition and the innocent people are thus befooled by the men who control and manage the existence of religion. All thuggery! There is no “democracy” in religion which is why the believers in the religion are being cheated by the leaders of religion.

Nevertheless, having said that I must admit that I go in favor of some of the capsules that are contained therein the religion. Some capsules/elements are worth taking note of.

What is Humanism then finally?

To me Humanism is a way of life. It is my life stance which believes in secularism, democracy, tolerance and the observance of certain ethics that are important to keep the theory of humanism in good stead.

Whom you consider the proponent of this theory?

Let me make it clear to you that in Humanism, individuals are not important. What is significant is to note of how an individual behaves in actual practice. Humanism itself has taken birth from behavioral practices.

Having said that, I consider personalities like Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin were the role models for the advent of Humanism in the world. It should have been the period around Renaissance that the evolution of the term Humanism took place.

In our own country, the concept of Humanism appears to have taken roots from the days of Jaya Prithivi Bahadur Singh. Well, after Buddha, Singh should be considered to have remained the champion of this concept in Nepal.

To sum up, currently I am the Elected Board member of the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization. That apart, I am also the Coordinator of Asian Youth Humanist Movement.