NATIONAL 6 -(Spotlight Weekly)]

Residents Of Rumorland

Can Nepal’s young hope to break free of the rumor-reaction-regret cycle?

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Nepalese people : Rumor-struck

"We were paid Rs 1,000 for each tire we burned on the streets," a youth protester gleefully told SPOTLIGHT in the aftermath of the killings at the Narayanhity Royal Palace. A tear gas fumes, rubber bullets and burning tires gripped the streets of Kathmandu, the nation again tried to find out what lay behind the violent tendencies among the youth.

"Why is it that the youth are vandalizing their own property?" asks Krishna Sharma. "Even if they have political grievances, what is it that they hope to gain by destroying public property?" The scale and circumstances of the violence defied reasoning.

"When somebody suggests that an elephant has entered my house, I’ll look at the size of the door through which it might have entered before I act," says Padma Tuladhar. However, such caution is thrown to the wind once rumors start spreading like wildfire.

The roots of youth alienation can be found in many areas. "Drugs might be the guiding force behind it all," says Hira Kazi Maharjan. "Moreover, there is no value for academic qualifications in our country. Exams are not held in time."

Then the big picture enters. "There is a huge generation gap between the youth and the leaders. If this is understood, many problems could be solved. Sadly enough, the tendency of the elders is to misunderstand our problems," Maharjan adds.

"Jealousy is another factor contributing to the anarchy that so often spills onto the streets," says Jayan Nyachu. "Many youth see their friends becoming better off socially and economically. They choose to do things that they feel would make them worthy of notice."

The youth have always played a crucial role in national politics, argue political leaders. However, students do not want to remain pawns at the hands of bickering politicians. "Is Tribhuvan University the preserve of the government?" asks Sunil Pant of Kathmandu University. "If you indulge in politics in Kathmandu University, you’d be kicked out pretty soon. Our universities need to produce creative thinkers instead of corrupting the minds of the young."

With some campuses having become hotbeds of radicalism, the law-enforcement community has begun paying special attention. "Since the Maoist insurgency, we have been looking into public colleges where we suspect some Maoist members are active," says Arjun Basnyet, who is part of the security apparatus. "Political instability provides a perfect opportunity for people to steal or vandalize property."

Earlier, police were not allowed into college premises without the permission of the campus chief or the leader of the student union. But that is changing. "In temples, colleges and almost everywhere else you run into blue-uniformed police officers," says Asim Pradhan of Amrit Science College.

The Nepalese propensity to be carried away by notions and hearsay was chronicled by Brian Hodgson, British representative at the court of Nepal in June 1813. "It was a time when he found himself shut up in the narrow round of Residency routine, and forbidden to stray further than a morning’s ride from its walls," writes William Williamson Hunter.

Hodgson seems to have returned to Nepal in 1824 and written to his sister, "If these barbarians did but know their own good, instead of which they are insolent and hostile, and play on us, as far as they can dare, the Chinese etiquette and foreign policy. The celestial Emperor is their idol, and by the way, whilst I write the (Nepalese) sovereign himself is passing by the Residency in all royal pomp to go three miles in order to receive a letter which had just arrived from Peking. Here they go! 50 chiefs on horsebacks, royalty and the royalty’s advisors on 8 elephants and 3,000 troops behind the cavalcade!"

Moreover, he points out that the crown prince descended from his elephant to take the epistle as the royal salute is fired. He clearly observes that Nepalese had an age-old attitude that the Chinese were the strongest people on earth.

This situation, where a handful of powerful and influential people determines the outlook of the majority, has scarcely changed over the centuries. With high premium placed on the principles of accountability and transparency, the traditions of an isolationist and relatively ignorant era should have lost their relevance. However, today’s police department, which bears the brunt of the creativity of rumormongers, understands how hard old habits die.

"Every university or college has a student elected body, be it a union or a student council. They represent the voices and views of the students," says Binod Bhattarai of Tribhuvan University. "They should not be involved in national politics or be used by political leaders as pawns. If a student leader wants to make it big in national politics, he should first prepare himself and then go to the right place to show his talents."

"We represent the students and we are elected to voice their demands," counters Subodh Sharma of Trichandra College. "If a student takes a justifiable demand to the campus chief surely he will listen."

Nevertheless, rumor-based politics seems to thrive on college campuses. "Why do clashes between colleges that are controlled by political parties occur so regularly," asks Kumar Basnyet of Trichandra College.

"Why do teachers in public colleges get manhandled?" asks Dinesh Shrestha of Kathmandu University of Science and Technology.

If colleges controlled by national political parties are part of the problem, what is the way out? "I studied in a public college and in three years I have not attended a single class," says Chandra Gurung of Minbhawan Campus. "Why don’t public colleges require 75 percent attendance, that is the basic requirement in any educational institution?"

What responsibility should student leaders be prepared to bear for this state of affairs? "One needs practice to represent the people’s demands. A student union leader can brush up his leadership skills in college, " says Asish Sherchan of Amrit Science College. "However, he or she should refrain from getting involved in national politics while serving as a representative of fellow students," he adds.

"I always deeply relish the sweet noble air and the sweet scenery of this fine region," Hodgson wrote. "Upon the whole of my life, though monotonous, flags not, nor is liable to tedium, and with good health I should not envy the Monarch of Great Britain."

Perhaps the late poet Bhupi Sherchan was merely giving a Nepalese perspective to Hodgson’s views when he said, "This is a land of rumors".