Debilitating Economy Of Nepal

ANUP SHARMA

In 1996A.D. Nepal saw the emergence of a new clique of people with a new set of rules and ideas to bring back so called reforms in different sectors. Well the idea was great had it not been for the weapons. How Gandhi helped in bringing back the independence in India is an exemplary achievement, which was spearheaded with a common theme of fight through non-violence. May be that was possible (in our context) or might have been the other way, but once you make a plan that is going to involve the entire nation and people, a thing called vision should have been there. What it looks like today is a totally uncontrolled set of movements which are not only creating political unrest in Nepal but also creating havoc in the daily life of the people of this nation. That has impaired our economy by leaps and bounds.

The burning question right now is that "Can Nepal be economically stabilized?"

Many say only the "time" can answer that. But hello sir we simply can’t wait time. What didn’t come yesterday guarantees that it might not come today and tomorrow as well. So we can’t just wait for the time to bring back the much needed stability to Nepal.

What Nepal needs right now are the following things, in my view.

1. Political reform.

2.  Economic reform.

3.    Educational reform.

I did my engineering in computer science from N.I.T Durgapur(formerly R.E.C), West Bengal, India. In my four years stay in India I saw some awe-inspiring things. I was highly impressed by the economic boom in India. The rise in M.N.Cs and domestic companies is something that has been the talk of the town.

The only reason why I have taken the example of India is because it is one of our close neighbors and many of us have fair bit of idea about India. Not only India but see China and other countries in the region. And compare the economy with Nepal. We get out of the scope. As my field being computer engineering I am trying to jot down my view keeping focus on computer related topics.

Our country can be a good destination for outsourcing and off-shoring. There are like thousands of engineers graduating every year in Nepal. So seeing this one can say that we have a good amount of work-force. But the stark reality is that many of these graduates go overseas for further studies and to make money. In doing so, many of them end up staying there hence, the decrease in technical professionals here in Nepal.

Now with the entrance of new government, we expect it to consider all these factors and try to increase the workability in different fields. If the government is able to provide that then I am sure that Nepal can see the improvement in economy.

But for encouraging the foreign companies to enter into Nepal, the government should assure them of security and better work space. According to CIA - The World Factbook, the unemployment rate in Nepal is 47% (2001A.D.). That just goes to show, how even in the presence of good work-force, we lack improvement. The government has to do something to alleviate the unemployment. Until that has been dealt with precision, I am sure that we can’t move ahead and the ever increasing debt for Nepalese will never find its way back.

Well you will have an idea of the job scenario in Nepal when you go through my next few lines. The only job that the engineers are getting in Nepal is teaching. A person who has just finished his engineering is teaching the going to be engineers. That is like blind leading the blinds. If you go through the engineering colleges and other providing similar courses, spread around the country and coming up like the mushrooms, you will find engineers (freshers) teaching. I am not complaining that, but that should have been the last thing on the minds of the engineers which, I find today as the top most priority. None of the engineers would probably go for teaching this early. First he would like to work and see what he had studied and gained. But no application field is there to see what have we learnt!!!!!!! And thus, every year, we get to see the seasonal migration where by many skilled persons leave the country in search of work and money.

(The author is a computer engineer and he can be reached at anup47@hotmail.com

The future Road Map of T.U Economics Department

Prof. Madan Kumar Dahal, HoD, Economics Department, T.U

The Central Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University has set in its road map. The department " will be converted into TU School of Economics (TUSE) by 2006 with a view to provide a high quality education in economics at par with international standard by improving the status of curriculum, faculty, examination, logistic support and physical facilities, instruction methods, library facility, incentives and exposure to faculty through providing more opportunity for research and through expediting faculty exchange program. The Degree of M. S. in Economics will be awarded upon completion of prescribed curriculum within two-year timeframe". The department is set for introducing M. Phil. in Economics from the academic session of 2005 with an objective to provide an exposure to our faculty members serving different campuses under TU and also to the scholars from government and private sectors for improving their capacity to expedite research leading to Ph. D.

The Tribhuvan University has allotted 15 ropanis of land to construct building for proposed TU School of Economics. The Central Department of Economics next year is all prepared to organize the convention of alumni in 2005, which would be instrumental in raising fund to construct new building for School of Economics. In this regard, Nepal Rastra Bank has also been approached to take initiative for building construction. A fund raising committee would be set-up soon. In November 2004, the Department has the plan to publish, for the first time in its long history, a book on Nepalese Economy comprising the contributions of twenty-five scholars on different major areas of Nepalese economy from within and outside university. The Department has also set the schedule to celebrate Silver Jubilee of The Economic Journal Of Nepal (EJN), a quarterly publication of Central Department of Economics in October 2004". He further informed that Department has been organizing a special lecture series program from last year by inviting eminent economists and scholars to provide guest lecture on major areas of Nepalese economy to final year students. This has provided an opportunity to students for understanding dynamics of Nepalese economy. Finally, he also acknowledged the cooperation provided by the students to mobilize internal resources for strengthening academic activities in the Department.

Humanity above Cliché Religious Prescriptions

by Moksh

Get up, Stand up. Stand up for your rights.
Get up stand up; don’t give up the fight,
You preacher man don’t tell me,
Heaven is on the Earth………

It’s not all that glitters is gold,
And half the story has never been told,
Now you see the light,
Stand up for the rights, don’t give up the fight.
Brother/Sister, don’t give up the fight
…………… (Peter Tosh)

Article 11 (4) of The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal states that,"No person shall, on the basis of caste, be discriminated against as untouchable, be denied access to any public place, or be deprived of the use of public utilities. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by the law". However our government has not put enough effort to implement these provisions. This is clearly reflected in incidents that occur everyday. For example much hyped incident that unfortunately occurred in Lahan. Himalayan Times reported on the 27th of June that the Dalits and Doms are restricted from entering hotels. This was all against the accord agreed upon by the local businessmen, hotel owners, human rights activists and Journalists.

This shows that the Article 11 (4) is not respected by the citizens. This behavior has been deeply rooted in Nepali culture .The Legal Code of 1854 categorized the society into 4 different groups namely tagadhari (janaya lagaune), matwali (rakshi chalne), pani Na chalne tar choichito Na halnu naparna, pani na chalne, choi chito na chaalne. This code was not amended for next 110 years. In 1964 New Legal Code was introduced which said that no body could be discriminated in relation to one’s race, caste and creed. Every one would be treated with equality before the law.

2.8 m or 12% of Nepali population fall under the category of untouchables. Why hasn’t the 1964 New Legal Code been implemented after 100 years of its introduction? The elite and rulers of Nepal consist of upper caste. They always lacked apathy for the issue. The influential untouchables and other conscious citizens take up "haaaya ke matlab", the "Nepali Social Syndrome".

The state should guarantee social and economic justice to all. If only the leaders work towards fulfilling the objectives rather than looking for ways to be in the musical chair. It could be possible to weed the discrepancies by forming collaboration with NGO, INGO and the civil society by implementing the law effectively and organizing educational/awareness programs.

Let us all remember "The god will not come from Sky" and also cultivate a habit to stand up to inappropriate malfunctioning of society.

You alone can bring a change or the help the movement to creep little bit further. Let us all revolute for evolution of oneself and work towards betterment of civil society.

Nepal's Business Magnate: Mohan Gopal Khetan-V

Irresponsible Nation

The national daily ‘Gorkhapatra’ recently published a list of 318 large tax payers, who had businesses of up to 15 crore rupees, asking them to submit the tax required of them. It included Pashupati Shumsher’s Nepal Gas and other bankrupt industrialists. The list also included six of my industries. Is it right to publish the names of tax payers in a newspaper of Gorkhapatra’s stature at the time of an uncertain political situation such as the one we’re going through? This has made it easy for civil servants to make negotiations with the tax payers while collecting revenues. This action has made it extremely easy for those corrupt few who are always willing to make some money. This also made it easy for the Maoists by providing them with information about businessmen. All they need to do now is send letters demanding 50 lakhs each within three days. This irresponsibility has put the food right in the mouth of the tiger by making it easy for the Maoists to collect money. Thus these people are playing with the affairs of the nation. Either the finance secretary or the governor is in on this. Is the Finance Ministry blind? When people’s lives are at risk is it not irresponsible to put out a list like that? Isn’t it irresponsible on the ministry’s part to reveal such a secret?

Democracy and Struggle

Democracy means such things as freedom of speech, human rights, right to choose ones own profession, right to take care of ones family etc. Here, the leaders go to the open theater and make derogatory remarks at the institute of monarchy or quarrel about article 127 of our constitution. One must understand that the king has not sold the country yet. Within the last 13 years, a lot of different areas in the Terai have been encroached upon by India. The Indian ambassador has been going around distributing millions of rupees in the Terai so that the poverty stricken population keep quiet and don’t raise their voices against the encroachments. Why don’t the ‘nationalist’ leaders of these uneducated people Hridayesh Tripathi, Badri Prasad Mandal voice their opposition? Because, as Pradip Giri has rightly said, they will bow down to even a deputy secretary from India. Who was Natwar Singh? He also came from the bottom of the ladder, today he is the Foreign Minister. Maybe the relationship is good, but they are trying to order us around. Close the border today open it tomorrow!

Will foreign countries respect the king if we do not? If we are to write whatever we want about the Royal Nepal Army in papers and demoralize them, what will happen if they become reactive? What will happen if the students turn against the leaders who put them on the streets in the first place? Haven’t you seen Girija being taken to Delhi because he had a chest pain? Madhav Kumar Nepal understood the situation after his tour, therefore got involved in the all-party government. Sher Bahadur had also taken to the streets, but he later understood – there is a limit to how long you can finance your cadets. We don’t have the people with us anymore. How long can the movement last on the strength of around 500 cadets belonging to Hridayesh Tripathi, some cadets affiliated with Narayan Man Bijukche in Bhaktapur, and the money that Girijababu has managed to loot from the revenue? The only purpose of the present movement is to put mental pressure on the King. Madhav Nepal is right when he says that we need to move forward by anyhow convincing the King to hold talks with the Maoists.

If we respect the King and not downgrade his importance, let the army take care of security, use constructively the sufferings of the people in the villages seeing which the Maoists started their violent campaign in the first place, and together counter the pressures put on us by the Indians, in the next five years, Nepal will have finally moved forward. Nepal is a small country with mountains, with a history which includes the Buddha, Janaki etc.; we can move it forward. Let the so called intellectuals like Yadav Kanta Silwal and Mohan Lohani go to libraries in London and study our history. What’s the use of just showing up at Reporters’ Club gatherings? If the King had not taken his stand, the country would have ceased to exist. The steps taken by the King in the last three years have saved the country, nationality has remained intact and we have come to know that the political parties are frauds, cheats and liars.

Communication

The field of communication has done a lot of damage to the country. The so called intellectuals write anything for Rs.500. The field workers supports politicians. Diplomats on the other hand use the combination of these two to try to acquire different posts. The businessmen have lost any hope or aspiration. Those who had any hopes became people like Mahesh Lal Pradhan. It is not up to businessmen to run the country. Instead of these leaders proper intellectuals should be given the opportunity.

Leftist Khetan

The communists have love for their country. That is why I regard myself as a leftist. The Congress party does not love the country. They grew up singing ‘Jana Gana Mana Adhinayak’. It would be better if they died in India itself. Girija recently has said that a republic and a referendum are both acceptable. It is possible that tomorrow he will tell India to take Nepal and give him the presidency.

As hard it is to run a proper home, it is harder still to run a country. There are only two major parties in England. Here, when a name for the post of the Prime Minister was sought, there were 36. His Majesty had asked the parties for their suggestions, not for the names of Mohan Gopal Khetan or Laxman Singh Khadka. The situation has deteriorated because there are too many leaders in all areas. The government now has to take stringent measures in order to bring the situation back to normal. A Royal Commision should be constituted to help initiate dialogue with the Moaists. Such commision should be broadly representative of the cvil society.

This is my identity. Until one reaches the funeral pyre, one should not feel tired. It is better to leave the world than to feel tired. Whenever I go to see the doctors, they ask me how I have gotten better. This is a result of self-determination. One should be strong in ones self-determination. We take birth to play our part. If one continues playing ones part without hoping for its fruits one will carve out ones own identity. (Concluded)

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