Take the lead- Nepal’s future has begun: By Anil Chitrakar

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one”.
- Elbert Hubbard.

The book urges the readers to 'take the lead' in making 'clear yet difficult choices.'

The author's message is clear. He cautions the readers, “Those who have given up hope need not read any further”. There has always been an air of skepticism regarding Nepal's progress, probably in every household. Visionaries are almost always looked with distrust. The author sounds way too optimistic regarding the future of Nepal! But he also suggests is that not the need of the hour?

Anil Chitrakar's Take The Lead- Nepal's Future Has Begun is a candid portrayal of the reality of Nepal and it's people. The book convinces the reader that Nepal is not as unfortunate as many might want to believe. Countries in the south-east Asia that progressed only in the past 20-30 years started with literally almost nothing, the only difference is that they managed their resources fairly well. With the changed global scenario in the backdrop, he commends that Nepal should start celebrating 'independence day' because it has received an unprecedented opportunity, which is tremendous access to the world. This is a blow to the people who have always lamented over the fact that Nepal is a helpless landlocked country. “Shrinking of the world" is a golden opportunity for Nepal to make its presence felt in the world. Certainly it is not a question of just accessibility now.

It takes more than mere use of one’s perception to understand the true worth of anything, Chitrakar's understanding of Nepal transcends distant beyond a layman's acumen.  He gives an insight on what actually gives impetus to growth. Why is that we find so many different examples of individual excellence but collectively we have been  a failure? He explains the importance of team work and the intricate layers in operation to bind the entire arrangement together. He suggests that the only way out of poverty is doing business, and Nepal is yet realize this fact as a whole.

Strengthening Nepal from within-

The title of the book keeps reinforcing itself throughout, a constant reminder to the reader that the only panacea for all evils in Nepal is taking self-initiative. This could be effectively done by making more people shareholders rather than just stakeholders. He keeps pressing the basic fact that it is incentives that matter and if created rightly Nepali people are more than willing to work hard. The author demonstrates clearly that giving everyone a level playing field is the least that needs to be done towards overall development.

A lot of focus has been given in identifying strengths of Nepali people. He suggests that the dynamic Sherpa women entrepreneurs of Khumbu need to be featured in all management schools of the world. Well, it is cliché to say that ‘be the change you want to see in the world’, but isn't self-help most effective? He has explained well how Nepalis perceive themselves today is exactly how they will end up finding themselves in the coming years. There is a very strong relation between the choices we make and the consequences that follow.


He keeps urging the readers to 'think out of the box' because there is a widespread tendency of playing it safe in Nepal. In this ‘google’ epoch, you will probably find any information on Nepal you are looking for but this book assuredly will give you a smart perspective on it.

Dire need to amend general psyche of the Nepalese people.

Being positive is the only way to ameliorate Nepal's almost sad plight. There is an acute need to start having faith in fellow Nepali people. Amidst a noisy crowd of pessimists, the author tries to voice out an optimistic message to the people of Nepal. For instance, there is so much apprehension regarding the upcoming CA elections, the author suggests that people need to be positive about it. The entire book is an answer to the question if 'there is a way out of this mess that we have all helped to create”. The reason why Chitrakar leaves a lot of open ended questions is because there are certain integral questions that only oneself should be left to answer.

Biography-

Anil Chitrakar is a Social Entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurs are ingenious people who are widely recognized as society's change agents. He received the Ashoka fellowship, the Rolex Award and the Silicon Valley Tech Award for his work. His clarity on the state of affairs is probably because he is constant traveler and is involved in frequent interactions with people from all walks of life. Just in a small span of time, ‘Take The Lead- Nepal’s Future Has begun’ has become widely acclaimed.

Trilateral Cooperation:Nepal-India-China

                                                                                            

Trilateral Cooperation: Nepal-India-China

Abstract-

(Picture)Courtesy to ekantipur.com

The sovereignty of a dependent country is always in jeopardy. On diplomatic front, Nepal has hardly achieved anything significant. Keeping aside its current viability, trilateral cooperation could prove to be instrumental for Nepal if it is able to secure it's own national interest. The main difficultly is in coherently understanding what Nepal's national interest is. There needs to be concrete set of goals that Nepal needs to aim at through the Trilateral Cooperation with India and China. Otherwise, like it usually is, Nepal will not have any say in international platforms, even when it entails its own affairs. Nepal has to be able to discern properly what interests do India and China have in Nepal also, so it becomes a reliable partner for the growing economies too. Further, Nepal's foreign policy needs to be guided by the dictum 'there is no free lunch' when it comes to dealing with other countries, as each one of them are simply trying to secure their own national interest.

It is not recommended for Nepal to enter into such a cooperation if Nepal’s national interest is not possible to upheld. As concerns of India and China are substantial, naturally they will be more careful to enter into such a cooperation. Therefore Nepal needs to be able to anticipate their motives skilfully to safeguard its concerns. Nepal’s Diplomatic apparatus needs to be upgraded so that when such an opportunity arises, diplomats are able to fulfill their duty in the most calculative way possible.

A general backdrop-

It is not an exaggeration to say that Nepal's well being depends on the state of relations it has with its neighbors. The recent state visits of the Chinese Counselor and India's Minister for External Affairs clearly exemplify this reality. Further corroboration is provided by Nepal's history in which many of the important happenings have been influenced by the neighbors. Hence, again the idea of trilateral cooperation between India, China and Nepal has come to stand as an important way out for Nepal out of years of economic despondency and political skirmishes. It needs to be clearly defined what the nature of this cooperation is to be and how to systematically go about it to get the best from it. 

There is no free lunch-

The simple reason why Nepal needs cooperation of it's neighbors is that its daily functioning to a large extent depends on Indian supply of goods, and "good will." This cooperation needs to be a tool that will favor Nepal's national interest on one hand and also make sure its sovereignty is safeguarded. Nepal needs to understand that 'there is no free lunch’ when it comes to dealing with other countries, especially with the neighboring ones.

It needs to be explicitly understood if trilateral cooperation among these countries is possible keeping in mind the distinct contour of political realities in all the three nations. As the sole impetus in international relations for nations is guided by national interests, it is quintessential to figure out where convergence lie for all the three nations. For instance, Nepal's stability is in the interest of both the countries. The problematic thing is that both the neighbors have well-defined national interests and they pursue with authority, but there seems to be ambiguity in even setting of Nepal's national interest. For trilateral cooperation to bear fruits for Nepal, it needs to be certain what it wants out of it and how it will achieve it. Moreover, unlike what usually happens there needs to consistency of goals in the foreign policy of Nepal.

Realizing trilateral cooperation through crafty diplomacy-

Nepal could learn from other examples of trilateral cooperation, like the one among the US, Western Europe and Japan (1 )and the other one among China, Japan and South Korea (2). These examples of trilateral cooperation can be instrumental in understanding the efficacy of such co-operations in general, and also teach how to avoid mistakes that have already been made. The fact that even bi-lateral relations between nations tend to be complicated, trilateral cooperation will require an even more serious framework before it comes into play.

For instance, “It is too early to work on trilateral cooperation,” said Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid on the 22nd of April which corroborates the fact that there is a need for establishing a systematic frame work before seeing trilateral cooperation in operation. India is willing for bilateral cooperation with both Nepal and China separately but as for now dismisses the possibilities of trilateral cooperation. Beijing seems to be having a positive outlook towards it. It seems India still has not been able to forgive China for its support to Pakistan during the 1962 Indochina war.

There also seems to be a lot of skepticism regarding Trilateral Cooperation in as well as outside Nepal(3). For India to support it wholeheartedly, it needs to be made clear what is in it for them. There are scholars in Nepal who are floating the idea that Nepal could act as a facilitator of trade between the two giant economies, but the problem is, this will only increase the cost of doing business for the trading neighbors. With already existing borders between them in Natulla in Sikkim, Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir, and in Arunanchal Pradesh the idea of being a trade facilitator for Nepal seems bleak. Involving Nepal will only mean a payment of extra tariffs and customs at the borders.

It is high time that Nepal take advantage of the fact that it lies in one of the most important geo-political positions in the world. But this also means that any action that it takes will have critical consequences as its neighbors have a lot at stake comparatively. Naturally, India and China will be shrewder while dealing, which will possibly affect Nepal's sovereignty in some ways. The two neighbors have set a target of $ 100 Billion trade by 2015(5), they are highly likely to be very cautious about every deal, and even more cautious when a third party is concerned. In the case of trilateral cooperation, the third party is a volatile and unpredictable Nepal.

It is not an easy task to exactly understand their interests. Though both are interested to see political stability in Nepal, it is not a easy task to exactly understand their intentions in Nepal. If it is possible to figure this out, It will be a easy task to deal with them. Nepal seems to be the odd one out in this trilateral cooperation. India and China are becoming significant nations in the international front. Both of them are growing exponentially. But the question is will Nepal be able to keep up with them in diplomatic front? Will Nepal be able to act shrewd and secure it's own stake? For things to favor Nepal, it needs to be well prepared with a credible framework.

Need for a precise framework-

It has been the most common rhetoric in the country that political stability is essential, but this fact cannot be underestimated. Like any rational actor the economic giants will look for certainty in the country in which they are getting engaged. It is natural that with the lack of a stable government, dialogues hardly yield anything beneficial. No matter which political party comes into power after the November elections, there needs to be a fixed set of agendas no matter how many different governments come and go.

With the help of Trilateral Cooperation, investments needs to be attracted to Nepal. Nepal has a comparative advantage in energy and a huge population of cheap labor relative to India and China. If conducive environment can be created for investment, such as flexible investment policies and establishment of rule of law, investment will surely give out good returns. Trilateral cooperation can be used to as a medium to meet more stake holders in all the three countries, especially the private sector as they are the one who are usually interested to invest in foreign lands.

Recommendations-

For Trilateral Cooperation to work properly there needs to be an increase in dialogues among the three countries so that it becomes clear what is to be expected from each other. Nepali political parties need to start speaking the same language while dealing with Indian or Chinese diplomats. The diplomats need to be made more reliable as they are the leading mediators representing a country. Ministry of Foreign Affairs could begin to prioritize trilateral cooperation so that when the opportunity arises diplomats will not be caught off guard.

With enormous economic transaction between the neighboring giants, it is plausible to think there are certain things that Nepal is kept unaware of; as many international norms are, resulting out of tacit agreement between powerful countries. As these nations have a lot at stake compared to Nepal, there may be a consensus between them on certain things which Nepal is not readily informed about. Nepal needs to be clever and understand in what ways these nations could dialogue and try to discern it.

Historically Nepal was a facilitator of trade for India and Tibet. If Nepal is to successfully bridge the gap between India and China, its role needs to be clearly defined. It seems everyone knows where the problem lies but there hardly seems to exist any strategic plan to work towards successful trilateral cooperation.

Human Rights in Nepal: caste centered.

The current Universal standards of human rights would have been inconceivable during the 20th century. Human rights have evolved over the years out of customs, traditions, precedents, mores and folks all over the world.

‘Rights’ in general are manifestation of years of accumulated experiences. In the sense, it has not come into existence all of a sudden. This is why different regions of the world value different kinds of rights. It is the same for Nepal as well.

Human rights in Nepal have been majorly derived from the theocratic establishment. This usually led to an appointment of a King who supposedly was believed to be the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu himself. Hinduism has been the major source for establishment of all kinds of rights in this entire region. The stratification brought about by the ‘caste system’ had a critical role in determining how people were supposed to behave with each other. This division was created on the basis of various occupations. 

Ancient literature of ‘Shruti’ and ‘Smriti’ has influenced the common tradition. Distinction based on caste, sex, and ethnicity has been customary. In this way, human rights have had double standards in the Nepalese context.

Different dynasties brought a whole lot of variations in the governing law. Belief in certain texts and ideas has had an important role in the determination of peoples’ actions.

The Kirat era-

People followed each and every line of the ‘Mundhum’ diligently. Polygamy was sanctioned for men and inter-caste marriages were also allowed. Punishments were also derived from it. Kirati women had more freedom than Hindu women. Disputes were settled in the people’s court. Even the King was governed by the supreme law.   

The Licchavi era-

They believed in the ‘Dharma Shastras’, ‘Mahabharata’ and the ‘Puran’. The Sati system was widespread but not compulsory. There was a very elaborate system of punishment based on the ‘Manusmriti’. Slavery was a natural thing.

The Malla era-

‘Dharmashastras’ were the main source for deriving general norms.  As the king was considered the protector of religion, he was considered as ‘Dharma-Raj’. Jaya Sthithi Malla is considered as the main architect of law and justice system of this era. The Kings’ main duty was to make sure that all the castes worked in accordance of their entitlement. Stratification was also brought inside the Newar caste. If a woman married a man of a lower cast, she would automatically inhibit the low caste of the man.   


The Shah era-

No significant reforms were taken for lower castes, women, backward classes. Bhramins, Jogis, women would not be sentenced to death.  P.M Janga Bahadur Rana was inspired by the law system of France and England and also from Napoleon. He did nothing to reform the caste system and its rules. During this period the Rana family had the real power. King Tribhuwan Sati abolished the Sati system in 1977BS and the slave system in 1981BS. 
For the first time Human Rights were included in the constitution of 2004 BS in which individual freedom, freedom of press, freedom of association and religious freedom were included. It was also recognized that with enjoying various rights citizens were also responsible to perform certain duties.

From 2007-2047 B.S

Within these four decades a lot of changes took place in development of rights and freedom, though with certain restrictions. But these rights were reserved only for certain sections of people. Certain rights were granted by the temporary constitution such as right to property, rights to establish business, right to travel, right to settle down anywhere across the country. It also forbade one from taking away someone else’s’ life and rights. Provisions were made for establishment of a Supreme Court. In 2012 B.S. the word ‘Citizenship’ was first introduced in the country. There citizens were entitled ‘right to life’. In 2015 B.S. a constitution was introduced with bore influences from western constitutions. 

King Mahendra has been credited for introducing laws that were made applicable for everyone and not just the privileged class. Especially this broke the rigid caste system, which implied everyone is same in the eyes of the law. As customarily rulers were allowed to punish offender mercilessly by themselves, now this was prohibited. Punishment had to be sanctioned by law. 

King Birendra allowed a referendum to take place in 2036 B.S. which gave the people the right to choose if they wanted reforms in the Panchayat system or wanted to opt for multi-party system. This referendum is considered as an epitome of freedom given to the people. 

Currently Nepal is in a critical transition phase. The citizens of this isolated mountainous nation are becoming aware of the implications of living in a fully functional democratic nation. Though the constitution has not yet materialized we have already embarked on a venture that has sowed progressive elements for more rights and freedoms for every Nepali citizen.

Should there be a ceiling on freedom of expression?

Expression in all form is a manifestation of the subtle cognitive endeavors that humans carry out. Considering the fact that these outwardly expressions results in writings, speaking, and various gestures, they affect other people as well. Hence, one person’s freedom has the potential to trespass on another’s. 

Though freedom is an abstract idea, it does manifest when it comes to expressing it. Postmodernism takes the relativistic position that there is no absolute truth or objective reality, hence, through this lens a person in this epoch is sanctioned to express without any self-censorship as practiced almost completely in some western countries.

When it comes to putting a ceiling on freedom to express oneself, certain criterion can be applied. For instance, the relevance of the subject being discussed can be examined. Obscure expressions can be eliminated.

Absolute freedom of expression can result problematic. For example, if one publishes a book on completely justifying patriarchal practices, making use of its unrestrained freedom to express, this will spark unrest due to its complete inconsiderate nature. Expressing oneself is the most natural thing for a human being but the consequences of this using this power needs to be properly understood before using them for any purpose.