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.

In defense of global capitalism- Johan Norbeg: A summary-

Johan Norberg has made an audacious case that compels the readers to make a choice; a choice for either economic prosperity or orthodox inefficient ideologies. As the Chinese reformist leader Deng Xiaoping once said “It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice”; similarly the author voices out that it hardly matters what kind of system of governance is existent till it facilitates prosperity. The question of how to cater to “the greatest good of the greatest number” is answered persuasively. Along with being the most economically apt system capitalism creates a conducive environment for liberal values such as individual liberty and freedom to flourish. Johan Norberg has brought light to many of the misleading statistics of our times. In contrast to countries that liberalized their economies, the ones that imposed trade restrictions and chose to stay isolated were the most unsuccessful in diminishing poverty inequality. This book is a must read for both the pro/anti capitalists. Is it viable to believe that the world today would progress this far with the best ever technological advancements, advanced communication and transportation, vaccines for fatal diseases and a global society without the conducive space capitalism for progress? The answer is obvious. 

Certain indicators have been identified and deliberated upon to show why capitalism is comparatively the best mode of socio-economic organization.

The half truth- It is true that the rich are getting richer, but it would be unfair to disregard the fact that the poor are catching up too. As globalization penetrates deeper, citizens all the world are getting empowered with “freedom of choice”. People are free to ‘trial and error’ and hence, choose what is suitable for them-selves without the permission of the rulers. Of course, critiques will argue that not everything can be justified in term of economics. But the point is to adopt “market economy, not a market society”. Plain statistics show how these changes are taking place. As per the UNDP poverty has decreased more in the past 50 years than the last 500 years. Average life expectancy has increased highly. Some of the factors mentioned indicate development with the advent of democracy.

Hunger- Though population has increased tenfold; there has never been a case of famine in a democratic country. Economist Amartya Sen points out that even poor countries like India and Botswana have not seen cases of famine. There is no doubt that education brings prosperity. Economic stability creates a conducive environment for better education. There is no contradiction between democracy and capitalism. Usually the rulers are scared that the status quo will change. ‘Democratic peace theory’ in International puts forward the idea that democracies do not fight each other. International exchange makes countries friendly. Today, China being the world’s second largest economy is looked with much less distrust than couple of years ago.

Awareness has helped women’s oppression to fall in leaps and bounds. Social mobility has increased. It attacks status-quoist . There is link between prosperity and liberation of women. 

Astounding transformations- 

China- In the 1970’s Deng Xiaoping pointed out that collectivization was impending development. For the first after allowing private property, people began to have food surplus rather than famines. Free economic zones were established along the coastal cities. China has succeeded in bringing biggest and fastest poverty reduction in history. In 2013 they were the highest spending tourists all over the world. 

India initiated LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) in 1991.Between 1993-99 alone there was a decrease in poverty by 10 %. These schemes have succeeded in breaking the stratification created by the caste system. The ‘unprejudiced market’ is given the credit.

The question of reducing global inequality remains the important task in hand. Inequality decreased rapidly between countries during the 1070’s. HDI has increased in all countries but more in the poor countries.

A deliberate process for prosperity-

What one needs to understand is growth all over the world is a result of deliberate decisions taken by various countries. It is not a miracle. There is a reason why some countries have become so affluent and some have remained the same. The living standards, per capita income and the average life expectancy have increased on a whole. The only answer to poverty is growth. There is a ‘trickle down’ effect when overall growth is realized. In a dynamic market economy there is high social mobility. 

When standard of living increases for everyone, it hardly matters how well some groups are doing. G.W Sully found that ‘incomes were evenly distributed in countries with a liberal economy, open markets, and property rights. 

Property rights- 

It is not necessarily an ideology of the rich. It is a universally accepted fact that one’s economic positions improves with upgrading in production capabilities. In a liberal economy, any one with ideas is allowed to try his/her luck. Ownership rights protect the poor as they are more vulnerable to state regulations. Property rights provide an incentive for foresight and personal initiative. If government is allowed to regulate everything nepotism and corruption will proliferate. 

The East Asian Tigers-

If one needs to understand the impact of politics on development, one can juxtapose the growth of East Asian Tigers and the wretched economic conditions of some African nations. The East Asian Tigers have shown the other developing countries how it is possible to develop with the adoption of right political and economic reforms. These countries have allowed freedom of enterprise. Opening their economy attracted foreign investment and encouraged export oriented production. They engaged themselves in internationalization. 

The African economic impasse-   

Without any doubt the wretched condition of these countries are due to its domestic politics and institutions. The drive self-sufficiency via draconian tariffs, nationalization and detailed control of industries has taken a toll on their economy. Economist Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner have attempted to calculate what changes would have come if they brought East Asian policies of open market. 4.3 % annual growth between 1965-1990 could have materialized and also which could have increased the income by triple. Botswana and Ghana are doing exceptionally well.  

Free trade is fair trade-

Mutual benefit-

Trade is based on voluntary cooperation and exchange which is leads to mutual benefits. Tariffs and quotas stand as restrictions on citizen’s choice to choose. Individual skills used in the best possible way This way people are entitled to choose the best at the least possible price. Absolute comparative advantage is possible. The unfeasibility for opting for self-sufficiency is clearly demonstrated by African nations. The fallacy that there needs to be least imports as possible is widespread. Anyway the money earned from exports will need to be used to buy imports to increase the standard of living of the people. The main purpose of exporting is to get us import in return. ‘Trade is not a zero-sum game’, all participants benefit. Schemes to increase tariffs and quotas are just a way to manipulate people. When there are different rules for domestic and foreign businesses, injustices arises.

Free trade brings growth-

Free trade gives freedom to buy what one wants which provides an incentive to the producer to use resources and capital optimally. With healthy competition, inefficiency is kept in check. This brings new ideas and new techniques from all over the world. Isolation leads to stagnation. World output is 6 times what it was 50 years ago, and world trade is 16 times greater. It is necessary to understand that it is trade has facilitated the needs to billions of people today. As Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs points out based on examination of trade policies of 117 countries that there is direct relationship between growth and free trade. In many cases inequality has decreased with free trade. A convergence has emerged as developing countries are catching up with rich countries.

No end of work-

As productive capacity increases with technology there is a fear that unemployment will be predominant. Usually the reason for unemployment is inefficient politics rather than trade and market. There has been unprecedented creation of jobs all over the world. With employment in one sector saturating new avenues will be created for more jobs. The unlimited wants that humans have will always create new jobs. For example, with the advent of motor cars horse-drawn cabs almost got extinct.  

Most of the Western countries have sought for strict immigration policies, but this tends to become counter-productive at times. Countries have to incur huge sum of money for stricter immigration measures. Usually people in dire conditions attempt to immigrate and opt for dangerous methods just to escape. Globalization will not be a complete phenomenon unless people are allowed to move freely. Immigration to an extent can help ease a country’s problems, especially to maintain the ratio of working and retired population. Immigration also leads to higher consumption which leads to market growth. 

The development of developing countries-

Development results out of productive capacity rather than natural endowments of a country. The uneven distribution of wealth in the world is due to the uneven distribution of capitalism. Is it viable to argue against the fact that a trillion dollar was channelized into the poor countries between 1990- 2000? Staying isolated will prove to be fatal today.

During the 1960’s the drive for ‘self-sufficiency’ led governments to impose sky high tariff walls to protect the native industries. The economy became more and more publicized as the government attempted to direct man power, prices and production. Huge burden of debt and absence of foreign trade proved disastrous. 

Even when trade was believed to solve economic problems; the presence of enormous privileges and discrimination was the problem. When Chilean government replaced authoritarian economic policy with liberalization and free trade in 1975 real earnings doubled by 1995.  

On the trade route-

Today developing countries are demanding that the affluent market be open to their exports. Because of satellite communication and the internet, local inhabitants are hired for remote management of things like payroll, invoicing, customer services to developed countries. Now developing countries are also exporting finished products than just raw materials. 

Tariffs?

The worst thing that tariffs result in is it allows only certain sectors of a country to prosper. These sectors do not have to face competition, hence, they are never in the pressure to improve efficiency and reduce their price. It is a fatal fallacy to believe that the politicians know better than the market and investors. Tariff walls instead give permanent protection to inefficient corporations.

Capitalism has improved vaccines tremendously. With the improvement in economic capability the poor countries are becoming capable to produce medicines as per required by domestic diseases.

Free trade has loopholes that can be amended.

There are strings attached even in free trade such a strong protectionist measures. When developed countries impose regulations on labor conditions in developing countries, it becomes a choice to either to choose employment or no employment at all. No matter what the prevailing conditions, increase in trade seems to be the only way to increase the standard of living of the poor countries. It is a necessary evil for the developing countries to engage in trade with their prevailing bad conditions, otherwise their growth will remain stagnant. Around 250 million children are engaged in child labor, but if the west stop trading with developing countries based on this, their prospect of improvement will be shunned forever. The alternatives for these children are worse if they do not engage in export industries. In 1992 the American Congress prohibited imports from Bangladesh because the garments that were imported by Wal-Mart were produced by children. Thousands of children were fired out of job as a result. Consequently, children moved to more hazardous jobs. Trade weakens any kind of centralization. 

Big is beautiful only when monopoly is checked-

Corporations are looked with distrust because of their mammoth size and the influence. The possibility having a monopoly is a threat rather than their enormous size. Free trade exposes corporations to competition. As corporations run according to consumer demands, even the biggest companies survive on their whims. Free and efficient financial markets allow capital to new entrepreneurs with fresh ideas to compete with big corporations. Big mergers show how even the big corporations are vulnerable. Multinationals on an average pay up to 8 times more than the country’s average wage. Due to their size multinationals are able to finance research and long-term projects. OECD points out that 90 % of the profits are reinvested in the host country itself. The Economist has observed that corporate morality is often superior to that of the average government.

The environmental dilemma-

Anti-globalists point out that corporations settle in developing countries which have less environment regulations. But this thesis is a fallacy. The truth is that American and European investments go to countries with environment regulations similar to their own. Globalization has made possible the spread of environment friendly technology.  

The leadership collective-

People get paranoid looking at how the stock market functions. Critics point out how ‘hyper-inflation’ is problematic. But this very global freedom has enabled capital to move where it can yield the biggest returns. The developing countries receive quarter of the world’s combined investments in businesses, projects and land. In this way this ‘leaderless collective’ has been more than five times cleverer than the governments and development aid establishments of the affluent countries at channeling capital to the developing countries. International finance facilitates spreading of risks as one can invest in different places.

Regulate more?

Liberal economies with freer financial markets emerge from their crises more quickly as the Asian states recovered rapidly after the Asian Crisis in comparison to the Latin American countries who had strict regulations. Some have recommended the use of Tobin tax. This means each country would impose a low tax of 0.05-0.25 % on all currency exchange but there are too many complexities in imposing it. This will only discourage investors from investing.

Remedy for volatile market behavior-

A healthy economic policy is one way to check the unstable market behavior. It is true that liberalized economies are vulnerable to financial crisis; however, it is the absence of the necessary institutions that make things worse. A country needs to first have political stability, free trade, and domestic reforms before attempting to liberalize their financial markets. When a country accepts economic freedom, civil freedom automatically flourishes. Market economy often leads to democracy and democracy consolidates the market economy. Political pluralism is possible only through decentralized economy. There is a direct relationship between economic freedom and democratic rights. Democracy acclimatizes to change easily. 

 There is always a lesson to be learned from old economic blunders. In the same way developing countries can learn from the developed countries. For instance, the development that took 80-100 years for west only took 25 years for China. New information technology is now revolutionizing old economic activities all over the world. Though some people fear globalization is leading to a homogeneous world, people have the right to choose how they want to live. 

The onward march of freedom-

The idea of self-determination has inspired the globalized world. When one realizes that a certain right is present in another country, demanding for it comes out naturally. International laws have been supplementing local laws. The idea of human rights as a ‘Universal norm’ would not have been possible without globalization.   

A silent killer.

An urgency to redefine ‘security’ in a different light emerged after the end of the cold war. Individuals have become the focal point while discussing security concerns. The Copenhagen School categorized various other unconventional threats as security threats, including individual well being. I firmly believe that things have changed even more after the millennia. For me new security challenges pertaining to wellbeing of humans includes health issues (physical as well as mental), literacy rate, standard of living etc.

The following highlight various dimensions of challenges to human welfare that need to be looked into seriously.

Health issues-(data from the WTO database)

- In 2001, 1 out of 6 children were estimated to be underweight in the developing nations. This combined with a large population, means that most underweight children (56 million) live in South-central Asia. Though the trend is falling, the progress is too slow.

- Since its inception, 70 million people have been affected by AIDS and 35 million have died.

- It is surveyed that malaria occurs in 99 countries. Alone in 2010, 150,000 people died of malaria.

- 783 million people still do not have access to clean drinking water.

Looking at the alarming death rates due to various diseases, it seems more viable to look at them as major security concerns than any other issues. It is almost shocking looking at the increasing rate of heart diseases, diabetes, high-blood pressure and other kinds of diseases which have skyrocketed today.

Other security concerns-

• The fact that literacy determines a persons’ place in the modern world, the people who are deprived of it inevitably will create far reaching problems. Crime, social immobility, hatred and other such things are direct causes of the inequality caused by the system of hierarchy which to a large extent is determined by lack of good education. 

• Approximately 1.24 million deaths occurred on the world’s roads in 2010. It would be wise for nation states to educate people more on traffic issues.

• Highly urbanized life has created even more problems. Anxiety and depression is so rampant today that people do not even realize that they are going through such conditions. A lot of people have committed suicide because of the failure to cope with the pressure of modern life. 

• How mental conditions of individuals affect the entire society is evident from recent shootouts in the United States. General public have been targeted in which a lot of people have lost their lives.

• The modern economy has been structured in such a way that the ‘economic security’ is bound to be encroached. There are situations in which even a person’s best effort to earn a living does not even come close to what is required for a modest living.

• Individuals have been affected by human rights issues too. Domestic violence, child abuse, human smuggling, prostitution and other such practices are not even recognized as violation of human well-being in some cases.

Because of the fact that we live in an extremely dynamic world, security concerns keep on changing. Now that the methods of communication and transportation around the world have changed, new security challenges are bound to arise in every avenue.

Legalizing prostitution in Nepal?

An ambivalent issue. 

Prostitution is a tacitly sanctioned institution which flourishes in any society where men are shamelessly desperate and the women completely helpless. Can we imagine men walking down the streets of Thamel trying to attract female clients? It would not hurt anyone for a change!

Considering the downright unethical nature of this trade, it should be prohibited. Especially in a country like Nepal where bridging the gender imbalance has come to a stand as the most important determinant in the overall growth of the country.

But if we cannot efface this heinous flesh trade and the safety of the women involved are concerned, legalizing prostitution would be a necessary evil. At least legalizing it will encourage provisions which will regulate the women’s health conditions, their pay and protection from violent men if necessary.

It is quintessential to separate moral issues from the reality of prostitution if legislation is to formulate such a law. Can prostitution be treated with complete indifference so as to consider it as a trade for women to earn a decent living? Are people ready to let go of the stigma attached with this profession? If yes, then legalizing it is the most pragmatic step that the government can take.

Such a sensitive matter will only raise more questions, hence, this issue needs to openly discussed.

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.

India Unbound- Gurucharan Das- A review.

India unbound- Gurucharan Das.

                      : A review and possible lessons for Nepal.

The faculty of perception enables individuals to reflect upon the affairs of the world. India unbound is a personal outlook at the transformation of a poverty stricken country to one of the greatest international stories of the 21^st century. Amartya Sen succinctly puts it, “India unbound is a great mixture of memoir, economic analysis, social investigation, political scrutiny and managerial outlook being thrown into the understanding of India.”

It is a narration on India’s struggle away from the clutches of a mammoth bureaucratic state to a free ‘liberated’ economy. It seeks to answer how a country that symbolized as an epitome of inefficiency could pose itself as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. The reforms of 1991 created a conducive environment for common Indian people to carve their own destiny in contrast to a collectively organized “functioning” state. India unbound clearly portrays the transition of this former colony to being a major economy of the 21^st century. The book is a Story of this “economic revolution”.

Das traces the roots of evil in the Indian society that has impeded capitalism to flourish.  Das portrays how money making endeavors are looked down upon in India. It is culture that has always discouraged entrepreneurship in India. Some intellectuals even call the current liberalization as ‘baniaization’ of Indian society. One major hindrance for prosperity is lack of co-operation, the stratification of the Indian society into various castes have beyond a doubt created this problem. The relief is that market does not discriminate against caste, creed, class, religion or color; hence, it seems to be the only cure out of this system of injustice. There is a dire need for swift acceleration of reforms that were introduced in 1991.

How prosperity of a nation is a direct consequence of different policies in place is clearly depicted in the book. This can be seen through the contrast between highly centralized and regulated India before and after the liberalization of 1991.Das bluntly held Nehruvian socialism as responsible for India’s failure to develop economically in contrast to some East Asian nations which opted to open up their economies. The book proves how and why nationalization impedes bright entrepreneurs from making the best for themselves and eventually for the entire economy. The ‘License Raj’ made things even worse and it only encouraged corruption and inefficiency in the working of the state.  

The book finally undermines the fallacy of India’s quest for self-sufficiency and how it was the direct cause for economic stagnation.  Economy is the underlying base upon which all the social institutions place themselves. With the advent of liberalization the entire landscape of the India has changed. In contrast to centralized governance, the emergence of the ‘new middle class’ has had a very good impact on the Indian politics via. Dissemination of information.

The Vedic adage ‘knowledge is wealth’ clearly sums up India’s role in the coming century. As globalization has entered into a new phase, knowledge economy is bound to be the new currency of the world as compared to industry based economy. Hence, India is bound to be one of the world leaders in the ongoing information centered world.

It is the entrepreneurs that have changed the face of India today. India has come into limelight as a country of genius entrepreneurs. Das talks about ‘the lost generation’ which the Indian political system curbed for such a long time.

India unbound clearly illustrates how even developing nations can follow suit from the Indian example if they want to realize prosperity. The book finally resolves the debate of free economy and state controlled economy, and how harmful the latter is on the nations’ economy.

 Lessons for Nepal

It is quintessential for Nepalese political parties to keep aside ideological differences and strive for an efficient economic system. It is necessary to “unleash Nepal” if it is to ever realize prosperity. In terms of economics, Nepal could learn from the Indian mistakes and bring efficient economic reforms in the country.  

The book will surely make the reader think if it is viable for Nepal to stay isolated in today’s economically integrated world. Nepal needs to capitalize on the very fact that it lies in one of the world’s most crucial geographical areas. Letting Indian and Chinese market penetrate would help it realize unimaginable profits. Of course, this will require intensive research to find out what works best for Nepal.

It needs to be understood that the current economic system is strangling prosperity and hindering people to earn a living for themselves. Nepal needs to focus on what shall facilitate prosperity. India unbound highlights the success stories of Indian entrepreneurs and how positively it has impacted India as a whole. If engines of growth lie in entrepreneurship, they ought to be looked from a different perspective.  Moreover it needs to be understood that there is a direct relationship between economic freedom and individual liberties.

It is high time for Nepal to start considering that it is its economic state that will determine its overall well being in the long run.