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I used to focus on tech as a business, but I realized there is a higher calling. It is why I shifted to directing the Dharma Farm, an institution that seeks to preserve culture through education in linguistics, history, and environment. Nepal is blessed with an extraordinary array of cultures, cultures exquisitely worthy of saving. Yet, so many of its inhabitants want to leave.

Commonly referred to as “brain drain,” the concept denotes the departure of a society’s highest educated or most skillful members to other places in search of opportunity. For Nepal, it is a critical problem. In 2022, the government issued certificates allowing as many as 165,000 students to go abroad for education. That represented a rough doubling of the number the year before. Added to that were somewhere around 800,000 Nepalis people who left for employment. These numbers continue to rise year-on-year. According to The Kathmandu Post, “only a handful” of students return upon graduating from foreign universities.

This indicates a core part of the problem. Having spent a great deal of time in Nepal among students, a common theme emerged, one not exclusive to Nepali youth, but especially troublesome nonetheless. Many authors and policy analysts have proposed a number of strategies to mitigate the brain drain problem, most of which have merit and demand serious consideration and implementation. They have suggested ideas such as improving the education system, focusing on economic innovation, and promoting good governance. One resolution strategy, however, has received relatively scant attention. It is this point that I hear youth ignore more than any other, but it is the single most effective answer to the problem.  

In the American business world, we often employ the phrase “pass the buck.” The phrase connotes the shifting of blame for a problem or the responsibility to solve it. After hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations with Nepali youth, passing the buck is the tacit response for how to improve the situation in Nepal. For them, the issues that drive them from their homeland belong to someone else to solve. Heading overseas represents an easier solution to enhancing their own circumstances than tackling the underlying causes for why they leave in the first place.

To justify this reasoning, they will point to obstacles that appear beyond their individual ability to surmount. Indeed, systemic problems do exceed the capabilities of nearly all individuals to fix them. Ignoring them, however, does nothing to diminish any specific obstacle, let alone a system-wide deficiency. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” neither was it built by any one man or woman. So it goes for Nepal.

Over my career, I taught problem-solving strategies in a wide variety of fields. Firefighting, policing, technology, and translation all raise serious challenges that can be quite daunting at first glance. My method always began with reductionism. Any task, no matter its complexity, is eminently less burdensome if broken into its component parts. Whether the duty at hand involves solving a computational bug in a piece of software or battling a forest fire, compartmentalizing the obligations to fulfill, and then completing them one-by-one guarantees a far higher chance of success at resolving the overall dilemma than attempting to undertake the entire thing at once.

There is no question that turning Nepal into a bastion of opportunity will be hard. Leaving the litany of matters in need of attention to someone else is far easier than staying behind and working to address them. Facing the challenge will require numerous sacrifices and an abundance of energy and creativity. But, consider this. If the youth does not do it, who will? They cannot expect their parents, the government, or some nebulous “other” to manage things for them. Despite the good intentions any of them may have, they are simply unequipped to go it alone.

If the youth insist on leaving, then little will change. Nepalese remaining behind will continue to struggle to eke out a living in increasingly empty cities and villages. The beautiful plains of the Tarai and the majestic mountains of the Himalayas will lose the cultures that supplement their magnificence, opening the door for exploitation by outsiders who recognize only their materialistic value. Meanwhile, Nepali youth will move to new lands in pursuit of capitalistic opportunity. In the places in which they settle, however, they will never truly feel at home. At best, their cultural uniqueness will simply blend with countless others, diluting into an austere version of its once splendid self. At worst, it will serve as a constant reminder of its foreignness in this new land they now blandly call “home.” And all the while, the very home they left will slowly cease to exist as they knew it.

I am not writing these words to criticize anyone. Rather, I come from a country whose cultural landscape consists of a vast mix of them, but with little identity of its own. Having been immersed in both mine and Nepal’s, I am unafraid to state that allowing Nepal’s cultural liveliness to degrade into a mere shell of itself would be a tragedy of epic scale. Moreover, once such a catastrophic result is reached, there is no going back. Frittering away such a jewel out of fear of or indifference toward facing problems will summon a specter of regret that will haunt innumerable generations to come.

For the young folks reading this: what I have described is not the inevitable future of Nepal, if you do not want it to be. If that is indeed the case, then the brain drain needs to be plugged. The brilliance I have observed among so many of you needs to be turned inward, to focus on conquering challenges, one small step at a time. It won’t be easy. But your family, children, and country will forever thank you for it. The answers lie within.

The movie ‘Gaun Ayeko Bato’ brought back a flurry of past memories. I remembered the song “Gaun Gaun Bata Utha, Basti Basti Bata Utha…” a revolutionary song sung by Jhapalis during the 1970s when they were fighting against the monarchy. Today we are done with monarchy but our Gaun (villages) are getting empty with no one to sing the song “Gaun Gaun Bata Utha…”!

The movie also reminded me of ‘Shahid Marg (91 km)’, which was built by the Maoists during the People’s War (PW)when I was working there. When I became Minister for Physical Planning and Works (2007) after the PW, I allotted a budget for that road. In the movie, I had seen how building a motorable road had affected the Rai culture and economy adversely. I worry if the Shahid Marg (metaled now) has adversely affected the Magars’ way of life?

Being a Janjati architect, I am aware how careless development can jeopardize indigenous way of life affecting their ‘Gaas Bas Kapas’. I am not against development but it should be inclusive development. 

During PW, some efforts to integrate development with indigenous ways of life were practiced in Thawang village. Magars in Rolpa eat pork heavily, salad was introduced to digest and prevent constipation. Within their homes, they used to raise pigs by feeding human feces directly. The Maoists made the villagers separate pig breeding from their homes. Earlier, the villagers used to sell hemp, the Maoists helped them make rucksacks, which was much in demand during PW.

In the movie, one can see the local brewery being replaced by ‘coca cola culture’, the indigenous rooftop by synthetic building material and indigenous underwear being replaced by flashy synthetic lingerie.

I had seen how the Karnali region was left out of development during the monarchy era. On the positive side of development, I am also aware how that region, after the country became a republic and federal, is now flourishing as a separate province, getting basic amenities such as hospitals, university and road networks. It is also welcoming to see Marshi rice, Kodo (millet), honey and Sishnu from Karnali finding a market in Kathmandu’s malls. Seeing how fast indigenous ‘Gaas Bas Kapas’ was being replaced by consumerism, I am quite worried. What will happen to Karnali if the government does not protect their products?

Coincidentally, 2/3 days after seeing the movie, I got to see a photo exhibition by Rastriya Samachar Samiti on the occasion of the Republic Day displaying major infrastructure development works throughout the country. The first thing that struck me was the economic viability of these projects, secondly the participation and ownership of the projects by the local people and thirdly, whether these works will benefit the local people. If these factors were not considered while undertaking these works, I fear Indian goods will flood our villages. Remember, we share almost two-third of our border with India, a market that is nearly 80 times bigger than Nepal.

The photo exhibition reminded me of my 30-day trip from Chiwa Bhanjyang (Ilam district) adjoining Sikkim, India to Jhulaghat, Baitadi district bordering Uttaranchal, India from Jan 29 to Feb 27 in 2019, covering 28 districts along the Pushpalal Marg, a mid-hill highway. The salient feature of this road was that it covered all the Janjati and Khas communities of the country. 

The road is so strategic that, had the government given it first priority before the construction of Mahendra Rajmarg, migration from hills to Tarai would have been checked. After seeing the movie, I became acutely curious during my recent 10 day trip from Ilam to Kanchanpur (27 June-7 July 2024), covering 18 districts.

While traveling I saw almost no economic activities throughout the highway except seeing children waiting for their school buses to reach private schools in the mornings and evenings. It reminded me how remittance has accelerated the flow of population from villages to small towns, cities near highways. How have private English boarding schools flourished in these cities? I remembered in the movie, ‘Papa’ being called again and again by the little son and how proud the father felt hearing English words from his son!

Lastly, I must say, I was lucky to come back safely to Kathmandu, after 10 days of harrowing trip. I saw trails of destruction of roads, houses and paddy fields due to flooding and landslides killing people, animals and destroying goods while returning. At one point, we got stuck in the middle of the road when we found a huge landslide blocking the road ahead and flooding the road behind us. We had to backtrack on the road after the rain stopped. Once again I was reminded how in Thawang reforestation was taken up and check dams were built to save the village from surrounding rivers during PW.

Unfortunately, the same Maoist force, which has been in the government for the last nine years, has hardly been effective in implementing sustainable development works, instead they have been busy running after power. 

The author is a politician and architect. Views are personal

The student movement against the 30 percent quota in government jobs for descendants of the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war veterans not only led to the loss of power for Sheikh Hasina, who had stayed in power for 15 consecutive years, but also forced her to flee the country. In an interview with the media, her son suggested that Hasina is unlikely to return to active politics.

Hasina is currently in New Delhi. For Hasina and New Delhi, this is not a new atmosphere, though. During her exile, Hasina had once lived in the Indian capital for six years. The streets of India and the cordial relationship with Indian power centers are not new to her.

India and Bangladesh enjoy the best bilateral relationship in the region—not just between governments, but also between heads of state. It was not long ago that a dispute along nearly 4,000 kilometers of the border area was resolved on the basis of this relationship. Even now, Indian media outlets report that citizens from both countries in border areas freely cross over and indulge in farm work daily. It is, therefore, natural for India to be concerned about and interested in the security sensitivity with Bangladesh. India is reportedly quite sensitive about the political change in Bangladesh. It may not be as easy for India to cooperate with the new government as it was with Hasina’s leadership.

If news reports are anything to go by, India is apprehensive that China might dominate regional geopolitics. Bangladesh has been facing economic difficulties recently. In July, during Hasina’s visit to China, Bangladesh had requested $5bn in loan assistance from China. However, no agreement was reached after China expressed willingness to provide only $1bn. This issue reportedly ended after the foreign ministry of Bangladesh stated that an agreement for $5bn was anticipated, but China only expressed intent to give $1bn.

According to Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s former foreign secretary, who also served as Indian envoy to Bangladesh, the economic situation of Bangladesh has weakened since Covid-19. The unemployment rate in Bangladesh has increased and people are finding it difficult to make ends meet. All this had been creating an atmosphere of anger among the younger generation. Amidst this came the government decision of providing a 30 percent reservation in government jobs. The youngsters took to the streets against the decision. This took a violent turn.

Some argue that regional politics infiltrated the protest. This is because the Supreme Court had already annulled the quota system, and the student movement had subsided. But within a few days, the movement suddenly got stronger and protesters started demanding Hasina’s resignation.

Shringla argues that the protests took a violent turn after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and extremists like Jamaat-e-Islami, who were waiting for an opportunity, entered the student movement.

The Sonadia Island seaport near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is said to have strategic significance for India and China. Some argue that the interests of the two regional powerhouses were seen in the project to keep Bangladesh within their sphere of influence and ensure their regional dominance. 

Bangladesh’s relationship with India appears to be more political and strategic than economic, while with China, it is purely economic. Until 2023, China has invested more than $3bn in Bangladesh. China has helped Bangladesh build seven railway lines, 12 highways, 21 bridges and 31 power stations. However, international media outlets have been analyzing that Hasina’s China visit in July didn’t go as Bangladesh had hoped, from the economic perspective. But immediately after that, both India and Bangladesh had responded that Hasina’s state visit to India was quite successful. 

Both India and China have shown interest in the Teesta river project of Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hassan Mahmud had made it clear that priority would be given to India’s proposal.

The downfall of pro-India forces in Bangladesh is also seen as a weakness of the Indian government in regional politics. In a discussion on the Indian online media outlet Lallantop, participants argued that the power shift in Bangladesh has weakened India’s influence in the region. They argue that the world powers are aware of the ups and downs in the relationship between Nepal and India since 2015 with exit of Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the rise of Oli, President Muizzu’s stance in the Maldives and India’s withdrawal of military personnel, the end of the Rajapaksa era in Sri Lanka, the end of democratic rule in Myanmar followed by the rise of military rule and China’s silence, the dominance of the Taliban in Afghanistan and China’s support for the Taliban, the relationship between Pakistan and India and the equidistance with the US and Russia that India has been trying to maintain after the Ukraine war. But they may not do anything to immediately provoke India because of the lucrative regional market and the trust in the government led by Narendra Modi.

Discussions have started in India about Hasina’s ouster, particularly regarding the future bilateral relationship. Shashi Tharoor, a leader of the Indian Congress and a member of the Lok Sabha, says: India needs to be alert about possible refugee infiltration from Bangladesh. 

He adds that India will not stand on the side of an unstable and unfriendly neighbor and that it stands and will stand with the citizens of Bangladesh. But India must remain vigilant about India’s security issues, Tharoor says.

India not only has a large investment in Bangladesh but it also provides economic assistance. It knows bad relations could impact India’s investments worth billions of rupees in Bangladesh. Another issue is how China’s relation will be with the new government in Bangladesh. This is because China is the second largest partner of Bangladesh after India. Bangladesh will have to listen to China as much as Hasina listened to India because bilateral relationships are determined by economic activities these days.    

Bangladesh’s regional relations could be different once the new government is formed. This is because Hasina had banned the main opposition party from contesting in the last two elections. After Hasina’s ouster, Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered the release of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. If she leads the government, her policy might be different from Hasina’s. This is because India had remained silent when the western nations raised concerns about the legitimacy of the recent election and the decision to keep Zia in jail. This has created an anti-India atmosphere at the citizen level. At the same time, Bangladesh needs economic assistance. Analyses are also being made that Bangladesh will be forced to silently support that nation that announces economic assistance to it.

Zia became Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister in 1991 after her husband’s assassination. She is a fierce critic of Hasina. She became Prime Minister for the second time from 2001 to 2006. But in Jan 2007, when elections could not be held due to political violence, the military intervened in Bangladesh and formed an interim government. The interim government sent Khaleda Zia and her two sons to jail on corruption charges. Hasina adopted an even tougher policy toward Zia and her family.

When Zia’s party BNP was in power, India used to be apprehensive about security issues. But Hasina used to address India’s security concerns. It remains to be seen whether the new government will follow India’s security concerns according to the needs of the power blocs or emphasize continuity. It is necessary for not only Bangladesh but also other nations in the region to be aware because when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.

In over seven decades of the communist rule, new norms of Chinese society and policies have evolved. Founded in 1921, the Communist Party of China (CPC) in early days was influenced by Soviet models of ethnic policy, and thus emphasized the right to self-determination for minority groups. In a similar way to Nepali Maoists’ policy of attracting diverse ethnic groups to the ‘People’s War’, the CPC sought allies against the Kuomintang during the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949). 

After getting to power, the CPC created five autonomous regions Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, and Ningxia, granting the ethnic minorities a degree of self-governance. In addition, 29 autonomous prefectures were created, dedicated to different minorities. As the CPC’s grip became stable, especially during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), it began to promote Han Chinese cultural norms, sometimes suppressing ethnic minority languages, religions, and customs. 

With the rise of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, ethnic policies saw a shift. The CPC introduced more lenient policies, allowing the revival of ethnic cultures and traditions. Economic development programs targeted ethnic minority regions, aiming to reduce poverty and promote stability. 

If China, where over 91 percent of its population is Han, needs to address the ethnic issues to unite her 56 nationalities, a country like Nepal with 125 distinct ethnic groups and no one ethnic group as a majority, certainly needs to find common dreams to bind all of us together. 

In this context, I came across Xi Jinping’s speech “Heighten the Sense of National Identity and Improve the Party’s Work on Ethnic Affairs in the New Era”, included in his work ‘The Governance of China’ Volume IV.  

Xi emphasizes the Chinese approach to ethnic issues, strengthening law-based governance of ethnic affairs, and preventing and resolving major risks and hidden threats in ethnic affairs. He cites the policy of reform and opening up introduced in 1978, and reiterates the Chinese nation as one family and one single community and the shared identity brought forth by the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

Xi highlights national rejuvenation and common prosperity as common dreams. He proposes making it a major task for the new era to motivate all ethnic groups to build China into a modern socialist country. His recipe includes cultivating in all ethnic groups a growing sense of identity with the home country, the Chinese nation, and Chinese culture. He suggests upholding the equality of all ethnic groups.

In searching for a balance between ethnic autonomy and implementation of central policies, he emphasizes on supporting ethnic groups in their economic development and all-round improvement. In my opinion, this advice is transferable.

Xi upholds the management of the ethnic affairs in accordance with the law. Perhaps this can be a milestone in creating a society where all citizens are equal. On top of all these, Xi advocates safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and encouraging, through education and guidance, all ethnic groups to carry forward the patriotic tradition and consciously safeguard the unity of the country, national security and social stability.

He proposes improving ethnic works by balancing commonality and diversity and by accommodating ethnic and regional factors, with a view of increasing commonality. He says this is the only way to manage ethnic affairs properly and efficiently and deliver concrete results.

Xi rightly points to the need of properly understanding the relationship between commonality and diversity that exist among ethnic people, and calls for promoting commonalities while also accommodating differences. In line with Chanakya, Xi advises always putting the interests of the nation first, and says ethnic identity should be subordinate and subscribe to the sense of national identity. However, he also says while ensuring the overall interests of the Chinese nation, they must ensure the specific interests of each ethnic group. He considers both Han chauvinism and regional ethnic chauvinism detrimental to the building of the Chinese nation as one community.

He suggests “to properly understand the relationship between Chinese culture and cultures of individual ethnic groups. The fine cultures of the latter constitute an integral part of the former. Chinese culture is like the trunk of a tree, while individual ethnic cultures are branches and leaves; only when the roots are deep and the trunk is strong can the branches and leaves grow well.” In China’s case, by virtue of population, the Han culture is Chinese culture. However, in Nepal a vacuum is being created as the established common culture is being attacked as alien, foreign, chauvinist, dated, conservative, and divisive.

Xi says, reform and development should serve the goals of reinforcing the sense of national identity, safeguarding unity, opposing division, improving the wellbeing of the people, and gathering extensive support so as to make our nation a strong community. This view can be applicable in dealing with Nepali ethnic issues. Let’s strongly counter the divisive plots. 

China is pushing popularization of the standard spoken and written Chinese language, known as Putonghua or Mandarin, while at the same time protecting the spoken and written languages of all ethnic groups as well as their rights to study and use their own languages. Nepal should not overlook the role a standard Nepali language plays; we should give a top priority to fixing its hijje the spellings. Nepali hijje system has received intentional and unintentional blows, some in disguise of reforms, some as results of negligence, some as a mechanical copying from foreign languages.

Nepal needs to adopt special policies to support backward areas, based on local natural resources, development conditions, and comparative strengths. We need to focus on poverty alleviation in tandem with rural revitalization, to achieve more efficient and higher-quality development of agriculture and related industry, to build the countryside into a pleasant place to live and work, and to provide farmers with a prosperous and happy life.

The author is professor of pharmacy at Tribhuvan University