It's neither quota nor his ethnicity that made Sundar Pichai the CEO of Google; it's his education and knowledge. The Gurkhas, on the other hand, have risked their lives fighting many wars around the world. They were neither fighting for their country nor against their enemy. They fought because they lacked education and hence the opportunity in their own soil. Plenty of Nepalis are involved in life-threatening jobs in Middle East, the prime reason being lack of education.We are at a junction of development and economic progress but the talking point has become reservation, quota, confirmed participation, ethnic representation and state lines. Does the quota or reservation empower its nationals or does competency do it? Do state lines, ethnicity or identity empower people or do education and knowledge do?
The fight for people's rights continues even after 10 years of abolition of monarchy, two Constituent Assemblies, and five proletariat prime ministers. Federalism has come at the cost of pluralism. Citizen's rights are violated when democratic principles are not practiced, when law enforcement is frequently criticized, when government creates ministries to be in power, when ministers' arrogance and mistakes go unpunished, when the taxpayer money is spent on someone's healthcare and when the black market is no longer black.
The civil society doesn't care when an ordinary officer deposits millions of rupees within an hour to get a bail, when people shamefully get unnecessary portfolios in the cabinet, when the proletariat leaders live lavish lifestyles, and when the agitating party is also a part of the government. Lack of awareness has given advantage to incapable leaders. There is no long term vision in national politics; it's all about being in power.
The failed ideologues, who keep changing positions, are apparently heroes. In the past 70 years we were unable to educate people, to make them competent, and to create awareness about what are people's' rights and what are not. A decade-long conflict destroyed virtually all education infrastructures in remote areas. Thousands of children were forced out of schools, and millions left the country. Lack of education and knowledge played a vital role in fuelling the conflict.
The fight for rights is ultimately an economic issue. Employment opportunities can be generated through knowledge and education. It is unpleasant to write but the current government lacks educated experts to deal with their Indian counterparts at a political level. It's unfortunate that inclusiveness weighted more than expertise and knowledge in cabinet formation.
Why have there been more talks in Lazimpat than in Singhadurbar about the blockade? Citizens are never informed about the problems and why Lazimpat was involved so heavily. Don't we have the right to know? One can blame agitating groups or the southern neighbor for the blockade, but the real blame is our lack of education. In absence of experts, opportunistic politicians make decisions to suit themselves.
There are many examples of leaders failing to protect their citizens, to maintain law and order which in turn invited conflict. Rwanda, Nigeria, Sudan and Afghanistan are a few examples. Revolution doesn't mean bloodshed. It's the creation of a tolerant society, free of corruption, and with equal opportunity, and of course respectable governance. This is not possible without educating people, without making them competent; street protests don't help. The fight for the rights is eventually a fight for employment.
Our GDP per capita (PPP based) is less than half of India's and around one fifth of China's. The gap is widening. Our northern neighbor is doubling her economy by 2020; experts say that the Chinese economy will be the largest in the world by 2020. The southern economy is growing equally well; it is expected to be the third largest by then. This offers great prospect for Nepal.
The demand for skillful manpower is increasing. Studies finds by 2029 that there will be far less manpower available than the global economy needs. Most of these jobs will be in our two neighbors. Improving our education and making our youths competent for local as well as global markets should be a target for a small economy like ours. Selling labor to Middle East is not wise when giant economies are looking for knowledgeable professionals in our backyard. It's worth noting the history of how and why the famous Indian Institutes of Technology were established when there was plenty of trouble in India. It's also worth noting that when American president Kennedy announced the Apollo (moon) mission, their country was in a war.
Our markets now are no longer within our geographic boundaries. The state lines of Jhapa and Morang make no difference if we are competent to offer what the global market needs. While world leaders are making aggressive decisions to boost their economy, a failed ideologue happens to be the most qualified person in our cabinet. When are we going to wake up?
There are two important things we can do. One is to increase the accessibility to higher education for common citizens and two to prepare workforce for the global market. The rationale for the inclusiveness is strongest in higher education. We have tried plenty of things in the past 70 years except giving education a chance.
The author is Associate Professor at Tennessee State University at Nashville
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