KATHMANDU, Feb 5: Popular singer Jyoti Magar has voiced sharp criticism of what she calls “hollow nationalism,” saying she has witnessed people draping themselves in Nepal’s national flag while simultaneously undermining the country’s dignity—even as they leave it behind.
In a Facebook post titled *“What I’ve Seen”* on Thursday, Magar expressed her views through poetic lines: “I have seen people flaunt Nepal’s flag in politics. I have seen people leaving the country wrapped in the flag. I have seen people renouncing citizenship under the flag. And I have seen the flag being used while cursing and destroying the nation.”
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She further wrote that she has seen people draped in the national flag calling for the country to be handed over to foreign powers.
Reflecting on the protests of September 8 and 9, Magar said the most painful sight for her was watching people set Nepal ablaze while wrapped in the national flag—and then posing for photographs in so-called “victory poses” to celebrate it.
“I have seen so many people wear the flag, but I see no nationalism—no real love for the country,” she wrote. “Masked nationalists drape themselves in the flag while hollowing out the nation, and I watch this helplessly. It has become my daily reality.”
