We have let ourselves down in more ways than one. We have stopped being a nation. We have forgotten what it means to be Nepalis. We have stopped being true to ourselves and we have stopped believing in ourselves and fellow Nepalis. Now, we are a country which is looking for an identity, forgetting that we already have a world-renowned identity. We are a nation that is begging others to come help us, whereas the strength to carry ourselves forward can be found right here, right in our soil and deep inside each and every one of us.
Let us, for instance, consider what we can do against corruption in Nepal. The country is now one of the most corrupt in the world. The recent Transparency International report puts Nepal down in 154th position, with an index score of 2.2. The worst you can score is 1.0. North Korea and Somalia qualify for this dubious honor. While the former is a communist dictatorship, the latter is an ethic war-ridden country. Technically, Nepal is neither. We are a democratic republic, and no longer embroiled in a war.
There is corruption almost everywhere—from governmental to private offices; from educational to health institutions. From the highest political leadership to the worker at grassroots. We thrive on corruption and without it, we appear useless, spineless and at best, lost. We Nepalis have come to truly believe that if we cannot beat corruption, we should join the bandwagon. Who wants to fight a lost battle? We try to convince ourselves that just a handful of dedicated souls cannot make any changes in this country—this is a lost cause.
It is almost unbelievable that our national highway gets blocked by mobs of opportunists. An accident happens, road is blocked. A person is hit and killed by a passing truck, road is blocked. There is a gang fight in a village, road is blocked. There are politically motivated killings, and again, roads are closed.
Very recently, a political cadre of a large party of Nepal, serving time for murder, got killed in a brawl, apparently at the hands of members of the same party, and roads got blocked once again. In this case, the mother party, rather whimsically, called for immediate Nepal bandh or complete shutdown of the whole country. There were countless incidents of destruction of private and organizational property during the bandh.
How reckless and irresponsible is this? How can a political party put its own interests before the interests of the nation? Interestingly the same party has also signed an agreement to not hold such bandhs during Visit Nepal Year 2011. There is no doubt that the party will not pay the owners of those properties for all the damage their cadres caused. This bandh culture is not limited to just one party either—most of Nepal’s major political parties have carried out similar destructive activities at one time or the other. So much for leading by example—and yet, they all want to lead the next government!
It’s time to start doing something about corruption rather than merely complaining about it.
Clearly, the time has now come for us, the citizens of this country, to become more responsible and truer to ourselves. Why should we continue to suffer for vested interests of a few? We need to stand up, and fight for our rights. We appear to have so far only helped corrupt politicians hold us ransom for their political gains. It is now time to break the shackles— we need to wake up from our slumber and hold each and every corrupt individual occupying government office responsible for everything they do. It is time to make the corrupt public; time to punish them for what they have not done for the country.
It is also time for our international community of well-wishers both inside and outside the country to help our ongoing fight against injustice and corruption. Whether you are bilateral or multilateral organizations, or embassies representing our friends around the world or here on individual mission to help our country, you need to assist this intellectual war we are fighting. The recent initiatives taken by few countries to scrutinize strike enforcers when they apply for visas is praiseworthy. This may control the ringleaders but not the main players and decision makers who are usually much higher up in the chain.
The international community needs to identify those individuals and groups by working closely with civil society organizations working against corruption, as well as responsible governmental agencies and apply pressure on those. We are not suggesting that we sit back and wait for help—rather, we are requesting support for our ongoing mission against corruption and injustice.
Corruption is the source of most of the problems hounding Nepal. If we nip it at the bud, we can ensure that development works are carried out more efficiently. Right now, corruption at the political level is the biggest hurdle to the country’s development. There are far-reaching implications of corrupt government machinery, causing much hardship to the citizens of Nepal. It is only a matter of time until we will once again have to come to the streets to take back our right to live in a corruption-free country. We may be quiet now, but not for long.
The author is associated with Campaign Against Corruption, a pressure group fighting corruption in Nepal
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