Why has the nation not been built?
A campaign has been launched by those “12 brothers” journalists belonging to George Soras' “Open Society” and “South Block”. The idea is to project that the nation has achieved remarkably after the 1990 people’s movement and basically after the 2006 uprising. The theme is to produce achievement data that the nation has made after the country adopted secularism, federalism and republicanism. Perhaps, those involved in this mission are enjoying enough foreign funds in conducting research works for creating confusion for the readers.
The reality is different. Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat is saying that the present economic recession would end very soon. He has accepted that the economy is not okay. FNCCI’s former president Bhawani Rana has expressed worry about the bleak economic scenario in the country. Rana has opined that small-sector businessmen, as well as, big industries have been facing difficult situations. They are unable to pay back interest against the bank loans. Entrepreneurs in the construction sector are in agitation demanding the release of their dues from the government. The tourism sector is also facing problems after the government introduced vat on air tickets. Air travellers have started to purchase air tickets from foreign countries. The government is imposing tax in every sector and insisting on collecting tax but denying giving relief to the sick industries, Rana presented the real picture of the Nepali economy. Every day, thousands of youths are going abroad for low-quality jobs. If they could have the opportunity to get good jobs within the country, they would not have travelled to foreign countries. Students are going abroad for higher education and job opportunity. The government is unable to develop a programme for stopping them. Instead, the government itself is brokering for manpower supply. From a country exporting goods to foreign countries, Nepal has become a nation exporting manpower. According to a report, in Rupandehi alone, 217 industries have been shut down losing employment opportunities for 12 thousand people. Are these examples of nation building or becoming a failed state?
As all organs have spoiled, we cannot expect immediate reforms to be possible from those present-day political leaders. The leaders want to perform as the foreign puppet rather than performing statesmanship. The case of media, academicians, bureaucracy and security organs are not different from the psyche of the political leaders. In this regard, some observers view that to bring the nation on the proper track, a dictator should get birth. This could be an extreme idea, however, we can conclude that the present political system will not help Nepal become a strong nation but lead us towards a field nation. Therefore, if we don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, we must return to the point from where the journey started.