Going into the Dashain break, first of all we would like to extend our season greetings to all our valued readers. We are aware that many of you may not be able to celebrate this Dashain with an open heart. These are difficult times. The Great Earthquake left 9,000 dead and 200,000 homeless; 500,000 homes were either damaged or completely destroyed. The vital task of reconstruction and resettlement of those displaced has not even properly started. The homeless, huddled under their makeshift tents, will have little to celebrate. But it is not just those directly affected by the recent earthquake who will be observing Dashain with a heavy heart. The three-week-long Indian economic blockade has spoiled the fun for others. Given the acute fuel shortage, many of those who wanted to return to their ancestral homes this Dashain have had to pay two to three times the normal transportation fares. There is shortage of vital daily necessities in the market. In any case, with the Tarai belt, home to half the population, brought to a standstill, it is hard to summon the enthusiasm to celebrate.But the significance of Dashain is not limited to eating meat, drinking, playing cards or any number of other activities normally associated with the biggest festival of Nepalis. Dashain is also a time for the whole family to come together. As the country started its journey of economic liberalization in the early 1990s, lucrative jobs started to be concentrated in select urban hubs, or outside the country. This set in motion perhaps the biggest economic migration of people in the history of unified Nepal. The situation in far-flung villages—both up in the hills and mountains and down in the Tarai, the traditional bread basket of Nepal—is bleak. Most fields lie fallow in the absence of young people to till them. In most rural houses these days there are only the elderly, children and women, all able-bodied men having long left for Kathmandu, India or the Gulf. Dashain is the time for these families, divided by circumstances, to get back together. This is why the Indian economic blockade is so cruel, as it has denied hundreds of thousands of Nepalis a cherished chance to connect with their loved ones.
So we urge our political leadership to use the Dashain break to try to take the protesting parties in Madhesh into confidence and to find a solution to the crippling economic blockade at the earliest. Hot on the heels of Dashain there is Tihar, which will be quickly followed by Chhath. Every effort must be made to sort things out before Tihar so that people from every part of the country can welcome the festival of lights with joy in their heart. In the meanwhile, the government should continue to prioritize long-route public vehicles in the distribution of fuel so that people can get to their homes (and back) without many hassles. Even as dark clouds hover in the skies of Nepal, in this season of the victory of good over evil, we would like to believe there is a silver lining somewhere out there.
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