The problems facing Nepal today are as diverse as its demography or ecology. Nepal in the regional and global scenario has the self-inflicted image of a poverty-stricken country, unable to pursue domestic reforms independently. Further, Nepal does not even exist in the global economic or trading map. As a problem-laden country for centuries, it has been a keen succor-receiving nation. And with what it receives as aid, it has just about survived, but been unable to take any leap forward.
There are two major problems that have not allowed us to come out of this abyss for a long time. The first problem primarily lies within our societies that are fragmented across the country. The second lies in how we have positioned ourselves on the international and regional stage. These two problems have primarily arisen because of our inability to mobilize the resources that exist in our country. The question is not whether we can solve these problems but rather, how well we employ our resources to solve these problems. In addition, it is also about how seriously we are aiming at producing ambitious go-getters. The problems Nepal is trapped in are to a large extent solvable from within.
When I say ‘resources’, I refer to our human resources––primarily the students. Although the country spends significant amounts on education, there has been hardly any remarkable input from the products of such investment. Given our limited capacity, our state spends considerably on education, but at the end of the day, western universities absorb all bright minds. For instance, after school, most of the talented students opt for pure science courses, as has been the trend. However, these students at the top of the pyramid who choose to study science after high school do not find any promising prospects here and hence, either change their stream or leave for a better destination.
Hence, the government should encourage bright and diligent students to pursue social science courses so that we also have promising young minds studying our social problems and working on solutions. When students take up courses like sociology, anthropology, politics, economics and so on, they engage in ground level research and bring out the best understanding of complex social challenges. When such complexities and problems are rightly understood and vividly presented, it is easy to propound policies in accordance.
Meanwhile, there must always be positive and regular communication between young researchers and policy makers. This will eventually lead to the formulation of right policies. In contrast, the failure to engage in social science research and allow researchers to contribute to policy-making often leads to flawed strategizing because policies set without adequate research lack deep understanding of social complexities and hence, bring no remarkable impact.
At the same time, while young and bright minds engage in social sciences, there needs to be some complementing body at the center willing to ponder over the social challenges and accept the solutions recommended by those researchers. We need to have political leaders who have a thorough understanding of politics as well as the many social intricacies, who can be part of such a body. It is crucial to understand what politics is before we practice it. Therefore, for that to happen, we again need some young minds dabbling with politics, a field of social science.
While politics in Nepal is a much cursed profession, it is primarily because the political stage in Nepal is mostly thronged by those with little vision and capabilities. At the end of the day, these very inept people who enter politics (after the stage has been left vacant by the truly competent) become leaders while the capable become the subject of their actions. So it might be true when we say politics is a dirty game, but the point is to change it by encouraging dynamic and young minds to take up the job.
As young minds slowly enter the field of social sciences, there is a strong possibility that this will fill the vacuum we have in politics. However, while this may solve some of the problems we face domestically, it is equally imperative to think about our regional and global image. Here, we need to focus on diplomacy. Nepal being a buffer state between emerging economic giants and having good relations with them is already a benefit. It is up to us to use the services of diplomats who are dexterous and competent.
Nepal faces a great ‘diplomatic deprivation’. Here again, we need some energetic youth opting for diplomacy as their carrier. Once honed to take up the challenging yet beneficial job, the wise and capable young Nepali diplomats will perhaps be able to reap the benefits of our geo-politically strategic location. While Nepal maintains a policy of equidistance towards China and India, it is highly imperative that we have some adept diplomats in order to draw up beneficial policies.
To conclude, solutions to Nepal’s political and social ills lie within and therefore should be sought from within. It is just a matter of mobilizing our resources. Our country needs to tap students that have a higher potential of contributing to our societies. For that to happen, the government needs to support young researchers, and connect with the education sector to encourage children and youth to engage with social sciences.
The author is pursuing his masters in Political Studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
dinear05@gmail.com
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