Nation: Save our Global face

The world is changing at an unconceivable pace. Balance of power shifting it’s centres, cultures and traditions are being revived throughout the world, more so in the real vicinity, south Asia. In this fast paced world, how do we define, defend and develop our identity?
Merely befooling ourselves with an unconquered history is not only puerile, it’s suicidal. This might help to cultivate a superficially imposed idealistic instinct. But it has no significance in the present situation of the country when people inside are destroying it piece by piece. Often the optimistic youth consoles himself everything gets ok once the problem of Maoist is solved. I’ve heard many learned people often surrender to the crisis, they say, just because of this problem. What we the citizens of Nepal can not afford to forget is; Maoists or no Maoists, monarchy or no monarchy, civil war or no civil war, the country has to survive. Just surviving isn’t enough; we have to prepare ourselves for the new world.
Before we dwell into the future, let’s drill deep into the present. Drooling on the past is often the biggest mistake done by mankind. The same malaise seems to de-capacitate the state today. Current situation is nothing but our power-crisis; it’s a collision between forces. History and science both prove that every collision leads to two things; destruction of some particles and creation of a few. Similarly it’s certain that some force (I can not call them particles) will certainly be destroyed after the collision. But to look forward, for the citizens of Nepal is the forces that will emerge after the collision. What ever comes out as the result of the emission, the base line or the ground reality remains the same-Nepal, the nation has to survive, live and lead itself into the new world. Hence, the excuse of crisis for switching off the penchant to search for the creative path for the country is not only immature, it’s fatal. Let it be anybody, destructions or even negligence of the resources, natural, physical or human, can be like digging his own grave. Often, mistake done by power hungry forces is prioritizing a short term tactical gain over a long term strategic strengthening.
Let us now look into the present scenario in some detail. What is happening around us is clear to all. End of cold war era has brought a remarkable shift in the power centers of the world. The huge power vacuum created due to the disintegration of USSR, is negated by a bipolar Asian Equilibrium-China and India. Both these countries are growing with a high rate. Their global stand is improving manifolds day by day. And, what’s more important is both of them are two giant neighbours of Nepal.
The recent uni-polar world with only US as one superpower has regional power equations replace the old bipolar power balance. Hence, whenever the giant superpower tilts, the parameters of balance experience a remarkable change. Recent co-operation between US and India is not only a short term effect of 9/11. It’s a symbol of unleashing of locked powers of the region. South Asian region is a highly productive area in terms of intellect and human resources. China’s emerging power has forced the American skeptics to boost the Indian Aroma to a heightening effect.
What we should learn from India, however, is clear. Anybody who has observed India for last few years has no problem in judging the heightened sense of development, amongst the common man. The confidence reflected by the populace is visible everywhere. The media shouts it loud. Increasing influence of Indian media, movies, literature and culture not only in neighbouring countries like Pakistan or Nepal but also in the US of A, puts a stamp on this. Tourism has pronounced it. But for a country which has fought three major wars in 50 years and has a continuous history of insurgency, the type if optimism, it’s polity, economy and common man promise, is great. This is more important than the materialistic growth.
We the people of Nepal, are reaching into the changing world with our old clothes still on. More embarrassing is, our cloths are bloody.
Tourism is the back bone of our (one of the poorest) economy. We can not escape from the fact that until and unless we device a dramatic method to support the economy, we are on the verge of extinction. But more importantly we have to regenerate the faith in ourselves. No nation can develop over night from trash. Those countries have survived the taste of time, history proves, which are unified with a cause. When the cause is identified, motivation can be fuelled in to generate co-operation which in turn leads to the excellence of the nation as a whole.
The recent shift of world attention to south Asia has not helped countries like Nepal. But it has darkened the shadow we fall under. It is nobody’s job but ourselves to lighten the path we have to traverse into the future. Few of the common set backs on us in this era of increasing Asian boom are:
• We are loosing our tourist (due to various obvious reasons) to India and other Asian countries.
• The boom in outsourcing (BPO) jobs from European countries and the US of A to this region has left Nepal untouched till now.
• Although the IT revolution has made the world a global village, our contribution to the InfoTech can be paralleled to an outcaste community of the village.
As a result on going conflict is affecting the socio-economic globalization of the nation.
These maladies are not only bank-corrupting the country, it is corrupting our path to the future. Where is the future of this country? Often one hears the poets shouting save the country first if you want to rule. Certainly, with a history of rulers not at all interested in a long term strengthening of the country, we are projecting a weak picture in the global forum. Our leaders not only were interested in personal privileges more than national interest, they lacked vision for the future. The advice from renowned Indian historian, Rahul Sankrityayan, is what I would like to quote here. He says
“Nepal and Japan are similar in many ways. Both the countries and the people. Both are mountainous places, grow similar crops (almost), both are an intermingling of Kiranti and Mongolian culture and what’s more, their temples too have similar roofs. Japanese prowess in agricultural, electricity and industry can be easily imitated by Nepal. Today’s Nepal can learn a lot from the technique of Japan. Thus the poverty and illiteracy can be eradicated. Nepal has to live its theoretical talks and go in to real reforming and re-building. Otherwise the present rulers will also have to follow the footsteps of the Rana rulers.”
What Rahul Sankrityayan said more than half a century ago proved itself during the Panchayati Raj, it comes true even today. Though the priorities for economic development have changed today due to development in the information technology, we still fight a similar problem.
When the snowy mountains in Kasmir shine on the Dal lake with tourist, Pokhara is clouded over Fewa. When Buddha advertises the tourism for the Indian economy, Lumbini sleeps. When Bangalore awakens at midnight to attend calls from US of A, Biratnagar snores away to a false glory. But the barracks, palaces and bunkers are rocking 24x7. Where is my global face? What do I say to introduce myself and my country? And more important is when I will start saying this.
As a nation, all small countries in the world can look up to Israel or Japan for inspiration. Japan has excelled after World War II, which reminds literally of phoenix. Israel has not only survived extreme hostilities and emerged victorious through many wars but has also excelled. “Survival is the mother of self dependence” for Israel. The type of national psyche which is required for a nation undergoing a crisis is clear from this statement of Moshe Dayan- one of the greatest military and administrative leader of Israel. He had said-
“It is the fate of our generation that our life requires that we be always prepared and armed, strong and determined, for if the sword be struck from our grasp, we shall die.”
Dinesh Tiwari