Exactly a year ago, the launch of my book, ‘Nepal 2043’ had to be postponed. The country was mourning the loss of life on 8-9 September, and still smouldering from the fires that ravaged the pillars of the state.
Almost exactly a year later on 26 August, Nepal was hit by another disaster: a catastrophe in the Trisuli River valley that claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed an important energy, trade and tourism corridor.
These events make it feel as if the past year has seen events that a country usually witnesses in a decade. I wrote a new chapter for Nepal 2043, and the revised edition was launched in Madrid this week.
Last year the editor of this newspaper, Sonia Awale, reviewed the book in a piece titled Retrofitting for Future Shocks, But we never expected that we would have to go through another shocking event, a disaster never seen in our lifetime.
Besides the lives it claimed, the Himalayan Tsunami has directly affected 200,000 people and also dented the entire country’s economy. There are many thousands who have not found proper closure.
In Nepal 2043, I argued about the need of strong governance and accountability if Nepal to get on the road to prosperity. The West Asia War and the disruption in energy shipments from he Gulf coincided with the new RSP government coming to power in March.
Now, the Trisuli Valley flood has put the government to the test once more. The way the administration has handled this crisis so far gives us hope that we are on the right path. The bureaucracy has to step up to the task, and the political leadership can ponder how to make this happen.
The security forces stand as pillars, and given the right guidance, can perform with much grit and valour. The same forces that were abused by the previous government to shoot at protesters and grant impunity to criminals are now working day and night in rescuing people from flood-hit towns and hydropower tunnels in Nuwakot and Rasuwa.
It is in this crisis that we see a silver lining. As Nepalis we have learnt to thrive in chaos and in the past 30 years, endured many challenges that brought uncertainty. But we overcame them.
Legendary Nepali resilience is our hallmark. We also had to survive a chronic economic crisis. But now, the country has $25 billion in foreign exchange reserves, annual remittances have reached $15 billion. A government showing greater financial accountability than the previous ones is what should provide hope.
At the launch of the revised edition of the book hosted by Casa Asia in Paris and Embassy of Nepal in Madrid the hall was full of young Nepalis who are now in Spain to study. In interactions, they shared how the book provides positive directions not only for Nepal, and by extension to their own lives.
Mario López-Areu, Professor of Politics and International Relations at Universidad Pontificia Comillas was interested to know the Himalayan Tsunami will change the narratives set in the book. I am still convinced that the disaster will give Nepal an opportunity to take the lead in pushing the discourse on climate change mitigation and adaptation at international fora, including the upcoming COP31 in Antalya.
In the book Nepal 2043, I put forth four megatrends: climate change, geopolitics, movement of people and technology. There is more of a sense of urgency to look at the impact of climate change – to understand and act as scale of events are changing and so is the impact.
Nepal is becoming a focus for research and learning about climate change, and there is no better time than now for international universities to set up centres in Nepal. This would not only foster academics, but help find ways to integrate research findings into daily lives, businesss and beyond.
People often accuse me of being obsessively optimistic. In fact, my hope springs eternal because Nepali society is changing. At the Madrid event, young Nepali diplomats were like college students busily preparing for the event. Gone are the days when the boss sat on the couch and directed other to do the work.
We see these changes across different walks of life: be it the owner of a café picking up plates or people from well-to-do families running home kitchens to deliver gourmet food to customers.
The last year has seen a transformation in Nepal’s politics and society, and this helps build the case for a new beginning that adds on to past achievements. We need to share a new narrative about Nepal: a country with economic potential that is located strategically between two of the world’s largest and fast-growing economies.