Nepal in the world, the world in Nepal

The post World War II decade of the 1950s saw the dismantling of colonial systems, establishment of a new world order with the United States replacing Britain. India and Pakistan had just gained independence and were still traumatised by partition. 

In China, Mao Zedong came to power after 20 years of revolution, and promptly annexed Tibet. The Cold War between the US and the Sino-Soviet alliance led to proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam.

In Nepal itself, the Ranas were replaced by the Shahs in 1951, and ten years later BP Koirala became the first democratically elected prime minister — soon deposed in a coup by King Mahendra. Nepal opened up to the world and tried to keep a delicate balance between global and regional powers.

The book, Nepal in the Long 1950s, explores politics, economics and the socio-culture milieu in the decade following the end of the Rana rule. Edited by researchers Pratyoush Onta, Lokranjan Parajuli and anthropologist Mark Liechty, the book is a collection of 10 essays, the first six of which place Nepal in the larger geopolitical context, while the last four explore the role of foreign specialists and institutions in reshaping Nepal.

Prawash Gautam examines how the last years of Rana rule were marked by looser controls, enabling the emergence of the public sphere. One tea shop near Dharara became a space for socialisation, discourse, as well as political organisation. 

However, while this teashop was unique in that it allowed customers from ‘lower’ caste communities, Gautam says caste-based discrimination and limited access to women still prevented public spaces from being inclusive.

Bandana Gyawali writes about how the Nepali notion of unnati (progress), was replaced by the concept bikas (development), a ‘more democratic’ term championed by the American aid programs that associated development with material gain which at the time meant little to Nepalis. 

Peter Gill’s chapter discusses efforts to legislate and implement socio-economic reform, including birta abolition, tenancy rights, and land distribution. However, he writes, these reforms were ultimately a populist tool used by new leaders for political gain.

Sharad Ghimire delves into the state’s disaster response in the aftermath of the deadly 1954 floods. Political incompetence and attempts to politicise the crisis led to the failure of relief led by Prime Minister M P Koirala, ultimately deepening rifts between himself and leaders of the ruling coalition — giving King Mahendra the chance to assert himself. 

Meanwhile, the US answered Nepal’s call for help in disaster management to curb possible Communist influence in Nepal, much to India’s annoyance.

Pratyoush Onta examines how post-Rana politics encouraged Nepalis to realise their intellectual freedom and pursue knowledge creation and distribution. The formation of the short-lived Nepal Sanskritik Foundation, set up by political leaders, scholars, and intellectuals like Bal Chandra Sharma and Isvar Baral who had witnessed and participated in India’s anti-colonial movements, facilitated social research and knowledge enterprise.

Two chapters discuss the development of Nepal’s education sector. Lokranjan Parajuli looks into how domestic and foreign actors impacted the founding of Tribhuvan University, documenting the role of queen consorts Janti Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and Queen Ishwari Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, even as Mahendra remained wary lest it produce intellectuals who would undermine his authority.

Read also: America, Nepal and the Royal Coup, Tom Robertson

India and the US were vying to help TU, writes Parajuli, but China and USSR arrived to also support higher education sector with less strings attached. This led to US and India joining forces, and the US eventually let India take the lead.

Susan Heydon’s research into Nepal’s healthcare sector reveals that development in biomedicine was in large part due to assistance from Christian missionaries, despite Nepalis’ wariness towards them, visiting foreign healthcare experts, as well as international aid. 

As USAID fund cuts impact Nepal, Jeremy Rappleye’s chapter on the US development assistance and Nepal’s modern education system is relevant read. He recalls how American educator Hugh Wood’s aid-centered blueprint for educational development in the 1950s was incongruous with what Nepali officials wanted. Wood’s model laid the groundwork for Nepal’s modern education, writes Rappleye, although it was not entirely appropriate.

Former USEF Nepal director Thomas Robertson takes on the US ‘Four Point Program’ aimed at making Nepal reliant on American support. With the region in the grip of the Cold War, the US sought to expand its sphere of influence in Asia, in particular to stop India from going the way of China.

Nepal therefore became strategically important to America’s aspirations for the region, writes Robertson. This meant Washington poured aid and into Nepal, including anti-malaria programs and land reform initiatives — in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s current pullout of USAID, MCC and other programs.

Mark Liechty ends the book with his exploration of the life and times of Boris Lisanevich and his Hotel Royal which ushered Nepal into the age of tourism. But Boris was not particularly well versed in the art of hospitality, and while Nepalis in this burgeoning sector realised the opportunities and went about realising those potentials Lisanevich continued to dwell in his anachronistic colonial fantasy of Nepal, not doing himself any favours.