<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83c99c7e80680e067757jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>The most glaring failure of the past year has been the state’s abdication of responsibility towards public welfare and safety during the country’s unprecedented health emergency.Nepal’s leadership underplayed the seriousness of the pandemic, dithered, reacted too late with too little, peddled misinformation about quack cures, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFo-0TjBpgrTOU2qMnaa_ObndJ3ig">dabbled in superstition</a>, held <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjOOiL7704ywilYiTgkomyXqTMVg">super-spreader political rallies</a>, bungled on Covid-control measures, failed in implementation, tried to make money off c<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relying-on-unreliable-covid-19-kits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relying-on-unreliable-covid-19-kits/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNt9FsWz_LdkPL-3POSKYWQrSSzg">ontracts for medical material</a>, engaged in a bitter blame game.Countries that have fared the worst in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic have been the ones with elected populist demagogues: Trump’s America, Bolsanaro’s Brazil, Modi’s India. The United States is a dramatic example of how regime change and reorientation of national priorities by accountable leaders can directly save lives. Even semi-authoritarian states have been more successful in controlling the spread of the disease.In Nepal, throughout the past year, Prime Minister K P Oli has been too busy <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPj6NtadW0nwBdUR76zndMC--wZw">fending a challenge to his power</a> in government and in the party (first the NCP and then the UML) to pay much attention to governance. His rivals <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGuS0WxMc2btxheLroKpVcl_JaCpw">Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a>, now back in the Maoist Centre, and Madhav Kumar Nepal in the UML’s dissident faction, also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGEW7YSklRRTFUEOzULI6p2TWWbLw">forgot about the country’s health and economic emergency</a> in their single-minded focus on unseating Oli.Commentators have likened this to a duel on the deck of the Titanic, or a quarrel about who gets to sleep in the master bedroom when the whole house is on fire. One has to hand it to the prime minister, he has turned himself into such an important player, that he split not just his own NCP and UML, but now even the NC and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNERMNvB0qNjLJhb1hQAkkKFIvc3dg">JSP</a> are divided between pro- and anti-Oli factions.As fate would have it, the grande finale of this political circus is taking place just as Nepal’s daily Covid-19 case count and fatalities rise steeply to a peak. Public health experts predict that at the rate new cases are doubling, there will be 15,000 new daily positives and perhaps 100 fatalities per day by mid-May. And that will not even be the peak yet.Not that all this seems to matter to those who want to dethrone Oli, or to a prime minister who has demonstrated that he will stop at nothing to keep his seat. To be sure, a Covid-19 tsunami of this proportion would have caught the most efficient country flat-footed. But that is no excuse. In fact, smart leaders can turn a crisis like this into a golden opportunity to reshape their sagging image through delivery and performance.Prime Minister Oli’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF-TxsTZV0z1utVJ546xtZfXQ3CFg">dissolution of the Lower House</a> on 20 December caught the Dahal-Nepal faction within the NCP off-guard. When the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG-3N_wJ1wLIW-SGxqsu06g2DY43w">Supreme Court reinstated the House </a>a month later, the two <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNpSwRyDhwog3-FfuUct_sHoOaVw">fed each other ladoo in celebration</a>, but they felt tricked when the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGGcWjgbuWxZiGOdDlxO4jXOy3_lA">Court subsequently ruled </a>that the NCP be split its constituent UML and Maoist Centre.Even then, Dahal had not withdrawn support for the UML because he did not have the numbers to form a government without the NC and JSP, and it could not present an acceptable alternative to Oli as prime minister.After Prime Minister Oli got the President to call a special session of Parliament for 10 May to face a confidence vote, Dahal finally pulled the rug from underneath Oli, effectively making the UML a minority government.Oli thinks: head I win, and tail Dahal-Nepal lose. If he carries the confidence vote, Oli remains prime minister, if he loses he will call early elections—something he has wanted all along. Even Oli’s opponents grudgingly admire this audacious move, and rivals are scratching their heads.Both Oli and Dahal have been courting the support of the opposition NC for the confidence vote. But the NC is divided between the Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Paudel factions, and the JSP also has former Maoists Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai on one side, and Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato supporting Oli.Dahal and Nepal are in different parties now, and in the horns of a dilemma. There is too much bad blood between Nepal and Oli, but there is pressure to keep the UML united in the confidence vote, or if there is a snap poll.A lot will now depend on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNdOC_HZg1TStbVf8X9SmFo-9UTg">arithmetic of the House</a>, where of the 267 current members, the UML has 121, the NC has 61, the Maoists are down to 49, and the JSP has 32 seats. Oli therefore needs 136 votes to win the confidence of the House. The UML’s numbers alone will not suffice, and there is a chance that the Nepal faction will either break away or cross the floor.Oli will need to have the support of the NC and JSP, but he seems to be lobbying only half-heartedly, which has led some to think that he expects to lose so he can call early elections.Recent <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-state-of-disillusionment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-state-of-disillusionment/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFtYKIWgY2jydCNIfLzjdDKusPN0A">public opinion polls show</a> that most Nepalis could not care less about this power struggle, and with the pandemic raging  across the land, they would like the parties to bury their differences for now and unite in the fight against the deadly scourge.If only Nepal’s political leaders had shown the same acumen in confronting the present health-economic emergency that they have demonstrated in undermining each other, Nepal would be in a much better place today.

Kunda Dixit

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Nepal is a hotbed of virus and politics

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebed9c7e80680e09ad34jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>The most glaring failure of the past year has been the state’s abdication of responsibility towards public welfare and safety during the country’s unprecedented health emergency.Nepal’s leadership underplayed the seriousness of the pandemic, dithered, reacted too late with too little, peddled misinformation about quack cures, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFo-0TjBpgrTOU2qMnaa_ObndJ3ig">dabbled in superstition</a>, held <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dahal-nepal-hold-anti-oli-rally/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjOOiL7704ywilYiTgkomyXqTMVg">super-spreader political rallies</a>, bungled on Covid-control measures, failed in implementation, tried to make money off c<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relying-on-unreliable-covid-19-kits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relying-on-unreliable-covid-19-kits/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNt9FsWz_LdkPL-3POSKYWQrSSzg">ontracts for medical material</a>, engaged in a bitter blame game.Countries that have fared the worst in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic have been the ones with elected populist demagogues: Trump’s America, Bolsanaro’s Brazil, Modi’s India. The United States is a dramatic example of how regime change and reorientation of national priorities by accountable leaders can directly save lives. Even semi-authoritarian states have been more successful in controlling the spread of the disease.In Nepal, throughout the past year, Prime Minister K P Oli has been too busy <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPj6NtadW0nwBdUR76zndMC--wZw">fending a challenge to his power</a> in government and in the party (first the NCP and then the UML) to pay much attention to governance. His rivals <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGuS0WxMc2btxheLroKpVcl_JaCpw">Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a>, now back in the Maoist Centre, and Madhav Kumar Nepal in the UML’s dissident faction, also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGEW7YSklRRTFUEOzULI6p2TWWbLw">forgot about the country’s health and economic emergency</a> in their single-minded focus on unseating Oli.Commentators have likened this to a duel on the deck of the Titanic, or a quarrel about who gets to sleep in the master bedroom when the whole house is on fire. One has to hand it to the prime minister, he has turned himself into such an important player, that he split not just his own NCP and UML, but now even the NC and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jsp-as-nepals-king-maker-party/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNERMNvB0qNjLJhb1hQAkkKFIvc3dg">JSP</a> are divided between pro- and anti-Oli factions.As fate would have it, the grande finale of this political circus is taking place just as Nepal’s daily Covid-19 case count and fatalities rise steeply to a peak. Public health experts predict that at the rate new cases are doubling, there will be 15,000 new daily positives and perhaps 100 fatalities per day by mid-May. And that will not even be the peak yet.Not that all this seems to matter to those who want to dethrone Oli, or to a prime minister who has demonstrated that he will stop at nothing to keep his seat. To be sure, a Covid-19 tsunami of this proportion would have caught the most efficient country flat-footed. But that is no excuse. In fact, smart leaders can turn a crisis like this into a golden opportunity to reshape their sagging image through delivery and performance.Prime Minister Oli’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF-TxsTZV0z1utVJ546xtZfXQ3CFg">dissolution of the Lower House</a> on 20 December caught the Dahal-Nepal faction within the NCP off-guard. When the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG-3N_wJ1wLIW-SGxqsu06g2DY43w">Supreme Court reinstated the House </a>a month later, the two <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNpSwRyDhwog3-FfuUct_sHoOaVw">fed each other ladoo in celebration</a>, but they felt tricked when the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGGcWjgbuWxZiGOdDlxO4jXOy3_lA">Court subsequently ruled </a>that the NCP be split its constituent UML and Maoist Centre.Even then, Dahal had not withdrawn support for the UML because he did not have the numbers to form a government without the NC and JSP, and it could not present an acceptable alternative to Oli as prime minister.After Prime Minister Oli got the President to call a special session of Parliament for 10 May to face a confidence vote, Dahal finally pulled the rug from underneath Oli, effectively making the UML a minority government.Oli thinks: head I win, and tail Dahal-Nepal lose. If he carries the confidence vote, Oli remains prime minister, if he loses he will call early elections—something he has wanted all along. Even Oli’s opponents grudgingly admire this audacious move, and rivals are scratching their heads.Both Oli and Dahal have been courting the support of the opposition NC for the confidence vote. But the NC is divided between the Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Paudel factions, and the JSP also has former Maoists Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai on one side, and Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato supporting Oli.Dahal and Nepal are in different parties now, and in the horns of a dilemma. There is too much bad blood between Nepal and Oli, but there is pressure to keep the UML united in the confidence vote, or if there is a snap poll.A lot will now depend on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNdOC_HZg1TStbVf8X9SmFo-9UTg">arithmetic of the House</a>, where of the 267 current members, the UML has 121, the NC has 61, the Maoists are down to 49, and the JSP has 32 seats. Oli therefore needs 136 votes to win the confidence of the House. The UML’s numbers alone will not suffice, and there is a chance that the Nepal faction will either break away or cross the floor.Oli will need to have the support of the NC and JSP, but he seems to be lobbying only half-heartedly, which has led some to think that he expects to lose so he can call early elections.Recent <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-state-of-disillusionment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-state-of-disillusionment/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1620372288913000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFtYKIWgY2jydCNIfLzjdDKusPN0A">public opinion polls show</a> that most Nepalis could not care less about this power struggle, and with the pandemic raging  across the land, they would like the parties to bury their differences for now and unite in the fight against the deadly scourge.If only Nepal’s political leaders had shown the same acumen in confronting the present health-economic emergency that they have demonstrated in undermining each other, Nepal would be in a much better place today.

Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

At Budhanilkantha School Ujwal Thapa was a few years my senior. He was a quiet person who kept to himself; I didn’t know him very well despite being related to him because of that introversion and natural shyness. What we did have in common, coming of age in the 1990s, is our generation, GenX, which became weary, inured for the most part, to Nepal’s famously unstable politics.&nbsp; Counting the events of this past September, GenX has, astonishingly, lived through three people’s revolutions, one armed conflict, a flawed but hard won constitution, and a major earthquake. Ujwal Thapa, one of Nepal’s most cherished Gen Xers, despite his previous, youthful reticence, did not long remain a complaisant bystander against the backdrop of these extreme upheavals.&nbsp; By the mid 2000s he had become deeply political, but without the equivocation that so often accompanies politics. Thanks to his lived experience, he came to believe that the youth of Nepal are the key to our future. He believed in discerning wisdom (bibeksheelta), innovation, and nurture. He inspired entire generations, young and old, including GenZ, before his untimely death due to Covid in 2021. He was only 44.&nbsp; By the time of his passing he had started a tech company, and employed and mentored scores of youth. It is important to note that only after he had made a significant contribution to civil society did he turn towards politics, founding and then stepping back from the Bibeksheel Nepali party, which has now, after several complicated mergers and splits, been integrated into the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). When the Ujwal Thapa Foundation set out to make a documentary on his life three years ago, no one could have known that it would premiere at such a crucial point in Nepal’s social and political history.&nbsp; Everything that Ujwal Thapa believed in still holds true. I think he would have been proud to see the youth of our country, GenZ, stand up for themselves, peacefully. He would have been grieved at the state condoned bloodshed, and, believing in non-violent protest himself, been deeply shocked by the savage revolution that followed.&nbsp; Most of all, I wonder how he would have reacted to the publishing of the blatantly elitist RSP proportional representation list - the party that many had pinned their hopes on, and that Bibeksheel Nepali has ultimately been absorbed into. That party now seems like it may be a chip off the rotten old block, ruled by men endorsing rampant nepotism, and outnumbered by people without scruples.&nbsp; Many of the names on the list and the rankings, in particular, disrespect the very spirit of a provision that was created for those competent individuals who would not otherwise be able to contest elections, due to lack of monetary and social capital, but whose marginalised voices are vital for inclusive policy making. There is still time for real inclusion, to embrace a more bibeksheel path, before the March elections.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa’s own, firm, ethical stances are clear in the The Man Who Shook Our Minds, translated loosely from the Nepali title Dimaag Ghhochne Manchhe. While long, at almost two hours, it is filled with thought-provoking and sage counsel. The film also offers very real insight into how Ujwal Thapa evolved into the icon he is today.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> <figcaption>Stills from the documentary.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>  It isn’t easy making a documentary after the passing of the primary subject. While there are many talking heads, the people featured, friends, family, fellow activists and senior politicians are all eloquent in their descriptions of Ujwal Thapa and his transformation from an engaged, civic minded entrepreneur into a committed political leader who among many other commendable things, believed in putting women first, and understood the crucial necessity for a welfare state that would serve its people. The main man is not deified, he is humanised.&nbsp; The feature is punctuated, and leavened, with moments of real humour as his infamous bluntness and occasional domestic haplessness are gently exposed. Another strength of the film is the profound love story between Ujwal Thapa and his brave, brilliant, incredibly resilient wife, Erica Adhikary, the heroine to a real life hero, and a major force behind the making of this film, alongside many of his stalwart wellwishers and friends, old and new.&nbsp; Sushila Karki, the Prime Minister, was present at the premiere of the film with members of her Cabinet. Candid and sincere in her opening remarks, she said she had wanted to attend the moment she heard about the film. She had known Ujwal Thapa, and she had mourned his loss, praying for him during his illness. She wished that leaders like him were here today to show us the way forward in a time of need. The film opened in theatres on the 9th of January, and is an essential viewing experience for anyone who cares about Nepal’s future and wants some insight into how they might make a difference.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He realised that being a civic minded citizen just isn’t enough. To make a real difference, one also needs to be principled, insightful, entrepreneurial, creative, self motivated, able to speak truth to power, uncorruptible, practical, well prepared, and, perhaps, most importantly, able to step back from holding power even after attaining it.&nbsp; The saying by Plato that goes “He who does not desire power is fit to hold it” was surely meant for people like Ujwal Thapa. One can only hope that in the near future more people embodying this description will, however reluctantly, come forward to lead Nepal. Ujwal Thapa worked hard to enable this, they must be out there. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veO1yVM4pS4?si=f0Lcbs1wasyqfnK1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> The Man Who Shook Our Minds is being screened at QFX cinemas across town. Sophia L Pandé is on the Ujwal Thapa Foundation Advisory Board. She is a writer, art-historian and filmmaker, advising on the economic and social potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries. She is Director of Development at the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, and Founding Director of The Kalā Salon, a non-profit space for the arts.

The Man Who Shook Our Minds

Did <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/1921-rendezvous-mallory-pumori-and-everest">George Mallory</a> and Andrew Irvine of the 1924 British Expedition reach the top of the highest mountain in the world? It has been more than a century after the two climbers were last seen just 300m below the summit. And 26 years ago Mallory’s remains were found on the North Face of Everest, while Irvine’s boot was located at its base.&nbsp; Some doubt that the two could have reached the top with the level of equipment and clothing of the time, but others are convinced that at least one of them made it but had an accident on the way down.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Panuru Sherpa on the top of Mt Everest with a client in 2002. He has climbed the peak 16 times.</figcaption> </figure>  Among those who believe Mallory and Irvine were the first to climb Mt Everest, and not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on">Hillary and Tenzing in 1953</a>, are the Nepali guides who took part in the research expeditions in 1999, 2001 and 2004 to find clues about Mallory and Irvine. Mallory’s body was found 8,125m on the North Face in 1999, and Irvine’s detached foot and sock with his initials inside a leather hob-nailed boot was found in 2024 in the Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face. Various expeditions have recovered a mitten, an oxygen cylinder, and ice axe from that expedition. “I believe they reached the summit, and fell on the way down in the dark and bad weather,” says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sherpaland-co-usa">Panuru Sherpa</a>, who has climbed Mt Everest 16 times, including on the northern route taken by four British expeditions in 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1933. “They were making good progress past the Second Step from where it is a much easier hour-and-half to the summit. A climber who reaches that point below the final pyramid does not turn back.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="864" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Mt Everest North Face in China which early expeditions took because Nepal was closed till 1950. The red line is the classic route to the peak, the dotted line is probably what George Mallory and Sandy Irvine took in 1924 to avoid the formidable obstacle of the Second Step.</figcaption> </figure>  Panuru is convinced that the location of Mallory’s body and Irvine’s ice axe shows that the two had not lost their way on their descent. He told Nepali Times in Denver, where he now lives: “Mallory’s body was not decomposed even after 75 years, and his exposed back was white like marble. One of legs was broken, and there was an altimeter and letters written to his wife Ruth in his pocket.” He remembers the search team was happy to locate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/mountains-of-books">Mallory</a>, but it was unable to find one of the three cameras believed to be with the duo that could have held the proof that the two, or at least one of them, had indeed been the first to climb Everest.&nbsp; There was a deep wound around Mallory’s waist, which could have been caused during the fall by the rope which was still found tied around his body. Mallory’s remains were covered in stone slabs at the site after a brief ritual, Panuru recalls. A 1975 Chinese expedition reported seeing the body of a Western climber, which was probably Mallory, near their Camp VI. There are rumours in climbing circles that the Chinese also found a camera, but that the negative could not be developed. Everest summiteers have said the Second Step’s 45m overhanging cliff at 8,610m would have been “essentially insurmountable”, and it is only possible today because the Chinese fixed aluminium ladders to the rock face in 1975.&nbsp; But Panuru agrees with other mountaineering historians who believe Mallory could have decided to take a route below the northeast ridge and bypass the Second Step, following the advice of fellow team member Ed Norton who set the then world record by reaching 8,572m. The other finding that could indicate that Mallory reached the top was that a photograph of his wife Ruth which he intended to place at the summit was not in his pocket.&nbsp; EVEREST CONNECTION Panuru is the son of Nima Tsering Sherpa, who was a part of the 1953 expedition to Mt Everest that made Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay the first climbers on the world’s highest peak. Nima carried loads for that expedition up to the South Col. Nima had eight sons and a daughter, Panuru is the sixth, and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-most-prolific-mountaineering-clan"> most of his siblings are also climbers</a>. After the successful 1953 expedition, Nima spent time grazing yaks, growing potatoes and raising his family in Phortse. He joined expeditions to support the family. The young Panuru would meet mountaineers who stopped by at the family’s tea house in Phortse. He has walked the Jiri route to Kathmandu many times, and his eldest brother who worked for Mountain Travel Nepal got him a job as a trekking guide. Panuru ended up joining expeditions, climbing Everest from both sides multiple times. Panuru Sherpa’s brother Danuru was the youngest member of the 1999 expedition, and a year earlier had first climbed Everest from the Nepal side when he was only 18. The siblings are now chefs at the Sherpa House in Colorado.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="523" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Brothers Panuru and Danuru Sherpa are now working in Golden, Colorado, and lead occasional climbing trips in the Rockies and Alaska.</figcaption> </figure>  In 2001, both brothers were members of another expedition composed of 20 foreign and 21 Nepali climbers led by David Hahn that tried to find Irvine in the same area of the North Face, guided by the discovery of Irvine’s ice axe in a 1933 expedition as well as sightings of what was believed to be his body near the ridge above. No more clues were found then, or in 2004 when Danuru returned for another search expedition. Remnants of Irvine and Mallory’s Camp VI were found at 8,600m during the 2001 expedition, only about 300m from where Mallory’s body was located.&nbsp; “It was probably dark when Mallory fell because his snow goggles were in his pocket,” says Danuru, who has taken part in the three search expeditions on the north side and is also convinced the two fell on their way down after reaching the summit. Altogether 13 people died on Everest during the three expeditions that Mallory was involved in, of which nine were Nepali porters, cooks and guides who were hired in Darjeeling before the march-in. “Chomolungma and Sherpa are synonymous,” says Danuru. “It was Chomolungma that made the Sherpa people famous globally, and it was Sherpas who made it possible to climb Everest.” Konrad Anker, who led the 1999 team that found Mallory’s body, doubts that one or both the climbers reached the summit in 1924, mainly because of the difficulty of climbing a cliff at 8,600m with the kind of gear they had.&nbsp; “It is possible, but unlikely they climbed the Second Step with 1920s equipment, but even getting to that altitude back then was an incredible accomplishment,” he has said. After the expedition, Anker and Panuru worked together to set up the Khumbu Climbing Center to upgrade the technical skills of Nepali guides. Panuru has also trained hundreds of fellow Nepali guides, and many of them regard him as a mentor. Panuru knew the need for better training because he himself had been badly wounded during a fall into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall in one of his early expeditions in 1992 and had to be evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu.&nbsp; But the very next year, he was back on the mountain. He climbed Everest from the north with a Korean team in 1994, and a year later got to the top again from the north side with an American expedition. He summited again from the Nepal side in 1996, and nearly died in an avalanche on the north side that killed a fellow Sherpa in 1997.&nbsp; So far, Panuru has climbed Everest 16 times, Cho Oyu 14 times from both sides, Xixapangma four times, five other eight-thousanders in Nepal, and Ama Dablam six times. He was the first Nepali to ascend Gurla Mandhata in Tibet. After emigrating to the United States, he has climbed Mt Denali (6,190m) in Alaska three times while also being a part of a volunteer rescue team.&nbsp; Irvine’s boot was found by an expedition led by American climber Jimmy Chin in the Rongbuk Glacier, probably transported there from the base of the face by the movement of ice in the past 100 years. Asked why he climbed Everest 16 times, Panuru echoes George Mallory: “Because I was there.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Finding George Mallory

At the stroke of the midnight hour, it finally came to something everyone in Nepal’s oldest and biggest party had been dreading — a split.
Not that this was anything new. The Nepali Congress (NC) had splintered twice before and the main protagonist both times was five-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. After the GenZ uprising and being physically mauled and his house looted and set on fire on 9 September Deuba had said he was stepping aside, but it seems old ambitions die hard.
The showdown between the Gagan Thapa-Bishow Prakash Sharma camp and Deuba came to a head on Wednesday as the establishment leadership decided to suspend Thapa, Sharma, and Farmullah Mansoor for five years to punish them for daring to challenge the leadership and hold a special general convention.&nbsp;
Bhrikuti Mandap in the centre of Kathmandu is the venue for trade exhibitions, but this week it was where an exhibition of everything that is wrong with Nepali politics was on full display — lack of internal party democracy and an unaccountable gerontocracy clinging on to power.&nbsp;
Thapa and Sharma had gathered the support of 62% of the NC membership at their convention and chose Gagan Thapa as the new party leader and proposed him as a prime ministerial candidate after the 5 March election.
Deuba’s allies had refused to attend or endorse the special general convention, and were adamant about holding a general convention to choose a new party head after the election. Thapa, Sharma and their supporters argued that the party faced ignominious defeat in the polls if Deuba insisted on being prime minister again.
The events of September 2025 have cast a long shadow over Nepali politics, with many new parties and alliances pledging to represent the aspirations of the GenZ movement. However, that realisation does not seem to have dawned on the tried, tested and failed leadership of the NC, UML and the NCP where the party leaders have held on to power by sidelining all rivals. &nbsp;
Thapa and Sharma were NC general secretaries held multiple rounds of discussions to convince Deuba to accept their eight-point demand that for the party’s and the country’s sake his time was up, and he should cut and cut cleanly. Despite having already handed over the party leadership to Purna Bahadur Khadka in September, Deuba refused to step down.&nbsp;
‘What demands has the Nepali Congress been unable to reconcile that it is headed for a split? There is no ideological dispute, just a proposal to make it easier to go for the election,’ noted journalist and author Narayan Wagle. ‘If those who have been in politics for so many years cannot reach an agreement, what have they learned in life and what hope is there for the country?’
Gagan Thapa was elected unopposed as the new party president on Thursday midnight, with Sharma and Pushpa Bhusal appointed vice-presidents. Thapa has said backroom talks are still ongoing though mediators, but for all intents and purposes the split seems irreconcilable.&nbsp;
The million dollar question now is: who gets to be the real Nepali Congress? Who gets the NC’s tree election symbol at the polls?
Both the Thapa and Deuba factions have written to the Election Commission (EC) laying claim to the party and its symbol. Whatever the EC decides, with less than two months to go for the polls, the dispute over its legitimacy will almost certainly have to be decided in the courts.
Deuba and his counterpart K P Oli in the UML have been unwilling or unable to fathom the level of outrage that young Nepalis feel about their parties. They have shown an inability to heed the call for institutional overhaul within parties and in Nepal’s political culture post-September. Second generation leaders within those parties who have grown old waiting for reform, seem to have better internalised the need for internal restructuring.&nbsp;
Oli has managed to hold on to power after displaying increasing authoritarianism within his UML, while Deuba has shown an unwillingness to bow out of leadership with grace. Both have squandered away their legacy.
For Gagan Thapa, the events of Thursday was a culmination of his long-standing claim for leadership change within the NC coupled with a compulsion to address the demands of the youth movement to maximise gains for his party this election. Just like Deuba, Thapa’s house was also looted and torched during the September protests.
Thapa told Onlinekhabar on Thursday: “Our belief was that we cannot go into elections under the present circumstances under [Sher Bahadur Deuba’s] leadership and with him as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. We would lose.”
The special general convention has taken further steps for reform, endorsing amendments to the party statue, which has set term limits for key leadership positions, including a one-term limit for party president, two-term limit for prime minister, three for a ministerial position, and four terms for a directly elected member of Parliament. Meanwhile, party members are only allowed to become lawmakers through the Proportional Representation system for one term.&nbsp;
If Thapa’s leadership holds legitimacy, this new chapter for the NC might come as a welcome change to young Nepalis who have been calling for leadership overhaul and internal party reforms within the establishment parties. But it may also come at the cost of the NC’s core base. It remains to be seen which side tips the scale at the polls.&nbsp;
The NC’s infighting and institutional shake-up has also posed fresh concerns about how it will affect the election schedule just as it looked as though all the mainstream political parties were finally on board and preparing for the polls. With voting barely weeks away, Nepal’s political parties are still too busy cleaning up their own house to give too much time to work on their platforms, agendas and serious campaigning
Historically, political break-ups and make-ups in Nepal are not set in stone. Even the newest alliance between Rabi Lamichhane’s RSP and Kulman Ghising’s UNP did not even last 12 days. &nbsp;Balen Shah is set to resign from his mayor position in the next and has gotten into the thick of election preparation with the RSP. His next step will be to choose which constituency he is going to contest from.
Meanwhile, in the light of a new day, the two NC factions may still decide that breaking up is hard to do when they are so close to elections, and the political stakes are so high.&nbsp;

confidence-vote

Nepal is a hotbed of virus and politics

Nepal is a hotbed of virus and politics

Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

The Man Who Shook Our Minds

Finding George Mallory

Grand split in Nepal’s grand old party