<figure><img width="640" height="559" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19a9c7e80680e08f8c3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2021/01/05/the-favorite-dishes-of-nepali-chef-santosh-shah/">story</a> by <a href="https://globalvoices.org/author/sanjib/">Sanjib Chaudhary</a> originally appeared on <a href="https://globalvoices.org/">Global Voices</a> on March 19, 2020. After finishing in <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2020/12/18/santosh-shah-who-has-brought-nepali-recipes-to-the-world-declared-runner-up-at-masterchef-professionals">second place</a> in the 2020 edition of BBC's “MasterChef: The Professionals,” London-based Nepali chef <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santosh_Shah">Santosh Shah</a> became a household name both in UK and Nepal. During the run-up to the finals, the 35-year-old chef presented before the judges a variety of dishes that are little-known outside Nepal.<a href="https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2020/11/19/never-shy-away-from-thinking-outside-the-box">Born and raised in Karjanha, Siraha District</a> of Nepal’s southern plains, Santosh toiled up a hill to reach where he is today. After failing his school-leaving exams, he moved to India to work as a dishwasher at a five-star hotel. There, he rose through ranks to become a cook.In an interview with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/">Nepali Times</a>, Santosh says he took a risk when he moved to London in 2010, but it paid off as he began working with renowned chefs. At the time he entered the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1281256/">MasterChef competition</a>, he had been experimenting with Nepali food for two years in restaurants in the British capital. The judges appreciated the food items he prepared and presented, such as kodo (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paspalum_scrobiculatum">millet</a>) pudding, amot (mango leather), crispy stuffed okra, yomari, chicken chilli, and crab curry.Nepali Expat Arun Chaudhary tweeted: (By presenting Nepali cuisine to the world, from the tubular papadum (fofi) from the Terai to yomari, Chef Santosh Shah from Karjanha Village in Siraha has reached the finals. Best wishes, brother. Shine the name of Nepal like this only.) <figure><img width="557" height="818" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19d9c7e80680e08f8c4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Global Voices chatted with Chef Santosh Shah on WhatsApp to know about Nepali food he loves and would like to promote.“I love <a href="http://ecs.com.np/features/season-smart-food-from-the-terai">biriya</a> (a delicacy from the Terai region),” he said. “Biriya cooked with newly harvested potatoes are my best.” Biryia is made of grass peas, mustard greens or broadleaf mustard leaves wrapped in black gram paste and dried on the sun. They are then stored to be cooked in the rainy season when green vegetables are scarce.Another dish Santosh would like to promote is <a href="http://ecs.com.np/food/neglected-but-nutritious">Airkanchan</a>, which is also popular in Bihar, Jharkhand and other Indian states. Taro leaves, pasted together with rice flour or gram flour paste and cut into small cutlets, are fried in mustard oil and then dipped in a gravy of curd and spices – it’s hot, salty and sour!Check out Santosh’s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chefsantoshshah/">Instagram</a> for more delicious food from Nepal: <img width="491" height="798" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19f9c7e80680e08f8c5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="442" height="837" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a19c7e80680e08f8c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="495" height="833" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a39c7e80680e08f8c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="494" height="766" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a59c7e80680e08f8c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="500" height="700" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a79c7e80680e08f8c9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"You inspire others by learning, not teaching," Santosh Shah</a>

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Santosh Shah’s favourite dishes

<figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befc94b0ad905ca02efd0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SANTOSH SHAH/TWITTER</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP6PGBcC5Lrnc6eLIS1G1D5p0NoA">Santosh Shah</a>, the Nepali who was runner-up in the MasterChef Professional 2020 in Britain last week, made it a point throughout the globally televised contest to highlight the country of his birth. The dishes he prepared were pan-Nepali, and his momo, yomari, kodo, chhyang, kulfi had innovative fusion elements. His mango dessert, for example, was frozen in a balloon in liquid nitrogen. His lunch preparation for the finals was presented in a tiffin box, and he spoke emotionally about how his mother back home in Saptari brought him lunch while he dug an irrigation canal. But it was in the finals, when Shah donned a “<a href="https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1339142086210285569" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1339142086210285569&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFC-oI1nc6u0inASpWjR5KSH-ZxHw">Nepali hat</a>”, that he got entangled in the fault lines in Nepal about ethnic identity, exclusion and the debate about the symbols of a unitary state. The भादगाऊँलेटोपी set off a vigorous argument in Nepal’s cybersphere about whether the cap really represented Nepal’s nationhood. While most commentators were proud of this self-made Nepali who elevated himself to the international stage through sheer determination, hard work and talent, others felt he should have promoted his Madhesi identity more. The cap caper was not the first criticism that Shah had to face in Nepal’s hyper-sensitive social media. Even the fact that his dish in the semi-final round involved <a href="https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1329620222966423552" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1329620222966423552&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNETBIiCywuito6QTjseyRPtCpa3FA">octopus prepared Nepali style</a> evoked some disapproval. “There were negative comments on social media on how my spiced chargrilled octopus dish isn’t our food,” Shah admitted to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP6PGBcC5Lrnc6eLIS1G1D5p0NoA">Nepali Times</a>. “But we need to understand that this is a global competition for a global audience.” It was for the same reason that Shah got permission from the BBC to don a ढाकाटोपी in the studio kitchen to highlight his country’s significance in the global map. Shah tweeted: ‘This is called a dream come true. Dhaka topi in master chef. Thank you BBC to allowed me to wear my national hat in MasterChef professional 2020.’ <figure><img width="599" height="454" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befcc4b0ad905ca02efd1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>But the action got enmeshed in Nepal’s own ‘cancel culture’, driven by increasing access to social media and the anonymity of the Internet in which those whose views do not match the herd are viciously trolled.One of the first salvos was fired by none other than former Maoist ideologue and avid Tweeter <a href="https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339737072194658312" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339737072194658312&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFelUbterHlQxG8kilzgA_53AtH8A">Baburam Bhattarai</a>, who posted: ‘बधाइ सन्तोष साह!फाइनल नजितेपनि तपाईॅले विविध नेपाली परिकारलाई अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय परिचय दिएर हिमाल/पहाड/मधेसका नेपालीको मनमष्तिष्क जितिसक्नु भएकोछ। एउटाकुरा, हाम्रो संविधानले देशका सबैजाति/भाषा/संस्कृतिलाई ’राष्ट्रिय’ मानिसकेकोछ! अत: हाम्रादौरा/टोपी,धोती/गम्छा बराबर’ राष्ट्रिय’ हुन्है!’After congratulating Shah for winning the hearts and minds of Nepalis, Bhattarai took at his ‘nationalism’ by adding: ‘One more thing, our Constitution considers all ethnicities, languages and cultures as “national”. So, all our costumes are equally “national”.’ <figure><img width="397" height="117" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befce4b0ad905ca02efd2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1436" height="1369" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befce4b0ad905ca02efd3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The matter might have ended there, but the fiercely republican Bhattarai also went on to deliberately mis-spell Shah as ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339455421258498048" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339455421258498048&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHA82WTHIjNllspCue0dQcY42DKeg">Sah</a>’, possibly to take away the royal connotation of Santosh’s surname. For this, Bhattarai was himself trolled left right and centre.One of the more civil comments was from Shristi M <a href="https://twitter.com/sristee44/status/1339963912125521924" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/sristee44/status/1339963912125521924&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNLV6ZObrz9C8LiUiUV1z-g8NdWg">@sristee44</a> who wrote: ‘Baburam has not done any productive work or labor in his life. @brb1954’s only skill and achievement is to leech off of people. Yet somehow he has the guts to tell off a highly talented chef @chefsantoshshah for HIS choices. He’s the biggest condescending mansplainer!’Another Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/Sarvasherstha/status/1339148331985952769" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/Sarvasherstha/status/1339148331985952769&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVOnDg5fVzrbUsvzH7yUCsPZELCA">@Sarvasherstha</a> also endured immediate social media backlash for the comment: ‘Not only Dhaka topi nepalese should show respect to all of the costumes languages castes and cultures of nepal then only this country can develop’. <figure><img width="600" height="546" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befd14b0ad905ca02efd4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="575" height="545" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befd34b0ad905ca02efd5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Santosh Shah may not have won MasterChef Professional, but in Nepal he is considered a hero for having come so far and for having placed his country firmly in the global consciousness through cuisine inspired by his native land.However, it also showed the ethnic, caste, class, religion and language gap in Nepal between various communities, and especially between the mountains and plains. Although a majority of posts by people in the Madhes were proud of Shah’s success, some did not like it that he had donned a symbol of Nepal’s ‘Mahendra-ist’ unitary state.Supporting Santosh Shah’s achievement, Bhumi Ghimire [<a href="https://twitter.com/BhumiGhimir/status/1339501747048476672" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/BhumiGhimir/status/1339501747048476672&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9D3ZqI-TeOty61UziSTB7TDktJQ">@BhumiGhimir</a>] wrote, ‘Anyone out there still considers people from Madhesh to be lesser Nepalis? NO ONE has represented Nepal and its culture encompassing most ethnic groups as well as this man has in recent times. What a fabulous story, he has done us so so proud. Santosh Shah was born in Nepal.’The new inclusive Constitution is supposed to provide room for everyone, but the trolling, intimidation and threats have also shown that social media can perpetuate stereotypes, enforce prejudices, and incite intolerance towards those with a different point of view. <figure><img width="398" height="590" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befd44b0ad905ca02efd6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1377" height="741" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befd64b0ad905ca02efd7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Discussion about discrimination of the Madhesi community is not new. When an alum of Budhanilkantha School, <a href="https://twitter.com/iambikashgupta/status/1270231474474643457" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/iambikashgupta/status/1270231474474643457&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFnyXprZJCo3_ZRjX14RQuS6ewJYQ">Bikash Gupta</a>, published his personal experience of ostracisation on Medium, it set off an intense debate on social media with posts that strongly agreed and disagreed with him.  Sharing Gupta’s article, Rajesh Yadav <a href="https://twitter.com/therajesh95/status/1270364350117707778" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/therajesh95/status/1270364350117707778&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG8iVBtZic6vvTUfo3fJ_NEYzJ2FA">@therajeshyadav95</a> on Twitter went on to comment, “Majority of Kids of Pahadi community are made racists by the Societies and Parents, it's unfortunate that hatred has become a culture!”Indeed, the cancel culture trend has infected Nepal’s social web as well, leaving no room for wholesome debate and constructive dialogue, so that the sites widen divisions rather than bridging them.  And it is not just Madhesi or other ethnicities who are targetted. When <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-brief-history-of-nepali-rock-and-arthur-gunn/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-brief-history-of-nepali-rock-and-arthur-gunn/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHI1CZu7PUVz3yUYfTi5gX3-GAUXA">Arthur Gunn</a>, the Nepali who was an American Idol runner-up, and rising TikTok celebrity <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-rise-of-curtis-waters/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-rise-of-curtis-waters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsxcKTDHXBvTNAjzAMN19lYL-Zcg">Curtis Waters</a> became cyber celebrities, they were mercilessly trolled by Nepalis for taking on Western names.While Santosh Shah’s performance went viral around the globe last week, back home in Nepal sugarcane farmers were protesting on the streets demanding government action against the sugar industry for not paying them. Some Twitter users drew parallels.Avinash Mishra <a href="https://twitter.com/babaubermensch/status/1339597587578425344" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/babaubermensch/status/1339597587578425344&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFfosM1uoLKjcf2BKkHn4oX-GQL4Q">@babaubermensch</a> posted: ‘While we are at the whole Santosh Shah episode. Please shift your focus a little on Madhesi Farmers protesting everyday in Kathmandu for what they deserve and were promised by the Government!’ <figure><img width="599" height="344" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befd84b0ad905ca02efd8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="599" height="183" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191120/636befda4b0ad905ca02efd9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>For the most part, however, Santosh Shah was widely applauded in Nepal’s mainstream and social media for his achievement, and for proudly flying the flag. This comment by SuvashThapa <a href="https://twitter.com/UnitedNep/status/1340148716187967490" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/UnitedNep/status/1340148716187967490&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGJLk4TWLZzQTV8mEbBq1TWVLTINg">@UnitedNep</a> was more representative of the general reaction: ‘I feel sad for people who have problems with Nepalis being proud of what @chefsantoshshah has achieved. Imagine taking offense at other people being happy. Too much black and white around and not enough grey.’

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'Santosh Shah was born in Nepal'

<figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8db9c7e80680e087887jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SANTOSH SHAH/TWITTER</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP6PGBcC5Lrnc6eLIS1G1D5p0NoA">Santosh Shah</a>, the Nepali who was runner-up in the MasterChef Professional 2020 in Britain last week, made it a point throughout the globally televised contest to highlight the country of his birth. The dishes he prepared were pan-Nepali, and his momo, yomari, kodo, chhyang, kulfi had innovative fusion elements. His mango dessert, for example, was frozen in a balloon in liquid nitrogen. His lunch preparation for the finals was presented in a tiffin box, and he spoke emotionally about how his mother back home in Saptari brought him lunch while he dug an irrigation canal. But it was in the finals, when Shah donned a “<a href="https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1339142086210285569" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1339142086210285569&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFC-oI1nc6u0inASpWjR5KSH-ZxHw">Nepali hat</a>”, that he got entangled in the fault lines in Nepal about ethnic identity, exclusion and the debate about the symbols of a unitary state. The भादगाऊँलेटोपी set off a vigorous argument in Nepal’s cybersphere about whether the cap really represented Nepal’s nationhood. While most commentators were proud of this self-made Nepali who elevated himself to the international stage through sheer determination, hard work and talent, others felt he should have promoted his Madhesi identity more. The cap caper was not the first criticism that Shah had to face in Nepal’s hyper-sensitive social media. Even the fact that his dish in the semi-final round involved <a href="https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1329620222966423552" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/chefsantoshshah/status/1329620222966423552&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNETBIiCywuito6QTjseyRPtCpa3FA">octopus prepared Nepali style</a> evoked some disapproval. “There were negative comments on social media on how my spiced chargrilled octopus dish isn’t our food,” Shah admitted to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP6PGBcC5Lrnc6eLIS1G1D5p0NoA">Nepali Times</a>. “But we need to understand that this is a global competition for a global audience.” It was for the same reason that Shah got permission from the BBC to don a ढाकाटोपी in the studio kitchen to highlight his country’s significance in the global map. Shah tweeted: ‘This is called a dream come true. Dhaka topi in master chef. Thank you BBC to allowed me to wear my national hat in MasterChef professional 2020.’ <figure><img width="599" height="454" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8de9c7e80680e087888jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>But the action got enmeshed in Nepal’s own ‘cancel culture’, driven by increasing access to social media and the anonymity of the Internet in which those whose views do not match the herd are viciously trolled.One of the first salvos was fired by none other than former Maoist ideologue and avid Tweeter <a href="https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339737072194658312" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339737072194658312&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFelUbterHlQxG8kilzgA_53AtH8A">Baburam Bhattarai</a>, who posted: ‘बधाइ सन्तोष साह!फाइनल नजितेपनि तपाईॅले विविध नेपाली परिकारलाई अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय परिचय दिएर हिमाल/पहाड/मधेसका नेपालीको मनमष्तिष्क जितिसक्नु भएकोछ। एउटाकुरा, हाम्रो संविधानले देशका सबैजाति/भाषा/संस्कृतिलाई ’राष्ट्रिय’ मानिसकेकोछ! अत: हाम्रादौरा/टोपी,धोती/गम्छा बराबर’ राष्ट्रिय’ हुन्है!’After congratulating Shah for winning the hearts and minds of Nepalis, Bhattarai took at his ‘nationalism’ by adding: ‘One more thing, our Constitution considers all ethnicities, languages and cultures as “national”. So, all our costumes are equally “national”.’ <figure><img width="397" height="117" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8df9c7e80680e087889jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1436" height="1369" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8e09c7e80680e08788ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The matter might have ended there, but the fiercely republican Bhattarai also went on to deliberately mis-spell Shah as ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339455421258498048" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/brb1954/status/1339455421258498048&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHA82WTHIjNllspCue0dQcY42DKeg">Sah</a>’, possibly to take away the royal connotation of Santosh’s surname. For this, Bhattarai was himself trolled left right and centre.One of the more civil comments was from Shristi M <a href="https://twitter.com/sristee44/status/1339963912125521924" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/sristee44/status/1339963912125521924&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNLV6ZObrz9C8LiUiUV1z-g8NdWg">@sristee44</a> who wrote: ‘Baburam has not done any productive work or labor in his life. @brb1954’s only skill and achievement is to leech off of people. Yet somehow he has the guts to tell off a highly talented chef @chefsantoshshah for HIS choices. He’s the biggest condescending mansplainer!’Another Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/Sarvasherstha/status/1339148331985952769" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/Sarvasherstha/status/1339148331985952769&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVOnDg5fVzrbUsvzH7yUCsPZELCA">@Sarvasherstha</a> also endured immediate social media backlash for the comment: ‘Not only Dhaka topi nepalese should show respect to all of the costumes languages castes and cultures of nepal then only this country can develop’. <figure><img width="600" height="546" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8e39c7e80680e08788bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="575" height="545" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8e59c7e80680e08788cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Santosh Shah may not have won MasterChef Professional, but in Nepal he is considered a hero for having come so far and for having placed his country firmly in the global consciousness through cuisine inspired by his native land.However, it also showed the ethnic, caste, class, religion and language gap in Nepal between various communities, and especially between the mountains and plains. Although a majority of posts by people in the Madhes were proud of Shah’s success, some did not like it that he had donned a symbol of Nepal’s ‘Mahendra-ist’ unitary state.Supporting Santosh Shah’s achievement, Bhumi Ghimire [<a href="https://twitter.com/BhumiGhimir/status/1339501747048476672" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/BhumiGhimir/status/1339501747048476672&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9D3ZqI-TeOty61UziSTB7TDktJQ">@BhumiGhimir</a>] wrote, ‘Anyone out there still considers people from Madhesh to be lesser Nepalis? NO ONE has represented Nepal and its culture encompassing most ethnic groups as well as this man has in recent times. What a fabulous story, he has done us so so proud. Santosh Shah was born in Nepal.’The new inclusive Constitution is supposed to provide room for everyone, but the trolling, intimidation and threats have also shown that social media can perpetuate stereotypes, enforce prejudices, and incite intolerance towards those with a different point of view. <figure><img width="398" height="590" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8e79c7e80680e08788djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1377" height="741" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8e89c7e80680e08788ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Discussion about discrimination of the Madhesi community is not new. When an alum of Budhanilkantha School, <a href="https://twitter.com/iambikashgupta/status/1270231474474643457" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/iambikashgupta/status/1270231474474643457&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFnyXprZJCo3_ZRjX14RQuS6ewJYQ">Bikash Gupta</a>, published his personal experience of ostracisation on Medium, it set off an intense debate on social media with posts that strongly agreed and disagreed with him.  Sharing Gupta’s article, Rajesh Yadav <a href="https://twitter.com/therajesh95/status/1270364350117707778" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/therajesh95/status/1270364350117707778&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG8iVBtZic6vvTUfo3fJ_NEYzJ2FA">@therajeshyadav95</a> on Twitter went on to comment, “Majority of Kids of Pahadi community are made racists by the Societies and Parents, it's unfortunate that hatred has become a culture!”Indeed, the cancel culture trend has infected Nepal’s social web as well, leaving no room for wholesome debate and constructive dialogue, so that the sites widen divisions rather than bridging them.  And it is not just Madhesi or other ethnicities who are targetted. When <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-brief-history-of-nepali-rock-and-arthur-gunn/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-brief-history-of-nepali-rock-and-arthur-gunn/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHI1CZu7PUVz3yUYfTi5gX3-GAUXA">Arthur Gunn</a>, the Nepali who was an American Idol runner-up, and rising TikTok celebrity <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-rise-of-curtis-waters/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-rise-of-curtis-waters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsxcKTDHXBvTNAjzAMN19lYL-Zcg">Curtis Waters</a> became cyber celebrities, they were mercilessly trolled by Nepalis for taking on Western names.While Santosh Shah’s performance went viral around the globe last week, back home in Nepal sugarcane farmers were protesting on the streets demanding government action against the sugar industry for not paying them. Some Twitter users drew parallels.Avinash Mishra <a href="https://twitter.com/babaubermensch/status/1339597587578425344" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/babaubermensch/status/1339597587578425344&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFfosM1uoLKjcf2BKkHn4oX-GQL4Q">@babaubermensch</a> posted: ‘While we are at the whole Santosh Shah episode. Please shift your focus a little on Madhesi Farmers protesting everyday in Kathmandu for what they deserve and were promised by the Government!’ <figure><img width="599" height="344" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8ea9c7e80680e08788fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="599" height="183" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be8ec9c7e80680e087890jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>For the most part, however, Santosh Shah was widely applauded in Nepal’s mainstream and social media for his achievement, and for proudly flying the flag. This comment by SuvashThapa <a href="https://twitter.com/UnitedNep/status/1340148716187967490" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/UnitedNep/status/1340148716187967490&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1608615562791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGJLk4TWLZzQTV8mEbBq1TWVLTINg">@UnitedNep</a> was more representative of the general reaction: ‘I feel sad for people who have problems with Nepalis being proud of what @chefsantoshshah has achieved. Imagine taking offense at other people being happy. Too much black and white around and not enough grey.’

On Tuesday, leader of the monarchist RPP once again gathered on Kathmandu’s streets to deliver fiery speeches, but this time there was no arson and looting and no need for riot police to fire live rounds or tear gas.
RPP leaders demanded the release of their members including vice-president Rabindra Mishra and MP Dhawal Shamsher Rana were arrested during the violent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">28 March protests at Tinkune </a>which left two dead. 
They denounced the current leadership of the main parties, demanding the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-party-reincarnating-hindu-monarchy">restitution of Nepal as a Hindu kingdom</a>. They also said the government was responsible for the fatalities on 28 March because it provoked its rally with a tear gas attack even before it started.
It has now been revealed that the police fired at least 100 live rounds from high powered assault rifles at the crowd. Twenty-one of the 120 injured received bullet wounds, and most of them were bystanders and people trying to reach home. 
Tuesday protest on the Ring Road in Balkhu was much more subdued, and comparatively fewer RPP supporters showed up. The arson and vandalism in the previous protest appears to have cost some support for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal">former king Gyanendra </a>especially for the anointment of medical tycoon and bank defaulter <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/street-politics">Durga Prasai </a>as ‘commander’ of the Tinkune rally.
Some monarchists acknowledge Gyanendra’s mistakes when was king 2001-2008, but say he has had a lot of time to reflect on his shortcomings and seems more disciplined and committed. His supporters have tried to build on nostalgia among some Nepalis for<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-invest-in-nepal"> domestic stability </a>and international respect that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">the monarchy</a> commanded. 
“Nepalis were promised better service delivery, opportunities for the underserved, as well as better, more honest use of state resources, but the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16992">people in leadership </a>have not been able to deliver on their commitments,” says RPP leader Prakash Chandra Lohani. “The gap between their rhetoric and reality has widened, the people feel betrayed, and the respect Nepali people had previously had for them has changed to revulsion.” 
Indeed, many commentators have warned the three main parties and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/politics-as-usual">serial prime ministers</a> who have ruled Nepal for much of the past 30 years should address rising public anger with them, and see the writing on the wall.
‘<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-government-changes-again">The UML, NC and Maoists</a> must introspect about their conduct,” warns Gunaraj Luitel, editor of Nagarik, in an op-ed this week. ‘These leaders for life may save themselves from simmering public anger, but they will not be able to save the system. The monarchist wave can only be dispelled when citizens are assured of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-local-election-gives-power-back-to-people">better governance</a> through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/real-world-training-for-youth-leaders">younger leaders</a>, and reforms.’ 
Rifts between radical royals who are gunning for a return to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">Panchayat-style absolutism </a>and moderate monarchists who favour a constitutional king have also weakened the movement somewhat. The split between the RPP and RPP-Nepal cost the royalists numbers in Parliament in 2022, and both parties denounced the violence last month, albeit shifting the blame on the government.
The irony is that the same royalists who want to scrap the republican Constitution had formed electoral alliances with the UML during the 2022 elections. RPP-Nepal chair Kamal Thapa contested the 2022 election with the UML. Thapa has not taken part in the last two rallies, saying he will only be a part of a movement under a national flag, and not a RPP party banner.
For his part, the RPP’s Rajendra Lingden is said to be hesitant to censure some of his party’s more radical royalists for fear of fissure within his ranks, despite his aversion to Durga Prasai’s role. 
Analysts have questioned why <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/old-is-still-gold-in-nepali-politics">supporters of the monarchy </a>have decided to reestablish an institution that would not ultimately have executive decision-making power. There are doubts about whether authoritarian-minded Gyanendra will be satisfied being a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13957">ceremonial king</a>. 
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-deja-vu-on-black-friday">Nepal’s déjà vu on Black Friday</a>, Sonia Awale
"The Nepali people will not accept <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/forgotten-woman-who-sheltered-communist-activists">an absolute monarchy </a>at this point of time, and both the public as well as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">king Gyanendra</a> are fully aware that there is no other possibility beyond a constitutional monarchy," asserts the RPP’s Lohani. “The traditional monarchy’s institutional capacity might have been enough to meet the needs of feudal Nepal, but an absolute monarchy is impossible both in concept and practice in the context of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Economic-Class/waiting-for-an-industrial-revolution,784">modern day Nepal</a>.”

New year revolutions

Besides multiple <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">street demonstrations </a>that gridlocked Kathmandu’s traffic for the past weeks, public discourse in Nepal has also been dominated by dangerously <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking">high air pollution levels</a>. Caused mostly by hundreds of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/wildfire-season-starts-early-in-nepal">forest fires </a>raging across the country, the smoke contains suspended soot particles that harms <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/playing-with-poison">human health</a>. Thursday’s rain have cleared the air somewhat, and many people will soon forget how bad the air quality was. But the time to address the roots of next summer’s fire season is now.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411060440_d1a119716a9031aadfdd611d299348d436842d376a03e664b8d773957a237524.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250411060440_d1a119716a9031aadfdd611d299348d436842d376a03e664b8d773957a237524" data-rendition-name="original" width="502" height="540" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfires"> <figcaption>EXTINGUISHED: Forest fires raging all over Nepal in the week after 3 March (above) reduced air quality, creating a public health hazard in Kathmandu and across the country. Each red dot is a fire detected by infrared sensors on the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) satellite. But the rain on Thursday doused most of the fires (below) with more rain forecast over the weekend.</figcaption> </figure>  The reason everyone was talking about air pollution was because the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke"> smoke from wildfires</a> was visible. But much more toxic are the invisible and odourless <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-doubles-its-carbon-footprint">gases from vehicular and industrial emissions </a>which have always been there. The theme of World Health Day on 7 April this week was ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures’ dedicated to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-more-mothers-and-babies">preventing maternal and newborn deaths</a>. It is estimated that in Nepal, 30% of neonatal mortality can be blamed on air pollution. But that is only part of the story. Harmful as fine particulate matter is to human health, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone and other gases in vehicular emissions are more hazardous to health. While the concentration of suspended particulate matter tinier than 1.5 microns (PM2.5) is closely monitored, these toxic gases are invisible, not measured much, and the public is not aware about the dangers they pose. Surface ozone is produced by the interaction of various gases found when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/fossil-fuels-poison-air">burning fossil fuels</a>. Besides being poisonous, ground level ozone contributes up to 0.23°C to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">global warming</a> because it is also a greenhouse gas. A new policy brief by the Clean Air Fund titled The Case for Action on Tropospheric Ozone blames surface ozone for a half a million premature deaths every year, 54.8% of which are in South Asia. Ozone also stunts plant growth and reduces crop yields by 26% globally, and 11% loss in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/economic-benefits-of-saving-the-ecology">forest productivity</a>, the report adds.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411060456_aa02a923f8b27544ae54d0220162678f5bbb5eeb8fc3c466173c22c49b3e9a85.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250411060456_aa02a923f8b27544ae54d0220162678f5bbb5eeb8fc3c466173c22c49b3e9a85" data-rendition-name="original" width="998" height="724" loading="lazy" alt="Gas Chambers"> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bad-air-and-polluted-politics">Bad air and polluted politics</a>, Sonia Awale Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air like other gases, but is formed when oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from automobile tailpipes or industry smokestacks react chemically with each other in the presence of sunlight. The main source of carbon monoxide in Kathmandu Valley are its 1.2 million two-wheelers. “Usually the concentration of carbon monoxide is 200-500 parts per billion (ppb), this has increased up to 3,000 in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, ground-level ozone has gone from 70-80 ppb to 150 ppb,” says Ravi Sahu, regional air quality specialist with the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).&nbsp; Sahu says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-smoke-without-fire-p7vb9dcj">rampant forest fires of the past weeks</a> have also added to carbon monoxide and ozone in the air, not just the fine particles that make up the visible smoke. He adds, “There isn’t much awareness about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe">ground-level ozone and carbon monoxide</a>, we need to urgently look into it.” A distinction must be made between good and bad ozone. Stratospheric ozone protects living beings from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.&nbsp; Tropospheric ozone can again be separated into two types: ozone in the free atmosphere which is a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide, and ground-level ozone which has adverse impacts on health and agriculture. ‘Cutting tropospheric ozone presents a unique challenge as it requires smart and fast action across multiple greenhouse gases and air pollutants, as well as multiple economic sectors,’ notes the Clean Air Fund's policy briefing. ‘It is a growing and neglected problem that needs an integrated approach on both a local and global level to tackle climate change and air pollution together.’ Dying young There was a time when Nepal made it to international news bulletins only if there were fatalities on Mt Everest. Now, Kathmandu’s bad air frequently makes headlines all over the world. This past week, the concentration of PM2.5 that harms human health was up to 40 times the WHO recommended guideline — adding to the poisonous gases already present from vehicle emissions. The Department of Environment says 40% of the pollution in the past weeks was from wildfires sparked by nearly 6 months without substantial rain over central Nepal. Most of the rest is from vehicular and industrial emissions from Kathmandu itself and across the southern border. NASA’s Fire Information and Resource Management System (FIRMS) which issues daily maps of fires, showed hundreds of blazes raging across Nepal on Wednesday, mainly in Chitwan, Parsa and along the East-West Highway.&nbsp; “If we look at the figures for the last few years, it is clear that wildfires have become the biggest source of air pollution, they are seasonal but have overtaken vehicular emissions,” says urban planner and environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar. “Forest fires, stubble burning, and open burning of garbage are the bigger problems now. Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are at risk every year, we shouldn’t further delay in finding solutions,” warned air quality expert Bhupendra Das during an event on air pollution organised on 7 March by the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ).&nbsp; Indeed, studies have shown that in winter 60% of the air pollution over Kathmandu is transboundary from the south, and in November it is compounded by smoke from crop residue burning by farmers in India and Pakistan blown in by prevailing winds. Forest fires are a regular pre-monsoon occurrence in Nepal, often intentionally set by farmers and herders to stimulate new grass growth for livestock. Winter rains have failed for eight of the past ten years, and this means the fires often spread out of control. The other reason for the increase in wildfires is the doubling of forest fires to 46% of the country’s area in the past 25 years. But this has happened simultaneously with outmigration, with some mountain districts losing 30% of their population between 2011-2021. With less pressure on forests for fodder and firewood, the undergrowth of community forests is loaded with dry fuel just waiting for a spark. The bowl-shaped topography of Kathmandu, Pokhara and other valleys further concentrates pollutants as they are trapped by surrounding mountains. But a year with a high number of wildfires is usually followed by a year or two with fewer incidents. For example: there were 6,537 fires in 2021 but the following year the number was down to 1,528. There were 5,216 fires last year, this year the number has already reached 1,800, and the trend is likely to be broken. Heavy rains forecast for the coming days are expected to douse some of the fires and clean up the air. But the damage has been done: Kathmandu residents of all age groups this week crowded clinics and hospitals with burning eyes, itchy throats, difficulty breathing, headaches, and dizziness. But in the longer term, soot particles that are tiny enough to jump the blood-air divide in lung capillaries do not just cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, but also cancers, heart attacks, strokes, birth defects and other chronic diseases. The latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the University of Chicago shows that the annual concentration of PM2.5 in Kathmandu’s air rose from 17.87µg/m3 in 1998 to 31.33µg/m3 in 2022. Air pollution has got worse by 75% in Kathmandu in 25 years. During this time, air pollution has reduced the average life expectancy of Kathmandu’s residents by 3.5 years. According to the Health Effects Institute in Boston, dirty air is among the biggest public health concerns in Nepal killing over 42,100 a year. The adverse impact of high levels of air pollution is not limited to public health, it is seriously affecting tourism. Operators in Pokhara this week said that there were many negative online posts by visitors unable to see the famous panorama of Machapuchre and the Annapurnas even from Sarangkot. Aviation is also affected, as planes have to circle sometimes for hours burning a lot of fuel because of runway visibility being below minima at Kathmandu airport. The higher fuel cost is just passed down to customers, making air tickets in and out of Kathmandu some of the highest in the world. Kathmandu, with a population of four million, has not implemented a concrete policy to curb toxic air despite having formulated various action plans and repeated commitments by the government to protect the environment and control air pollution. The Department of Environment’s 2017 Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu put forward a policy to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles which was approved by the Cabinet, but has yet to be put to practice. The action included the immediate implementation of the Euro 5 emission standard to reduce pollution emitted by vehicles. However, Nepal has not even been able to implement Euro 4 standards so far. India, meanwhile, has already moved forward with the implementation of the Euro 6 standards. Says Ravi Sahu: “Air pollution in Nepal is not just about air pollution, it has ties to tourism, aviation, the economy so we must be prepared for annual conditions like forest fires, and this requires urgent interdisciplinary collaboration.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411050452_821d09e283d8a590f1369bfb71b9b7fc6d950726e0651ea86c6488d04deb1742.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250411050452_821d09e283d8a590f1369bfb71b9b7fc6d950726e0651ea86c6488d04deb1742" data-rendition-name="original" width="839" height="784" loading="lazy" alt="Silent Killers"> </figure>  &nbsp;

What is invisible is more dangerous

Here in the mountains of far-western Nepal, the biggest threat to life and limb is gravity. Women collecting fodder fall from trees, boys grazing goats fall off cliffs, heavily loaded tractors plunge from dirt roads carved out of steep slopes. There is nothing to be done about those who die on the spot. But for the severely wounded there is only one hospital: Bayalpata. And it is there that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJzWlnYd0ZM&amp;t=8s" target="_blank">orthopaedic surgeon Mandeep Pathak</a> is the last hope for many wounded people. Pathak, 42, is too modest to tell us how many lives he has saved over the past 10 years he has worked at Bayalpata. But hospital records show he has performed more than 4,000 operations in the past decade, many of them so patients did not suffer permanent physical disabilities. Pathak also did 800 major life-saving surgeries in that time. “I treat patients with injuries, but I wish I could also treat poverty,” Pathak says, emerging from Bayalpata’s surgical theatre one recent afternoon. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="700" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CJzWlnYd0ZM?si=s_rkbU4YDaw87gqH" 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> Sudurpaschim Province in Nepal’s far-west is far away from everything: from Kathmandu, from adequate medical care, from food security, and far from the reach of government services. It has suffered state neglect for centuries, its men mainly migrating to India for seasonal work to families who depend on subsistence agriculture. Pathak remembers the searing sadness he felt when a patient once told him, “Doctor, I sold the last of my rice to pay to come here, please give me a medicine that I can take on an empty stomach.” Pathak was born in Kathmandu, and after getting his MBBS from Kathmandu University, he got an MD from The Philippines. At a time when many Nepali doctors and staff nurses were emigrating, Pathak did not just return to Kathmandu but decided to go to one of the remotest districts in Nepal to serve those most in need. The hospital was established in 2009 in the village of Bayalpata, and has been managed by the non-profit <a href="https://www.nyayahealthnepal.org/" target="_blank">Nyaya Health Nepal (NHN)</a> as a public-private partnership treating 100,000 patients a year for no fees at all. NHN is now preparing to hand over the running of the hospital to the Sudurpaschim provincial government so its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health" target="_blank">model of hospital management</a> can be replicated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250414130456_b59dabd4604a24426a55fe91c0e5866b5029858bdb4c4028c331557aeb5408ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250414130456_b59dabd4604a24426a55fe91c0e5866b5029858bdb4c4028c331557aeb5408ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Bayalpata hospital"> <figcaption>Bayalpata hospital in Achham.</figcaption> </figure>  People from not just Achham but surrounding districts, and from as far away as Humla, bring patients to Bayalpata, sometimes walking for days. Some with complicated pregnancies are brought in stretchers, young children with broken arms walk into the emergency, and sometimes there are mass casualties when a tractor or bus falls off a road. And Pathak is always there with his team performing triage, and doing orthopaedic surgeries that would be difficult even in Kathmandu. Recently, his team did a hip replacement at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/state-of-the-art-rural-hospital" target="_blank">Bayalpata Hospital</a>. Mild mannered, modest, soft-spoken, hard-working, professional are the words families of patients who have been treated at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-rural-lifeline" target="_blank">Bayalpata Hospital </a>use to describe Mandeep Pathak. But the surgeon is too busy to let all this get to this head.&nbsp; Asked why he does not emigrate like his peers or get a lucrative position at a private hospital in Kathmandu, Pathak answers simply, without a trace of self-importance, “I do not think I could get the satisfaction or sense of fulfilment anywhere else.” When travelling to attend medical congresses overseas or visit family in Kathmandu, Bayalpata has other doctors to take care of patients, but many wait patiently till Pathak returns for their consultation or surgery.&nbsp; When he returns from seminars abroad after learning the latest skills, Pathak’s suitcases are not full of clothes or presents, but titanium bone implants, external fixation rods, or intramedullary nails to be used in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/altruistic-healthcare-models-in-nepal" target="_blank">surgeries at Bayalpata</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041414040_5356278472c1eb2b9e4af1d593d6234cc8dc5e5161a8c614197c01abefadbd80.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025041414040_5356278472c1eb2b9e4af1d593d6234cc8dc5e5161a8c614197c01abefadbd80" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1368" loading="lazy" alt="surgery"> </figure>  Before Bayalpata Hospital was established, most people suffering broken bones had to travel down to Dhangadi or Nepalganj for treatment. No more. Although Pathak’s specialisation is orthopaedic oncology, he is mostly treating fractures and rejoining broken bones.&nbsp; Now as Bayalpata’s Hospital Director, Pathak also has administrative and fundraising duties. He has to take the 10-hour ride down to Dhangadi often to meet various Sudurpaschim ministries to release the hospital’s budget — that is sometimes more difficult than the most complicated surgery. Recently, he had to cancel an appointment with the Chief Minister to rush back to Bayalpata because there was a patient who needed emergency surgery. “I told myself, let me save this patient first, then I will try to save the hospital,” he recalls.&nbsp; Once, when he had to be away for a month on emergency surgery training in the US, the family of a 90-year-old woman who had dislocated her hip after falling from a staircase was waiting for him to return. Her son told Pathak: “Doctor, either put her out of her suffering, or cure her.” Pathak told him it was too dangerous to operate at her age, but the son said his mother was in so much pain it was worth the risk. The operation was touch-and-go, but it was successful. The woman who had been brought in on a stretcher, walked out of the hospital three days after the operation.&nbsp; A few months later, a 27-year-old woman was brought into the ER bleeding profusely from an arm mangled by a thresher machine. Even in that state, she was breastfeeding her baby. Pathak welled up seeing this display of selfless motherhood, as he wheeled her into surgery. She needed three operations, but now has full use of her hand. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="700" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJdxLD0hBqo?si=mOpM2R_DsYL88Lfg" 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> It is the sense of achievement from such recovery that keeps Mandeep Pathak here in this isolated village in the middle of nowhere. Bayalpata Hospital has not just saved lives, it also saves families from poverty because they do not have to take sick relatives to expensive city hospitals.&nbsp; In January, a woman was brought to Bayalpata with both hands broken. She said she had taken a fall, but Pathak did not believe her. When alone in the surgery, she finally admitted that her husband had beaten her.&nbsp; It was her husband who had brought her to hospital for treatment, but she refused to file a police report. Pathak quietly put both her arms in casts, thinking about the poverty, patriarchy and injustice in society that he is unable to treat.

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