<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17369c7e80680e0ac754jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"/><figcaption>Patan's Bhaidega temple was destroyed in the 1934 megaquake, and had just started to be rebuilt 82 years later when the 2015 diaster struck and resources were diverted to other restoration. The three-storey shrine (in scaffolding) is now being reconstructed in the original design. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>When an 8.3 magnitude earthquake hit Kathmandu in 1934, a three-storey temple in Patan collapsed. Eighty-two years later, just as work had officially started to rebuild it, the 2015 earthquake hit central Nepal.The Bhaidega temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built more than 350 years ago, but after it was destroyed in 1934, it was rebuilt with a much smaller Moghul style dome. Two months after work began in February 2015 to rebuild it in the original style, the earthquake destroyed much of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/Patan-town-as-a-museum-piece" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patan Darbar Square</a>.The 2015 quake killed nearly 10,000 people, and many of the temple, monuments, and homes of Kathmandu Valley’s historic towns were destroyed. For the following two years, as priorities shifted, the reconstruction of Bhaidega was suspended so that the other temples could be restored first.“When the earthquake struck, the focus and priorities changed. There was an urgent need to rebuild the temples and monuments brought down by the earthquake,” recalls Rohit Ranjitkar of <a href="https://kvptnepal.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT)</a>, which was leading the restoration of the temple. “So, Bhaidega took a back seat.”Six years after the 2015 quake, while the temples around it have come out of their scaffolding, the work on the Bhaidega is stalled because money has run out.The timeline for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/good-as-old-after-two-earthquakes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reconstruction of Bhaidega</a> is proof that restoration of quake-damaged monuments take a long time in Nepal, and tend to overlap each other.But earthquakes in Nepal also provide an opportunity to rediscover traditional seismic resistant construction methods, so they can be built back better, and revive ancient craftsmanship.What sets Bhaidega apart is that unlike the other temples of the Patan Darbar which were built by the Malla kings, it was put up by a commoner, Bharo Bhagirath Bhaiya in 1678. Historians believe Bhagirath Bhaiya was probably the first person in the Subcontinent to dedicate a temple to Vishweshwar after the desecration of the original shrine in Banaras nine years earlier.The Kashi Vishwanath temple in Banaras was destroyed on orders of Moghul emperor Aurangezeb. Ironically, after the 1934 earthquake, Bhaidega was rebuilt in the Moghul stucco dome architectural style that the rulers of Nepal copied.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17389c7e80680e0ac755jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="534"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d173b9c7e80680e0ac756jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="547"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d173d9c7e80680e0ac757jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“In the past, people did not really have a concept of conservation. The priority was to have a roof over the idol of the deity,” says Ranjitkar. “So, they rebuilt it anyhow, but it was important to rebuild in the original form.”<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/norway-restoration-project-patan-durbar-square-bhaidegah,2179" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Restoration work</a> actually had begun early as 2011 when well-wishers, conservation architects, historians, and community activists started to collect photos of Bhaidega taken eighty years before and traced to the collection of Felix Brandt in Germany. The photos show only partial facets of the original Bhaidega but was vital in estimating the size and outline of the temple.Detailed watercolour of the woodwork of the first-floor struts, cornices, and pillars made by Henry Ambrose Oldfield in 1853 were discovered in the British Museum. More importantly, carved wooden struts 4m tall, subsidiary struts, and pillars of the temple were discovered in the Patan Museum storeroom.All these provide clues for the reconstruction and designs for the missing wood carvings. With additional research, restoration architects could then draw up sketches of what the restored temple would look like.“When you look at the photos that are available, you can see that the carvings in Bhaidega are one of the best in the city if not the country,” says Indra Prasad Shilpakar, one of the master carvers working on the temple. “It showed us that we were on the right track, and it makes us proud that we are helping revive a part of Nepali art and history that was almost forgotten.”Rebuilding slowed after the 2015 earthquake because <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-the-intangible,3303" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other temples were also destroyed or damaged</a>, but the interruption was also an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opportunity to build back better</a>.“The earthquake gave us a chance to look at the foundation of Bhaidega which would not have happened if the earthquake had not hit,” says Ranjitkar.The plan was to rebuild on the original plinth, but upon inspection the team found that the foundation of the temple was weaker than what they had anticipated. Not only was it shallower but some of the stones used were round.“Rounder uncarved stones move around easily and are not structurally safe. This meant that we had to spend a lot of time and money to reinforce the foundation and make it stronger,” explains Ranjitkar.After 2015, funds and expertise were diverted to other monuments in the Valley as the country went into an emergency response mode. On the heritage front, Nepal faced a crisis of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/featured-videos/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">skilled artisans</a> to rebuild and restore collapsed and damaged monuments. This led to an increase in the cost of workers’ wages, timber, bricks, and other building materials.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17419c7e80680e0ac758jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="995" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17449c7e80680e0ac759jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="995" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2012, the preliminary cost estimate for the Bhaidega restoration was about Rs40 million. Within seven years, it had more than doubled to Rs90 million.Another temple in the Patan Darbar Square, the Harishankar shrine, similar in size to the original Bhaidega did not cost as much to restore because 80% of its carved wooden columns, struts, eaves were retrieved after the temple collapsed.In the case of Bhaidega, much of the wood carvings need to be replicated and built anew, which takes up the bulk of the expense, expertise, and time. Additionally, Bhaidega also needs extensive bricklaying, roof tiles, terracotta, and repairs and gilding of the original pinnacle.Because of the overwhelming need to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/In-perfect-harmony,3251" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rebuild other temples and monuments</a> destroyed in 2015, Bhaidega was not a priority for donors and the government.“We approached the government for timber at the official rate, but the Forest Ministry did not even grant us that,” says Prithvi Pande, who is the chair of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Group, a citizen’s group. “The government talks about importance of heritage and tourism but can’t even provide wood to rebuild our temples.”A big part of the rebuilding cost has been borne by Pande and his colleagues.  Before the earthquake, the Norwegian Embassy contributed to the shortfall in the initial cost estimate. After the earthquake, other private citizens and the Lalitpur Municipality also supported the cause. But funds have now dried up, while prices have skyrocketed.Ranjitkar of KVPT says the work on restoration has slowed, and there is a budget shortfall of more than Rs30 million.To ensure that the restoration makes up for lost time, the KVPT team worked through the pandemic, following safety protocols. Only the first floor has so far been completed and work is ongoing on the second tier.Most of the wood carving work for the doors, windows, columns, including the lower cornices have been completed.Says Ranjitkar, “If we get the required amount, we can finish rebuilding in 10-12 months. But it is going to get more expensive the longer it takes.”To Donate:Bank Account name: Sanskritik Sampada Samrakshan SamuhaBank and Account no: 040-0103-0250856, Nepal Investment Bank, Lagankhel Branch, Lalitpur<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17479c7e80680e0ac75ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>_________________<h2>Who was Bhagirath Bhaiya?</h2>Bhagirath Bhaiya was a commoner who served as prime minister of the kingdom of Patan for 16 years during the reign of King Srinivas Malla. Known for his philanthropy, he was a reputed military commander and fought in battles in Makwanpur and elsewhere.He donated much land, upgraded the town’s facilities, and repaired temples in Patan and Pharping. In 1678, he built the Bhaidega temple replicating a Shiva lingam at the Kashi Vishwanath in Banaras which was destroyed nine years earlier.For the inauguration of the temple, he also built the pavilion of Lampati that still stands today across the street south of Bhaidega. It was from here that invited Kings and nobility watched the consecration of the temple. The guests included the royalty of Patan, Bhaktapur King Jitamitra and his brother Ugra Malla, King of Kathmandu Nripendra Malla and his brothers Mahipatindra and Parthivendra. Even the king of Tanahu Bhaiya Rudra Sen was invited.King Srinivas held Bhagirath Bhaiya in great esteem, and this is evident in an inscription dating 1674 at Matsyendranāth Temple, where he asks the public ‘to make no distinction between him and me’.But the elevation of Bhagirath Bhaiya did not sit well with some members of the nobility, especially Yoganarendra Malla who was envious of the former. Having consolidated power in the court, they stripped him of his position in 1685. There are written records that Bhagirath Bhaiya was ‘dragged all the way from his residence (to the palace)’.A year later, King Yoganarendra Malla usurped power from his father, and had Bhagirath Bhaiya killed.

Sahina Shrestha

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1084x550

Restoring a piece of Nepal’s history

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933799c7e80680e03df9fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Yuntai or Cloud Platform, located at the base of the Great Wall's Juyongguan section. Photos: SEWA BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>The Great Wall of China is one of the world’s most famous landmarks, but what is less well known is the historical link between this World Heritage Site to another one 4,000km to the south in Kathmandu Valley. Here on the white marble Cloud Platform of the Juyongguan Section of the Great Wall 60km from Beijing, visitors come across ancient Buddhist inscriptions that tell the story of the influence of Nepal on the Yuan dynasty in the 13thcentury.At the base of the Great Wall is an arch built in 1345 and inscribed with Buddhist sutras in six languages: Mandarin, Tibetan, Uyghur, Mongolian, Tangut and Sanskrit. Kublai Khan and his descendants had to pass under the script of the Buddhist scriptures when they visited nearby temples.What is surprising is that the Sanskrit lines inside the arch are not in the usual Devanagari letters, but in the Ranjana script that originated in Kathmandu Valley.   <figure><img width="2592" height="1944" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/6369337d9c7e80680e03dfa0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ranjana is called ‘Lanzha’ in Mandarin, and can be found in religious monuments across Tibet and China, having travelled with the spread of Mahayana Buddhism, whose main texts including the Pragya Paramita are written in Ranjana. Many sects of Buddhism had already spread to China through Central and South Asia more than 2,000 years ago, but they were overlaid by Mahayana Buddhism after Princess Bhrikuti took the sect to Tibet in the 7th century from Kathmandu Valley. The practice of inscribing Buddhist scriptures in a distinctive Nepali style have been documented from this time. Cultural historian Satya Mohan Joshi believes that tradition began as early as the 7thcentury in China after the arrival in Beijing of Priyajiv, the ambassador of King Narendra Dev. In his book on <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-life-and-times-of-arniko/">Arniko</a>, Joshi cites a 1,400-year-old stele inscribed with the Usnisa Vijaya Dharini Sutra in the Xi'an Museum. However, Ranjaan was not in the picture yet, and these scripts may have been the precursors of Ranjana. Ranjana started appearing in Buddhist monuments after the 12th century.  <figure><img width="2502" height="757" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933809c7e80680e03dfa1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ranjana alphabet was derived from the Brahmi script and originally developed in Nepal in the 11th century, which is why some say it should be called the ‘Nepali script’. "In Nepal the Brahmi developed into the Lichhavi script and the Nepal script, which further was transformed to Ranjana," says Devdas Manandhar, a forceful proponent for the preservation of Ranjana. "The Nepal script was uniquely Nepali and has a very distinctive way of writing the vowel ‘ae’ which carried over to Ranjana.” However, other scholars say the script originated in Bengal and transferred to Nepal along with other cultural heritage after Buddhism was overrun in northern India. Buddhist scholar Basanta Maharjan says that the Ranjana letters were beautified, and preserved by the Newars of Kathmandu Valley from where it travelled to Tibet, China and on to Korea and Japan."Tibet's religion and philosophy were influential not just in China but in Mongolia in the north and Kashmir in the west. The version of Ranjana found in all these places is distinctly Nepali, and that is something that we can be proud of," says Maharjan.  <img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933839c7e80680e03dfa2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="850" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933869c7e80680e03dfa3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933899c7e80680e03dfa4jpeg.jpg" alt="">Nepali art and philosophy got another boost in China from Arniko, the Kathmandu architect who travelled to Beijing in the 13thcentury to help  <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7263#.W-JtI6cQ0Wp">Kublai Khan</a> build temples and monuments with Buddhist symbolism, and leave a Nepali imprint in the ancient architecture of China, Korea and Japan.  Satya Mohan Joshi researched Arniko in China, and is convinced it was Arniko's influence that helped spread the Ranjana script. The White Dagoba built by Arniko in Beijing in 1279 still stands today, and contains many distinct Ranjana inscriptions. The Cloud Platform at the Great Wall, which Joshi also documented in his book, was built almost a century after Arniko reached China and shows his influence. On top of the arch are Garuda, crocodiles, and other carved elements which look like they have been transplanted from Kathmandu.The Ranjana script was used in a new golden stupa built in Beijing's Patachou as recently as 1960 to house the Buddha's tooth relic. "The prevalence of this script is an example of the enduring influence of Arniko, and the close cultural links between Nepal and China," says Joshi.  <img width="2592" height="1944" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/6369338c9c7e80680e03dfa5jpeg.jpg" alt="">Arniko created the White Pagoda on Kublai Khan's command, and it was then a symbol of the unification of China under Yuan dynasty. Today the Miaoying Temple museum in Beijing acknowledges his work as ‘a great symbol of cultural exchange between Nepal and China’. That Nepali art, architecture and the Ranjana script were so widespread in China are proof of this historical trans-Himalayan connection. Devdas Manandhar says that Ranjana is Nepal’s gift to Asia’s culture, and is still seen from Kashmir to the Great Wall of China, and in Japan. He explains: "Since the Ranjana script was associated with the Buddhist scriptures, it is always found above doors, so that you never stepped on the holy fonts.”

1250x600

The script of the scriptures

This year, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/quo-vadis-un-80-9vthn7mg">United Nations is marking its 80th anniversary</a> and it is being celebrated with special events across the world to commemorate its establishment on 24 October 1945. It has also been 75 years since the first UN adviser, the Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, was sent to Nepal to explore development opportunities. In 1950, there were no roads and Hagen walked on foot across the length and breadth of Nepal’s mountains, valleys and plains. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Nepal, and much of Hagen’s work laid the basis for the UN’s involvement in education, health, and connectivity in Nepal’s future development. Despite frequent changes in government and political system, Nepal has made remarkable progress. The poverty rate has gone down by half in the past 30 years to 20.27% of the population. Much of it has to do with remittances from Nepalis working overseas, but it is also a result of the Nepal government’s investment in education, health care and social welfare.&nbsp; There have been special initiatives like the Prime Minister’s Employment Program that have provided jobs to nearly 800,000 people in the country’s 743 municipalities — especially in those areas with lower Human Development Index (HDI) like the far-west and the Tarai.&nbsp; This year’s HDI report by UNDP shows that Nepal’s score had risen to 0.622, whereas it was only 0.404 in 1990. In the past 33 years, the average lifespan of Nepalis has risen by 15.6 years to 70.4 years, whereas it was only 54.8 in 1990. However, the country’s HDI ranking is still 145 among the world’s 193 countries. “Yes, there has been significant improvement in living standards in the past 60 years, road connectivity has improved, the maternal mortality rate has gone down dramatically, almost everyone has phones, there are schools,” says Saru Joshi of the thinktank Nepal Policy Institute. But, she adds: “It is still difficult to get citizenship papers, especially in the name of the mother, and this has excluded many women from banking services, inheritance. After all our progress in physical infrastructure, Nepal now needs to prioritise inclusive social development.”&nbsp; Some of this is also happening. Eighteen years ago, Nabaraj Subedi, 49, of a village in Baglung decided not to join his peers &nbsp;fleeing the Maoist conflict to find work overseas. He invested Rs500,000 to buy a diesel generator and start a small furniture business.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nawaraj Subedi"> <figcaption>Nawaraj Subedi, 49, proprietor of Tarakhola Furniture Factory. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, with the installation of the 380 kilowatt small hydroelectric plant, he does not need to depend on his unreliable generator to power his equipment anymore. There is now a road connecting his village, and Subedi has generated local jobs, opened a sales branch in the city, and gets orders from as far away as Pokhara and Chitwan. “My costs have gone down drastically because of the electricity, and sales have gone up because of the road connecting my furniture to markets. My business has expanded,” Subedi says. Back in 1960 in a report he prepared for the Nepal government on behalf of the United Nations, Toni Hagen had emphasised just this: investing in electricity generation and connectivity to uplift the remote rural areas of Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Tarakhola Furniture Factory"> <figcaption>Subedi's staff at the Tarakhola Furniture Factory.</figcaption> </figure>  Subedi’s furniture factory gets its electricity from the nearby Tarakhola Hydropower, a company set up eight years ago with financial and technical support from UNDP’s Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL) project. &nbsp; “The project completely transformed living standards in this village,” says municipality chair Dhan Bahadur BK. “It has helped create jobs locally, there is now money to invest in education and healthcare. Households can pay their electricity fees electronically through smart billing.”&nbsp; After working with the government on rural electrification, UNDP is focussed on using that power for local employment creation. A women’s group, for example, has bought an electric-powered potato processing machine that can produce chips.&nbsp; “We are 12 of us mothers, daughters, daughters-in-law who process, package and market the potato that we grow ourselves, and it has raised our income,” says Sukmaya Roka, 57, who chairs the group.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Sukamaya Roka"> <figcaption>Sukamaya Roka, 57, chair of Sipa Aalu Chips Utpadan Samuha from Tarakhola Rural Municipality, Baglung. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, 6.1 million households in Nepal (92.2% of total) have electricity in their homes, up from 17.9% 30 years ago. Access to electricity has not just brought lights to homes, but improved everything from productivity, quality of education, healthcare and phone connectivity.&nbsp; “To see what electricity and roads can do, just look at our municipality,” says chair Dhan Bahadur BK, “citizens have become more self-reliant, more aware of the outside world.”&nbsp; NETTLES INTO CASH&nbsp; Just a little bit of training, resource backup and local empowerment can uplift the living standards of Nepalis. The progress made in harvesting abundantly-available allo (nettles) and turning it into household products is an example. When a landslide swept away his home and farm in a flood 40 years ago, Buddhi Purja of Parbat became destitute. But he took part in a government training program supported by UNDP and Australia to harvest the wild nettles that grew on mountain slopes and turn the fabric into bags.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rhitu Saugat Handicraft"> <figcaption>A worker at Rhitu Saugat Handicraft making a bag out of nettles.</figcaption> </figure>  “After the landslide, we had to go hungry if we did not get a day job,” Purja recalls, “but after this training we have found that we can turn nettles into cash.” His allo bags are now hanging in tourist shops in Pokhara Lakeside and Thamel.&nbsp; The idea that nettles can be processed into useful fabric has not spread across the country, and new ecologically conscious consumers in Europe and elsewhere now import Made in Nepal nettle products.&nbsp; Purja started out with an investment of Rs500,000, and had a Rs20 million business that employed 25 workers. The Covid crisis in 2020 affected the sales, but Purja has recovered from it, sent his daughter off to study abroad, and is thinking of diversifying his product range.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Buddi Purja"> <figcaption>Buddi Purja, proprietor of Rhitu Saugat Handicraft in Pokhara.</figcaption> </figure>  While UNDP’s project has made successful businessmen out of people like Purja, nationwide it has created 187,000 jobs in rural medium-scale industries. Much of what has worked in Nepal has been at the community level with decentralised projects like these that use the entrepreneurship of people like Buddhi Purja, Navaraj Subedi, and Sukmaya Roka. It is tantalising to imagine how much more progress Nepal would have made if their work could be replicated nationside and upscaled to the state-level.

Think locally, invest locally

Public anxiety about immigration has become a powerful political currency across many liberal democracies. In Australia, as elsewhere, legitimate concerns about housing and economic fairness can be, and increasingly are exploited by anti-democratic actors who frame migration not as a policy issue but as a cultural threat.&nbsp;
When these narratives move from online spaces to public rallies, they do more than divide opinion; they erode the social trust and pluralism on which democracy depends. Understanding how populist and far-right movements weaponise migration debates is crucial to recognising the early challenging signs of liberal democracy.
Immigration has become one of the most politically charged issues in Australia, not only because of the numbers but because of its entanglement with cost-of-living pressures, housing shortages, and rent spikes.&nbsp;
The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) <a href="https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/september/how-we-live-latest-hilda-data-gives-insight-into-a-changing-australia">data</a> shows rising household financial stress as Australian households spending more on rent and income tax. These changes likely reflect a mix of economic and policy factors but create a lot of room for people to hold inaccurate and occasionally contradictory attitudes on these issues.&nbsp;
While net overseas migration has started to decline from its post-pandemic peak, public concern remains high, amplified by populist rhetoric. Some surveys have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/04/australians-want-less-migration-but-oppose-cutting-international-student-numbers-study-finds">revealed</a> a nuanced picture: most Australians want lower migration overall but oppose cutting international student numbers, and support targeted skilled migration to address workforce gaps.&nbsp;
As former Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/how-australia-broke-its-migration-system.aspx">argued</a> in 2023, Australia’s migration system is “broken and un-strategic”, not delivering for business, for migrants, or for the larger population. This is a situation that frustrates both sides of the debate and makes immigration an easy political flashpoint.
The recent <a href="https://marchforaustralia.org/">March for Australia</a> rallies turned these anxieties into street-level mobilisation. Tens of thousands <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjmre371l1o">protested</a> at what they called ‘mass immigration’, while far-right groups seized the opportunity to inject xenophobic slogans and calls for ‘remigration’ into the public space. These demonstrations were not only about visa caps or housing and jobs; they became performances of who is entitled to belong.&nbsp;
When immigration is framed not as a policy question but as a cultural test of Australianness, it risks shrinking the demos, the very community that democracy is meant to represent.
What made the March for Australia so striking was not only its size but its composition. Recent investigative reporting <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/don-t-mention-hitler-and-you-re-sweet-the-great-march-for-australia-deception-20250909-p5mtlc.html">revealed</a> that neo-Nazi groups were not merely present at the March for Australia rallies but played a role in covertly organising them. They amplified messaging online, coordinated attendance, and sought to mask their involvement to broaden appeal.&nbsp;
This highlights that democratic erosion is rarely spontaneous; it requires actors who deliberately exploit social grievances, mistrust, and polarisation to mobilise anger for their anti-democratic ends. The banners reading ‘<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/01/how-do-i-feel-safe-after-march-for-australia-anti-immigration-protest-ntwnfb">Stop Immigration</a>’ revealed that public hostility towards migrants, <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pressure-mounts-for-price-to-apologise-to-indian-australians-20250908-p5mt7x">particularly</a> from the Indo-Pacific, is growing.
For many migrants, these displays are more than conceptual debates about white national identity. They are experienced emotionally. Writing shortly after the rallies, Melbourne-based writer Jafrin Kabir <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/01/how-do-i-feel-safe-after-march-for-australia-anti-immigration-protest-ntwnfb">reflected</a> that she had never felt so foreign on Australian soil. She pays taxes and inflated rents, contributes skills in the national interest, cheers for the Tillies and calls Melbourne “home”, yet suddenly felt unsafe because of the origin and colour of her skin.&nbsp;
Similarly, Chinese national interviewed by media outlet <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3325127/i-feel-insecure-chinese-nationals-australia-blindsided-anti-immigration-marches">reported</a> cancelling weekend plans and feeling “blindsided” by the scale of the marches.
Scapegoating migrants especially in times of economic stress is an age-old phenomenon and is not just limited to Australia. Across the democratic world, from the United States to the UK and parts of Europe, hostility toward migrants and minorities has become a route for anti-democratic forces. Populist actors often <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/27/peter-dutton-keeps-blaming-migration-for-the-housing-crisis-but-can-it-really-be-that-simple">use</a> cultural anxiety and demographic change to justify illiberal and undemocratic measures, claiming to restore order while actually dismantling checks and balances.
By analysing democratic decay, scholars like Lydia Khalil at the Lowy Institute, <a href="https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/democratic-erosion/">argue</a> that democracies rarely break down at once. Instead, they incrementally weaken through vicious cycles: declining trust in institutions, entrenched division based on hate, the normalisation of political violence, and the bit by bit removal of norms and guardrails.&nbsp;
Though some of the conditions are present in Australia to be exploited by anti-democratic actors, for example, almost two-thirds of Australians believe their leaders intentionally mislead them, according to the <a href="https://www.edelman.com/au/trust/2025/trust-barometer">2025 Edelman Trust Barometer</a>, &nbsp;but their presence is not determinative.
Australia’s democratic guardrails remain strong: independent courts, transparent elections run by the AEC, and a free press continue to hold power to account. Federalism and active civil society further diffuse power and create space for contestation.&nbsp;
But if public trust continues to erode and social divisions deepen, these safeguards will come under strain. Early recognition and action are crucial to ensure that today’s street-level hostilities do not translate into institutional regression.
Preventing such outcome requires a socially embedded understanding of migration, an understanding that goes beyond simplistic optimistic and pessimistic views. Policy makers should go beyond Push-Pull models, functionalist and neoclassical and historical-structural theories.&nbsp;
Consulting the work done by <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/The-Age-of-Migration/Haas-Castles-Miller/9781462542895#:~:text=International%20Population%20Movements%20in%20the%20Modern%20World,-Hein%20de%20Haas">Hein de Haas</a> et-el, migration should be conceptualised as an intrinsic part of broader processes of development, social transformation and globalisation rather than a 'problem to be solved'. We need more nuanced views that have an eye for the complexity of migration processes and the diversity of its causes and impacts.
Sohail Akhtar is a Melbourne- based researcher focusing on governance, public policy, and migration. He contributes to Lowy Institute Sydney.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2025/is-street-level-hostility-a-challenge-to-liberal-democracy-reflections-from-australia.html">the original</a> with their permission.

Is street-level hostility a challenge to liberal democracy?

Imagine a high-end fair trade tea brand from Nepal that has done everything right, with ethical sourcing practices and international certifications. It has built a loyal base of socially conscious, premium customers in an export market and focuses on quality over quantity. Then one day, a government in the export market introduces a new ‘listing criteria’ that requires exporting a certain amount of tea to at least three countries in the past five years. But this was never a numbers game, it was about a niche market of socially responsible tea lovers. Suddenly, fair trade tea companies are restricted from exporting tea to that country. Pretty unfair for the company, for consumers, for the tea sector. More importantly, for tea farmers and families benefiting from fair standards. The overseas labour industry is facing a similar risk as recruiters, including those that have adopted ethical standards, may soon be barred from finding workers for Malaysia. On 27 October, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent letters to five countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan and India to ‘rationalise the number of licensed private recruitment agencies permitted to facilitate recruitment and placement of workers to Malaysia’.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_050274dddc6cf10224b0ad9283eec7b3bc3c0acd650543a808a8ea473ecf40db.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251030141040_050274dddc6cf10224b0ad9283eec7b3bc3c0acd650543a808a8ea473ecf40db" data-rendition-name="original" width="961" height="1135" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  The letter includes 10 criteria for private recruiting agencies including at least five years of operating experience, deployment of 3,000 workers in the past three years of operation, experience sending workers to at least three countries, a 10,000 sq m office maintained for three years, valid licenses and good conduct certificates, five employer testimonials, and operating their own training and accommodation centres. Two conditions stand out as potentially harmful to Nepal’s ethical recruitment movement. First, although the letter cites a minimum of 3,000 workers, it says three years in the heading and five in the body text. A big enough difference to affect a significant number of recruiters from making the cut, but problematic regardless. Second, the requirement to send workers to at least three countries disproportionately impacts responsible recruiters in Nepal and elsewhere. Turning the selection of workers into a numbers game is dehumanising. Responsible recruiters deprioritise volume, focus on quality of jobs even when business sustainability comes under threat as ethical opportunities that do not require workers to pay any feed and ensure greater transparency are difficult to come by. Sending workers is further impacted by a series of external shocks. For example, in the Malaysian context Nepal banned emigration to Malaysia for two years followed by the Covid pandemic, and then Malaysia’s decision to stop the intake of foreign workers for the last two years.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_b1b88b3ae2e94c6bc077529ac6f2a4e380a385ee9a22219edfed25067c9d25a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251030141040_b1b88b3ae2e94c6bc077529ac6f2a4e380a385ee9a22219edfed25067c9d25a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="595" height="841" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_2cf252908d18aaf09c875002eef2d92ab45897a56b560addd2dc02311725c8a7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251030141040_2cf252908d18aaf09c875002eef2d92ab45897a56b560addd2dc02311725c8a7" data-rendition-name="original" width="590" height="238" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  Many ethical recruiters have focused on Malaysia because it is a more common labour market for responsible recruitment than other destinations like the Gulf. There is no credible justification to why responsible recruiters well regarded by scores of Malaysia-based multinational companies and with decades of experience should be ‘disqualified’ for not diversifying. Finding jobs for Nepalis in new markets is difficult given fierce competition, challenges identifying companies which follow the employer-pays principle, lack of networks and shortcomings in marketing strategies. These factors hit responsible recruiters harder because profit-motivated employers are often unwilling to cover the costs and fees associated with workers’ recruitment. “The volume of deployment does not determine a recruiter’s capability or the quality of services provided,” says Sujit Shrestha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA). Nepal recently scrapped the licensing renewal requirement that mandated sending at least 100 workers a year as it was impractical. The new Malaysian criteria is similar in nature, he added. The ball is now in Nepal’s court at a time when the interim government does not even have designated heads in the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labour, Employment Employment and Social Security. When rumours about the Malaysian action started circulating, NAFEA had raised the issue, but was assured that this was not an attempt to set up a syndicate.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141044_83c8a174ef116603f747d1cd254c4d353e8b855a41fb99feec54e701f5fc4c3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251030141044_83c8a174ef116603f747d1cd254c4d353e8b855a41fb99feec54e701f5fc4c3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="3456" height="5184" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  How will governments and recruiters in other origin countries now respond? There is precedence from Bangladesh. Dhaka-based journalist at the Daily Star, Porimol Palma who says, “Earlier, the Malaysian authorities had selected 101 Bangladeshi recruiters unilaterally, despite Bangladesh’s call for a syndicate-free recruitment mechanism.” Between 2022-2024, 450,000 Bangladeshis were recruited under this system with workers paying between $4,500 and $6,000, even though the legal limit was $750. Palma attributes part of the high fees workers had to pay were for commissions or bribes to recruitment syndicates. Adrian Pereira heads the North South Initiative in Malaysia says: “The criteria seems a bit fishy, as they do not appear to address the actual problems in the the recruitment of foreign workers. Some of the criteria seem to encourage a system of monopoly or syndicate rather than a rights-based approach. Every government has the right to set criteria for recruiters, but conventions and ILO (International Labour Organization) standards on recruitment exist. It looks like we’re back to square one.” Whether migrant origin countries including Bangladesh and Nepal accept the terms sent without reservations or push back in good faith remains to be seen. In an ideal world, a collective stance should put workers’ needs and welfare at the centre. How rational is the proposed ‘rationalising strategy’? What aspects of it are promising to curb recruitment abuse and what merits serious reconsideration? Even if the move from the Malaysian side is well-intentioned to address rampant malpractices migrant workers face, Nepal should deliberate on the conditions set, the collateral damage especially on the responsible actors and small but capable recruiters. Alternate options that might serve everyone better before rushing to respond with a chosen list by 15 November. If the proposal is accepted, how would it be done in a transparent and accountable way? It is noteworthy that Indonesia was not listed even though it has the most workers in Malaysia among the 16 countries that send migrants to Malaysia. The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the ILO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and certification programs like On the Level (OTL) also need to use their leverage to ensure that recruiters, including those they have trained or certified on ethical recruitment principles, are not penalised. This is more than just about protecting the ethical recruitment movement, but raising even more basic questions: Who can legally be a recruiter in Nepal? There are already obligations like hefty security deposit and minimum office requirements. But requirements to have building facilities with ‘accommodations’ or ‘testing centres’ are not among them. There are 1,150 plus players in Nepal’s recruitment sector, with a few hundred engaged in the Malaysian market. A unilateral selection criteria could risk foul play, or lead to unintended, unfavourable consequences. To be sure, overseas recruitment in Nepal is known for ‘settings’, corruption, dog-eat-dog competition, and collusion. The profiteering is out of control, often at the expense of workers. But the solution does not lie in stifling the industry with criteria like deployment volume, building worker accommodations or expanding office floors. The focus should instead be on enforcing rules and laws in both countries that govern the industry, and the Malaysian labour agreement that has not been renewed since October 2023. Meddling in the industry in ways that harms fair competition and ethical actors means workers suffer. The only issue that should be taking precedence is: how will Malaysia’s 10-point criteria and planned arrangement affect migrant workers? We have seen how for identical Malaysia-based jobs, one worker might pay zero while another pays up to Rs400,000, depending on the employer and recruiter. It is unclear if the 10-point selection criteria rewards the employer. As a longstanding host country for Nepali migrants, Malaysia deserves credit for nurturing the small but growing ethical recruitment industry here. Export-oriented companies in Malaysia need responsible recruitment partners and have mentored recruiters to strengthen their practices and move away from worker-paid models. The business case for ethical recruitment standards has led many recruiters in Nepal to pivot with many now in various stages of transition from traditional to hybrid or purely ethical practices. This progress needs to be acknowledged and built upon. Large, well-networked recruiters with large physical assets and high volume of workers seem to be the winners of Malaysia’s 10-point criteria after two years of waiting for the Malaysian market to reopen. Responsible recruiters endure long periods of minimal or no deployments that threatens their survival. The letter now sitting on the desk of the interim government in Nepal deepens the concern: rather than just failing to recognise or reward responsible recruiters, does the international recruitment market actually punish them? Upasana Khadka heads Migration Lab, a social enterprise aimed at making migration outcomes better for workers and their families. Labour Mobility is a regular column in Nepali Times.

Who gets to recruit for Malaysia?

Intricately painted Buddha, Aryatara, Krishna, and Parvati gaze serenely at visitors at the Kathmandu Art Gallery under muted amber lights. Moving from one artful devotion to the next, a quiet, profound connection to the divine envelopes the visitor. This transcends art to the realm of the spiritual. &nbsp; The gallery’s latest exhibition, Masters of Devotion, features art by 22 artists all from Bhaktapur. They also include Ajay Karmacharya, Purna Prasad Hyoju, Nhuche Kaji Bajracharya, Rajani Sinkhwal, Shashi Dhar Sainju, Surya Bahadur Chitrakar and Sundar Sinkhwal from the Khowpa Paubha Chowmi Pucha. Paubha are religious and devotional art depicting deities and mandala that date back to the 7th century, when Newa artists began to paint images of the gods on cloth. For the artists who practice this craft, the art form is as meditative as it is meticulous.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041028_de34b51d48bcee50ae391301e2ff1890be7ecba3df7e563537c273818825aad5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251025041028_de34b51d48bcee50ae391301e2ff1890be7ecba3df7e563537c273818825aad5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="art review "> </figure>  The exhibition at the newly-opened space Kathmandu Art Gallery coincides with the festival season and is a collection of extravagant works done in mineral and stone colour, sakura and gouache. The vintage art space is located at Babar Mahal Revisited and is a fitting accompaniment to the paubha featured in the exhibit.&nbsp; Sundar Sinkhwal’s vividly painted Harihara is among the more eye-catching works. “Half of the painting is Shiva and half is Vishnu, hence the name Harihar,”explains Sinkhwal. “Together with their consorts Parvati and Laxmi, I have painted Uma-Maheswor and Laxmi-Narayan.” Nandi and Garuda, the vehicles of the two gods, complete the vibrant painting.&nbsp; In contrast, for his piece titled Lakshmi, Sinkhwal shrouds his canvas in dark colours to paint Kuber, the deity revered as the custodian to the wealth in the Hindu pantheon, accompanied by two khyak apparitions —one black, the other white— both mythical creatures in Newari folklore.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041032_1bde6de442b742c300bb8c9278ea8886445aa8df47076fd9aa362ce1f8bef903.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251025041032_1bde6de442b742c300bb8c9278ea8886445aa8df47076fd9aa362ce1f8bef903" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="art exhibition"> </figure>  “The black khyak is considered inauspicious, while white ones are a symbol of good luck,” explains Sinkhwal. Purna Prasad Hyoju has used mineral paint on canvas for a powerful depiction of Ardhanareswar, the composite form of Shiva and his consort Parvati.&nbsp; “I drew inspiration from the Newari Swasthani story about the separation of Shiva and Satidevi,” says Hyoju. Legend has it that Shiva, unwilling to part from his consort, reincarnated as a unified dual gender form of himself and Parvati. Hyoju has painted goddess Parvati in bright yellow, in homage to one of her other manifestations, Gauri, which means radiant.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Ratna Gopal Sinkhwal’s Kurkula Devi, done in stone pigment, is radiant on the cotton canvas. “Kurkula Devi is a tantric goddess whose traces are found in the Sadhana Mala,” says Sinkhwal. “The stone pigment is what makes the goddess look like she is gleaming.” One of Sinkhwal’s other works draws from stories in the Mahabharat to depict Bhimsen, Draupadi, Dushasan and Akash Bhairav in confrontation, expressions fierce.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041028_72eea52c8504eccb8b3be7cd4cef616dfb8efd821e8b1e1ae8f440f10782be11.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251025041028_72eea52c8504eccb8b3be7cd4cef616dfb8efd821e8b1e1ae8f440f10782be11" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="854" loading="lazy" alt="art exhibition"> </figure>  The opening of the exhibition last week also featured a music session, during which some of the artists sang traditional songs. Their voices joined the rhythm of the madal and melody of the harmonium, adding warmth to the crisp autumn evening.&nbsp; Each painstakingly detailed paubha reflects the artists’ devotion to divinity and mythology, as well as their heritage. Masters of Devotion showcases the work of veritable masters of their craft, and is a must-visit for art connoisseurs and devotees alike. Says the gallery’s Sangeeta Rana Thapa: “It is our honour to celebrate the artists’ work—to stand among pieces that embody both devotion and mastery, and to witness a tradition that continues to inspire us.” Masters of Devotion Kathmandu Art Gallery Baber Mahal Revisited Until 22 November

monument

Restoring a piece of Nepal’s history

The script of the scriptures

Think locally, invest locally

Is street-level hostility a challenge to liberal democracy?

Who gets to recruit for Malaysia?

Artful devotion