Sixty years ago, the average lifespan of Nepalis was only 28 years. It has now risen to 71.3. How did this happen, despite poor governance, conflict and the upheavals of the past decade in the country?&nbsp; Demographers cite a confluence of factors: a sharp decline in infant and child mortality rates, improvements in health care and nutrition because of a remittance-driven rise in household income from the four million or so Nepalis living and working abroad who send home Rs1 billion a month. The new figure for average lifespan came from the 2021 census data, which also shows that women in Nepal live on average 5.6 years longer than men. Worldwide, women tend to live longer than men because of higher mortality among young men due to lifestyle reasons, disease, profession and accidents.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/more-equal-than-others">More equal than others</a>, Editorial  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240516110512_a8c66d01c8d99b0ff8e51a3ffb9026c6df6aeb55a4d289cf871e438b0201ee23.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240516110512_a8c66d01c8d99b0ff8e51a3ffb9026c6df6aeb55a4d289cf871e438b0201ee23" data-rendition-name="original" width="593" height="727" loading="lazy" alt="71.3 NT"> </figure>  Three decades ago, the average life expectancy of Nepalis was 54.3. Going further back, to 1961, the average lifespan was only 28. These are average national statistics, and do not necessarily mean that the current generation of Nepalis are living longer — it just shows that many fewer babies are dying.&nbsp; Meaning: if the mortality rate of children and adults goes down, the average lifespan goes up. And there has been a dramatic reduction in the infant mortality rate.&nbsp; In 1991, 97 out of every 1,000 babies died before their first birthday. Today, the national average is down to 17. Similarly, while the child mortality rate in 1991 meant that 28 out of every 1,000 died before age five, today it has dropped to six.&nbsp; Nepal’s total mortality rate has also dropped by half from 13.3 per 1,000 in 1981 to 6.8 today. Education is a factor: Nepal’s literacy rate was 14% in 1971, now there is almost 100% enrollment.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/not-rising-nepal">Not rising Nepal</a>, Editorial <div class="embed-block"> <iframe title="Life expectancy around the world" aria-label="Map" id="datawrapper-chart-b3LVL" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/b3LVL/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="413" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div> Literacy does not just mean being able to read and write, it is directly correlated with higher income, broader knowledge and lifestyle improvements, leading to greater awareness about health-related issues. All this adds up to longer life expectancy. Although there are still problems with access and affordability of medical care, in general the health and nutrition status of Nepalis has improved. There is a drop in the prevalence of gastric infections caused by contaminated drinking water. The incidence of tuberculosis, pneumonia and other communicable diseases have also gone down.&nbsp; Instead, the main cause of death now are chronic ailments like cardio-vascular diseases, stroke, respiratory complications and highway accidents.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/census-or-consensus">Census or consensus?</a>, Editorial <div class="embed-block"><iframe title="GDP per Capita and Life Expectancy" aria-label="Scatter Plot" id="datawrapper-chart-zzFRF" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zzFRF/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="456" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div> Three decades ago, Nepal’s total fertility rate was 5.3, today a Nepali mother on average gives birth to only 1.94 children - this is below replacement level. It is directly the result of the greater survival rate of babies — the higher the infant mortality, the greater the tendency of parents to have more children to ensure that at least some of them live.&nbsp; The decrease in the poverty rate of Nepalis also means that their nutrition level in general has gone up, although there are still pockets in the Karnali and Madhes Province where wasting and stunting among children is dangerously high.&nbsp; There seem to be anomalies in the census report because it shows that Karnali Province has the highest lifespan at 72.5 and very low infant and child mortality rates. This goes against the generally accepted belief that it is the province with the lowest human development ranking. Demographers have put forward various explanations for this, including that the 2021 census was conducted towards the tail end of the pandemic when many elderly Nepali workers had come home from India. But it could also be that Karnali families under-reported deaths to census enumerators.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-demographic-dividend">Nepal’s demographic dividend</a>, Shristi Karki <div class="embed-block"><iframe title="Province Wise Life Expectancy" aria-label="Map" id="datawrapper-chart-BiK7n" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BiK7n/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="433" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();</script></div> A longer average life expectancy is good news, but it has introduced the brand new problem of ageing. By 2021, the population of Nepalis older than 75 had grown to 640,000, making up 2.2% of the population. Nepal has a demographic dividend window, but a rapidly ageing population is going to undermine that advantage in the coming decades. As in countries like Korea, Japan and parts of Europe, even in Nepal there will be fewer able-bodied citizens, leading to a reduction of tax revenue, higher insurance and health costs for the state in the coming decades. &nbsp;&nbsp; Nepal’s policy-makers must not just have a plan for the here and now, but also for the time our children themselves become senior citizens. Hemraj Regmi of the National Statistics Office puts it this way: “In the 1960s, a few people lived long lives. Now more people are living longer.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/the-migration-myth">The migration myth</a>, Brabim Bikram Thapa Ramesh Kumar

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71.3

Nepal’s National Statistics Office on Wednesday admitted that the census conducted two years ago missed 771,998 people, but demographers say the error could be much higher because it did not include all <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-hard-working-students-overseas">students</a>, workers and those in the diaspora.
The NSO’s Post Enumeration Survey reported that 2.58% of the population was omitted during the census due to errors in data collection. The survey estimated that 2.95% of the urban population was not counted, with the omission rate in Kathmandu Valley even higher at 4.42%. More than 4% of the above 80 age group were also left out.
The survey results were released even as experts expressed concerns over data discrepancy, despite the 2021 national headcount being <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everybody-counts-in-nepal">touted as the most accurate</a> by the NSO.
The inaccuracy appears to be mainly due to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-moving-from-mountains-to-plains">Nepal’s highly mobile population and migration</a>. The census put the country’s absentee population at 2.1 million, but this is a gross underestimate as it did not include Nepalis in India and students in Australia, Japan or Canada. On the other hand, the study showed that 0.15% of the population was double counted.&nbsp;
The NSO’s Deputy Director General Hemraj Regmi explained that the 2.58% error rate had actually decreased since the 2011 census and was at par with international standards that accept a margin of error of up to 5%.&nbsp;
The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-demographic-dividend">2021 census report published in March</a> put Nepal’s population at 29,164,578, with an annual growth rate of 0.92%. But adding the missing head count would bring the total population to 29,936,576.
<div class="embed-block"> <iframe title="Population by age group" aria-label="Split Bars" id="datawrapper-chart-3L11U" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3L11U/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="600" height="595" data-external="1"></iframe></div>
The Post Enumeration Survey of the National Population and Household Census 2021 was carried out last year by the Labour Studies Programme at Tribhuvan University to double check the tally.
Even without the discrepancy, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/counting-on-nepal">the 2021 census results</a> showed a slowdown in the annual population growth rate and total fertility rate. Nepal’s population pyramid now shows fewer children, a wider youth bulge, and greater numbers of elderly. The new data increases the total number of ethnic communities to 142, the total mother tongues spoken to 124, and major religions constant at 10.
Regmi told Nepali Times his office will continue to use data from the officially published census report, explaining: “There are no systems in place and no practice of adjusting population to show an increase or decrease in census data. However, the missing population will be considered and encompassed into all future national planning projects.”
Prior to releasing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/decoding-diversity">detailed report on ethnicities, languages, and religions</a>, the National Statistics Office admitted it had difficulty in classifying caste, religion and language accurately because many respondents claimed to belong to a previously unknown caste and religion.&nbsp;
Since the release of Nepal’s 2021 census data on ethnicities, languages, and religions, Hindu nationalists, royalists and anti-secularists have been raising a fuss because the number of people who say Nepali is their mother tongue and that they are Hindus has marginally declined from past censuses.
It is clear from the census data that Nepal's social demographic data reflects its diversity, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/census-or-consensus">but not its socio-political makeup</a>.

Shristi Karki

Nepal census undercounted 800k

Since the release of Nepal’s 2021 census data on ethnicities, languages, and religions earlier this month, Hindu nationalists, royalists and anti-secularists have been raising a fuss because the number of people who say Nepali is their mother tongue and are Hindus has marginally declined from past censuses. Clearly, it does not seem to matter that Nepali is still the most spoken language in the country and Hindus continue to make up by far the majority of the population of Nepal. The 2021 census put the number of mother tongues spoken in Nepal at 124, just one more than 123 in 2011. Twelve foreign languages previously included in the 2011 census were grouped in the ‘Others’ category this time, and 13 new languages were added: Bhote, Lowa, Nubri, Baragunwa, Nar-Phu, Ranatharu, Karmarong, Mugali, Tichhurong Poike, Sadri, Done, Mudiyari and Kewarat.&nbsp; Nepal first listed languages in its census in 1952, when only 44 mother tongues were documented. The number of languages declined dramatically over the next three censuses, and started to increase again from 1991 onwards after the Panchayat era. &nbsp; The drop in languages from 1961 to 1991 is attributed to the ‘one language, one nation’ assimilation policy of the Panchayat regime as well as a lack of ethno-linguistic awareness during those times.&nbsp; However, Nepali has remained the lingua franca and the most common language spoken throughout this period.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/census-or-consensus">Census or consensus?</a>, Editorial  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230630050644_e2c4a6fded005c5e477e51496c28f13cf7de0fb444a09f2296fcc573740614f3.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230630050644_e2c4a6fded005c5e477e51496c28f13cf7de0fb444a09f2296fcc573740614f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="758" height="660" loading="lazy" alt="Languages"> </figure>  All unknown languages and vernaculars had been lumped together as ‘Nepali’ during previous censuses, but in 2011 several dialects of Nepali like Doteli, Baitadeli, Achhami, Bajhangi, Dailekhi, Darchuleli, Jumli, Dadeldhuri and Gadhwali were classified as independent languages. This meant the total number of languages jumped from 92 in the 2001 count to 123 ten years later. &nbsp; Linguistics expert Yogendra P Yadava, &nbsp;former head of Tribhuvan University's Central Department of Linguistics who authored census reports including the language chapter of the 2014 Population Monograph of Nepal, says that the record of the languages was more accurate in this census because enumerators were able to reach almost every village. In previous counts, lack of roads or war meant that enumerators just gathered data from the District Administration Offices without going door to door. “It would not have been possible to record a language like Nar-Phu, which is known by very few outside of the community, if enumerators had not reached every household,” explains Yadava. However, the number of Nepali speakers has gone up slightly once again for the first time in three decades. While 44.64% of Nepal’s population spoke Nepali as their primary language in 2011, 44.86% recorded Nepali as their mother tongue in 2021. Nepali remains vibrant, and there has been an increase in those who speak the language at home. Of those counted, 0.34% said their mother tongue was Hindi, while 1,323 were English speakers. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/counting-on-nepal">Counting on Nepal</a>, Editorial <h2>Faith in numbers</h2> The census recorded 10 religions in 2021, the same number as ten years ago. Hinduism remains the predominant belief system by far, followed by Buddhism and Islam.&nbsp; In 2021, 81.19% of Nepal’s population identified as Hindu, slightly down from 81.34% a decade ago. Buddhists have also declined slightly from 9.04% to 8.21%, while the Islam, Kirat, and Christian populations have all increased marginally compared to the last census.&nbsp; Christians make up 1.76% (up from 1.41%) while Muslims constitute 5.09% (compared to 4.38% in 2011).&nbsp; But Hinduism remaining the majority faith by a large margin has not stopped some groups from spreading alarm about a perceived increase in Muslims and Christians. They have even accused the government of keeping the true numbers down in order to avoid public backlash.&nbsp; Interestingly, some Christian groups have also raised concerns about the census not being a reflection of their true numbers. Experts and religious groups have weighed in to say there could be a data discrepancy. There is also the possibility that many Christians, fearing reprisal, told &nbsp;enumerators they were Hindu. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-demographic-dividend">Nepal’s demographic dividend</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230630050648_dc177c4ebcc9c1ffa77990b43cb32405d2fc3040651cc6d6bb2321e01cd2de7a.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230630050648_dc177c4ebcc9c1ffa77990b43cb32405d2fc3040651cc6d6bb2321e01cd2de7a" data-rendition-name="original" width="734" height="528" loading="lazy" alt="Religion"> </figure>  Concerns over data inaccuracy may not be entirely unfounded. While more than 61,000 people did not state their religion in 2011, data from this census shows that every Nepali counted has ticked a religion box. It is surprising that not a single person refused to mention any other faith than the 10 included in the census. Prior to releasing the detailed report on ethnicities, languages, and religions, the National Statistics Office admitted it had difficulty in classifying caste, religion and language accurately because many respondents claimed to belong to a previously unknown caste and religion.&nbsp; Deputy chief statistician Hemraj Regmi defended this, saying:“Groups with different surnames within the ethnicity, which were previously considered to be Rai, Limbu, or Magar, have argued that they do not belong to that ethnic group. Others have complained that their language should be mentioned separately, such as Jhapali or Nuwakote.”&nbsp; Some said that their religion was Kavirpanthi, Musto, and Yakthung instead of identifying themselves as traditional Hindus and Buddhists, Regmi said. The confusion has provided fertile ground for Hindu supremacist groups as well as those from minority religions to claim that data has been manipulated.&nbsp; All this also provides grist for populist politicians who want to abolish secularism or to ban the screening of movies under the banner of pseudo-nationalism. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-populist-party-balenist">Nepal Populist Party (Balenist)</a>, Editorial

Decoding diversity

Nepal’s National Statistics Office finally published details about Nepal’s languages, religion and ethnicity last week. It had previously released the national report of the 12th National Population and Housing Census in March without including data on these three social demographic parameters. The new data increases the total number of ethnic communities to 142, the total mother tongues spoken to 124, and major religions number 10, similar to the 2011 census. There are now 17 more ethnic groups compared to data from the 2011 census. Twelve foreign languages from the previous census were removed, and 13 new languages added to the list of mother tongues spoken in Nepal. Only the number of major religions remains unchanged.&nbsp; The first modern census in 1952 recorded languages and religions for the first time in Nepal. A breakdown of the country’s ethnic communities was first recorded only in the 1991 census. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/whose-country-is-it-anyway">Whose country is it anyway?</a>, Editorial Interestingly, the total number of ethnic communities in Nepal has increased in each consecutive census since 1991 because of better record-keeping and greater awareness. Every census since has been doing a better job showing Nepal’s ethnic heterogeneity. But while the latest national census represents the ethnic and linguistic diversity of Nepalis, this diversity is reflected nowhere in the corridors of power. <div class="embed-block"><iframe src='https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/14059550/embed' title='Interactive or visual content' class='flourish-embed-iframe' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' style='width:100%;height:600px;' sandbox='allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation'></iframe></div> Nepal’s founding king, Prithvi Narayan Shah, described the country he had unified as “a garden of many ethnicities and castes” and leaders since then have extolled Nepal’s “unity in diversity”. But political and socio-cultural representation and wealth is heavily skewed in favour of men from dominant caste groups.&nbsp; The representation of minority communities in Nepal’s legislature, government and civil service is only determined by a constitutionally mandated reservation system that has a quota system for women, indigenous people and Dalits. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/counting-on-nepal">Counting on Nepal</a>, Editorial While affirmative action has meant better representation than before of marginalised groups, men in the highest rungs of power seem to believe that women and minorities are not qualified for direct elections or senior civil service positions. Indeed, indigenous and Dalit representation in politics, society and in the workforce (including the media) is tokenism at best. This was reflected in local and federal elections last year when major parties snubbed women and minorities in direct elections, and most were elected to fill quotas under the proportional representation system.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230608110656_35bdb721198f40eb2a56149282cb5459cf69e22199551aa70d010e4a684bd863.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230608110656_35bdb721198f40eb2a56149282cb5459cf69e22199551aa70d010e4a684bd863" data-rendition-name="original" width="1051" height="814" loading="lazy" alt="Ethnicity bar"> </figure>  Marginalised communities continue to be excluded and persecuted, are victims of political and social violence while the men in power scramble to sweep such injustices under the rug. An emblematic case is the killing of Nabaraj BK and five of his friends in Rukum West three years ago because villagers discovered that he was going to elope with a ‘higher’ caste girl. Three years later, the perpetrators are still at large because of political protection. Meanwhile, even as new languages are identified, Nepali consistently has the largest number of speakers by virtue of being the official language. There has been a small growth in the percentage speaking Nepal Bhasa, but it is a small increase. In fact, Nepal is at risk of completely losing some of its indigenous languages, with as many as 23 of them having less than 1,000 speakers in 2021.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023061012064_94b76860124c005c8ba010b034f3a54332357faa90c9017d0e2df5e740dda3b8.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023061012064_94b76860124c005c8ba010b034f3a54332357faa90c9017d0e2df5e740dda3b8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1378" height="1256" loading="lazy" alt="Languages in Nepal"> <figcaption>Languages in Nepal</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/institutionalised-inequality">Institutionalised inequality</a>, Editorial More than 81% of respondents in the census said they were Hindu, followed by Buddhists, Muslims, Kirat and Christians. Despite deep anxiety among Hindu-right groups in Nepal and India about proselytisation, the proportion of Christians has increased only slightly to 1.76% and Muslims to 3.1%.&nbsp; Parties lobbying against secularism have long speculated that there is a conspiracy to undercount the proportion of Christians in Nepal to lessen the chances of a national backlash. There is also a possibility that Christians tell enumerators they are Hindu just to be safe.&nbsp; Whatever the case, there are other hints of data discrepancy. In 2011, more than 61,000 people did not state their religion, but the 2021 census shows that not a single person refused to divulge their religion. And there were zero cases of respondents choosing ‘Other’ as an option for religion. This is highly improbable. The census office had earlier said it was not possible to have a breakdown of religion and ethnicity because of ‘confusion’ among respondents who said they were from unlisted ethnicities or faiths. There was also speculation that the bureau was not issuing data deemed to be sensitive. So, the question arises: why was it suddenly possible to make the data public? Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/political-patriarchy">Political patriarchy</a>, Editorial Shristi Karki

Census or consensus?

After much delay, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on 24 March made public the full report of <a href="https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results">Nepal’s 2021 National Population and Housing Census</a>. The country’s first official census was conducted in 1911, primarily to identify Nepal’s able-bodied population so the Rana rulers at the time knew the ‘stock’ of able bodied youth who could be conscripted to fight for the British in World War I. Over the last century, each census has documented Nepal’s demographic, economic, socio-cultural, and technological history and changes.&nbsp; The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everybody-counts-in-nepal">12th national census</a>, Nepal’s most ambitious yet, reflects how rapidly the country’s socio-cultural, economic, and demographic substrate is changing. The National Statistics Office (formerly the Central Bureau of Statistics) made an attempt to be inclusive in the data collection this time to varying degrees of success. Enumerators were selected from local communities with knowledge of languages, 50% of them were women, and included people from the Dalit and minority ethnic communities, as well as people with disabilities.&nbsp; The census puts Nepal’s population at 29,164,578, with the annual growth rate at 0.92% — down from 1.35% in 2011. There are 95.59 males for 100 females. More than 2 million people live in Kathmandu, the most populated district. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230330120316_4687f9ad170b396d5e9da7eb4976ba0ca32548e8975370a3e464cc0b79ff8e7b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230330120316_4687f9ad170b396d5e9da7eb4976ba0ca32548e8975370a3e464cc0b79ff8e7b" data-rendition-name="original" width="830" height="619" loading="lazy" alt="Population growth rate 1911-2021"> <figcaption>Graph: Nepali Times Graphics</figcaption> </figure>  The census has also revealed that<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-moving-from-mountains-to-plains"> more than half of Nepal’s population lives in the Tarai</a>, while only 6.08% of Nepalis live in the high mountains. It shows significant internal transmigration from Nepal’s mountains to the plains. This is a reflection of the infrastructure development and increased connectivity in the Tarai, which has experienced the expansion of small towns into urban conglomerations.&nbsp; But the Tarai is now bursting at the seams: fertile farms are being overrun by urban sprawl, there is worsening water scarcity, and pollution has made the cities unliveable.&nbsp; Even so, half of Nepal’s economically active population is still primarily involved in agriculture. But farming contributes only 23.9% to Nepal’s GDP, according to the 2021/22 Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal published by Nepal Rastra Bank.&nbsp; Remittance is clearly running the country, but it is vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, and other global crises. Nepal’s over-reliance on migrant labour was especially clear during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.&nbsp; The census also shows that women have been making significant progress socio-economically. Nearly 24% of the total households now have ownership of land or a housing unit or both in the name of a female. One-third of all households are female headed, up by 5.82% since 2011. Women also own 45% of small-scale enterprises because of government financing for women entrepreneurs. Elsewhere, malpractices like child marriage still persist: 7% of Nepalis still get married for the first time between 10-14 years.&nbsp; While the census provides valuable demographic data, there are some questions about the accuracy — especially about the diaspora. The census says Nepal’s absentee population stands at more than 2.1 million, but this appears to be a gross undercount.&nbsp; More than 4.7 million Nepalis have sought labour permits since 2008. While many of them have obviously returned home, 1.8 million Nepalis have renewed their labour approvals since 2011, with an additional 348,867 Nepalis seeking labour permits during the 2021/22 fiscal year.&nbsp; This count does not include Nepalis who have migrated to work in India, where Nepalis do not require a labour permit, nor does it encompass hundreds of thousands of Nepali students who have left to work and study abroad.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230330120320_0ef7f50be80c824d9d6dfcac7c0703097f4f66c891b59a60c7f82d5f02528be6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230330120320_0ef7f50be80c824d9d6dfcac7c0703097f4f66c891b59a60c7f82d5f02528be6" data-rendition-name="original" width="648" height="706" loading="lazy" alt="Census 2021"> <figcaption>Graph: Nepali Times Graphics</figcaption> </figure>  The 2021 census sought data about Nepal’s sexual and gender minorities by including an ‘other’ option alongside the male and female options under gender. But this attempt at inclusivity shows a lack of awareness about sexual and gender minorities because the ‘other’ option fails to distinguish between sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, and mixes them all up.&nbsp; Moreover, the ‘other’ option has only been limited to the house and household listing, and not the main questionnaire, which only included sexes assigned at birth.&nbsp; While the National Statistics Office did consult with LGBTQIA+ groups to include the question on the census, activists as well as members of the community have said that the question showed a lack of understanding about sexuality and gender, and any data collected through the question would not be completely accurate.&nbsp; Indeed, 2,928 Nepalis (0.01% of the population) identified as ‘other’ gender on the house and household listing, cannot be an accurate representation. The census results do not disaggregate ethnicity and religion. Some anti-secular political parties see a conspiracy in hiding the rising population of Christians due to proselytisation. The census office, however, says the breakdown was not possible because of confusion over respondents who said they were from unlisted ethnicities or faiths. Shristi Karki

Counting on Nepal

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02ea9c7e80680e0a36a7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SONIA AWALE</figcaption></figure>Nepal is going beyond just counting its population in its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everybody-counts-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">12th National Population and Household Census</a>, and this is throwing up issues of identity and citizenship. Postponed from June to November because of the second Covid-19 wave, this is the country’s first census under a federal system. But Nepalis without citizenship have launched a campaign refusing to participate, encouraging others like them to deny census officials from entering into their homes.“Those of us raised by single mothers have become stateless,” said Indrajit Safi, a civil engineer and national coordinator of the activist collective Nagariktabihin Nepali (Nepalis Without Citizenship). “If we are denied citizenship despite our parents having been Nepali citizens, what is the point of participating in the census?”Stateless Nepalis have been mobilising across various social media groups to urge others without citizenship to boycott the census, saying that the foundation of the national count was built on ‘a violation of the Constitution that has made Nepali youth stateless’.In 2013, the Forum of Women, Law and Development (FWLD) conducted a study <a href="https://fwld.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Acquisition-of-Citizenship-Certificate-in-Nepal-Estimating-Prevalence.pdf">Acquisition of Citizenship Certificate in Nepal: Estimating Prevalence</a>, to conduct its own ‘census’ of the number of Nepalis who did not have citizenship documents. It used data for the number of Nepalis aged 16 and above from the 2011 census as well as the number of citizenship certificates issued by the Home Ministry from 1952 until 2010 as the main parameters.  The <a href="https://fwld.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Acquisition-of-Citizenship-Certificate-in-Nepal-Estimation-and-Projection.pdf">result of the study</a> estimated the number of Nepalis without citizenship at 4.6million, and projected that at the rate of population growth at the time the number of stateless Nepalis would increase to 6.7 million by 2021."If the Citizenship Act is not amended, we will also obstruct the upcoming elections," Safi added at a meeting on Wednesday. “This discriminatory Constitution must be amended as soon as possible.”Activist Deepti Gurung, who raised her two children as a single mother recalled how a school teacher tore up her daughter’s SLC registration form because it did not mention the name of the father, and another where her younger daughter’s birth certificate included श्रिमान ठेगान नभएको (Husband not known) as the name of her father.“I was introduced as an unwed mother in front of the CDO officials,” Gurung says. “And I would be constantly asked to detail the story of what ‘actually happened’ with regards to the father, as if officials were more concerned with keeping records of such incidents. What I experienced is that women must provide a narrative of being pure of character who have been victimised by bad men who led them to their circumstance— to appeal citizenship for their children.” Gurung eventually filed writ petitions in the Supreme Court to get her daughters birth and citizenship certificates. She was able to win both the cases. And while Gurung hoped that the court ruling in her case would be a precedent she was informed that this was being done in a "case-by-case basis".  “So we have not really won,” she says.Activists point to articles in the Constitution related to citizenship that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/stateless-daughters-in-nepal,863">treat women differently from men</a>, and are discriminatory. Under Article 11(5), for instance, children born to a Nepali father and a foreign-born mother are eligible for citizenship by descent, while those born to a Nepal-born mother and a foreign-born father will be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/patriarchy-in-an-oligarchy/">granted naturalised citizenship</a>, with less privileges.Politicians have used nationalism to justify this, saying that allowing offspring of foreign men citizenship would lead to a surge of Indians marrying Nepalis. Activists and politicians, especially in the Tarai, say this is absurd.The other thorny issue in the November census is how to conduct the census in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/politics-and-history-of-nepals-kalapani-claim/">disputed border areas of Kalapani and Limpiyadhura</a>. Rival claims to the territory strained relations between India and Nepal after Prime Minister K P Oli got Nepal’s Parliament to unanimously pass an amendment bill to include the territory in its national emblems and its own political map.Now, the question is how to conduct a census in the remote mountainous region at the northwestern tip of Nepal that is occupied by India. In 1961, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/remembering-the-1961-census/">journalist Bhairab Rijal</a> was one of the enumerators who was assigned to conduct the census in Kalapani, and says it was within Nepal’s boundary then.Risal and his team reached the villages of Gunji, Nabi and Kuti in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/politics-and-history-of-nepals-kalapani-claim/">disputed Kalapani and Limpiyadhura territory</a> which is now claimed by India.“The fact that we actually conducted a census there 60 years ago is irrefutable proof that Nepal extends all the way to the main channel of the Kali River,” Risal says. But given the sensitivity of the issue, Nepal is unlikely to provoke India by forcibly sending census enumerators there this time.For its part, by Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) maintains that it is ready to conduct the census anywhere in Nepal. “If the administration, our security forces, and concerned authorities determine that the situation is feasible and give the go-ahead, our census officials are trained and ready to conduct the census in Klapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh,” says Tirtha Raj Chaulagain of the CBS.The census had<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-postpones-census-amid-covid-19-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> been planned for June 2021</a>, but now with the daily caseload and fatalities falling, it will be conducted 11-25 November.This marked the second time that Nepal’s census is not being held as scheduled in the 110-year old history of the exercise. During the upheaval after the fall of the Rana regime, the 1951 census had been postponed.The 2021 census will comprise of three separate questionnaires: House and Household Listing, the main questionnaire, and the Community Questionnaire.This first phase before the census, during which officials conduct the House and Household listing, began on 15 September and is set to end on 4 October. At present, 8,500 census supervisors trained by the CBS in April are conducting the House and Household listing before the main census activities begin.In early November, 39,000 enumerators from across the country will be trained to approach, interact with, and interview people and fill out the main questionnaire. After that, enumerators will be deployed across the country to fill up the main census questionnaire while the census supervisors fill the Community Questionnaire during two weeks from 11-25 November.“By now, census supervisors should have conducted the listing for approximately 2 million households across the country,” says Chaulagain of CBS, speaking to Nepali Times from Siraha, where he is overseeing census-related activities.The 2011 census put the number of Nepali households at 5.4 million, but CBS officials say the number is expected to go up to 7 million in 2021. The three questionnaires, which are comprehensive and will include new questions, combined with the changed modality of data collection that allows officials in the Kathmandu Valley to conduct a ‘paperless’ census are expected to provide more detailed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data</a> and to reflect the country’s changing socio-political and demographic landscape more accurately.Nepal’s distinct ethnic compositions, cultures and religious communities are also expected to be reflected in the data as the country goes through a socio-cultural shift. In fact, data from the previous census shows that rising ethnic awareness and openness have resulted in a sharp population increase of some ethnic communities like the Kami and Badi that previously went underreported. Meanwhile, census data shows that the percentage of Nepalis who identify as Hindu has declined over the years after the country became secular. However  royal-Hindu-right parties at present have attempted to cash in on increasing public disillusionment by flagging secularism as being unsuitable for Nepal, and even leaders like Rabindra Mishra of the alternative Bibeksheel-Sajha party called for a referendum.Initial reaction shows that many people are reluctant to disclose their true household income, and share other personal details related to property and assets. Census supervisors and enumerators, unlike government school teachers in the past, will be educated young Nepalis who will have better knowledge and context about their local communities.The CBS has adopted the motto, ‘My Census, My Participation’ for this iteration of the census, and publicising the census through mobile ringtones for citizens to get up and be counted.

Nepal holding census despite Covid and boycott

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9da9c7e80680e092ec6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>As Nepal prepares for the 12th National Population and Household Census, there is much happening behind the scenes before thousands of enumerators fan out across the country  knocking door-to-door.Scheduled for 8-22 June, this is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-to-stand-up-and-be-counted-next-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first census under a federal system</a> and the most inclusive and ambitious since the first count was done in 1911.Since the census happens once every 10 years, those involved are usually new and need extensive training. The <a href="https://cbs.gov.np" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Central Bureau of Statistics</a> (CBS) has devised three levels of training at the central, provincial and local levels.Three program sessions were completed as part of the central-level training in early March, during which 200 officials were brought up to speed to operate as provincial and district officers. They will be deployed in 87 census offices across Nepal. At present, CBS officials are on the last leg of a week-long, provincial-level training session for instructors countrywide.The instructors will in turn train the enumerators and census supervisors, passing on skills on how to approach, interact with, and interview people and fill out the questionnaire.To improve the process of data collection, CBS has also changed the method of collating information this time around. Instead of just assigning government school teachers for data collection as was the practice in the past, an open call for applications for enumerators and census supervisors was made.“We had been having discussions for a long time about the need to mobilise educated young Nepalis around the country to help with data collection,” says Tirtha Raj Chaulagain, information officer at the CBS. “More than 120,000 people have responded to our request to apply, and there is bound to be a lot more applicants because there is still time until the application deadline.”The CBS now faces the task of vetting applicants and selecting 39,000 enumerators and 8,000 census supervisors. Those who have completed high school are eligible to apply for ‘enumerator’ while those with a bachelor’s degree can apply to become ‘census supervisors’. The age limit caps off at 40 for male applicants and 45 for female applicants.The data collection itself is set to be more comprehensive and detailed, with the use of three separate questionnaires.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=38073&amp;preview_nonce=5c5e53a600&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How will Nepal develop in the next decade?,</a> Sonia Awale“Nepal will have the longest census questionnaire out of any other country in the world that conducts a census,” says Chaulagain. “Census questionnaires elsewhere in the world generally have 20 questions on average. Ours will have 55.”The first pilot survey of House and Household Listing will be completed in May, which will collect household and livestock data. For gender identity, the option for ‘Other’ was introduced for the first time in the last census in 2011. Officials say they are preparing to note that survey provides space for individual conversations and safe space for gender minorities.The second phase will begin after the responses of the first one has been analysed. This will allow time for the CBS  to conduct an entirely different survey depending on the data that they receive.The main questionnaire will have 55 questions related to family resources, property ownership and income. Other details related to language, religion, ethnic identity, educational background and disability will also be part of this section. The main questionnaire will have 8 questions related to head count of family members living and working overseas.Two new parameters have been added to the main questionnaire, one being ancestral language, and another a question about whether children under 5 years of age in any given household have birth certificates or not.The third part of the census will be the Community Questionnaire, the first of its kind used in a national census. Information from every ward in the country, ranging from the demographic structure of each community to its access to government services, development infrastructure, national resources, and disaster preparedness will go into this.Among all the firsts happening this time, another one of them is the documentation of the existing infrastructure. Count of buildings, along with information indicating their use and purpose is a part of the questionnaire. There are questions that will help differentiate between villages and cities, eventually contributing to mapping the degree of urbanisation of each ward.The census will also make a more prominent use of technology in the data collection process this time around. Enumerators deployed within Kathmandu Valley will use electronic tablets to collect data, while paper-based questionnaires will be used in the rest of the country. Nepal’s diplomatic missions around the world will participate in an e-census by responding online.Scholars and population experts note that this year’s census is going to be the most inclusive and accurate census in Nepal’s history.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/">Lies, damned lies, and statistics</a>, Ramesh Kumar“Not only are the questionnaires themselves more inclusive of Nepal’s diverse communities, but the operational modality itself has changed. The members of civil society and other concerned organisations will be able to directly participate in the data collection process,” says Yogendra B Gurung, PhD, who teaches at the Tribhuvan University.CBS has also adopted the motto, ‘My Census, My Participation’, to reflect the level of interaction this census is expected to engage the citizens in.“Potential enumerators and supervisors will be selected based on which communities they belong to and what languages they speak because that makes a big difference in their ability to interact with a diverse range of people across different communities,” explains Tirtha Raj Chaulagain.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9dd9c7e80680e092ec7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="151">The census results are expected to reflect the country’s changing socio-political and demographic landscape more accurately. The study is expected tol provide more accurate data on the increasing urban-rural divide.“All levels of our government and our civil society have felt the need and are waiting for new data, as old data and statistics are outdated and of little use under the federal system,” says Gurung. “With the data collection parameters becoming so comprehensive, there can be no doubt about the quality of the results, provided that the data is managed in an efficient manner.”<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-population-to-cross-30-million/">Nepal’s population to cross 30 million</a>, Nepali Times_________________<h2>A century of census</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9de9c7e80680e092ec8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="669" height="461">Although official accounts document the first Nepal census in 1911, there have been claims and accounts of Jang Bahadur Rana conducting a headcount after returning from the UK in 1850.In fact, Volume 1 of the 2014 <a href="https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PopulationMonograph2014Volume1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Population Monograph of Nepal</a> published by the National Planning Commission and the Central Bureau of Statistics mentions  head-counts, counting households, stone taps, paatis, and temples at various points in history before and during the prime ministership of Bhimsen Thapa from 1806 to 1837.The first official census of Nepal, however, was conducted in 1911 following an Istihaar announcement published in 1910 by Chandra Sumsher Rana’s government.“Nepal’s administration was very much influenced by British colonial power, and so the census was conducted as much as an attempt to follow in their footsteps as it was to identify Nepal’s able-bodied, working population in order to find out the number of youths who could be conscripted into the British Indian Army amid a looming political crisis in Europe,” says researcher Sanjay Sharma.The results of the 1911 census put Nepal’s population at a little over 5.64 million, with most Nepalis living in the mid-mountains. That number would decrease by almost 65,000 people to 5.57 million in the 1920 census, with the decrease attributed to a significant loss of Nepali lives in World War I, the 1917 influenza epidemic, as well as out-migration. The 1930 census showed a further decrease to 5.53 million, but this could also be due to counting inaccuracies.In his 2014 book, One Hundred Years of Census-Taking, statistician Tunga Shiromani Bastola writes, ‘The absence of a large number of young males from the country and the death of a large number of them during the war might have lowered the fertility and growth of population in the Hill region.’Indeed, Nepal’s mid-mountains had lost much of its population after the war, with some ethnic communities like the Gurung, Magar, Rai and Limbu which were preferred by the British as Nepal’s ‘martial races’ suffering more significant losses than others.“Data about ethnicity was not included in earlier censuses, so it isn’t quite possible to say exactly which ethnic communities were most affected. But colonial British policy was to hire the Gurung and Magar people from the western hills and the Rai and Limbu people from eastern Nepal, so these communities might have been affected disproportionately to other Nepalis,” explains Sharma. “Moreover, some battalions were also comprised of Chhetris, so it can be assumed that these five ethnic communities were the most affected by the war.”The 1920 census thus also included data of injured and disabled Nepalis in an attempt to quantify the impact of the First World War. Since the war in Europe had ended by then, however, the 1920 census was also aimed at preparing an inventory of slaves by sex in Nepal, called Kamara-Kamari, a system that was abolished in 1925.The population would further decrease by 41,000 according to the results of the 1930 census, with a sharp decline in the population of Kathmandu valley. The reason for the decrease has been attributed to undercounting at a time when young Nepalis feared the census was being conducted for the purpose of conscription as tensions rose between Nepal and Tibet, and war looked imminent. The population would bounce back by the next census in 1941, showing an increase for the first time since Nepal began conducting censuses.After the 1950 revolution that led to the fall of the Rana autocracy, and much of the work related to the census was abandoned in the wake of Nepal’s newly democratic political climate. The census, therefore, began after a gap of more than 10 years in 1952, ending in 1954.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-in-the-2020s/">Nepal in the 2020s</a>, Sewa BhattaraiThis count also marked the first modern census in Nepal’s history, what Bastola has characterises in his book, as ‘an endeavour to collect internationally comparable data’.Around 17,000 enumerators were deployed across Nepal to collect demographic data. Language and religion were also added to the questionnaire for the first time in 1952.Ten years later, the 1961 census was the first one conducted by Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics which was established in 1959. The results took four-and-a-half years to be published, and established the tradition of a decennial census in Nepal.Nepal was now in the Panchayat era, and the 1971 census marked a huge technological leap with the advent of an electronic data processing system with early computers. Meanwhile, the 1981 census introduced a ‘Post-enumeration quality check survey’ (PES) in an attempt to check the accuracy of the data.Journalist Mohan Mainali worked as an assistant census supervisor in Taplejung during the 1981 census, having just completed his SLC exams at age 17. During three weeks in March 1981, he and an assistant travelled across two village Panchayats in Taplejung to conduct the Household Schedule. The Assistant Supervisor would conduct the household schedule while enumerators would conduct the individual schedule.“The questionnaires we had to carry were long and heavy,” Mainali recalled. “It would sometimes take more than an hour to travel just from one household to another, since there were no roads connecting villages back then. There also was the possibility of rain, so we also had to protect the questionnaires.”Mainali describes the cultural climate at the time that posed challenges in conducting an accurate household count. “The men would be away from most households, and we would need to interview the women. Since the head of the households were men, we would ask the women for their husbands’ names, but they would be reluctant to utter the name of their spouses, such was the tradition in rural Nepal,” he says. “This and other factors prevented us from getting accurate counts.”Mainali also remembers how personal motivations affected data collection. “An enumerator would earn 20 paisa for data collected on each individual and often, they would over-count and exaggerate data to earn more money,” Mainali told Nepali Times. “There were significant discrepancies between the population data collected in the household schedule and the individual schedule, which resulted in us having to redo the individual questionnaires.”The 1991 census, the last census of the 20th century, identified 60 castes and ethnic groups for the first time and employed school teachers as enumerators for the first time, as well. The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8345#.X6oMhi8RoWo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2001 census</a> was conducted amidst a period of political turmoil in the aftermath of the Royal Palace massacre and the middle of an armed insurgency. It used a combined data collection method of complete and sample enumeration and adopted multimedia platforms for result dissemination.‘The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/09/27/nepals-population-26-6-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2011 census</a> … included census publicity in local languages, maximum involvement of female interviewers, and the involvement of enumerators from different caste and ethnic groups,’ writes Bastola in his book.By this time, Nepal’s population had surpassed the 26 million mark, a 370% increase in a century. A century after the first census, therefore, Nepal’s 2011 census served as numeric and demographic documentation of Nepal’s historic political and socio-cultural changes.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=38051&amp;preview_nonce=38f8426e6c&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal in 2030,</a> Sanghamitra Subba<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=38023&amp;preview_nonce=024823c344&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Towards 2030</a>, Nepali Times

Everybody counts in Nepal

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

Four international names in architecture, Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Louis Isadore Kahn, all left their mark in Nepal. But despite their best intentions, the ambitious designs fizzled out. Ban, Koolhaas and Ando won Pritzkers, the best known international award for architecture, and Kahn could have won it had the prize been given in his lifetime. But their designs fell short of transforming Nepali architecture and did not help inspire local architects.&nbsp; Why were these four ‘starchitects’ unable to pull off their Nepal projects and enrich the country with exemplary contemporary designs? The failure, especially the violation of Kahn’s design, also raises larger questions about how much contemporary architecture is valued in Nepal.&nbsp; Whereas Sri Lanka had Geoffrey Bawa and Bangladesh had Mazharul Islam, the pioneers of contemporary architecture in Nepal have had far less public appreciation. One wonders if Nepali architecture only refers to the monuments and heritage of the past. Nepal does have examples of outstanding modern architecture such as the &nbsp;पाङ्रे घर ‘Wheel House’ and खुट्टे घर &nbsp;‘House on Legs’ by Shankar Nath Rimal in the 1960s. These are the best examples of how some Nepali designers successfully tailored modern architecture to the Nepali context.&nbsp; Ten years ago, Nepal had three architecture magazines, SPACES, praXis and Business Architecture, but none of these survived. This newspaper has prominently covered contemporary architecture, and the built environment, but these are exceptions in Nepal’s media. There have been a few encouraging signs. The 2024 exhibition Modern Encounters in Architecture in Kathmandu Valley (1945-1985) at the Taragaon Museum had many visitors and its accompanying book is a seminal document.&nbsp; In 2023, the Mountain Architecture Dialogue (MAD) that focused on examples of good-practice sustainable contemporary architecture for the mountainous terrains of Nepal was a packed event with over 300 young architects, engineers, environmentalists and architecture students. <h2>Shigeru Ban</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  Shigeru Ban had already built a name for himself in post-disaster construction when he came to Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes in which 500,000 people lost their homes. The basic design and its 3D-rendered images were reviewed in upbeat articles on DOMUS, Architectural Review, Dezeen, and Arch Daily.&nbsp; But his signature cardboard tubes could not handle the monsoon and the roof structure had to be re-designed with timber. Only two shelters were completed in Sindupalchok, and only one of them still stands at the Hyatt Regency grounds today, as Ban’s souvenir to Nepal.&nbsp; <h2>Rem Koolhaas</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="722" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  The designs of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas have a specific signature: bold shapes and an intriguing architectural typology that challenges standard building blocks. Some designs even seem to defy gravity, like the CCTV headquarters in Beijing: an angular, continuous geometry of glass and steel.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1168" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Rem Koolhaas' design for Ullen's School in Khumaltar.</figcaption> </figure>  Koolhaas was commissioned by Belgian billionaire Guy Ullens to design a new building for Ullens School in Khumaltar. The most prominent feature is its vertical glass block staircase. Some interior spaces have lowered windowsills, which provide ample views and daylight. But the school building has gone unremarked in Nepal. <h2>Tadao Ando</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675" data-rendition-name="original" width="626" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> </figure>  Doctors providing aid to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 in Japan requested Tadao Ando, who had donated his Pritzker money to the victims, to also make a design for a hospital in Butwal.&nbsp; Ando’s contribution would be pro-bono and the construction was funded by the Hanshin Earthquake victims and by the popular Japanese newspaper Mainichi, as a tribute to Nepali doctors. The first block that Ando designed for the Siddhartha Children and Women’s Hospital (SCWH) was the out-patient department. He quickly realised that he would not be able to pull off structures with his typical style of smooth-finished, high-quality concrete.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579" data-rendition-name="original" width="1594" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Tadao Ando's Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital in Butwal.</figcaption> </figure>  Ando wrote in the online architectural catalog Architectuul, that the two main problems with the project were costs and the availability of local technology. ‘It became a facility that has a slightly different expression from the buildings I have completed so far,’ he wrote. He designed a colonnade for the west façade that would provide shelter from harsh sunlight, and the exposed brick walls were locally manufactured bricks.&nbsp; The hospital is characterised by modernist cuboidal massing, but the outer brick façades now appear unintentionally badly weathered by monsoons. The interiors lack both sufficient natural light and natural ventilation. <h2>Louis I Kahn</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  American architect Louis I Kahn had experience of projects in South Asia, and several were under construction when he died suddenly in 1974. Amongst these were the National Assembly complex in Dhaka, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and the Family Planning and Maternal Child Welfare Centre in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Kahn had started the USAID funded project in Nepal by developing a master plan for the government institutional zone in Kathmandu, which included a building for the Health Ministry. The building’s façade in exposed brick has deeply recessed vertical windows for shading.&nbsp; The balancing of accentuated horizontal lines in the brickwork with the verticality of the larger composition is the work of a master. The brick walls rise up into punctured parapet walls at the roof level. These square apertures ‘frame the sky’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1924" height="1242" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Louis Kahn's plan for the Ministry of Health.</figcaption> </figure>  When Kahn died, only the eastern half of the building was finished. The Western part was never built and Nepal’s bureaucrats decided that without paint, the exposed brick façade was not finished. Then in 1995, citing roof leakage and a space crunch, the Health Ministry added a floor.&nbsp; The frames-to-the-sky in the roof parapet were converted into windows and topped off with a sloping roof of corrugated steel sheets, whose only virtue was that it was cost-effective.&nbsp; Kahn’s orthogonal composition, which clean horizontal and vertical lines, was desecrated despite a public outcry and legal challenges from architects and cultural organisations. A version of this article was first published in HIMAL Southasian. Illustrations by Varun S Bapu.

Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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