The scenes from Dhaka on Monday were eerily similar to the ransacking of the residences of Ferdinand Marcos or Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Protesters took selfies lying on Sheikh Hasina’s bed (pictured above), they lounged on her sofas, feasted on biryani, and looted whatever was portable.&nbsp;
As is usually the case, it only takes a spark to light a revolt when a people’s fury at ruthless rulers reaches the tipping point. Hasina’s regime cracked down brutally on demonstrators, killing more than 300.&nbsp;
After another day of bloodshed on 4 August, Hasina lost support of the security forces, and jubilant protesters watched as their <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/05/asia/bangladesh-prime-minister-residence-stormed-intl/index.html">prime minister of 15 years fly off to India</a>. Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman announced an interim government would be formed.
There is a vital lesson from what has happened in Bangladesh for the rest of South Asia and beyond. Rulers cannot rest on their laurels just because they were freedom fighters. If citizens do not benefit from regime change, they will sweep rulers into the dustbin of history.
History is replete with examples of despots who plunder, torture and kill opponents, but are overthrown sooner or later. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/05/why-bangladesh-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-resigned">Sheikh Hasina</a>, was elected for the fifth time in a rigged election in January that was boycotted by the opposition BNP, and accepted only by India.
Hasina's fate is also a lesson for regional powers who back tyrants for geopolitical reasons: what they gain from such support can be tenuous and short-lived.
Nepal is presently not ruled by an elected despot, our press is the freest in the region, and the check and balance of democracy here function relatively well. Yet, the events in Bangladesh have an important lesson for our elderly rulers and mass media.&nbsp;
Are we in the media also partly to blame for increasing public frustration with politics as usual that is making Nepalis cynical and apathetic?
Nepal’s new politicians have exploited the fecklessness of old rulers by using the new media to gather populist support. Journalists are seen to be comrades-in-arms of the legacy leaders, and are collectively held responsible for Nepal’s decline.&nbsp;
In the age of citizen journalism, there is a misconception that the mass media has become redundant. However, in-depth journalism is more essential than ever to help citizens navigate information overload, disinformation and deep fakes.&nbsp;
The mobile phone and its algorithm-driven networking platforms are more for entertainment than information. And if information is a major part of content, then more often than not it is fake news and toxic trolling. Readership has not decreased, it has just migrated, and the sources of information have changed.
The main reason Nepal's politicians and journalists find themselves targetted is because they played active roles together in the people power movements of 1990 and 2006.
Indeed, journalists have been at the forefront of the restoration and protection of democracy and in upholding press freedom — through the conflict years, and after king Gyanendra’s coup in 2005.&nbsp;
But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/stemming-asia-s-democratic-decay">when democracy fails to deliver</a>, the public and populists tend to blame not just elected politicians, but also journalists.&nbsp;
The irony is that Nepal’s leadership is reluctant to credit the mass media for helping defend democracy and making it possible for them to get to power. Instead, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/press-for-people">many politicians would like to muzzle the media</a> because of its role in holding their power to account and exposing corruption in high places.&nbsp;
The media is playing its mandated adversarial role in Nepal’s democracy, but click-bait media and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/democracy-s-discontents">populist politicians</a> see public-interest journalism as competition for public attention.
We in the legacy media therefore find ourselves being distrusted by old guard politicians, and as rivals by YouTubers and TikTokers.
The state itself refuses thus far to recognise the communication enterprise as an industry, and successive governments <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/gagging-the-press-in-installments">have tried to weaken the traditional mass media by laws and policies</a>. The ban on alcohol ads on grounds of public health, even though such goods can be openly bought and consumed, is part of that strategy.&nbsp;
New leaders like Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah were propelled to power by new media. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-home-minister-vs-the-media">RSP’s Rabi Lamichhane</a> also fanned cyber-populism to get elected, which is why he is so dismissive of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ (१२-भाइ एडिटर) of the legacy media that exposed his wrongdoings.
The lesson from the Bangladesh upheaval for Nepal’s rulers who have been at the helm now for decades is this: clean up your act and start delivering, or else face a similar fate.
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clywww69p2vo">Sheikh Hasina</a> persecuted the press, allowing social pressure to build up until it all exploded in her face. A free press is democracy’s safety valve, and it is in the self-interest of Nepal’s political parties to defend it.
Gunaraj Luitel is the Chief Editor of Nagarik Daily in Kathmandu.
@gunaraj

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Selfies on the prime minister’s bed

<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/6/12/european-parliament-at-crossroads-as-right-wing-parties-triumph-in-eu-vote">Populist right-wing parties made a strong showing</a> in this week’s EU parliamentary elections. Populism is spreading in democracies around the world.
Nepal was ripe for the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-populist-party-balenist">rise of populism</a>. The 2022 election saw the emergence of independent mayors like Balen Shah in Kathmandu, the RSP’s Rabi Lamichhane, CK Raut’s Janamat and the Tharu-dominated Nagarik Unmukti in the Tarai.
These parties came out of nowhere by campaigning mainly through social media to ride the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-year-same-difference">wave of disillusionment </a>against the three established parties and their alpha males who have monopolised Nepali politics for the past 18 years.&nbsp;
The mainstream media and established parties see populism as a threat — as they should. After all, populism is a revolt against complacent, non-performing kakistocracies that have forgotten why they were elected by the people. &nbsp;
Nepal’s populists tend to lump the press together with discredited parties, since both have struggled together to restore democracy in the past. Populist leaders distrust corporate media, and have found an ally in the algorithm-driven social web.&nbsp;
This was manifested most glaringly last month after Home Minister Lamichhane masterminded <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-home-minister-vs-the-media">the arrest of Kantipur Media Group’s Kailash Sirohiya</a> for his paper exposing the scamming depositers of savings cooperatives.&nbsp;
Lamichhane’s supporters on social networking sites cheered Sirohiya’s detention, echoing his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/press-under-pressure">hostility towards journalists</a>. Lamichhane has built such a personality cult that facts do not matter for his supporters as they wilfully ignore his murky dealings.
Then they mercilessly trolled Nepal’s most popular comedy duo Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya after they supported Sirohiya. The cyber-lynching was not funny anymore, so the satirists posted an abject apology and retracted their comments.&nbsp;
This is a familiar tactic of populists the world over: weaponise the web to silence critics. In Nepal, besides Lamichhane we see the same hubris and intolerance in the cyber persona of Balen Shah and Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang.
Lamichhane’s political launchpad was his popular tv show in which he supported underdogs against an unresponsive state. Balen Shah is a rapper whose rebellious lyrics were his campaign platform against the capital’s antiquated and feckless leadership. Harka Sampang, a migrant returnee, also branded himself as a rebel and social activist. &nbsp;
Populists need gimmicks to sustain support from voters, and fall back on social media. Balen Shah mobilises YouTubers as his bulldozers raze sidewalk structures, dig up the asphalt on New Road or string multi-colour LED lights on the airport road. He displays a map of Greater Nepal in his office, has banned Bollywood movies, and threatened to burn down Singha Darbar. &nbsp;
Sampang strong-arms his way into planting saplings on private property, and posts inflammatory statements on social media while fanning ethno-religious tensions in his constituency.&nbsp;
Lamichhane has continuously disparaged the media, resorting to whataboutery when confronted with his role in the cooperatives scam. As Home Minister, he has transferred officials who were assigned to investigate his involvement in various scandals.&nbsp;
To be sure, established party bosses are not averse to resorting to populism themselves. Former Prime Minister K P Oli still maintains that Lord Ram was born in Nepal, and was the hyper-nationalist architect of Nepal’s pointy map.&nbsp;
Last week, he targetted RSP’s Education Minister Sumana Shrestha for having a foreign husband saying in a video: “She came to visit Nepal, but became a Minister instead.”&nbsp;
The royal right also rabble rouses, and its main exemplar is Gyanendra Shahi of the RPP who also burst into the public spotlight to be elected to the federal Parliament due to his hyperbolic rhetoric magnified by the social web.&nbsp;
He is a vocal critic of the MCC, and last week said the US Embassy’s rejection of Sandeep Lamichhane’s visa to play in the T20 Cricket World Cup was “a threat to Nepal’s existence”.
Populists do not necessarily threaten democracy unless they use violent means, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/">Trump supporters did on 6 January</a>. In Nepal, as elsewhere, they are a warning to established parties and the neo-elite to shape up. After a metoric rise to power, most populist leaders burn up on re-entry. Nationalism, persecution of minorities and migrants, hate speech and xenophobia do not work after a while, as we saw with Trump in the US, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines — and most recently Narendra Modi next door.&nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/demodification-of-india">Modi won a third term but barely</a>. He coopted the mainstream press, but it was the freedom of the Internet that kept the door of freedom ajar. The poorest and most persecuted Indians rejected the BJP’s divisive religious extremism. This is a lesson for Nepali leaders: do not mistake populism for popularity.&nbsp;
YouTube stunts are no match for action in development delivery and improving living standards.
Shristi Karki

Democracy’s discontents

The chief ministers of all seven provinces met last week in Hetauda to discuss their next step to pressure the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary">federal government</a> to devolve political power to their provinces.&nbsp;
In a unique cross-party show of strength, the provincial leadership presented a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Kathmandu. Some of their demands were to transfer control of the police force, pass the long pending federal civil service law, hand over ownership of provincial infrastructure and natural resources, and last but not least, allow them to collect their own revenue. &nbsp;
This is not the first time the provinces have expressed their collective grievance. But Kathmandu, under various governments since the first elections under the new Constitution in 2017, has just been making empty promises.&nbsp;
Indeed, Nepal’s main political leaders who were themselves the architects of the federal constitution are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/feudal-federalism">loath to devolve political power</a> that they have decentralised to local governments. Even their own party structure is wholly centralised not just in the central committee in Kathmandu, but in just one elderly alpha male in each party.
That Nepal’s leadership is lukewarm towards federalism is no big secret, they are unwilling to loosen their grip on power even to their own party leaders in the provinces and municipalities.
Eight years after the establishment of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/feudalism-to-federalism">three-tiered system of government</a> following a prolonged deadlock over the style of federalism that delayed the passage of the post-conflict 2015 Constitution, Nepal’s provinces are largely functionless.&nbsp;
For many Nepalis, the perception is that federalism is a corrupt and costly experiment that has failed miserably. Indeed, they have spent a fortune building luxurious lodgings for the provincial leadership in the upscale Bhaisepati neighbourhood. &nbsp;
In Nepal, federalism did not just signify devolution of power, but also the people’s sense of identity and belonging, and the participation of those historically excluded from the political process. This fact was reflected in the opposition of the people to the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/kosi-now-kathmandu-next"> naming of Province 1 as Kosi</a>, and their demand for it to be renamed Kirat Limbuwan.
This is not a new struggle. The Madhes movement for federal restructuring after the decade-long armed conflict actually served as a catalyst for the establishment of the provincial system. The Maoists insisted on an ethnicity-based provincial model and the Nepali Congress was for a geographical delineation. The UML backed a hybrid model.&nbsp;
The Maoists have historically taken credit for the transformation of the governance system that allowed for the reflection of identity, while the UML and the NC have sought to maintain the status quo even after the establishment of federalism.&nbsp;
Prime Minister Dahal has directly interfered in provincial governance, which in this year’s case served to further inflame <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/east-is-east">social unrest in Kosi</a>.&nbsp;
For outsiders looking in who are removed from the nuances in Kosi, Madhes, and Sudar Paschim, and are only involved in Kathmandu-centred discourse, provincial governance and federalism have thus just become a burdensome extension of central politics.&nbsp;
Federalism will once more become an election issue in the 2027 polls as political parties succumb to the temptation to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/long-leave-the-king">adopt regressive, conservative</a>, and populist rhetoric to appeal to disenfranchised voters. &nbsp;
Bad mouthing federalism has become a favourite pastime for parties like the royal right RPP, which has simultaneously fed and fed off the public’s disenchantment with governance to call for the abolishment of federalism and the reestablishment of a Hindu monarchy.&nbsp;
Ironically, the party fielded the second-highest number of FPTP candidates to contest provincial elections in 2022.
Meanwhile, the new and independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which did not field candidates for provincial elections in 2022, may not say it is against federalism in so many words, but has called it “useless” and “enabling corruption”. They have proposed to make the provincial assembly and parliament smaller.
The provinces today are indeed proxies of Kathmandu —seven mirrors which reflect the political incompetence of the central government instead of being fully functioning autonomous units.&nbsp;
Nepalis have been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/year-of-reckoning">quick to blame federalism</a> when it is the politicians who have refused to let go of their control. The system of governance is not flawed, politicians that keep provinces on a tight leash are.&nbsp;
Nepal’s provinces are not incapable of fulfilling their function, they have not been allowed to explore their roles and responsibilities. Throwing out federalism is not the answer.&nbsp;
To dismantle federalism is to undo the years of work it took to promulgate the Constitution and to overlook the struggle, sacrifice and hard-earned achievements of countless people during the conflict that preceded the Constitution.&nbsp;
In order for Nepal’s democracy to truly function, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/un-centralising-the-federal-structure">federalism must be given a chance</a>.
Shristi Karki

The F word

We can sit here all day, moaning and groaning about everything that is wrong with Nepal. But what are the solutions?
One place to start would be with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/another-decade-to-get-it-right?preview_nonce=e8166bf726" target="_blank">electoral reform</a>. Just about every malaise in Nepali politics starts with flaws in the voting process. Despite <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/to-the-promised-land-after-election,4082" target="_blank">periodic elections</a> giving a candidate mandate, it rarely translates into <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/performance-legitimacy,3505" target="_blank">performance legitimacy</a>. As a result, crooks get re-elected over and over again.
It has become fashionable these days to blame democracy for governance failure, corruption, and lack of accountability. Some like the current prime minister are batting for an executive presidency to streamline decision-making.&nbsp;
Since 1990, however, the malfunction has not been in the democratic system but in the elected office-holders who populate it.
In many parts of the world, the democratic process has been hijacked by populists who fan ultra-nationalism, religious intolerance and xenophobia to get elected and then proceed to dismantle the very institutions of democracy that got them elected in the first place.
The stench of decomposing democracy is now overpowering, even in a certain neighbouring country. Although in Nepal we need to remain vigilant to prevent the election of demagogues, our problem is different: politicians who have struggled, suffered and sacrificed their lives for the restoration of democracy are the very ones undermining it.&nbsp;
And since democracy by definition means adult franchise, we have to ensure that all citizens have a say in selecting the most honest and efficient managers to run their municipal, provincial or federal governments for a given period.
The electoral system in a democracy lays down the rules about how those candidates are chosen. If the rules are relevant and are followed, we get a representative government and the people can reward elected officials with a second term in office.
Nepalis have historically shown great enthusiasm at election time, with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lower-than-usual-turnout-in-nepal-polls" target="_blank">turnouts</a> usually exceeding 65% in most constituencies. The voting is relatively peaceful, free and fair. The 2015 Constitution made elected assemblies more inclusive in terms of gender and minorities.
However, there have always been serious concerns about election financing and the high cost of campaigning. Vote buying, cashing in on caste, ethnic or party vote banks end up narrowing the choice for voters. &nbsp;
A candidate who has to first pay the party boss for a ticket, then spend a fortune on wholesalers of bulk votes will (if elected) try to recoup that investment many times over.&nbsp;
This <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-business-of-politics-in-nepal" target="_blank">politics of patronage</a> means that campaign financing comes from business cronies who will demand their pound of flesh in licenses and contracts from the representative they helped elevate to office.&nbsp;
That is why we now have so many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bulldozing-democracy" target="_blank">businessmen who are MPs, &nbsp;mayors and ward chairs</a>. Captains of industry figured that instead of giving money to someone else, why not run for office themselves? &nbsp;This has made it more and more difficult to distinguish between businessmen and politicians, it has politicised crime and criminalised politics.&nbsp;
On Monday, Nepal’s Election Commission came out with a new integrated draft bill based on several laws that will now be debated in the current session of Parliament.&nbsp;
The bill contains some radical reforms which, if implemented, could change the electoral system for the better. The First Past the Post (FPTP) system is the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/trickledown-corruption,4176" target="_blank">root of corruption</a>, and the bill would disallow those who have lost an election from contesting from another constituency.
The Proportional Representation (PR) system was supposed to promote inclusiveness, but has mostly promoted nepotism. The bill would bar serial MPs elected under the PR quota from contesting more than twice.
Since the FPTP system has not <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/headline/Pro-women,4081" target="_blank">ensured gender balance</a>, the bill binds parties to ensure that 33% of candidates for direct voting are women. The bill also seeks to add ‘None of the Above’ on the ballot paper, and if 50% of them are no votes, the election is null and void.
Perhaps the most welcome point in the bill is a provision that we have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/mirage-of-migrant-rights" target="_blank">hammering away</a> at in this space for years: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/we-are-treated-like-atms" target="_blank">absentee ballots</a>. Mailing and early polling would ensure that the 15% of Nepalis living abroad can <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/our-notes-count-but-our-votes-don-t" target="_blank">exercise their constitutional right to vote</a>.&nbsp;
Successive governments have blocked absentee ballots despite a Supreme Court ruling in 2018 because they fear diaspora votes will be anti-incumbent. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) notes that 151 of 216 countries allow nationals living abroad to vote.&nbsp;
What the Election Commission does not go far enough in its proposed bill is to make election financing more transparent because that is at the root of corruption in high places. We realise this is notoriously difficult to enforce, and even the United States has not been able to rein in campaign financing. But rules should at least be laid down.
There is rampant abuse of the PR system as a fig leaf for inclusion, why not scrap it altogether and instead require parties to field more women and minorities in the direct ballot.
In the final analysis, elections work if the political parties themselves have internal democracy, and the voters can make informed choices about candidates. Otherwise we will keep on having free and unfair elections that deliver the same tried, tested and failed candidates to office.
Parliament may do well to not just pass this bill, but also add into it additional reform measures about campaign financing.&nbsp;

Free and unfair

Nepal’s cybersphere is rumbling with posts by politicians vying to go viral by being ultra-nationalist. &nbsp;
Thrust to electoral victory last year riding Facebook booster rockets, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra ‘Balen’ Shah is leading the charge. First, he posted a photo of his office with a pre-1816 map of Nepal to counter the Akhanda Bharat mural unveiled in India’s new Parliament building.
Then, he went ballistic on rumours (later proven to be untrue) that the Indian movie Adipurush claimed Sita was “a daughter of India”. He retaliated with an indefinite ban on all Bollywood movies in Kathmandu cinemas until the non-existent dialogue was removed not just in Nepal but by Indian censors as well. Sound familiar? The Maoist 40-point demand in 1996 also included a ban on Bollywood films. &nbsp;
When the Patan High Court issued an immediate interim order rescinding the movie ban, Balen fired off another salvo from his social media account saying no way was he going to follow the court’s order or, for that matter, the Constitution. Safeguarding the national interest and preserving Nepal’s sovereignty and culture was far more important, he said.&nbsp;
And he used a similar argument about hanging the Greater Nepal map in his office, despite constitutional experts calling the tit-for-tat anti-Constitutional, irresponsible and over-stepping his jurisdiction as mayor.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/rot-at-the-top">Rot at the top</a>, Shristi Karki
Ultra-nationalism in Nepal is not new, it is usually retaliatory India-bashing over some perceived affront. Madhuri Dixit once said that she found Nepal “just like India” and we got worked up about that. But it can also turn deadly, as shown by riots in 2000 over Bollywood actor Hritik Roshan purportedly slandering Nepal in an Indian tv interview.&nbsp;
Nepali politicians through the ages have resorted to nationalism to hide under-performance, to distract public attention from more pressing issues, or for electoral gain. All it does is expose insecurity, and only becomes serious when the flames are stoked by politicians.
To be sure, the Indians add fuel to the fire by taunting Nepalis, knowing fully well how sensitive historical memory here about past wrongs can be, and anything said or done in New Delhi tends to be magnified in Nepal – as with their claim to Kalapani-Lipu Lek. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Nationalism is the last resort of scoundrels, as someone said. Italian media tycoon and 3-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died last week, perfected the art of populist politics even before the age of the internet. Donald Trump copied the formula ditto by weaponising social media. Narendra Modi in India has demonstrated how to pulverise pluralism with populism.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/red-to-saffron">RED to SAFFRON</a>, Shristi Karki
The temptation to appeal to raw instinct, intolerance and hidden bigotry is so strong that even politicians who have fought long and hard for democracy succumb to it. After Balen Shah’s map went viral, the NC’s Gagan Thapa couldn’t resist putting in his own two cents.
Former BBC journalist Rabindra Mishra, who practiced objectivity for decades, has also gone off on a tangent. Rabi Lamichhane of the RSP is only held back by saner voices in his party.
Every politician is entitled to their personal conviction, ideology, and faith. It is when their exercise of freedom impinges on someone else’s right to choice that it becomes dangerous. In countries with entrenched discrimination, inequity and social injustice, populism can be turned into a political warhead. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Balen Shah promised a lot during his election campaign, and some cosmetic changes have been made to the streets. To be fair, it would be too much to expect one mayor in one term to solve Kathmandu’s multi-faceted crises decades in the making. Still, hanging maps on the wall and banning Bollywood films serve to distract public attention from failures.&nbsp;
Even the mayor’s proactive campaigns have been unjust and excessive: bulldozing squatter settlements without first offering alternatives and his Metropolitan Police upturning fruit and panipuri carts of street vendors. The poor and neediest became collateral damage.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/political-environment">Political environment</a>, Editorial
Any critics of these actions are mercilessly trolled by Balen’s supporters who are internet avatars of his street gendarmes – as we probably will be for posting this Editorial online.
The challenge for democracy worldwide now is to protect open societies from populist politics. In Nepal, the royal right is crafting a narrative of nostalgia about the glory days of monarchy. But it is not so simple. &nbsp;
Political changes in Nepal in 1950, 1990, and 2006 have all come about because of outrage over an existing system. But outrage alone does not guarantee a change in the character of the state.&nbsp;
Populists feed on this rage against the status quo, but they offer no solutions except hyper-nationalism. The silver lining is that Nepalis also rejected many serial politicians, and elected some capable technocrats who are now raising hell in Parliament.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/whose-country-is-it-anyway">Whose country is it anyway?</a>, Editorial

Nepal Populist Party (Balenist)

Kevin Casas-Zamora, PhD, is the Secretary General of <a href="https://www.idea.int/">International IDEA</a>, the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation supporting democracy worldwide. He used to be Costa Rica’s Second Vice President and Minister of National Planning and National Coordinator of the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report. Nepali Times caught up with Casas-Zamora during his visit to Kathmandu this week. Excerpts: Nepali Times: In your recent op-ed for The New York Times, you wrote about democracy in Latin America and anti-corruption populism. You noted that the collapse of party systems would lead to an emergence of outsiders who would accelerate the erosion of democracy. How similar is this scenario to other parts of the world, like Nepal? Casas-Zamora: It would be very presumptuous of me to start babbling about Nepali politics, but we are seeing a global trend towards the dissolution of the mechanisms that society had created to aggregate social preferences, social demands, like political parties. Latin America might be a particularly acute example, but it is certainly not unique. The World Values Survey covering 80 countries showed the people’s trust in political parties was in the single digits. This is particularly damaging, because one of the big problems that democracy has globally is that democratic communities are being torn apart. Polarisation is on the rise pretty much everywhere. Disinformation on social media is one of the key centrifugal forces. Inequality is another, and it weakens democratic communities. When political parties are weakened and party systems become fragmented, it becomes very difficult to govern, to build majorities, to implement any kind of agenda. In the end, what do you reap out of that is dissatisfaction. We are seeing a growing gap between growing social expectations, growing social demands and the inability of democratic institutions to respond to those demands. It is in that gap that monsters are growing. And it is in that gap that populism finds fertile ground. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/journalism-is-the-frontline-of-democracy">"Journalism is the frontline of democracy"</a> When IDEA was established in 1995, there was euphoria about democracy, the Soviet Union had just collapsed, and many thought it was the end of history. Things did not turn out that way. Is there a design defect in the democratic project itself that allows this algorithm-driven populism to gain foothold? It is an interesting question, and I don’t think so is the answer. The normative case for democracy continues to be very strong. It is the only system that treats people according to their human dignity and respects their agency. That’s not a small thing. But beyond the purely normative argument, there is a very practical one, which is that democracy resolves in an elegant way, something authoritarian systems have great problems resolving: the issue of succession. Democratic systems also have the ability to self-correct. This is really the essence. And this is where the real value of democracy in practice lies. The pandemic proved very telling in that respect. Three years ago a lot of people blamed the faulty performance of democracy and the messiness. And sure enough there were democracies that performed very poorly, others that did better. But there was this sense that well, democracies are not up to the task, when it comes to a very acute crisis. They’re not efficient enough to respond to the problem, whereas in China, they are very efficient and they do what needs to be done. Well it turns out the performance of democracies with regards to the pandemic is looking much better than it did three years ago. And the performance of China with regard to the pandemic is not looking nearly as good. That’s down to the ability of democracies to self-correct. If you live in a democracy, and you don’t like the policies that are being enacted in four or five years, you’re going to have a chance to throw the rascals out. You may or may not succeed, but you have that chance. Living under an authoritarian system is like playing the roulette. You might be very lucky, and end up with Lee Kuan Yew and you do great. But you might not be so lucky and end up with Idi Amin. Still, we need to rethink democracy for a new time. If you take the basic design of democratic institutions, the emergence of political parties about 100 years ago, it hasn’t changed much for the past two centuries. You have this dissonance between the speed and the scale of social change over the past century, and the relative lack of institutional innovation in democracy over the same period. It is time to rethink representative institutions. One concrete example could be citizens assemblies, selected randomly that are given the task and the information to study an important problem for society and then they are expected to make recommendations, which are then taken up by the political system. They've used it for abortion in Ireland, in France for environmental issues, and that is the kind of innovation that needs to happen. It’s a time for institutional innovation and for political reform. And if we do that, if we take those serious issues seriously, a democracy has a strong case to make for itself. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/populism-vs-pluralism">Populism vs pluralism</a> How does IDEA’s membership model work? What if a democratic member country goes rogue and elects a despot? It’s an issue that we’re grappling with. Backsliding was not a thing back in 1995, the assumption was that the good times would last forever. That is perhaps the biggest mistake that was made: the notion that this was a linear process. Well, there’s no such a thing in human affairs as a linear process other than ageing. Even in the best of circumstances it is a case of two steps forward one step back, which may also be the case for Nepal. That’s the way most democratic transitions work. Where the performance of our own member states is less than adequate in terms of adherence to democratic values that we put in place, we establish a process of dialogue with the country in question. IDEA offers some support to the country. But ultimately, it’s up to the country to put that action plan in place. We are having that discussion at the moment and it’s a complicated one, because to be very honest, and this is something that I’ve seen at just about any intergovernmental organisation, member states are loath to pass judgment on other member states. But we have to face up to the fact that democratic practices can really break down in some of our member states in gradual ways, or in abrupt ways. Our statutes have a clause that allows for a country to be suspended. It has never been used but what we are trying to put in place a due process so that this doesn’t come out of nowhere, but then there are certain steps that are followed before we get there. And hopefully, we’ll never get there.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230511120516_7f285d81d83e28712661031f739209b5f73d4e2a63620a50f68e0401fa68453d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230511120516_7f285d81d83e28712661031f739209b5f73d4e2a63620a50f68e0401fa68453d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Kevin Casas-Zamora"></figure>  In many democratic Asian countries, there is disillusionment with poor governance and lack of delivery. We look enviously at China or Singapore and the Asian tiger economies. Even in Nepal there are many who say we have tried it for 30 years and democracy is not delivering. Evidence tends to show that in the long run, democracies perform better. Of course, you may say that in the long run, we’re all dead. Most authoritarian systems are not like China or Singapore, the average is much lower. But while you can accept the proposition that on average democracies do better than autocracies when it comes to economic performance and development, China and Singapore are a big distortion. At the same time, we have to admit that in vast swaths of the world the pressure for development forces governments to adopt certain practices of democracy that are less than liberal. There is a lot of lecturing going around. When I travel I sense an increasing impatience when Western countries talk about democracy. A lot of folks in places like India, South Africa, in parts of Latin America roll their eyes. And this has become very evident in the context of the war in Ukraine. The West is baffled that much of the rest of the world is not seeing the war in Ukraine as part of this huge struggle against authoritarianism. Well no: that’s not the way it’s perceived. So, a little more sensitivity to the pressures for development that countries find themselves under is called for. We owe it to ourselves to have a truly global conversation about what democracy means in different places. We might not be talking about the same thing. So a little more humility, and more sensitivity is called for. A truly global and respectful conversation about the meaning of democracy can agree on certain, common denominators as the core tenets of democracy. But beyond that, there’s a lot of flexibility. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/asia-s-new-cold-war">Asia's new Cold War</a> Where does the media fit into this? The Erdogans, Orbáns, Dutertes, Bukeles of the world are united by a desire to weaken any kind of check on executive power. And that means weakening the independent judiciary, press freedom, the ability of civil society to self-organise and demand things, and to hold people in power to account. They are weakening autonomous electoral authorities. And this thing comes in different sequences in different places, but the result is always the same. Some governments start out going after the press before they go after the judiciary, some do it the other way round. But in the end, the result is the same. The press is one of the scapegoats. I remember when I was an active politician, you lived in fear of the press, and that is the way it should be. That is the single most important check on your power. There is a reason why wannabe-autocrats go after the press, or buy them off. The more sophisticated among them buy the media off, others go after journalists. According to our measurements, one of the aspects of democracy that is most acutely under siege is freedom of the press. Out of 18 Latin American countries over the past decade, press freedom has decreased in 15 of them. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-democracy">The death of democracy</a>, Aditya Adhikari

“Democracy gives you a chance to throw rascals out”

<figure><img width="2000" height="1335" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237e19c7e80680e0c7355jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All Photos: CIJ Nepal</figcaption></figure>Translated excerpts of the panel Unmasking Populism marking the 25th anniversary of the Centre for Investigative Journalism NepalModerator Sewa Bhattarai:There are many terms in Nepali for ‘populism’, but in essence they capture the negative connotation of public figures taking a shortcut to popularity. Populism is considered to be damaging to democracy around the world, and in Nepal as well. In the panel today, we will look into how populism impacts on pluralism and how to unmask it.CK Lal, Columnist, Kantipur and Kathmandu PostThis is almost a philosophical proposition. Populism is nothing new, it goes back to Greco-Roman times and the dawn of what we know today as democracy. We can look at populism in two ways: the first as a tendency, and the second as a method.When populism was limited to individual behaviour it was not so damaging to society. It is when populism becomes a method that it becomes an ‘ism’ and unleashes a slew of other problems. <img width="640" height="444" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237e49c7e80680e0c7356jpeg.jpg" alt="">Populism also has several dimensions. It can be used as a means for domination by one group in society to use self-appropriated  divine right against rivals. Populism can be fanned by one group of an elite against another to mobilise the masses by portraying it as being made up of crooks who exploit them to get to power.  Populism appears as demagoguery in politics, and in economics it manifests itself in nepotism. Populism can also be used as a strategy to aid and abet a political group in garnering public support to compete against rivals.Culturally, populism can exhort the public with tales of historical glory to establish the narrative that things have deteriorated because of  outsiders who corrupt society.The reason populism has become the preferred method for dominance by political groups in different parts of the world today is because all the others ‘isms’ and ideologies have been discredited one way or another.Communism bit the dust in 1989, there was hope that at least Fabian socialism and the welfare state would replace it but that did not happen. Capitalism failed to deliver because of its excesses.The inability of these ideologies to work in the public interest for equity and justice increased  disillusionment in society, and clever politicians exploited populist ideology to use it as a strategy to channel public support. Cultural entrepreneurs used populism to promote religious, literary or linguistic agendas. Also, there is the difficulty that while unmasking one sort of populism we replace it with another.All these factors have led to the spread of populism around the globe. What makes it dangerous is that there does not seem to be any way to stop this trend because social networks now magnify populist ideologies so effectively. Without media gatekeepers, these networks add fuel to the fire with instant outrage and emotion.Populism can also be positive. At one point in history, America had progressive populism with leaders who drove socio-economic reform. A Nepali leader calling for the abolition of untouchability would also be called a populist.Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP in Delhi is a welfare populist when he tries to raise the quality of education or medical care to make it more equitable.Radical populism can take on an ultra-reformist agenda like, for example, the call to abolish Nepal’s army because we do not really have an enemy to fight.The problem is with negative populism. Demagogic populism  tries to drive home the majoritarian agenda. In Nepal, that would be fear mongering over giving citizenship to the husbands of Nepali women because that would mean we will be inundated with Indians, and this would lead to the country’s ‘Fijification’ or ‘Sikkimisation’.Then there is charismatic populism, exemplified by Kathmandu’s Mayor Balen. There is no ideology attached, it is not ultra-reformist, or radical. It is just his personality that is driving a public service agenda through a partyless candidacy. Narendra Modi or Donald Trump could also be described as charismatic populists.To overcome populism with pluralism, political parties have to believe and compete in the marketplace of ideas. For this, the institutions of democracy have to be strengthened to counter negative populism. Leaders should have the statesmanship to speak up for minorities even if they are from a majority community.If a Nepali from the mountains supports representation and justice for the Madhesi people, it will be more effective than a Madhesi person saying the same thing.Yubaraj Ghimire, Deshsansar.comWhen mainstream political parties cannot deliver to the electorate and offer solutions, the public is naturally disenchanted. Our democracies are all about how to use the election system to drum up public support from voters so as to get to power. They use slogans to propel their agenda, and they know the limits of how much they can promise so that citizens will believe them, even though they may not be able to implement those promises for economic or other reasons. <img width="2000" height="1335" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237e79c7e80680e0c7357jpeg.jpg" alt="">When I was working as a journalist in India, for example, Prime Minister Morarji Desai was asked by his Janata Party to travel to the south to canvas for elections. He met farmers, who had a list of demands. He told them that even if he came to power, he would not be able to fulfil them. This was a rare example of a politician who was not tempted by populist rhetoric, and had the courage to tell it like it is. But he was an exception.When Morarji was not in government, he opposed India’s annexation of Sikkim. But after he became prime minister he had to go along with it. So, populism is a tool of power. Even if they cannot fool all the people all the time, populists will keep trying.Populism also manifests itself at election time when political parties are not rational in their character and articulation, when they can raise such issues and get away with it.  The reason the media is not as effective as it can be to counter this  is that owners of media have other business interests which they try to protect, and to bring down rivals through their content.Populism is fostered when the basic tenets of the Constitution were passed without much debate in Parliament, elected representatives just signed off on it without accountability. This is detrimental to pluralism, encourages populism and further discredits credibility of the leadership, and by extension society’s own collective credibility.Rajendra Dahal, SikhsyakIt is quite natural for politicians to follow a populist agenda. They will argue that it is not possible to win in elections by telling people the unvarnished truth. They have to spout populist slogans, promise populist programs.What is more, we in the media, academics and others have taken this as a normal state of things. This acceptance of populism is one of the biggest challenges of our democracy. And the reason it is a problem is that the press has decided to ignore populism, and does not see it as a problem. So, when politicians, elected representatives and even the judiciary choose a populist path, journalists begin to take that as a given, and not look at the trend critically. <img width="1941" height="1263" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237ea9c7e80680e0c7358jpeg.jpg" alt="">Our reality today in the media is that journalists are not able to see through the fog to gauge what is really happening in the country. There are good papers and magazines, they are designed and printed well, but when I asked one journalist how about going deeper into the real state of the country. The answer was: “No way, we can report on that.”The challenge for the media is to develop a deeper understanding of the processes of populism that are at work. And this is happening at a time when the entire state mechanism seems to be intent on blunting the influence of the media with easy public money. This commercialises the media, eroding its public service role.The instant gratification that comes with populism hypnotises society. Populism now has Nepali society and our political mechanism in its grip. It also is proof of just how weak and unpopular Nepal’s leaders have become that they have to resort to these tricks. They have such low confidence in themselves and are so afraid of the public reaction that they cannot even face voters by themselves, they go in groups. The rise of Balen and the independents has really spooked them.Mohana Ansari, Human Rights defenderLooking at the world today, we see the rise of Modi in India, Erdogan in Turkey, Trump in America, Bolsanaro in Brazil, Duterte and now Marcos in the Philippines. Compared to all of these countries, Nepal can be considered one of the more progressive ones. Yet what touches the people of Nepal is religion. And I have a deep personal connection to that since the religious strife I witnessed as a child in Nepalganj, and even lately.Our political parties, be they Congress, UML or Maoists, may sound very progressive, but the drafting of the 2015 Constitution showed that they were not able to adequately address the concerns of the minorities, and we thought that some of the aspirations would be filled in as we went along. However, what we find is that the majoritarian narrative is still dominant, and the media tends to black out content that challenges the status quo or the voices of the minorities. On the citizenship debate, for example, we still discriminate between male and female Nepalis. <img width="735" height="1152" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237ed9c7e80680e0c7359jpeg.jpg" alt="">Nepal still has a long list of challenges, but I think we are now equipped to address them. During the Constitution drafting process, there was a populist belief that federalism would divide the country. But I was always deeply convinced that it would actually unite Nepal.Across the world populism and politics can obstruct the pursuit of human rights and rule of law. For example, with a rise in heinous crimes there is a populist push, even in media headlines, for capital punishment even though that is against the Constitution. Imagine if someone is falsely accused based on a phone complaint of rape, what kind of situation would we be in? Imagine the kind of message that would send to the world that Nepal is a violent country.

Populism vs pluralism

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95ad9c7e80680e05dc1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="629" height="420"/><figcaption>Photo: ERICK KABENDERA/IPS</figcaption></figure>Using armies of online fans, trolls and, automated ‘bots’, the world’s authoritarians and populists are increasingly using the web to drown out opponents and swing public opinion and elections their way, a new study says.<a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Freedom on the Net report</a>, compiled annually by Freedom House, a US government-funded research group, confirms the fears of many online activists and paints a bleak portrait of how the internet is straining democracies.The 32-page document, released earlier in November and titled <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Crisis of Social Media</a>, found that more than half of the world’s 3.8 billion web users live in countries that censor the internet and use pro-government trolls to manipulate the online realm.Freedom House President Mike Abramowitz warned of online propaganda and disinformation spreading ahead of elections in 24 countries. The group assesses web freedom in 65 countries that host 87 percent of the world’s webusers.“Governments are finding that on social media, propaganda works better than censorship,” Abramowitz said in a statement. “Authoritarians and populists around the globe are exploiting both human nature and computer algorithms to conquer the ballot box, running roughshod over rules designed to ensure free and fair elections.”Researchers found that officials had worked with celebrity yes-men, business titans and semi-autonomous “online mobs” to spread clickbait, conspiracy theories and misleading memes from “marginal echo chambers to the political mainstream”.The report spotlights Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential election win in October 2018 was preceded by misleading news, anti-gay rumours and doctored images being spread by the right-winger’s fans via YouTube and WhatsApp, researchers said.In Egypt, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi blocked some 34,000 websites to stifle debates about whether el-Sisi should be allowed to hold power until the end of 2030 ahead of an April referendum, the report said.Hundreds of thousands of online trolls spread fake news to swing voters behind two main parties in April-May elections in India this year, it added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘NaMo’ app was reportedly relaying users’ data to a private analytics firm.The world’s two biggest economies — the United States and China — come in for special scrutiny. In the US, much like in the 2016 presidential election that brought Donald Trump to power, online trolls spread “disinformation” during the November 2018 mid-term vote and during the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.Meanwhile, US immigration officials are increasingly demanding access to the mobile phones and laptops of visitors and snooping on immigrants’ social media feeds, operating with “little oversight or transparency”, the report says.China remains the “world’s worst abuser of internet freedom” — a title it has held for four consecutive years, and where a phalanx of online commentators known as the 50 Cent Army pushes government messages online.Beijing clamped down harder on web users ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on 15 April and got tighter still in the face of ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the report says.Adrian Shahbaz, the group’s research director for technology and democracy, warned that even governments of smaller economies can now afford large-scale “advanced social media surveillance programs”.Last month, Facebook sued NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, for using the WhatsApp messaging service to hack the phones of some 1,400 dissidents, journalists, diplomats, officials and others for their clients, understood to be governments and spy agencies.“Once reserved for the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies, big-data spying tools are making their way around the world,” said Shahbaz. “Even in countries with considerable safeguards for fundamental freedoms, there are already reports of abuse.”Researchers noted that officials in 47 countries, armed with such sophisticated web-snooping tools, had arrested web users between June 2018 and May 2019 for posting political, social or religious messages online.“The future of internet freedom rests on our ability to fix social media,” said Shahbaz.“Since these are mainly American platforms, the US must be a leader in promoting transparency and accountability in the digital age. This is the only way to stop the internet from becoming a Trojan horse for tyranny and oppression.” (IPS)

Online trolls, bots & snoopers imperil democracy

<figure><img width="1500" height="1038" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56b79c7e80680e05479ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: SHARECAST INITIATIVE NEPAL</figcaption></figure>There was a time until recently when we wrote editorials in this space about how the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4271#.XXDRyy4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global digital divide was mirrored within Nepal.</a> Just like the haves and have-nots, we said Nepal had the ‘knows’ and ‘know-nots’, because access to the internet here was so skewed.How fast things have changed. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19399#.XXDSVC4zbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Till 2012</a>, we were reporting that there were 1.4 million Nepalis on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Facebook</a>. Today the figure is nearing 8.5 million. The number of Twitter users is much lower, but it has a following among the intelligentsia, media and political influencers, which magnifies its impact. In April, Nepali Times printed the results of a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sharecast Initiative survey</a> that showed:<ul><li>96% of Nepali households own a mobile</li><li>90% of individuals own a mobile</li><li>Half the mobile users had smartphones</li><li>18% used laptops, desktops or tablets at home</li><li>Among the 35% who used the internet, 98% said they use mobile phones to get online</li><li>75% used mobile data to access the internet.</li></ul>Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32527&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">So, you want to quit Facebook?,</a> Reeti KC<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32537&amp;preview_nonce=96e6eb44eb&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s new digital landscape,</a> Sonia AwaleAs our review of the survey in this edition (page 15) shows, the shift of eyeballs to digital media is going to have a profound impact on the way Nepalis communicate with each other, the way Nepal is governed and how  Nepali society functions.While the legacy press is still strong and influential, and people do not fully trust information on the Net, the window for print is narrowing. As elsewhere, it is inevitable that the online editions of the mainstream press, digital news portals and YouTube channels are going to be the main sources of news. Print media will have to re-invent its revenue model, or perish. Internet viewing patterns in Nepal and other parts of the region show increasing dominance of entertainment content. Facebook and social media addiction is becoming a problem, reducing the attention span of readers, exposing them to click bait, fake news and rumours.   As the recent case involving Rabi Lamichhane — as well as protests against heritage destruction, violence against women and corruption — shows, social media content is now driving mainstream media content, setting the agenda for coverage and priority accorded to events, personalities and issues.Not all of this is improper, damaging or dangerous. The internet has democratised information flow, levelled the playing field, and in many cases turned citizens into actors and content providers themselves. The cybersphere has become the new Nepali public sphere, chautari and our own global village, where the medium is the message.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32425&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Detox,</a> Nepali Times<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj ChapagainPeople like <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kulman Ghising</a> of the Nepal Electricity Authority, <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18574#.XXDSoS4zbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vijay Lama</a> of Nepal Airlines, and <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-far-sighted-eye-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sanduk Ruit</a> of <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://tilganga.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tilganga</a> have been propelled to national stardom through social media magnification. They are seen by the public at large as direct antitheses of greedy and corrupt politicians.No wonder, then, that the greedy and corrupt feel threatened by these personalities. In the battle between populism and popularity, these new heroes expose the hopeless inadequacies of political figures because of their integrity and selfless devotion to public welfare. When they become a political threat, we have seen backlash from the rulers.The Nepali Net is affecting politics because the young middle-class is now wired. Half of Nepal’s population is under 21, and this networked youth bulge will have huge political implications in the next general election in 2022.Where the new voters get their information, how they get it and what kind of information it is, will determine who rules Nepal and how. If the information is correct and credible, exposes wrongdoing, is fair to all concerned, and lets voters make up their own minds, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Media</a> will strengthen Nepal’s fragile democracy.But if in the next three years, fake news goes viral, bot armies are deployed, false social media accounts target individuals to destroy their credibility, and troll factories are created to widen and exploit religion, sectarian, caste and ethnic fault lines, then Nepal is headed for disaster.For now, social media is a free-for-all. It is still dominated by the personal, but is increasingly being used as a political platform by citizens to air their views. It is in this dynamic, interactive and instantaneous public cybersphere that opinions are increasingly being made and spread.The Internet is a double-edged sword: it can mobilise pro-democracy protests and be a marketplace of ideas, but it can also radicalise society with algorithm-driven echo chambers, hate speech and corrosive dialogue.As with all media there are the good, the bad and the ugly. At a time when the mainstream press is co-opted, coerced or bought off by political brokers, social media still holds out the hope of keeping the democratic space open.Fortunately most Nepalis, wired or otherwise, value peace and harmony. This silent majority must be silent no more, and speak out on the social web to drown out the fake and phoney.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's changing media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New news</a>, Editorial <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> This excerpt from the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16274#.XXD94y4zaUk">front page story</a> in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/467">Nepali Times #467</a> of 4-12 September 2019 shows that however much things change in Nepal, they stay the same:'There is no other way to write the new Constitution, protect the peace process and reduce foreign interference than for the political leadership to work together. Yet they can’t bring themselves to do it.Individually, they all give speeches saying there is no alternative to consensus politics. But their actions say just the opposite. Even when antagonistic parties get together, like the NC and the Maoists, it is for selfish and partisan reasons. <img width="400" height="610" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56bb9c7e80680e05479fjpeg.jpg" alt=""> Threatening “to capture state power through a people’s rebellion” and a bloodbath will not take the process forward. Openly moving around with guns, refusing to rehabilitate those rejected in the cantonments, continuing to obstruct Parliament, will not help.'

THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171152/636937b89c7e80680e03fe57jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1476"/>MADRID – Sadly, 2018 will not be remembered as a year of political and diplomatic success. Though the international order had already begun to erode in 2017, the global political environment became downright chaotic, combustible, and hostile this year. That is no coincidence, as these are perhaps the three adjectives that best describe the United States under President Donald Trump.Since January 2018, when the Trump administration announced tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines, the year has been marked by an escalating “trade war,” waged primarily – but not exclusively – by the US against China. The ongoing tariff disputes have seriously <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/19/the-trade-war-has-claimed-its-first-victim/">undermined</a> the World Trade Organization and deepened mutual distrust in Sino-American relations.For its part, China this year <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-term-limit-explainer.html">eliminated</a> presidential term limits, raising fears that President Xi Jinping’s so-called <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/18/i-mastered-xi-jinping-thought-and-i-have-the-certificate-to-prove-it/">new era</a> will end the period of collective leadership ushered in by Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, which were themselves a corrective to Mao’s cult of personality. This move could also herald a further deviation from Deng’s trademark foreign-policy restraint.Similarly, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reelected in March, to no one’s surprise. Under Putin, Russia has been re-emerging as a geopolitical force. And yet, its economy is essentially stagnant, owing in part to its excessive dependence on hydrocarbons. In the absence of growth, Putin has relied on foreign policy to shore up his domestic popularity.For example, Putin’s campaign press secretary welcomed the British government’s response to the nerve-agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, because it may have <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/kremlin-thanks-britain-for-putin-s-landslide-victory-a3793546.html">mobilized</a> Putin’s supporters in the run-up to the presidential election. And the Kremlin’s recent decision to blockade Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov may also have been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/26/is-there-link-between-putins-approval-rating-aggressive-russian-foreign-policy/?utm_term=.7f850b68f13d">designed</a> to boost Putin’s domestic approval rating, among other goals. The danger now is that both the US and Russia will cease to implement the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, posing a new and acute <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/12/13/will-europe-try-to-save-the-inf-treaty/">threat to Europe</a> in particular.Meanwhile, the Middle East has continued to serve as a battlefield for some of the world’s most violent conflicts. Though the Islamic State (ISIS) has continued to <a href="https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/22-months-of-war-condensed-in-a-1-minute-video">lose ground</a>, it is far from defeated – contrary to what Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1075528854402256896">has claimed</a> – and the death toll in Syria’s civil war continues to climb. Likewise, the humanitarian calamity in Yemen has deepened, though negotiations that ran aground in 2016 have at least resumed and made <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/making-yemens-hodeida-deal-stick">some progress</a>. In Afghanistan, what is widely regarded as the longest-running war in US history continues, and <a href="https://thenewsrep.com/109943/is-afghanistan-a-lost-cause-taliban-control-more-territory-since-2001/">it is estimated</a> that the Taliban now controls more territory than at any time since their government was overthrown in 2001.Despite some recent developments in the aforementioned conflicts, the underpinnings of the Trump administration’s general strategy in the Middle East remained intact in 2018. The US has reaffirmed its <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/donald-trumps-new-world-order">support</a> for the axis of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, which it regards as a bulwark against Iran. In May, the Trump administration moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. That same month, it abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and announced an abusive re-imposition of extraterritorial sanctions, which reflects the increasing <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-secondary-sanctions-eu-iran-by-mark-leonard-2018-10">weaponization of the US dollar</a>.Moreover, by siding with the Saudi government over his own intelligence agencies in the <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/confronting-saudi-policies-free-speech-yemen-syria-by-leon-willems-2018-12">murder</a> of journalist <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/jamal-khashoggi">Jamal Khashoggi</a> in October, Trump has made clear that opposing Iran and purchasing US arms is one of the quickest ways to his heart. The result of his broad approach to the Middle East has been to empower military hardliners throughout the region. In fact, Israel and Iran this year engaged in their first-ever <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/11/iran-israel-little-incentive-hurry-down-path-war">direct military encounter</a>.Trump has also contributed, in one way or another, to the advance of populism around the world in 2018. In Latin America, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro have shown that “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/03/what-is-populism-trump-farage-orban-bolsonaro">populism</a>” can encompass diverse ideologies. While both claim to speak for “the people” against “the elites,” the leftist AMLO was elected partly as a <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/01/mexico-election-trump-populist-lopez-obrador-664243">rebuke</a> to Trump, whereas Bolsonaro embraces a Trump-like brand of right-wing nationalism, and enjoys the <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/01/mexico-election-trump-populist-lopez-obrador-664243">support</a> of many Brazilian elites.The Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, often regarded as one of the Kremlin’s main ideologues, <a href="https://www.politicaexterior.com/actualidad/trump-paso-hacia-objetivo-insuficiente/">argues</a> that “populism should unite right-wing values with socialism, social justice, and anti-capitalism.” This “integral populism,” he believes, is perfectly illustrated by Italy’s current governing coalition, which comprises the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the nationalist League party.In October, Italy’s government instigated a conflict with the European Union (which has fortunately <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/19/italy-avoids-eu-sanctions-after-reaching-2019-budget-agreement">subsided</a>) by proposing a budget that defied EU fiscal rules. Italy’s leaders justified their policies in the name of an outdated interpretation of “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/10/eu-rejected-italy-budget-populists/573742/">sovereignty</a>,” one similar to that of the United Kingdom’s Brexiteers, whose haphazardness has left the UK’s future shrouded in uncertainty.There were a few positive developments in 2018. Certainly, the easing of tensions between the US and North Korea, and the even deeper rapprochement between North and South Korea, should be welcomed. Much credit belongs to South Korean President <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/moon-jae-in">Moon Jae-in</a>, who used the occasion of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump’s subsequent turn toward diplomacy – which led to his historic summit with Kim – should also be applauded, though his administration has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-rejects-denuclearization-unless-us-nuclear-threat-is-eliminated/2018/12/20/fcf642a2-0438-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.c0a8c770d20f">yet to achieve</a> anything more than symbolic progress toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.The result of the US midterm elections was also good news. Democratic control of the House of Representatives means that, from January 2019, there will be more checks on Trump’s policies. And there have been welcome developments in the Republican-controlled Senate, where a recent resolution condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Khashoggi, and another to end US support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/politics/yemen-saudi-war-pompeo-mattis.html?module=inline">passed</a> with bipartisan support.In Europe, the prospects for 2019 will depend primarily on three factors: Brexit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron’s push for <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/826a4986-f7ac-11e8-af46-2022a0b02a6c">EU reform</a>, and the European Parliament election in May. In each case, one hopes that the supporters of democracy, the rule of law, European integration, and multilateralism will prevail.Those who oppose these principles have had a rather good year. But they would be mistaken to think that those who uphold them have lost the will – and the ability – to cultivate a spirit of cooperation and harmony.     © Project SyndicateJavier Solana was EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary-General of NATO, and Foreign Minister of Spain.

Good riddance to 2018

Architecture can be a powerful agent of change, shaping not just spaces but the way people live, connect, and experience the world.&nbsp; For Nepal, which is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">gifted by nature</a> and rich in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/ambassador-fund-cultural-preservation-nepal,2092">cultural heritage</a>, &nbsp;reviving rural architecture with modern amenities could hold the key to more <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-sustainable-tourism-means-in-practice">sustainable tourism </a>that benefits local people more. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bayalpata-hospital-in-nepal-wins-global-design-award">Design and architecture</a> are amazing tools to create a unique experience for visitors,” says Spanish architect Tomeu Esteva of Esteva i Esteva Architecture Studio. “Difficult destinations have beautiful hotels with design and comfort.” Esteva was in Kathmandu with his colleagues at an event organised by the Spanish Honorary Consulate at Dwarika’s Hotel last week to showcase buildings which Nepali architects can adapt with local material and design inputs.&nbsp; Rural architecture holds a unique significance: it is more than a shelter and must reflect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/inking-an-idenity">local identity, culture</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-humla-from-heritage-loss">heritage</a>. An area’s natural and cultural harmony can be upset by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-protected-areas-from-infrastructure?fbclid=IwAR1wK0MDFlFST_2EYb3f54LS4-fPt6rYfLG1DJ1JaQsU3w8-ezyXIxGOqzk">poorly planned development</a>, speakers at the event said, but the environment can be improved and revitalised by well-integrated structures.&nbsp; Another Spanish architect, Belen Moneo, has designed hotels at elevations of 3,700m in her home country Spain that supply natural spring water spas. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lost-in-reconstruction">Creativity in construction</a> must be encouraged. Rural architecture always shows possibilities of what we can do better,” Moneo explains, adding that designs must enhance <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-healing-power-of-nature">the beauty of nature</a> and give a natural feel at a time when steel, glass and cement dominate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rebuilding-kathmandu-after-the-1934-quake">urban design</a>.&nbsp; This is why the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/weaving-nature-into-craft">use of natural products</a> such as bamboo, local timber, straw and rammed earth are in demand from customers who want a fresh eco-friendly look encouraged in construction of rural architectural structures. The demand for boutique hotels has increased world over, with &nbsp;more and more tourists favouring aesthetics, experience and comfort over price. While creativity is an important part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/architecture-for-mountains">construction and architecture</a>, incentives to build and use <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Building,370">rural construction materials</a> still remain minimal, and Moneo emphasises the significance of design and execution.&nbsp; Esteva helped design the Vana Retreat in Dehradun that kept the natural environment in focus, with the structure giving an elaborate aesthetic experience to visitors. Another example is Hotel Las Mercedes in the Dominican Republic which was designed and constructed by Moneo and the company she co-founded Moneo Brock, respecting and revaluing the traditional architecture of the area. Hotels providing such experience could attract tourists and revenue. The Spanish ambassador to Nepal Juan Antonio March Pujol said, “The role of architecture and architects in developing tourism is crucial, not only in urban areas but rural settings as well.”&nbsp; The concept of rural boutique hotels gained traction in Spain during the 1990s, particularly in regions like Majorca with economic and environmental sustainability as the main focus. In Nepal <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/guiding-nepal-s-tourism-industry">the tourism industry</a> directly employs about 1 million people, and makes up about 8% of the country’s GDP. In Nepal, the stone homes of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/reviving-himalayan-vulture-and-culture">Mustang and Manang</a>, bamboo and mud structures of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai</a>, and the Kathmandu Valley’s terra cotta tile skylines, graceful temples, and tranquil bahal courtyards are all examples of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs">Nepal’s traditional architecture</a>.&nbsp; Nepali architect Sarosh Pradhan has been working for the past eight years on the Brakka Village project in Manang Valley north of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna">the Annapurnas</a>. Other examples of this kind of rural architecture for high-end tourism are the Shinta Mani Hotel in Mustang and Khumbu Lodge below <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a>. Says Pradhan, “There are places in Nepal that radiate purity and embrace simplicity. Creating projects in such settings require deep reflection and thoughtful planning.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="2184" loading="lazy" alt="A new architecture for Nepal's tourism"> </figure>  Rural architecture is not easy, and sometimes more expensive. Inflation, energy efficiency, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-who-stay">the climate crisis</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">increased costs of living</a> pose obstacles to sustainable rural architecture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/forgotten-international-starchitects-in-nepal">Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal</a>, Anne Feenstra and Varun S Bapu Esteva says faith and trust between client and architect is necessary for any project to be successful. He adds that architects must practice being humble, the process of designing always involves learning and not imposing their ideas on clients. Nepal is uniquely positioned for the growth of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-up-the-benefits-of-tourism">rural tourism</a> because of its stunning countryside as well as its internationally renowned traditions in holistic wellness. Creating infrastructure that is small, thoughtfully planned and that respects both tradition and contemporary hospitality standards is crucial. “Projects in Nepal can be made cost effective by using materials from houses that have been brought down,” says Esteva. “Pilot projects involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/local-government-by-the-people-for-the-people-of-the-people">local people </a>and simple designing also helps the process.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vacant-homes-become-homestays-in-nepal">The growth of homestays in Nepal</a> is a step in the right direction, but they are still a bit too rustic for the international traveller who also wants comfort and is willing to pay extra for it. Upgrading the facilities in homestays and ensuring that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-archive-of-nepali-heritage">architectural heritage</a> of the locality is preserved using locally sourced building material could allow owners to charge more. Says Sangita Shrestha of Dwarika’s Hotel, “Our effort is to build upon rural architecture by empowering local communities and using what is available locally. We can fine tune and encourage indigenous design and training.” The vision goes beyond just boosting the economy, it is about building a future where tourism helps villages grow in a healthy and lasting way. Instead of using up resources, it gives back to the land and the people. It supports local communities by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/staying-in-nepal-to-create-jobs"> creating jobs</a>, improving infrastructure, and protecting natural beauty. When done right, tourism can be a tool for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/progress-and-or-preservation">preserving culture and nature</a>, not harming them. Architects must therefore see their work as more than just designing buildings, they also need to care deeply about people and places, especially in rural areas that can benefit the most.&nbsp; With global interest in sustainable and off-the-beaten-path travel increasing, Nepal stands at the cusp of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">tourism transformation</a> that values community-driven, eco-conscious hospitality. A mix of modern ideas and traditional knowledge could transform rural tourism in Nepal. Says Shrestha, “Young architects should spend time with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-unsung-heroes-of-conservation">local and indigenous communities</a>, listen to their stories, and learn from their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">ways of living</a>. These communities have deep knowledge about the land, materials, and climate. If this wisdom is used in new designs, it can help create tourism spaces that truly benefit everyone.” &nbsp;

A new architecture for Nepal's tourism

Extract from an addendum to Nepal's Two Wars, Chapter 2 in the updated edition of Essays on Nepal: Past and Present by Sam Cowan, a retired British Army general with a long association with the Gurkhas. The book was first published in 2018, and republished earlier this month by FinePrint exclusively on Amazon. The addendum details a one-to-one conversation the author had in the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8884">Royal Palace </a>with the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">King Gyanendra</a> in November 2002 just after he had taken his initial steps on the road that ultimately led to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14681">the abolition of the monarchy</a> in Nepal in 2008. In the early evening of September 16, 2002, in my role as Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas, I had my second and last official audience with King Gyanendra to give him an update on the Brigade’s activities over the previous 12 months. I had some 6 or 7 such audiences with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home">King Birendra</a>.&nbsp; These were official affairs with the British ambassador of the day present, along with key <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12233">palace officials</a> and a representative from Nepal's Foreign Ministry. The two monarchs were very different in character and temperament, but both treated me with the utmost civility and made the audiences as relaxed and easy for me as possible.&nbsp; It is, however, worth recording that when the official business had been covered, King Birendra, with a twinkle in his eye, often ended by asking, “Now General, what’s the gossip in London?” The second audience with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8026">King Gyanendra </a>was my last official act in uniform. We came back to Kathmandu in the first week of November (after treks) to stay for a few nights with our Defence Attaché before heading back to the UK. Waiting for me was a message from the Palace saying that King Gyanendra would like to meet me informally: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6933">no uniform</a> and no ambassador.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="2406" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra crowned page 1"> <figcaption>Nepali Times Special Edition of 6-14 June 2001 with enthronement of Gyanendra. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1857" loading="lazy" alt="Royal massacre"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 22-29 June 2001 covering the royal massacre after which Gyanendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  Although I had no idea what the purpose of the meeting might be, events in Kathmandu since I last saw the king put me on edge. On October 4, 2002, Gyanendra had dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, allegedly for failing to hold <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-goes-on-in-nepal-s-elections">elections</a>. He had put in place a new prime minister and a cabinet personally selected by him. When I heard the news on my travels, the people I met were generally supportive of the king’s actions. There was a general view that something had to be done, the country was going nowhere, and the king deserved his chance, not least to solve<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal"> the Maoist </a>problem. Back in Kathmandu, views were not so sanguine. The chosen prime minister, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, was a relic from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">the Panchayat period</a> whose party had failed to win a single seat in the last elections held in 1999. Some of the chosen cabinet ministers had, to put it mildly, dubious reputations, and others had no record of proven competence in any field. There was a fear that the king’s real motive in dismissing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-denouement">Deuba</a> was to start to reverse the democratic gains made since 1990. I informed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-britain-mark-centenary-of-1923-treaty">the British ambassador</a> about the invitation. He was strongly against accepting it, which was probably the clinching reason for my decision to do the polite thing and accept it. On the evening of November 7, 2002, I presented myself at the royal palace, alone and in civilian attire.&nbsp; As in the past, the Military Secretary, Major General Vivek Shah, met and escorted me into the presence of the monarch. This time, however, he was politely asked to leave the room and shut the door behind him. King Gyanendra greeted me warmly and invited me to sit down.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal"> The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="993" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra coup"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 4-10 February 2005 after king Gyanendra's coup imposed media censorship. anendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  I had wondered, and to be truthful, had worried, not just about the purpose of the meeting, but about how the conversation might start and develop. I reduced my resolve to two points: be polite but speak candidly. The latter resolve was quickly put to the test with the king’s opening words: “Sam, [in previous meetings it had been ‘General’, you walk the highways and byways of this land more than most, tell me what the common man is thinking?” &nbsp;“Your Majesty, I have no idea what they are thinking, but they are waiting.” “Waiting?” “Yes, Your Majesty, they are waiting to see whether what you did some weeks ago in appointing your own prime minister and cabinet ministers is going to make any difference to their lives or whether it is just going to be more Kathmandu hot air.” “Everything is going to be difficult and is going to take time, a lot of time.” “Your Majesty, time is the one thing you don’t have. You must act quickly and decisively to take advantage of the opportunity you have created. Everyone knows that you have appointed these new ministers. Why don’t you get them in here one by one and tell them that they have three months to deliver a programme in their area of responsibility that is going to make a difference to people’s lives? Most will fail to do so. Sack them! It will be a powerful signal of your strong intent to deliver real change.” I can express the opening of our conversation in this way because just about every word is still etched in my mind. The king’s response to my last quoted words was to challenge me to give an example of something that could be delivered quickly. I can give a verbatim record of what I said in response to this unexpected challenge: “Health posts, Your Majesty, there is no shortage of them throughout the country as building them has been one of the sources of local corruption, but very few have any medicine to issue at present or have skilled people to assess and meet medical needs. Your Majesty, children are dying for lack of a few pills. Given the right priority, over a period, say of six months, every health post could be fully stocked with medicine and manned with trained people. This is something I could help to lead for you as I know it would have strong international backing. At last, people would know that you mean business.” As I warmed to the theme, I could see no sign of the king having any enthusiasm for the idea, and I quickly disengaged as it dawned on me, as it had clearly dawned on the king, that the reason for the deficiencies in health posts was to prevent any Maoist combatant from gaining access to any <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/tech-away/nepal-s-health-tech-industry-is-here-to-stay">medical support</a>, and if this meant people suffering, so be it. The subject of the Maoist insurgency inevitably came up, and I took the opportunity to elaborate on what is written in the final four paragraphs of the article above. I advised King Gyanendra that, self-evidently, since there were three parties in the conflict—him, the Maoists, and the political parties—it was imperative that he form an alliance with one of them, preferably the political parties; otherwise, he would find himself isolated, as the other two parties would inevitably, at some stage, form their own alliance. However, it quickly became apparent that the king’s mind was on a totally different track. On the Maoists, he told me that he had channels open to them, but he was scathing about the political party leaders. He made it clear that they would be waiting for a very long time before he gave any power back to them, and that is a polite way of expressing the actual words he used, but “crawling through the door” is a phrase which has stuck in my mind.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1317" loading="lazy" alt="fall of monarchy"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 28 April-3 May 2005 with cover image by Ajay Joshi of jubilant protesters after street demonstrations sidelined king Gyanendra, paving the way for a ceasfire and restoration of democracy. </figcaption> </figure>  As the conversation developed, it became ever clearer that King Gyanendra had decided to go in alone, relying on the misleading assurances he was constantly receiving from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14954">the army</a>, and no doubt his close advisers, that the Maoists could and would be quickly defeated militarily, and taken out of the equation. This would obviate the need for him to do any deal with the political parties.&nbsp; Thus, the way would be clear for him to establish a version of his father’s Panchayat system, under a constitution that would be granted to the people by him, their sovereign, as his father and brother had done in 1962 and 1990. As in those constitutions, ultimate power would have remained in the sovereign’s hands. This proposed direction of travel was very clear from what the king said to me. In sum, King Gyanendra was motivated by a desire to emulate his immediate predecessors by granting his people a constitution that would restore his father’s Panchayat system in a modern form and give him a central role in decision-making. What was particularly dispiriting was that beyond this single objective he had no plan worthy of the name, nor demonstrably did he have the people with the skills to implement an appropriate plan even if one had existed. Crucially and depressingly, there was little or no indication from the king that he realised that such a course of action could put Nepal’s monarchy into serious jeopardy, as indeed proved to be the case. <h2>King Twice</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445" data-rendition-name="original" width="1302" height="632" loading="lazy" alt="“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”"> </figure>  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah has been king twice</a>. In 1950 he was enthroned briefly as a child king (left, above) by the Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher when his grandfather, King Tribhuvan, fled to exile in India. In 2001 he was crowned king again after the massacre in the royal palace in which his brother King Birendra and nine other members of his family were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra.&nbsp; During his second reign, Gyanendra gradually asserted power by sacking Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2002, and then taking full control after the 1 February 2005 coup. He was sidelined after the ceasefire in April 2006, and became a commoner after the Constituent Assembly finally <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Ftnp-abolishing,624">abolished the monarchy in 2008</a>. In the past year, Gyanendra has tried to exploit public dissatisfaction with the political parties to restore the monarchy.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788.jpg" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Essays on Nepal by Sam Cowen"> </figure>

“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”

“It's Kathmandu.” Just as the family was sitting down for one of its extended lunches, that jubilant cry was from François Driard’s grandfather announcing the next posting for his diplomat parents.&nbsp; Driard (pictured) was 18 in the summer of 1996,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/chasing-a-nomad"> a bit of a hippie</a> already, and his life was about to change forever with the magical word “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu</a>”. “I was awed with that information from my grandfather, nothing else mattered … In France <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tales-of-courage-and-suffering-cx95f89e">in the 1990s</a>, Kathmandu had a mythical aura,” Driard recalls. He came to Kathmandu for Christmas that year to visit his stepfather, the French Ambassador Michel Lummaux. It was to be the first of many visits during school holidays, before he decided to permanently settle down in Nepal. “Kathmandu, and Nepal, were very different then, it was magical, I liked the nature, the people, civilisation, temples, trees,” says Driard, who explored the country sitting on the top of buses. “Visitors talk about the crazy <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">urbanisation</a>, traffic jams today, and all that is true. But Kathmandu has not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/loss-of-soul-and-soil">lost its soul</a>.” After his stepfather’s tenure in Nepal ended, Driard worked as a business reporter for international publications but decided he did not want to be anyone’s employee anymore. In 2007 he landed in Kathmandu with €20,000 in savings to invest.&nbsp; He knew a few crucial things about himself: he liked food and nature, which is very much tied up with his upbringing--full of lively conversations during lunch and dinner at the family table between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-yak-cheese-is-on-world-map">abundant cheese, wine and cigars</a>. So he decided it would be cheese, and registered Himalayan French Cheese and went to the French Alps for a month to learn how to make Tomme de Savoie. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-story-of-langtang-cheese">Cheese making is such an ancient craft </a>and so I thought I won’t need much money or studying which I hated and indeed, if you have a tamako bhado and fire you are set,” explains Driard. But Nepal’s temperature and humidity were not ideal, even at higher altitudes. The first customers for his cheese were the Hyatt Regency and Nina and Hager. But he needed to create a market for cheese in a country which only knew hard churpi in the north and soft paneer in the south. He started selling his cheeses at the Summit Hotel weekend market, expanding to his own 1905 Farmer’s Market which later moved to Le Sherpa in Maharajganj, where it is now, and also a market at Labim Mall in Pulchok. He had cow dairies in Nuwakot and Dhulikhel, and finally a yak cheese unit at 3,379m in Ramechhap. It was the yak blue cheese from here that went on to win a Gold Medal in France, putting Nepal’s French cheese on the world map. “People come and try our cheese at the market, they ask questions. There is a lot of education to be done about cheese,” adds Driard, who also has three cheese shops in the Valley. Driard now makes 25 types of cheese. The products are being noticed and every year he has French students coming to Nepal to learn the art of yak cheese making. “In France, one family or company makes one kind of cheese for generations. In that I’m very unique as a cheese artisan,” he says. “The students come in to learn but I tell them to also teach us something too, add another cheese to my collection.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-after-10-years">Langtang after 10 years</a>, Sonia Awale Being a foodie, Driard is now also dabbling in meat with his own charcuterie at Meatini with bacon, ham, sausage and pâtés. All of this is now served at his Emilio’s Pizza, a leafy hideaway in Lazimpat. His South Side in Moksh is probably the smallest wine bar in the world. “I call the process sublime,” says Driard of his ventures, which have grown organically. “You need the same temperature and humidity of 12°C and 80% for cheese, meat and wine.” Emilio’s speciality is the eight-cheese pizza (which has eight types of cheeses), and a pizza with bhutan topping (not the country but fried intestines and organs Nepali-style). He has opened a small branch at Courtyard in Pokhara.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="8 cheese pizza"> <figcaption>Eight-cheese pizza</figcaption> </figure>  With two artisanal cheese units, two farmers’ markets, a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-meat-of-the-story">meat processing unit</a>, a bakery, and wine bar he now envisions a vineyard so he can add Nepali wine to his repertoire. Another future plan is to start up an agri-tourism business where customers can drink, eat and work in peace. In the past 20 years in Nepal, Driard has not always succeeded in his ventures but this hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm. He is learning as he goes, and like an old wine, Nepal is growing on him. Its slowness suits his French art de vivre with eating slowly outdoors, having conversation, importing less.&nbsp; “I have proven that with even a little money you can do a lot of things in Nepal,” adds Driard. “In the West, they easily invest half a million euros on a cheese factory, I invested 10 times less.”&nbsp;

Fromage, vin et charcuterie Népalais

Bhuthan भुठान starts with Bishnu Bahadur KC played by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/dhuwa-smoke-telefilm,2671">Hari Bansha Acharya</a> on a call, requesting to speak to the visa officer. By this point, he had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-should-now-allow-visa-on-arrival">applied for a visa </a>to Bhutan 10 times, but was denied each time. KC was a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-women-excel-in-sports-in-2024-z9ramyct">national football player </a>in Bhutan in 1988 before he and other Nepali-speaking Lhotsampa people were forced out of the country in the 1990s as part of the Druk regime’s ‘One Nation One People’ campaign. Over 100,000 Bhutanese Nepalis were forced out, driven across India and dumped in Nepal where they lived in seven<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp"> refugee camps</a> supervised by the United Nations and other charities until they were resettled in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries starting in 2007. In the fictional movie with the satirical English title The World’s Happiest Man, KC has resettled in the state of Ohio in the US but wishes to visit his home country once before he dies. Between flashbacks, we learn KC has died without having fulfilled his wish. &nbsp; The drama then focuses on KC’s two families from two marriages as they debate whether to cremate him as per <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/muslim-hindu,2996">Hindu rites </a>or give him a Christian burial. A mediator played by Hollywood actor Bruce Dern urges them to take a firm decision before it is too long.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="945" height="945" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  There are drawn out scenes of KC being baptised and when he is confronted by his first wife from Darjeeling played by Anuradha Majumdar, he says he changed his religion in the hope that he will be <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/bhutan-s-refugees-between-hope-and-despair">allowed back in Bhutan</a>.&nbsp; We find out KC has a second wife, a Christian Nepali played by Puja Chand. Dayahang Rai as the younger son doesn’t have much screen time to flex his acting chops. &nbsp; Acharya competently portrays a man that is equal parts haunted by the memories of and longing for his home country. KC’s pain and loss is acute when he is teaching football to Gungun but between mid-scene, he freezes, perhaps lost in memories of being in Bhutan’s national team. &nbsp; In another scene, KC recalls his mother singing a lullaby in Dzongkha. He also has a box filled with medals, photographs and a football which he deflates with a knife in a powerful depiction of his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home?fb_comment_id=1506516030025634">complicated emotions about his homeland</a>. KC keeps checking his mailbox in the hopes that his <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4977">visa application</a> has been accepted. He says in Nepali: “If a tree that has already struck roots in one place is shifted to another, it will not survive.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34" data-rendition-name="original" width="1422" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  Dern’s character says that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-s-transitional-justice-and-the-west-s-recalibration">western world</a> has become “lonely in pursuit of happiness”, another reference to Bhutan’s obsession with its Gross National Happiness index. Scenes shift quickly throughout making the story difficult to follow at times. The use of symbolism is a trite overdone. Nonetheless, भुठान is a nuanced depiction of raw pain and agony of losing one’s homeland. But one cannot help but leave the theatre feeling deflated. KC dies without having visited <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-bhutan-dreams-big">Bhutan</a>, but perhaps he does in his afterlife. It is up to the audience to create its own ending to this sad story of exile. भुठान Mad Monkey Films, 2025 Directed by Binod Paudel 102 minutes In cinemas in Nepal