Petrol, diesel, electricity, hybrids. They are various forms of engines automobiles used to propel them forward. Few know that the first cars 150 years ago were actually battery-powered, but the Ford Model T overtook them. Ever since the first vehicles were carried over Chitlang pass to their Rana owners in Kathmandu in the early 1920s, Nepalis have been fascinated by the traditional internal combustion engine that burns some form of liquid fuel. But in the past five years, there has been a switch to battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs). Better range and lower cost due to tax rebates made Nepal the second country after Norway last year to adopt EVs. But there is another option for Nepal that predates the recent popularity of electric vehicles: hybrids. Early on, electric vehicles also faced a monumental challenge in Nepal to gain acceptance. Skepticism behind the technology was by far the biggest hurdle for the industry. People were not ready to adopt it and even if they did, it was a gamble because only a few knew how to maintain and repair such vehicles. Furthermore, there was zero charging infrastructure, and it was not feasible to travel long distances.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090316_6dcf0c22a1910ad99535fb8d177d43bfbd59254d540850d5730f9ce782c37a93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260319090316_6dcf0c22a1910ad99535fb8d177d43bfbd59254d540850d5730f9ce782c37a93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="829" loading="lazy" alt="hybrid cars in Nepal"></figure>  It was the excise tax cuts that made EVs affordable, and while the taxes have crept up over the years they still remain below that of traditional internal combustion engines. Newly-elected MP Swarnim Wagle, who is being touted as the RSP’s new finance minister said last week he wanted to bring down the taxes on petrol cars too. However, the taxes never came down for hybrid cars even though they position themselves as an alternative to petrol. The tax structure for hybrids is similar to traditional gasoline vehicles. As a result, most hybrids available command a steep starting price above Rs10 million. The smallest Toyota hybrid, the Yaris Cross, comes at Rs12.9 million. Toyota also sells the Corolla Cross and Rav4 hybrid. To be sure, hybrids have been around for 20 years, and this paper actually test-drove and reviewed the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius in 2013. Toyota brought an early gen Prius model back in 2007, and its owner Suryansh Vaidya of Toyota Nepal says the car is still running smoothly with over 85% battery health after all these years.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090316_8623eabd426e8b8a4d606c8cb7abe85b125a255d09158aa22b555b26b48401fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260319090316_8623eabd426e8b8a4d606c8cb7abe85b125a255d09158aa22b555b26b48401fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="984" loading="lazy" alt="hybrid cars in Nepal"></figure>  Unlike internal combustion engines that solely rely on the combustion of a fuel to move the crankshaft and propel the car forward, or BEVs that solely rely on batteries to spin electric motors that then spin the wheels, hybrids usually have both. They mostly come equipped with a smaller sized battery pack and motor that is integrated into the output of a traditional gas engine. Over the years, hybrids have evolved and provide a number of advantages to traditional petrol and diesel cars such as better mileage and smoother ride handling as the tiny battery and electric motor. At lower speeds (and traffic) hybrids fully utilise its electric half, thereby saving fuel and providing better pickup. Hybrids have evolved in size and shape and have come to replace the much favoured gasoline engine vehicle in many countries globally. The market remains robust in Japan where nearly 30% of vehicles are hybrids and even USA has seen 7 million hybrids till date. There has been a wave of adoption hitting some European markets such as Switzerland and the Netherlands.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090316_2bdc91b607f7307e834a9bcd566f77e33120cb896d833c1c1479d9c0cfd0380b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260319090316_2bdc91b607f7307e834a9bcd566f77e33120cb896d833c1c1479d9c0cfd0380b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="874" loading="lazy" alt="hybrid cars in Nepal"></figure>  ELECTRIC NEPAL However, Nepal has taken the EV road. And although this reduces the country’s petroleum imports, EV battery packs contain a lot of rare earth and other metals that if disposed haphazardly can be toxic. Most EV distributors claim their batteries will easily last a decade (or more) and provide an industry standard of eight years warranty. Both BYD and Deepal, among the top-selling EVs in Nepal, even provide extended warranties up to 10 and 11 years. Annie Gardner Vaidya from Vijay Motors, the importer of Subaru says the smaller hybrid batteries tend to last longer: up to 15 years. And this generally seems to be the case as unlike in EVs the on-board hybrid batteries rarely fully charge or fully drain and constantly operate in a safe middle-ground, dramatically reducing wear. Both the 2,000cc Subaru Forester and Crosstrek deliver between 14-16 km per litre with moderate driving. Whereas the 1,496cc Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid with a smaller engine claims a slightly higher mileage of 18-20kpl. “What hybrids gives you is almost unlimited range within Nepal with a much lower fuel cost with models that have a proven record in rough terrain,” says Annie Gardner Vaidya from Vijay Motors. In most countries, the general trend is that gasoline vehicles are the cheapest to purchase as they are easiest to mass produce and simplest in technology. Hybrids are the middle ground as they have both an engine and a battery, making their drivetrain slightly more complex. Hybrids are still cheaper than most EVs because the battery pack is much smaller. But EVs are the most expensive of the three, as the large battery pack contains expensive rare earth minerals. However, this chronology is not followed in Nepal. EVs vehicles are the cheapest, followed by traditional petrol and diesel cars, with hybrids generally being the most expensive. Taxes are to blame. Better, more favourable taxes and subsidies for the hybrids, just like their EV counterparts, would have been beneficial for the country in reducing petroleum imports as well as air pollution. “Where investments on the EV charging infrastructure had to start from scratch, hybrid technology would not have needed any because all they require is fueling up at any existing gas station,” explains Suryansh Vaidya at Toyota. “In fact, hybrids did not even have a learning curve from traditional petrol or diesel cars, unlike EV’s that need to be driven differently to maximise range and efficiency.” Despite being well acknowledged and proven worldwide, hybrids never found momentum in Nepal largely due to pricing, policy and timing. While hybrids arrived carrying the cost burden of both expensive petrol cars added to a complex electric drivetrain, government incentives quickly began to overwhelmingly favour battery-powered electric vehicles after the Covid pandemic. Import duties on EV fell sharply, making them dramatically affordable and offering better value for money for everyday consumers. Why spend 10 million when you could get a sleek EV for half that? Rising fuel prices and aggressive improvements and the rapid spread of charging infrastructure paved the way for quicker adoption. Slowly but surely, public perception in favour of EVs was building up. This left hybrids too expensive to compete with not just EVs, but against petrol cars. In Nepal’s context for cleaner and smarter mobility, hybrids did not fail due to weak technology, but because the market moved faster than their value proposition could keep up. As of 2026, besides Subaru and Toyota hybrids, cars like the BMW X5 (plug-in hybrid), BYD Shark (plug-in hybrid), GWM Tank 300 (hybrid), GWM Tank 500 (hybrid), Mitsubishi Outlander (plug-in hybrid), Nissan X-trail E-Power (series hybrid) and Suzuki’s Grand Vitara (hybrid) and Victoris (hybrid) are also available. But unless the new government changes the tax structure, all these names remain largely absent in Nepal. <h2>Hybrid types</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090316_1c7a2884549b6853351ea314146aae6814968387b9ad34b26082c0e9bc6e9f59.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260319090316_1c7a2884549b6853351ea314146aae6814968387b9ad34b26082c0e9bc6e9f59" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="843" loading="lazy" alt="hybrid cars in Nepal"></figure>  A full hybrid contains both a gas engine and electric motor with a sizable battery that can alone drive the car. The battery is charged internally when the vehicle is in motion. A plug-in hybrid is just like a full hybrid with the only difference that you can actually plug the battery to charge it. A mild hybrid again follows the same principle of using both motor and battery, but due to the smaller size of the battery, it alone cannot drive the vehicle.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260319090316_23309d735cc8b788dc1ce6605e3f37b0c20e0886874b0c4538b79a2fe685912d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260319090316_23309d735cc8b788dc1ce6605e3f37b0c20e0886874b0c4538b79a2fe685912d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="hybrid cars in Nepal"></figure>  And then there are other variations to the system called series hybrid where petrol is actually used to operate an in-house generator that produces electricity, which then in return powers the car such as the newest generation of Nissan X-Trail in the Nepali market. And then finally come micro-hybrids that assist during ignition (auto on/off in traffic) and have some form of regenerative braking that captures the vehicle’s kinetic energy during deceleration to charge the on-board battery. Arnav Upadhyay is a content creator who reviews automobiles and promotes road safety on Youtube, Tiktok and IG under the handle Casually Annoyed Driver. This is his regular Drive Line column in Nepali Times.

Arnav Upadhyay

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High tax hinders hybrids

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d183d9c7e80680e0ac7b4png.png" alt="" width="656" height="380"/>A combination of tax rebates, the Dasain-Tihar season, and a public fed up with being cooped for nearly two years due to Covid restrictions is driving a spurt in sales of private electric vehicles in Nepal.Electric car importers are scrambling to meet the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/e-vehicles-prepare-for-post-lockdown-boom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> surge in post-pandemic and pre-festival demand</a>, but are being held back by global supply chain disruptions due to shortages of microchips, lithium batteries, and maritime cargo capacity.The KP Oli government in May <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-budget-sparks-electric-comeback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scrapped taxes imposed last year</a> by his own <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous finance minister Yubaraj Khatiwada</a>. The coalition government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has retained the tax breaks.Under the new tax forumla, the excise duty on battery powered cars was withdrawn, and the customs duty was restored to the 10% that had been in place for the past five years. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/plug-ins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tax cuts in 2016</a> had made electric cars more affordable, and led to a spike in demand. Electric car imports fell to nearly zero after the taxes were reimposed by Khatiwada in May 2020.The Dasain-Tihar festive season is when Nepalis usually splurge on consumer items, and there is usually a rise in purchases of vehicles as well. This year, the tax rebate has made electric compacts, SUVs, and two-wheelers more competitive compared to fossil fuel vehicles.Improvement in technology has increased the range and performance of eVs, and the fall in price for batteries has made them more affordable. Till five years ago, battery-powered cars in Nepal had less than 100km range. Today the new models can go up to 500km – enough for a Kathmandu-Pokhara roundtrip on a single charge.<figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Nepali-Times-electric-vehicle-special-NT.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="yes" data-elementor-lightbox-title="Page 8-9.indd"></a></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18409c7e80680e0ac7b5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="6000" height="1473"><figcaption> </figcaption>Electric car importers also report a rise in customer demand, a surge in queries from people who are tired of being locked down for nearly two years, and want to be out and about – and that means being able to drive to Biratnagar or Bhairawa and beyond on the new e-SUVs without stopping to recharge.Brands that have a head start with battery power in Nepal are Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, MG, TATA, and a plethora of Chinese brands like BYD, Great Wall Motors, Dahe, and Derry.Besides range, potential buyers in Nepal will be looking at ruggedness, interior space, and ground clearance. While some of the fancier SUVs are attractive to look at and have a rocket-like takeoff, it may be more important in Nepal to see that the cars have more than 180mm ground clearance – otherwise you will be scraping your expensive bottom on road craters.Much more critical than a formidable acceleration of 0-60km in 4.6 seconds is also charging time and battery life. Most lithium-ion batteries have an 8-year warranty these days, and need 1 hour to recharge 80% with DC fast charge. Charging at home with a 15amp wall plug should not take more than 8 hours.Despite everything, the electric car’s main attraction with the tax rebate is the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> money you save on fuel</a>. An average diesel SUV needs Rs5,500 to fill its 40l fuel tank, but an electric version of the same vehicle will cost less than Rs500 for a complete charge for a 350km range. Multiply this by the volume of diesel you burn in an average month, and the savings add up.The electric vehicles in the market now come with battery packs ranging from 20kWh to 64kWh, giving them ranges of 120km to nearly 500km – depending, of course, on AC use.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pr72QL_ScENepalis did not take on to electric cars till now because higher taxes made them more expensive than a diesel vehicle with similar specs, but now there is no excuse. The upfront cost of electric and diesel vehicles are about the same, and energy savings make eVs more competitive.The other reason eVs had become popular was that owners paid zero in road tax, saving up to Rs35,000 a year. However, this year’s budget has retained the road tax announced by Khatiwada last year: Rs15,000 per year for battery cars in the 50-125kW range, Rs20,000 for e-vehicles of 126-225kW, and Rs30,000 for cars in the 226-and above range. Fair enough, private vehicles are a luxury in this country.However, after taking one step forward on electric cars in this year’s budget, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has taken two steps back. Despite the pledge to switch to renewable energy for transport, last month he slashed taxes on the import of 10 or more diesel buses by new luxury hotels to 1%. That move appears to be designed specifically to suit certain business interests. Then it cut by half the duty on petrol motorcycle assembly in Nepal, completely contradicting its policy on pushing electric transport.Nepal has announced it will stop selling fossil fuel cars by 2031. And this sounds like a bold move, until you realise that India and China (from where most of our cars and two-wheelers are imported) will be switching fully to battery or hydrogen powered vehicles by 2030, anyway.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-road-to-electric-transportation-in-nepal/">The road to electric transportation in Nepal</a>, Diya Rijal

Fully charged, and ready to go

Know your Ministers

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

In a classic arc of political sociology, a revolutionary figure takes several decades to complete their cycle: mobilisation, institutionalisation, and finally governance. 
However, the timeline of this trajectory has been telescoped in the case of Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who in 2025 described himself as a social activist and volunteer, has gone from the barricades of the GenZ protests to the mahogany desk of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Gurung is a personal pick of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, and played a pivotal role in getting him to join the RSP by mediating with Rabi Lamichhane. His journey serves as a real test bed for the ‘Outsider-to-Insider Transition’, raising a fundamental question about someone who now leads the very apparatus that he once fought against: the police, intelligence service, and the bureaucracy.
Social capital can indeed be built during a crisis exacerbated by state failure, and that is where we first see Sudan Gurung — expediting relief delayed by systemic corruption and red tape. Gurung’s delivery aid through a social-media-driven volunteer network bypassed the government. 
Whether or not he really rushed a dying child to hospital after the 2015 earthquake does not matter, it has become an urban legend. 
His work evolved into the non-profit Hami Nepal in 2020, serving as a ‘parallel state’ mechanism that would later become central to his public identity. Later, his group sprang into action during the Covid crisis, organising oxygen cylinders and beds . He was there after flood disasters in Manang and Sidhupalchok, and even organised Rs15m worth of aid to Turkey after the 2023 earthquake. 
Moral Legitimacy became his primary source of power, and he strategically positioned himself as an alternative emergency response system. But the real rupture happened on 8 September 2025 when years of frustration, corruption scandals, lack of transparency and state accountability culminated in a rally that the next day descended into anarchy. 
There was no single leader. The movement was fully decentralised, but as elsewhere such upheavals produces a recognisable face. Among them was Sudan Gurung. Who despite being a millennial himself, became the most visible interlocutor of the GenZ movement. 
He negotiated with the state’s key actors, including the president and the Chief of Army staff, during the period of uncertainty When the country was on the brink. This led to the dissolution of parliament and the formation of the interim government under Sushila Karki, paving the way for the election on 5 March.
Since then, Sudan Gurung’s role has become contradictory. Within days of touching Prime Minister Karki’s feet after her swearing in, he was at the gates of Baluwatar spearheading midnight demonstrations calling for her resignation. He accused her and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal of not consulting the youth over Cabinet appointments and not arresting the previous government officials.
This oscillation became a hallmark of Gurung’s own version of the ‘Radical Flank Effect’ — erratic behaviour to force the establishment to make concessions. 
On 18 January Gurung formally joined the RSP, and started campaigning from his home constituency of Gorkha-1. He won decisively and was appointed home minister by Balendra Shah. The transition was complete. 
As minister his role spans core security areas: overseeing internal security through the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the intelligence bureau. The man who took part in anti-government rallies is now in charge of the riot police that aresupposed control anti-government protests.
His portfolio also handles state administration matters such as citizenship, immigration, and border security, coordinates with the judicial system on prisons, detention, and policies related to punishment and clemency. For example will be overseeing the fraud case against his own party’s chair, Lamichhane.
In his book Power in Movement, political scientist Sidney Tarrow observes that social movement leaders encounter ‘institutional capture’ upon entering government. In a sociological paradox, the man who previously denounced the police for killing youth protesters is now the person who issues directives to those same forces.
Preventive detention, surveillance, and the control of public festivals are the same instruments that the former old guard employed to stifle his movement. The activist who demanded transparency at the B P Koirala Institute now manages the state’s most secretive security apparatus.
In this arc, Gurung is not alone, there are parallels around the world for leaders emerging from the ashes of revolt. It is not so much a prediction, but for Gurung the challenge is even more acute because youth expectations are so high.
The bar for performance has been raised by citizens demanding change and quicker, more efficient service delivery. He is under constant public scrutiny, which is why he has to take YouTubers every time he goes on inspections of the airport, the BP Highway, police stations, picking trash on the sidewalks or meeting the Swiss ambassador to ask about repatriating the ill-gotten wealth of politicians.
Sudan Gurung is facing intense public glare. There have been calls to reveal the truth behind Hami Nepal’s finances, the alleged links to Free Tibet, and lately not paying five years of rent for an illegal lakefront property in Pokhara. 
As minister, he will find that moral legitimacy alone is no longer sufficient, it must be reinforced by transparent and consistent institutional accountability. Sudan Gurung’s ascent is evidence that the public mostly trusts ‘outsiders’ during times of crisis. However, history also cautions us that the state only permits ‘insiders’ to operate. 
Gurung will have to organise systemic reform to inject the transparency of his volunteer days to the Home Ministry’s traditionally secretive disbursements. If he fails, he runs the risk of validating Michels’ Iron Law of Oligarchy, which would serve as a warning about how revolutionary energy is dissipated by the very structures it was intended to overthrow.
Nepal is watching the man who said he once held a dying child in his arms after an earthquake. The volunteer has become the Warden.
Nischal Raj Gautam is a student of Media Studies and Mass Communication at St. Xavier's College, Maitighar. He is a member of the EU Delegation's Youth Sounding Board (YSB), and a journalist for TheirWorld's The Education Issue 2026.

He said no to politics. Now he runs it.

This is the 91st episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. I have still not come to terms with the reality that my daughter Ruby Thakur is now the Deputy Speaker of Nepal’s Parliament. Sometimes, when I am walking, the thought hits me, and I cannot believe it.&nbsp; Things changed for my daughter in a very short time. I had dreamt that the best my daughter could achieve was a good engineering job. Fate had bigger plans for her. She is no longer just my daughter, she is the nation’s daughter. Nepal’s daughter.&nbsp; My children’s education was always my foremost priority. That is the main reason I went overseas for employment. I realised the value of education while working in Saudi Arabia. In my office, colleagues with good education earn $8,000 per month working on computers. Those with low education toil outdoors in the heat for much lower wages. A good education or skills can change everything. I am in Nepal on vacation and will soon return to my job. Ruby is all set now. But I still have to take care of my other children's education. As the eldest son, I myself never got a chance to prioritise my own education. I dropped out in Grade 7 because I had to take care of my ageing parents and younger siblings. I have done all kinds of jobs. I worked in a landlord’s field for a share of the harvest. Even now my wife and I farm for the land owner and have to give away half of what we grow.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> <figcaption>Sogarath Thakur during a break in Nepal with wife tending to his farm.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  Then I worked as a barber, my family’s line of occupation. I went door to door cutting people’s hair and later worked in a relative’s saloon. Hairstyles were simple back then, and I got to keep half the fee. I also worked in a brick factory where I was paid weekly. &nbsp; I married when I was 16, and my wife was a year younger. As my family and responsibilities grew, I had to migrate leaving behind my three children including Ruby who was just three months old.&nbsp; I went to Qatar where I continued working as a barber. It was a large saloon and the standards for cleanliness and professionalism were higher. I had to hand over 70% of my daily earnings to the employer. I had to rely on my colleague to translate what the customer wanted. But I slowly became fluent in Arabic. I used to jot down words in Nepali and Arabic and memorise them. In Qatar, customers even came at night for haircuts, and people stayed up late. I would work till 3AM.&nbsp; Communicating with my family was one-way. I would go to Bismillah and ask someone to type out questions to my family about their whereabouts, how the harvest was that season. I would offer very little information about my life in Qatar because it was not easy. What was the point of getting them all worried? What could they do? I never received a letter in return, so throughout my time in Qatar, I never knew how my family was faring. When I appeared in the village after five years without any advance notice, it was a bittersweet reunion, and I had no gifts. I still remember how unfamiliar my village felt when I came home after so many years. I had to ask for directions. When I came home, Ruby was already in school. I had left her in my wife’s arms five years prior. I missed her growing up, and did not even see her pictures. My wife had to introduce her to me as her father. But it took just 15 minutes for her to warm up to me.&nbsp; The Arabic skills I had picked up in Qatar came in handy when I remigrated two years later to Saudi Arabia. I worked as a labourer in the desert heat, but once my company found out I spoke Arabic, I was hired for an indoor job as an office boy. The struggle in Qatar had paid off. I worked in an air conditioned office serving tea or coffee, doing bank runs or getting documents signed and photocopied. I have worked in the same company for the past 20 years, sending money home.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f" data-rendition-name="original" width="5712" height="3213" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  My wife is not just my children’s guardian, but also mine throughout the two decades I was away. I trust her with all my earnings, and she manages our household finances well. She makes sure that the children’s school fees and other expenses are paid on time. These days, with video calls, things have become much easier for me to stay in touch with home.&nbsp; When Ruby told me she wanted to do an engineering diploma, I was happy. Later, her friends inspired her to join politics so she started getting involved with Shram Sanskriti Party. I first found out she got the proportional representation nomination through social media while on my work duty in Saudi Arabia. I was so excited, but even more so when she was elected Deputy Speaker. I was back home in Dhanusha on my vacation at the time.&nbsp; We are overjoyed and waiting for her to come back to the village for a visit when she gets a chance so we can celebrate properly with everyone. I plan to go back to Saudi Arabia as originally planned, I have a good job and will work for maybe five more years. Ruby has taken 75% of the load off my back. She can help take care of her siblings.&nbsp; I sleep at 8PM every day and wake up at 5AM to exercise before my day in Saudi Arabia begins – I have stuck to the same routine for the last two decades and it has worked well for me and my health. I have a good rapport with my boss who is an Egyptian. My requests to resign have often been met with counter-offers to stay on. My honesty and hard work have won me the company's trust. I will go back and resume working as I have, despite my daughter’s huge achievements. I am still a farmer’s son, a simple man who has to fulfil his family responsibilities. My colleagues in Saudi Arabia are aware that Ruby is Deputy Speaker in Nepal’s Parliament, they are all happy for me and have congratulated me. This time, when I go back, I have promised them that I will throw a bakhri party to celebrate my daughter’s achievement.

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