Thinking politically



By Phanindra Upadhyaya


Towards the end of 2006, I witnessed a very interesting scene in Baghbazar, where a mentally handicapped person was walking frantically, sometimes raising his left and sometimes right arm. A few college going students at the same time were having a heated debate on which party that person belonged to. Few opined that he was a leftist, as he raised his left hand more intensely than the right and the others believed that he was a rightist, as the intensity of the raised left hand was indicative of his discontent towards the left parties. None of them wanted to believe that he was an insane person who didn't actually have any control over his mental state of mind and was lifting his one hand while the other had to hold his falling trousers.
Yes, this is how most of us have started thinking: only politically. Today we find solace in politicizing everything from apples to zippers. Politics for breakfast, politics for lunch, tea and snacks and dinner seem to be the only survival kit for the Nepalis. We feel just and satisfied in dissecting anything and everything politically, and the inability to do so induces indigestion and restlessness in us.

The year 2006 has been the most fertile year politically, if I may say so, in the history of Nepali politics that has been consistently on the lookout for a release. Fertile in the sense that everyone is able to put forward his or her demands in the name of democracy, so long as they carry a flag of anyone of the political parties.

Every Nepali is being made to believe that making a political issue out of virtually everything and revealing negative and indifferent attitude towards anyone outside ones community: social, socio-cultural and/or political, is the road to prosperity. We take pride in calling ourselves Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Bahuns, Chhetris, Newars,

Rais, Tamangs, Kirats, Madhesis, Pahadis, Maoists, Congress, Communists, etc and not Nepalis.

The big question here is "what is the root cause of this overdose of politics in the Nepali veins?" Without any second thought I would put the sole blame on our education that has been embroiled with politics. As such every aspect of our developmental experience has been marked by disparities. We have been rhetorically very ambitious and have left no stone unturned in making Nepal, the only paradise on earth, but our actual achievements have crashed dismally.

Today we put the blame on corruption, inefficiency, poor leadership, lack of adherence to the right democratic procedure, insincerity towards the nation, etc, but never try to look into the kind education we are imparting: Education that has been seriously neglected, education that is fused with politics, education that has made us so complacent that we are ready to stoop as low as we can to fulfill our desires, education that has taught us to be indifferent towards others and education

that has helped in developing our inhuman side.

Our schools, colleges and universities have become playgrounds of dirty politics where the politicians make sure that all the appointments of educational leaders are based on their political leanings, so that the students are politically motivated for their party interest. Our leaders openly talk about distribution of posts based on party leanings, and nobody is bothered about the caliber of the person/s to be appointed. The national imperative of proper education is put aside.

The end results are right in front of us. We are not at all hesitant when it comes to inflicting harm on others either by throwing stones, or by burning whatever is available in front of us and then taking refuge in justifying the deeds politically. The educational institutions that are in the dilapidated and dysfunctional state today starkly speak of what went on and what is still going on. Rather than unifying the nation as a country of proud Nepalis our educational institutions and the political shortsightedness have fragmented the minds of the upcoming generation.

No one can deny what Plato had said about the role of the government in education. He had said that the government was responsible for the type of citizens it created via its educational system and should strive to produce the best citizens it can. However, our government has till today helped in churning out students who are unable to reason and are unaware of ethics and morality. And it is in fact foolish to expect the same from them, as our educational leaders and the ones who try to find out something positive from all the negatives are also themselves the products of such faulty education system. Going back to the insane person I had mentioned earlier, I was wondering how would those politically motivated students react, if that person raised both his hands together and let his trousers slide: Politically?

-Kathmandu Post