Time to change the guards

One of the major developments in Nepal over the last ten years is people’s access to telecommunication. With the spread of information technology people have been able to be better informed and this has certainly helped in many other sectors.

However this growth is still limited to specific regional areas and population demographic. While the younger population can adapt to these changes without any hesitation it is but natural for the older generation to have difficulties trying to learn new lessons in life. This generation gap between the majority of Nepal’s population who are under 50, and those given the task of writing the new constitution and running the government, who are above 50, is one of the major problems of Nepal.

The younger population can be easily influenced by and adapt to changes brought on by time such as newer technologies and ideas. However the older people are, the more difficulty they have understanding technology and developments. This is probably one of the reasons why Nepal is having difficulty in this transitional moment. While we dream of a more modern, newer Nepal, those entrusted with the task of making the framework are all remnants of the past who still believe in old ideas and are unable to embrace newer ideas.

What young Nepalis need to remember is that the new order being written today is being done so by a generation that is of an older age. They do not only not understand modern values, ideas and principles but are instead adamant about imposing old ideas that the younger generation are bound to reject. Ask any modern young educated Nepali if s/he finds differences in human values between members of different ethnic castes, and the answer will undoubtedly be a negative. However what the older politicians and leaders are trying to divide us along caste and ethnic lines.

There is no political party in Nepal that has given enough respectable space for the youth. The Maoists used the youth to wage their war, and yet the leadership is mostly composed of older people. The Nepali Congress, the UML, MJF, and all other parties are ruled by those who have spent their lives involved in politics for self gain and nothing else. We can count the number of youth leaders in our hand and they certainly have no voice in their own parties. Sadly even the few youth leaders that are there have not been able to demonstrate any leadership characteristic other than perhaps their oratory skills.

Nepal needs its youth to rise and revolt against the old guard or risk being bound by old ideas and values. Nepal needs its old to give up power to the youth so we can make our own future. We need our youth to be better accepting of politics and participative in it so we can actually do something substantial about our situation and not just complain about it. If it is our future why are we allowing the past to write it out? Nepal’s youth who form the majority of the current population need to have the right to write our own future. We need to change the old guards or risk being imprisoned by them until another future revolution finally takes over complete power. 

image source: nepaliblogger.com

http://www.parakhi.com/blogs/2012/01/04/time-to-change-the-guards