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By L.D. Pulami
Almost everyone agrees that corruption is the major cause of all the miseries that this country is seeing right now. And at present, more people are blaming the political leaders for institutionalizing this social malice in an alarming manner, which is not only harming the nation but also creating a dangerous division in the society.
The people who think they have succeeded and done enough by only earning money, will one day regret what their actions have done, making the lives of their own children a nightmare even if they have houses, land and money. Such a nightmare will haunt their own loved ones when the nation is divided and conflicts of all sorts take place.
This writer has mentioned many times how the politicians, who lived in virtual poverty before, but earned unimaginable wealth after they came to power, have continuously looted the nation, not at all knowing the long-term consequences of their anti-national decisions.
This critic of such shameless acts of the leaders who claim to be the helmsmen of democracy in the country has personally seen the ‘dis-respect’ that their own cadres now have for these leaders, once their needs are fulfilled. For example, when violent bandhs were so much used by parties, many supporters of these parties, once they had some economic security, just did not want to participate in the activities of the very parties which had benefited them before.
So it is no surprise that some real activists also question their own party leaders about their misdeeds. Such anger of individuals being misled by political leaders has started to go viral on the now much-watched social media. Before it was easy to blame the former kings for every fault in the nation. But now, it is gratifying to hear these very activists blaming their own leaders for committing different crimes.
For any person who has a patriotic belief in a free Nepal, now, these leaders have even dared to legitimize corruption by introducing a new law that will keep them safe from any wrongdoings in the future.
This is in fact the saddest story of different laws and regulations implemented by legislators and also bureaucrats in our country. Regulations are strictly enforced on innocent citizens, but these very acts are overridden by those in power.
As someone born here and living in this country for more than six decades, I too have faced different hassles while trying to get even simple things to be done at government offices. But our officials think that they are more important than the service seekers and they keep on repeating some rules or regulations which they follow and which only innocent citizens have to abide by.
Still, I am also horrified by how some people who can shout hackneyed slogans, challenging the authorities in some cases while not realizing they are giving much more pushing hand and support to disturbances in the society. Such anarchy does not help any country to move ahead in a proper manner. While responsibility and accountability must be accepted by those in power, the people must also learn to accept certain decisions and not take the law in their own hands. But we do not see such behavior of the authorities or the people who have only the idea of asking for their own rights, while not caring about the rights of others.
Not following the laws of the land is more dangerous than any other thing, even about issues like democracy and other rights.
Such type of thinking among the people will definitely invite bigger disasters and not only the leaders, but these very fellows who applaud every move of leaders and ‘motivational’ speakers, may also have to flee the country for their mistake in supporting things which actually are not good for the country. So one suggestion is, don’t only talk about rights and at the same time don’t challenge at least a small number of the people, for example, Kathmandu’s mayor Balen Shah, who really are doing their best to do something for the nation.
Trying to send some sort of a message to the political leaders, bureaucrats, security personnel and also the public, is the duty of any responsible journalist, or even a simple analyst like this author for instance. But this all seems to be like shouting at a deaf person or pouring water in a sandy place. Still, we must try and create some awareness in the society.
The irony is that when people who are neck deep in malpractices, working for foreign powers or in activities against the nation, try to preach to us about democracy, nationalism and basic rights because they are in some position and power. These are really things which make us feel miserable. These are acts of hypocrisy which infuriate real honest citizens who just want to live in peace and be left alone as any good citizen of any country.
What we are afraid of is not the mind-blowing prices of precious things like gold and silver, but the alarming rate of inflation in basic items like rice, lentils and vegetables the people need every day. Maybe the people who have earned money either by cheating the government or other innocent persons are not bothered by these things, but for a common person who depends solely on his or her honestly earned salary, this is very worrying.
The people don’t want the political leaders who carry the burden of making the country more developed and prosperous, to see them always bickering about corruption cases or the transfer of some police officials, which may mean a lot for them, but actually does not have any impact in the lives of the common public. They should discuss more important things and concentrate on matters which will benefit the nation and the people, not some populist slogans which benefit them and their leaders only. Don’t they have any thoughts about the less privileged commoners about whose ‘freedom’ and welfare they always talk about? Doesn’t the concern of the ordinary people mean anything to the political leaders, so-called civil society leaders, rights activists and also media persons?
The people need actions and results, not only the foreign-funded NGOs advice or seminar-based clichéd terminologies which these so-called do-gooders have learnt from their foreign mentors.
So stop only making populist slogans or preaching to the people of different rights, and concentrate in making the nation stronger and the people more secure.