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By Yug Bahadur

There is no doubt that many government institutions have been made as recruitment centers for the cadres and supporters of most political parties. This author knows this at first hand as he also had to deal with many incompetent individuals who were in their jobs simply because some party leader had recommended their names to be in whatever position they were educationally qualified for.

Ironically, these very persons were involved more in politics and did not make any effort to work well or work for the institution which employed them. But they were super in being active in one union or the other and they were also involved in creating hindrances for the real people who wanted to do things for the interest of the institutions in which they were working.

This sort of attitude can be seen even among their leaders, who are more interested in pleasing their foreign masters rather than looking after the interest of the common Nepali people.

A very popular TV anchor has repeatedly said how our own political leaders were willingly being virtual slaves to outsiders. He has also said how India has directly intervened in Nepali politics and our so-called ‘nationalist’ leaders have humbly accepted such foreign influence.

This author correctly remembers one Indian ambassador who later went on to become the foreign secretary of his country, who said ‘Now you know who is Nepal’s friend’, while at the same time he was designing for the destruction of Nepal, not only by protecting the Maoists but at the same time also designing for its fragmentation. There is no need to take the name of this detested man, as most observers probably know who he is. This is just a simple example of how India has treated Nepal.

Now to come back to the rise of unions in different organizations, like I said before, I too felt the major manner the political parties had their influence in such unions. I agree that unions have to be there, but they should work for the welfare of the employees and not for one party or the other. But this is not happening here, where unions are formed only on a party basis. This is really absurd.

In the same manner, one other person who does not want to call himself a journalist but still runs an online channel also correctly said how communal disparity was being spread by many so-called ethnic people. It is an accepted fact that one small community dominates politics, bureaucracy and now also the security forces, but we still should not be intolerant and move forward like we have seen in present times in many other countries.

Nepal is a country inhabited by a tolerant community and people who have lived in harmony with each other no matter what creed or caste they belong to. Yes, there are some discriminations, but normally they are overlooked by people who are liberal in thought. But now we are seeing differences among all races, be it in the Madhes areas or in the hilly regions. This is very disturbing for people who want to be known as only Nepalese and not one caste or the other.

For example, like said by one popular news anchor in his TV show, some Madhesh parties have tried to please their masters by bringing in the system of making the Hindi language as an official language, when it has hardly one percent of people speaking  this language. The majority of the people speak only Maithali or Bhojpuri or Abadhi or some lesser percent speak Urdu.  But by overlooking the number of people who speak Urdu, these leaders want to introduce Hindi as an official language.

While this author has no prejudice against any community or caste, still he believes that Nepali is our language. Like the English language bonds together all Americans for example, our national language should also come first. There is nothing wrong in the people with different identities speaking in their own languages, but when this is made an issue it brings social conflict to the forefront.

I have nothing against the Newar community for officially introducing their language or speaking with each other in their language. But of concern is the fact that many other communities are also seeking the same status. This sort of attitude creates division, which a diverse but small nation like Nepal can ill afford. This is surely a device being used by foreigners to divide the different communities in Nepal. Right now, specially the ethnic communities, seem to be most affected. But it is no secret that some clever campaigners of the ethnic communities are being fed and paid by certain European nations, all in the name of human rights.

But to come closer to home, it is amazing to see why our leaders are always ready to kneel down before the Indian decision-makers and also the government there, no matter who heads it. Like mentioned by some popular online anchors, our leaders plead with the Indian decision-makers to either save their seats or to get to power.

But this is a naïve question as even a neutral observer like this author realizes the huge influence of India not only in trade but also in the political development here. After all, where was the twelve-point agreement between the then-opposition parties signed? Of course, it was in New Delhi. Where were the then so-called ‘nationalist’ Maoist leaders hiding? It was in India, while the leaders were preaching to us to not even listen to Hindi songs. I can say directly that these leaders who were trained and sheltered by the Indian intelligence agencies were fooling all the Nepali people by giving nationalistic slogans but at the same time seeking shelter and support from India.

I have nothing against the Indians, specially the normal middle-class people who actually are very kind and understanding. I myself have seen their kindness time and again on many occasions. It is the behavior of the government and its different agencies which annoys close observers of the relations between Nepal and India and the servile attitude of our own leaders towards them.

As a last word, there is nothing wrong with learning from India or some other foreign country, but we must not imitate them, be it in unions or in being servile.