We are living under a totalitarian regime disguised as loktantra (democracy?). Journalists receive arrest warrants, the judiciary has become a puppet of the executive, and anti-corruption agencies now serve the very forces they are meant to regulate. Citizens who raise their voices—particularly pro-monarchy demonstrators—face fabricated charges, even of murder. The ruling alliance and the main opposition are entangled in backroom deals, while the home minister brazenly refuses to resign on moral grounds despite growing public outcry.

Nepal now operates under two sets of laws: one for the political elite, who are above accountability, and another for ordinary citizens, who face baseless accusations and unjust punishment.

Corruption—both blatant and systemic—has become the norm in this so-called secular federal republic. The rot runs deep: policy corruption, commission-based governance, and unchecked misuse of state resources plague our administration.

Internationally, Nepal’s image as a sovereign and independent nation has been tarnished. We are now recognized as a corrupt state. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed us on its grey list. The European Union has followed suit. The United States has placed Nepal on its Tier 2 Watch List for suspected involvement in organized human trafficking, money laundering, and terror financing.

Our political leadership, instead of serving the nation, has been busy engineering institutional corruption. Both ruling and opposition parties shield one another to suppress investigations and scandals. None of them are invested in the country’s development or the people’s prosperity. Their priority lies in protecting their own kin and accumulating wealth. Meanwhile, the national economy is crumbling. Nepal is increasingly drowning in debt, yet our leaders are busy funneling taxpayer money into foundations named after their deceased party icons—funds that serve no public interest.

Our nation teeters on the brink of collapse. If, even after witnessing such daylight robbery and systematic betrayal, we remain silent—if we choose to be indifferent, passive spectators—then we become complicit in the crime against our nation. We must awaken. We must rise. We must resist. The time to act is now. Let us not allow our beloved motherland to fall.