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By P.R. Pradhan

Our national journey has been derailed. Many of our political leaders, media persons, self-declared civil-society leaders, and academicians appear to be carrying foreign agendas imposed by external powers, working against the interests of our motherland. They seem to receive support either from India or from various American and European deep-state groups. These days, “Lucifer,” a term used to refer to foreign influence, has become very popular in Nepali society. Saurav, a patriotic Nepali thinker, used this word in a recent interview while describing the degradation of present-day Nepal.
When the leaders of society are carrying the baggage of foreigners, what can we expect from them for the nation? Social media have openly exposed such individuals and their damaging activities, yet ordinary people seem less bothered. Shockingly, people of such character continue to receive respect and honor in society.

The then–prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli and then–home minister Ramesh Lekhak were held responsible for the killing of 76 individuals, including many young people from the Gen-Z generation. They continue to attend mass assemblies without expressing remorse for their moral responsibility in such tragic loss of life. During the protests, a huge amount of bank currency was set on fire at the residences of NC supremo Sher Bahadur Deuba, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, and others. Deuba denied the accusations, claiming that the photographs and videos were created using AI. Other leaders treated the incident as a normal matter.
Regarding Prachanda, he currently lives in a building owned by a controversial construction contractor. Earlier, his own colleague Baburam Bhattarai had accused him of misusing a huge amount of money during the settlement of the Maoist PLA. Instead of facing action, he continues to be active in politics and is welcomed with garlands at public events.
The fake Bhutanese refugee scandal is believed to have been orchestrated by senior leaders of the Nepali Congress and UML. Nepal Police suddenly closed the file after the involvement of the wives of senior leaders came to light.

Many rape and murder cases involving teenage girls remain unresolved, with suspicions that influential leaders may have been involved.

The unfortunate trend is that in every election, the same corrupt individuals continue to be elected. Our voters seem satisfied casting their votes for candidates who offer mutton-rice and hand them some money. They never pause to think how they have remained poor and exploited by these very leaders time and again.

Nepal, a small country with a population of nearly 30 million, is rich in natural resources, yet these resources remain unexplored. Decades ago, when the World Bank, Germany, and Japan decided to construct the Arun-3 Hydropower Project, many Nepali “experts” opposed it. In reality, they were influenced by Indian interests, and ultimately the Indian design succeeded. Today, not only Arun-3 but other projects in the Arun River have also gone to India.
During the so-called “autocratic” Panchayat era, Nepal’s industrial contribution stood at 16 percent, but today it has declined drastically. A country once moving toward industrialization has now turned into a consumer nation. Although Nepal is an agricultural country, it imports agricultural products in large quantities. This is because local industrialists and investors have been discouraged, and foreign interests have taken control of the economy since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990.

The present form of loktantra, it seems, is serving foreign powers at the expense of the nation. The government’s recent decision to hold elections for the House of Representatives on March 5, 2026, is not a solution to the ongoing political crisis. If the leaders, media persons, academicians, and others are genuinely committed to the nation, the present constitution should be immediately suspended, and a new constitution should be drafted by our own citizens—one that places the nation and national development at the center.