Are We Enjoying Democracy?

 

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, said that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If we explore the origin of the word 'democracy', we find that it has been derived from the Greek word 'demokratia' where 'demos' stands for 'the people' and 'kratia' for 'power' or 'rule'. 

So, in very simple terms, democracy can be defined as a system of government that is decided by the people via election. They vote for representatives and send them to parliament, which is a country's legislative or law-making body. The parliament develops different systems to run the country smoothly. If we see the history of democracy, it goes back to the fifth century BC. During that time, it was first introduced in Athens by Cleisthenes of Athens, who is considered the father of democracy. 

History 

Since then, there has been the practice of democracy in the world in different forms. Nepal has its own history of democracy. For the first time, with the help of political leaders, such as B. P. Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and many others, the late king Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah took an initiative to establish democracy in Nepal on the 7th of Falgun, 2007 BS or 1951 AD. This step was taken to topple the 104-year-long autocracy of the Rana regime.  So, this year, we, the Nepali people, are celebrating the 75th democracy day. 

During these years, Nepal has gone through different democratic movements, and people have experienced a lot of ups and downs. The Nepali Congress-led government ruled the country for about a decade. Unfortunately, this government was removed by the late King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1960 AD to introduce the Panchayati system, which he claimed was a suitable system for the nation. But people started to feel that this system of monarchism pushed democracy back. 

There are different indicators of democracy. Some of them include sovereignty, fundamental human rights, equality, and individual freedom, open access to information, freedom of speech, free press, people's participation in politics, multi-party system, free election, independent judiciary, transparent government, decentralisation, and others. Since the Nepali people were deprived of all these facilities, they were not happy with the Panchayati system.

As a result of their dissatisfaction, there was a joint civil resistance in 1990 AD. It was led by the United Left Front, which turned out to be the CPN UML and Nepali Congress. After a long struggle, eventually they were successful in overthrowing the Panchayati system and establishing a constitutional monarchy, which seemed to be a form of democracy. 

Although the government system was changed and people got limited access to democracy through a multi-party system, they were not fully satisfied. This was reflected in the Maoist rebellion in 1996 AD, and led to an armed civil war. Once again, democracy was at stake in Nepal. The people's war lasted for a decade, and it resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread destabilisation, particularly in the countryside. 

In the meantime, the Royal Palace Massacre occurred, in which King Birendra and much of the royal family were killed. Following this tragedy, King Gyanendra ascended to the throne. He dissolved the government and assumed absolute power in 2005, which invited much public criticism and opposition from political parties. This led to yet another movement in 2006 AD. It forced the king to step down. Subsequently, Parliament was reinstated, and the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord with the Maoists formally ended the decade-long civil war.

Although democracy was restored this way, it had not been implemented as people had expected it to be. Three major parties emerged - Nepali Congress, CPN UML, and Maoist - to rule the nation. They took charge of the country turn by turn. Gradually, corruption, nepotism, anarchism, inequality, unemployment, brain-drain, and what not started to foster. When all this reached a climax, the Gen Z revolution occurred in 2025. We all know the rest.

This snapshot of the political history of Nepal shows that more than seventy years have been employed and spent on democracy. It seems like the movement started against the autocracy of the Rana dynasty has not fully achieved its goals yet. Dr. Tara Nath Ghimire had conducted a research study on 'Democratic movements and challenges in Nepal' and found several reasons for the failure of democracy in Nepal. First of all, the political parties were unable to teach people that the country is bigger than the party. 

Greed for position and power

The Nepali citizens could not be emotionally organised due to the leaders' greed for position and power. Secondly, the political leaders have lost respect for morality. The rights and duties of citizens are not delineated. The general people are also prone to immorality due to the unethical actions of political leaders. Another reason Mr. Ghimire points out is that the media also has an important role in shaping democracy, but unfortunately, most of them are run by political parties, and this leads to bias.

Once again, Nepali people are at a threshold of general elections to elect the members of the House of Representatives. I hope this time people vote for the right candidates who understand the real meaning of democracy and allow all the citizens to enjoy the system freely. The elected political leaders should keep in mind that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It, in fact, protects people's power, not the political leaders'.  Happy Democracy Day to all who are in Nepal and abroad.    

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, February 20, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]  

Collective Fight Ends Gender Inequality

 

One of my college students asked me, out of the blue, 'Ma'am, does patriarchy still exist in Nepal?' I thought she was simply curious about the issue, so I responded in a normal tone, 'Yes, of course! You'll find a lot of examples of this if you observe our society closely.' Then she opened up about how she was discriminated against by her employers in her workplace, only based on her gender. Her story made me think about the issues of gender balance or gender equity. Luckily, she is a strong-headed girl, so she fought for her rights and raised her voice high to teach a lesson to those handful of biased people. Unfortunately, not all Nepali women may not have the guts like my student to stand for themselves or speak up when they experience gender differences.

We find gender equity only on paper but in reality, there is still a practice of male chauvinism in most of the cases in Nepal.  Since historically, culturally and socially, Nepal has been a patriarchal society, it seems to be very hard to maintain gender balance. Apart from in some exceptional situations, people have a deep-rooted belief system that men are superior to women in every sphere of life, and this belief will not go away easily. Some examples of discrimination between girls and boys include chhaupadi, dowry system, rape, property rights, domestic roles, gender-based violence, citizenship hurdles, limited political representation, limited economic participation, workplace harassment and many more. 

Constructed differences 

Although the law has protected women's rights, the implementation side has not been working effectively. A research study, conducted by Pranab Dahal, Sunil Kumar Joshi and Katarina Swahnberg in 2022, also confirms gender inequality in Nepal. Their findings suggest that the subjugation of women occurs due to practices based on gender differences, constricted life opportunities, and internalisation of constructed differences among women. They have developed a concept of power-play, which is identified as a cause and consequence of women's subordination and violence. This means that the ultimate power needed to run the Nepali society is still in the hands of men. 

Women have been struggling to share that power for a long time; for this, they have even sacrificed their lives. Yogmaya Neupane (1867 - 1941 AD) is a great example who is considered Nepal's first revolutionary woman. Yogmaya was a spiritual leader and social reformer who ended her life along with 68 of her followers in protest against the social conditions of her time by jumping into the wild floods of the river Arun. Her protest was directed against the social practices that had been highly divided along gender and caste hierarchies. 

Nepali women, at different times, have pushed for changes around them, winning small battles, one at a time but they have not succeeded yet. Currently, there are many women, such as Anuradha Koirala, Bandana Rana, Uma Devi Badi, Durga Sob and others who are working tirelessly in the field of gender equality.

While I was reading an essay by Bonnie Smith-Yackel, I just thought about women in our society. In her narrative essay, 'My Mother Never Worked,' Bonnie, an American author, has depicted her homemaker mother's picture very beautifully. The writer wants to make her readers aware of how a society devalues unpaid household chores and farm work. Her mother, who devoted all her life to taking care of the house, raising her children and doing difficult farm work, was sadly deprived of Social Security benefits. According to federal law, only those workers are entitled to such benefits who have a paid job. 

Although the author tries her best to convince the Social Security officer by saying that her mother worked harder throughout her life than anybody else, so she must have got death benefit, the officer does not budge. Instead, she responds, 'Well, that's right. Your mother didn't work, you know.' This response breaks a reader's heart. In the same vein, another American writer, Sandra Cisneros, has written an essay 'Only Daughter'. In this essay, she has shown how difficult it is to be a daughter in a Mexican family where there are already six sons. Her brothers did not want to play with her in public because she was a girl, so Sandra was isolated throughout her childhood. 

Her father used to believe that she was going to be someone's wife. She recalls how h e thought college was good for girls to find a husband but not to gain knowledge or education. However, Sandra was determined to make her father understand that his daughter is a writer; she worked hard to make him proud but he did not seem to value her. She writes, '...Everything I have ever written has been for him, to win his approval even though I know my father cannot read English words.'

Women's struggles 

I am using these essays to make a point that not only Nepali women are struggling to get recognised but women around the world are also facing the same problem. There are different movements in world history to secure women's rights or gender equality. For instance, the Women's Suffrage Movement (also known as the first-wave feminist movement), second-wave feminism, third-wave and networked feminism. The UN is also working in the same direction.

An Asian Development Bank report highlights that Nepal has taken progressive steps toward greater gender equality throughout the past five decades of planned development. Important legal amendments have been made to strengthen women’s rights in key areas such as citizenship, inheritance, and anti-trafficking. Yet, there is gender-based discrimination in all walks of life. So, we must fight against this problem collectively. Thanks to my student who stood up for herself and fought against gender-based discrimination at her workplace. We need more girls like her who are aware of their rights and capable of taking a stand whenever situations call for. 

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, January 9, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]

Good Intention Leads To Victory

These days, my acquaintances and friends from different parts of the country and abroad ask me questions like, "What's going on in your place? Are you okay? What do you think about Balen Shah's entry into national politics? Do you think he should be the Prime Minister of your country? Who is this Balen Shah who has a lot of media coverage recently?" Such questions compel me to closely observe Balen Shah's activities. Because of his candidacy in Jhapa-5, his campaign has particularly highlighted Damak, where he is staying for his election campaign. 

Everybody has seen how he is getting people's attention from the eastern to the western parts of Nepal. It seems like he is the only hope to bring positive changes in Nepal. There are masses gathered to meet him and share their problems. Whether Balen wins or not in the upcoming election or will become the next Prime Minister is not a topic to discuss here because speculations do not work every time. Let's leave all this to the result of the election. As far as I am concerned, I have been observing him as a person, not as a politician, and I have found that he is teaching us different lessons that are obviously useful in our lives. 

A good listener

First of all, he is a good listener. When he meets the local people to learn about their situation, he patiently listens to them, and then only he responds. I have never seen him interrupt others to make his point or to be heard louder. Usually, what happens - people just want to talk or they interrupt others without allowing them to complete their sentences. This is regarded as a breach of the communication rule. In addition, there is a high risk of communication breakdown due to a lack of proper listening.  It is said that if you are not a good listener, you cannot be a good speaker. 

I have found Balen Shah to be an extremely goal-oriented person. He sets some goals and will not derail even an inch until achieving them. For instance, we can see how organised his nationwide tour is. He has not wasted a single day loitering here and there. He is determined to meet the deadlines of his tasks. In his capacity as a Mayor, whatever he has done to beautify Kathmandu within a short period of time is also evidence of his determination to complete certain work within a specified time. Balen seems to be an expert in executing his strategic plan. 

Another aspect I have seen in Balen is that he is capable of managing a crisis. He lost his father nearly two months ago. One can imagine how shattered he must be from this irreparable loss. As he has promised himself to transform the country basically by good governance, anti-corruption and many other measures, he hid his grief and moved towards the direction to achieve his dream of nation building. As if his father's passing away was not enough, Balen recently lost his dear friend Dinesh Sitaula during a political campaign tour in Achham. He managed this as well and moved on.

Among all strengths, I have found the most impressive one is his tolerance for criticism. A handful of people are throwing baseless criticisms at him continuously but he chooses to be quiet. Sometimes I am upset to hear filthy comments and want to yell at those insensitive people who make such comments, but Balen is a different person. He states that he takes negative statements positively. He also believes that the so-called critics are, in fact, promoting him, as the general public can differentiate what is true and what is false about him.

Somewhere I have read that 'less is more' and this applies to Balen Shah. Some of the political leaders talk nonsense all the time; they make false promises to deceive the public but in Balen's case, his actions speak louder than his words. He does not want to waste his energy on unnecessary talk; he saves it for better purposes. If he needs to speak, he uses every word meaningfully. He talks little but when he talks, talks logically.

Positive side

I accept Balen Shah may have weaknesses, who doesn't? But if we look at his positive side, I am sure we can take a lot of inspiration from him. He is a man with a clear mission and vision. If one can develop Balen's level of determination and clarity, they can achieve any goal they set in their life. The youths all over the country may also have experienced the same thing, so they are after Balen with a slogan, 'Balen dai! Balen dai'. They look up to him as a role model. They have put their hope and trust in him. 

Whether Balen will become the Prime Minister after the Falgun 21 election or not does not matter much, like for others who declare that if the election result is not in their favour, they will boycott it. Even if he loses this election, Balen will definitely find other options to lead his life successfully and meaningfully. I know people with pure intentions and determination will never fail. Being one of his admirers, I wish him all the best.    

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, February 6, 2026 ) 

[The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]