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It has been almost 14 years since Nepal became a secular state but discussions on the country’s secular status have not stopped. This time, Rabindra Mishra, president of Bibeksheel Sajha Party, which was widely hailed as an ‘alternative force’ in Nepali politics, has formally proposed a referendum on secularism. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to 10 public intellectuals on this rather controversial issue.

Vox Pop 

Abdus Miya, Bibeksheel Sajha Party

Gauging by the level of public support for Mishra’s political proposal, you can easily assume that a sizable number of people are disappointed with the country’s secular status. Restoration of the Hindu state does not mean establishing a theocracy. It is only honoring the feelings of the majority. A referendum would be an ideal way to settle this issue, one way or the other.  

Tell me, can there ever be sustainable peace in the country by ignoring public demand? I support secularism, yet I think the public should be allowed to decide.

Chandika Timalsina, Bibeksheel Sajha Party

This is the time to update the 2015 constitution, but a referendum on secularism is uncalled for. This is not a good idea as it will fragment the society and potentially lead to communal violence. Secularism has helped minorities come forward and speak up. If a state embraces a single religion, people-to-people relations will be severely affected.

Instead of discussing political ideologies, political leaders are creating controversy about religions and taking the country towards conflict. The country cannot be pushed back decades.

Ghanshyam Khatiwada, Executive Director, Pashupati Area Development Trust

Hindu philosophy directs us towards wellbeing, a healthy lifestyle, and spiritual development. Nepal is a place where we can find Hindu temples at every step. It is thus uneasy for us to accept Nepal as a secular state.

I accept that there were a few problems in our religious practices but now we have solved them. Hinduism respects everyone and is the focal point to unite all religions. From ancient times, the world has known Nepal as a Hindu state and the majority want its restoration—we should not let this spirit die.

JB Biswokarma, Writer and researcher

Anyone is free to ask for a referendum on any issue. But on a sensitive one like this, the vote does not matter. The main objective of secularism is to allow citizens to choose their own religion and treat every religion equally, regardless of the number of its followers. Nepal is a secular country yet minorities feel that the Hindus still dominate every aspect of life.

When the follower of every religion has an equal right, why bring up this controversial issue again? Let’s respect each other because we are equal. How will a Buddhist person feel if someone tells him,“You live in a Hindu state?” This is a disgrace and an open call for rioting. We should not take this path—never. 

Manavi Paudel, Newspaper columnist 

How can you call yourself a ‘social activist’ if you bar others from expressing their opinion? How can you become a member of ‘civil society’ when you are the reason for social conflict? We are in a democracy and we are all free to imagine our country as we see fit. The people should decide whether they want a secular or a Hindu state.

Democracy can’t be defined according to the will of so-called progressive people. Understanding people’s opinions is the proper way to celebrate democracy. But frankly, I care little about a secular or a Hindu state. What I think is that federalism needs to be reconsidered.

Nirga Nabin, Political activist 

The state doesn’t have a religion and no one should try to force the inclusion of a particular religion in the constitution. Religion is based on individualist beliefs. For this reason, we should preserve secularism. The current issue of Hindu state is nothing new. It has come up now because of the influence of ultra-Hinduist Narendra Modi.

A state should be governed by modern and scientific modalities, not a certain religious mindset. I think political ideology should be religion-free. Else, you are only performing a stunt to get votes as you don’t have a strong political agenda. No one can achieve progress through ideas like these.

KB Rokaya, President, Nepal Intellectuals’ Forum

Nepal is a country established by monarchs and Nepal Army, so we should not forget our origin. What the predecessor sets, the successor must follow. I am a Christian pastor but I never felt the Hindu state ever stopped us from performing any religious task. They rather helped us in establishing our church, schools, and organizations. 

Above all, we are Nepalis and amid the geopolitical tensions and other risk factors, our patriotic spirit can be preserved only with the restoration of Hindu state. Most Nepalis think the same, whether they are Buddhists, Muslims, or Kirats. Referendum is a must, there is no other option.

Rita Pariyar, Civil society member

We should not give religion-related stuff such high priority. Having come this far, we should be thinking of progressing further. Instead, we are thinking of going back to the Hindu state.

Definitely not! Our recent achievements are the result of countless struggles. If the minorities are not cared for, where should they go? If the Hindu state is restored, other religions, like before, would again have to live under suppression.

I hear the advocates of Hinduism say that no one was unhappy when Nepal was a Hindu state. But who are they to say so? Elites will never understand the pain of the suppressed groups. When the minorities are quiet, people think there is peace and harmony in society, but when they raise their voice, Hindus try to shut them down.

Trailokya Raj Aryal, Writer

The practice of liberal Hinduism is what makes us Nepalis. Prithivi Narayan Shah had brought Muslims to repair his arms and ammunition. Till today Nepal Army has assured their jobs. Ali Miya of Pokhara had received Pragya Puraskar. Christians established schools in the 1950s.

Hindus worship Lord Buddha and vice-versa. Then where is the discrimination? Nepal is not a caste-based society. It has instead become a class-based society and discrimination is our reality. We can’t abolish it politically or at gunpoint. Society will revise itself slowly over time.

Lawmakers promulgated the constitution enshrining secularism during the crisis of the 2015 earthquake. Secularism doesn’t respect the feelings of Nepalis. To restore harmony, a referendum is a must.

Tula Narayan Shah, Political analyst 

Ten years of Maoist insurgency and the 2006 people’s movement were the turning points in Nepali political history. The idea of a secular state was born out of these movements. Today, if someone wants the Hindu state restored, it is undoubtedly a regressive idea, and it will be against the norms and values of the second people’s movement.

What I think is, this issue was hyped because the proposal-maker, who is supposed to be the harbinger of alternative politics, has an enormous fan-base. Else, these kinds of issues don’t make sense. We should also not consider them seriously. 

Birth: 30 April 1937, Kathmandu
Death: 21 July 2021, Kathmandu

King Tribhuvan had for some obscure reason sent his father into exile. This is why Uttam Nepali, accompanying his father, lived and studied in Lucknow, India, along with the rest of the family.

It was in the city of the Nawabs that Nepali developed his taste for all forms of art, including painting and acting. After completing grade ten, he ran from his family home to go to Mumbai for acting classes. Having established a decent network in Mumbai, Nepali was looking forward to starting his career in Bollywood when his family members found him and brought him home.

He also didn’t get his family’s support for his other passion, painting. His businessman father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and let go of his passion for art. Although father was not convinced, Nepali convinced his mother to send him to the College of Arts and Crafts, Lucknow, and later to the prestigious Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (JJ) School of Art, Mumbai.

In 1959, after completing his studies in India, Nepali came to Kathmandu, which would become his new home and workplace, to launch his career as an artist. He debuted with an exhibition at the Tri-Chandra College.

Nepali is widely hailed for promoting solo exhibitions. Before him, only famed artists organized solo exhibits. Nepali taught his juniors the essence of art at various workshops and encouraged them to organize solo shows.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Nepali made a name for himself by employing modernist forms like expressionism, abstractionism, expressionism, and surrealism, and incorporating traditional Nepali themes, paper, and color. This would define his whole body of art for years to come. He organized 13 solo exhibitions in his lifetime, including in India, Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, the Soviet Union, and Australia.

King Mahendra was his patron and well-wisher. For the king’s ‘Gau farka’ (Return to the village) campaign, Nepali prepared paintings to encourage people to develop their villages.

Meanwhile, Nepali found time to fulfill his desire to act in a movie. In fact, he made it to the silver screen twice: ‘Aama’ (1964) and ‘Hijo Aaaj Bholi’ (1964). Apart from that, Nepali also published his poem collection—Uttam Nepalika Kavitaharu.

In 2000, he was granted lifetime membership of the Nepal Academy.

A long-time heart patient Nepali died of cardiovascular complications on July 21 at a hospital in Kathmandu. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.

The months-long dispute between CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is far from being resolved. Each camp has upped its ante against the other through verbal attacks, demonstrations, and revival of militant-like groups such as the Youth Force and the People’s Volunteer.

A couple of weeks ago, Oli revived the party’s Youth Force, which was set up in 2008 to counter the Maoists’ Young Communist League (YCL). It was dissolved a year later by the party’s eighth general convention. Following Oli’s revival of the Youth Force now, the Nepal faction has also revived the People’s Volunteer (PV) group, which was also dissolved by the same party convention, for the same reason that its hooliganism, just like Youth Force’s, was tarnishing the party’s public image.

Now, the two groups are doing their bit to get the attention of their leadership and to take the rivalry to the streets. The Youth Force has already organized big rallies, by openly flouting Covid-19 social distancing and mask guidelines. The People’s Volunteer are following suit.

Defending the mass demonstrations his group has been organizing, Kshitij Thebe, commander of Youth Force, says: “The present political turmoil is more unbearable for the common folks than the impact of Covid-19.”

Shiva Kumar Shrestha, head of People’s Volunteer, says his group will retaliate if the Youth Force gets involved in any unruly behavior. “We will not remain silent if anyone besieges our leaders’ residence [as the Youth Force did a week earlier].”

However, both camps claim that the youth groups have been revived, not to intimidate one another, but to deploy volunteers at vaccine centers, assist in rescue programs during natural calamities, advocate for justice, and hold those in power to account.

But their actions suggest otherwise. The Youth Force recently formed a 1,101-member valley command under Pushpa Raj Shrestha, who in 2008 claimed to have brought the YCL “under control”.

“Nepal is now being controlled by international agents and we will expose them,” says Shrestha who, however, sees the midnight meeting between Oli and the head of RAW as no more than an innocuous diplomatic get-together.

Meanwhile, public health experts are worried that crowded clashes between the two groups could trigger a third wave of Covid-19 infections in Kathmandu, just as demonstrations against the dissolution of parliament coincided with the second wave.

Kiran Poudel, chairperson of National Youth Federation Nepal, the mother association of Youth Force, says most of their volunteers are vaccinated so the rallies won’t spread the virus. “The media only blames us, but turns a blind eye to protests by other groups,” he adds. Likewise, Shrestha from PV says his group organizes rallies only when prohibitory orders are relaxed.

Some UML leaders such as Yogesh Bhattarai have called on the groups to end hostilities and lobby with party leadership to keep UML intact. “Leaders of the two groups must dissolve their respective youth forces at the earliest,” says Bhattarai, who was earlier in the Nepal camp. He urges both Oli and Nepal to work towards party unity and get the party back on track before rival forces take advantage of their disunity.

Many questions swirl around the new Sher Bahadur Deuba government, particularly after Deuba’s better-than-expected performance in the parliament, where he got the support of 165 lawmakers. He has a tough task balancing national and international actors even as he leads what is essentially an electoral government. ApEx’s Pratik Ghimire talked to veteran political analyst Vijay Kant Karna for some insights.

In your opinion, how long will Deuba’s coalition partners continue to support him?

The majority of MPs who stood against the House dissolution and announcement of midterm elections are now backing the government. So their hands are morally and politically tied to continue supporting it until the end of its term in late 2022. I don’t think we need elections right now because our constitution provides that our parliament will complete its full term. So, the Deuba government will and must continue until its natural expiry date.

How did the Thakur faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party come around to supporting Deuba’s premiership ?

The Thakur faction follows the majority. It would not have supported any government, whether led by Oli or Deuba, had other parties refrained from doing so. Its MP Resham Chaudhary is still in jail, the Supreme Court has scrapped the citizenship ordinance, and the issues of Madhes haven’t been addressed. The faction was compelled to vote for the government to stand a chance of getting their demands met. Deuba too asked Thakur for a favor.

How would you remember PM Oli’s over three-year tenure?

There are few bases to evaluate the government—political and constitutional—and election manifesto. The Oli government was a failure on all counts. He tried to weaken the essence of the republic: democracy, federalism, inclusion, proportionality, and secularism. The around 80 bills he introduced created mistrust between the central and provincial governments. This includes bills related to the Public Service Commission, bureaucracy adjustment, and more. The national intelligence department, which comes under the Home Ministry, was placed under his office. The Revenue Investigation and Money Laundering Department, which was to be governed by the Ministry of Finance, was also dragged under his office.

Moreover, Oli converted constitutional bodies and diplomatic posts into his party’s recruitment centers where he appointed his henchmen. The media and guthi bills, restrictions on protests in open places, and phone-tapping are also examples of his authoritarian tendencies.

What difference can we expect now that Deuba is at the helm?

I don’t have many expectations from the current government. But Deuba could take a few things back on track. I guess he won’t do things that will hamper the constitutional base of Nepal and further. He could also withdraw controversial bills.

Oli murdered our diplomatic relations and foreign policies with India, China, the US, the UK, and other European nations. None of the countries replied to the diplomatic note asking for vaccines. A few years back, in South Asia, we used to be the favorite of foreign powers. But today, Bhutan and Bangladesh are receiving vaccines as grants, but we aren’t. I hope the Deuba Cabinet will look into these things.

Unlike Oli, Deuba won’t run his office on individual whims. He has experience running a coalition government. Gandaki province has a Congress government, Province no. 2 has Congress alliance, and Lumbini could see a new Cabinet, so I think he will link well with provinces. For now, we should not expect more from him.

How do you expect the Deuba-India relationship to progress?

Nepali Congress and India have historical relations. And now too, I think these two friends will have normal diplomatic ties—but I can’t say it will reach new heights. Deuba shouldn’t take an ultra-nationalist stand and unnecessarily ditch the southern neighbor. India, in recent days, has established itself as one of the world’s most powerful nations, and it has fostered cordial relations with Western countries. The current government could use India’s diplomacy for national benefit.

The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) was established 18 years ago with the motto ‘For Nepali, By Nepali’. Right now, it has national coordination councils in 82 countries. Nepalis living outside the Saarc region or people of Nepali origin with foreign nationality are considered NRNs, according to the Non-Resident Nepali Act 2064.

Although the association was established to promote the use of knowledge and resources of NRNs for their home country’s benefit, critics argue that politics now dominates the organization. Its council meetings are often marked by fisticuffs and acrimonious exchanges, and NRNA leaders are often accused of using their resources to buy support to get to the top.

Pratik Ghimire of ApEx spoke to DB Chhetri, NRNA spokesperson, about the association’s plans and image.

What is the association’s focus right now?

Since last year, all our focus has been on Covid-19 pandemic. We are keen to help the Nepali diaspora with a suitable relief package by coordinating with respective national coordination councils. Also, we made some investments and carried out organizational restructuring. We have received complaints that the association has failed to transform its leadership. So, each coordination council is organizing its convention by October, following a proper restructured framework, legislations, methods, and laws. Besides, we have been putting pressure on the Nepal government and working with it to rescue Nepalis stranded abroad.

Is it mandatory for association members to fight during its gatherings?

As we know, Nepalis have a habit of celebrating election victories as festivals and wherever they go, they are driven with the same mentality. Because of this unnecessary hype surrounding the elections, unfortunately, we have to deal with various disrespectful acts. We will prepare directives to avoid these things in the coming days.

This story also has another side. We have grown into a massive organization and now, almost all political parties want to establish their dominance over the NRNA. But these are problems related to some individuals rather than organizational drawbacks.

Why don’t you bar miscreants from your organization?

Like I said, most of these disputes are the result of a handful of individual reasons. As an organization, we are not facing an ideological or organizational crisis. Yes, so we are working to forbid politically motivated people from joining our organization. Further, the association is determined to conduct its elections online, backed by strong laws, so that there are fewer instances of disputes. The NRNA wants to be the voice of over five million Nepalis living abroad. We are against those who use their money rather than their vision to claim leadership.

Can we imagine an NRNA that is completely free of political influence?

Politics is what helps make society aware of contemporary issues. We can’t avoid politically literate people, but NRNA never welcomes politically affiliated masses. When the mainstream political parties stop treating us like their sister organizations, only then can we implement our policies legitimately. We partner with the Nepal government in every task and they should also take necessary steps not to let the association come into dispute.

Politicians and bureaucrats should not treat us as rich investors. We are just stakeholders of Nepalis living abroad. The NRNA produces social activists, not politicians.

Candidates contesting NRNA elections are spending a lot of money and are reportedly even resorting to immoral acts to secure victories.

We are unaware of these kinds of conduct. If we find someone involved in such activities, we will immediately punish the related person. What I want to say to our members is, report illegal activities. If you don’t, you are defaming our glorified organization just for your benefit. No one has to spend money or resort to immoral means to win NRNA elections. All it takes is a proper agenda.

The media has also played some role in defaming the association. I request the fourth state to refrain from biased coverage.

Anger seems to be the dominant emotion in Nepal this monsoon. Prime Minister KP Oli is livid with the Nepal-Khanal faction for declining to withdraw its support for the premiership of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. The disgruntled faction in turn is not ready to believe anything CPN-UML chairman Oli says anymore. Although they continue to talk to find a collective way out, the two sets of leaders mostly talk past one another; a quick end of the internecine intra-party dispute appears unlikely.

The society is as riled up, most recently over the Rupa Sunar case, with the media-person denied a flat by a Newar landlady for no other reason than that she is a Dalit.  The dispute quickly snowballed into an ugly Newar-Dalit fight on social media. The Supreme Court has thrown out a case Sunar had filed against the landlady but the war of words is far from over. The Nepali society is so bitterly divided that it will only take another tiny spark to ignite an inferno.

Following the case, the landlords and tenants in Kathmandu valley are for the first time seriously thinking of signing rent agreements so that neither can act in bad faith. Formalization of landlord-tenant contracts in all cases will help sort many of the thorny issues that routinely crop between them. But it will arguably also mark a moment when that natural trust between people was broken.

If the political and social climate in the country is heating up, it is no less so outside. Xi Jinping is looking to consolidate the cooperation of BRI countries, most recently through a virtual summit, even as Joe Biden pushes ahead with his new ‘Build Back Better World’ (B3W) agenda, aimed squarely at challenging China’s primacy in Asia. More and more, countries like Nepal find themselves having to pick sides. Yet doing so would be a disaster as the country has been able to maintain its independence all these years only through delicate balancing.  

As the country continues to be ravaged by Covid-19, and with vaccines still in short supply, the summer of rage and blame-games, we are afraid, is far from over.

The All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union (Revolutionary), the CPN (Maoist Center) student wing, along with the student outfits of four other opposition parties, have allied to protest against Prime Minister KP Oli’s ‘unconstitutional’ House dissolution.

But their protests haven’t been effective. Moreover, critics argue, the unions lack the autonomy to do anything on their own without their mother party’s directive.

Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to ANNISU(R) chairman Ranjit Tamang about the relevance of student politics in Nepal.

How do you respond to those who say today’s student politics in Nepal is purposeless?

In my view, in light of the current constitutional crisis, student wings are the only forces capable of challenging government wrongdoings. The parliament’s absence has added to our responsibilities. As students are at the forefront of anti-government protests against corruption, inflation, and unconstitutional moves, the government of the day fears us. So, I can assure you that we are still very much relevant.

We have never seen a student union take decisions independently of their mother party. Why so?

There was a time when political parties could not protest against the autocratic government, and their student wings were the ones to take the lead. Today also, we are always the first to speak against the government, whosoever is running it. We speak up on every social, internal, and geopolitical matter. Often, we have taken up more progressive and revolutionary issues than have our mother political party. But as we are affiliated to our mother party, it is only natural we take their ideological lead. This is how things work around the world.

Why aren’t student unions keen on broader educational rights and reforms?

We have always pressured the concerned bodies to provide free education at every level. We have also regularly requested universities to stop doling out affiliation to private colleges. When appointments were being made for office bearers of universities, ANNISU (R) had demanded that the process be based on open competition. Further, to bring drastic changes to our academic system, we appeal to the government to prepare an Education Act based on the recent report by a group of scholars in this field.

Perhaps because of its association with the erstwhile Young Communist League, ANNISU (R)’s image has been rather poor in the public eye. What are you doing to improve your image?

Our major focus has been on the health and education sectors. We demand free health and education for all. The government should allocate enough budget in these areas, and implement its plan to provide loans to students by keeping their degree certificates as collateral. Also, we want an end to the privatization of education institutions and pitch for open competition in the selection of their office-bearers. We want to make ANNISU (R) a representative voice of all students.

Any plans for organization restructuring?

Following our firm commitment to democratic process, we have decided to conduct ANNISU(R)’s 22nd national convention from September 24-26. Also, through ApEx, I want to announce that, following this national convention, I plan to start my journey in national politics. I will be handing over ANNISU (R) to a more knowledgeable, capable, and organized leadership.

The Nepali Congress rank and file have been talking about the party’s 14th general convention for a long time. The party postponed the event time and again for various reasons, including the corona scourge. This time, however, the NC looks determined to hold the gathering of its biggest decision-making body from September 1-4, even amid the pandemic.

Party leaders are divided on almost every issue, especially after PM KP Oli’s second House dissolution. This is why the general convention has become a necessity to settle the issues of party leadership, ideology and organization.

ApEx’s Pratik Ghimire talked to party spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma.

Where do new generation leaders find themselves ahead of the general convention?

More new generation leaders are getting elected as representatives in successive general conventions. This time, as we have doubled the number of representatives attending the convention, we will see more youths take up decision-making positions. In addition, the proportion of youths is also significantly higher in the overall active membership of the party.

Going into the 14th general convention, what is the guiding ideology of Nepali Congress?

We believe the vision Nepali Congress carries has a huge impact on overall Nepali politics. Congress follows the path of D&D: Democracy and Development. This time too, the new leadership will remain committed to democracy, federalism, inclusive participation, and liberal economy with gradual development of every sector. We will create a suitable environment for coordination between the state and the corporate and private sectors.

How will you tackle the issue of Hindu state that seems to have at least some backing inside Nepali Congress?

Our constitution is a result of hard work and dedication of many people. Yet certain provisions in it might not be to everyone’s taste. The constitutional provisions can be worked upon to reflect public will. But, right now, we have not even completed a decade under the new constitution. So instead of trying to make substantive changes to it, we should rather think of its implementation. Nepali Congress is thus committed to implementing the constitution in its letter and spirit. 

There seem to be many contenders for party leadership. How will you settle it?

I have also heard people say Nepali Congress doesn’t have a consensus candidate for party president. But we are in a democracy and the beauty of democracy is that there is competition. More the number of contenders for the post, the better it will be for democracy. We will pick the best candidate to run the party.

How do you evaluate the judiciary’s current involvement in national politics?

Let me explain with an example. If a person is healthy, he won’t visit the doctor often. But if they fall sick regularly, they have to visit the doctor time and again. We can’t say the doctor is interfering with their health. Similarly, if our politics doesn’t follow the legal path, the Supreme Court will ask the government to correct its course. It is a part of the principle of check and balance.

Also, we can imagine the situation had the elections been held in May, as had been originally planned. We could have seen over 1,000 Covid-19-related deaths a day during election campaigns and, of course, the election would have had to be canceled, forcing the country into more political turmoil.