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There have been numerous generalizations, and with them, many misunderstandings regarding the crucial factors that underpin elitism in Nepal.

Undoubtedly, caste and land, and language, considering also the extent to which they have always been inextricably interlinked with each other, have continuously been predominant factors. Throughout the history of Nepal, these have been consistently key elements acting as springboards for individuals and groups with homogenous features to cement their prerogatives and privileges within the society.

Yet, a certain degree of privilege and the status coming with it do not automatically make someone part of the ruling elite. And, certainly, there has been a paucity of studies that try to go beyond such analysis of established societal dynamics and attempt to understand different dimensions of power creation that can lead to the exercise of real decision-making at the highest echelons of power.

Therefore, there is an opportunity to analyze how elites are created and shaped in Nepal from different perspectives. In this line, a novel line of inquiry is emerging. It focuses on the nexus between the influences exerted by foreign powers in Nepal and the hidden dynamics and consequences triggered by them over those who have been ruling the country.

This new approach tries to answer the following question: could be possible that foreign powers that, since the early days of Nepal’s formation till now, have been holding a very relevant role in shaping national politics, have a unique sway and impact over the underlying and hidden processes of elite formation, defined as those members of the society truly exercising power?

Nepal is a nation where foreign policy has always been passively exercised in reaction to the desires and moves of bigger and more powerful nations. To some extent, the conduct of foreign affairs by the different elites in power has not been, either by design or by default, aimed at independently exerting the country’s sovereign interests.

Rather, Nepal’s foreign policy has been more focused on responding to the interests that foreign powers have always held over it. It has been shaped to maximize a return not based on its own priorities and strategic interests but rather from how and what bigger international players, such as India, China, the USA, and, during the Rana oligarchy, the British Resident, approached Nepal and wanted from it.

At the same time, the elites in power did also benefit immensely from steering the country’s foreign policy in a balancing act that would not antagonize foreign powers but would be masterfully crafted and leveraged for their own self-interests. Therefore, wouldn’t it be interesting to reflect on how foreign policy conducted by others has determined and continues to influence elite formation in the country?

This is the ambitious task that Gaurav Bhattarai, an Assistant Professor at Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, set to decipher with his latest book, “Nepal’s Power Elites: Rajahs, Ranas and Republic,” due to be published in the first week of August.

The book is a bold attempt at understanding the elevation to power through the prism of foreign policy. “Elitism cannot be fully grasped without recognizing the profound influences of distant hands”, Bhattarai explained to me in our conversation.
Throughout a series of online interviews and exchange of emails, Bhattarai shared with me that normally the focus is on pinpointing the oversized influence that foreign powers have always held in shaping national politics.

But, according to him, we have been missing something important to better understand the elite’s formation and their related power dynamics in Nepal.

“In the grand narrative of the evolution of the Nepali statecraft, the role of British residency, Indian independence leaders, and a plethora of regional and international factors emerge as more than scanty background details—it is the very plot that drives the story of elite power structure”.

“In line with this insight, I argue that any understanding of elite status in Nepal is incomplete without an acknowledgment of these external forces”, Bhattarai wrote me in the e-mail. Elite is a loose concept, open to different interpretations.
The theories formulated in the nineteenth century by Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca, and Robert Michels in Europe, or C Wright Mills in the US, and Sanjaya Baru in India elucidating the key elements and factors of elite making cannot simply be re-contextualized and adapted to Nepal according to Bhattarai.

To understand how the different elites across the different phases of Nepal’s model history, each with its unique features, formed and assumed power in the country, we need to go beyond the socio-religious aspects of the nation that have inevitably been conductors and enablers of access to power.

Foreign policy can turn out to be a very relevant area that deserves to be studied in order to decipher the formation of elites in Nepal. This undertaking should not only be analyzed from the ways foreign powers exercised it to influence and, in many instances, indirectly control power. Certainly, this aspect cannot be underestimated. “External forces have not only enabled but at times also constrained the power and influence of Nepali elites throughout history”, I was told in our conversation.
So in “Nepal’s Power Elites: Rajahs, Ranas and Republic”, Bhattarai analyzed to full extent “how foreign influences have shaped, bolstered or even undermined the authority of the ruling class”.

There is also another side of the coin, and this is really an important point that Bhattarai makes. According to him, the different elites holding decision-making authority in the country have themselves exploited the perceived influence of foreign nations in the country for their own interest.

In essence, the Shahs, then the Ranas, and then again the Shahs during the Panchayat and even the political class of the post-2008 Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, have all consistently taken advantage of their access to foreign powers.
Each of them had different dynamics and unique features, and each asserted its powers in a unique context. And yet, the study conducted by Bhattarai is centered on the fact that all of them had one common denominator: the support received by foreign powers, without whom their own survival in power could have been jeopardized.

The members of the elites in power throughout different phases of Nepal’s modern history, have always shared something in common. They all misappropriated and misused, their prerogatives in dealing with foreign powers exercising their own influence over the country, to legitimize, cement and consolidate their own status and grip on the decision-making.
“Elites have leveraged their ‘monopoly’ or their exclusive access to foreign policy to justify their power”. “By engaging with missionaries, colonial powers, residents, envoys, ambassadors, and international organizations in different eras, they positioned themselves as the architects of Nepal’s modern history,” Bhattarai said.

What we think of national interest, which is often proclaimed with high rhetoric by politicians even these days, is actually the interest of elites whose members strive to preserve by leveraging their decision-making in the realm of foreign policies through their access to foreign actors.

Power has been exercised by elites not in the interest of the people but to further strengthen the elite itself, and Bhattarai’s scholarly research is an effort at understanding “how elites have ably used foreign policy to consolidate their authority”.
“In this book, I seek to advance beyond the existing debates in International Relations by exploring how the priorities, preferences, and behaviors of individual decision-makers impact foreign policy decisions. By examining these individuals’ actions, we may gain insights into the structural constraints they face and the norms that shape their positions,” explained Bhattarai. To better comprehend these patterns and dynamics, the publication tries to answer an important question:
“How do we measure their agency within the web of constraints they are bound by, and in what ways do we distinguish between genuine influence and the illusion of power within the broader political machinery?”.

“This question challenges the very concept of elite status and prompts us to reconsider how we understand leadership, authority, and influence in the realm of foreign policy decision-making”.

In essence, Bhattarai tries to explain how the domain of foreign and its interactions with national elites in different phases of Nepal’s modern history have shaped not only the country’s own political trajectories along the years but also enabled the rulers of the time to exert their power over the nation.
Normally, we explain and justify foreign policies through the angle of national politics. After all, foreign affairs are at the service of nations’ interests and priorities. The case of Nepal is different. Foreign powers did abuse and continue to abuse their own influence over the nation’s destiny.

But as Bhattarai helps us to realize, it is not only a one-way street. His inquiry tries to prove this point by presenting examples from numerous historical episodes and also from his observation of elite-driven foreign policy discourses in contemporary Nepal, be it in the media, seminars, or university.

The book is about the idea and practice of foreign and the way Nepali elites have been using and exploiting the domain of foreign and how, in the name of foreign policy behaviour and foreign policy priorities, they have been fulfilling their own vested interests.

The book also brings to the fore the presence and role of henchmen and interlocutors of all three—Rajhas, Ranas, and Republican leaders of Nepal—in different periods of time, to show how the idea of the foreign has been romanticized and weaponized as rhetoric.

Among them, what tops the list is the discourse of national interest, which, according to Bhattarai, as discussed in his upcoming book, is actually an “elite interest”. The elites in power throughout the history of Nepal till now excelled at preserving their own status and ably used the same foreign powers targeting and influencing them, for their own advantage. And let’s be honest, they have been extremely good and they are still good in this game. 

Have you ever sat for an exam thinking that you’re fully prepared but then encountered a question that you remember studying but can’t recall the answer? This frustrating experience is called “choking under pressure”—a psychological phenomenon where your performance declines precisely when it matters most.

For many years, choking under pressure was seen as simple anxiety weakening performance due to lack of intelligence or preparation. Today, modern neuroscience reveals choking as a neurochemical disruption. What happens in your brain when you choke and can it be prevented? This article tries to explain this phenomenon.

What happens in your brain when you choke?

When you choke, your brain undergoes a series of physiological changes that drains your performance. The brain contains a fear center called Amygdala. Under pressure, amygdala activates a fight-or-flight response in which stress hormones flood your system. This is an evolutionary response which was meant for physical threats in our ancestors. A 2018 Stanford study found that stress hormones can reduce Prefrontal Cortex—the area for working memory and reasoning—activity by up to 50 percent. This explains why you might forget the answers you knew perfectly under stressful conditions like an exam. 

Why do some students choke while others thrive? 

Research shows that students who consider tests as threats are more prone to choking. Those who see tests as a challenge opportunity show better results under pressure. Sometimes even after revising several times, you might have experienced choking. This can be explained by the “expertise reversal effect”. It shows that over-studying can sometimes backfire. At a point, over-studying can increase anxiety without improving recall which ultimately leads you to forget what you knew. Additionally, some people can naturally regulate stress hormones better than the others.

How can I prevent choking?

In order to prevent choking under pressure, you have to practice under pressure by simulating test conditions during your study sessions. You must not take your tests as a threat but instead as a challenge. Harvard research shows that replacing “I must not fail” with “I’m prepared to try my best” improves test performance by 22 percent.  If your brain still panics despite practicing the above methods, breathe deeply, clench and release your fists three times. This calms your nervous system and lowers stress hormones.

Choking under pressure isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a natural response to stress. By understanding the science behind this, students can improve their performance and learn to regain control of their brains even under stressful conditions.  

Divya Prakash Sah

Kathmandu Model College, Bagbazar

I dusted off an old memory,

Tried to relive, but life grants only one glory.

I looked across a quiet shelf,

And saw the sum of my living self.

Some pages hold the silent tears,

The quiet hopes, the hidden fears.

Times of darkness and of light,

They live within us, undefined. 

Across many and many books,

I flipped through pages of my childhood,

My veiled depths were then revealed,

And for a long time, life seemed fulfilled.

I came across some empty books,

Ones I could still create,

Someplace shelves held no books,

Life wasn’t for too long, my fate.

I could tear apart the stories told,

Or close the cover and simply go.

But every book, both new and old,

Whispers the truth I’ve come to know.

Uma Regmi

Grade: X

Shree Bal Uddhar Secondary School

Budhanilkantha Municipality-10, Kapan

Over 700,000 Nepali youths migrate to foreign countries for foreign employment and education every year. Brain drain has become a big problem in our country’s context. Attractive facilities, infrastructure and opportunities to earn good money are considered some of the major causes for brain drain. But is that really it? Nepal still is a patriarchal society. People hold religious views and have traditional concepts. Modern forms of parenting have not been well accepted in society. The relationship between parents and their children aren’t on good terms exactly. If a child chooses science as the stream to further his/her studies after the clearance of the SEE examinations, he/she is talented but anything else except that is simply a disappointment; in most cases. “You live under my roof hence, you have to do what I want you to do” is a common mentality that most of the Nepali parents develop and impose on their children. 

Most of the Nepali parents believe that expressing one’s opinion about something is the equivalent to talking back. It is a sign of disrespect. Similarly, speaking when the others, especially the elders are talking is considered an interruption . These practices not only trouble the mental state of the children, but also hinder their physical ability to speak up for themselves and even create obstacles in learning a simple skill of socializing with other people. Children are taught that their opinions do not matter at all from a very early age. Because in Nepal, children who are quiet and obedient are considered well mannered. Mischief  and curiosity come to children naturally. It is in their nature to jump, play, shout and ask many questions. Putting a stop to these activities only brings trouble for them later in life. It is harder for girls than boys. Girls are required to speak in a certain manner, laugh in a certain manner, sit in a certain manner, eat in a certain manner, and many more. A girl skateboarding is considered shocking. An act as simple as a girl playing with a skateboard is difficult for society to accept. Scooters are considered more feminine than motorbikes and “suit” a lady better than the latter. This is the ultimate reality of the Nepali society.

If a child tries to speak with his/her parents frankly and share his/her problems, the parents tend to see their child as the sole problem and reprimanded them for being so. All their lives, children bottle up their feelings, unable to speak to anyone about it. This causes a sudden and dramatic explosion of emotions. With nosy neighbours and strict parents, all a child is able to do is to cry silently in his/her room. This system in which parents are unable to understand the psychology of their child has come to such a point that the only thing the children of this generation seek is freedom. Freedom from their familial pressure, freedom to speak their mind, freedom to be selfish and think of themselves once in a while rather than what the society or their parents think of themselves and the freedom to live as who they actually are. Why are the suicide rates increasing every single day? Why is today’s youth a victim to depression? Why are the youth leaving their countries and families and going abroad? When thought carefully and in depth, the answer is quite simple: it is because of the fragile bond between parents and children.

Although not mature, children are humans too. They also need someone to hear them rather than suppress them. Brain drain is a simple solution to all their problems. They get to get away from their families, they find a glint of their freedom that they so longed for and discover a sense of independence and in a way, themselves as well. They delve so deep into their newfound freedom that they forget to come back home at all. The people may be changing along with time but it is quite true that not many things about the system of raising children has changed. It is very rigid and has become a cause for generational trauma. Capturing people in this loop of never ending and ever repeating process of hurting each other. Parents hurt their children with words of negativity . Meanwhile, children hurt their parents by not respecting them and their wishes. 

The fact about being children is that all the various phases of their childhood is a phase for development. Every action a guardian takes and every word he/she speaks to the child is etched deep into their minds forming their personality and ideals. Hence, parents and guardians should be mindful about what they say and do in front of their children. To escape from the matrix, the current and the upcoming generation are required to shield their younguns from negativity and let them cherish their childhood days. A safe space to express themselves and a safe space to call home. Home is considered the first school of children. A child’s development in their family helps shape their future in the society. 

Dristi Rajak

St Mary’s Secondary School, Jawalakhel