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The Indian state of Odisha and India’s northern neighboring country Nepal are both seats of rich culture and are deeply rooted in heritage based on Hindu and Buddhist culture with close religious links. As the most populous country on the planet each state in India is a country in terms of numbers. Odisha is nearly 1.5 times Nepal in terms of its population. Strikingly, both Odisha and Nepal are heavily dependent on agriculture, highly vulnerable to climate change,and—being migrant donors—have experienced stand out reduction in poverty.  

Here are a few more common threads between Odisha and Nepal. Odisha recorded the largest reduction in poverty among India’s major states. Based on NITI Aayog’s 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, the multidimensional poverty rate in Odisha decreased from 29.34 percent in 2015-16 to 15.68 percent in 2019-21. Nepal also made substantive progress in reducing MPI from 30.1 percent in 2014 to 17.4 percent in 2019. This progress suggests that Odisha and Nepal are headed in the right direction. However, in both cases, regional disparity based on geography and economic status and social identity and nutritional deprivations remain among the most significant contributors to MPI.

Given the structure of the economy in both Odisha and Nepal, a generalized reduction in poverty could be attributed to increased income from agriculture and its resilience. Having endowed with good cultivable lands, both have huge potentials to overcome poverty through agricultural development. As Odisha hosts an international high level policy forum in Bhubaneshwar for accelerating inclusive agriculture transformation on December 20th, it poses the question what does it mean for south-south learning and cooperation in our neighborhood? The agriculture transformation pathways are largely similar but the methods could be different and subject to learning.  

In the one and a half decade since 2000, agriculture in Odisha grew faster than the average of Indian states (4.5 percent versus 3.1 percent). Samrudhi agricultural Policy, 2020, aimed to capitalize on this momentum by focusing on social and economic wellbeing of the farmers (including sharecroppers and landless) while aiming to ensure the growth process as environmentally, economically and technologically inclusive. Nepal’s focus on rural transformation, for example in the Samriddi project, also aims to diversify the range of economic activities for rural households through promotion of self-employment and small businesses and microenterprises. Both these approaches emphasize the role of diversification and market linkages along with technology as key drivers of transformative strategies.

One of the primal policies has been digitization in agriculture. Inter alia it accounted for monitoring and information about several interrelated factors such as weather, inputs, policies that bear on agricultural outcomes. This mandated data collection and curation on multiple fronts. In 2017, Odisha created a data management system involving multiple sources that generated comprehensive real time data required for agri-food systems planning and execution. The decision support system also built in monitoring systems for projects and programs. With the comprehensive span of data and in real time, this portal became a valuable tool for inclusive agricultural transformation analytics and assessment. Something akin to this has been attempted in Nepal as Geo Krishi. In situations like those in Odisha and Nepal, there are multiple missing markets (credit and insurance), thus rationalizing bundling to provide for different needs. At a system level, for inclusive agricultural transformation, there have thus been bundled products.

As identified the main issue plaguing agriculture and its transformation have been the markets. The digital data platforms must get the scientific measure of market access which requires assessing all possible trade links (domestic, international, regional as a system) and trade costs. There are common products like cotton that are of relevance to both Nepal and Odisha. These platforms with their reach should be used for market exploration and monitoring of risks embedded in volatility brought about by market access. Most importantly they could be used for value chain integration where the Indian state like Odisha and India’s friendly neighboring country Nepal can position themselves in the value chain based on comparative advantage i.e. whether to specialize in raw cotton or yarn or fabric or apparel. Geographically proximate, in cotton and other products Odisha and Nepal could be benefited by becoming part of GVC. If tropical fruits from Odisha were to be processed in Nepal and apples from Nepal were to be processed in Odisha based on their comparative advantage, it would bring significant gains for both trading partners.

How policies have an attenuation or reinforcement effect on market access need to be assessed. The system of pricing in states has a direct spillover effect on other Indian states and Nepal. A system of goods and services tracking through formal and informal systems. Being part of linked value chains will also become the pathway for flow of information and knowledge. Having a similar transformative role of agriculture in poverty reduction and adoption of innovative platforms, the next frontier is to employ them for markets. Used as a risk management tool will facilitate the move towards inclusive agricultural transformation for both Odisha and Nepal where pivot for inclusiveness is managing risks as nothing differentiates and excludes more than a shock. The policy should emphasize the development of enabling market factors such as warehousing and quality testing infrastructure. These changes inter alia are risk-mitigating arrangements and the extent to which they absorb risk are by designing systems for inclusiveness.

“What is the priority here? Meeting the deadline is crucial, but missing details could cause problems. Should I ask Manisha, though she’s already overburdened?” 

These thoughts trigger a surge of anxiety. In desperation, you ask Suresh to help with the deadlines. Suresh hesitates and says, “It’s my day off tomorrow. [Suresh shakes his head] I will see what I can do, but it’s a little frustrating when you take my time for granted.”

Your heart sinks a little, realizing you overlooked something critical. Guilt and frustration take over and you regret your inconsiderate mistake.

This scenario illustrates how high-pressure situations can hinder effective communication with team members. High-stakes situations include decisions about roles, organizational changes, conflict mediation, or addressing grievances. Missteps can harm employee morale, relationships, and productivity, leaving people feeling undervalued and confused.

While the circumstances might be beyond our control, how we operate isn’t. Regulating how you communicate under pressure could prevent similar scenarios. Healthy communication begins long before words are expressed, with emotional awareness, organized thoughts, empathy, and clear information.

Emotion at the core of communication

Jim Beggs once said, “What we say is important, for in most cases, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Beggs speaks about the influence of emotions on what we say and how we say it. Our emotional state—fear, frustration, appreciation, positivity, jealousy—is reflected through our words. Even when we suppress these emotional states, they seep into our tone of voice, selection of words, body language, and gestures. For instance, suppressed feelings of anger might manifest in the form of an overly direct order rather than a request. 

To avoid tension and misunderstandings, it’s important to regulate them before interactions. Taking a pause and reflecting on your emotions is a great way to ensure you have enough time for reflection. A common teaching in therapy and anger management is to change the emotion-inducing environment before resuming the conversation.

Practicing mindfulness with grounding and breathing techniques, gratitude journaling, and empathy helps cultivate positive emotions that reduce the impact of negative emotions, reduce stress, and improve creativity and decision-making. Active listening is an effective way to enhance empathy which is the second crucial component of healthy communication.

Active listening

Assumptions are ingredients that create misunderstandings. We, as human beings, rely on our assumptions to make sense of the world. The downside is that many believe assumptions are true. In reality, assumptions are wrong most of the time. A lack of understanding and information leads to assumptions. Unless a person listens actively, they might always be guided by it.

When we talk about active listening, we mean a genuine attempt to understand others with undivided attention. Active listening can look like asking questions to explore and understand the ideas shared by others. For instance, if your team member expresses their worry about the new leave policy, you might ask them “What specifically worries you about the leave?” rather than telling them to relax or not think too much. This makes the other person feel understood and acknowledged rather than dismissed. 

Active listening can also look like not being occupied in other activities (phone, videos, or other work) while listening. A better alternative is to inform them about your other priorities beforehand and tell them when you are available. It can also look like acknowledging their feelings rather than dismissing them. Remember that it’s  good to say less than to say something wrong. 

Organizing our thoughts

A better understanding results in a better response. But, remember, you don’t have to respond right away. Recall the part about pausing and, if needed, getting out of the environment for space to reflect. It’s an effective strategy for all sorts of emotions. Whether it be excitement, anticipation, curiosity, anger, guilt, anxiety, disappointment, hurt, or worry, taking time to reflect is highly suggested. In this time and space, we apply our third component which is organizing our thoughts.

There are two effective ways widely suggested for organizing our thoughts. One of them is writing or journaling—listing it down as it pops up, or creating a hierarchy of these thoughts. For instance, organizing task-related thoughts in a hierarchy reduces interference. Journaling helps you consciously grasp and explore troubling thoughts that cause emotional distress. For example, when you are randomly worried about the day going bad, you can journal to find out why you think or feel that way. Another way to help organize these thoughts and provide you with a new perspective is to discuss them with someone. Discussing your feelings and thoughts about an event, idea, or an individual can help organize your thoughts and give you a neutral perspective. You might find it helpful to ask for perspectives from trusted colleagues as well.

Finally, after regulating our emotions, actively listening to understand, organizing our thoughts, and gathering perspectives, we might be ready to communicate our ideas. 

Effective communication

Realize that listeners aren’t mind readers and won’t know what we want or feel. Defining the problem, stating factual information, or naming the feeling would be a good start. The use of ‘I’ statements is encouraged to avoid your statements coming across as blame, criticism, or sarcasm. “You” statements could cause tension and can be taken as finger-pointing. It’s suggested to be descriptive rather than critical and to refrain from bringing in older issues which diverts the conversation from professional to personal. 

Your body language and tone are key to getting your point across. While communicating concerns about behaviors, trainers suggest a neutral tone without a laugh or smile to cushion the blow (many people tend to do this). While receiving criticism or grievances, staying silent and attentively listening are suggested. 

Additionally, healthy communication for managers requires them to formally address issues, reports, updates, and grievances in formal languages and precise manner to higher-ups while maintaining semi-formal conversations and empathic relations with their teams.

People often get overwhelmed while applying these skills. However, once learned people tend to build it into their intuition. Participating in training and skill development programs can help you learn and practice in a simulated environment. 

The author is a psychosocial counsellor at Happy Minds

The nation’s main communist party, the CPN-UML, is now dealing with internal problems. Following the expulsion of senior leader Bhim Rawal and the suspension of two female leaders, Binda Pandey and Ushakiran Timalsena, carried out under the watch of party chair KP Sharma Oli, an alarming trend of intolerance towards dissenting voices emerged, implying that the party lacks democratic culture. Rawal was removed after years of criticizing Oli, which prompted him to run for chairman of the party at the 10th convention in Chitwan. Pandey and Timalsena were suspended for voicing concerns about the party and its leadership receiving land contributions for party offices from a tainted businessman accused of tax evasion and the Lalitaniwas land scam.

A week after his dismissal, Rawal established his new patriotic but non-communist party, accusing Oli of turning the UML into a personal domain in which fealty to him is essential for life. This tendency of purging or marginalizing opponents inside the UML is not new, but it has become more prominent under Oli’s term. Notable senior officials have left the UML due to internal disagreements. Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal, both former prime ministers, quit the party to create the CPN (Unified Socialist) after years of disagreement with Oli’s leadership. Similarly, senior leader Bam Dev Gautam has removed himself from the party, claiming that it has no space for leaders like him since he, too, is a critic of Oli. These departures indicate a culture of intolerance.

Political experts claim that under Oli’s leadership, the UML has become a party controlled and dominated by the Oli supporters. Leaders such as Shankar Pokhrel, Ishwar Pokhrel, Bishnu Rimal, and Gokul Baskota are often seen attacking individuals who criticize Oli. Meanwhile, personalities like Pradip Gyawali, Yogesh Bhattarai, Yuv Raj Gyawali, and others who have demonstrated a hatred for following Oli’s lead, have been marginalized. Open discussion on party leadership choices has been restricted, increasing concerns among those who hold grudges against Oli and his staunch supporters. Following Rawal’s expulsion and the suspension of others, many UML leaders remained silent, highlighting the party’s underlying fear.

The infighting within the UML is not unique. The CPN (Maoist Center) faces a similarfaces a similar problem: almost no one can speak out against party head Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s policies or actions. Inside the Maoist party, Dahal has faced claims of marginalizing dissidents while consolidating his control as the party chair.

Former Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai, Mohan Baidhya Kiran, Biplav, Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi are among the leaders who left the party after falling out with Dahal.

The examples described above show Nepal’s socialist parties’ hypocrisy. Despite their dictatorial character, these parties often claim to be the advocates of democracy. The UML, for example, has often declared its support for democratic ideals in manifestos and public statements. However, the behaviors of its leaders reveal a different tale.

Rawal’s removal, together with the suppression of other dissident voices, points to this inconsistency. As Rawal pointed out in his harsh critique, Oli’s leadership has reduced the UML to a “shadow of its former self,” violating the very principles on which it was founded. The same may be argued for other communist parties, particularly the Dahal-led Maoist Centre, that have disliked opposition in parties, though they have claimed that they followed democratic norms in the nation’s polity.

Unlike the communist parties, the Nepali Congress (NC) has taken a more democratic approach to controlling internal dissent. While the NC is not as ideal as many of its staunch supporters believe, it has tolerated major disagreement inside the party without resorting to expulsions or suspensions. NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretary Gagan Thapa, and senior leader Shekhar Koirala often disagree on key matters pertaining to the party, politics, and the nation, yet the party has managed to retain a sense of tolerance of dissenting voices.

The contrast between the NC and the leftist parties underscores the need for introspection within Nepal's communist factions. To maintain credibility and cohesion, parties like the UML and Maoist Centre must cultivate a democratic culture that values dissent as an essential component of organizational health. Leaders must recognize that open debate is an opportunity to address flaws, not a threat to authority.

If the UML continues its authoritarian trajectory under Oli, it risks further fragmentation, as seen with previous high-profile defections. Similarly, the Maoist Centre must learn from these lessons and prioritize inclusivity and transparency. Only by fostering democratic values within their structures can Nepal’s political parties claim legitimacy as proponents of democracy on the national stage.

In an effort to strengthen its position, the CPN (Maoist Center) is preparing to revive some radical agendas, including the right to self-determination and ethnicity-based autonomous provinces—issues the party abandoned during the constitution drafting process in 2015. A political document presented by Maoist Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal during the party’s Central Committee meeting proposes reactivating the ethnic and caste-based structures established during the insurgency and the subsequent peace process. These structures were compromised during the constitution drafting process to reach consensus with other parties.

The Maoist party had originally proposed 14 autonomous provinces based on ethnic groups. However, this proposal was strongly opposed by the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML, who argued it could lead to national disintegration. As a result, the Maoists were forced to compromise. “The issue of identity-based federalism has been overshadowed, and we must apologize for this,” Dahal said at the ongoing Central Committee meeting. He emphasized the need to rebuild relationships with indigenous communities, Janajatis, and other marginalized groups—the party’s core constituencies—while reviving regional and caste-based party organizations.

Dahal has also expressed that the party should collaborate with revolutionary forces rather than parliamentary parties like the NC and UML. However, many Maoist leaders argue that Dahal raises such radical agendas only when relegated to the opposition bench in Parliament. A senior leader remarked, “Once he gains power through alliances with the NC or UML, he completely forgets these communities and even embraces rightist and Hindu fundamentalist agendas.”

From 2008 until the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Maoists, then the largest party, vigorously championed these issues. However, the party gradually abandoned them after its relegation to third place in the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections. Dahal has now urged party members to apologize and self-criticize for not prioritizing these agendas after the constitution drafting process. Despite becoming prime minister twice post-constitution promulgation—in alliance with the NC and UML—Dahal did little to address these issues.

The political document also outlines the party's position on constitutional amendments. The Maoists propose replacing the current system with a directly elected presidential system, a longstanding agenda they have pushed since joining the peace process. Additionally, they are preparing to reiterate their support for a fully proportional representation (PR) electoral system, which other major parties are unlikely to accept. Currently, the electoral system is a mix of PR and First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). The likelihood of major party agreement on adopting full PR remains minimal.

One of Dahal’s key proposals is to increase women’s representation in state organs from the current 33 percent to 50 percent, an initiative aimed at attracting female constituencies. These proposals are part of a broader strategy to revive the party’s waning influence. Despite maintaining its position as the third-largest party in the past two national elections and serving as a decisive force in government formation, the party’s overall strength has diminished. While it retains strongholds in some districts of the far and mid-western regions, its urban presence has weakened. Dahal acknowledges this in his document and proposes a roadmap to rebuild the party’s urban support.

The roadmap includes providing opportunities for youth within the party, increasing membership, maintaining financial transparency, and exposing the current government’s misdeeds. To regain urban support, Dahal emphasizes launching targeted campaigns in Kathmandu Valley, cities, and highway areas. He underscores the importance of establishing a strong presence in the capital, vital for implementing the party’s policies and strategies. Notably, the Maoists failed to secure a single seat in Kathmandu Valley during the 2022 elections, even with an electoral alliance with the NC.

To address urban challenges, Dahal’s document proposes tackling issues such as urbanization, traditional and cultural heritage preservation, waste management, water supply, drainage, and public transportation. He recalls the party’s failed 2009 urban revolt, which was quickly abandoned following protests from Kathmandu’s elite, whom he had derisively referred to as “Sukila Mukila.”

While Dahal’s proposals aim to rejuvenate the party, his underlying priority appears to be returning to power and destabilizing the current coalition government. Reports indicate that a faction of NC and Maoist leaders is discussing forming a new alliance. This has led some party leaders to question Dahal’s sincerity in advancing the party’s position. A senior Maoist leader, speaking anonymously, stated, “Once Dahal gains power, he forgets all these agendas and even avoids convening party meetings.”

In his document, Dahal has adopted a tough stance against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli while maintaining a softer approach toward NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, reflecting potential power-sharing considerations. Although Dahal and Oli frequently clash publicly, Dahal and Deuba rarely criticize each other in public forums.

Dahal’s proposals reflect an attempt to address both the party’s declining influence and the grievances of marginalized communities. However, internal skepticism remains about his commitment to these agendas, given his track record of abandoning them when in power. The Maoists face significant challenges in rebuilding their urban and national support base, particularly as they compete with stronger, more established parties.