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World Autism Awareness Day, observed on April 2nd, aims to promote understanding and acceptance of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This day serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about autism. For many, autism is still a relatively misunderstood condition, with varying levels of awareness across generations. ApEx spoke to three people to find out how aware they are about this condition. 

Amos Bhomjan, 22

Autistic people are differently abled but they also have extraordinary capabilities. I came to know about autism when I was really young but I don’t exactly remember how and when. I think that the current generation is aware about autism but the older generation didn’t understand it much and thus there were many myths about it. I once attended a seminar where a pediatrician was talking about autism with a group of parents. I think the medical fraternity is trying hard to make people understand what it is and how to deal with it and that’s a good start. 

Aayushma Bhattarai, 24

⁠I heard about autism eight years ago, let’s say when I was 16-17 years old. But I started understanding it only a few years back. ⁠I don’t think people in Nepal really know what autism is. The younger generation who are educated and active on social media might know about it but the vast majority is still fairly unaware. I think people widely use social media these days so the best way to create awareness would be to use different online platforms. However there’s a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding  in social media as well and that should be monitored wisely.

Rakesh Prajapati, 33

I was about 21 years old when I came to know about autism and I don’t think normally people know what autism is in Nepal. I have to admit that I came to understand it very late in life. And I must confess that till this date I’m not fully aware of what it is actually like. I think the school curriculum should include autism and awareness campaigns must be conducted among the senior or the middle aged citizens to make more people aware about it. This can help empower autistic people in the long run. 

Let’s look at Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) as a progress report card of laws prepared after evaluating and analyzing legislation based on its performance en route to its expected objective.  It is an effective tool for probing whether the legislation is operative and effectively adapting to the socio-cultural dynamics of society. Legislation is a very precise and objective document that should not be stagnant. It needs to be dynamic and adaptive to the socio-cultural time and realities, and this is exactly why the PLS needs to come into play. Primarily, PLS helps contextualize laws and keeps them synchronized with the changing reality. While this is a substantially accepted concept, is it limited to only contextualizing the existing laws and to legislation’s harmonization to meet its objectives. Diving into granular deconstruction it is not only limited to that, PLS also accounts for reviewing the executives’ performance in ensuring the legislation’s futility and legislation meeting its objectives. PLS definitely reflects the law-making and executing body’s capacity in terms of adapting to the changing dynamics and efficiency in updating laws to stay relevant.  

Example of PLS for a larger Nepali context

To understand the poignant situation of PLS in our legislative mechanism let’s take the example of the first PLS to be ever done in Nepal which was on The Social Practices Reform Act 2033, a complacent act that was unperturbed by the social realities. The law includes provisions like criminalization of weddings hosted with more than 51 guests and bans extravagant decorations or gatherings that are a part of societal norms. This law for two decades remained free from any form of scrutiny standing with full legal authority but with zero social acceptance. 

In light of this, PLS should have analyzed the legislation’s social perception and monitored its acceptance and adaptability along with any form of reluctance way back when it started becoming irrelevant. It highlights the situation legislation might face, shedding light on the importance of PLS to track the existing laws and giving them periodic report cards of their performance along with recommendations. This would help in repairing imperfections, and contextualizing laws that have failed the test of time through amendments, repeal, and introduction of new unified codes. The legislative realm and PLS have many expectations, but they remain unaltered which is evident as laws like—The Civil Service Act 2048, and the Police Act 2012 desperately waiting to be revisited.   

Post legislative scrutiny is evolving into a global legislative bandwagon. However, PLS is in its blooming phase and navigating through to the social and legislative consciousness and is still facing challenges in implementation. To begin with, we are already falling short when it comes to prioritizing the PLS, additionally, its core being an advisory instrument, and not enforceable, highly hinders its easy adoption and giving it due consideration. A report by the legislative management committee in 2023 indicates that the implementation status of directions from PLS reports is mediocre. Similarly, the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has not shown satisfactory execution of its PLS findings. Nepal with its not-so-impressive trajectory when it comes to listening and acting upon the ‘advisory’ reports is rather underwhelming and since PLS is all about offering input and proposing recommendations in the absence of enforcement of the prevailing laws, it is rather treated with the lack of gravity than it deserves. 

How can we bring PLS to the forefront? 

We should embrace PLS as a core element of the legislative cycle and institutionalize it. In 2018, PLS was initially only under the scope of work of the National Assembly’s Legislative Management Committee. The committee then drafted and included—evaluation, study, and research on the implementation status of the Act under its work parameters, however, up until now, the protocol has been developed and given to the speaker but hasn’t been released yet. The process for assessing the state of law implementation must be decided by the speaker of the house. Understandably, the concept of PLS is new in Nepal however our legislative framework is taking longer than expected to familiarize. 

However, the predominant issue here is that laws do not have mandatory PLS clauses. It is rather inconvenient and the hitch will proceed to last as long as we do not have a blanket PLS provision covering all the acts. As of now, only a dozen of the newly drafted laws include the provision of the relevant ministries evaluating the implementation of laws after five years from their enactment. Yet, PLS will not be in full working order unless the Bill relating to management of legislation 2080 takes effect as it also has a similar PLS provision that will blanketly apply to all the laws. 

Hence, parliamentary practice in Nepal has been focused on legislating laws after a swamp of problems arose in a wholesale way with collective amendments through single acts, which is a legislative disaster on its own. If PLS were to be effectively implemented at regular intervals, this swamping legislation would be replaced by effective and proactive amendments or better laws. 

Currently, only seven of the acts have been scrutinized at the federal level including full act PLS, partial provision scrutiny, regulation, and procedure review. Karnali and Lumibni provinces have started scrutinizing their laws too. We now also need proper communication channels within the tiers of parliament for the PLS coordination. 

All three—Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary—should be involved in the PLS process and upskill all human resources engaged, especially in thematic PLS.  

We may look at the UK as an example, the cabinet office has been providing ministries with comprehensive PLS assistance since March 2008, and in 2022, the Guide to Making Legislation was reprinted with PLS-specific instructions. The laws are mandatorily reviewed three to five years after receiving royal assent. The finest feature of the UK PLS model has to be its cooperative method that involves both the government and parliament in the process. This is something that can be adopted here too. From a practical standpoint, when it comes to law-making or proposing necessary amendments, it is the relevant ministry that sets the motion. However, there should be a clear distinction between the roles of each body involved as PLS is the primary responsibility of the legislature thus, the parliament and the committees should hold the ultimate authority concerning the final recommendation PLS report. 

Similarly, the judiciary can also be involved and play a crucial role in driving the PLS efforts. The Legal Aid Act 2054 is a significant example. The act was in the shadows for a long time until judicial intervention pumped life into it but even after that, the law remains intact and there have been fewer concerns about its overall provisions. Although a notable step was taken by bringing forth the unified legal aid procedure 2078, is it monitored, and evaluated? and is the government effectively working to ensure people’s access to legal aid? A PLS could be a way to go. 

As I stepped into the United States at the end of Dec 2024 to pursue my Master’s in Law,  I saw the key differences between student politics in Nepal and the United States. Having served as an executive member of the Free Students’ Union (FSU) at Nepal Law Campus, I was eager to explore how student representation worked in my new academic home. What I discovered was a system that prioritizes student welfare over political agendas, a refreshing contrast to what I had experienced back in Nepal.

In Nepal, the FSU is deeply intertwined with national politics. Student leaders often serve as bridges between students and senior political leaders, rather than focusing solely on campus issues. The election process, while democratic in appearance, is heavily influenced by political parties. Candidates are nominated by these parties, not by the students themselves, which often leads to a disconnect between student representatives and the actual needs of the student body. The focus shifts from addressing campus concerns to advancing political agendas, and transparency in fund management remains a recurring issue.

In contrast, American universities typically have Student Councils or Student Governments. These bodies, known by various names like The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) or Harvard’s Undergraduate Council (UC), operate quite differently from their Nepali counterparts. Here, candidates nominate themselves independently, and the focus is primarily on bridging students and campus administration. Political party affiliations are not prominently displayed on campus, and there’s a greater emphasis on addressing student concerns within the university context.

The differences between these systems became apparent soon after my arrival in the U.S. At my law school, we have a Student Bar that serves as a liaison between students and the administration, without the overt political connections I was accustomed to in Nepal. In Nepal, student politics often spills over into national issues, sometimes resulting in campus lockdowns or talabandi over relatively minor disputes. This practice is virtually unheard of in American universities, where student representatives tend to concentrate on campus-specific matters.

While both systems have their merits, I believe the Student Council model offers several advantages. It allows for the development of leadership skills without direct political party interference, keeps the focus on student welfare and campus issues, and promotes a more inclusive environment for independent candidates. For Nepal’s educational institutions, adopting aspects of the Student Council system could lead to a more study friendly environment. This doesn’t mean completely dismantling the current structure, but rather refocusing it on student needs and campus governance.

In the archives of Nepal’s cultural narrative, the Everest juggernaut has long eclipsed other regions—none more so than the Heart of Solukhumbu- Salleri, once the thriving heart of Sherpa culture reduced to a transit station or a parking station for the jeeps coming down from Lukla or Namche carrying stranded trekkers from Khumbu. Today, the Saga Dawa Running Festival organized by Thekchhen Pema Chholing Monastery, is scripting a quiet but profound counterpoint: a reclamation of Buddhist heritage through the rhythmic cadence of runners’ feet on ancient trails.  

This is no ordinary marathon. It is, if you will, a moving meditation—one that traverses the sacred geography of Buddhist monasteries, stupas, and forgotten heritage spots. The festival, timed to Saga Dawa (the holiest month in the Buddhist calendar, marking Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana), transforms athletic endeavor into spiritual homage. Runners become pilgrims, retracing steps once taken by Sherpa traders and monks, their breath mingling with mountain winds that have carried prayers for centuries. The racing routes aren’t merely scenic; they’re internationally accredited by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and UTMB, adding credibility and granting participants, especially Nepal’s trailblazing local runners, a coveted spot in the global performance index. 

But the festival’s genius lies in its vision of interconnectedness. Alongside the races, a Himalayan food tour offers flavors preserved through generations, while an ‘ethnic fashion show’ showcases colorful fashion woven with stories of resilience. Highland dance workshop and ethnic music performances—raw, authentic, and beautiful—are not mere entertainment but acts of cultural preservation.  

The jewel in the crown? The Buddha Purnima celebrations,  which is one of the most important festivals will bring the entire community for a peace procession in the town and ceremony in the monasteries which the visitors can witness.On the same day, inauguration of Himalayan Art Symposium 2025 supported by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts, New York, honors the regional Himalayan artists and elevates their artistry onto a global stage.Nepal's greatest cultural custodians have often been the last to recognize their own inheritance. Through immersive presentations and dialogues, the event hopes to awaken the locals to what has too long been taken for granted: the sublime mastery of our mountain artists;  providing an antidote to the cultural amnesia. Master artists and young prodigies alike gather, their brushstrokes echoing the festival’s ethos: that heritage is not static, but living and breathing.  

In reimagining Salleri and the surrounding villages as a nexus of outdoor recreational sport and Spirituality, the festival achieves something extraordinary: it proves that development need not come at the cost of identity. Here, every stride is a step toward remembering—and in remembering, we attain a spiritual honor which every Nepali needs in these dire times and can offer to the troubled world today.