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Khagraj Adhikari is the chief minister of Gandaki Province. He was appointed to the post from the CPN-UML, but with the CPN (Maoist Center) and the Nepali Congress forming the government in Kathmandu, his job is now at risk. Adhikari must win a vote of confidence in order to secure his position. In this context, Smita Adhikari of ApEx talked to him about a wide range of issues related to his works and the future of his government. What are the notable things that you have done after becoming the chief minister? First of all, I reduced the number of ministries by half. Previously, the Gandaki government had 14 ministries. I downsized it to seven in order to limit public expenditures. Likewise, I played a role in the passage of some important Bills that had been pending for months. During the four-month-long chief ministership, 15 legislations and policies have been passed from the Gandaki Province Assembly. Apart from these works, have you done anything that directly changed people’s lives? We have started several programs. For instance, this government has started an agricultural development program, where access roads are being built in some rural areas of the province to provide market access to local farmers and their products. The construction of Triveni-Dumkibas road connecting Chitwan National Park with Korala (along the border with China) has also started. Besides, preparations are underway to acquire public land in Pokhara for the construction of provincial government office buildings. To date, none of the government offices in Pokhara, the provincial headquarters, have their buildings. We still lack many laws and policies to function as an independent province, be it for managing our resources and finances, setting up our own industrial zone, or recruiting employees. So, I have requested the federal government to revise some of the laws and provisions such as the Federal Public Service Act, the topic of 'Mutual Rights' enlisted in the Constitution, and the Financial Act. You listed many achievements and works in progress under your government. But how do you defend the allegation that rather than doing your job, you are busy attending events and functions most of the time? These are baseless allegations. In these past four months, I have hardly attended half a dozen programs during office hours. Some programs I did participate in, but during my off hours. If anything, I have been trying to lead by example by utilizing my office time being productive and trying to run the government efficiently. Do you have any special vision for Pokhara? We all know that Pokhara is endowed with immense natural resources. Preserving and taking advantage of these resources at the same time is a major priority for me. For this, I have come up with ‘Lake Authority Procedures’ that covers a lot of areas including lake conservation. Another task is to connect international flights with Pokhara and bolster the city’s tourism. The other important jobs pertains to managing the regional bus park, developing and improving the road network, running well-managed industrial areas, and establishing a university. You are set to go seek a trust vote from the Provincial Assembly this month, are you confident about securing your job as the chief minister? I had assumed office with the intent of completing a full term. But, I am also willing to go through the procedures that are required of me to lead the government of Gandaki province. If my works so far are to be considered, I will get the required vote of trust to continue this job. But one must also factor in the political equation, things like how the parties will align. If I win the vote of confidence, I will serve this province selflessly. Even if I don’t win, my party and I will support the government in a constructive way.

Arvind Agrawal is a renowned academician who specializes on the relationship  between society and market. A PhD in Business Management from JJT University in Rajasthan, he has penned several books on society, market and a wide range of other issues. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx speaks to him about topics ranging from consumerism to religion to market ethics. 

Modern society is governed by the market, so much so that the market is eager to sell even death. What is your view on the age of rapacious consumerism?

How pertinent a question to begin the conversation! Death, that you brought up being made a commodity, is eternal. Our Eastern way of handling it has been to live life preparing for Moksha. We always balanced, and in the East we do so to a great degree even today, a balance among four pillars—Dharm, Arth, Kasm and Moksha. Becoming market centred is only a recent aberration. If being greedy for aggregation, monopoly and profiteering is unethical on the part of capitalists, being an excessive consumer is unethical on part of the common person. 

There’s nothing wrong in enjoying materialistic comforts, provided we, both the buyers and business owners, can observe the much needed balance, and the good news is that it isn't impossible. Human society is quick in learning, and to trigger the awareness, I've provided starting points in my book ‘Addwit Vyavsay Upanishad’ for business owners, and in a very small handbook Kasht Customers Ke for the common people who are 24x7 consumers. 

You talk about balancing Dharm, Arth, Kasm and Moksha, which are part of the Vedic culture. How do you think this culture could be applied to create an ethical market practice?

Let me break up my response into two parts—ethical, vedic.  The meaningful transliteration for UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR is BHRASHTACHAR, which is BH4ASHT+ AACHAR, the behaviour which is a deviation from natural one, the SVABHAV. The materialistic lifestyle that we live today, something that we take as status symbol, something without which we are made to feel non-progressive, has been pushed systematically after industrialization, which took place about 350 years ago. If we go back 1500 and earlier, the East had been the bedrock of prosperity and much superior lifestyle for entire humanity.

Talking in today's glossary, we produced as much as 35 percent of global production.  That gets us to the second part, VEDIC. in general when we utter this word, the impression we get is—something that WAS, the PAST, something to do with GRANTH, the scriptures. No it's not so. Vedic, Sanatan, Puratan. One of the meanings of Puratan also is, that which doesn't get old or outdated. So, in whatever way, vedic is even concurrent.

And, looking back as per the needs and circumstances this way of living has given treatises on a wide range of themes—from Kathopanishad to Kaam Sutra, and from Shiv Sutra to Mahabharata, from Vimaniki to Agni Puraan. Perhaps it is in this continuum that yours truly has been used by the Cosmic Being to provide an Upanishad to set right the anarchical forces in the market and economy.  Vedic system if we stick to the word VEDIC, for the economy had been socio-nonics—based on a social process rather than industrial process.

This social process had as its hallmarks—(1) the four pillars we already discussed, and (2) a way of life where nature was never exploited; in NO WAY we hurt nature, we rather respectfully nourished it. 

Do you think people are ready to adopt that culture? And how shall we ensure that the market will always be the same?

Well, if we are frustrated about materialistic lifestyle, and also we aren’t ready for the Vedic lifestyle, then what alternative third option do we have? There simply isn’t any. We, the people and culture of the East can not only live by balancing among Dharm, Arth, Kasm and Moksha because we have  never really given it up; but also in a way onus lies on us to show to the rest of cultures and ideologies that such a balanced living is not only possible but also good for future and nature. 

How to ensure that the market remains alive?

Well yes, if you notice, among the four pillars, two elements, the Arth and Kaam, pertain to the market. So, we can be sure that the socio-nomic system will remain alive and kicking. Its appearance could be different because it operates more like a self regulated system rather than one that we see today—the market regulated either by government or by capitalists or jointly by both. In fact that’s one reason capitalists and government may not be too keen to let vedic socio-nonics happen, but let me also quickly caution—it will be a short-sight at least on part of policymaking because colonisation today is practised in form of remote control on other country’s people’s buying capacity. I can detail this up separately. 

About 95 percent of the global wealth is controlled by the 5 percent rich. With this imbalance of wealth, will the market ever be ethical?

You’ve brought up the true nature of the scenario into this discussion. If not that extreme like Mahabharata yuddha, we will see (and be part of) at least a major rally of corrections. As far as I can see, this will happen in a very organic manner. I’m saying this based on my experience of interactions with investors and capitalists—many of them too are human beings, and one part of their soul is longing for overcoming the vicious cycle of earning more money. The West has started taking the purpose of capital to quote the title of one book recently published. 

In fact I affectionately pity them that the four pillars of Dharm, Arth, Kasm and Moksha have not been available in that culture. Through ‘Addwit Vyavsay Upanishad’, which is less a book and more a framework, we can take one baby step. I'm not saying things will get set right within 1 year or five years. The harm caused by 400 years of industrialised aggression may take anything like one full generation to be corrected, but that will be our gift to our future generations. 

According to the laws of nature, only the ripe ones fall and prepare seeds for the next tree. Has today’s market become too ripe or rotten?

How nicely you’ve articulated—ripe or rotten! Superb!  I feel a bit incompetent to guess whether the market with its baggage of unethical business practices is ripe or rotten. However I do know that in the same Mother Nature there are worms and bacteria too. For Nature (which is more than trees, animals, rocks and rivers), nothing, mind you NOTHING is too big to tackle.

The day unethical business practices cross that limit, Mother Nature has unimaginable tools, few of that we know—tornadoes, earthquakes, cyclones. All this not to scare, but to draw the point that Nature works in most unimaginable ways, and one of its methods is also to keep correcting human instincts. Time and again we ask ourselves—is whatever that I'm doing right, is it true to my own nature, does it give me the sense of fulfilment? This reflective thinking will get us back to our SVABHAV, the innate behaviour.

By that innate behaviour we truly are not excessive consumers as we've been made to become by the industrialised society.  This internal correction, this deep awareness will set the market right. In Vyavsay Upanishad this theme has been covered, and to quote one sentence from there—the nature of Nature is to give more than it received.  When we will go back to our own nature of giving more than receiving, the market will automatically start behaving ethically. It is only the unaware who can be manipulated. Let’s be aware.

In the Arth Yudfha, we all are Arjun in our own small way. We cannot afford to remain confused, we cannot afford inaction on our part. 

Tika Prasad Dhakal is an expert on international relations, transitional justice and geopolitics, who served as an advisor to former President Bidya Devi Bhandari. These days he is busy participating in public discourse on Nepal’s long drawn-out transitional justice process. Kamal Dev Bhattarai of ApEx speaks to him on various issues surrounding the bill to amend the transitional justice law, which is currently in Parliament.. The transitional justice bill has drawn widespread criticisms. What is your take on this? Regrettably, I must say that there has been scant advancement in satisfying the fundamental legal standards in the amendment bill. It has many faults both in its process and content. The government should have transparently assessed more than a dozen Supreme Court (SC) verdicts and documents of the past fifteen years, and sought input from the affected parties, particularly the victim community. But the ruling coalition rushed a deeply flawed bill in Parliament, which came in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to accept a case against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal for conflict-era human rights violations. So this reactive bill neglects several crucial judgements and benchmarks established by the court. It is now upon our Parliament to address the shortcomings in the bill. What are the main sticking points of the bill? There are two perspectives to consider when evaluating this bill. While many of us tend to focus solely on its content and compare it to the ‘Enforced Disappearances Inquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014’ (TRC Act), a more accurate approach would be to examine it in light of the Supreme Court’s  judgment, from where the very obligation of this amendment origins. However, regardless of the approach, the bill contains several flaws outlined into five areas. The first is related to the security and privacy of cases. The bill fails to include provisions that ensure witness protection, nor does it guarantee the safety of plaintiffs. Without security, witnesses and victims could be intimidated and silenced during the truth-finding process. The second area of concern is gender sensitivity. Any inquiry or investigation into serious human rights violations must take into account the needs of victims of rape and sexual violence. These crimes cannot be forgiven, and it is also important to protect the privacy of the victims. But in a clear violation of the Supreme Court’s rulings, the amendment bill fails to address these issues. The third issue is about the definition of crimes. The bill attempts to classify conflict-era criminalities under two categories: human rights violation and serious violation of human rights. The nine types of crimes listed in the first group are made amnestiable, including murder, torture, sexual violence, and hostage-taking. Crimes in the second group are unamnestiable. The group include four types of crimes: merciless killing of an individual after cruel and inhuman torture, rape, enforced disappearance, and inhuman and cruel torture. This is unacceptable, as it essentially makes some murders pardonable and says only select types of murders may be prosecuted. This amendment proposal sends the message that many of the murders during the Maoist conflict were justifiable. Furthermore, the section of the definition of enforced disappearance has been removed from the TRC Act, making any investigation impossible. The fourth issue is related to the formation of the transitional justice commissions. Lessons learned from the failure of the past commissions should be taken into account. A more transparent and vettable appointment process should be adopted. And finally, the law must not discriminate against the victims, including former child soldiers and the families of affected security personnel. The Maoist party is fearful of any mention of 'child soldiers' used in its rebel armed units. For this, the law may use less contentious terminology as used in United Nations Mission in Nepal’s verification documents, such as 'combatants who were late recruits and minors.' A more holistic view of the law should address the four pillars of transitional justice: truth, justice, reparations, and guarantee of non-recurrence. Could you please elaborate on the international dimensions of Nepal’s transitional justice process? Article 7 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement mandates that the Maoist party fully adhere to the ‘basic principles and values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, and Human Rights Law.’ Hence, any transitional justice law created today will be evaluated against this provision of the peace agreement. The Article 7 validates the voice of the international community on our transitional justice process. In the recent times, our weaknesses hitherto have been picked up by the geopolitical actors to influence our domestic politics from making or breaking the coalition to the formation of the governments. As someone who has worked in this field for several years and someone who comes from a family of martyrs, I believe that gaining the trust of the democratic world, particularly India, is crucial for our transitional justice efforts. After all, the legitimacy of the Nepali Peace Process in 2005-2006 was achieved through India's support and facilitation. Global recognition of a successful transitional justice process, which is also the final stage of the peace process, depends quite largely on the backing of the democratic world. However, we must remain vigilant against any attempts, domestic or external, of geopolitically weaponizing this process. How do you see the commitment of major political parties? The Maoist party, which has once again taken the reins of government after the peace process for the third time, has consistently disregarded transitional justice, primarily out of fear of potential prosecution of its leaders. The Nepali Congress is no different. The party is shamelessly putting their political interests ahead of justice. And let's not forget the CPN-UML, who tried to push the process forward by reforming the commissions in 2020, which failed miserably. It is high time the major political parties reeducated themselves on transitional justice and rose above the interests of individual leaders. So what is the way forward for our transitional justice process? Moving forward, the amendment bill must be referred to the ‘Committee on Law, Justice, and Human Rights’ of Parliament. This will create space for a broad reevaluation and consultation with the victim community and other stakeholders. The law must be informed by a comprehensive assessment of the peace process. In upgrading the content of the bill, all past judgments of the Supreme Court must be evaluated. By doing so, the House committee will be in a position to correct both the process and the content of the bill. Drafting a competent law will require at least three to four months of honest work. We should be able to afford a few months to repair a process that has been delayed for 16 years. To successfully conclude any transitional justice process in the world, a law must be drafted that provides an unquestionable framework for the commissions to balance judicial aspects through collective measures of reparations, truth-seeking, and institutional reforms. However, our government is attempting the opposite: drafting a seriously compromised law and forcing it through the majority. This approach is a recipe for disaster. Politically, an agreement based on democratic ethics among the three major political parties—CPN UML, NC, and Maoists—is crucial for the successful conclusion of this process. One could argue that the ruling coalition has a majority and may pass the flawed law. The principal opposition UML's role becomes critical in this scenario. As a signatory of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, an isolated CPN-UML may declare in the House that it would reopen all conflict-era cases as soon as it comes to power. At this point, the entire transitional justice process would suffer a huge setback, leading to a deeper crisis of confidence. We should be prepared for a situation like in Argentina, where the transitional justice process had to be restarted with a prosecutorial approach from scratch within five years of introducing the Full Stop Law in 1998. UML’s position should, therefore, deter the ruling coalition from moving unilaterally. Nepal's transitional justice process will move towards resolution as soon as these three major political parties express a collective commitment in the parliament.

Takatoshi Nakamura, an engineer by profession, has been in the internet services business for over two decades. He currently is the CEO of Cipher-Core, Inc., a Japan-based company that provides information security services, end-to-end protection technology for communication systems and remote authentication technology for internet-of-things (IoT) systems, among others, to its clients across the globe. ApEx talked to Nakamura about the scope of internet business, new technology, security and how Nepal can benefit from it. Excerpts: What is information security? Information security is basically a process to secure information from various kinds of cyber threats such as information theft, fake information, pretending to be someone else, etc. Many technologies and online systems can be manipulated by hackers and engineers try to protect them considering all the loopholes. We have built a system that is secured at the topmost level. Our information security diagnosis software can secure both hardware and software. Why is it important? A lot of things are based on the internet. And, if the internet is not secured, your information is also not secured. And it doesn’t only matter for an individual, but for society, companies, governments and the entire world. In the world of finance, various kinds of automation and networking efforts have been made. However, due in part to inadequate information security technology, there have been huge losses in both internet banking and internet security. Furthermore, the development of quantum computers in recent years is accelerating further weakening information security. However, if perfect encryption, which has been developed in recent years by our company, is used, everything in finance will be safe. Remittances, payments and storage are no exception. How is the global scenario of information security? The powerful countries in this world actually determine the level of information security for ordinary people. They don’t want a higher level of security as it might turn into a security threat to them if terrorist groups start using higher information security. So, as of now, the scenario of this world is the same. All countries and people have almost the same level of information security. How is your company working to counter this situation? We want to break the syndicate and provide the topmost level of information security products to our clients. Many people and organizations have started inquiring about our products and I hope, sooner, we will be able to secure the internet and the information because globally, around USD 2 trillion is annually lost due to breaches of data. I have been inventing internet technologies since 2002. My inventions are ‘Prototype of encryption device’, ‘Encrypted communication remote I/O’, ‘Encrypted communication device (CP-S1)’, ‘Remote Monitoring System for Nagoya city’, and ‘4th generation PV (photovoltaics)’, among others. With all these experiences and experiments, I can guarantee that our company will provide the topmost information security. Can you please explain about your products? We have the ‘Cipher Security Information Security Diagnosis Business’ where we conduct an information security diagnosis for all businesses that handle confidential information, including financial institutions and auditing firms, and provide guidance and support for the implementation of countermeasures using the seven encryption-related products developed by our company. Our company is an IT support business, and we design and sell products as a subsidy application business. We also have the ‘Cipher Tunnel and Cipher Messenger Business’. Information exchange on the internet these days is extremely vulnerable in terms of information security, whether it is email, social networking services (SNS), or cloud storage, and is completely undisclosed to the business operators that provide these tools. This tool provides the ‘Cipher Tunnel’ software for confidential communication and remote authentication functions to all businesses that handle confidential information, such as finance and medical care, as software for users themselves to perform confidential communication and confidential messaging. Currently, we are working on the ‘Cipher Core Securities Platform’ where we are aiming to provide the software that issues and manages ‘digital securities’ with completely confidential storage, communication, and complete remote authentication functions. Real-time settlement of digital securities directly on the internet enables high-speed, high-turnover transactions and contributes to a high-density economy. How can Nepal benefit from information security? If your country has a secure internet, your national security will be in a better position. This will definitely help boost the investment environment in the country. And if your country uses our products, we will help develop your own application, product, technology and system. You can then sell those products to other countries, which will boost the national economy. Nepal will be a showcase for all the products with better internet infrastructures. It will also need a complete internet which should be strong enough and non-breakable. How will the internet connect the world as a global village? Since the opening of the internet for the private sector in the early 1990s, text, music, images and video have crossed all boundaries in an instant. The first stage of the internet has permeated every corner of the world as an ‘Information Service Platform’. Human activity is not limited to information exchange. Business transactions on the internet have also exploded and have fundamentally changed conventional business practices. When we will be more safe and secure to communicate and share our things, it will automatically help to form a global village with shared values.