Philippines Sickness - Nepal's Future?

The most optimistic near term future for Nepal include the following three events: the PLA integration into Nepal Army; drafting of a compromise constitution (a few years behind deadline); and institution of a rough federalism model. All these would be monumental achievements as seen from the dire prospects of the present. However, those success may not come close to securing the Nepali dream of a functioning, responsive government and a developing nation. The most certain outcome is that even then Nepal would suffer from the sickness engulfing the present day Philippines. 

Banyan's analysis of the upcoming elections in Philippines highlights the cultural ills of that society, all of which are intimately familiar to any Nepali: "shortage of political commitment to the public good"; "violence embedded in the political system"; corruption; absence of policy from political campaigns; administrative and political gridlock. Also the brightest spot for Philippines are its people who work abroad to send back remittances, just like in Nepal. 

It is evident that the culture of political gridlock and absence of any policy discussion during campaigns will not be solved simply because a new constitution is written in Nepal. That means the system is not the culprit by itself. It is the culture of our political sphere that needs rewiring. Banyan's hope that the swelling population of emigrants would effect the domestic elections might be possible in Philippines. In Nepal, unless the new constitutions mandates voting rights and privileges for Nepalese abroad, even that possibility of change is dim.

In one respect Philippine politicians are different than their Nepali counterparts? There are no avowedly "pro-business" leaders in Nepal. We have numerous leaders and parties and constituents representing the failed Communist ideology, as well as those representing each and every ethnicity. But there is not a single leader or party, distinctly in favor of business, growth and capitalism. Without advancement in private investment and business, there is no development. But where is our pro-business leader? 

"What happened" vs. "Why this matters"

For one of the best commentators of Nepali politics, CK Lal's recent switch to become a media commentator, starting with a column on Lohani's death (if memory serves), could be a loss to his readers. However, there are many, many political prognosticators around and hardly any analysts dedicated to the task of watching the watchdog. Lal's astute observations and criticisms would surely benefit the Nepali media culture.

Development in the mass media sector is no doubt one of the brightest spots in Nepal since the restoration of Democracy in 1990. Going from complete government control and near-complete ownership of most print and all broadcast medium during the Panchayat rule, Nepal's media scene has exploded in the last 20 years. 

I still remember seeing the advertisement for "Kantipur Daily" near Sundhara as they were publishing their first issues. Then came the FM stations when everyone in the valley seemed to be walking around with a FM radio. The satellite TV stations from Hong Kong and then from India. Then came the private TV stations at home. And multiple dailies, numerous weeklies and monthly magazines.

No doubt that this flourishing of media has been a boon to Nepal. However, the media culture is still nascent. What the audience seem to want from the news sources is just basic information, which the reporters and editors are providing to some level. However, what the audience may not demand, or rather would not know to demand, and the journalists are not savvy or dedicated enough to provide is the quality of news that sustains a democratic culture. Nepali media does a good enough job of telling "what happened." They do a very poor job of explaining "why it matters." 

CK Lal's most recent "Fourth Estate" column goes to the heart of the matter. I agree with him that Nepali media operate as storytellers. However, I am not sure if I buy his rationale for the reasons why. Lal thinks the dearth of actual investigative journalism results from lack of resources, namely time and money. I rather think it is journalistic incompetence stemming from having scant role models of good journalism. And that goes back to the issue of the nascent culture of journalistic practices.

Of course, the way media has expanded in the last 20 years there is hope that sooner rather than later Nepali journalists evolve into deliberate practitioners of "why this story matters" journalism. And it is respected voices like Lal's that will guide the journalistic profession to that higher level. So his decision to focus on Nepali media scene is clearly a net gain for the readers. 

Countdown to New Nepal

In this first post at Muse Nepal (now called Aaraniko), I want to share the vision that prompted me to start this blog. These visions would also serve to establish the concerns and topics of coverage in this blog.

Nepali political culture is dysfunctional in many ways--the usual suspects of nepotism, corruption and institutional lack of democracy being the prime reasons. Nepali bureaucracy suffers from the same ailments. Actually, I think these corroding elements are pervasive throughout the society. When our leaders talk about development and prosperity, when they sell us the dreams of New Nepal, their words are less a vision of a changed society and more like daydreams. So far, our political or civic leaders have been unable to even identify the source of these problems, much less tackle them. 

The heart of the issue, as I see it, is dearth of diverse ideas. The problem is that Nepalis have very short history of wrestling with ideas of governance, democracy, and development. Even when we have been engaged in debates, our ideas have been limited in focus to the events of the day or wildly fantastical daydreams about changing the face our motherland overnight. We have scant institutional, social or academic practice of honest intellectual debates. There is essentially no marketplace of ideas to speak of. Yet, it is true that finger-pointing is easy; it is especially easy to find faults from the comfort of foreign soil. 

My attempt at Muse Nepal will be not just to keep track of the current developments in Nepal but also try to extend and enlarge the debate beyond the day-to-day events to the larger and more basic intellectual ideas, essentially to extend the marketplace of ideas to ask some fundamental questions about the nature of Nepali society, the history of our political system, and the shape of our shared future. I will try to engage in the intellectual underpinnings of change in our society. The hope is to offer some optimism about the prospect of change and improvement. Hence, the countdown to New Nepal. Also, the muse, motive and subject is Nepal and Nepalis--therefore Muse~Nepal.

While these decidedly lofty aims are primary, on the day-to-day scrum, I will highlight, engage and share any sundry observations, ruminations and thoughts that draws my interest. Hope some readers (when/if they join) would find them of interest as well. 

Jai Ganesh!