Gopal Khanal

New Year 2078 B.S. has begun. We have said goodbye to 2077 B.S. and welcome the New Year that marks the beginning of many deeds. People have greeted the New Year with new hopes, zeal and positive vibes. Many have set their calendar with the clear goals to achieve during the year. Nepali people bade farewell to 2077 B.S. forgetting the bitter experiences of last year. They have also collected good memories of the past year to make them more pleasant in 2078 B.S.
As we all know, the year 2077 B.S. was the year of global COVID-19 pandemic and prejudiced politics. Certain leaders were in the limelight but the year saw the steep decline of ideology and morality. Leaders dominated the national politics undermining the standards and values of Nepali polity. The new pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to the global economy with the consequential impacts on the lives of the people across the world.
Without evaluating the past year, we cannot make the New Year better in all terms - be in the area of politics or economy. Therefore, a short and quick recollection of 2077 B.S. can be useful to sketch a roadmap for fulfilling the set goals.
If the past is taken as the year of experience and lesson, the previous mistakes won't be repeated. Mistakes can happen, but one should try to correct them. If we try to assess the year 2077 B.S., we have mixed feelings of historic achievements, progress and obstruction, too. But, the obstruction we faced is global. If COVID-19 had not shattered the world, Nepal would have been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In a nutshell, three major developments took place in the previous year besides the adversity resulted from the global pandemic.
The first is COVID-19 itself. Compared to other nations, Nepal fought against it effectively despite the resource constraints. The country made three-tier efforts to stem the pandemic, which brought the expected results. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli urged all the citizens not to be panicked by the pandemic, but to maintain the recommended health protocols. He suggested using Nepali medical herbs and plants to prevent the coronavirus. Moreover, he boosted the people’s confidence, enabling them to keep the virus at bay.

Vaccine rollout
Similarly, Nepal rolled out the vaccines to the citizens by giving first priority to the frontline workers such as doctors and security personnel. The government approached the neighbouring countries India and China to provide vaccines under the grant assistance. Accordingly, India and China provided the vaccines to Nepal. Nepal got vaccines faster than many other countries. Since it is a global pandemic, all the countries and humanitarian agencies should combat it with unity. Without the concerted efforts of all, we cannot bring it under control. It has given a message that wealth alone cannot fight the pandemic of this proportion.
Second, Nepali government succeeded to issue a complete map of country incorporating the Limpiyadhura, Lipulek and Kalapani, which were controlled by India since 1962. This historic map was made possible with national consensus. Similarly, Nepal secured another trade transit for third country trade via Bangladesh - the Rohanpur-Singhbad railway station. Now, Nepal can use the transit of three countries for the international trade. Such list of achievements can be longer.
The third development is not encouraging. It is purely political and it is concerned with the internal wrangling of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and the conflict within the revived CPN-UML and the CPN- Maoist Centre. Lately, two-lines of struggle have also been seen in Nepali Congress and Janata Samajbadi Party that has been making every process controversial and sluggish. Unfortunately, the internal conflict of the ruling party has affected the efficiency of the government. The Supreme Court gave two historic verdicts that didn't only shape the future of the communist party, but also directed the course of the governance.
The UML and the Maoist Centre were revived. But, sadly, party senior leader Madhav Nepal has been involved in forming parallel committees across the country. The party was compelled to suspend the membership of four leaders, including Nepal for six months. Despite the action, Prime Minister Oli has also been requesting all the leaders including Nepal to assume their responsibility in the party with self-criticism for their mistakes.
With such a mixed bag of past year, the New Year is expected to be better by all means. We believe we will be able to control the pandemic, which requires the unified approach of the neighbourhood and the global community.

Bigger challenges
The most challenging situation is the sharp division among the major political actors. Possibly, Nepali political parties have demonstrated lesser degree of unity but the tradition does not allow them to live in deadlock. Therefore, the New Year will unite the major parties to achieve the national goal of 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali'. During his televised address to the nation on the occasion of New Year, Prime Minister Oli said that Nepal needed strong unity among the domestic forces to solve the crises facing the country. Political parties should understand that without robust economic development, Nepal cannot achieve its national goal. This requires stability, peace and democratic order.
Therefore, the political leaderships should make a commitment that they will put national interest at the top, leaving misunderstandings and shortcomings aside. May the New Year enable us to control the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the battered economy.

(Khanal is consulting editor at Gorkhapatra Corporation. khanalbro@gmail.com)