If you are born poor, it is not your mistake!
But if you die poor, it is your
mistake!!
I hope, some of you may have heard this statement. Well for me, I heard this statement loud and clear in one of the conference. This has influenced me deeply and literally,
it has been injected in my mind. I find it meaningful for what we dream of my
future.
We all have dream, am I right? But
today, I think I should talk like any revolutionary expecting “revolution” in
our country like those in France or USA or China. Therefore, I want to be clear
upfront, I would like to start by sharing current situation of our country and
also a bit angry at our leaders who have brought us – “national shame”.
Before going into revolution part, let me tell you a little aboul Nepal.
Our country is
a land-locked country having geographical and cultural proximity with India in
the south, east and west, while Tibetan plateau in the North. This is the land
of great diversity in terms of geography, plants and animals, people and
culture. Nature has gifted us with treasure like Himalayan range in the North. Above
all our key strengths, we have young population, which is approximately 30 million.
You can
also call Nepal as the land of Himalaya. But more than that, we are enriched
with rich culture and civilization, which has roots back to ancient time of
Buddha and other great ascetics that have guided South Asian civilization. I
will not go further in that direction.
But I have one question - though, we are naturally gifted, “why do
we continuously fall behind as one of low income countries. I need to
understand this question well because we have to always face both “told and
untold” gestures of who we are and it is so painful!! We also squarely admit
that we lack “competent” leadership that believes in basic understanding of
fairness and justice.
Our country used to be a Kingdom before 2000. Now monarchy is
abolished and we are negotiating through “ups and down” of political
instability due to poor judgment and policy decisions. Therefore we Nepalese
people are struggling to secure political stability and aspire for better
future despite our hardship and struggle for survival thereby eradicate poverty
once and for all. In this fight, we have distant dream of that day when lasting
peace and prosperity will prevail in our country. Therefore, we like to emulate
the success of Singapore and Republic of Korea. The realization that “This is
not impossible!!” has come to me even more reading two books written based on
first hand experiences of socio political struggles and smart maneuvering of the
uncertainties with people’s full and active participation. In both books – the
key messages is “we can progress at an accelerated rate with good education,
hard work, discipline and robust leadership.”
On final note, we will definitely move toward the path of
prosperity once we settle these proverbial mountains of challenges that
perennially plague our motherland. We will also be a bridge between two giants –
India and China which are evolving as superpower and ultimately the center of this
new global political order. But how, I would like to paraphrase Lee Kuan Yew – “The
future is as full of promise as it is fraught with uncertainty. The industrial
society is giving way to one based on knowledge. The new divide in the world
will be between those with the knowledge and those without. We must learn and
be part of the knowledge based world. However, we stand a better chance of not
falling if we abide by the basic principles that have helped progress: social
cohesion through sharing the benefits of progress, equal opportunities for all
and meritocracy, with the best men and women for the job, especially as leaders
in government.”
19 April, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment