THE MYTH OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy has an unknown meaning. This particular word is said to be complete in itself. An unquestionable term, "democracy" is the key word in anything and everything around in the political, social and economic sphere. You can find democracy everywhere-from N. Korea's official state name to Putin's Russia, from Suki's Myanmar to India ,democracy is the buzzing word. However, the drawbacks of democracy have been ignored for a long time, which has resulted in underutilization of human potential. The alternatives provided by likes of Hitler, Mussolini,Stalin, Castro, Kim Jong Il, Dalai Lama, Khomeni has blinded our imagination to accept that democracy is the brink of human's political evolution i.e.nothing can pass the comfort that democracy has achieved for us. It cannot be further from the truth. With the rapidly increasing technology and educational revolution the current setup of democracy can't last forever.Until we dont erase the mindset that "we can't do better than democracy" things shall remain stagnant like it is at present.

via thenuancedphilosopher.wordpress.com

Democracy consists of voting. Actually, democracy means to vote for represantatives, not leaders. Like, if somebody's elected from a certain area of Rolpa, he is expected to stay among Rolpalis and represent them being a Rolpali. However, that seldom happens. Instead, these member of parliaments begin to take a role of being a leader. They tend to teach people, rather than learning from the people. These MoP, tend to pass a bill first and than explain its usefulness to the people later.This is a trend seen everywhere in the world. This is one of the loopholes of democracy since the persons elected and among whom legitimacy is provided to represent a group; begins to lead a group. Suddenly, the right of thousands of people to decide for themselves, remains in hand of a single person who himself believes to be the leader not representative of the group. So, it is a myth that self right is protected in democracy. It is just that we get to choose an autocrat every 4 years, and if we have luck we tend to choose the best among the autocrats not at all a democrat.

Second, democracy leaves us with very little of a choice. Yes, you may think we have a lot of choices. But they are infact limited in a mysterious way. If you want a presidential style democracy and non ethnic federal states in Nepal, you have zero choice.  If you vote for UCPN Maoist, they gonna give you the first choice but not the later. And, if you voted for UML or NC they gonna give you the second but not the first. So, you are asked to compromise. There are many such issues in which you shall find strangled. The problem is much of the population has got into the habit of leaving into a selected few that they don't even care. This phenomenon has been degrading democracy ever since its inception and has rather burnt down the hopes of the state trying creative but minority backed ideas.

Third, democracy is the rule of the mightier to the minnows. None are going to be as lucky as South Africans. Imagine the blacks in SA fought for their rights and won it even with a population vastly smaller than the whites. Could they have maintained the same momentum through the parliament? Absolutely not! And another series of systematic absuse of the blacks would have intitated.

Fourth, democratic institutions are all based on revolutionary acts, but they themselves are the appartus to supress it. The French parliament recently announced not to allow any Muslim protests in backdrop of release of a blashphemic movie in the US. The legacy of the French parliament goes back to the French Revolution as radical and as creative an idea, however it is such fearful of its own people, that too of a stunning minority in terms of population.

Fifth, democracy needs money to run. From running a political party like in ours to run a presidential campaign as in USA, money  plays a serious role. In fact in many previous elections in the USA the nominee getting the highest campaign fund has ultimately won the Presidency. This has developed illicit role between the hidden capitalists and the politicians. The policies are made in accord to these chosen donors though said to be representing the mass. In fact democracy has served as a disguise to serious economic crimes like the recurring recessions. If recession repeats every 3 decades, its only current day democracy that is preventing everyday people from breaking down the system. It is the last thing that demoralizes scholars who ought to challenge the current economic setup that is too much biased to the banks and corportaes.

There are many more drawbacks that democracy contains, too many leaks that can't be maintained forever. The world is just waiting for a revolutionary spark in one intelligent mind. That can be you. Don't stop thinking. Don't stop dreaming. It is almost sure that this skeleton of ragged and failed but still evasive form of democracy shall crumble and the propoganda that democracy is the best system shall just be another myth to be rewritten in the pages of history.

THE MICHAEL EFFECT

Sometime back, I read an article of a foreign educated young Nepali women who went to rural Nepal working for a program in an INGO. She reportedly felt like not being treated as their own, by the people in the field. This is a prime example of the "Michael"  effect. Compare a women, who would put lipstick in her cheeks to get that red look during her marriage to a sophisticated women who would not step out without a SPF leveled sunscreening cream.The difference is such that a mere closeness of 2-3 day is not enough to create homely interactions.Throughout the article she made genuine effort to indicate her willingness to serve Nepal, and her act of returning to Nepal in itself stands as a proof. However,she could have faced the situation better.

would you call this a skirt?

To those who have done schooling at Nepal, Jujuman is an interesting story included in Secondary level Nepali curriculum. The Michael that I am talking about is just the opposite of the Jujuman. The humiliation that Jujuman faced while visiting his relative in urban area, is nicely depicted in the story. Now, as more and more city based organizations are seeking to  take their programs to rural Nepal, more of educated and modern Nepalese are visiting the rural and ragged side of Nepal.These urban Nepalese are facing opposite however similar humiliating incidences as Jujuman.Back in my hometown in Sarlahi, some of my uncle used to call me "Ta tuh Michael bhayechas"; when I visited them during  occasions like Dashain. Covered with shining denim, and hair trying to point skywards, it certainly would have made me look like more of an alienated phenomenon than a village boy they searched in me. If somebody would put an earphone
(especially those bigger ones) and murmur some foreign songs coupled with fancy sun glasses; that would make him look a perfect "Michael".

Here are some points which if taken care of could save you from being a Michael.

a. Dress Up: Don't dress what's fashionable in Kathmandu or Paris. It shall look nothing but alien to the rural people. Dressing unorthodox shall attract unwanted precaution and shyness while interacting. Simple shirts and soft jeans shall serve well.

the man on the left has the perfect dress up

b. Language: Don't mix English words until absolutely necessary. Most of the words that we use for granted like washroom, cupboard etc sounds too foreign. These shall create a negative impact in your audience and create a wider gap. Try to explain technical terms in as detailed way as possible. An engineer may be habituated to call a "suspension bridge" but  saying "Jholunge Pul" creates a world of difference.If you are staying for a long time, try to make use of the local language.

c. Lifestyle: Try to adapt to the way the people are living. Try to have the same food, in the same manner. Don't try to be picky and particular. Maintain basic cleanliness but don't give an impression that the whole surrounding is allergic.Try to know more about people and try to accommodate yourself to their day-to-day life.

d. Attitude: Don't have an attitude like you are the learned and command high respect. Have an attitude of a learner and a trier. If you didn't like those folk songs played over and over again in the public buses of Kathmandu, it doesn't mean every folk songs are going to be boring. Listening to a live event in itself is a new and better experience. Try to learn or observe new things like milking, shearing of wool etc. Try to give equal space and maintain two way learning process with your rural counterparts.

I hope these tips would help you come out of the "Michael" shell and enjoy your trips to far flung remote part of Nepal.