This is the paramount message coming from the new generations following the protest of September 8 and the uprising on the following day. Over the last two months, there has been a call for a generational reform of the governance of the nation, a complete overhaul in the ways politics is conducted.
Politicians must embrace honesty and accountability, key values to ensure that Nepal can really turn the page and pave the way for a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous nation. At the same time, equally important was a call for changing people’s mindset.
Yet most of the energies has been spent on more tangible aspects of the indispensable and unavoidable reforms required to clean up the political space. Addressing this second and less visible demand is actually a foundational aspect to build a new Nepal, a so-called “sine qua non”. After all, how can we imagine a stronger nation able to move ahead in the steep ladder of progress without changing the ways people think and behave?
But what does “changing people’s mindset” mean in practice? Would it not be in the public interest of the nation to start a serious conversation about the practicality of upgrading and reforming the social contract among people? Because when we think of social contract, we always refer to the higher levels of policy making and to norms agreed by the people in relation to them.
But in a social compact there are also aspects related to the ways people decide to live their existence in relation to others that means what it means to live in a community of citizens. Imagine one of the following situations.
Bikers jumping the queue at the petrol stations; hazardous and dangerous overtaking in the roads of the country’s urban spaces where speed is regulated, at least on the paper; folks driving big cars while one of their hands is holding a mobile, a very dangerous practice that international evidence shows can lead to a high degree of incidents.
You can also think of young people smoking in the eateries even if they are well aware of the rules that forbid such practice. In this particular case, both the patrons and the owners do not only forsake some straightforward regulations but also consciously pose a health hazard on the general public, basically an irresponsible and uncivil behavior. But it is not only on the roads and in the eateries where a large number of citizens decide to act selfishly without abiding by the norms.
You can also look at the way many people spit from cars or bikes without even looking around if someone is passing by or simply, in a different context, think about the way people decide not communicate. It has become very common especially among the new generations not to pick up the phone when someone calls and in addition, it is quite common for the same individuals not to call back. Obviously, there are situations in which you cannot be distracted and finish a task or simply you do not want to be reached out by someone.
Yet there is a clear trend here where people, including members of the new generations simply do not care calling back. The readers might think that all these situations are minor factors and have nothing to do with the bigger picture and the far more important goal of changing the nation. Yet as many pundits have also pointed out, isn’t politics a mirror of society?
And what could be expected from politicians when individuals are on a single day basis, engaged in small but still very real infractions of legal and moral codes? It is true that paying a kickback or getting a commission from a big public contract cannot be compared with what apparently might look like small infringements of rules and regulations.
Yet I do believe that there is a connection between the biggest illegal acts that defang and ruin good governance and lesser acts of incivility that are so common in our society from which, no one, including this writer, can run away from. Perhaps we could think of a snowball effect where our smaller sins and omissions coalesce together turning what started as a small snowball becomes something gigantic that is uncontrollable and ultimately, devastating.
Probably even more apt metaphor could be the domino, where even smaller transgressions trigger the falls of bigger pieces, each of these representing the key cornerstones of our moral behaviors. At the end when all the pieces have fallen down, we end up with an overarching status of moral decay.
Reforming national politics is a juggernaut task. A mix of factors will make the difference, including adjusting or drastically changing the current governance mechanisms and ensuring politics is led by expertise and evidence. Major and small reforms can make a new nation.
The electoral system could be improved, ensuring not only more stability but also more inclusion. One day the executive might even get directly elected. Some high offices at federal and provincial levels could be completely eliminated or merged.
Federalism can certainly be made more effective with smaller cabinets but also stronger provisions to avoid the calamitous, irresponsible and unending changes at the helm of the provinces. Duplications at local levels where federal mechanisms still often encroach on the responsibilities and tasks of municipalities and provinces, can be eliminated and new forms of people’s participation based on deliberative democracy can be included. Term limits could also be considered. These are some possible reforms of the status quo.
Small personal changes do matter to make Nepal a more prosperous society where youths will stop leaving the country and where everyone will have more opportunities to thrive.
Yet, at the end of the day, while there are many ways to make governance at federal, provincial and local level more functional and effective, a lot will depend on finding ways to show and practice moral leadership across all levels. The onus should not be only on the elected politicians but on each of us living in the current polity that is so imperfect and inadequate. We need to reconsider the concept of active citizenship, upgrading in such a way in which every single member of the society feels the responsibility to do better and act better in life. Small personal changes do matter to make Nepal a more prosperous society where youths will stop leaving the country and where everyone will have more opportunities to thrive. Just demanding changes in the politics while avoiding to introspect and analyze day to day behaviors will hardly make the country better.
If we want a new Nepal to emerge, the era of mass level civic morality and responsibility should start now. Is each of us ready to turn away from old habits and ways of doing and get into uncomfortable terrains and help build a new nation?
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