Consumer Adhikar & Adhikari
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Leaving a well-paid career in banking, Ratnakar Adhikari started an entirely new field of professional activity in Nepal. When he with a few friends formed an NGO called Pro-Public, there existed no other professional social activist institution to work for consumer rights. Though there were some loose outfits registered as consumer rights organization, they were manned by amateurs, not professionals.
Now he likes to call himself as a development activist. He is also the Chairman of South Asia Watch on Trade and Economics (SAWTEE), another NGO specialized in international trade issues. Born in Duradanda, in Lamjung district, Adhikari says he could not fulfil his childhood dream to be a scientist or adolescence dream to be a Chartered Accountant. But the way he sets out to analyses the international trade issues, often disproving the conventional wisdom, can’t be rated different from the way a scientist follows in his laboratory.
Explaining his style, he says he always hankers after doing something distinct and it drives him to become unconventional in his approach to explore the truth instead of buying somebody else’s hypothesis.
“When some people started saying that our agriculture sectors would be greatly affected by World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, I did my own research and proved otherwise. As our agro exports are mainly to India and we import agricultural goods from India, it turned out from my research that WTO has little impact on our agriculture,” he says.
His career as development activist began some 17 years ago after he got a very encouraging response for his article published in the English daily, The Rising Nepal. The response inspired him to establish Pro Public which can be regarded as the pioneer of professional consumer rights activities in the country. Later Pro Public started diversifying its activities from consumer rights and, in 1997, Adhikari established SAWTEE as a South Asian regional organization. As globalization and economic liberalization gained momentum raising various issues related to trade and international competition with the fear that rights of the consumers, small farmers and small businesses would be in danger, Adhikari expanded his scope of work to entire trade related issues, focusing on multilateral trading arrangements including WTO. In this connection he published a number of articles, books and research papers from within and outside Nepal which earned him a reputation transcending the national and regional boundaries. He has worked in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, India, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka under various assignments, the latest being his posting in Sri Lanka (since August 2005) as Programme Specialist in Asia Pacific Regional Centre of UNDP. He left that job in June 2007. Now he is pursuing PhD at a British University.
Aggressive style of work and intense desire to reach the bottom of truth are the tenets of Adhikari’s personality. His family and friends had strongly advised him not to quit the banking job, but he did not listen to them. “I had been addicted to work for the cause of the consumers protecting their rights,” he recalls. “By then I had already started getting invitations to attend international seminars on consumer rights but the bank would not grant the leave so often. Therefore, I had no other option except quiting the bank.”
When he left the Nepal Indosuez Bank, where he had got four promotions within five years, another bank approached him offering him even better pay and perks, but he refused.
According to him, the secret behind his success is the ability to learn quickly from his failure coupled with a sportsman’s spirit - always hopeful of winning and never losing the hope. Persistent follow up on his agenda is another tenet of his character. The example of this attitude is reflected in his statement: “I still have some reservations on intellectual property rights agreement. I will make every possible effort to change that agreement.”
As a social activist, he spends most of his day and nights on new projects - researching and networking. Though his wife Mona Shrestha Adhikari calls him “a caring husband and father”, he accepts that he can spare very little time for the family. In short he is a workaholic, as he accepts. “Due to work pressure, I don’t find enough time to tidy up my desk.” But he is satisfied that SAWTEE has developed as one of the few highly professional and independent NGOs in the country.
“In 2002 when I left for Switzerland for a ‘one year Masters degree course in International Law and Economics, I had to shuttle between there and here to take care of SAWTEE as my need would be urgently felt, but now there are enough capable people who can easily handle the work even if I was not there,” he says. The capability building of SAWTEE has given him confidence to pursue PhD course in Britain.
Also the NGO sector in Nepal is blamed of rampant corruption and the Maoist affiliated Young Communist League has recently announced that they would launch a campaign against the corrupt practices in the NGO sector. But Adhikari is not afraid. He says SAWTEE is totally clean from corruption. “As far as we are concerned, from the very beginning we have adopted enough measures in SAWTEE that ensure transparency and fair practices,” he says. According him, every year, the Social Welfare Council goes through the audited report of SAWTEE before accepting for the renewal of the organisation’s registration. “Moreover, a SAWTEE is a regional organisation, we have to allocate resources for other countries of the region as well and in that process we have to seek approval from the Nepal Rastra Bank also which checks other various documents. Thus, the transparency of SAWTEE gets double-checked,” he adds.
Personal Side
• Born and brought up in a middle class family in Duradanda, Lamjung, he is simple in outlook and chooses simple attire. Not specific in brands.
• An avid reader. Economics, globlisation and competition are his favourite subjects. Currently re-studying a book on Development by Dev Raj Dahal.
• Though he has done a number of literary writings, his major works are on trade, environment and the intellectual property rights.
• He has written almost 15 books on trade, environments and intellectual rights.
• Married to Mona Shrestha, a colleague during his banking career.
• Devotee of Shobha Bhagwati. Either of himself or his wife goes to the shrine of Shobha Bhagwati on a regular basis.
• Has a desire to develop SAWTEE as one of the prominent study and research center on trade, environment and intellectual property rights.
• Wants to write a very good book on WTO. “In Nepal there is not a single comprehensive good book on WTO, I want to fulfil that need,” Adhikari promises.
