A 17-year old Nepali girl in the U.S. questions Nepali Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on the broader meaning of Nepali peace and its implications for Nepal’s future generations.

Dear Dr. Baburam Bhattarai,

As a 17-year old Nepali teenager who truly believes in Western and Asian democratic values, namely that democracy provides solutions for almost everything in life, including a neutral resting spot for Nepal’s prolonged peace process, I congratulate you.  But I have some prodding questions on Nepali peace that my younger generation fails to understand.

You have certainly shown the way to your predecessors, the Nepali people and the international media that you are after all, an ordinary man by riding a Nepal assembled  jeep to late Pushpa Lal’s statue, though my generation which believes neither in the usually egotistic Maoists nor the feudal Kangressis. You also displayed your humanitarian side by contributing all your UN General Assembly New York trip allowance to Nepali earthquake victims, which no Prime Minister in Nepal has ever done during any past humanitarian crisis. Many of us share your vision that Nepali problems must have Nepali solutions in mind. Do not be mistaken: unlike your PM predecessors, the foreign diplomats, the international media and the world, not just Nepal’s immediate neighbors, are now waiting for you to tell that the UCPN-Maoist will prove itself a true adherent  to peace, national reconciliation and progress in the shortest time possible. Overall, I am proud that you are a patriotic Nepali, believe in Nepali nationalism and committed to developing a democratic coalition of  all those who believe in saving Nepal’s  future to usher in a  true Nepali peace awakening.

However, I want to know when will  that Nepali peace come about?  When will the Nepali politicians stop bickering about a peace path they individually hatch,  cultivate,  throw on the tables at Singha Darbar baithak and the Constituent Assembly, or else at various press events, and then suddenly retract sometimes exchanging them for ministerial berths? Will peace in Nepal remain so elusive? I also believe a true Nepali peace has to be gender neutral where one can see an equal number of Nepali men and women sitting together to decide its fate. Why is it that men always decide national issues, totally ignoring the voice of Nepali women who contribute so much to national productivity particularly in the agricultural sector?  I want to know honestly.

I know that too many foreign diplomats and Nepali politicians, including leaders of  different parties come, to you advising on an all-inclusive peace, which is quite alright. Some intellectuals and professors from neighboring countries come to give you clever suggestions on inventing a  true Nepali constitution that encompasses every Nepali from Madhes to the Pahad with built-in clever boomerang language coiled in the package. Similarly, a UN panel might come asking you to reform the Nepali civil service that aches for fair representation other than just  Bahuns, Chettris and Newars at the top echelon. Human rights watch groups might cable you “HIGHLY URGENT” memos addressing the need to halt the culture of impunity where, supposedly, everything is being  done in the name of social justice and peace except the protection of Nepali human rights for those who cannot afford its defense in Nepali villages and towns, and now the media. I might add, you might want to do something about NEA  to prevent  nearly 50% of the national electricity supply grid leakage, which took place due to political influence and favouring one’s party lackeys in the past, no one can blame you for this.

Let me change the subject. When will your own party’s YCL be disbanded so that true law and order can take shape, a  precursor to Nepali peace?  Don’t forget there can be no anti-corruption drive unless paramilitar outfits of various political parties, most prominently the YCL, are disbanded permanently.  Similarly, when will the integration and rehabilitation of  state-fed ex-Maoist  combatants take place so they too can lead normal lives and perhaps get a chance to contribute to  Nepali peace, development,  economic progress and national reconciliation?   Handing over  arms storage keys alone is not enough, Baburam ji!

Finally, when will you start working on the actual Nepali peace agenda which encompasses the majority of above issues, other than assuring the Constituent Assembly and the UN General Assembly recently?  The day you and other politicians actually achieve this peace in a consensual political timeline, Nepalis will be able to breathe a sigh of relief that they truly own their small piece of land equal to the U.S. state of Tennessee, worth true representation in the Asian democratic bazaar.  That day will also be the one when Buddha’s true words can be heard ringing from Namche Bazaar monastery to Lumbini Stupa,  the birthplace of  Buddha, stating, “Let us all live in peace amongst ourselves and among our neighbors.” That will be the day when the Lali Gurans will truly spread its regalia dancing to an echoing Himalayan flute tune as the evening  Sun’s  rays criss-cross across the Khumbu glacier and bid Nepal goodbye for another brighter day. In effect, that will be the day when a Nepali will be able to tread from Mechi to Mahakali without  being robbed, beaten, and bruised for being able to state, “ I am a Nepali, above caste, religion and  political belief. I believe in being a Nepali.”

Like you, Baburam ji, we the younger generation, too, believe that Nepalis must  unite in the name of  peace, work for Nepal’s economic progress and  seize every opportunity to move ourselves forward on the South Asian horizon, hinged as we are, like a small sponge absorbing minor after effects of a  huge economic tremor occurring daily in China and India, to the North and South.  Everyone is watching Nepal at this point of time, you clearly want economic growth to proceed with Nepali peace awakening.

But then what kind of peace process is going to help Nepal move forward on the developmental plane?  Think about it, Dr. Bhattarai. I think, it must be an inwardly crafted Nepali peace that has respect for Nepali tradition and culture but also able to modulate itself to globalised values what we the younger generation crave for. There are two pending issues, the  possible integration of at least some of the ex-Maoist combatants into Nepal Army;  and a poll on whether it is appropriate to legally pardon those charged with atrocities in the 10 year Nepali civil conflict?  In the end,  Bhattarai ji, we the younger generation do care about Nepali peace, but we also clamor a peace that our generation can inherit  proudly; it is essentially a fight to know our inner Nepali truths. Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”  That truth is Nepali peace and as Nepal’s  35th Prime Minister, I  hope you will achieve it soon.

Yours sincerely

Jacqueline Swarajya Prasai,
a Nepali student at
John F. Kennedy High School, Maryland, USA
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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