Nepal is a beautiful country. It is indeed a land of warriors. Nepal is a place of cultural and natural diversity. I am proud to be a Nepali, and my only dream is for the betterment of this country.

During my winter vacations last year I visited my village. On my way near Rajbiraj I saw some people being tortured by a person belonging to a high caste. They were being punished just because they were born to a low caste.

From then on I’ve had a dream. I want to develop my nation. I want equality in my nation. I want unity. This is my dream. After a long period of time we have come to the end of insecurity and insurgency. I have forgotten the sharp cries and lit my face with a smile. Now the time has come to foster my dreams.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote in his poem, Where the Mind is Without Fear that our world is being divided into fragments by our superstitious beliefs. So, Nepal of my dreams would be a place free from superstition. Nobody will be discriminated on the basis of caste, colour, ethnicity and sex. I

wish for a place where communities

are not engulfed by narrow thoughts. My dream Nepal would be a place where people make judgments on the basis of scientific reasoning. There would be no discrimination between males and females.

Poor are always poor, and rich get richer. Is that good? Even in this developed world we are being ruled by our irrational beliefs. Is that good? The obvious answer is no. So, my dream Nepal would be free of such things. In my Nepal, nobody would be illiterate and ignorant. I imagine my country to be a land where everybody is educated and skilled. Everybody is employed and people are judged on the basis of their qualities.

My dream Nepal will have no

social evils and crimes. It would be a place where people would always follow the right path. People would have their rights.

The most important thing — my dream Nepal would have unity. Everybody would respect each other’s thoughts, religion and culture. There would be no violence and humanity would be alive.

I imagine my country to be developed in science and technology. We would utilise our resources properly. Everybody from east to west and north to south would be facilitated with necessary infrastructure. Our basic needs would be available at cheap prices. I want my country to be developed and never dependent on donor countries and agencies. Instead we would be donors. In my country there would be good leaders. Political leaders would cooperate

with each other. Everyone would stop corruption and work together for the betterment of the nation. Nepal would be an example to all.

— Sumit Sharma, Class IX, GEMS