According to Gramsci, an organic intellectual, differing from a traditional intellectual, is a bourgeoisie scholar. The role of organic intellectuals is to cultivate strong roots in their community, to maintain links with local issues by connecting the people and their experiences. Organic intellectuals always place themselves in a position to recognise their location within the dominant ideology in order to be able to help their communities to develop organic consciousness. On the other hand, traditional intellectuals consider themselves as an apolitical autonomous group. Nepal has intellectuals of all hues. But it is the PhD holders who are considered of more import. In development agencies, the expert level jobs are offered to the PhD holders first. Similar cases can be found in other corporate offices. University teachers, to become professors, usually require a PhD degree.

PhD holders are intellectuals who have to their credit the creation of some new knowledge and are persistent in the area of advancement of knowledge. These human resources are the cornerstone of progress and development of a country. The government has invested, to some extent, in producing some PhDs. Either through scholarships in domestic or foreign universities or through University Grants Commission, the government has been allocating some money every year in the budget for the purpose.

Some people have spent their own money to get a PhD degree. In fact, Nepal is the only country where individuals pay out of their own pockets to earn a PhD degree. In other countries, they get teaching assistantship, research assistantship and/ or scholarships. If universities want their faculties to complete with PhDs it is necessary that Nepal should have such schemes too.

Let us now discuss the type of intellectuals among PhDs in Nepal. Generally, according to Gramsci’s definition, those who have engaged themselves as intellectuals affiliated to a certain political party may be considered organic intellectuals. For example, in Nepal every top position is awarded to those who have direct affiliation with ruling party or have high level political contacts. Whether it is the Nepal Rastra Bank, National Planning Commission, Public Service Commission, Universities, Boards, Councils, Corporations, or other important agencies, competitors are selected on the basis of their political affiliation or high level political contacts.

These are organic intellectuals and are more faithful to the party of their affiliation rather than the country. On the contrary, those who actually deserve such positions but have no political affiliations are treated as outcasts.

Similarly, intellectuals who have strong political affiliation but are unable to grease the hands of the go-betweens share a similar fate too. Traditional intellectuals are very few who imagine they are autonomous but their autonomy is often trampled upon by the hegemony of organic intellectuals. Associations of intellectuals under the banner of different political parties have become common these days. Ironically, while an intellectual is qualified for a certain post when the party of his/her affiliation is in power, the same person may be deemed incompetent by another party.

In essence, Nepal is yet to cultivate the practice of selecting the creme de la crème for top positions. In every country there are certain minimum standards that a person should meet in order to be qualified for top positions of any organisation. Unfortunately, we do not even have a roster of the experts who can contribute to the task of nation building. Isn’t it ridiculous to see professors paying allegiance to political parties just to serve their own interests?

Should not these professors engage themselves in academic pursuits and offer their impartial ideas to lead the country in the right direction? Most of the professors are PhD holders. And while many refrain from entering classrooms, they do not hesitate to draw their monthly salary which they are paid to teach the students. What can be more shameful than this? Some professors work in multiple places at the same time. Is not this unethical? Some professors even work full time in more than one place.

Thus, PhD holders need a forum for professional discourse. Moreover, they need to focus on how they can contribute to the task of nation building. For this they need to be purely academic and non-political. Last week Nepal PhD Association (NPA) was inaugurated by Prof. Suresh Raj Sharma. With the establishment of an association that aims to promote and advance networking among PhD holders, provide a platform for contemporary issues and disseminate knowledge towards solving societal problems, we can hope that the intellectuals of Nepal could come together and innovate ideas to lead the nation in the right direction. However, NPA should learn lessons from the past and ensure that it remains a purely professional body.

Dr. Wagley is an educationist