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With eagerness I ask my relatives and friends who work abroad about the political and social status of the respective nations.
It is astonishing that they should leave a nation that is full of water springs and go to countries where there is nothing but sand.
It is unfortunate that we are unable to be happy in this land of paradise.
On the liberty front, however, most of us are fortunate. Here, we are able to enjoy liberty at every step.
We enjoy more religious freedom than most of the countries where my relatives and friends have gone. Here we see no suicide bombings and religious wars. There is no provision of capital punishment, so there is no chance of losing one's life should an innocent person be framed and made guilty of a crime.
People can express their feelings and aspirations through different means.
Here, people can establish a new political party anytime they want. Both men and women are enjoying liberty to the full. For example, the government is totally positive towards girl's education.
The government has reserved seats and quotas for different groups, castes and categories of people.
On the other hand, that is, on the dark side, there is liberty for boozers. People have easy access to liquor and tobacco.
Gambling is carried out very openly, although, once in a while, you might find trouble with the police.
Due to the thriving corruption, only the rich people have access to different government services. Political connections and money power can get many people off the hook even when they have committed a serious crime.
We have the liberty to enforce bandhs and closures or halting transportation even on a minor issue. We also have the liberty to blame anything or any person without proof. Here, we have the liberty to slaughter animals anyway we want, which is to say, the government is not sensitive to animal's basic rights. In most countries of the world, people must strongly abide by the law, and they are also bound by social and religious norms.
It is not always possible for the people to enjoy their life the way they really want it. The laws are very strict, and due to good governance, many of those countries have become developed.
In the context of Nepal, the laws are liberal, and people are enjoying their lives.
Nepal is endowed with resources, but it is not developed due to the poor governance and blurred vision of the politicians.
Indeed, liberty should be for the goodness of the people not to invite a disaster.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.