Pokharel has described corruption as a harsh reality by saying that the employees are compelled to be involved in it because the salary is far less than the sustenance allowance needed for their family's monthly upkeep
The country appears to be heading towards one of the gloomiest periods of its history. There are several reasons to come to this conclusion, but the most worrying aspect is the repeated failure of the government to spend the development budget consistently over the decades. Whether them be the old political parties like the Nepali Congress(NC), Unified Marxist-Leninist, Maoist Centre, Rastriya Prajatantra Party or the new Rastriya Swatantra Party, none of them have succeeded in spending the development budget fully.
What are the factors responsible for this murky state of affairs? Several reasons have been put forward. The most prominent has, however, been labelled as bad governance coupled by corruption rife at all the levels of the government – federal, provincial and local.
The country is governed by the trinity – Judiciary, executive and bureaucracy. The judiciary is generally considered up and above such social evils even though some judges have been found to be tainted. The responsibility thus squarely falls on the executive and the bureaucracy. The involvement of the executives, such as ministers, and bureaucrats like the secretaries in different scams, such as the Bhutanese Refugee Scam, lends credence to this hypothesis.
The duty of the executives is to make laws and policies while that of the bureaucrats is to ensure that these are implemented. In view of this reality, the bureaucracy appears to be having more responsibility than the executives. It is the task of the bureaucracy to ensure that the budget is spent fully without any irregularity like corrupt activities.
This aspect has been highlighted in a book entitled 'Khanda Khanda ma Jindagi: Jigyasa ra Anubhav ko itibritti', or Life, in sections: A tale of inquiry and experience, ghost written by former secretary Padma Pokharel and assisted by Dr Bala Chandra Mishra, Prakash Nepal along with the author's close relatives. It was released amidst a gala function held in the Nepal Academy Saturday in the capital. The function was graced by the First President of Federal Nepal Dr Ram Baran Yadav, who was also the classmate of Pokharel as the chief guest. The book release ceremony was attended by luminaries of various walks of life with Dr Bimal Koirala, a former secretary, and veteran journalist Kishore Nepal sharing the podium. The book was commented upon by Dr Mishra as well as Professor Shanti Krishna Adhikari, an emerging columnist.
All the commentators revealed various aspects of the book, but all of them had one thing in common. Though such books often project the writer as the superhero, this book was different as the ghost writer has remained on the sideline rather than appearing at the front. His declaration that he remained led, rather than being the leader, throughout his life in several places in the book also provides testimony to this fact.
The book is quite rich in content following which all the commentators suggested prescribing it as a textbook for trainees of the Administrative Staff College rather than let it gather dust in the cupboards as is generally the fate of such books. The 400-page memoir has prefaces written by famous Nepali journalists, late Bhairab Rishal and Kishore Nepal. The first section is on employment and life, the second on politics and administration, the third on ancestorial path and context, the fourth on education, the fifth on journeys, the sixth on looking at life by taking a turn and seventh on Sri Krishna is by the great poet, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, while on his death bed. It shows how the book is a mixture of social, political, historical and philosophical themes.
The most striking are however the author's remarks, firstly, on a 15-day police custody by the Commission for Investigation of the abuse of authority (CIAA) for allegedly accumulating wealth from undisclosed sources. Secondly, he has written elaborately on corruption and Panchayati politics. The latter had labelled his father, an NC politician, as an anti-national element. Fourthly, it is on his waiting of his own death.
Regarding the CIAA episode, he has labelled it as political vendetta, given that he has been cleared by the Supreme Court. Besides, he had earlier been suspended and subsequently acquitted by the Patan Appellate Court. His perception about bureaucratic involvement in corruption, however, appears very interesting indeed. On one hand, he has written that the person found guilty of corrupt activities should be punished following the concerned laws. On the other hand, he has described corruption as a harsh reality by saying that the employees are compelled to be involved in it because the salary is far less than the sustenance allowance needed for their family's monthly upkeep. He has, however, failed to give credit to those who have maintained a clean image and walked with their head held high despite obtaining the same facility.
His description of his father's life in exile because of his involvement in NC politics following the end of the nascent democracy marked by the imprisonment of the charismatic Prime Minister, B P Koirala, is very heart-touching. There are also some interesting references, such as waiting for Death where he talks about his right to survive for two decades more when he will be 95 as his father also lived that long. His fascination for the songs of Narayan Gopal also is quite interesting. This book thus makes for a good reading in view of the addressal of several issues that were related to Nepal in his own way by the author.
