Check Exodus Of Meritorious Youths

The flight of knowledgeable and skilled youth by the thousand every day must be as astounding as worth pondering for any patriotic heart, which on the contrary, does not appear to enter into the minds of ruling class. What Nepali leadership has to really seriously think of now, therefore, is the alarming flight of meritorious youth from Nepal, more especially from hills of the east and the west in recent years. The unfortunate consequence is the inevitable meritorious depletion causing national frustration which badly retards the overall development of the nation. 

There are not more than a couple of reasons for this undesirable youth exodus. First, it is fundamental human desire to move out in pursuit of a place replete with ample opportunities to improve the quality of life.  Second, there is dearth of national policies, practices, and congenial environment to retain the skilled human power in the country. 

Bright Sides

This write-up is not simply the chronicling of darks sides that apparently envelope the entire country. Deep down in the Nepali heart is deep-rooted patriotic sentiment. The national disgruntling about the autocratic system that held sway for about two centuries, especially from when the Rana Regime darkened the country passed long ago. The autocratic Panchayat system that lasted for about three decades also ended. The fact that the patriotic forces have demonstrated their bravery in the political battlefield while confronted with the powerful hostile forces is self-evident for patriotic history of the country. 

Another praiseworthy national character of the country is social harmony. The country of more than 100 ethnicities and the corresponding number of their languages and cultures from different geographical regions and ecological zones have always maintained peace and harmony despite sporadic violence at the instigation of some forces with ulterior motive. At community level people are cooperative and tolerant. The next bright side of the country is beautiful natural heritage along with geographical diversity and temperate climate attracts the countless people from outside which helps earn foreign currency and also raises the pride of the nation. The country with so small a geography with so rich abundance is probably a unique one across the world. 

Despite all these bright sides, we are experiencing the massive youth migration to abroad without full satisfaction. Who can tell our people are happy working hard in gulf countries under the scorching sun? Who can tell our people are happy working for more twelve hours without holidays for sheer livelihood? Who can tell our people are happy while they are discriminated against being the so-called uneducated, ignorant, ugly in terms of psyche and physic? Ours is the country where we can work comfortably despite low wages, where we can live together with our loved family members and dear friends, and where we can breathe freely being the first grade citizens. 

Some conspicuous trends indicate the emergence of national frustration. The fact that the number of students is decreasing in government-funded educational institutions while that number has remained constant in private-funded institutions indicates the decline of meritorious population from the country. The well-educated youths are flying to the foreign countries for better education and job opportunities. Even the average-educated people are reluctant to go for jobs in the rural areas. We often hear, for instance, that the seats of mathematics and science teachers are being vacant at schools of the remote parts. Those who remain in the country are not working happily either. Many of them say they are unlucky people not being able to move out of the country. 

Even in urban space, young people are found dissatisfied. They are found talking about going overseas or at least in the gulf countries, Japan, Korea, and other countries seeking for high paying jobs of manual labour. When we travel in public vehicles in towns, we hear young people talking about taking language classes such as IELTS and TOFEL for higher studies and Japanese or Korean or other languages so that they can move out to the respective countries looking for jobs. The employees in government and non-government sectors are found expressing their dissatisfactions with their works and wages. Farmers grumble about the shortage of fertiliser in time. 

They are also disgruntled about the low prices of their production in agro-market. Industrialists say their manufactured commodities are not well sold in consumers’ market. So much so even the Nepali migrants from abroad send their complaints about their homeland through various forms of social media. The situation of the rural areas is no better. The bliss of rural life has been tremendously ruptured within almost half a century. Despite being naturally greener, most villages in hills have turned culturally gray. The promising youths, the chief agents of making the village lush with ecstatically beautiful greenery, no longer remain the same as they did previously. 

Gloomy faces

The forlorn aged people are dismayed with gloomy faces sitting outside of the house and yearning for their offspring to return home but to no avail. The married women look desperately waiting for their husbands to come back with pots of money thinking that it would bring happiness to their life. The small children too look alienated due to the lack of parental love, which is fundamental human emotion. Such is the plight of our country.

As the situation is worsening so rapidly in all spheres of life, the policy thinkers and decision makers on the contrary seem to turn deaf ears to the paining hearts of the general people. If we cannot cure the disease of people’s frustration that has spread nationwide rapidly, nothing can be more disastrous than this. Considering the nature of Nepali land and its people, the impending fear of national frustration is not incorrigible, however. If the leading class does even little things such as mitigation of political and social evils of different kinds, people are ready to create congenial environment for the development of the nation to the best desirable effect.  

(The author is the chairman of Molung Foundation. bhupadhamala@gmail.com.)