The lure and lust for power has overwhelmed the economic sense in the entire world. What is happening in Middle East and North Africa or our very own Nepal are classic examples. The sacrifices made by the economy and people for these objectives are just too big. The effects may not be distinctly visible in the short term, but haunt generations in the long term.

Does that mean we should compromise and reconcile with the inevitable? The clear answer is, CERTAINLY NOT! It is natural to raise voices and fight for our right. However, we must know the price we are paying for it. If the cost is more than gains, what is the point of such a fight? In case of Nepal, frequent bandhs called by various organisations have a direct cost along with a massive opportunity cost, as Nepali economy is virtually in shambles and cannot afford economic shocks.

What Nepali economy needs promptly and most desperately are efficiency, consistency and growth (ECG). What we should fight for is ECG of Nepal, but unfortunately there has never been such a protest. Although no one would disagree with me on Nepal’s ECG, how many of us have actually contributed anything to it? I agree that these are not the only issues in Nepal, but the fortunes of Nepal and its people hang on this basic principle. So essentially, it is the biggest issue for Nepal. Any protest, demonstration or bandh at the cost of ECG of Nepal thus involves massive cost for the people of this country, whether they support or oppose the cause of bandh. If all parties concerned, who resort to bandhs for making their voices heard consider the fundamentals first, the bandh culture in Nepal would change for good. Protests are fine and bandhs are justified but the innocent citizens of Nepal are paying a high price for it.

We are now in 21st century, so why should our protests be like that of the past centuries? We in Nepal top the world in bandhs, as no other country has such a terrible track record. The entire world is watching and discounting us for what we are worth today.

Issues raised by these bandhs can be resolved by working hard on them rather than crying foul.

The two most important factors of any conversation, dialogue, argument, protest, fight, bandh or even a revolution are the perspective and medium of communication. No protest in this world is beyond this. If the people resolve that while supporting or calling any bandh, they will not forget the basic perspective — the ECG of Nepal  —  and that they will use better medium of communication not detrimental to the basic perspective, then no one can stop Nepal from bouncing back on global horizon. The day economic sense would prevail over trivial issues in Nepal would truly be a day of liberation.