KATHMANDU: The Nepali Constituent Assembly failed to deliver constitution on the prescribed date.

Frustration towards the 601 members poured out in the social networking sites and newspapers. Those who were keeping constant track of the recent political development, more specifically, blamed the top political ‘old-aged’ brasses. My acquaintance’s Facebook status read, “The country needs young people to change it.” But does it make such a mammoth difference?

Nepali politics is marred with the same faces ruling the political scenes. We even had politicians who actively ‘contributed’ to the politics for six decades and that too, in prominent positions. They witnessed three major political changes and equivalent coups. The contribution of youths in Nepali politics hit the limelight after the armed conflict, that saw unmatched contribution in situations of both peace and conflict. More prominently, few young leaders stepped into mainstream politics, winning confidence of general population. I do not doubt that youths are the driving force of a country and their ‘meaningful’ representation is the ultimate approach to bring about positive change.

However, there are other underlying factors responsible for the filthy state of Nepali politics. What I firmly believe in is the ‘societal representation model of political process’. Why do the flag-carriers represent the country’s situation? The state of Nepal Airlines Corporation is no different than the country’s situation. Another more visible example is the public disobedience to traffic management and rules. Every day, the chaotic traffic is invited by our feeling and action that if we allow other vehicles to pass, then we will have to wait. This list never ends. We never fail to blame, even though the blamer disobeys rules as well.

Interestingly, Nepali politics faces the same attitude and lack of faith.What our society’s leadership lacks is the acceptance and honouring of traits. I find it prevalent in every sphere — the road, business houses, schools and not to forget our families. On the contrary, we often see great business leaders and even father in a family inspiring others. This is merely because of how we accept and honour people. Leadership, which is not limited to politics alone, is not about ruling people; it is more about getting the best out of them. It is impossible to achieve this without accepting and honouring them.

It is not that a brighter future is impossible for Nepal. My debate revolves around how we blame others and fail to see our contribution to the chaos. Youth leaders, or young people in general, have more acceptances towards sudden or even drastic changes. The only change that we all need to make is the way we look at people.

(The author is the MD, trainer and consultant of Aadhar Development Pvt Ltd. Also the founding member and consultant of Catalyst for Transformation Pvt Ltd, he can be contacted at sanamchitrakar@gmail.com)