Published in Kathmandu Infotiser in March 2006
I was really
surprised when I read about Albert Einstein during my school days. He had to
leave his country; Germany for being involved in politics and criticizing his
government. He was then, a kind of refugee in USA and lived and died there.
Lots of questions and curiosity crammed up in my psyche about his life; why a
great intellect and a scientist of that time like him had to involve in
politics? I might be too adolescent to understand all those.
I finished my graduation
from India and came back to Nepal in 2001. I had a kind of annoyance, which I
still called a political frustration that was prevailed in many youths like me.
In one hand, Maoists insurgencies and in another power game amongst top leaders
of the political parties disappointed many young people like me. Thousands of
scholars drained out of the countries. I was amongst those who hoped that the
peace would be stored in the country but all were in vain.
I observed many
college students on streets fighting with their demands. I thought the students
should study first. Then, the violence, corruptions, bandhs etc. brought me
politically much closer. The king step by step grabbed the power and February 1st,
2005, was a kind of black day in our history. I lost my patience like other
peace loving Nepalese people witnessing all of those violations in everything
including our basic human rights like speech. The blood in my body boiled after
I was injured by police beating during our peaceful protests in a lane near to
our residence.
People from
almost all walks of life are at the bottom of the ongoing protests for complete
democracy in Nepal. I now understand why Einstein was involved in politics. If
we see globally, we find that the country which is politically stable is more
progressed in science and technology which in turn, is more developed and
prosperous. Science and technology, politics and development are a kind of
three angles of a triangle. Life of civilian depends on how developed is the nation.
Therefore, Science, politics and life are integral part affecting each other in
all aspects
Science is all
about exploring new things by continuous discovery, inventions and experiments
that are then implemented in our daily lives for our benefit or the benefit of entire
human society. These all need creativity which require peace of mind. The chaos
disturbs us and creativity is hindered. Scientists need freedom to think and
work. Everyone has their own field and interest. It’s not at all necessary for
anyone to have interest in every field. But political consciousness is the most
important and a vital part of our life. It everyday affects us. Political
crisis we are facing for many years is the most suitable example. It’s not
necessary for us to get interest in politics and actively involved in it. But a
person having no political awareness is like a numb. I still find many people
who are not aware and not wanting to be aware about the crisis in the country.
I wonder whether they are really a part of Nepalese society. Many foreigner
friends of mine write to me asking about the situation. What about our own
youths? Youths should shoulder the responsibility of the country. We know the
leaders have done the mistakes, but we can not ignore our responsibility
blaming on them. We are going to face and live much longer than they are. It’s
also our responsibility to pressurize them to take decision in our favor. We
should be much cautious for the actions of our leaders so that we can exclude
those who cannot contribute according to need of the society after they are
elected. Therefore, political awareness and active involvement in any form is
always essential for each citizens of the country especially youngsters.
