globalization in nepal essay

• Login  /  Register

• Intenet & Communication
• Electronics
• Information Technology
• Data science and AI
• Biotechnology
• Marketing & Sales
• Startups & Business
• Imports & Exports
• Stock & Investment
• Manufacturing
• Hotel and Tourism
• Natural Resources
• Agricultural
• Religion and Culture
• Metals & Mining
• Infrastructure
• Renewable Energy

Join Our Newsletter

Join our subscribers list to get the latest news, updates and special offers directly in your inbox

• Impact of Globalization on Nepal

Learn about the impact of globalization on Nepal and how it has affected its economy, society, and culture. Understand the opportunities and challenges of globalization and how Nepal is responding to them.

The word "globalization" refers to the increase in interconnectedness and interdependence of the world's economies, societies, and cultures. It is a process accelerated by technological, transportation, and communication improvements. It is the process by which one organization develops international influence or starts operating on an internal scale. 

The concept of globalization can be traced back centuries, but the term itself was popularized in the 1990s. Nepal has pursued a globalization policy since joining the World Trade Organization in 2004. 

Some of the positive impacts of globalization in the context of Nepal are listed below;

• Good relations with other countries: Globalization is very important to maintain good relationships with other countries around the world. When the countries enter into mutual trading, there will be an interaction between the people, which helps to maintain a good relationship with each other and exchange their ideas, cultures, knowledge, etc. with one another.
• Expansion of market: Globalization helps expand the markets of small countries like Nepal. It integrates the country with the rest of the world. Goods efficiently produced can be sold worldwide in an extensive international market. This will result in large-scale production.
• Technology transfer: Globalization has made it easier for Nepal to access new technologies and ideas from around the world. By adopting new technologies, Nepal can improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness.
• Voice against global issues: Globalization has helped to raise voices against global issues by increasing connectivity, raising global awareness, enabling the formation of transnational advocacy networks, and facilitating the work of international organizations.
• Job opportunities: Globalization has increased job opportunities in capital-scarce, labor-rich, least-developed countries like Nepal and has contributed to the growth of the global economy.
• Access to various goods and services: Globalization has increased access to various goods and services available at a lower price in the country. People don't have to rely on one product or service, as they find various alternatives.
• Social-cultural transformation: Globalization has resulted in social and cultural transformation, as many countries have peacefully celebrated each other's cultures, religions, and traditions as a result of globalization. 
• People's participation: Globalization has increased people's willingness to demonstrate and speak out against injustice, inequality, and corruption. It directly or indirectly impacts Nepal as well, as people here raise their voices against such activities to show participation.
• Quality product: Globalization can help to create quality products by providing access to technology, increasing competition, developing global standards and regulations, facilitating collaboration and partnerships, and enabling manufacturers to receive feedback from customers around the world.
• Collaboration and partnership: Globalization can facilitate collaboration and partnerships between manufacturers, suppliers, and customers from around the world. This can lead to the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

  Some of the negative impacts of globalization are listed below:

• Erosion of national sovereignty and cultural homogenization: Globalization can lead to the erosion of national sovereignty and cultural homogenization by increasing economic interdependence, negotiating free trade agreements, creating powerful global corporations, spreading Western cultural values, and promoting standardization.
• Income inequality: Globalization can create income inequality in Nepal by creating a skewed distribution of benefits, increasing competition, concentrating wealth, undermining labor standards, and creating unequal access to education and training.
• Increased the gap between poor and rich countries: Globalization has increased the gap between poor and rich countries. As a result of multinational corporations' dominance, domestic businesses in least-developed countries such as Nepal have struggled to thrive.
•    Brain drain Nepal has experienced a significant brain drain as skilled workers such as doctors and engineers relocate to other countries for better opportunities, resulting in a skilled labor shortage in the country.
• Political Influence: It is one of the negative impacts of globalization in Nepal. The major world power tends to intervene in internal affairs and influence the leaders of the respective nations to work for them and for their self-interest, which is not always in the favor of the citizen of these countries.
• Empowering multinational companies: It has another negative impact. For example, when multinational companies open up their businesses in the host country, they make sure to earn lots of profit, and after work is finished, profits usually go back to their home nations, leaving the host nations with nothing in their hands.
• Job displacement: globalization can create job displacement in Nepal by increasing competition from imports, leading to the relocation of production, adopting automation and technology, shifting demand from traditional industries, and expanding the informal sector.

There will always be positive and negative aspects to everything, depending on what part of the world you are in. People who support globalization will emphasize its benefits, whereas those who oppose it will emphasize its drawbacks. Therefore, it is important for countries to carefully manage the process of globalization to ensure that its benefits are maximized and its negative impacts are minimized. This can be achieved through effective policies and regulations that promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and cultural exchange.

• Globalization
• Positive impact of globalization
• Negative impact of globalization
• drawbacks of globalization
• Merits of globalization
• Impacts of globalization in context of Nepal

Previous Article

20 Essential Learnings from Cal Newport's Deep Work Book

Next Article

Architectural and Cultural Significance of Taleju Temple in Kathmandu

What's your reaction.

Alisha Dahal

Related Posts

Government Colleges vs. Private Colleges in Nepal

Swostika Shrestha Jan 31, 2023 0

Nepal's Fight for Democracy: Overcoming Challenges

Rima jha Jun 1, 2023 0

The Concept of Branding - A Comprehensive Guide to Brand...

Anurag Bhusal Jul 7, 2022 0

The Increasing Forest Fire in Nepal

Alisha Dahal Jun 6, 2023 0

The Origin and Development of Ayurveda: From Mythology...

Anisha Khanal Jul 17, 2023 0

An Overview of Different Types of Meditation Practices...

Swostika Shrestha Mar 2, 2023 0

Popular Posts

Top 5 richest person in Nepal

Alisha Dahal May 30, 2023 0

Natural Resources of Nepal: Key to Development

Alisha Dahal Sep 12, 2022 3

Brain Drain in Nepal: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

Alisha Dahal Jun 23, 2023 0

Private Companies in Nepal - A Guide to the Business and...

Alisha Dahal Dec 17, 2022 1

Evolution of E-commerce and Daraz in Nepal

pradip kc Sep 5, 2022 0

Recommended Posts

Architectural and Cultural Significance of Taleju Temple...

Bhushan Lamsal Jul 21, 2024 0

E-commerce in Nepal

brodox Jul 15, 2024 0

KlumFit: Access Multiple Gyms with Single Subscription...

Bhushan Lamsal Jul 6, 2024 0

Rent Your Vehicle and Start Earning With Travel Kendra

BijayaMagar May 26, 2024 1

Navigating the Virtual Classroom: The Rise of Virtual Reality...

Binod Shrestha May 8, 2024 0

Random Posts

The impact of genetically modified organisms (gmos) on....

Swostika Shrestha Mar 7, 2024 0

Unlock the world of GMOs in agriculture. Discover benefits, controversies, and the...

The Psychology of Procrastination: Understanding and Overcoming...

Anisha Khanal Feb 27, 2024 0

Explore the psychology behind procrastination and discover practical strategies...

Budget-Friendly Nepal Travel: Must-Visit Destinations,...

Alisha Dahal Jul 13, 2023 0

Explore Nepal on a budget with our guide. Discover must-visit destinations, affordable...

The Vibrant Newari Tradition: Festivals, Cuisine, Architecture,...

Alisha Dahal Jul 5, 2023 0

Explore the vibrant Newari tradition of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Discover captivating...

Top 5 Electric Vehicles in Nepal: Explore the Best EV Models...

Rima jha Jun 3, 2023 1

Environmentally friendly mobility: Discover the power of electric cars, such as...

Popular Tags

• personal finance
• Trekking in Nepal
• digital marketing
• cultural heritage

Voting Poll

Search This Blog

Contextual Nepal

What are the impacts of globalization in the context of nepal,  what are the impacts of globalization in the context of nepal.

Nepal adopted the policy of liberalization, privatization, and globalization after the restoration of multiparty democracy in the early 1990s as the forerunner of globalization in the south Asian region.   

In 2004, when Nepal got its WTO membership, since then the globalization in Nepal has accelerated. Globalization can bring both opportunities and threats to any developing country, organization, or business and livelihood. 

On one hand, some people are in favor of globalization, whereas, on the other hand, there are people against globalization. People who favor globalization argue that globalization can help the poor country's domestic businesses to reach the international market, which can help the citizens to increase their standard of living, however, people on the other side argue that globalization has only helped the western countries, not the poor ones. As we can see, today most Nepalese businesses and entrepreneurs have been struggling to compete with multinational companies because of their huge capital and investment. People against globalization seem to have a different opinion, for them globalization is a disease, not a medicine.

Some of the positive impacts of globalization in the context of Nepal are mentioned below:

• Globalization has increased the  access to various goods and services  available in the country at a lower price. For example, we can buy Chinese cellphone such as Oppo, Vivo, etc, which provides advanced features than that of Samsung and with reasonable prices. We don't have to rely on one product or service, as we can find various alternatives of product, so we can buy products that match our criteria.
• Globalization has increased the  job opportunities  in capital-scarce, labor-rich least developing countries like Nepal.
• Globalization has brought  social-cultural transformation , where we can see as a result of globalization many countries have been celebrating each others culture, religion, and traditions peacefully for the past few decades.
• The free flow of information and technology  has brought various opportunities. For example, we have an access to search engines, where we can find various reading materials to enhance our knowledge about a specific field. Similarly, with the help of technology, we can transfer our ideas and knowledge from one place to another and can connect beyond our borders.
• Emerging  Regional integration  such as  SAARC ,  BIMSTEC , etc has become effective ways to overcome divisions that impede the flow of people, ideas, products and services, and are a constraint to economic growth, especially in the least developed countries like Nepal.
• Globalization has also increased the  people's participation  to show support and raise voices against injustice, inequality, and corruption. For example, when we see people of western countries fighting against inequality or corruption, it directly or indirectly impacts Nepal as well, as people here raise their voices against such activities to show participation.
• Globalization has enhanced the  voice against global issues   with help of social media many people are coming forward to raise their voices against issues like climate change, terrorism, racial discrimination, and so on.
• More helping hands than before  can be seen in our day-to-day life, which in the past was limited only to local authorities. For example, when Nepal was hit by an earthquake different countries came together to help Nepal by providing health assistance, sanitation, providing food, and other essentials.  Crowdfunding  is another example where people can ask for donations via the internet to support their cause, and interested one can donate.

Along with some of the positive impacts, globalization also has some negative impacts and they are as follows:

• First and foremost, economic globalization has  increased the gap between poor and rich countries . As a result, least developed countries like Nepal have seen domestic businesses struggling to thrive because of multinational corporation dominance.
• Globalization has also resulted in  the exploitation of workers  in developing countries, where the workers are paid just a tiny fraction of what would be paid to workers in developed nations. 
• Another negative impact of globalization is it  empowers multinational companies . For example, when multinational companies open up their businesses in the host country, they make sure to earn lots of profit and after work is finished, profits usually go back to their home nation, and the host nations are left with nothing in their hands.
• Due to globalization,   cultural importance has been gradually vanishing  in most countries, as a result of globalization, people are more attracted to western culture, their lifestyles, cuisines, and so on. For example, as we can see in today's context most youths in Nepal prefer to speak in English, visit pubs and clubs to have some drinks with their friends, watch Hollywood movies, wears western clothes at parties instead of their cultural dress.
• Political influence  is another negative impact of globalization for Nepal. The major world powers tend to intervene in the internal affairs and influence the leaders of the respective nations to work for them and for their self-interest, which is not always in the favor of the citizens of these countries. For example, the Millennium challenge corporation ( MCC ) in Nepal has been on the verge of controversies since the day it was proposed.
• As a result of globalization, Nepal has faced the major problem of  brain drain  as skilled manpower like doctors, engineers are moving from their home country to abroad for better opportunities, which resulted in a lack of skilled manpower for the country.
• Globalization also results in the  rapid circulation of diseases  from one place to another. For example, the coronavirus has affected Nepal significantly.
• Globalization has also brought some major challenges around the globe, i.e. cyber attacks, communal riots, racial discrimination, environmental degradation, climate change, and so on.

Conclusion:

There will always be two sides to every story. In regards to globalization, people who are in favor of this concept argue that globalization has more benefits than drawbacks, whereas, people who oppose this concept argue that, it has resulted in huge exploitation of workers, environmental degradation, and the huge gap between rich and poor countries.

Post a comment, popular posts from this blog, students' absenteeism and its impact on their performance: a case of pokhara university students in kathmandu valley, what are the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic in nepal and how to overcome it.

• Corpus ID: 152955363

Impact of globalization in Nepal

• M. Dahal , Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
• Published 1998
• Political Science, Economics, Sociology

8 Citations

Understanding nepal's development (context, interventions and people's aspirations).

• Highly Influenced

Impact of Globalization in Nepalese Economy

Nepal-india trade: pre and post globalization comparisons, trade liberalization process and its impact on agriculture sector in nepal, economic reforms in nepal and their implications for trade, economic growth, inequality and poverty, communication and culture: reflections on the perspectives of influence, the privatization & its impact in nepal, the implementation of privatisation policy: case studies from nepal, related papers.

Showing 1 through 3 of 0 Related Papers

• Nepal: Prospects and Challenges of Regional Cooperation in South Asia
• Nagdhunga tunnel will help Nepalese economy to help in economic development
• “Pakistan ready to help Nepal in the fields of tourism, trade, etc.; Pak envoy Hashmi
• Nepal: Pakistan PM Shehbaz resolves to overcome multifold challenges
• Nepal-Pakistan Friendship T20 Cricket Tournament-2024 concludes

Nepal: GLOBALIZATION AND THE FUTURE OF NEPALESE ECONOMY-part 2

Economic Nationalism Revisited-Part 2

Professor Madan Kumar Dahal (Late)

Senior economist and former Chairman Mega Bank, Nepal

The fundamental problem facing Nepal in the context of industrialization is the acute shortage of electricity that has not only discouraged foreign direct investments and portfolio inflows but also distorted the investment climate. The commitments shown in the investment forum by a large number of bilateral and multilateral joint investors have remained shelved due to poor infrastructure available for industries. A majority of the joint ventures have recently come to the assembling sector that has some attraction but with insignificant value added.

Nepal’s industrial sector also suffers from the absence of right policies in prioritization as to which specific industry should come first and on what scale. The issues of large vs. small and cottage vs. other industries, inward looking vs outward-oriented, export-oriented vs. import substituting, and labor-intensive vs. capital-intensive technology have remained undecided in the context of pursuing a market-oriented, investment-friendly, and transparent policies to attract foreign capital and technology.

Further, it is also speculated that a substantial amount of foreign exchange is misused, especially in importing raw materials from third countries which is attributable to inappropriate industrial policies in the past. Another important problem facing the industrial sector is that state-owned enterprises have been economically a big burden to the economy and, for that matter, also to the future generations. Although these enterprises have suffered from political encroachment, corruption, and over manning, the process of privatization of such enterprises has been highly objectionable, subject to litigation.

The privatization of three Chinese-aided industries generated a hot national debate over the issue whether the government had the authority to privatize the said enterprises in a manner contrary to the spirit of the constitution. Finally, industrial policy lacks a clear vision on industrial location. As a result, the excessive concentration of carpet industries in Kathmandu has created a serious problem that might lead to environmental degradation and perilous future of tourism. In the absence of a clear policy on industrial location, the hills and the mountain region have failed to develop industrially, smacking of an implicit discrimination against the development of the hill economy.

Nepal’s industrial future is conditioned by four major factors: (a) development of infrastructure, especially in the power sector; (b) a permanent transit treaty with India independent of trade treaty but compatible with the spirit of liberalization; (c) a suitable trade agreement with India, mutually accepted by both sides to boost up Nepal’s export potential to India; and (d) a review of the 1950 treaty to deal with the problems of open border.

Trade liberalization in Nepal has in essence been merely import liberalization. Nepal’s trade sector exhibits huge trade deficits. Of the total Rs.21.1 billion trade deficit incurred during 1992/93, deficit with India alone was estimated to be 53 percent. Data on the direction of foreign trade reflect that CIF import from India and other countries accounts for Rs.38.6 billion against a relatively small size of FOB exports equal to Rs. 17:5 billion. The share of Nepal’s trade with India is approximately 26 percent while with other countries it is around 74 percent.

It is apparent that India’s total trade has declined over the years, but it is also true that Nepal’s trade deficit with India has been widening due to Nepal’s dependence on India’s supply of essential commodities and its persisting inability to expand exports to India. While Nepal’s prospects for exports to India are limited, India has tremendous prospects to increase its exports to Nepal. India has the potential to export goods which Nepal is presently importing from other countries. Engineering goods, drugs, and pharmaceuticals from India have a high demand in the Nepalese market.

Since India has liberalized its economy, the commodities and services provided by India could be more competitive in the Nepalese market compared with other countries’ goods in terms of price, quality, and accessibility.

Unfortunately, Nepal’s traditional exportable items have come down to a zero level. The future of carpet and garment types of industries is likely to remain uncertain and, for that matter, fragile. Recent trade statistics offer an insight into Nepal’s overseas trade with China which accounted for Rs. 692.8 million against zero export in 1991/92. The imports from China comprised 76 items of daily consumption goods, construction materials, and industrial raw materials. Nepal’s overland trade with Tibet, an autonomous region of China, is a mere 1.5 percent of its total trade.

OUTWARD-ORIENTED ECONOMIC NATIONALISM FOR NEPAL:

My earlier paper on the “Future of Nepalese Economy: Economic Nationalism Reconsidered” identified five pillars of economic nationalism as the preconditions for sustainable economic development in a vulnerable economy like Nepal. These five pillars of economic nationalism are: 1) evolution of national consensus on the major economic issues at both the local and national levels, 2) application of independent domestic economy, 3) economic integration within and across the national boundaries, 4) self-reliance, and 5) innovative resource planning. Economic nationalism is essentially a doctrine that assumes and advocates the safeguarding of the nation’s own economic interests as the anchor line of its economic policy.

It supports the notion of minimum essential requirements for a nation’s survival and security, although economic nationalism pursued and policies advocated have differed in different times and places. Expressed in simple terms, economic nationalism is the conduct and management of the welfare of a nation. It is untrue to say that its day ended with the rise of the market economy. Economic nationalism is not just a reaction to the market and price mechanism, nor is it a revolt against non-interventionism. It is, in fact, an appropriate foundation for economic statecraft in a market economy that has to be tested in a vulnerable economic situation on the ground that economic liberalism does contain unrealistic assumptions about the existence of national economic actors and competitive market.

The concept of the outward-oriented economic nationalism would take care of the issue of global compatibility on the basis of comparative cost advantage and vulnerabilities facing Nepalese economy. This includes joint ventures, especially for export promotion, corporatization and privatization of state trading agencies, tax reform with reduced tariff rates including the introduction of value added tax, abolition of import licensing, infrastructural reforms, etc. However, these reforms must not threaten the very foundation of economic activities that are essentially required for sustainable ‘development. If the public sector offers a good deal of profit, efficiency, and competition, privatization can become obsolete.

However, state-owned commercial and trading enterprises such as Rashtriya Banijya Bank, National Trading Ltd., and Nepal Oil Corporation are three parasites that have exerted a great pressure on the exchequer resulting in huge fiscal and budget deficits each year. Surprisingly, successive governments that came into existence in Nepal after 1990 were more interested in providing subsidies to these white elephants, and less concerned to privatize. These enterprises have been a perennial source of kickbacks that government authorities are enjoying for a long time.

On the other hand, if the cost of domestic production is comparatively high inducing imports of inferior quality, then it must be favored by lowering down tax rates. Outward-Globalization and the Future of Nepalese Economy: Madan K. Dahal 77 oriented economic nationalism stands for increasing joint ventures especially meant for export promotion to be initiated by the private sector.

OUTLINING A NEW POLICY FRAMEWORK:

# it would be imperative to develop a consensus on the critical national issues, especially in the field of water resources, joint ventures, trade and transit agreements, abolition of dual ownership on land, etc.

# there is a need to initiate joint ventures with the guarantee of market in India.

# Investment priorities in the context of development activities supported by external assistance need to be reordered. For example, Chinese aid to Nepal needs reordering of priority from infrastructure to harnessing water resources and developing hydroelectricity, especially for farm irrigation and rural electrification both in Nepal and Tibet which suffer from power shortages. A large part of Tibet is underdeveloped and so are Nepal’s northern hills and mountains. There is a standing need to develop a joint proposal exploring the possibility for joint ventures in areas of common interest where benefits could be shared mutually from either side to fight against under-development.

# harnessing of water resources should not be viewed only as an issue on the sales agenda, rather it should be linked with the theory of development. An appropriate human resource development policy can help develop quality manpower to match both national and international demand for manpower.

# it is also necessary to increase the magnitude of expenditure on human resource development. Since the demand for skilled manpower is considerably higher in the developed countries, increasing expenditure on human resource development could offset the loss that occurs due to high absorption of migrant labor into the national economy. There is also a great need to preserve biodiversity in conjunction with its commercial viability that will also help promote sustainable tourism. Since water resources, human resources, tourism, and biodiversity are the very foundation of Nepalese economy, potential GDP could be increased substantially if there is a strong nexus between national economy and globalization. There is a clear need to identify areas where competition is possible in the context of industrial development in Nepal. The other areas that need protection to go for competition in the future must have a specified time-frame. One such area could be the promotion of small and cottage industries that might be instrumental in developing tourism in Nepal.

Efforts should be made to empower the poor to have access to resources.

CONCLUSION:

Nepal is largely facing the crisis of development of underdevelopment which calls for immediate reappraisal of the past development strategies to move from economic subordination to interdependence. Nepal’s economic growth is still characterized by subsistence agriculture that could be lessened by diversifying the economy toward developing the services and light industries. Liberalization of the economy so far has not been able to neutralize the economic vulnerabilities facing Nepal, especially with respect to attracting FDI and private portfolio inflows by improving the investment climate generated by reforms.

The 21st Century is going to be more challenging for Nepal from the economic development point of view. A concrete model of national growth and economic development will certainly necessitate economic nationalism and preservation of the national interest and development in such a context requires globalization of the national economy effectively and cautiously. In this sense, an appropriate admixture of economic nationalism and globalization, the essence of outward-oriented economic nationalism, is what we need today.

This is the time to provide conducive environment to our industries to make a take-off from protection to competition by increasing efficiency and derive the benefits of globalization but without compromising our paramount national interest in perennial survival and growth.

Text courtesy: The Political Economy of Small States published by Nepal Foundation of Advanced Studies (NEFAS) Edited by Professor Ananda Aditya.

# this article is being published in the memory of distinguished author Late Professor Madan Kumar Dahal who was a very intimate friend of this news online portal. Rest in peace Professor Dahal: Ed. Upadhyaya.

# Photo source: from Nepal’s online portals: Ed.

©  2024 Telegraph Nepal | All Rights Reserved.  Powered by: Webbank Nepal

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Globalization and Its Impacts on English Language in Nepal

2019, The Journal of Aadikavi

Globalization has become worldwide in scope which ultimately converts a huge globe into a small global village. Nepal, a multilingual , multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country, has been influencing with the flow, network, and interconnection of globalization, since the 18th century. As a theoretical article based on qualitative research design, this paper aims to unravel the components of globalization and its impacts on English language, education system and language policy in Nepal in an analytical and interpretative way that is supported by experts theories. Further, the article has attempted to raise the issues of the colonization and spread of English, use of English in Nepal, its impacts on language policy, and challenges upon vernacular languages from past to the present. Finally, the article explores that Nepal is profoundly influenced by globalization; its impact is seen on English language, education system, language policy and life style of the entire citizen which pressurizes towards Westernization. Introduction Globalization refers to the flow of trade and capital, dissemination of ideology, the growing integration of economies and societies around the world through free movements of goods, services, people, and information across boundaries. Globalization, a complex process of increasing interdependence, integration, and interaction among individuals, societies, cultures, and institutions around the world in the spheres of economy, culture, knowledge, technology, and politics (Pannilage, 2016). Due to globalization the world is getting closer to us as people around the world have been more and more interconnected through the exchange of goods, services, means of production (labor, capital), information, knowledge, culture and other forms of interaction (Manandhar, 2016). Appadurai (1990) has famously described globalization as a 'complex overlapping and disjunctive order' made up of five different types of forces and flows which he calls 'scapes'. Ethnoscapes-flows of people, technoscapes-flows of technology, financscapes-flows of money, mediascapes-flows of information, and ideoscapes-flows of ideas and discourses. The movement of people, technology, funds, media, and ideas exists in varying and colliding forms. Globalization is universal phenomenon, demand and necessities of the present world, as a result, the world has become as a global village. In this circumstance, the south Asian country Nepal, located on the lap of Himalayas is also heavily influenced with this flow, network and interconnection of globalization which has mass impacts in all the areas. Specifically, the globalization has brought genuine changes and reforms in the education system, English language, and language policy sector in Nepal. Nepali education system have been under the influence of globalization since two century and pressurized to produce human resources for global competition. Nepali education system and process has been informed by national and international norms and standard, learner centered pedagogy, information and communication technology because of the flood of globalization. The form, size, content and context of Nepali education have been customized, the aims and objectives are reshaped and modified, methods and technologies are adopted with respect to globalization concept. Due to the influence of globalization and colonization, the education system in Nepal has been influencing since the Rana Regime to Federalism.

Related Papers

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies

Mina sharma

Just as globalization has affected Nepal's various political, social, and economic sectors, so has its impact on education. Over the last 50-60 years, the influence of English as a foreign language in the Nepalese education system has been increasing. The attraction of English has increased in such a way that it has become like a tradition to learn English before own's mother tongue. Not only in school, but parents are also eager to teach English to their children from home. Parents are constantly trying to improve their child's English. The psychology that a child becomes omniscient if he knows English is affecting everyone. Nepalese society is being influenced by the fact that foreign culture and English are more civilized than their mother tongue and culture. Globalization is currently adversely affecting the Nepalese education system. The English-only education system has not been able to explain the importance of their own language and local knowledge. With the deve...

This study tries to explore the features of Nepalese English. Along with the spread of globalization, there grew cultural flows and linguistic influences. Apart from globalization, global English, English and Englishes existed in the spreading of language territory. When they came into existence, the developing countries like Nepal got the impact of it. Consequently, Nepalese English is being used by people from Nepal although it is intended to be taught like native speakers. Behind this reason, English here is taught by non-native speakers and there is due influence of Nepali language. This paper reflects the experiences and uses of English by non-native teachers and students as well. Though Nepalese English is a variety of English, it has typical features that we can observe and realize among the Nepalese scenario. I interviewed the teachers and students to draw the features of Nepalese English. Finally, on the basis of their use of it at phonetic, syntactic, semantic and discours...

mithu regmi

Chanakya -Journal of Political Science

shakira jabeen

This paper attempts to see the effect of globalization on economic, political and cultural aspects of nations in general and India in particular. The rise of corporate power, the changed equation of power of nation state and the role of technology in a globalized world are some aspects the paper touches upon. An attempt is made to unravel the relationship global language shares with economic globalization. The paper argues that Globalization has not only consolidated the position of English but also transformed language into a skill. The paper argues that an understanding of the role of language in a Globalized nation state requires a new vocabulary, a new paradigm and a new theory which can explain the overriding influence of global trade on various domains of human life. The paper makes an attempt to read the effect of globalization on various domains of human life. (Keywords: : economic globalization, ethics, trade and tariff, global pandemic, global language)

Journal of NELTA, Vol 18 No. 1-2

Ashok Raj Khati

English in developing countries like Nepal has played a crucial role in increasing career and economic opportunities. It has provided access to the information and networks that are vital in building and maintaining economic links. On the other hand, there is an emerging issue of its threat to the local languages because of the massive use of English in different spheres of Nepalese lives. The major focus of the article is on how English has become instrumental in creating opportunities among multilingual communities and what perception these communities hold towards English and the development of local languages by incorporating the perspectives of EFL teachers from multilingual backgrounds and researcher’s own understanding of the context. The paper argues that English has unquestionably become instrumental in promoting career and economic opportunities, and the foremost reasons behind the decline of many local languages are more of political, cultural and economy guided in nature.

Ram Ashish Giri

Abstract The use of English in Nepal was first recorded in the seventeenth century. Officially, however, it was adopted as a foreign language into the formal education system only in the first half of the twentieth century. Despite its “foreign” status until now, users of the language and related studies claim that it is anything but foreign. Its current use in all spheres of life makes the language indispensable and at par with Nepali, the only official language for wider communication. As such, its speakers advocate that English in Nepal deserves more veneration than the term offers. The article provides a socio-linguistic analysis of the English language situation in Nepal, and drawing from research and available literature, it assesses to what extent is such a claim justifiable. In the pretext of its growing popularity and dominance, the article examines its role, status and its position in the national language education policy and points out what implications its changing status has on the national curriculum and pedagogic resources.

The Harvest

Hriseekesh Upadhyay

Nepal is an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) country where teaching and learning of English was disallowed under the Ranas for political reason while English took root in the rest of South Asia under the British colonial dispensation for over two centuries. English was adopted as a useful tool to enhance Nepal’s standing and to strengthen its relations with the outside world after the Ranas were removed from ower in 1951. This research paper dwells on how choosing English for use in a nation for education, business and foreign relations constitutes a political act and how Nepal’s political history guided the resistance to use English in the nation and how the changed political scenario pushed the country to adopt teaching and learning of English in a big way. Political thinking even determines how the choice of English is described at the official level to camouflage it as a purely nationalistic invention dubbing it as one of the U.N. languages which Nepal as a member must master...

Mohan Singh Saud

This article is the result of the pilot study of my PhD research project. It examines the views of the school principal, teachers, ethnic students and ethnic parents regarding the need and use of EMI along with its classroom practice. Nepal is a multilingual and multilicultural country with diverse geo-biological landscape. However, public schools in Nepal have been adopting English medium instruction as a new linguistic market in education, challenging the mother tongue based multilingual education policy of the government. This paradigm shift from Nepali as a medium of instruction (NMI) to English medium instruction (EMI) has raised controversy in the education system of Nepal. As this study found, there has been a growing demand of parents of EMI seeing English as a linguistic capital in the global socio-economic market and they have taken it as economic investment in education. A noticeable contradiction to the successful introduction of EMI in public school education is the ten...

The status of English in Nepal has changed in the last seven decades. Adopted first as a ‘foreign’ language, English, in recent years, has become an indispensable part of life for the Nepalese people. In fact, it is presently used as an additional language,second language and even primary language in many socio-economic and educational domains in Nepal. Even though English had been in use in Nepal for a long time, it was only adopted as a foreign language into the formal education system in the first half of the twentieth century, and it continues to have this status, despite the fact that scholars and users of the language claim that it is anything but foreign. Its current domination in all spheres of life makes the language indispensable and on a par with Nepali, currently the only official language for wider communication.As such, many advocate that English in Nepal deserves greater recognition than the term foreign language offers. The present article makes a sociolinguistic analysis of the English language situation in Nepal and, drawing from research and the available literature, it assesses to what extent the claim that it has many faces is justifiable. In view of the growing popularity and dominance of English, the article examines its role and status in the national language education policy, and points out what implications its changing status has on the national curriculum and pedagogic resources.

Open Journal of Social Sciences

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

World Englishes

Shyam Pandey

NUTA Journal

Bishnu Bahadur Khatri

Journal of Language and Education

Prem Poudel

Asia Pacific Journal of Education

Pramod K . Sah

Working Papers in Educational Linguistics 28(1)

Miranda Weinberg

Journal of NELTA

London Review of Education

Academia Letters

Rabu Ranjit

Uma Pradhan

Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada

Navin Singh

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education

Yadu Prasad Gyawali , Bishnu Khadka

SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGE REVIEW

Mohamed DEKKICHE

International Multilingual Research Journal

Himalayan Journal of Sociology and Anthropology

Prakash Upadhyay

sandhya sharma

Lady Otaibi

Editor IJIRMF

Bal Krishna Sharma , Prem Phyak

Elt Journal

David Block

Globalisation, …

Jeremy Rappleye

Nirmala Mani Adhikary

Current Issues in Language Planning

Tae-Hee Choi

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Social Science Baha

• Lecture Series

Globalisation in Nepal: Theory and Practice

The Mahesh Chandra Regmi Lecture 2011

17 August, Kailash Hall, Hotel Shanker, Lazimpat, Kathmandu

Globalisation in Nepal: Theory and Practice by  James F. Fisher

If a single word can summarise the experience of Nepal in the first decade of the 21st century, that word is surely ‘change’. But if ‘change’ can refer to altered states of almost anything, the meta-question of how change itself is changing is even more challenging. I discuss three separate instances of changing dynamics in Nepal, which at first seem utterly unconnected: the first is the Sherpas of Solu-Khumbu, the second is the Kaike-speaking Magars of Dolpa, and the third is the political figure, Tanka Prasad Acharya. 

These three areas are unconnected in almost every way imaginable—geographically, culturally, linguistically, economically, religiously, and politically. I hope to show that, despite all these multiple differences, they share two analytical commonalities: one is that they are (or were, in Tanka Prasad’s case) undergoing the process of globalisation, in some ways an ancient process but one which now, and increasingly, confronts us all at every turn. I discuss an aspect of globalisation (the social and cultural sides of it, rather than the economic) not normally recognised as such, and discussed even less, but which, I hold, are central to understanding how change is changing in Nepal.

The second similarity results from using an analytical approach emphasising what in anthropological jargon is sometimes called ‘practice’, a term as obscure as globalisation is common, and which I will try to clarify, but which initially we can take as the idea that human behaviour is generated more by the things that we actually do than the beliefs that we hold. This leads to the epistemological position that only insofar as one does things is it possible to know about things. Therefore, I discuss, in the examples, what people do in everyday life (the exertion of agency by individuals, resulting in the creation of cultural novelty), especially to the extent that what they do is affected by globalisation. Since both these phenomena occur on a more or less unconscious level, the ancillary proposition follows that since we do not know what we are doing, what we do has more meaning than we know.

Listen or download lecture in audio format

James Fisher  taught for 38 years at Carleton College, Minnesota, where he was Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies. His geographic interests lie in South Asia, and he has done fieldwork in Nepal on and off for almost 50 years on economics and ecology among Magars in Dolpa, education and tourism among Sherpas near Mount Everest, and he did a person-centred ethnography on Tanka Prasad Acharya, human rights activist. As a visiting Fulbright Professor, he spent two years helping start a new Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tribhuvan University, Nepal.Prof Fisher’s books include  Living Martyrs: Individuals and Revolution in Nepal (1997), Sherpas: Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal (1990), Trans-Himalayan Traders: Economy, Society, and Culture in Northwest Nepal (1986), Himalayan Anthropology: the Indo-Tibetan Interface (1978), and Introductory Nepali (1965).

Download lecture in pdf

St. John's Scholar

Home > Journals > Journal of Global Awareness > Vol. 2 > No. 2 (2021)

Journal of Global Awareness

The Economic Impact of Globalized Education in Nepal

Dhruba Bhattarai , Tribhuvan University, Nepal Follow

Document Type

The global trends in higher education highlight the growing popularity of international education shift towards innovation and better productivity that demand updated and high-quality human resources. And on the supply side, it creates pressure on families to send their children to educational institutions not only within the country but also abroad. In the context of Nepal, the trend of opening higher education institutions and students going abroad for study accelerated after 1990. Students enrolled in the country and abroad are establishing networks to work through the exchange of ideas and products in the global market. In this paper, I present the primary findings from my research on the economic impact of globalization on education in Nepal by using the supply side human resource data of student enrollment in higher education in the country and Nepali students abroad, and its impact on trade, migration, foreign direct investment and remittance to the national economy of Nepal. For this study, 20 years of secondary data of above mentioned variables have been analyzed with the help of the econometric method of causal relations. Results show a positive impact of globalization on the economy of Nepal. The findings will be useful for making policy recommendations to developing countries like Nepal to enhance education by grasping the opportunities globalization offers.

Recommended Citation

Bhattarai, Dhruba (2021) "The Economic Impact of Globalized Education in Nepal," Journal of Global Awareness : Vol. 2: No. 2, Article 5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24073/jga/2/02/05 Available at: https://scholar.stjohns.edu/jga/vol2/iss2/5

Since December 14, 2021

Language politics in Nepal: A socio-historical overview

This paper aims to outline the language politics in Nepal by focusing on the influences and expansions shifted from Global North to the Global South. Based on a small-scale case study of interviews and various political movements and legislative documents, this paper discusses linguistic diversity and multilingualism, globalization, and their impacts on Nepal’s linguistic landscapes. It finds that the language politics in Nepal has been shifted and changed throughout history because of different governmental and political changes. Different ideas have emerged because of globalization and neoliberal impacts which are responsible for language contact, shift, and change in Nepalese society. It concludes that the diversified politics and multilingualism in Nepal have been functioning as a double-edged sword, which on the one hand promotes and preserves linguistic and cultural diversity and on the other hand squeezes the size of diversity by vitalizing the Nepali and English languages through contact and globalization.

1 Introduction

Nepal is a multilingual, multicultural, multiracial, and multi-religious country. Despite its small size, Nepal is a country of linguistic diversity with four major language families, namely, Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Dravidian (Munda), and Austro-Asiatic, and one language isolate, Kusunda ( Poudel and Baral 2021 ). The National Population and Household Census 2011 ( Central Bureau of Statistics 2012 ) records the number of speakers for 123 languages and some other includes an additional category of ‘other unknown languages’ with close to half a million speakers. The state intervention to preserve and promote these languages remained inconsistent throughout history, as some governments intentionally discouraged the planned promotion compared to others which designed some measures to promote them. Both monolingual and multilingual ideologies remained as points of debate in political and social spaces.

Language politics is the way language is used in the political arena in which people can observe the treatment of language by various governmental and non-governmental agencies. Research related to language politics focuses on identifying and critiquing any sets of beliefs about language articulated by users as a rationalization or justification of perceived language structure and use ( Dunmre 2012 : 742; Silverstein 1979 : 193). In this context, every political movement is the outcome of different conflicting ideas between language users and linguistic differences running through any society ( Pelinka 2018 ). The politics of language choice becomes particularly difficult when institutional choices have to be made in what language(s) the government will conduct its business and communicate its citizens, and, above all, what the language(s) of education will be ( Joseph 2006 : 10). Nepal’s language politics and democratic movements question whether democracy can promote linguistic diversity, or narrow down diversity by marginalizing ethnic/minority languages. In Nepal, linguistic diversity and democracy have been challenged by the contradiction between the normative assumption of existing demos and the reality of a society that is too complex to be defined by one orientation only by nation, culture, and religion ( Pelinka 2018 : 624). Nepal’s language politics has not been explained from such a perspective where we can see several factors influencing the issues related to language, culture, and society. Hence, this paper tries to overview the language politics in Nepal which has been influenced by various external and internal factors.

2 Brief history of language politics in Nepal

Following the Gorkha [1] conquest, Gorkhali or Khas (now known as Nepali), the language of ruling elites and mother tongue of many people in the Hills, was uplifted as the national official language in Nepal. After unification, [2] a hegemonic policy in terms of language and culture was formulated which promoted the code (linguistic and dress) of the Hill Brahmins, Chhetries, and Thakuris to the ideal national code (i.e. Nepali language and Daura Suruwal Topi-dress [3] ). This has been interpreted as one of the attempts to promote assimilatory national policy (in terms of language and culture) that contributed to curbing both linguistic and cultural diversity. However, for the rulers then, it was an attempt to establish a stronger national identity and integrity. The Rana regime further prolonged this ‘one nation-one language’ policy by uplifting the Nepali language in education and public communication. The Rana, during their rule, suppressed various language movements (Newar, Hindi, Maithili, etc.), which serves as evidence of their deliberate plan to eliminate all but one language, viz. Nepali. In this sense, we can understand that Nepal’s diversity and multilingual identity were suppressed historically in the name of nation-building and promoting national integration among people with diverse ethnic and cultural orientations.

Following the end of the Rana oligarchy in 1950, with the establishment of democracy, some changes were noticed concerning the recognition and mainstreaming of the other ethnic/indigenous languages. This instigated the policy change in terms of language use in education as well. However, the status quo of the Nepali language further strengthened as it was made the prominent language of governance and education. The Education in Nepal: Report of the Nepal Education Planning Commission ( Sardar et al. 1956 ), the first national report on education, basically reflected the ideology of monolingualism with the influence of Hugh. B. Wood. It stated, “If the younger generation is taught to use Nepali as the basic language then other languages will gradually disappear” ( Sardar et al. 1956 : 72). Though this report formed the backbone of Nepal’s education system, it also paved the way for minimizing the potential for empowering the languages of the nation. Pradhan (2019 : 169) also writes that this commission attempted to “coalesce the ideas of Nepali nationalism around the “triumvirate of Nepali language, monarchy, and Hindu religion”. The same idea was reinforced by K. I. Singh’s government in 1957 by prescribing Nepali as the medium of instruction in school education.

The Panchayat regime also promoted the use of Nepali as the only language of administration, education, and media in compliance with the Panchayat slogan ‘one language, one dress, one country’ ( eutaa bhasha, eutaa bhesh, eutaa desh ), again providing a supportive environment for strengthening the monolingual nationalistic ideology (i.e. the assimilatory policy). Not only in education but also in governance, English or Nepali language was made mandatory in recording all documents of companies through the Nepal Companies Act 1964 ( Government of Nepal 1964 ). Following the Panchayat system, with the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 ( Government of Nepal 1990 ) provisioned the Nepali language written in Devanagari script [4] as the national language, and also recognized all the mother tongues as the languages of the nation with their official eligibility as the medium of instruction in primary education. The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 ( Government of Nepal 2007 ), which came as a collective outcome of the various political movements and Andolan II continued to strengthen the Nepali language, but ensured (in Part 1, Article 5.2) that each community’s right to have education in their mother tongue and right to preserve and promote their languages, script, and culture as well.

The recognition of all the mother tongues as the languages of the nation was a progressive step ahead provisioned by the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063. Apart from further confirming the right of each community to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civility, and heritage, the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 (Part 3, Article 17) clearly explained the right to each community to acquire basic education in their mother tongue as provided for in the law. The same was well articulated in the Constitution of Nepal 2072 ( Government of Nepal 2015 ) as well, and each state was given the authority to provide one or many languages spoken by the majority population as the official languages. Along with this, the language commission was established in 2016 to study and recommend other issues related to language and multilingualism (Part 1, Article 7 of the Constitution of Nepal 2072 ). However, it can be realized that these policy provisions that embrace diversity will have less effect if the concerned communities or agencies do not translate them into practice.

3 Research method

This study, following a qualitative approach, is based on a small-scale case study with primary and secondary data sets.

The author has obtained the primary data from semi-structured interviews with two selected individuals who have spent their lives in politics and especially language movements and advocacy for language preservation and promotion in Nepal. They were observed and interviewed informally on many occasions from 2019 to 2020 related to language issues like constitutions, language movements, language diversities and democracy, and so on. The interviews (altogether 3 h each) were recorded, transcribed, and translated into English, and were checked for accuracy and reliability.

Mr. Yonjan and Dr. Thakur [5] have been selected from two different political and linguistic backgrounds. Mr. Yonjan is a liberal democratic fellow who has been working as a freelance language activist for more than 40 years, involving himself in many governmental and non-governmental policies and programs related to language issues. Dr. Thakur worked as a politician (left-wing) and teacher educator who later joined Radio Nepal, engaged in various cultural advocacy forums of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal, and again moved to politics at the later part of his life. He was a member of the parliament in the Constituent Assembly. Mr. Yonjan is the native speaker of Tamang (a major Tibeto-Burman language) and Dr. Thakur is a native speaker of Bhojpuri (a major Indo-Aryan language), and both of them learn Nepali as a second language. In that, both of the individuals have active engagement in language politics and planning, however, are from different cultural, linguistic, and geopolitical backgrounds. It is assumed that their ideas would make the understanding of language politics in Nepal more enriched.

The secondary data is obtained from a detailed reading of available literature about language politics. Nepal’s language and educational history, various political movements, constitutions and legislative documents, policy documents, and other published research papers and documents have been carefully utilized.

4 Findings and discussion

Language politics in Nepal has a very long history since the beginning of modern Nepal. After the victory of Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gurkha King whose mother tongue was Khas (Nepali), in Kathmandu valley (1769), Nepali became the language of law and administration ( Gautam 2012 ) where the vernacular language was Newar spoken by the majority of people. Since then, language politics has become the center of democratic and political movements in Nepal.

Nepali language was highlighted and became the language for all public and private activities after the Unification Movement (1736–1769) in Nepal. Janga Bahadur Rana’s visit to the United Kingdom and his relation to British India made it possible for the Nepalese rulers to start English Education formally in Durbar High school in 1854. After Rana Regime, Nepal experienced an unstable political scenario for 10 years before the establishment of the Panchayat Regime in 1961 which employed assimilatory language policy until 1990. The country was converted into a multiparty democratic system and eventually, most of the ethnic and minority linguistic groups flourished for the preservation and documentation of their ethnic and cultural heritages. At present, Nepalese politics has been influenced by ethnic, cultural, and language issues at the center.

4.1 Legal and constitutional provisions

Nepalese constitutions are the main sources of language politics in Nepal. Before the construction of the constitution in the country, some government policies played a vital role in creating language issues debatable all the time. The first legal court Muluki Ain [6] (1854) enforced Hinduisation and Nepalization in Nepal by ignoring most of the other ethnic languages. The establishment of the Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC) by the recommendation of the National Education Board of the Government of Nepal emphasized the Nepali language by implementing it as a medium of instruction in all levels of education.

The medium of instruction should be the national language (Nepali) in primary, middle, and higher educational institutions because any language which cannot be made lingua franca and which does not serve legal proceedings in court should not find a place. The use of national language can bring about equality among all classes of people. ( Sardar et al. 1956 : 56)

This excerpt indicates the emphasis given to the Nepali language by the government then. The use of Nepali in education was further reinforced by the K. I. Singh government in 1957 by prescribing Nepali as the medium of instruction. The case of Nepali was again strengthened during the Panchayat regime. In 1961, the National System of Education was introduced to promote the use of only Nepali in administration, education, and media in compliance with the Panchayat’s popular slogan of ‘one language, one dress, and one country’. In addition, the Nepal Companies Act was passed in 1964 directing all companies to keep their records in English or Nepali. The Panchayat constitution followed a nationalist assimilation policy to promote the Nepali language in different ways.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 ( Government of Nepal 1990 : 4) framed after the restoration of democracy recognized languages other than Nepali and made the following provisions about the non-Nepali languages:

(1) The Nepali language in the Devanagari script is the language of the nation of Nepal. The Nepali language shall be the official language. (Part 1, Article 6.1) (2) All the languages spoken as the mother tongue in the various parts of Nepal are the national languages of Nepal. (Part 1, Article 6.2)

In addition, the constitution also made a provision for the use of mother tongues in primary education (Part 1, Article 18.2). It also guaranteed a fundamental right to the people to preserve their culture, scripts, and their languages (Part 1, Article 26.2).

Similarly, the Maoist movement that started in 1996 brought new changes and dynamics among all the ethnic minorities of Nepal. This political campaign motivated them to preserve and promote their languages and cultures which has been documented in the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 . The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 ( Government of Nepal 2007 : 2), an outcome of the people’s revolution (Andolan II), made the following provisions for languages:

(1) All the languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal are the national languages of Nepal. (2) The Nepali Language in Devanagari script shall be the official language. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2), it shall not be deemed to have hindered to use the mother language in local bodies and offices. State shall translate the languages when they are used for official purpose. (Part 1, Article 5)

Regarding education and cultural rights, the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 ( Government of Nepal 2007 : 8) enshrined the following provisions:

(1) Each community shall have the right to receive basic education in their mother tongue as provided for in the law. (2) Every citizen shall have the right to receive free education from the State up to secondary level as provided for in the law (3) Each community residing in Nepal has the right to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civilization and heritage. (Part 3 Article 17)

The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 was more progressive and liberal than the constitution of 1991. For the first time, this constitution recognized all the languages spoken in Nepal as the national languages. Apart from further confirming the right of each community to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civility, and heritage, this constitution (Part 3, Article 17) discussed the right to each community to acquire basic education in their mother tongue as provided for in the law. However, the role of the government was to facilitate the speech communities to materialize these rights which still are not effective.

Likewise, the latest Constitution of Nepal 2072 ( Government of Nepal 2015 : 4) has clearly stated the following provisions:

Languages of the nation: All languages spoken as the mother tongues in Nepal are the languages of the nation. (Part 1, Article 6)

Official language: (1) The Nepali language in the Devanagari script shall be the official language of Nepal. (2) A State may, by a State law, determine one or more than one languages of the nation spoken by a majority of people within the State as its official language(s), in addition to the Nepali language. (3) Other matters relating to language shall be as decided by the Government of Nepal, on recommendation of the Language Commission. (Part 1 Article 7)

The Constitution of Nepal 2072 ( Government of Nepal 2015 ) conferred the right to basic education in mother tongue (Article 31.1), the right to use mother language (Article 32.1), and preservation and promotion of language (Article 32.3). This constitution states that each community shall have the right to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civility, and heritage. Unless the constitution articulates the responsibility of the government to preserve and promote the endangered languages, the efforts of the communities will be useless. Observing and analyzing the legal provisions, Nepal has manifested significant progress and gradual development in the use of languages along with historical events. The key measure of a language’s viability is not the number of people who speak it, but the extent to which children are still learning the language as their native tongue. The Constitution of Nepal 2072 ( Government of Nepal 2015 ) also made the provision of establishing a language commission in article 287 which was a landmark in Nepalese history.

4.2 Democracy and political movements

Nepal’s language politics is guided by various democratic and political movements in different periods. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( United Nations 1948 ) asserts that democracy assures the basic human rights for self-determination and full participation of people in the aspects of their living such as decision-making about their language and culture (Article 27). Nepal’s political parties and the ruling governments never understand the seriousness of political movements and democratic practices. Human rights also provide them with ways of assuring social benefits such as equal opportunities and social justice. In Nepal, diversity was promoted by democracy through the policy provisions, especially after the promulgation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 . The basic rights for the use of indigenous languages were assured in the constitution as well as other educational acts formed as outcomes of democratic political turns. The changes in the policy provisions provided opportunities for linguists, language rights activists, and advocacy groups or individuals to explore more about their languages and cultures. Due to their attempts, also supported by the democratic political system, new languages were identified, and some others were streamlined through the preparation of educational materials such as textbooks for primary level education. However, pragmatic actions remained fragile for education in the schools to support the aspiration for promoting diversity, which ultimately resulted in squeezing multilingualism. The statistical data shows that the number of languages spoken as mother tongues in Nepal is 129, [7] some scholars still doubt whether these languages functionally exist in reality ( Gautam 2019a ), or if they are there, then the practice may be fragile. In having such a very weak practice in the field, it can be noted that various factors played key roles, including lack of community participation, hegemonic attitude, and agency of the individuals who could have purposive actions.

For instance, the recognition of linguistic diversity in Nepal can be observed clearly after the establishment of multiparty democracy in 1990. Sonntag (2007 : 205) stated that “the Nepali-only policy was discarded in favor of an official language policy that recognized Nepal’s linguistic diversity”. This shows that the democratic political system that remained open to the neoliberal economy embraced linguistic diversity as a resource, due to which the multilingual identity of Nepalese society was officially recognized. However, at the same time, this political system could not preserve the minority/indigenous languages as expected, which prompted us to question the co-existence of diversity and democracy. Also, “[i]t is very much a matter of democracy that everyone has the right to language and that society has a common language that everyone can understand and use” ( Rosén and Bagga-Gupta 2013 : 59). As democratic states (e.g. Nepal, India, and Sweden) which address the contradictory discourses of language rights and develop equal access for everyone to a common language (e.g. Nepali in Nepal) are struggling to settle the language issues. However, the fundamental question still not well-answered, at least in the case of Nepal, is whether democracy can, in a real sense, promote linguistic diversity, or it narrows down the diversity by marginalizing the ethnic/minority languages. While responding to this unanswered concern, this article finds that diversity as a resource and diversity as a problem are the two distinct discourses that emerged during the evolutionary process of democracy in Nepal, which is also emphasized by the two participants.

4.3 Linguistic diversity and politics

Linguistic, cultural, and geographical diversities are the essences of Nepalese democratic practices in different periods in history. Nepal’s modern history starts with the unification campaign of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the first Shah King of Nepal. Prithvi Narayan Shah’s unification modality worked indirectly to promote the politics of assimilation in nation-building, national integration, and identity. Roughly, all other systems of governance following the unification adopted similar ideological orientations, which (in) directly contributed to the marginalization of other mother tongues. Mr. Yonjan expressed his view as, “Historically, even before the unification movement of Nepal, there were several territories in which the state Kings used to speak their own languages, and the linguistic diversity was preserved and strengthened”. He further claimed, “The geopolitical, historical, socio-political, and anthropological history recognized the multilingual social dynamics, however, the national policies after the unification too could not embrace such diversity”. By saying so, Mr. Yonjan expressed that the current political systems and the ideologies of Nepali nationalism were guided by the notion of ultra-nationalism. Dr. Thakur also emphasized that the government’s multilingual policies would not operate as the practice had largely shaped people’s orientation towards Nepali and English, side-lining the regional and local languages. The same perception was reported by Mr. Yonjan as, “Though careful efforts were made in the policy level to promote the regional/local languages through status planning, there still existed the attitudinal problem which undermined the potential of bringing local and minority languages into practice”. Their claims also adhered to the statements made in the documents which reflect the hidden language politics of Nepal.

Both informants in this study argued that diversity has two different outcomes viz. as a resource and as a problem. Mr. Yonjan claims, “If any language of a community dies, the culture and lifestyle of that community disappears and it reduces biodiversity, and that ultimately will be a great threat to humanity”. He understands linguistic diversity as a part of the ecology and strongly argues that it should be protected. Agnihotri (2017 : 185) also echoes a similar belief as “Just as biodiversity enriches the life of a forest, linguistic diversity enhances the intellectual well-being of individuals and groups, both small and large”. But Dr. Thakur views that “In Nepal, along with the history, there remains an ideological problem that diversity is understood as a construct for division, rather than understanding it as a potential tool for nation-building”. He further clears that this community-level ideology and practice has led to the fragmentation of values associated with their languages, most probably harming the socio-historical harmony among languages. Mr. Yonjan further added, “No language should die or move towards the edge of extinction in the name of developing our own existence and condition”. Both Mr. Yonjan and Dr. Thakur pointed out that the discourse on diversity and multilingualism in Nepal had been strengthened and institutionalized after 1990 when the country entered a multiparty democratic system.

However, Mr. Yonjan thinks that the current legislative provisions have partially addressed the diversity needs to fit Nepal’s super diverse context. Dr. Thakur again indicates that the rulers for long “undermined the potential of the linguistic diversity and wished to impose a monolingual national system that marginalized the use of these languages”. Mr. Yonjan also provided a similar view as “in Nepal, throughout the history, there remained a political problem that diversity was understood as a construct for division, rather than a potential tool for nation-building”. His understanding also reflects what was discussed in the western countries as Nettle (2000 : 335) clarifies “the linguistic and ethnic fragmentation relates to low levels of economic development since it is associated with societal divisions and conflicts, low mobility, limited trade, imperfect markets, and poor communications in general”. Therefore, the direct economic benefits from learning a language were a great motivation for the people in the communities. In other words, they have preserved the sentimental functions of the minority languages while they have embraced the dominant languages associating them with educational and economic potential gains. This community-level politics and practices have led to the fragmentation of values associated with their languages, most probably harming the socio-historical harmony among languages. Gautam (2018) has pointed out this concern as a cause of intergenerational shifts in languages among the youths of indigenous languages (such as Newar, Sherpa, and Maithili in Kathmandu Valley). Consequently, this trend has influenced the participation of the relevant communities in campaigns for the revitalization of their languages that points to the influence of the Global North in bringing ultranationalist values in Nepal’s language politics and diversity.

4.4 Impact of globalization

The international political-economic structure seems stacked against a substantial or near future diminishment of “the North-South gap” ( Thompson and Reuveny 2009 : 66). The neoliberal trends that emerged from the Global North have traveled to the Global South, influencing these countries through the language and culture of the countries in the Global North. The unprecedented expansion of English as a global phenomenon ( Dearden 2014 ) can be a good example of such an effect. It involved various combinations of developmental states recalling domestic markets from foreign exporters (import substitution) and the recapture of domestic business (nationalization). The outcome, aided by investments in education, was a new elite of technical managers and professionals who could build on historical experiences and opportunities in the post-war environment to manufacture and market commodities involving increasing product complexity and scale. Migration and demographic changes have had variable impacts on the North-South gap. Nepali youths’ labor migration and their English preference have also influenced the generational shifts in languages ( Gautam 2020 : 140). The youths’ migration to the countries in the Middle East, and their participation in the global marketplaces in the Global North countries have contributed to the reshaping of their ideologies towards the home languages and English. Mr. Yonjan states, “We have made lots of choices in our society and education systems (e.g. choice of language for education, western culture, and lifestyles) attracted by the politics and ideologies created even by our immigrant Nepali population usually in the western world”. Among many, this expression can be understood as one of the causes for stressed deviating tendencies in language shifts, usually from mother tongues or heritage languages and dominant national languages to English. In the context of Nepal, either English or Nepali has been highlighted even though there have been lots of attempts of implementing mother tongue-based multilingual education.

4.4.1 English and globalization

English has become the global language because of its use, function, and popularity in most of the social, cultural, and academic areas. A sizeable body of scholarship has addressed the topic of globalization and its impact on the modern world ( Giddens 1991 ; Levitt 1983 ). Among several definitions, globalization refers to the multifarious transformations in time and place that influence human activities through the creation of linkages and connections across geographical borders and national differences ( Giddens 1991 ; Held et al. 1999 ). In the context of Nepal, these linkages and connections are often facilitated through various globalized activities, such as marketing, transportation, shipping, telecommunications, and banking. Similarly, sociolinguists and language planners have examined the phenomenon of global English and its impact on the linguistic landscape around the world. Crystal (2012) maintains that a language attains a global status once it has gained a distinctive role in every nation-state around the globe. This special role is manifested in three ways: functioning as the mother tongue of the majority of citizens, being assigned the official status, and/or playing the role of the major foreign language. Many observers view English as the global language par excellence of the Internet, science and education, entertainment, popular culture, music, and sports. The emergence of global English is also attributable to some factors, notably the economy, military, and politics.

Historical records show that English was used in Nepal as early as the seventeenth century ( Giri 2015 ). However, English language education started formally after Janga Bahadur visited the UK during British rule in India. He knew the importance of English and started English Education in Durbar School for selected Ranas. It was the first government-run English medium school in Nepal. It was only established for the Rana family as the Ranas saw an educated person as a threat to their control ( Caddell 2007 ). The first post-secondary (higher) educational institution in Nepal was Trichandra College (1918) where the language of instruction was English. The main purpose was to shelter students of Durbar School and to stop them from going abroad (India) for further education. The underlying purpose was to prevent Nepalese from getting radical ideas that could be dangerous for them and the entire Rana regime. Tri-Chandra College was affiliated with Patna University, India. It borrowed the syllabus and assessment system from there; therefore, there was a direct influence of the British Indian Education System in the Nepalese system. Another very important reason for the spread of English was the recruitment and the retirement of the Nepalese British army. As English was mandatory for their recruitment in the British army, the youngsters willing to join the British army learned English. After their retirement, these armies returned to their homeland and inspired their younger generations to learn English. In South Asian countries, English is viewed as a language of power and as a means of economic uplift and upward social mobility ( Kachru et al. 2006 : 90). It led to the establishment of many private schools and colleges and made English indispensable to the Nepalese curriculum. Later, it became the language of attraction for all academic activities. The spread of global English as an international lingua franca intensifies socio-economic disparities both within and between speech communities. Tollefson (1995) and Pennycook (1995) explain that the promotion of English as an international language is driven by social, economic, and political forces, thereby giving rise to economic inequalities. In the same way, Canagarajah (1999) noted that generally, native speakers of English are presented with better compensation and benefits packages compared to non-natives, regardless of their academic qualifications. In Nepal, the state’s neoliberal ideology in the post-1990 era, however, has valorized the commodity value of English as a global language, creating a hierarchy of languages in which minoritized languages like Newar, Sherpa, Maithili, Tharu, Limbu, etc. remain at the bottom ( Gautam 2021 ). Following the state’s neoliberal structural reforms, a large number of private schools popularly known as ‘English medium’ and ‘boarding’ schools have been established with private investments in many parts of the country ( Sharma and Phyak 2017 : 5). The establishment of various international non-governmental organizations like the United Nations Organization (UNO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United National Education, the Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and regional organizations like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have spread the use and demand of English. After the restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepal’s active participation in such organizations made English vital in Nepalese society. Although it has a sort of colonial liability, it is now accepted as an asset in the form of a national and international language representing educational and economic processes ( Kachru et al. 2006 : 90). As Kachru (2005) opines that Nepalese learners do not learn English to communicate in their homeland but they learn to talk in their work abroad. Now, this view is partially true since mostly Nepalese learn English to talk in their workplace either it can be at home or abroad. Therefore, from the time of commencement of English education, English has been learned and taught for professional development, scientific and technological knowledge, international communication, mass media, travel, and tourism. Globalization and its impact on the flourishing of English in Nepal have been very productive in recent days when the country was converted into a Federal republic state after the 2006/2007 political change. Learning English is deeply rooted among Nepalese people across the country, although the government seems reluctant to force the users to use English as a medium of instruction formally and officially ( Gautam 2021 ).

4.4.2 Language contact and shift

The present world is diversified and multilingual by nature and practice. Language contact is the common phenomenon of multilingualism where people choose their codes in their conversations and discourses. Social, historical, political, and economic power relations are major forces that influence the linguistic outcome of language contact ( Thomason and Kaufman 1992 ) as they may shape ideologies and attitudes that social actors hold toward such languages. Consequently, there is always a change in the linguistic behavior of language communities in contact which may even result in language loss due to displacement ( Sankoff 2001 ). In the context of Nepal, language contact has been the common phenomenon in Nepalese discourse of all aspects of society which is moving slowly towards code-mixing, switching, translanguaging, and the shifting from the heritage languages to the dominant and global languages.

In multilingual countries like Nepal, speakers tend to switch back and forth between two languages (or more) in different situations, formal and informal contexts, and even within the same conversation. People may code switch for various reasons. They sometimes shift within the same domain or social situation depending on the audience. A speaker might code switch to indicate group membership and similar ethnicity with the addressee. The linguistic situation of Nepal is very complex since people in their daily lives often use their respective mother tongues, Nepali, Hindi, and English within the same conversation ( Milroy and Muysken 1995 ). Language practices are inherently political in so far as they are among the ways individuals have at their disposal of gaining access to the production, distribution, and consumption of symbolic and material resources, that is, in so far as language forms part of the process of power ( Heller 1995 : 161) which we can easily observe and experience in Nepal. Code-switching in Nepal is shifting towards Nepali and English among the minority and other language communities ( Gautam 2019b ) as a mark of modernization, high socioeconomic position, and identity with a certain type of elite group; and in stylistic terms, it marks what may be termed as “deliberate” style. A marker of “modernization” or civilization is the impact of western music and culture in Nepal ( Gautam 2021 : 20). Dr. Thakur says “Our political leaders speak multiple languages in different places to collect the emotional feelings of the speakers attached with their mother tongues. Many Madhesi politicians speak Hindi, Maithili, and Bhojpuri in Terai and Nepali in Kathmandu”. This indicates that language contact and shift have also been the center of Nepalese politics for collecting votes to win the election.

4.4.3 Christianity and neoliberal impact

Christianity started when Father Juan Craybrawl (Portuguese) entered Nepal in 1628, during the reign of Laxmi Narsingha Malla in Kantipuri Nagari. [8] He had permission from the King to preach Christianity in Kathmandu valley. But basically, the gospel was brought to Nepal by Nepalese who were outside Nepal, as they come in and go. Slowly, missionaries started to enter Nepal during the 1950s but were not directly involved in preaching the gospel. They focused on social services like hospitals, education, and development works. Two major missionary organizations to serve Nepal, the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) and the International Nepal Fellowship (INF), came into existence in the early 1950s ( Kirchheiner 2016 ). The Nepal Christian Fellowship (NCF), now the National Churches Fellowship of Nepal (NCFN), played a significant role during the first 30 years from the 1960s to the 1990s. From just a single secret Christian residing in Nepal in 1951, the number of Nepali Christians grew to about 40,000 baptized believers by 1990 and has increased more rapidly since then. Groups of International Christian agency made United Mission to Nepal and founded Saint Xavier School in Godawari, Patan Hospital, and Tansen Hospital which provided grade one services to the people of Nepal. It was possible only after Nepal became a democratic country and many people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior. Christians in Nepal were overjoyed when Nepal has declared a secular state in 2008. The Christian population in Nepal outgrew to triple in 2011 from 2001, but this record is not accurate. Now, according to the World Christian Database, which tracks global trends in Christianity, Nepal has seen the fastest-growing Christian population. Times are changing in Nepal, not only because of democracy but also because of globalization. The influx of media, computers, and new types of secular education is guiding young generations into fields where Nepalese habits, customs, and traditional ways of approaching matters are challenged.

Christianity has developed cross-cultural practices in the country developing various neoliberal activities in the Global South. The new generation has become more concerned about the use of foreign goods, music, and activities in the name of religion or westernization. Many ethnic language communities (e.g. Tamang, Limbu, Newar, Magar, Gurung, etc.) are motivated towards English and Nepali by following Christianity through Bible translation. As a result, their cultural festivals have been converted into birthday, anniversary ceremonies in the churches with lots of western music and songs. Neoliberal ideology has influenced the construction of institutional language policies and the corporatized individual subject in the socio-historical context of Nepal ( Sharma and Phyak 2017 : 4). Migrated urban areas are very important sites in imposing language dominance, particularly capital cities and trade and commercial centers; towns tend to dominate the surrounding rural areas and their influence radiates out those areas ( Gautam 2021 : 127). People’s motivation and migration for economic benefit have also been noted as keys to encouraging people to adopt languages that deploy more instrumental functions in their job market ( Gautam 2021 : 151).

4.4.4 Ideological impacts on Global South

Nepal’s growing engagement with the international community (through its membership in UN, WTO, IMF, etc.) and its political systems have largely influenced the attitudinal patterns in Nepalese society. From a geopolitical perspective, as Nepal is sandwiched between two giant countries, India and China, the changes in the neighborhood would influence it on a larger scale. In addition, the development of the Global North would always have a chain effect on the countries of the Global South. For instance, the British colonial government of India then promoted English amidst other languages, and a similar trend emerged in Nepal with the effect of a similar environment in the neighborhood. Such geopolitical conditions and the waves gravely influenced the closely related communities to the development of nationalism and the creation of nation-states, including a new Europe perceived as superior to other parts of the world ( Bagga-Gupta 2010 ; Gal and Irvine 1995 ; Rosén and Bagga-Gupta 2013 ; Shohamy 2006 ). The ideologies of the countries of the Global North have influenced the countries of the Global South in many ways, including ideologies of language planning and policy ( Gautam and Poudel 2021 ). This has generated a perception and a social space that differentiates “us” and “the other” through the formation of linguistic-cultural ideologies ( Gynne et al. 2016 ) in the communities that have multiple languages in place. This made some languages valued more than others in the domains of governance and educational spaces ( Poudel 2019 ; Poudel and Choi 2021 ). In the case of Nepal, the first educational commission ( Sardar et al. 1956 ) was influenced by Hugh B. Wood’s ideologies and politics. He formed out of his involvement in the Indian and the western world, and the committee under the huge influence in collaboration with academia and Nepalese politicians, and then recommended for streamlining the education systems through monolingual ideology. The same politico-ideological structure continued for a long. And even today Nepali is the national language to be used in governance and education, while at the same time the constitution allows other regional or ethnic languages for such purposes as an outcome of democratic political development. It can, in a sense, be understood as an ideological link with the Englishization efforts of many developing countries in the world.

5 Conclusion

This paper discusses the way Nepal has undergone a process of democratizing its macro-policies for the promotion and preservation of its linguistic diversity and provides evidence that such practices have minimal impact on the substantial results due to the processes of glocalization ( Choi 2017 ). The identification of new languages and recognition of multilingualism have been the visible results of democratic governance. However, largely monolingual and bilingual practices in governance, education, and public communication remain rooted in every community throughout the country. Nepal’s language politics has been largely influenced by various political movements and changes in the governments over history. The interviews and the secondary data indicate that Nepal’s language politics has been influenced by globalization and neoliberal impacts which indicate massive language shift and change from minority to the major and dominant languages. It can be concluded that democracy in Nepal functioned as a double-edged sword ( Gautam and Poudel 2021 ), which on the one hand promoted efforts of preservation and promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity, while on the other hand, contributed to clutching the size of diversity by vitalizing Nepali and English relegating the prospective of indigenous languages as pointed out by the informants above in various contexts and the reality of Nepal’s language politics.

The democratic ideology fundamentally borrowed from the Global North had done more justice at the policy level while creating inequalities in the practice, and that consequently made the investments and attempts in promoting linguistic diversity futile. Democracy also promoted monolingual/bilingual ways of thinking about multilingualism, which became counterproductive to the mission of protecting linguistic diversity in Nepal ( Gautam and Poudel 2021 ). Piller’s (2016 : 32) critical understanding of the monolingual ways of seeing multilingualism entails a focus on the product of the monolingual academic texts which was equally applicable in the case of Nepal. The democracy in Nepal did not practically contribute to promoting linguistic diversity though it developed awareness of the linguistic rights of the individuals and communities of minority languages. The state’s intervention to preserve and promote these languages remained inconsistent throughout history, as some governments intentionally discouraged the planned promotion compared to others which designed some measures to promote them. Both monolingual and multilingual ideologies remained as points of debate in political and social spaces in the context of Nepalese society where we can see the conflict among the languages, language users, and policymakers.

Agnihotri, Rama Kant. 2017. Identity and multilingualism: The case of India. In Amy B. M. Tsui & James W. Tollefson (eds.), Language policy, culture, and identity in Asian contexts , 185–204. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315092034-10 Search in Google Scholar

Bagga-Gupta, Sangeeta. 2010. Creating and (re) negotiating boundaries: Representations as mediation in visually oriented multilingual Swedish school settings. Language, Culture and Curriculum 23(3). 251–276. 10.1080/07908318.2010.515997 Search in Google Scholar

Caddell, Martha. 2007. Education and change: A historical perspective on schooling, development and the Nepali nation-state. In Krishna Kumar & Joachim Oesterheld (eds.), Education and social change in South Asia , 251–284. New Delhi: Orient Longman. Search in Google Scholar

Canagarajah, Suresh. 1999. Resisting linguistic imperialism in language teaching . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Search in Google Scholar

Central Bureau of Statistics . 2012. National population and household census 2011 (National report) . Kathmandu: Central Bureau of Statistics. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/census/documents/Nepal/Nepal-Census-2011-Vol1.pdf (accessed 8 March 2020). Search in Google Scholar

Choi, Tae Hee. 2017. Glocalisation of English language education: Comparison of three contexts in East Asia. In Chi-Ming Lam & Jae Park (eds.), Sociological and philosophical perspectives on education in the Asia-Pacific region , 147–164. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978-981-287-940-0_10 Search in Google Scholar

Crystal, David. 2012. English as a global language . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139196970 Search in Google Scholar

Dearden, Julie. 2014. English as a medium of instruction – a growing global phenomenon . London: British Council. Search in Google Scholar

Dunmire, Patricia. 2012. Political discourse analysis: Exploring the language of politics and the politics of language. Language and Language Compass 6(11). 735–751. 10.1002/lnc3.365 Search in Google Scholar

Gal, Susan & Judith T. Irvine. 1995. The boundaries of languages and disciplines: How ideologies construct difference. Social Research 62(4). 967–1001. Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2012. Contact Nepali in Kathmandu valley: Convergence between TB and IA languages. Nepalese Linguistics 27(1). 38–42. Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2018. Language Shift in Newar: A case study in the Kathmandu valley. Nepalese Linguistics 33(1). 33–42. 10.3126/nl.v33i1.41079 Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2019a. Badalindo pribesh ma bhasa [language in the changing context]. Nayapatrika Daily. https://www.nayapatrikadaily.com/news-details/13971/2019-05-gbPA (accessed 13 May 2019). Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2019b. Sociolinguistic survey of Nepalese languages: A critical evaluation. Language Ecology 3(2). 190–208. 10.1075/le.19004.gau Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2020. Language contact in Kathmandu Valley . Kathmandu: Tribhuvan University dissertation. Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal. 2021. Language contact in Nepal: A study on language use and attitudes . Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978-3-030-68810-3 Search in Google Scholar

Gautam, Bhim Lal & Prem Poudel. 2021. Diversity, democracy and multilingual practices in Nepal. Bandung 9. 79–102. Search in Google Scholar

Giddens, Anthony. 1991. The consequences of modernity . Cambridge: Polity Press. Search in Google Scholar

Giri, Ram Ashish. 2015. The many faces of English in Nepal. Asian Englishes 17(2). 94–105. 10.1080/13488678.2015.1003452 Search in Google Scholar

Government of Nepal . 1964. Nepal companies act 1964. http://www.asianlii.org/np/legis/laws/ca1964107/ (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Government of Nepal . 1990. Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990. https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/1990_constitution_english.pdf (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Government of Nepal . 2007. Interim constitution of Nepal 2063. https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/interim_constitution_of_nepal_2007_as_amended_by_first_second_and_third_amendments.pdf (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Government of Nepal . 2015. Constitution of Nepal 2072. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/np/np029en.pdf (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Gynne, Annaliina, Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta & Jarmo Lainio. 2016. Practiced linguistic-cultural ideologies and educational policies: A case study of a bilingual Sweden Finnish school. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 15(6). 329–343. 10.1080/15348458.2016.1217160 Search in Google Scholar

Held, David, McGrew Anthony, David Goldblatt & Jonathan Perraton. 1999. Global transformation: Politics, economics and culture . Stanford: Stanford University Press. 10.1057/9780333981689_2 Search in Google Scholar

Heller, Monica. 1995. Code switching and the politics of language. One speaker, two languages. Cross-disciplinary perspectives on code-switching , 156–174. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511620867.008 Search in Google Scholar

Joseph, John E. 2006. Language and politics . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Search in Google Scholar

Kachru, Braj. 2005. Asian Englishes beyond the cannon . Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Search in Google Scholar

Kachru, Braj, Yamuna Kachru & Cecil Nelson (eds.). 2006. The handbook of world Englishes . Oxford: Blackwell. 10.1111/b.9781405111850.2006.00001.x Search in Google Scholar

Kirchheiner, Ole. 2016. Culture and Christianity negotiated in Hindu society: A case study of a church in Central and Western Nepal . London: Middlesex University dissertation. 10.2307/j.ctv1ddcp4r Search in Google Scholar

Levitt, Theodore. 1983. The globalization of markets. Harvard Business Review 61(6). 92–102. Search in Google Scholar

Milroy, Lesley & Pieter Muyskin (eds.). 1995. One speaker, two languages: Cross-disciplinary perspectives on code-switching . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511620867 Search in Google Scholar

Nettle, Daniel. 2000. Linguistic fragmentation and the wealth of nations: The Fishman-pool hypothesis reexamined. Economic Development and Cultural Change 48(2). 335–348. 10.1086/452461 Search in Google Scholar

Pelinka, Anon. 2018. Identity politics, populism and the far right. In Wodak Ruth & Bernhard Forchtner (eds.), The Rutledge handbook of language and politics , 618–629. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315183718-47 Search in Google Scholar

Pennycook, Alastair. 1995. English in the world/the world in English. In James W. Tollefson (ed.), Power and inequality in language education , 34–58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Search in Google Scholar

Piller, Ingrid. 2016. Linguistic diversity and social justice: An introduction to applied sociolinguistics . Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199937240.001.0001 Search in Google Scholar

Poudel, Prem Prasad. 2019. The medium of instruction policy in Nepal: Towards critical engagement on the ideological and pedagogical debate. Journal of Language and Education 5(3). 102–110. 10.17323/jle.2019.8995 Search in Google Scholar

Poudel, Prem Prasad & Madan Prasad Baral. 2021. Examining foreign language teaching and learning in Nepal: An ecological perspective. Journal of World Languages 7(1). 104–123. 10.1515/jwl-2021-0006 Search in Google Scholar

Poudel, Prem Prasad & Tae Hee Choi. 2021. Policymakers’ agency and the structure: The case of medium of instruction policy in multilingual Nepal. Current Issues in Language Planning 22(1–2). 79–98. 10.1080/14664208.2020.1741235 Search in Google Scholar

Pradhan, Uma. 2019. Simultaneous identities: Ethnicity and nationalism in mother tongue education in Nepal. Nations and Nationalism 25(2). 718–738. 10.1111/nana.12463 Search in Google Scholar

Rosén, Jenny Karin & Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta. 2013. Shifting identity positions in the development of language education for immigrants: An analysis of discourses associated with ‘Swedish for immigrants. Language, Culture and Curriculum 26(1). 68–88. 10.1080/07908318.2013.765889 Search in Google Scholar

Sankoff, Gilian. 2001. Linguistic outcomes of language contact. In J. K. Chambers, Trudgill Peter & Natalie Schilling-Estes (eds.), The handbook of language variation and change , 638–668. Oxford: Blackwell. 10.1002/9780470756591.ch25 Search in Google Scholar

Sardar, Rudra Raj Pandey, K. C. Kaisher Bahadur & Hugh B. Wood (eds.). 1956. Education in Nepal: Report of the Nepal education planning commission . Kathmandu: The Bureau of Publications College of Education Kathmandu, Nepal. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/rarebooks/downloads/Education_in_Nepal.pdf (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

Sharma, Balkrishna & Prem Phyak. 2017. Neoliberalism, linguistic commodification, and ethno linguistic identity in multilingual Nepal. Language in Society 46(2). 1–26. Search in Google Scholar

Shohamy, Elana Goldberg. 2006. Language policy: Hidden agendas and new approaches . Oxon: Psychology Press. 10.4324/9780203387962 Search in Google Scholar

Silverstein, Michael. 1979. Language structure and linguistic ideology. In Paul R. Clyne, William F. Hanks & Carol L. Hofbauer (eds.), The elements: A parasession on linguistic units and levels , 193–247. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society. Search in Google Scholar

Sonntag, Selma K. 2007. Change and permanence in language politics in Nepal. In Amy B. M. Tsui & James W. Tollefson (eds.), Language policy, culture, and identity in Asian contexts , 205–217. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. 10.4324/9781315092034-11 Search in Google Scholar

Thomason, Sarah Grey & Terrence Kaufman. 1992. Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics . Berkeley: University of California Press. Search in Google Scholar

Thompson, William R. & Rafael Reuveny. 2009. Limits to globalization: North-South divergence . London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203872796 Search in Google Scholar

Tollefson, James W. 1995. Introduction: Language policy, power, and inequality. In James W. Tollefson (ed.), Power and inequality in language education , 1–14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Search in Google Scholar

United Nations . 1948. Universal declaration of human rights . https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights (accessed 3 January 2021). Search in Google Scholar

© 2021 Bhim Lal Gautam, published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

• X / Twitter

Supplementary Materials

Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

Journal and Issue

Articles in the same issue.

Cross-cutting

• Data and Resources
• Take Action
• 2030 Agenda

About Migration

Protecting Migrant Workers and Enhancing Labour Migration Governance, Focus of National Policy Dialogue

Hon’ble Mr. Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security of Nepal, addresses the audience.  UNDP, IOM, ILO 2024

Kathmandu, Nepal – Labour migration plays a crucial role in socio-economic development in Nepal, with over 2.1 million Nepalese working abroad. However, migrant workers often face risks such as labour exploitation, forced labour, human trafficking, and other forms of human rights violations. To address these challenges, Nepal launched its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2024-2028) , outlining the responsibilities of the Government and businesses to uphold human rights, including those of migrant workers.   

In this context, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Nepalese Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) hosted the "National Policy Dialogue on Strengthening Labour Migration Governance: Integrating Business and Human Rights Perspectives for the Protection of Migrant Workers" on 7 August. The dialogue brought together various stakeholders, including government representatives, donor communities, development partners, international organizations, trade unions, the private sector, civil society organizations and migrant worker networks.  

The National Policy Dialogue aimed to address pressing challenges in labour migration governance by fostering partnerships for ethical recruitment and recommending policy adjustments under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which included protecting, respecting and remedying the rights of migrant workers. Moreover, it aimed to enhance the understanding of the National Action Plan (NAP).  

Hon. Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, emphasized prioritizing and promoting the interests of Nepali migrant workers. He called for equal treatment of migrant workers and pre-departure capacity-building programmes, which would enable the workers to smoothly transition to their new jobs in the destination countries. The Government of Nepal is committed to protecting the rights of migrant workers through existing bilateral agreements and MOUs with partner countries, and by establishing new cooperation with more countries.  

IOM, ILO and UNDP highlighted that remittances are central to Nepal’s economic growth and the quality of life for thousands of households. The agencies remain committed to supporting the Nepalese Government’s efforts in implementing the NAP and safeguarding Nepalese migrant rights in the supply chains. 

The donor communities commended Nepal for launching the NAP and reiterated that safeguarding migrant workers' rights is a collective responsibility. Through collaboration and commitment, a supportive environment for all migrant workers and their communities can be created.  

The National Policy Dialogue underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement in addressing the complexities of labour migration governance. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, the event aimed to create a framework that aligns with international standards and best practices, ensuring effective and responsive policies for the protection of migrant workers. 

This event was funded by the European Union, the Government of Sweden, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Government of Japan.  

For more information, please contact:   

IOM: Purnima Limbu Palunga at  [email protected]   ILO: Roni Pradhan Dhaubhadel at [email protected]   UNDP: Tek Tamata at [email protected]   

RELATED NEWS

Iom nepal formalizes mbhr asia to enhance migrant workers rights and ethical recruitment, academic discourse on student migration concludes with strategic steps to address education gaps in nepal, nepal on the right track to achieve cost-effective remittance transfers, iom nepal puts youth at the centre of international women’s day celebration.

Migration updates 

Subscribe to IOM newsletter to receive the latest news and stories about migration.

Nepal: Government, World Bank sign US$100 Million Project to Improve Provincial and Local Roads

KATHMANDU , August 5, 2024—The Government of Nepal and the World Bank today signed a financing agreement for a US$100 million concessional loan from the International Development Association (IDA) to help improve the connectivity, efficiency, resilience, and safety of Nepal’s provincial and local road network and strengthen the government’s capacity to manage the road network.

The Provincial and Local Roads Improvement Program (PLRIP)-Phase 1 will build and maintain about 3,000 kilometers of all-weather, resilient, and safe provincial and local roads and bridges, benefiting about one million people in Sudurpashchim, Karnali, and Madhesh provinces. It will also strengthen the institutional, management and technical capacity of provincial and local governments to plan, design, construct, and maintain road and bridge infrastructure and improve service delivery.

The financing agreement was signed by the Finance Secretary, Dr. Ram Prasad Ghimire on behalf of the Government of Nepal and the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Mr. David Sislen. A separate project agreement was also signed by the Ministry of Urban Development, the participating provinces, and the World Bank.

“This program will help enhance rural connectivity, improve access to services and markets, and unlock Nepal’s economic potential in an inclusive manner, while reducing travel time and costs for Nepalis,” said Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Shreekrishna Nepal.

The Government of Nepal recognizes the scale and magnitude of transport connectivity challenges and the need for substantial investment to support provincial and local governments as they adapt to decentralized governance. To address this, the PLRIP will help strengthen rural development and build the capacity of the provincial and local governments to handle complex sector challenges. The first of the three-phase program will target three of Nepal’s seven provinces and four local areas which will be scaled up in future phases.

“The program supports Nepal’s federalism agenda by empowering provincial and local governments and promoting inter-governmental coordination in the transport connectivity sector to help improve the lives of Nepalis through better infrastructure and services ,” said David Sislen, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka .

The program will introduce several best practices including five-year performance-based maintenance along with construction contracts, routine maintenance through self-help groups, community-led complimentary infrastructure, pilots on alternative means of connectivity and rural transport services, approach roads, and an online program monitoring and management system.

This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. To learn more about cookies, click here .

Carolina faculty trio win Fulbright awards

Scholars in nursing, Latin American studies, and exercise and nutrition will travel to Nepal, Spain and Finland.

Three UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members recently received awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to teach or conduct research abroad during the 2024-25 academic year.

Among the 800 U.S. scholars selected are Carolina’s Suja Davis, clinical associate professor at the School of Nursing; Oswaldo Estrada, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Romance studies department; and Anthony Hackney, professor in the College’s exercise and sport science department and the Gillings School of Global Public Health’s nutrition department.

“Participation of Carolina faculty in Fulbright supports the global mindset of our campus and enhances the University’s global reputation,” said Giselle Corbie, senior vice provost for faculty affairs. “I am proud of these faculty who will maintain their international connections for years and bring global knowledge and perspectives to their research and teaching.”

Carolina has a long history with the  Fulbright Program . This year, UNC-Chapel Hill was honored as a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. students for the 14th time for sending over 20 students and recent alumni abroad on Fulbright scholarships for graduate studies, research or teaching.

Suja Davis 

An educator and a health care professional, Davis will be hosted by the Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences in Nepal. There she will teach adult health nursing and research courses, conduct workshops and seminars for the faculty and promote faculty scholarship. She will lecture, lead seminars and conduct research to incorporate educational innovations into the nursing curricula.

“The Fulbright Scholar Award is the most widely recognized, prestigious and respected international exchange program in the world,” Davis said. “I aim to build a global network of contacts, which can lead to collaborations and partnerships that benefit Carolina’s SON.”

Oswaldo Estrada 

Estrada is a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies and director of the Faculty Fellows Program at the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. In Spain, he will do archival research as part of the Literature, Image and Cultural History research group in the Institute of Language, Literature and Anthropology.

Estrada’s work will focus on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695), a poet from colonial Mexico. Estrada is writing a book about her carols, religious poems and her prologues and dedications to explore how the poet-nun of the Baroque era articulated a feminist discourse that attracts a wide range of readers today.

“My interdisciplinary reading reflects the true nature of the poet who contests calcified differences between male and female,” Estrada said. “I would love to offer undergraduate and graduate courses on Sor Juana’s feminism, in English and Spanish, to serve our students interested in gender studies, feminism and queer studies.”

Anthony Hackney 

Hackney will complete the second year of his Fulbright fellowship at the University of Eastern Finland as the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Distinguished Chair in Health Sciences. Through the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children study, he researches how chronic engagement in physical activity, like sports, may affect the health and physical performance capacities of young girls transitioning to women.

This is Hackney’s fourth Fulbright scholar award. He also serves as the University’s Fulbright faculty liaison in the Center for Faculty Excellence and advises Carolina faculty on developing competitive Fulbright applications.

“If I had to name one thing that has profoundly helped to shape me into the person I am today, it would be the Fulbright program,” Hackney said. “It has made me a better professor in the classroom and the laboratory — a better all-around person — and enriched my life and that of my family. It has been and is a ‘win-win’ experience.”

Read more about the Fulbright scholars.

The Carolina community welcomed Lee H. Roberts as the University's 13th chancellor with a campus event Aug. 9 at the Kenan Center.

Carolina welcomes Lee H. Roberts as 13th chancellor

“I’m here to listen and learn, to partner with you,” Roberts told the campus at an Aug. 9 event.

Message from Lee H. Roberts on becoming Carolina’s 13th chancellor 

“I truly believe there is no better job in the world than leading Carolina and building on its remarkable legacy of excellence,” Roberts says in this video to campus. 

Read UNC System President Peter Hans’ chancellor nominating statement

Hans says that Lee H. Roberts “has shown a willingness to listen, to learn, to approach difficult moments with humility.”

Message from BOT Chair John Preyer, Search Committee Chair Cristy Page on Lee H. Roberts

During his time as interim chancellor, he set a vision for the University rooted in its core mission to serve the state of North Carolina, educate the next generation of leaders and conduct life-changing research.

Operation Tar Heel highlights Carolina’s global health reach

Dignitaries from three African nations and the N.C. National Guard learned about research advances here and abroad.

Trading cards show Carolina’s Olympic connections

Fifteen cards feature the faces and feats of famous Tar Heels and some hidden priceless gems.

En route to second Olympics, Aranza Vazquez finds peace of mind

Carolina diver heads to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games after competing in Tokyo in 2021.

Share on Mastodon

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Japan Needs Foreign Workers. It’s Just Not Sure It Wants Them to Stay.

Foreign employees have become much more visible in Japan. But policies designed only for short-term stays may hurt the country in the global competition for labor.

By Motoko Rich and Kiuko Notoya

The reporters visited a nursing home operator in Maebashi and a Japanese inn in Oigami Onsen, and also reported from Tokyo.

Ngu Thazin wanted to leave her war-torn country for a better future. She set her sights on Japan.

In Myanmar, she studied Japanese and graduated with a chemistry degree from one of her country’s most prestigious universities. Yet she gladly took a job in Japan changing diapers and bathing residents at a nursing home in a midsize city.

“To be honest, I want to live in Japan because it is safe,” said Ms. Thazin, who hopes eventually to pass an exam that will allow her to work as a licensed caregiver. “And I want to send my family money.”

Japan desperately needs people like Ms. Thazin to fill jobs left open by a declining and aging population. The number of foreign workers has quadrupled since 2007, to more than two million, in a country of 125 million people. Many of these workers escaped low wages, political repression or armed conflict in their home countries.

But even as foreign employees become much more visible in Japan, working as convenience store cashiers, hotel clerks and restaurant servers, they are treated with ambivalence. Politicians remain reluctant to create pathways for foreign workers, especially those in low-skill jobs, to stay indefinitely. That may eventually cost Japan in its competition with neighbors like South Korea and Taiwan, or even places farther afield like Australia and Europe, that are also scrambling to find labor.

The political resistance to immigration in long-insular Japan, as well as a public that is sometimes wary of integrating newcomers, has led to a nebulous legal and support system that makes it difficult for foreigners to put down roots. Foreign-born workers are paid on average about 30 percent less than their Japanese counterparts, according to government data . Fearful of losing their right to stay in Japan, workers often have precarious relationships with their employers, and career advancement can be elusive.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

• Culture & Lifestyle

• Madhesh Province
• Lumbini Province
• Bagmati Province
• National Security
• Koshi Province
• Gandaki Province
• Karnali Province
• Sudurpaschim Province
• International Sports
• Brunch with the Post
• Life & Style
• Entertainment
• Investigations
• Climate & Environment
• Science & Technology
• Visual Stories
• Crosswords & Sudoku
• Corrections
• Letters to the Editor
• Today's ePaper

Without Fear or Favour UNWIND IN STYLE

What's News :

• Threshold for PR seats
• CPN (Maoist Centre)
• Road obstruction hits daily life
• Abroad study
• Rastriya Swatantra Party
• Women entrepreneurs

Globalisation in crisis

Aditya Baral

Covid-19 taught the world a new lesson. Previously, lockdowns were usually called by agitating public forces whereas now, governments the world over have been forced to confine their citizens to their homes. Intellectuals even say this is the bane of globalisation. Globalisation has offered many opportunities as well as challenges for Nepal. It can be called one of the major drivers for Nepal’s adoption of liberal economic policies, an increase in foreign direct investment, tourism and remittances which have, in turn, helped reduce absolute poverty. It has also helped infuse technology and interdependence in the economy.

Trade imbalance

Thomas Friedman has written in his book The World Is Flat that 'the world was becoming accessible to all in equal and similar terms due to globalisation'. He has further claimed that 'it is becoming flatter and turning more homogeneous, owing to the new-found power of individuals and organisations to collaborate and even to compete globally'. On the flip side, it has also increased consumerism and trade imbalance.

One of the musts of globalisation—trade liberalisation—increased the trade deficit to unsustainable levels, running close to a third of the gross domestic product. Though liberalisation helped develop the private sector and modernise Nepal’s economy, economic growth remained stagnant and local industry and medium enterprises were nearly uprooted. Poorer nations forgot their axis of existence and fell prey to the demonstrative effects of the global fad, leaving little room for their sustenance.

Cottage, small and medium-sized enterprises should have been at the centre of our growth trajectory; however, we put much emphasis on aligning with World Trade Organisation compliance. Income gaps widened and unemployment increased, compelling people to look for jobs and opportunities abroad. Globalisation even contributed to a rise in foreign employment opportunities and generated remittance, which is acting as a saviour for an ailing economy.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought more vulnerabilities; embracing integration and connectivity, or globalisation in its entirety, is proving to be costly. Covid-19 seems to have been discriminatory in its rage—affecting more haves than have-nots, more capitalist states than communist states. Today, the ingredients of globalisation are becoming paradoxical. The much-touted buzzwords of the 21st century—globalisation, connectivity and integration—are becoming costlier to adopt blindfolded with the experience and emergence of this new scenario. Members of the global village are paying a heavy price for their economic intimacy. Nepal has been relatively untouched by global and regional economic crises, not because we are insulated from their influences but because we are less integrated into the regional and global economies. As the Covid-19 experience shows, we have been lucky.

Among the many sectors hardest hit by the crisis today is tourism. Airports are deserted and aircraft have been basking in the sun. Tourists have been a major contributor to the pathogen spreading. Hence, the movement of people will be watched for a couple of years. Due to the many hurdles that will be applied in travel, people will shun long-haul journeys and will most probably opt for point-to-point travel to nearby destinations.

Trends show that the nature of the trips will shift from domestic to regional in the mid-term, and gradually to international in the long run. At this stage, domestic travel should be promoted to cash in on pent-up demand. Country promotions should be put on hold for the time being as the gestation period for a complete revival will be very long, where the decision process of travellers will be slow and shaky.

Since the world economy is struggling to get back on its feet, many labour absorbing countries will not want to keep a large number of foreign workers, due to the prolonged halt in operations. As the foreign labour component decreases, so will remittance flow to labour exporting countries. Nepal should start contemplating ways to absorb the returnees by engaging them in various vocational occupations with greater subsidies to start their own ventures in their native places by utilising the skills gained abroad.

Necessary evil

Today, globalisation is under attack around the world. The backlash against globalisation is more evident in the richer countries as they are paying a higher price. There is pressure to roll back free trade, free market and free movement of people which are virtues of globalisation. But how, when and who first is always a big question for the global leaders. Like it or not, it is a necessary evil of modern times.

Nepal’s economic stability is susceptible to any adverse change in the global economy. It is also equally vulnerable to shocks in the regional economy due to its open border and currency and trading regimes being connected with India. But whatever the extent of connectivity or integration, Nepal must learn to adjust to such external shocks by building powerful resilience mechanisms.

What do you think?

Dear reader, we’d like to hear from you. We regularly publish letters to the editor on contemporary issues or direct responses to something the Post has recently published. Please send your letters to [email protected] with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Please include your name, location, and a contact address so one of our editors can reach out to you .

Aditya Baral Baral is the country director for Xceltrip in Nepal.

Related News

India’s foreign policy misalignment

Towards more sustainable cities

Who benefits from migration bans?

Three men in a rocky boat

Smoothening the transition

The stability chimera

Most read from columns.

Monetary policy orchestration

Nepal’s journey to climate justice

Beyond the quota protest in Bangladesh

Editor's Picks

It’s official: Chinese drones will fly trash out of Everest slopes

Congress general secretaries Thapa and Sharma struggling to assert themselves

Efforts at conserving, developing and managing rivers are grossly inadequate

The Kumari tradition lives on, balancing ancient and modern values

Lumbini infrastructure: Billions in investment yield little

E-paper | august 12, 2024.

• Read ePaper Online