100 Voices, One Nation: The Personalities Leading Nepal’s Discourse

With uncertainty abounding so many areas of public life and governance, this list of 100 people of Nepal who have dominated our conversations and life in the past year, some for good and some for no good, is an attempt to spotlight whether our energies are focused in the right direction.

Where attention goes, energy flows. This is a well-established fact. It is also equally important to recognise that change is inevitable. At the crux of Nepal's instability lies the struggle for structured dominance in politics, business, society and spirituality. We may have become a federal republic, we may have inclusive policies and representations but it is also true that a select few are more equal than everybody else. When rules can be bent and policies adjusted to accommodate vested interests of a few, success often becomes a game of buying favours and holding political favouritism.

Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of good governance at all levels. But with growing levels of corruption and indiscriminate authority, with leadership lacking discipline and answerability, the youth will continue to leave the country – as a choice – to work and build lives on foreign lands. Politicians and experts often suggest that the youth are leaving for lack of economic opportunities in the country. It may have been so at some point but not anymore. Today, it is a choice. They leave because of their inability to see a future that could be built by a dynamic leadership that understands the needs of our time.

National borrowings and aid dependency is being questioned in international forums. Different parts of the country are mired in controversy. From misappropriation of funds to forced acquisition of land, from displacement of indigenous rights to lack of rule of law, it is always the common person who suffers. Every election comes with a promise of a fresh start but as the days turn into weeks and months and years, there is only a growing resignation and indifference among the populace.

There are multiple crises threatening human survival globally. We, in Nepal, are blessed in many ways in that we are blessed by nature's abundance; if only we recognise where we must direct our energies and not waste opportunities on personal gain and populist statements, we could change the course of our country's path to sustained prosperity for all.

There are many amongst us doing good work. These are the people who have dedicated their lives and actions to making a difference, many are silent heroes and may not be on this list; we salute their spirit and dedication.

This list is purely one of the people who have been holding our attention on multiple platforms and is largely a reflection of the conversations we have in person and on our social media feeds. We may like them, we may not like them but they are ones dominating the media discourse. I must also agree in advance that this list may not be all encompassing, but we have worked to dig deep into learning about people who have shaped our conversations in the past year in their specific areas of expertise and engagement.