Martyrs’ message

Decision makers, planners and implementers in Nepal should revisit the great message of martyrs who sacrificed personal life and self interest for the sake of the country and the people. They should honestly pledge on the Martyrs’ Day – the Shahid Diwas – that they would not let the Martyrs down. They should develop will to translate the dream of martyrs into reality. Had that will be developed some years ago, the scenario of Nepal would have been different: people would be seeing a different Nepal today with no corruption, nepotism, poverty and underdevelopment and inequality; all these weaknesses would have been avoided; all would have equal opportunity in life and professions; all would have easy access to education, health, food and transportation. Although the Martyrs are remembered once a year during mid-Magh in a tone of formality, their messages are usually forgotten. That trend should change. Youths and other activists should take lead in this regard; politicians who presided over the power center Singha Durbar over the past eight decades could not bring about any difference in realizing the dream of martyrs. While some could argue the political change that the country witnessed during the time is the result of pursuing the way martyrs followed. The task of bringing about social change, uplifting the standard of living, promoting understanding and tolerance among communities and developing reliable access to employment for youths through proper development and industrial schemes has been left incomplete. As a result of this, various youths are leaving the country for employment abroad. The same has already resulted in villages with no youth population and with no manpower for basic economic and industrial activities. If the current trend of youth-drain continues the country’s prospect for economic development would be lost. Lack of manpower would be a great obstacle for developing infrastructure and setting up other industries. It will also bring about an unwanted imbalance in population-structure as well. Good governance is another value that martyrs longed for as they fought for freedom for the country and the people. It is good governance that actually facilitates the realization of the development goals as envisaged by the martyrs. All high values that the martyrs honoured are relevant even today. All should, therefore, make a determination today to focus on work that would help the country accomplish what the martyrs had dreamt.