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Lost in Transition: Rebuilding Nepal from the Maoist mayhem and mega earthquake
Nepal is a land of spectacular natural beauty and abundant natural resources, in a strategic geographic location between China and India, with their large and vibrant economies. With such favourable assets and the tremendous goodwill of the international community, Nepal ought to have a galloping economy and a prosperous society. Yet, it remains mired in poverty and is considered one of the world’s least developed countries.
What holds Nepal’s economy back? And what would it take to unleash its development potential? This book tries to address these issues from the perspective of a Nepali development professional with extensive experience in international development.
From his perch at the United Nations, Kul Chandra Gautam followed the political and socioeconomic developments in his home country with a mixture of great hope and deep anxiety. He rejoiced at Nepal’s good progress in achieving many of the Millennium Development Goals, such as drastically reducing maternal and child mortality, eradicating and controlling certain deadly diseases, promoting basic education and women’s empowerment. But he was chagrined by the fratricidal Maoist insurgency that derailed Nepal’s nascent democracy and bourgeoning economy.
Gautam offers a candid critique of what ails Nepal’s politics and economy, and how to rebuild the country from the ruins of the prolonged Maoist mayhem and the mega earthquake of 2015. He calls for an end to Nepal’s seemingly endless political transition and shifting the nation’s focus to economic development and social progress.
What holds Nepal’s economy back? And what would it take to unleash its development potential? This book tries to address these issues from the perspective of a Nepali development professional with extensive experience in international development.
From his perch at the United Nations, Kul Chandra Gautam followed the political and socioeconomic developments in his home country with a mixture of great hope and deep anxiety. He rejoiced at Nepal’s good progress in achieving many of the Millennium Development Goals, such as drastically reducing maternal and child mortality, eradicating and controlling certain deadly diseases, promoting basic education and women’s empowerment. But he was chagrined by the fratricidal Maoist insurgency that derailed Nepal’s nascent democracy and bourgeoning economy.
Gautam offers a candid critique of what ails Nepal’s politics and economy, and how to rebuild the country from the ruins of the prolonged Maoist mayhem and the mega earthquake of 2015. He calls for an end to Nepal’s seemingly endless political transition and shifting the nation’s focus to economic development and social progress.
- GenresNonfiction
442 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2015
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29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2017
Though an unidirectional approach on the Nepal's contemporary politics, the author nevertheless raises valid points. More than half of the book (at least it feels) deals with why Maoists weren't to be trusted (which is true, as we've seen it, and also applies for the rest of the parties). Concluding propositions about ideas and thoughts on Nepal's revival seem positive (but also deeply saddening - as we see the results on the field) - nevertheless, raises hope. I think the author's style of not being politically correct or pleasing everyone is noteworthy.
Not a deep, but basically, a good read.
Not a deep, but basically, a good read.
August 17, 2017
"Boring narrative in first few chapters and some positive vibes at the end"
April 13, 2020
The title of the book resonates very poorly with the expected content. Spoiler alert: It's only after 80% of the book has been consumed, there's the onset of the "Rebuilding Nepal from the Maoist mayhem and mega earthquake" part. Almost 50% of the first-half of this book is verbose.
Nevertheless, the book has highlighted the Maoists' insurgency in detail; and to the readers who are unbeknownst to the evil practices that Maoists carried on during the insurgency and the malpractice while they were holding the reins of the government, this book could serve as a great source of literature to look upon.
Nevertheless, the book has highlighted the Maoists' insurgency in detail; and to the readers who are unbeknownst to the evil practices that Maoists carried on during the insurgency and the malpractice while they were holding the reins of the government, this book could serve as a great source of literature to look upon.
December 23, 2015
This is a great book to understand recent Nepali politics. Nepal has gone through a decade long war that started in the 1990s soon after a multi-party democracy was re-instated and the country was experimenting with first years of a liberal democracy. The war ended in 2006 after a peace deal, resulting in a republican setup. However, the country has not been able to focus on the much needed economic development programs and such discussion have always been given a back seat to the heated, faith-based ideological dogmas. Recently a federalism based on pure ethnic identities and historic homelands has been increasing the divide among Nepali citizens and public personalities, again relegating economic priorities and real agendas of political progress.
In 2015, two large earthquakes further slowed down Nepal's pace of progress that had already been halted by the man made disaster of a decade ago. The book covers events during this period of "Maoist mayhem and the mega earthquake."
The author presents his experiences and analyses of events during this period. He served in high level UN positions and was directly involved in the Nepali peace process and civil society after his retirement. His international experience of different conflict and poverty ridden countries sound relevant to Nepal's lost decades over the squabbles about whether a communist one-party rule is suitable over a modern liberal democracy.
Some parts of the book are a bit repetitive, especially in the first half where the author focuses on Maoist war. The second half is very enlightening on how the international community and Nepal's self-styled "progressives" have contributed to the mess that Nepal currently finds itself in. Towards the end, the author also presents a clear view of what should be done to speed up Nepal's growth and development.
The bias of the book is very clear form its title- it does not hide how the book describes the Maoist war by using the word "mayhem", much unlike "revolution" or "progress" used by a section of Nepal's intellectuals to provide legitimacy to the use of violence in democracy. Therefore, the book is very unapologetic in its defense of liberal democracy and economic priorities rather than repeated political and social experiments through the use of violence. The book is a breathe of fresh air in Nepal where books after books have recently been written to justify the use of violence and lost decades of Nepal. English writers from Nepal and outside have done a lot of harm, and this book is a much needed correction in the very disturbing intellectual climate on the discussion of Nepali politics.
For any international observer of Nepal, or a new diplomat working in Nepal, this is a must read book. For future generations of Nepal, this is a very good-written archive of how not to repeat the mistakes of past two decades in the future. The language is clear and lucid. The editing is of high level, with hardly any noticeable mistake. More books like this should be written and I hope a Nepali version is published. The book could be shortened and improved by re-arranging chapters to improve the flow of ideas.
In 2015, two large earthquakes further slowed down Nepal's pace of progress that had already been halted by the man made disaster of a decade ago. The book covers events during this period of "Maoist mayhem and the mega earthquake."
The author presents his experiences and analyses of events during this period. He served in high level UN positions and was directly involved in the Nepali peace process and civil society after his retirement. His international experience of different conflict and poverty ridden countries sound relevant to Nepal's lost decades over the squabbles about whether a communist one-party rule is suitable over a modern liberal democracy.
Some parts of the book are a bit repetitive, especially in the first half where the author focuses on Maoist war. The second half is very enlightening on how the international community and Nepal's self-styled "progressives" have contributed to the mess that Nepal currently finds itself in. Towards the end, the author also presents a clear view of what should be done to speed up Nepal's growth and development.
The bias of the book is very clear form its title- it does not hide how the book describes the Maoist war by using the word "mayhem", much unlike "revolution" or "progress" used by a section of Nepal's intellectuals to provide legitimacy to the use of violence in democracy. Therefore, the book is very unapologetic in its defense of liberal democracy and economic priorities rather than repeated political and social experiments through the use of violence. The book is a breathe of fresh air in Nepal where books after books have recently been written to justify the use of violence and lost decades of Nepal. English writers from Nepal and outside have done a lot of harm, and this book is a much needed correction in the very disturbing intellectual climate on the discussion of Nepali politics.
For any international observer of Nepal, or a new diplomat working in Nepal, this is a must read book. For future generations of Nepal, this is a very good-written archive of how not to repeat the mistakes of past two decades in the future. The language is clear and lucid. The editing is of high level, with hardly any noticeable mistake. More books like this should be written and I hope a Nepali version is published. The book could be shortened and improved by re-arranging chapters to improve the flow of ideas.
September 20, 2018
Contrary to the title, the bulk of the book focuses on the Maoist mayhem. The writer does not hide his dislike for the Maoist ideology and the impact the decade long "People's War" has had on our nation. The rebuilding plan after the earthquake is presented at the latter half of the book which ends on a hopeful note.
My major issue with the book was the repetitiveness. Could have done with better editing. You can almost skip the first half of the book (up to Chapter 6) without losing anything of importance as the topics regularly appear (are repeated) later on. All in all can serve as a primer for anyone interested in learning about contemporary Nepalese politics.
My major issue with the book was the repetitiveness. Could have done with better editing. You can almost skip the first half of the book (up to Chapter 6) without losing anything of importance as the topics regularly appear (are repeated) later on. All in all can serve as a primer for anyone interested in learning about contemporary Nepalese politics.
January 22, 2016
must read book to understand contempory nepalese poltics
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews