These days getting a litre of good petrol at a reasonable price is a stroke of luck. These days seeing clear roads without lined up empty LPG cylinders is amazing. These days reading gleeful news about ‘Nepal’ in any daily is total imagination and these very days seeing kids go to school is a sight that seems to be caught once in a blue moon. So, is the government of India responsible for this horrific predicament or have we, pointed our index finger at others for too long that we have forgotten our own  three fingers that are pointing back at us?

In my social studies class of grade 10, I was taught that a country’s development can only augment if the health sector, education and income source can be uplifted at the same rate. However, in the context of Nepal, all these sectors are literally in the verge of declination; moreover, all we do is protest, shout and lose that limited amount of energy and resources just to show world that we are in pain. Honestly speaking, we will never get what we want but we already have what we need, so instead of throwing tantrums by going on the streets with ply cards that read, “Back off India!”, let’s start fulfilling our responsibility because only by excelling at our own field or occupation will we be able to bring noticeable change.   

We have to stop finding faults in others and blaming others all our lives. Now is the time to be the best at whatever field we are in, because the skillful strength of all can prevent the nation from fragmentation and fall. Similarly, if students study with the best of their effort, if teachers teach with the best of their knowledge, if doctors treat diseases with the best of their skill, if manufactures never give up and work with the best of their dexterity, then Nepal will surely be a better place to live in. Only when every person of every field works with his or her utmost effort, keeping national interest in mind, Nepal will be able to stand out even in the international competition.

Yes, it is hard; it is difficult but there are countries which have faced similar blockade in the past and today they are in acme of

success. Singa-pore, for example, had to face a major blockade of drinking water supply in the year 1965. The constitution of Singapore had just been promulgated when Malaysia (like India) imposed a blockade not of fuel but of drinking water. Lee Kuan Yew, the then president of Singapore, could not stop crying while addressing the public because he felt very sorry for his people and nation. Nonetheless, all the Singaporeans had vowed that within 50 years they would be much better in every field and today Malaysia, though huge in size, does not dare speak against Singapore, because Singapore is one of the top most clean and powerful countries in the world. Now tell me, is it impossible for a country to stand independently after a major blockade? Well, if Singaporeans could do it then why can’t Nepalis?

We are directly and indirectly responsible for our own misfortune. I know the unofficial blockade of India is equally to be blamed but we have to remember what goes around comes around. So, each of us, no matter of whatever occupation, need to have faith and need to work hard like never before. The time has come for us to stop blaming and start working.

Khadka is a high school graduate of Liverpool International College