KATHMANDU: As for the political landscape of Nepal, within two decades, the country has transitioned from monarchy to republic, from war to peace, and from centralization to federalism. Indeed, on paper, it looks like progress.

However, even after structural changes in the modalities of governance, our cultural consciousness remains stagnant at both the social and individual levels. Cultural revival refers to reinterpreting Nepal’s rich cultural legacy in light of enlightened ideals such as liberty, progress, reason, tolerance, fraternity, natural rights, constitutional government, and separation of religion and state to encourage moral behavior, civic awareness, scientific thinking, a sense of national unity, and individual public responsibilities within a secular-democratic framework.

And, without cultural revival that cultivates integrity, civic responsibility, tolerance, shared values, and respect for socio-cultural difference and ethno-linguistic diversity in everyday life, the political change becomes a mere performative game, driven by self-interest, power, and position and operated from a revolving chair of promises unfulfilled.

Moreover, cultural revival after political change is not just a responsibility of individuals in political positions. Intellectuals, artists, educators, religious and spiritual leaders, and ordinary citizens all have their responsibilities in shaping the cultural ethos of the nation. As a society, we need to accept the uncomfortable truth that any political change can’t sustain itself by merely considering politicians as scapegoats.

Burning houses and looting properties seem all too easy, but these activities don’t raise the ethical consciousness, upload principles of natural justice and enhance the collective shared values of the society. For too long, we have blamed politicians. Indeed, they are corrupt, short-sighted, addicted to power games, and have reduced the glory of democratic politics in Nepal to their game of musical chairs. But they are not alone in the political and cultural failings of Nepal.

See how our public intellectuals repeat their same old discourses formulated on the basis of conspiracy theories, geopolitics, and international perspectives that both avoid and overlook difficult challenges associated with Nepal’s own internal socio-political weaknesses.

As they say we may have been manipulated, but what about our own moral failings and the public grievances with government? Similarly, our artists and social media influencers have failed to ignite passion for collective national unity within cultural diversity beyond ethnic, religious, and regional divides; our educators have failed to bridge the gap between what they preach and what they actually practice and to convince their students it is not the words but rather their life that has to speak; the spiritual leaders have exchanged their ethical courage for their social influence and for increasing the volume of followers; and the citizens have deliberately chosen to stay complicit over their public responsibilities.

And there are the business groups cozy in their political nexus and crony capitalism; as they grew fat on connections, they forgot the most basic truth that no business can thrive in a culturally and ethically bankrupt nation.

Business institutions in Nepal need to realize and rediscover that profit without cultural resilience is temporary and they need to make contributions for the revival of cultural spirit of the nation by supporting social events, individuals, trusts, institutions, artists, and influencers those who can uplift the society, ethically and spiritually.

Furthermore, it is important for us to assimilate the fact that the tag of ‘corrupt’ we associate with our politicians, public administrators, law enforcement agencies, and judiciary system are the shadows of a society that continues to tolerate corruption.

A peaceful protest with genuine grievances gets massively infiltrated and turns violent because we have normalized violence as a political language. Likewise, it is difficult to lament the destruction of public infrastructure in a society that has normalized irresponsibility as its price of survival.

Hence, without collective efforts from our public intellectuals, artists, educators, religious/spiritual leaders, and ordinary citizens to revive a sense of national unity and collective ethics among Nepali people, the nation will remain trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of political changes without social progress, new government on paper, but the same ethical hollowness in practice.

Democracy without cultural revival is democracy without conscience

As citizens of Nepal, we need to realize that we cannot keep on demanding rights while refusing our public responsibility. We cannot burn the very infrastructure that our taxes built and then complain about underdevelopment.

We cannot loot financial institutions and destroy business investment and then cry foul about unemployment and investment flight. This hypocrisy is not politics; it is a moral decay. Hence, political change also demands the reignition of cultural imagination and a deep sense of social reflection.

Ironically, as everyone with a bit of power and position in Nepal appeared to be so preoccupied with obtaining their fair share of illicit wealth, from politicians and political appointees to their supporters and business and bureaucratic beneficiaries, that they completely disregarded the fact that the moral principles they had themselves degraded would eventually come back to haunt them and topple them like a house of cards.

However, it is equally important for younger generation in Nepal to understand that, in the absence of a cultural renaissance and moral progress, even the aspirations, ideals, and struggles of Gen Z are at risk in a society that massively suffers from cultural and ethical bankruptcy.

Thus, the lesson from ashes collected from public and private properties is clear: unless as individual citizens of Nepal we take responsibility for living up to our cultural ethos, shared values, national identity, and collective ethics, every new political change will only remain as a countdown for the next crisis.