Nepal Now: On the Move
We're talking with the people migrating from, to, and within this Himalayan country located between China and India. You'll hear from a wide range of Nepali men and women who have chosen to leave the country for better work or education opportunities. Their stories will help you understand what drives people — in Nepal and worldwide — to mortgage their property or borrow huge sums of money to go abroad, often leaving their loved ones behind.
Despite many predictions, migration from Nepal has not slowed in recent years, except briefly during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 1 million Nepalis leave every year to work at jobs outside the country. Tens of thousands go abroad to study. Far fewer return to Nepal to settle. The money ('remittances') that workers send home to their families accounts for 25% of the country's GDP, but migration impacts Nepal in many other ways. We'll be learning from migrants, experts and others about the many cultural, social, economic and political impacts of migration.
Your host is Marty Logan, a Canadian journalist who has lived in Nepal's capital Kathmandu off and on since 2005. Marty started the show in 2020 as Nepal Now.
Nepal Now: On the Move
Putting value-based politics to the test in Nepal — Karma Tamang
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This is another episode in our series Nepal Then and Now, where we catch up with former guests. Before we do that, I have a request. We know that the show has some dedicated listeners because they’ve been saying really positive things about us, which have been passed on, and it is very encouraging. But, honestly, we need more subscribers in order for the show to be sustainable and to keep producing these episodes. So please, take a minute — two at most — to give us a rating on Apple podcasts. That will help more potential subscribers find us.
Karma Tamang gave up a solid career in Germany to enter politics in Nepal. That’s not a path many of her fellow Nepalis have followed, or are likely to tread, given the reputation of politics here as a dirty and corrupt practice.
When we spoke to Karma in 2020, she explained what motivated her to take such a unique path. Not only did she leave her job, she began to study politics, and is currently working on a PhD. Karma told us that that she feels all Nepalis have a duty to dedicate themselves to the country — even temporarily — especially privileged ones like herself. She chose politics because from abroad she learned quickly how it played a role in everything that happened — or didn’t happen — in the country.
More than a year later, and after just completed municipal elections, Karma — who is now the leader of Nepal Bibeksheel Party — sounds more upbeat. She is positive about some of the outcomes of the polls, including the elections to high-profile positions of independent candidates. None of those who ran from her party were elected but as she repeated, Bibeksheel has always described its approach as similar to running a marathon not a sprint.
One note before we start: near the end of our chat Karma says that the party hasn’t decided yet if she will run in November. Well, I have an update — which I will share at the end of this episode. Please listen now to my conversation with Karma Tamang.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode. We are on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as @nepalnow or @nepalbnowpod. If you haven’t already subscribed, do so by clicking like, follow, or subscribe on your favourite podcast app. I’m Marty Logan. I produce Nepal Now and I’ll talk to you again soon.
Resources
Coming home to give back — Our first chat with Karma, in 2020
Nepal Now social links
Thanks as always to Nikunja Nepal for advice and inspiration.
Music: amaretto needs ice ... by urmymuse (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/urmymuse/57996 Ft: Apoxode
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Music by audionautix.com.
Thank you to Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studio.
