2024: The year that was
A quick month-by-month look back on the past year
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 169 of KALAM Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.
Since this is the last newsletter of the year, we’re doing something different. We’ll take a quick look back on the year, month by month, to remind you of everything major that happened this year. It’ll be an exercise in reminiscing and recollecting, a reminder that though much might change in Nepal, nothing really changes at all.
But before we begin, I am super happy to announce that we managed to reach our new goal of 120 paid supporters too! I am flabbergasted at the love and support you’ve shown me. I thought getting to 100 was a tall ask and you managed to get me to 120! A great big dhanyabad to my newest supporters — Bhups Adhikari, Sumitra Manandhar Gurung, Aditi Aryal, Sudip Pokharel, and Deborah Augustin. I still can’t believe that so many of you continue to read and support this weekly epistle. Thank you so very much.
2024: The year that was
So much has changed, yet so much remains the same. It is Nepal’s perennial story of stasis. Every year, the same three faces take turns occupying the chief executive's chair. Every year, more Nepalis leave the country for even more dangerous lands, whether it is building stadiums in Qatar or fighting someone else’s dirty war in Ukraine. Every year, we are promised the next one will be different and every year, we are disappointed. This is Nepal.
In this deep dive, we’ll go back month by month to see just what happened and what didn’t happen.
January
The year started on a sour note. Just three days earlier, on December 29, a riot broke out in Balkumari after hundreds of young people were told that they were ineligible to sit for a qualifying exam to go to South Korea for work. The riot quickly turned violent, and two protestors died after being shot by the police. The Pushpa Kamal Dahal government spent much of January trying to fix this mess by first forming a committee and then promising compensation for the families of the dead.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar visited Nepal in the first week of the year for the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission. The meeting reviewed relations between the two countries and signed a 10,000MW power trade agreement over the next 10 years. Jaishankar also pledged Rs 10 billion to reconstruct homes and property destroyed by the November 2023 earthquake in western Nepal. Later in the month, two separate delegations from China followed Jaishankar’s visit to Nepal.
On January 10, police arrested Ram Bahadur Bomjan, once known as the Buddha Boy, on rape charges. Bomjan, who was facing numerous counts of rape, sexual exploitation, and murder, had evaded arrest for years but was finally arrested from his lavish residence in Budhanilkantha. Read more about the entire Buddha Boy saga by clicking this link.
As the month closed out, the Special Court convicted businessman and former Member of Parliament Ichchha Raj Tamang and his wife of money laundering, and sentenced them to three years and a year-and-a-half in jail, respectively. Tamang was also fined Rs 1.72 billion, while his wife was fined Rs 1.03 billion. Tamang was the chairman of Civil Homes, one of the first luxury housing projects in Nepal.
February
February continued January’s arrest of high-profile businessmen. On February 1, Arun Chaudhary, the brother of Nepali billionaire Binod Chaudhary; Ajit Narayan Singh Thapa, former executive chairman of the Bansbari leather and shoe factory; and Sanjay Thakur, chairman of CG Chandbagh School, arrested in connection with the Bansbari land grab scam. All three were implicated in illegally transferring 10 ropanis of land from the government-owned factory into private hands at extremely low rates.
In mid-February, more high-profile individuals were convicted of graft and fraud in another land grab, the Lalita Niwas scam. This time, the Special Court convicted over 130 individuals, including former government secretaries and land management officials, of colluding to illegally transfer government land in Lalita Niwas into private hands. Deep Basnyat and Chhabi Raj Pant, former government secretaries, and Min Bahadur Gurung, owner of the Bhatbhateni supermarket chain, were among those jailed for two years and fined millions. However, former ministers also implicated in the land grab were all acquitted.
All those arrested then are now out of jail, either on bail or having completed their sentences. Nepal considers time spent in police custody during investigation towards the completion of their sentence.
March
A year into his government, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, on March 3, ousted coalition partners the Nepali Congress and Unified Socialists and brought in KP Sharma Oli’s CPN-UML and the new Rastriya Swatantra Party. The new alliance brought in new ministers, including RSP chief Rabi Lamichhane as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The change in the federal coalition triggered corresponding changes in provincial governments too, leading to new administrations taking charge.
Nepal continued to plead with the Russians to end the conscription of Nepali citizens into its army for the war against Ukraine, but to little avail. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov promised Nepali Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha on March 7 that Russia would provide compensation to the families of the dead but no promises were made on halting recruitment. By the end of the year, nearly 50 Nepali will have died in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
There were more high-profile arrests as Krishna Bahadur Mahara, an influential Maoist politician and former Speaker of the House, was taken into police custody over his alleged role in gold smuggling through Tribhuvan International Airport on March 18. Dipesh Pun, the son of former vice-president Nanda Kishor Pun, was also arrested. Both were eventually freed on bail.
April
More corruption charges against former ministers and government secretaries kicked off in April. On April 4, former civil aviation minister Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, former secretaries Sishir Kumar Dhungana and Shankar Prasad Adhikari, and former managing director of Nepal Airlines Corporation Sugat Ratna Kansakar were charged with embezzling nearly Rs 1.5 billion during the Corporation’s purchase of the two wide-body Airbus aircraft. The case would be decided in December with secretaries and officials jailed, but the minister was acquitted.
On April 9, Hindu kingdom monarchists came out in force for a rally in Kathmandu. The rally, led by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), demanded a return of the monarchy and Nepal’s status as a Hindu kingdom. There were demonstrations across the Capital and clashes between rally-goers and the security forces. Although the RPP has not reached critical mass yet, its adherents are growing, encouraged by the dismal performance of the republican parties.
Later in the month, on April 24, Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Kathmandu on an official visit, disrupting traffic and life across the city. Nepal announced a holiday for the Emir’s visit. Despite more than 400,000 Nepalis working in Qatar as migrant laborers, no labor agreement was signed during his visit; instead, Nepal pledged two elephants as gifts for the Emir.
On April 25, Muhammad Aftab Alam, a Congress politician, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison by the Rautahat District Court. In 2008, Alam had planned an explosion to disrupt the Constituent Assembly elections, but the bomb exploded prematurely, killing two conspirators. On Alam’s orders, the injured survivors were burned alive in a brick kiln to hide the evidence. The conviction was long overdue, especially given Congress president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s pledge to free Alam.
The month closed with Nepal holding an Investment Summit on April 29 to attract foreign investment. Numerous projects were showcased to potential investors, primarily from India and China. Promises to cut red tape and facilitate an investment-friendly climate were made, but not much has come of them yet.
May
On May 12, Kami Rita Sherpa, the superhuman high-altitude climbing guide, broke his own world record, summiting Everest for the 29th time. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he climbed Everest again just 10 days later, on May 22, summiting Everest 30 times. While climbing the world’s tallest peak even once is a singular feat for most mountaineers, Kami Rita has done it 30 times!
The Patan High Court, on May 15, acquitted cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane of rape charges. Lamichhane was accused of rape by a woman identified only as Gaushala-26 in September 2022. In December 2023, the Kathmandu District Court had convicted Lamichhane of rape but asserted that Gaushala-26 was not a minor at the time of the incident. The High Court overturned that decision, much to widespread dismay. Gaushala-26 had her life upended and even attempted suicide, while Lamichhane received much public support, including from government officials. She eventually decided not to appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court for her own mental health and left the country.
The month ended in turmoil after Kailash Sirohiya, publisher of Kantipur Media Group, was arrested for investigation into “citizenship-related issues” on May 21. Sirohiya, a Madhesi businessman, was accused of fraudulently obtaining his Nepali citizenship. Many, including myself, believe he was arrested in retaliation for the relentless coverage by his newspaper, Kantipur Daily, of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in fraud and embezzlement. After a widespread outcry from the media fraternity and human rights activists, Sirohiya was released after nine days in police custody.
On the final day of the month, May 31, the New York Times published a damning investigative report accusing mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja of sexual harassment. Although some sponsors cut ties with Purja, he seems to have faced few other consequences.
June
The Nepali cricket team played a decent game in the T20 World Cup, winning much praise for its fighting spirit. Unfortunately, Nepal was outclassed by veteran cricketing giants like the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Nepal played its final game on June 15, losing to South Africa by a single run. Despite not winning a single game, the team and its supporters brought much attention to Nepal and its growing cricketing prowess.
On June 24, the Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sun Weidong, arrived in Kathmandu for the 16th meeting of the Nepal-China diplomatic consultation mechanism. Although the Chinese had pushed for the signing of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) implementation mechanism, the Nepali side still had reservations about the funding modality, preferring grants over loans. Ultimately, the meeting ended with nothing concrete to show.
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July
On July 12, a landslide swept two buses en route to Kathmandu off the highway, killing over 60 passengers. Many of the bodies and the buses were never recovered, despite efforts by Nepali and Indian authorities.
The same day, July 12, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. Earlier in July, coalition partner UML had pulled its support for the Dahal government and it was a foregone conclusion that Dahal would fail. A new UML-Congress coalition took charge with KP Sharma Oli as prime minister and an entirely new set of faces as ministers.
Mid-monsoon, dengue was widespread in urban centers across the country, especially Kathmandu. At its peak in mid-July, over 15 people were getting infected with the disease every single day. Stagnant water, poor urban planning, and a lack of proactive action from local governments fuelled the spike in dengue.
The month ended in tragedy. On July 24, a Saurya Air plane crashed just minutes after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport. Eighteen passengers and crew were killed; only the pilot survived.
August
Tragedy continued in August as at least 14 people died in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the first week of August.
And as if that wasn’t enough, a helicopter crash on August 7 killed all five people on board — four Chinese nationals and the Nepali pilot. Calls grew for Pradeep Adhikari, chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, to resign, but Mr Adhikari weathered all criticism and remains in place. Under his watch, there have been over eight crashes, with hundreds killed. Yet, he remains unconcerned.
The Olympics concluded in Paris this month, and Nepal sent a small contingent of athletes, along with a massive support team of coaches and government officials. There were both men and women contenders in athletics, badminton, judo, shooting, swimming, and table tennis, but unfortunately, they failed to advance beyond the first stages. Nepal has never won a single competitive medal at the Olympics but a Nepali did win one at the Paralympics. Palesha Govardhan won bronze in taekwondo at the Paris Paralympic Games, a first for Nepal.
On August 14, the House of Representatives finally passed the amendment bill to the transitional justice Act. The amendment had long been delayed over the political parties’ inability to reach consensus on amnesty provisions for certain “serious human rights violations” like rape, murder, enforced disappearance, and torture. Although human rights activists and conflict victims were still skeptical, the international community — primarily western diplomats, observers, and international rights organizations — welcomed the amendment as a step toward bringing the prolonged peace process to a definitive end.
Fears of climate change emerged once again after a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) on August 16 in Solukhumbu district’s Thame swept away homes and infrastructure. This small village is notable for being the birthplace of numerous Nepali mountaineering legends, including Tenzin Norgay, Kami Rita, and Apa Sherpa. Thankfully, no lives were lost.
On August 22, Nepal lifted its ban on TikTok, nearly a year since it was enacted.
An episode of Herne Katha moved Nepalis everywhere to tears.
The murder of a Nepali nurse in the United States captured Nepali imaginations everywhere. Her Nepali husband was eventually charged with her murder.
September
September was a bad month to be a member or supporter of the Rastriya Swatantra Party. First, the ruling coalition tried to push through an impeachment motion against Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar over a letter she sent to the US Embassy asking for expedited visa dates. The letter was not just for herself but for five others who had nothing to do with her. A copy of the letter was leaked to the public, and the traditional parties used it as leverage. Ultimately, no impeachment motion was filed.
On September 16, a parliamentary investigative committee formed to investigate fraud in the cooperative banking sector submitted its report to the House. The committee found that Rabi Lamichhane, chair of the Swatantra Party, was responsible for using funds illegally transferred into the television network where he was managing director. However, the committee did not find Lamichhane guilty of fraud or embezzlement. Parties sympathetic to and antithetic to Lamichhane spun the committee’s report according to their biases.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli left for New York on September 20 to attend the UN General Assembly. While in the United States, he spoke at Columbia and Harvard. But while he was in the US, incessant rain back in Nepal led to massive flooding and landslides. Despite warnings from the government’s weather forecasting service, no precautionary measures were taken, leading to over 200 deaths and many more injuries. Countless families lost their homes and property. Oli was heavily criticized for not cutting short his US trip and returning to Nepal in a time of crisis, but Oli, in his usual fashion, brushed off all criticism, saying he could not control the weather.
This massive loss of life and property made headlines around the world and showcased just how vulnerable Nepal is to a changing climate. Nepal’s internal geographical vulnerabilities are only exacerbated by poor urban planning, a lack of precautionary measures and warning systems, and a general lack of concern from each government that comes to power.
October
October began on a good note. On October 3, Nepal signed a tripartite agreement with India and Bangladesh to export power to the latter country via the former. This was the first instance of Nepal selling power to a third country other than India. The agreement was to sell 40MW of electricity to Bangladesh.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was heavily criticized for accepting “donations” in land from Min Bahadur Gurung, the owner of Bhat-bhateni supermarkets, who was recently released from jail for his role in the Lalita Niwas land grab. Gurung gave the land worth millions of rupees to the UML party to construct the new party headquarters. Gurung even pledged to construct the building himself at no cost to the party. Even UML party members criticized Oli’s acceptance of such a donation. This criticism would come back to haunt those party members as in December, the UML expelled senior UML member Bhim Rawal and suspended members Binda Pandey and Usha Kiran Timalsina.
Dashain came and went before we even knew it. And then, just as Dashain ended, Rabi Lamichhane, former Home Minister and leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, was taken into police custody for investigation into his alleged complicity in fraud and embezzlement. His party members and supporters went on to hold rallies and oppose the jailing of their party chief. Lamichhane would remain in custody for two more months, the maximum allowed under Nepali law, before fraud, money laundering, and organized crime charges were finally formally filed against him in December.
Sports once again brought some semblance of celebration to Nepal, as the women’s football team performed exceedingly well in the South Asian Football Federation Women’s Championship. After a stellar semi-final game against India, Nepal unfortunately lost to Bangladesh in the finals.
The month ended with Tihar.
November
In November, chaos reigned. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal decided to cut down hours at Tribhuvan International Airport, leading to ticket prices skyrocketing and numerous cancellations for tourists and visitors. The tourism industry was up in arms, complaining of losing business in the billions during peak tourist season. Even the International Air Transport Association asked CAAN to reconsider, but CAAN haughtily responded that the decision was theirs and that they would not allow anyone else to dictate their policies.
There were more arrests in November too. Lila Ballav Adhikari, a UML party member and former Koshi province minister, was arrested on human trafficking charges on November 10. He had attempted to visit Japan with three others for an event organized by the Tokyo Arts Council. But, all four were deported by Japanese immigration after discovering that three held fake passports. Adhikari was accused of facilitating their entry into Japan in return for kickbacks.
Then, a week later, on November 19, controversial businessman Durga Prasai was arrested on cybercrime charges. Prasai has been a constant thorn in the side of the mainstream parties, leveling allegations of corruption against the top leaders of the parties and agitating large masses of people to rally for a Hindu state. This time, he was arrested after he published a document purporting to show Prime Minister Kp Sharma Oli’s alleged investment in a Cambodian telecom company. The documents were clearly forged and Prasai was arrested for disseminating blatantly false information.
Both Adhikari and Prasai have since been released from police custody as their cases progress through the judicial system.
On November 22, Prime Minister Oli held a virtual meeting with the real-life version of Lex Luthor, Elon Musk. Oli apparently invited Musk to visit Nepal while Musk attempted to push his Starlink satellite internet service on Oli. Starlink has reportedly been pushing to enter Nepal for over two years now but wants to retain full ownership of any branch company it would open here. Nepali laws, however, do not allow wholly foreign-owned telecom companies. Musk wants Oli to make an exception for Starlink, but I don’t see how that’s possible.
December
December started with by-elections for 44 vacant local-level posts on December 1. The mainstream parties were looking to gauge their popularity through the polls, and it looks like they’re back on top. Most vacant seats went to the three big parties — the Congress, UML, and Maoists. New parties like Swatantra Party and independents did not win significantly, signalling perhaps that the independent wave of the last general elections has somewhat subsided.
Prime Minister Oli also traveled to China for his first foreign trip. India was miffed that he chose China over them, but India sent no invitation, while the Chinese were more than happy to welcome Oli. In Beijing, Oli finally signed the Belt and Road Initiative implementation plan, with both sides agreeing to a mix of grants and soft loans. Oli returned triumphant, even though the implementation plan alone does not amount to much.
Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi,’ a famed Nepali sculptor, was accused of sexual harassment and abuse by a number of his former students. They are reportedly considering legal action against him.
The Nepal Premier League also began and ended in December. This national cricket league was very popular and led to a wave of enthusiasm among cricket and sports fans in Nepal. Teams from all seven provinces competed, and eventually, the Janakpur Bolts clinched the win. Unfortunately, the Bolts’ win was marred by xenophobic abuse and violent assaults against Madhesis. Read Praveen Kumar Yadav’s article on why the Bolts’ win means for the Madhesi people.
And so, we come to the end of 2024. Another year gone by, another circumambulation of the sun. Here’s to hope, to reading and writing more, to finding a language to tell our stories, to preserving in art what we cannot in memory.
I leave you with a playlist of some of the music I enjoyed this past year: YouTube and Spotify.
Happy New Year!
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly.
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