Off the Record 134: Who's spreading atheism in Nepal?

Issue 134 • 29 March 2024

Mar 29, 2024

It’s March 29, 2024, and you’re reading Off the Record.

I’m Pranaya Rana and in this newsletter, we’ll stop, take a deep breath, and dive into one singular issue that defined the past week.

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Federal level continues to sabotage federalism

Sentiment against federalism continues to rise with many questioning why provinces are even necessary when Nepal could function easily with just the federal and the local. Provinces were supposed to be the bridge between these two levels but the provinces have continually been sabotaged by the federal level which is unwilling to cede any power. Laws that were supposed to institutionalize federalism and give more power to the provinces have not been passed, leading provinces to remain dependent on the federal level for their budgets.

A glaring example of how much of a sham federalism currently is in Nepal is this week’s announcement that provincial governments will change now that the power equation at the federal level has changed. Reportedly, the UML will control Koshi Gandaki, and Karnali Provinces, the Maoists Bagmati and Lumbini, the Janata Samajbadi Party Madhesh, and Nagarik Unmukti Party Sudurpaschim Province. This makes a mockery of not just the system that is currently in place but also the voters who voted in the provincial elections. If the provincial governments change at the whims of federal-level politicians, what even is the point of provincial elections? Might as well just have a wholly appointed provincial assembly.

A related incident here is the CPN-UML’s nomination of Suhang Nembang for the Ilam-2 federal seat left vacant after the death of his father, Subhash Nembang. While the party’s local committee had recommended at least five names for the nomination, the top leadership decided to go with Suhang, who is a lawyer by profession and a so-far untested politician, but given the hold his father had over that particular constituency, the party leadership perhaps felt that the son would do just as well. I can’t imagine local party members are happy at being sidelined by nepotism. Despite all the talk of federalism and devolution of power, the federal government and party leaderships remain wholly centralized and still operate on a top-down basis.

Narayan Kaji in China

Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha is currently in China, meeting with top officials and touring the country. So far, Shrestha has met Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) Politburo Standing Committee; Sun Haiyan, deputy head of the International Department of the CPC’s Central Committee; and Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister. Shrestha chose China for his first international visit, a symbolic move that signals the ruling administration’s proximity to the northern neighbor. And China took note, rolling out the red carpet for Shrestha.

However, it seems that Shrestha’s visit will largely be limited to symbolism rather than anything more concrete. It was expected that the implementation agreement for the Belt and Road Initiative would be signed during Shrestha’s visit but that does not seem likely anymore. This is not China’s fault but wholly Nepal’s which has dilly-dallied for way too long regarding the BRI, frustrating the Chinese. The Chinese have reportedly sought assurances from Shrestha that the BRI will move forward and that Nepal remains committed to the ‘One China’ Police. Shrestha duly assented to both, but it remains to be seen whether Nepal can decide on a funding modality for BRI projects that is acceptable to the Chinese. Nepal seeks more grants than loans while the Chinese naturally prefer to extend loans.

Shrestha will visit Tibet, where he will again issue a symbolic statement about securing Chinese interests and not allowing anti-China activities on Nepali soil targeted solely towards the West and the Tibetan community in Nepal. Then, he will return to Nepal on April 1, having accomplished little.

Labor migration reopened for Russia

On Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Employment began reissuing labor permits for Russia. Earlier, on January 4, the department had stopped issuing permits because Nepalis going to work in Russia might end up joining the Russian Army. However, a committee formed by the Ministry of Labor and Employment to look into the Nepali recruitment into the Russian Army found that no Nepalis who had gone to Russia on work permits had joined up. In fact, all of the Nepalis in the Russian Army are believed to have gone to Russia from other parts of the world on tourist or student visas expressly to join the army, the committee said. This led the Department of Foreign Employment to begin reissuing work permits.

This is certainly a recipe for disaster. Just because Nepalis on work permits haven’t joined the Russian Army yet doesn’t mean that they won’t in the future. Russia is pretty much an active war zone and just this week, there was a serious terrorist attack that killed over 140 people. On Thursday, new Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal clarified that work permits would not be given to “individuals”, although I’m not certain what that means. He also said that his ministry would be reviewing decisions taken by the former minister.

Meanwhile, work permits have been put on hold for Israel, given that 10 Nepalis died in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. But 33 Nepalis have been killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and yet, the government deems it prudent for Nepalis to go work there.

Harassment and holi

Sunday was Holi, the annual festival of colors where revelers paint each other with garish colors and throw water on each other. For those who partake, it is a grand old time full of merriment, but for those who don’t, it is a nightmare to venture out on the streets. Or at least it used to be. When I was growing up, water balloons would begin to be hurled from rooftops at unsuspecting passersby, especially women, at least a week before Holi. Harassment and sexual assault were rife. But the Nepal Police began to seriously crackdown on such incidents leading to a much safer and enjoyable Holi. After all, a festival is only fun if everyone is a willing participant.

This Holi was mostly uneventful except for one clip from a live telecast on Kantipur TV that led to a lot of debate on social media. In the clip, a female reporter can be seen speaking to the camera from Basantapur where a large crowd gathers to play Holi. As she is reporting, numerous men come up to her, say ‘Happy Holi’ and smear her with color. None of them ask her for permission or consent and she looks visibly uncomfortable. Many on social media pointed out that the behavior of the men was not okay and that the least they could’ve done was ask permission from the lady before smearing her. But others argued that she could’ve protested or said ‘no’ to the men. Many also pointed out how Kantipur TV should’ve sent a male reporter to cover the celebrations knowing the likelihood of a female reporter getting harassed.

From the video, it is clear that the reporter was not comfortable and that should’ve been the end of the debate. But numerous men continue to argue that anyone out on the streets during Holi is fair game, no matter who they are or what they want. That’s why I tend to stay inside. Call me a crotchety old man but I do not like synthetic colors and I do not like being pelted on the streets by water balloons. Things have gotten better over the years, that is true, but many Nepali men still need to internalize asking for consent before touching a stranger.

Image created with Microsoft Designer AI

On March 22, last Friday, a video posted to Twitter started to gain traction in Nepal. The video, a snippet from a United States Congressional hearing, showed Republican Congressman Brian Mast questioning Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma over an alleged $500,000 grant to Nepal to ‘promote atheism’. In the clip, Verma denies that the grant was used to promote atheism but rather, was given to safeguard religious freedoms, including the freedom not to take part in any religion. Mast remains unconvinced.

Mast wasn’t the only one who didn’t buy Verma’s responses. Nepali social media took Mast’s accusations and ran with it. For many, it was confirmation, coming from a US congressman himself, that the US was actively attempting to undercut Nepal’s majority religion, Hinduism, by promoting atheism. The grant was seen as part of a larger conspiracy to attack Hinduism and promote Christianity in Nepal, something that many in Nepal’s right-wing have long been concerned about.

Social media and some in the mainstream media too began to look deeper into this grant. It came to light that the grant was this one from 2021: Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals. The grant clearly states that it is for “organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support Religious Freedom globally” and that the goal “is to ensure everyone enjoys religious freedom, including the freedom to dissent from religious belief and to not practice or adhere to a religion.” Nowhere does the grant state that it is exclusively for the promotion of atheism overseas. Rather, it is to protect atheists, humanists, and non-affiliated individuals from “discrimination, harassment and abuse.”

Brian Mast was not the first US representative to sound the alarm over this grant. Former Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich put out a bombastic tweet in June 2022 saying that “[Joe] Biden is giving $500,000 grants to spread atheism overseas.” The same month, 14 House Republicans sent a letter to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken demanding answers over the same grant. The letter states:

It is one thing for the Department to be tolerant and respectful of a wide range of belief systems and to encourage governments to respect the religious freedom interests of their citizens. It is quite another for the United States government to work actively to empower atheists, humanists, non-practicing, and non-affiliated in public decision-making. Any such program – for any religiously-identifiable group – in the United States would be unconstitutional.

It should be noted that these American Republicans are primarily concerned with how the grant could impact Christianity worldwide and go on to state that atheism “is an integral part of the belief system of Marxism and communism.” But they do make a point about how it is unconstitutional for the US government to promote any religion and that atheism could also be considered a kind of religion. But again, let’s be clear that if the same grant had been promoting Christianity worldwide, I doubt the Republicans would’ve made such a stink.

One good point that the letter makes is this:

In addition to its constitutionally dubious legal foundation, we also question how such a grant or cooperative agreement program advances the foreign policy interests of the United States. Were such programs known by the citizens of the target countries, we would expect that local populations, interest groups, and governments would bristle at what any “objective observer” would see as “covert” funding from a foreign power designed to shatter local religious and cultural relationships.

That latter part (my emphasis) is exactly what has happened, even though I would say those in Nepal bristling at the grant are less than ‘objective observers’.

That Republican letter was followed up by two more letters from the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Relations, one on February 1, 2023 to Erin Barclay, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and another on May 8, 2023 to Rashad Hussain, Ambassador-at-Large, Office of International Freedom. The US State Department responded on June 8, 2023 stating that they “do not provide funds to any organization with the aim of using such funds to promote or advance specific religious ideologies or beliefs” This response was found unsatisfactory by the Republican-controlled committee. Thus, the committee dispatched yet another letter with more questions on August 3, 2023. The details of the above correspondence can be found within this letter.

This last letter also identifies the organization that received the $500,000 grant — Humanist International, an international NGO that aims to advance the ideals of secular humanism like human rights and secularism. Secular humanism, or just humanism, is rooted in the idea that human beings can have ethical and moral values without the need for religion. Humanist International works in over 100 countries to safeguard the rights of non-affiliated, secular, and atheist individuals. Its About page states: “We campaign on humanist issues. We defend humanists at risk of persecution and violence. We lobby for humanist values at international institutions, including the United Nations. And we work to build the humanist movement around the world.”

So while the pessimistic could argue that Humanist International ‘spreads’ atheism worldwide, the more charitable could see their work as a defense of atheists and the non-religious, who are often persecuted for not adhering to majority religions, especially in religious states. According to Humanist International’s Freedom of Thought 2023 report, atheism or apostasy (renunciating religious belief) is still punishable by death in 10 countries — Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Humanist International received the $500,000 grant to work in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Its local Nepali chapter is SOCH Nepal (Society for Humanism Nepal), which must have received part of the money though it is unclear just how much. The website claims that SOCH Nepal works in the fields of humanism, governance, livelihood, and dignity & freedom. A cursory look through the website shows that SOCH Nepal is much like the thousands of other non-governmental organizations in Nepal. There’s nothing to set it apart as an organization that promotes ‘atheism’ but the perennially conspiracy-minded might take their campaigns against witchcraft or caste-based discrimination as evidence of such.

With so much noise over this grant, it would be prudent for SOCH Nepal to release a statement outlining how much money it received and where the money was spent. I’m doubtful that the money went towards spreading atheism or undercutting Hinduism as so many claim on social media. I’m more inclined to believe that the money was primarily used for overhead costs, office salaries, and other expenses, just like what happens with most of the money that similar NGOs receive.

The US Embassy, for its part, appears to have taken note of the controversy. US Ambassador Dean R Thompson met with Rastriya Prajantantra Party (RPP) chair Rajendra Lingden on Wednesday. The RPP is in favor of bringing back the monarchy and reinstating Nepal’s status as a Hindu state. Lingden reportedly questioned Thompson over the alleged grant but Thompson denied all claims that the US was spreading atheism and said that “US assistance was focused on the upliftment of marginalized communities.”

Without knowing the details of what SOCH Nepal used its funding for, it is impossible for me to conclusively say that the funds were not used to advocate for atheism. But it is highly unlikely, given the kind of work it has done in the past and SOCH Nepal’s mandate from its international counterpart.

The bigger issue is the enduring conspiracy that outside forces are attempting to destroy Nepal’s Hinduism while converting its population to Christianity. Proponents of this theory point to the rising number of Christians in the country, which climbed from 1.41% in 2011 to 1.76%, not a large rise by any means. There is some truth here though, but the perpetrators are not who many think they are. The European Union and the United States are often alleged to be behind Christian converts in Nepal but, as a 2023 BBC article points out, missionaries are not coming from the West; they’re mostly coming from South Korea.

Also, I should probably mention here that there was barely any similar outrage when a 2023 report by the US State Department said that India’s Bharatiya Janata Party had been paying politicians in Nepal to lobby on behalf of a Hindu state. It seems outside interference is only problematic when it appears to go against the majority religion.

The fretting that many in Nepal are doing over Christian converts is misguided. As long as caste barriers and ill practices remain an integral part of Hinduism, people will choose to convert. And although Nepal law prohibits proselytization and ‘conversion by compulsion’, there is little the authorities can do to prevent Nepalis from willingly converting to another religion. For those so concerned about the rising number of Christians, the solution should be to look inwards, not outwards. Uplift the poor and indigent, combat caste-based discrimination, invest in schools and community centers, give people fewer reasons to convert. And if they still choose to do so, accept it. Faith, after all, is a personal matter.

That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of Off the Record.

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