Some recent events have prompted me to ask: Are Nepali politicians intellectuals in the simple sense of knowing about the subjects that politics encompasses, namely, social, economic and political transformation of society? In other words, can Nepali politicians use knowledge or theories to interpret their societies or analyse Nepal’s historical and social issues?

I do not find sufficient resources to discuss this subject, although I know that some students are working on it. One student collecting information about the intellectual interests of well-known Nepali politicians reminded me of my article “Of intellectuals and politics”, published in this paper on October 1, 2008, in which I assessed the situation of the time.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as the prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, would give speeches in Nepal and outside about his political perceptions in the context of the Maoists leading the government in a multiparty system. He was trying to convey that the Maoists would respect democratic values, whereas Girija Prasad Koirala was saying that the Nepali Congress’s socialism was a combination of communism and liberal democracy. I wrote, “Girijababu is gravitating towards communism, and Prachanda is lurching towards a capitalist market economy that calls for a liberal political system to be functional”.

Dahal’s comrades thought the situation was provisional. They believed they were the long march-wallas who would continue their march. But in fact, it was a parody of a long march, perhaps a farcical journey of Ulysses. Karl Marx had a clear vision of history. He said transformations happen in history. In his famous Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, he clearly said the condition of tragedy turns into comedy. That is because history changes. History has shown that the dreams of monolithic marchers have not all led them to a definite goal. My caveat that the Nepali intellectuals were dividing themselves into party-sponsored ideological camps and the free thinkers were in the minority needs reviewing today.

The claims mentioned above of transformations in their parties by the communists and the Nepali Congress demand thorough discussions and learned interpretations. However, party leaders and ideologues lack appetite for that. Speeches made by politicians at the 108th birth anniversary of BP Koirala suggested that the sense of a shared history by the Nepali political parties appears to be a little confusing. But keeping that event as a topic, we can ask the following: What was BP doing? Was he an intellectual of an academic order? The generally accepted answer to that question would be: No, he was not.

Jawaharlal Nehru had the desire to become an academic. His Glimpses of World History, published in the 1930s in thin paper from London, was an effort towards that. He chose a format to project his views. He created a rhetorical, epistolary style, writing knowledge in letters to his daughter Indira and made his impact. Was Mahatma Gandhi an intellectual who could evoke academic interest? The answer is: He was not. Academicians are supposed to create some kind of retreat from where they put their ideas and publish them. But such retreats have been the sources of energy and knowledge utilised for society’s betterment.

The cult of intellectuality and scholarship seems projected by political leaders, especially the communist ones. We can cite examples of communist leaders projecting themselves as writers and thinkers. The case of such leaders outside who wrote several books on ideas and ideology is a case in point. That is a broad subject.

Role of universities

Universities play a vital role in creating intellectuals. Apart from Tribhuvan University, several Nepali politicians attended universities in India and outside. Banaras Hindu University of India, known by the acronym BHU, is one. It was an important name because Banaras City is a significant place both as a space and a repository, especially in creating and disseminating knowledge and creating conditions for its dissemination through printing books and publishing.

It is common knowledge that one does not have to be an academician to become a political leader. It is also equally hoped that political leaders should be able to read important texts on various subjects covering different study areas. In Nepali politics, however, the cult of intellectuality works uniquely. Several leaders who do or did not have much education have become or became good political leaders. They show a strong desire to project intellectual character—an intellectual cult.

BP’s intellectuality

After hearing interpretations about BP’s politics and the character of his oeuvre, which is mostly literary, I was struck by the following questions. How do the political parties, especially his Nepali Congress party, view the intellectual character of BP’s thinking, writing and speeches? And how did BP project himself as a thinker and intellectual in his writings? As a participant at the BP literary festival, and as the keynote speaker on September 10, 2023, I realised that people view BP’s creative and intellectual dimensions as complementary features. But people from different areas of study should discuss that subject with an open mind. The answer to the questions above is not straight. The Nepali Congress views BP as an intellectual, ideologue and scholar-leader with a broad vision of politics and society. The answer to the second question about how BP viewed himself as a leader, thinker, intellectual and creative writer is complex and fascinating.

The Nepali political parties and their leaders traversed ideological paths that require intellectual and academic discussions. And some researchers at the university have taken up the challenge. My approach to this question is that we should look at how the political parties have experimented with ideological shifts and transformations over the decade or more. The current situation is getting more complex politically; new currents and parties have emerged. Some political parties have been bandying about the constitution and the democratic system. But the reality is that a certain stable continuum is working, and that will continue to work. Some intellectual cults do tend to appear, but we all know about the areas and goals of political parties. This is what I call the Nepali intellectual cult here. More intellectual discussions and interactions should take place. The Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, the Maoists and other parties have shown a propensity for not rigid but free political ratiocinations.