Tolerance and humility

Education bestows us humility. It is believed the more educated you are the more humble you become. We are taught so. This belief turns into ashes when you enter into the Constitutional Study Centre in the Central Library at the Tribhuwan University. Many books and magazines there in the cell are full of handwritten comments, foul words and the like. Some of the examples are presented in this article.

Who is there doing all this? Tribhuwan University Central Campuses in Kirtipur run only Master’s Degree program. Those individuals who go there to study are supposed to be well educated. Some of them are researchers. When the ‘highly and properly educated people’ in our country are doing such nasty things, what lessons will the new generation of youth learn from us? The handwritten comments are fully abusive towards the ‘Madheshis’ and ‘Pahadis’ both.


A page from ‘Raktamaya Madhesh’, full of hate and foul words.



Another piece from the same book ‘Raktamaya Madhesh’. The points raised by the commentator are valid and just. But the means of expression is wrong.




The book ‘Raktamaya Madhesh’ (Bloody Madhesh).


We agree with the fact that most of us are frustrated with our present political situation. Lawlessness, impunity, ethnic tensions, caste and ethnicity based political maneuvers and unemployment has made us more aggressive towards our political leaders and opposition. We don’t want to listen to anybody else. We make hasty generalizations and run into conclusion with the help of our surface knowledge.


A student expresses frustration over the political leaders in a book named ‘Loktantrik Aandolan kina?’ (Why Democratic Movement).


These instances are the proof of that frustration. But the time and means of expression cannot be said good. If one has really valid reasons and counter points against anything, they have so many media at their disposal to express their feelings. Many daily newspapers have more than a half page space for the readers’ comments and opinion. Why not to write there so that your opinion could be read by thousands of people across the country.


A page from another book (title unknown) the handwritten lines in red read – “where is the place for the lower class Bhramins and Chhetris, aren’t they Nepali?


Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists)’ politics of ethnicity not only played the role in creating unprecedented awareness but also flared up tensions among various ethnicities. The ‘Madhesh Movement’ in 2007 added more pressure to this. People are divided and gathered under the flag of their ethnicity, religion and the like. The negative consequences of it have begun to seen. This has reached up to the academic institutions and universities. When educated people don’t try to understand the seriousness of the situation and indulge in such nasty and shameful activities, it is futile to expect humility, tolerance and friendship from the people having less or no education. However, that is the class which is showing greater humility and tolerance towards each other. They are the nation maker.

- Modnath Dhakal