ISAS Insights

Nepal has been in the news from the past couple of years for all the wrong reasons. A country renowned for being the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the Mt. Everest and honest Gurkha soldiers has turned into a boxing ring of fighting politicians. The Maoist insurgency costing more than 13,000 lives since 1996 took a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, socio-political life, and economy. Physical infrastructure worth at least US$250 million was destroyed. More than 400,000 rural families were internally displaced while thousands crossed over to India. Tourism and garment industries that have been a mainstay of the economy for decades are today in shambles. Unemployment rate has soared forcing youngsters to go abroad for work. Those that can’t find foreign employment remain as potential recruits for the insurgency completing a vicious enclose of poverty, malgovernance and insurrection.