The forgotten fire before Parliament

In front of Nepal's Parliament with the newly elected Prime Minister, a man took to the streets; drenched himself in diesel and set himself on fire on January 23, 2023. He believed it to be a statement against those who sat inside those rooms of the parliament, disregarding the daily truth and hardships of Nepalese citizens like pass and play.

He must have taken that last breath of relief, believing those people around him helping to douse the fire were a catalyst for a change in the system. He must have written the facebook post thinking that he could make a change, that his death would mean something. But the fire that started from his death has now been smothered; rather, forgotten.

Within a few hours after the news broke, the social media had an outrage of questions flying all around. “Who was responsible for the death?” “Was it a suicide or a murder?” The facebook post written by the man, stating the financial and emotional hardships he faced to start even a small enterprise in Nepal, raised various questions regarding the fate of the nation.

The streets of Baneshwor fell silent, leaving a sense of hopelessness towards the nation. The next few days, the outrage continued and the youth took it to the streets, seeking justice for many such individuals who lost their everything, because of the sole reason, the system.

Many political figures spoke, but sadly only on social media, not where and when it mattered. But the public was resistant, the finger was raised directly to the Parliament where the self immolation occurred, to take a step against cartelling, to make a system for such aspiring entrepreneurs to thrive, where one could dare dream, but the Parliament stayed still, and they let the fire die.

And the fire died. The public that took on the streets, left. The buildings of Baneshwor forgot the fire, and so did the general conscience. But, the subject Mr. Prem Prasad Acharya, isn’t the only one. Yes, only one to self immolate in front of the parliament, but not the only one.

The cases of different individuals who couldn’t face the wrath of the Nepalese system and clung to the trees with a rope around their neck are countless. And their stories are found only in either those eerie forests or the wails of the family. Families that can never recover from the loss, emotionally or financially.

So what now?

The fire has been forgotten, and also the fact that many political figures played with the fire, for a better political stance. But after everything, the base reality still remains unchanged, the system still remains unchanged, the present still remains unchanged, and the future still seems frightening.

A man took his life, like thousands others everyday, blaming the failure of a nation, but everything still remains unchanged, what changes is the name on the prime minister’s seat, neither the intention, nor the will. This does not call for a revolution, or a revolt, just a change.

To think beyond the words of the power lusty politicians, beyond the façade of their promises. To think like a true citizen, for the country and only for the country, because the fire that lit a man on fire in the streets of Baneshwor will soon burn us all, as a country, as a failed nation.

(The writer is a student at St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu.)