Nepal's Socialism Is Its Greatest Scam

In the long catalogue of political deceptions Nepal has endured, nothing comes close to the magnitude of the socialist consensus - a deception so total, so sacred, that questioning it invites moral outrage.

- PRASHANT SINGH

In the long catalogue of political deceptions Nepal has endured, nothing comes close to the magnitude of the socialist consensus - a deception so total, so sacred, that questioning it invites moral outrage. When one raises even the mildest critique of the socialist model, one is met with looks of disbelief. "What do you mean not socialism?" they ask, as though it's the only ethical path ever available to a decent society.

Every single political party in Nepal - from the ultra-left Maoists to Rastriya Swatantra Party - unapologetically declares itself socialist. The Maoists want socialism through revolution; the CPN (UML) wants it through governance; the Congress wants it through the middle path; even the dozens of fringe parties marching behind identity banners see socialism as their holy grail. It is not merely ideological laziness. It's a hegemonic, unthinking consensus, where all critique is taboo.

So much so that when Nepal's current constitution was drafted in 2015, it went beyond merely mentioning socialism. It enshrined it as the destination of the state itself. Today, the preamble pledges the nation to achieving socialism. And yet, amid all the critiques of the constitution - from federal structure to secularism to provincial boundaries - no major voice dares question the one clause that may be doing the most damage: the constitutional endorsement of socialism itself.

How did Nepal's people come to see socialism not just as an option but as a non-negotiable ideal?