Yubraj Acharya's Response To My SEBS Proposal
Paramendra Bhagat
October 24, 2003

Of all the responses I received to my SEBS proposal, Yubraj Acharya's is by far the most impressive.

Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 01:50:00 -0400
To: [email protected]
From: "Yubraj Acharya"
Subject: Paramendra Bhagat's SEBS Proposal
CC: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

On Paramendra Bhagat�s SEBS Proposal

1. I call his proposal SEBS proposal because the title �Taking SEBS-NA To The New Level� does not incorporate what he actually talks about in his �proposal.� Most of his points relate to SEBS, not SEBS-NA. And when the President of Nepal, if we had one, talks during his presidential campaign about changing the World, it just does not sound realistic. Change SEBS-NA first. Then will you have us behind your mission to change SEBS. No offense Paramendra dai�-I do not doubt your credibility, I never did�-but this proposal sounds more like your earlier Samgram Morcha agenda to dig a tunnel from West to East Nepal (?). It will collapse. I hate to discourage dreamers, I am myself one of those, but when one comes out of the blues and presents his wish list and expects them to be fulfilled, uh uh� So much about the possibility of success. Now, let me delve into the theoretical part. That is, my take on the individual concepts you have presented.
2. On SEBS Worldwide as the umbrella organization. This just means we are adding one more layer of bureaucracy. First we had SEBS that could not live up to people�s expectations. The �dissidents�, with a dire desire to contribute, as always, to the school and Nepal, decided to form SEBS-NA. Motives were clear, I do not know if they were spoken. Message from SEBS-NA to Cosmos Biswokarma�s SEBS team in Putalisadak was clear: Since you are sluggish, we had to do something; you do it your way, we do it our way. There was in implicit competition between SEBS and SEBS-NA. This was/is good. Things got done, one way or the other. SEBS improved. But at the same time, along with better SEBS performance (particularly in terms of relationship with the school and in organizing activities), emerged a complication (I am telling this as a SEBS member, not as SEBS-NA�s Treasurer): As I see it, the existence of SEBS-NA is already problematic. It takes a year to agree to a proposal (take the Memorandum of Understanding, for example), School does not know whom to deal with, members are already confused about where they should contribute�SEBS or SEBS-NA, there is no clarity in what these two organizations expect from each other and so on. That the existence of SEBS-NA channelizes the interest of SEBSers in North-America to meet the goals of SEBS in Kathmandu seems confined to the concept alone. Now add one more layer�-the SEBS Worldwide�-so all of us can study if the principle of entropy holds true?
3. Your 2nd, 3rd and 4th points are down to earth. No comments. One thing, though: Point 4�-that NSP needs to be launched in much larger scale�-is one hell of an agenda for someone who wants to run for President. It has already been a clich� and if I am not wrong, efforts are already underway�-in scales large or small�- to ameliorate the structure and functioning of NSP.
4. I support point #5. If we can not help the school financially, there is no point in barking over the performance of the authority, no matter how much corruption is there. During my visit to Nepal this summer, SEBS was invited for a luncheon at Nagarkot with the Senior Management Team. When I asked the Principal if there had been any corruption with regard to admitting students under the scholarship program (of course, no person in his right mind�-apart from MP Hari Nepal�-would tell s/he had done corruption) and if not, where the rumors came from, he gave me a frank answer that Suraj dai (SEBS Immediate Past President) and Rabindra dai (SEBS General Secretary) witnessed as well. I applaud Mr Sharma for his honest answer: �The government does not give enough money to the school. And they expect us to implement their policies. This is really hard. So I often tell them to either give us enough money or allow us to make our own policy� (not the exact quote). Representation of SEBS in the Management Team is a giant leap for SEBS. With the growing involvement of SEBS in school, there is no doubt we will one day be able to formulate its policies. To make our policies, we need OUR money. What are some of your ideas of raising the fund, though?
5. Point 6�-Create an online think tank on the national economy, and issues of social justice in Nepal. I think this is what Maitlal Something of the Green Nepal party wants us to do; although he pisses off almost every member when he comes to the SEBS gatherings, I think he has a point. It is high time that we come out of that little cozy who-the-hell-can-compete-with-bnks attitude and think about Nepal as a whole. BNKS is already well off. We can �survive� wherever we go. Now it is time to give back to the society. Well, screw global society for a while and give back to NEPAL!
6. Point 7 and 8. Theory is right. Practicality is nil. Or rather marginal contribution of these two points to your agenda is minimal or zero. SEBS can not, even in the remotest of dreams, force its members to go back to Nepal if they want to live abroad or to live abroad if they want to go back to Nepal. They already know they have the right to decide. Should you win the election next year, go ahead with your point 8. Assume a hoard of people is right behind you to wish you success.
7. I hope you will not take these comments personally. I am sure you know much better than I do about SEBS, SEBS-NA and any other issues, but I strongly recommend you to know more about the present status of SEBS, SEBS-NA, pressing issues that they have been coping with and prepare a more realistic proposal we can all support on. This is not to mean that I am adverse to changes (heck, people wouldn�t call me a Nepali republican otherwise), but I firmly believe that much can be done without altering the present structure of SEBS. Without creating an umbrella organization, without having a representation at Capitol Hill and so on. Having said that, should you decide to run for any of SEBS-NA positions, my vote will be for you.

PS: We can discuss more on this issue when we meet for Dashain this weekend. I will be more than happy to share my experience working for SEBS in Nepal, and working in Nepal in general.

I write at a time when I am wondering if I should focus on SEBS or rather on possibly turning Nepalisite.com into the numero uno Nepali portal and an inventory-free, two-way e-commerce site. I am in talks with Nischal Shrestha. Is SEBS too parochial? Should the net be cast wider among the Nepali communities in the US?

As for the specific comments, Yubraj. I believe the proposal I have made is very realistic, but contingent upon participation by SEBS members, which I believe can be generated. Partly the leader inspires. Partly the members have to take that extra step.

It's interesting you mention Sangram Morcha. I worked on it for a year in 1993. But by the time I had a working document, those with me had deserted me. The Terai rights aspects of the proposal was too strong for their tastes. So I aligned myself with the then break away faction of the Sadbhavana. To stay politically relevant. And to me the Sadbhavana is just like Budhanilkantha. I am an alumn. I have active ties with those in the Sadbhavana I worked with for almost three years.

Having just one SEBS is a simplification, rather than a complication. One SEBS, one online office, the SEBS site, and only one offline office, the Putali Sadak one. One SEBS, one SEBS President, voted online by members worldwide. One SEBS budgtet. One. Integrated. It totally makes sense that what we call SEBS NA today ought to be bearing the primary costs also of the Putali Sadak office. Because that is the only office SEBS has offline.

NSP. I don't believe it is large as it could be. Why has the fund-raising been confined to the SEBS members? Why not approach the foundations and what not! My point, SEBS has been too parochial. It needs to open up to the world.

The topic of corruption at BNKS. It is a central topic about which I have no direct knowledge. The whole endowment proposal will have to start with the school getting a clean chit from SEBS. If the book-keeping is not made transparent, the endowment proposal will not even take off. I am not sure I understand NP Sharma's response to your query about "corruption." Does that mean people pay to get admitted into BNKS? Is it like a "chanda?" As in, money that goes to the school? Or what?

"Representation of SEBS in the Management Team is a giant leap for SEBS." Suraj Dahal is a close friend. And I am sure he is doing great work. But I disagree with the idea of the school deciding as to which SEBS person ought to sit on it. It should be a SEBS decision. Maybe the current President, or the Immediate Past President, or something like that.

I believe the most important thing for now is to keep the conversation going.