We've replaced our wall calendars 61 times since democracy was introduced to Nepal in 1950. The faces in Baluwatar have changed, the king has been banished to Nagarjun, and armed rebels have come to power. Months, seasons and years have gone by, but the plight of the Nepali people remains the same.

The winter chill is taking a toll on the lives of the Tarai people. People in Karnali are starving to death. Hundreds of people are dying because they can't even get Cetamol or Jivanjal. The leaders that promised to address the people's aspirations are never bothered by their sufferings. Singhadarbar and Baluwatar shed no tears when a poor house collapses.

Politics is supposed to run the country, but Nepal's politics is as polluted as the Bagmati River.

A good leader thinks about his country. In fact, a good leader does not have any individual or party interest. He thinks about the state and about humanity. There is a dearth of leaders in our country. Politics for leaders has become a business and the poverty of the people is a begging bowl.

It might sound disrespectful but the bitter truth is a gang of goons are in power and if the power goes to a good person, they hatch conspiracies to pull him down. Those who fool others and fish in troubled waters can never give momentum to society.

Once people are educated and informed, politicians will not be able to buy voters. Informed people are not intimidated by threats, nor can they be bought. This is what the hypocrites are afraid of, so they never take good leaders on board.

To whom should we complain? It seems that we harvested grains of mustard, but never got oil from them, put stones together, but could not make a fire. We learnt to say 'mine' and 'yours', but never 'ours'.

Bijaymani Poudel, Katari, Udaypur

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