Leaders, Leadership, Success and Achievement: Inspirational quotes to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account

"The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes." ~ Tony Blair "A leader is someone who creates infectious enthusiasm"- Ted Turner “Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work”- Vince Lombardi "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader"- John Quincy Adams “The leader has a clear idea of what he wants to do professionally and personally, and the strength to persist in the face of setbacks, even failures”- Warren G. Bennis “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”- John C. Maxwell “If you want to lead, first learn how to follow”- Rick Beneteau “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be”- Rosalynn Carter “Managers help people see themselves as they are; Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are”- Jim Rohn "Leadership is action, not position"- Donald H. McGannon "Leadership is no longer about your position. It's now more about your passion for excellence and making a difference. You can lead without a title"- Robin Sharma "Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow"-Vince Lombardi "In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people, they no longer can lead solely based on positional power"- Ken Blanchard "The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people"-Woodrow Wilson "Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall"- Stephen R. Covey “Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform cease to exist”- Mary Kay Ash “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed”- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success”- Pablo Picasso “Nature gave us two ends: one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then, man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most”- Robert Albert Bloch “The secret of success is consistency of purpose”- Benjamin Disraeli “Talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study”- Stephen King “The path to success is to take massive, determined action”- Anthony Robbins “Focus on the possibilities for success, not on the potential for failure”- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) “Desire is the starting point of all achievement”- Napoleon Hill “All successful men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose”-Brian Tracy “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure”- Paulo Coelho “Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals”- Jim Rohn “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed “- Booker T. Washington “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success”- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure”- Colin L. Powell “Success is not measured by what a person accomplishes, but by the opposition they have encountered, and by the courage with which they have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds”- Charles Lindberg “Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have”- Zig Ziglar “Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others”- Danny Thomas “You are a success when you have made friends with your past, are focused on the present, and are optimistic about your future”- Zig Ziglar “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted”-David Bly “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work”- Arthur Brisbane “To succeed you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you”- Tony Dorsett “The secret of success is constancy to purpose”- Benjamin Franklin “Success is connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit”- Conrad Hilton  “You never achieve real success unless you like what you are doing”- Dale Carnegie “The person with the most flexibility has the best chance of achieving the outcome he or she desires”- Tony Jeary “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction”- John F. Kennedy “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals”- Zig Ziglar “If you wait until all the lights are 'green' before you leave home, you'll never get started on your trip to the top”- Zig Ziglar “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat”- Napoleon Hill “Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily toward your goal, and it will become a reality”- Earl Nightingale “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose”- Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904–1991) - American writer and illustrator “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory”- Freidrich Engels “It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is - What are we busy about?”- Henry David Thoreau “When you focus on what's wrong, you get more of what's wrong. Conversely, when you focus on what's right, you get more of what's right”- Gina Mollicone-Long “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat”- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put it into action”- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”-Christopher Columbus “No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself”- Denis Waitley “Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly”- Dr. Robert Schuller “Achievers rarely, if ever, see a problem as permanent, while those who fail see even the smallest problems as permanent”- Tony Robbins “We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve”- Maxwell Maltz “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning”- Benjamin Franklin “Goals are like stepping-stones to the stars. They should never be used to put a ceiling or a limit on achievement”- Denis Waitley “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”- Helen Keller “A wish is a desire without energy”- Paramanhansa Yogananda “You accomplish victory step by step, not by leaps and bounds”- Lyn St. James “Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it”- Michael Jordan “All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers”- Orison Swett Marden “Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do you're licked, and by your own thinking too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on”- Norman Vincent Peale “Champions are propelled by desire, not compelled by fear”- Denis Waitley “Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible”- St. Francis of Assisi “A decision is made with the brain. A commitment is made with the heart. Therefore, a commitment is much deeper and more binding than a decision”- Nido Qubein “To show your true ability is always, in a sense, to surpass the limits of your ability, to go a little beyond them: to dare, to seek, to invent; it is at such a moment that new talents are revealed, discovered, and realized”- Simone de Beauvoir “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”- Helen Keller “Only one thing is ever guaranteed, that is that you will definitely not achieve the goal if you don't take the shot”- Wayne Gretzky “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”- Napoleon Hill “It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it”- Vince Lombardi “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved”- Jeremy Kitson “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe”- Anatole France “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”- Wayne Dyer "Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek"- Mario Andretti "The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat"- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) "Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything "- Napoleon Hill "Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put it into action"- Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) "If you wait until all the lights are 'green' before you leave home, you'll never get started on your trip to the top"-Zig Ziglar "Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily toward your goal, and it will become a reality"- Earl Nightingale "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose"-Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904–1991) - American writer and illustrator "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence"- Helen Keller See more “If I have the belief that I can do it, I will surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning”- Mahatma Gandhi "The person with the most flexibility has the best chance of achieving the outcome he or she desires"-Tony Jeary "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction"- John F. Kennedy "Winners don't do different things, They do things differently"-Shiv Khera “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory"- Freidrich Engels "It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is - What are we busy about?"- Henry David Thoreau "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning"- Benjamin Franklin "Each of us was born with wings and has the ability to go farther than we ever thought possible, to do things beyond our wildest imaginings"- Barbara Stanny "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe"- Anatole France

Population Council | Nepal's Publications and Resources

Population Council Nepal's Publications and Resources

Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health

Population Council | Publications | Newsletters/serials

Population Council Publications Newsletters/serials
Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood
Publications from Population Council-Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sexuality, Gender

Midwifery Education Program in Nepal: Recommence in the Tribhuvan University

In Nepal, there are large of number of nursing, medical and health science colleges from where large number of different types and level of health professionals are producing every year. Every year almost 1000 doctors, 5000 nurses and more than 6000 paramedics and allied health workers are graduating in the country. However, even in this 21th century still there is no separate education program from where professional midwife can be produced or trained. 

A midwife is a health professional considered expert in caring and assisting women during their normal pregnancies and childbirths. They provide care to childbearing women respecting their rights in a humanistic manner taking into consideration of social-cultural aspects of a woman.

However, in Nepal nurses involve in providing maternity care. In their nursing pre-service training midwifery subjects have been incorporated because of this they are able to provide both nursing and midwifery care to the needy clients. There are mainly three types of pre-service nursing training provision in the country, namely Auxillary Nurse-Midwives-18 month course after grade 10, Diploma in Nursing (Proficiency Certificate level in Nursing)-3 years course after grade 10, and Bachelor of Nursing-4 years course after grade 12. 

The Diploma in Nursing and Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives courses are mainly provide by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). CTEVT provides affiliation to private colleges to run these programs thus quality of the graduates are not satisfactory. They don't have adequate clinical placements because of the limited case-load in the clinical sites. On the other hand, the universities provide Post Basic Bachelor of Nursing (after diploma in nursing) 2 years course and Bachelor in Science in Nursing-4 years (direct entry after grade 12) and Master of Nursing-2 years courses. But these programs are under the faculty of medicine. In Nepal, there is no separate faculty of nursing in the universities.

Only two universities, namely BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (deemed university), Dharan and Tribhuvan University provide Master of Nuring Program whereas Bachelor level nursing programs are provides by six universities. These include BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Tribhuvan University, National Academy of Medical Sciences (deemed university), Kathmandu University, Purbaanchal University and Pokhara University. Purbaanchal University provides affiliation to private colleges to run their programs (Bachelor programs) so they are compromising in the quality of nursing education and graduates' future.

In 1976, a year Diploma in post basic midwifery programme was started at Mahaboudha Nursing Campus (currently known as Maharajgunj Nursing Campus, Tribhuvan University) with 10 students. But at that time this course was not recognized by Tribhuvan University as a certifying course for the bachelor level (undergraduate). Therefore, in 1978, a two year Bachelor of Nursing specializing in Midwifery Program was started with the support of the World Health Organization midwife consultants and 20 students were enrolled. The first batch graduates who did one year midwifery program in 1976 were also advised to join the program to recognise them as a bachelor's level. So, there were total 30 students. However, only 25 of them had completed the course.  Unfortunately, after producing two batches of nurses specialising in Midwifery this program had be closed down due to the unavailability of competent midwifery faculty members including other reasons. 

The Nepal Nursing Council stipulates the norms for number of faculty at each level based on student intake, and the colleges/universities need to be recognised by the Nepal Nursing Council and the affiliated colleges/ campuses need to fulfil the stipulated requirements. However, midwifery education and services related rules and regulations yet to be formulated and incorporated in the Nepal Nursing Council Act. In Nepal, almost all the nursing colleges/campuses are managed by the nurses. This gives autonomy to nursing faculty to design and implement the curriculum. However, quality of nursing educations (especially Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives, diploma in nursing and post- basic bachelor in nursing) has been criticised heavily by other health professionals mainly by medical and public health professionals. There is still vast work needs to be done to improve the quality of nursing education in Nepal. Since there is no separate program to produce a professional midwife therefore, is no separate cadre of midwifery workforce in the country, who can provide leadership in the midwifery field. Thus, country is facing challenges in achieving millennium development goal 4 and 5. Nurses working in the maternity and birthing units are generally called nurse-midwives.

The government of Nepal in the National Policy for Skilled Birth Attendants developed in 2006 acknowledged the need of producing a separate cadre of Professional Midwife to provide leadership for safe motherhood program. In line with this, Tribhuvan University is going to recommence the Bachelor of Nursing Program specialisation in Midwifery with 3 years duration from this year intake possibly in November if academic council of the university approves the curriculum. It is a great pleasure knowing about this from an Associate Professor Kiran Bajrachara at Maharajgunj Nursing Campus, Tribhuvan University, who also happened to be a President of Midwifery Society of Nepal. According to her right now group of five faculty members from the University are working in a speed to finalise it incorporating midwifery contents and competencies based on the International Confederation of Midwives’ global standard for Midwifery Education Program in the existing two years bachelor of nursing course.

ANU Asia Pacific Week 2011 Conference: Experience

It was a memorable and meaningful event for me to attend the Australian National University Asia Pacific Week 2011 Conference from 10-14 July hosted by the Australian National University that had brought together leading experts on the region and one hundred of the specially selected undergraduate and postgraduate students of the world's top university from around the world to engage in a series of academic and networking events focused on the Asia Pacific region developments and trends. Delegates were mainly specialising on the public policy, economic,  international law, international business, international relations, international business, public health, and human rights represented from 40 different universities and 24 countries.

The sessions were held in the following topics:
- The Transformation of Political and Economical Power in Asia and the Pacific
- From Sorcerers to Cyber-crime
- Gendered Citizens: Human Rights and Violence in the Pacific and Asia
- China Update Book Launch
- India Goes Outwards
- The Hazardous Pacific
- Climate Change and Fiscal Policy: A Report for APEC
- An Indonesian Perspective on Asia
- Asia Pacific Master Blogging Challenge
- Japan, after the Tohoku Earthquake
- Antagorism despite Alignments: Simulating crisis over Takeshima/Dokdo (Wargame)
- Q & Asia Big Ideas at the ANU with Virginia Haussegger, ABC TV News host/journalist
- Keynote Address from the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser AC

The conference was featured a Q & A style forum on the future of the Asia-Pacific region; a flagship conference panel on the transformation of political and economic power in Asia led by Professor Peter Drysdale and Professor Hugh White; and an address by the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser AC, Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983). Other leading figures who had joined the event include: Professor Peter Drysdale, Professor Hugh White, Professor Ross Garnaut, Professor Deborah Brautigam, Professor Kent Anderson, Professor Veronica Taylor, Professor Margaret Jolly, Professor Sandy Gordon; Professor Andrew Maclntyre, Professor Ariel Heryanto, Professor Greg Fealy, Dr. Judith Healy, Dr. Nicholas Farrelly, Dr. Andrew Walker, Dr. Shiro Armstrong, Dr. Brendan Taylor, Dr. Admiral Chris Barrie AC, Dr. Katherine Morton, Professor Jenny Corbett, Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki and Professor Stephen Howes from the ANU; Professor Yiping Huang, Peking University; Professor Raghbendra Jha from the Australian Research Council; Dr. Ahmad Ahsan from the World Bank; Professor Sisira Jayasuriya and Dr. Nabu Yamashita from the La Trobe University.

To be in touch with the delegates for the future collaboration facebook network group has been created on the third day of the conference and also explored other options of sharing and networking strategies.

Corruption in Nepal: A major challenge for the development

"Both bribe receiver and bribe offerer are enemies of the nation" Prithivi Narayan Shah, the Founder of the Modern Nepal.

Understanding Corruption:

Corruption is a complex and multifaceted phenomena with multiple causes and effects, as it takes on various forms and functions in different contexts. The phenomenon of corruption ranges from single act of activity contradicted by law to way of life of an individuals or groups. The definition of corruption ranges from the broad terms of 'misuse of power and authority' to 'moral decay' (Amundsen; Sissener and Soreide 2000). Corruption is the misuse of public goods by public officials, for private gains. In simple terms corruption may be described as “an act of bribery” or “the use of public power for private profits in a way that constitutes a breach of law or a deviation from the norms of society (Amundsen 2000)". It is a misuse of authority as a result of consideration of personal gain, which is not necessarily monetary. This private gain is achieved by ignoring prohibitions against certain acts, by exercising legitimate discretion to act, or by fulfilling obligations to act. This is the abuse or misuse of public offices, professional rights and duties for personal gains.

The national institutional level corruption takes place between the government (the executive) and the administrative and bureaucratic institutions (the civil service, judiciary, legislature, and local authorities). The relationship can be corrupted because of overlapping and conflicting authority, political power struggles over access to scarce resources, and personal relationship of dependence and loyalty. Other contributing factors are, a weak separation between civil service and partisan politics, a weak professionalization of the bureaucracy, a lack of accountability and transparency, and deficient political control and auditing. The more discretion officials have through abundant, complex and non-transparent regulations, the more corruption becomes likely (Amundsen 2000; Bista 1991; Pyakuryal 2000).
On the national societal level, the corrupt relationship happens between the state and various nonstate actors– corrupt state officials and the supplier of the bribes. It can be the general public, any nongovernmental and nonpublic individual, corporate and organizational, domestic and external (Subedi 2005).

Forms of Corruption
The main forms of corruption are bribery, embezzlement, fraud, and extortion. Even when these concepts are partly overlapping and at times interchangeable with other concepts, some of the basic characteristics of corruption can be identified through these concepts (Amundsen 2000).

1. Bribery: Bribery is the payment that is given or taken in a corrupt relationship. A bribe is a fixedsum, a certain percentage of a contact, or any other favors in money or kind, usually paid to a state official who can make contracts on behalf of the state or otherwise distribute benefits to companies or individuals, businessmen and clients.

There are many equivalent terms to bribery, like kickbacks, gratuities, baksheesh, sweeteners, pay-off, speed and grease money, (Amundsen 2000) which are all notions of corruption as perceived from below, from public. These are payments needed or demanded to make things passed swifter, smoother or more favorably through the state bureaucracy. By “greasing palms” corporations and businesses interests can buy, for instance, political favors and escape the full burden of taxation and environmental regulation, or buy protected market and monopolies, import/export licenses etc. Bribery can also be a form of “informal” taxation, when public officials charge additional amount under-the-table payments (called ghush in Nepali) or expected “gifts” from clients.

2. Embezzlement: It is the theft of public resources by public officials, which is another form of misappropriation of public funds. Embezzlement happens when a state official steals goods and resources from the public institution in which he/she is employed, and from resources he/she is supposed to administer on behalf of the state and the public. However, corrupt employees in private firms can also embezzle money and other resources from their employers. In Nepal, embezzlement is one of the most important modes of economic accumulation (Subedi 2005). In fact political leaders and higher administrative bureaucrats are earning money by this method. Otherwise, how is it possible to earn multi million rupees within a few years of bureaucratic post or being a political authority? It is a fundamental part of the resource extractive capacity of the ruling elite, and it should be taken more seriously than extraction through bribes.Another form of embezzlement is - some power holders systematically use their political office to enter into, secure and expand their private business interests. In Nepal, the political elites have link with businessperson, decision makers and control media personnel, development workers and human rights activists through their contact (Subedi 2005). They hold a major share in private schools and colleges, and nursing homes, pharmaceutical companies, transport and media and many more ventures.

3. Fraud: This is a serious crime that involves some kind of dishonesty, swindling or cheating. When the ministers, bureaucrats and academicians take their share for closing their eyes when they have an active role in it. This is also known as phohari khel or phohari rajniti, 'dirty politics'. Dirty politics include, giving unnecessary loans that will never be paid back, provide contracts without competition, issuing license to manufacture poor qualities of medicines to pharmaceutical companies, approving bills without proper supervision, select less qualified and unskilled persons, transferring qualified bureaucrats to other places if he/she is not favoring political authority. This dirty politics is tied to the interest of national and international agencies and authorities and the dominant feudal culture. In Nepal, dirty politics is playing a major role in the selecting, nominating and promoting of less qualified, politically corrupt people in vital posts (Subedi 2005).

4. Extortion: It is money and other resources extracted by the use of coercion, violence or threat to use force. By creating an atmosphere of insecurity where individual citizens, private businesses and public officials are harassed and intimidated. Only those who pay the protection money will be exempted from further harassment. With more or less concealed threats, rulers can extract resources from private source businesses. These businesses rarely take the chance of refusing state or ruling party officials. The present political conflict has played very important role for promoting such extortion in Nepal (Subedi 2005).

5. Favoritism:  It is a mechanism of power abuse implying “privatization” and a highly biased distribution of state resources, no matter how these resources have been accumulated in the first place. It is the tendency to favor family, friends, relatives, clan, caste, ethnic group, gender, race, place of origin, members from the same party, and anybody closed and trusted. In political sphere, it is the liking of state officials and politicians who have access to state resources and the power to decide upon the distribution of these, to give preferential treatment to certain people. In Nepal, the Prime Minister has the constitutional rights to appoint all high-ranking positions, legal or customary rights that extend exceedingly the possibilities for favoritism (Subedi 2005). It easily adds up to several hundred positions within the ministries, diplomatic organization and other line agencies.

6. Nepotism: It is a special form of favoritism, in which an office holder (ruler) prefers his proper kinfolk and family members (wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, nephew, cousins, in-laws etc.). In Nepal, almost all political leaders have tried to secure their power position by nominating their family members to political, economic, various public councils and committees and security positions in the state apparatus (Subedi 2005). Through such mechanisms, many politicians and bureaucrats have been able to move their family members from public position into private business, to transfer public power to private wealth. Favoritism is not only a legal problem, but also a problem of flawed qualifications, lacking skills and inefficiency (Amundsen 2000). Further where public position is strongly correlated to possibilities of corrupt and extractive practices, favoritism can secure substantial prerogatives and profit for certain families, clans or some social subgroups.: Bribery is the payment that is given or taken in a corrupt relationship. A bribe is a fixed sum, a certain percentage of a contact, or any other favors in money or kind, usually paid to a state official who can make contracts on behalf of the state or otherwise distribute benefits to companies or individuals, businessmen and clients.like kickbacks, gratuities, baksheesh, sweeteners, pay-off, speed and grease money, (Amundsen 2000) which are all notions of corruption as perceived from below, from public. These are payments needed or demanded to make things passed swifter, smoother or more favorably through the state bureaucracy. Bribery can also be a form of “informal” taxation, when public officials charge additional amount under-the-table payments (called ghush in Nepali) or expected “gifts” from clients (Subedi 2005).

Corruption in Nepal: At a Glance

After the restoration of democracy in Nepal, it has observed a significant institutional development in the political sphere of the country. Many small political parties have been emerged while many new faces have been seen in the major political parties. However, key political affairs in the country is still-like in Panchayat days- being run by the few elites that control, influence and manipulate the construction of political and economic mainstream of modern Nepal (Subedi 2001). These elites maintain the formal as well as informal networks within their groups. These practices are too deeply embedded in the lives and social interaction of society and it is doubtful they will change in the near future (Levitt 1999). On the one hand, we are reading the news and views of corruption in everyday newspapers and seminars and on the other hand, corrupt people are enjoying political power, property and honor. Of these, the major forms of corruptions that are being practiced in Nepal are Bribe (payment of cash), Chakari (to wait upon, to serve, to appease, and to seek favor from politically or administratively well off people),  and Afno Manche (One's own people).

Key Holders of Corruption in Nepal (Subedi 2005)
- Public Servants (bureaucrats i.e. civil servant, judiciary, legislature, and local authorities)
- Politicians (Political parties leaders holding important positions)
- Big businessmen
- Prime Minsters and Ministers

There are different ministries in the Nepalese government, which are regarded as gold mines for making money. Defense Ministry, Home Ministry, Ministry of Finance, for example, spend a huge amount of total budget every year and it is said that commission between 15 to 50% are not uncommon on purchasing of weapons, spare parts, emergency expenditure, payments of bills, passing bills, issuing cheques, approving supplies, settlements of disputes and so forth. Nepalese people say that out of total cost sanctioned for the project, about 30% is invested in the work, 30% on contractor’s profit, and 40% goes into various ministers’ and officers’ pockets. The power enjoyed by ministers and police are so wide that they can accuse, arrest, and harass even an honest person. It is said that the failure to pay commission results in delay in getting the bill passed and receiving the cheque.

In conclusion, to understand and fight against corruption, the legal definition of corruption is too narrow and only concerns with legal procedure, legal evidences and ignores the people’s own assessment of courses of action. If we only give priority to legally sanctioned sphere and ignore socially sanctioned sphere, it is very difficult to fight against corruption in Nepal. This is related to democratization process. Economic and political competition, transparency and accountability, coupled with democratic principles of checks and balance, are the necessary instruments to restrict corruption and power abuse. Civil society should hate, boycott culturally and socially corrupt people for introducing people oriented good government which should be transparent and accountable.

Acknowledged: This write up has been mostly excerpted from the Subedi 2005.

References

Amundsen, Inge 2000, Corruption: Definition and Concepts. Chr. Michelsen Institute Development Studies and Human Rights.

Amundsen, Inge; Tone Sissener and Tina Soreide 2000, Research on Corruption: A Policy Oriented Survey. Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) & Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo/Bergen.

Bista, Dor Bahadur 1991, Fatalism and Development: Nepal’s Struggle for Modernization. Orient Longman Limited, Calcutta.

Gupta, Akhil 1995, "Blurred boundaries: the discourse of corruption, the culture of politics and the imagined state."  American Ethnologists. Vol.22, No.2, Pp 375-402.

Lederman et al. 2001, Accountability and Corruption: Political Institutions Matter. World Bank, Washington.

Levitt, Marta 1999, "A Culturally Appropriate Health Intervention in Conflict with Nepali Management Culture". In Ram Bahadur Chhetri and Om Gurung (eds.) Anthropology and Sociology of Nepal: Cultures, Societies, Ecology and Development. Sociological and Anthropological Society of Nepal (SASON), Kathmandu, Nepal.

Pyakuryal, Kailash Nath 2000, Restoration of Demecracy and People’s Empowerment in Nepal. In Occassional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. VI (15-25). Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal.

Subedi, Madhusudan Sharma 2001, Medical Anthropology of Nepal. Udaya Books, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Subedi, Madhusudan Sharma 2005, Corruption In Nepal: An Anthropological Inquiry. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, Volume 1, Kathmandu, Nepal.

I sent following message to the Nepalese parliamentarian and constitution assembly members, namely Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal (Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist), Mr. Baburam Bhattarai (Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist) , Mr. Shashank Koirala (Nepali Congress) and Mr. Sunil Babu Pant (Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist) dated 15 July 2011 via facebook.

Hon'ble Sunil Babu Pant, Member of Parliament and Constituent Assembly who also happened to be a Founder and Director of Blue Diamond Society (BDS), an NGO established in 2001 and working for sexual minorities in Nepal.

Dear CA member,

Namaste!

Corruption Perceptions Index 2010-Nepal ranks 146 out of 178. Out of total 10 score (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt), Nepal scored 2.2. This result indicates a serious corruption problem.

Would appreciate if you could consider "Meta-regulation" in dealing with such problem consulting with professionals and experts and like-minded youths?

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. (Link http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results)

Discussion (Replied after 14 hours of posting by Hon'ble Sunil Babu Pant):

Sunil Babu Pant: Thank you Laxmi Ji, let me what specific I should be doing on this critical issue?

Laxmi Tamang: Thank you for your prompt thoughtful and supportive response. The first and foremost step would be to get involved with the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC)http://www.gopacnetwork.or​g/ and then support or get involve with the Kedar Khaka activities against corruption in Nepal and accerelate it involving Anil Chitrakar dai, Ujwal Thapa, Prasanta Singh of Nepal Unites movement. Be aquaint with "Meta Regulation" and try to bring such policy in the country. Best regards

Sunil Babu Pant: Thank you Laxmi Ji Will join the GOPAC and contacts other freinds and talk to other CA members as well.

Laxmi Tamang: We, Nepalese people have some hope only with young CA members like you, Gagan Thapa and others. Otherwise, old fellows are not going to do anything we've seen this since many years. Please do save our country prestige and status in the worl...d. It is very shameful to hear when people say your country is corrupted. We feel very bad. Since you are running BDS you might find useful visiting http://www.fundsforngos.or​g/ for grants/awards/scholarships​/funds

Sunil Babu Pant: Thank you very much for the useful link...

Laxmi Tamang: Dear Honourable CA member, apology for addressing you very rudely "Dear CA Member". It is not my intention to be a rude but it happened while writing because I didn't find right word to address you. However, you are so understandable and gentle that you didn't say anything to me. Instead you took my suggestions very constructively and be responsive towards it. This might be due to the fact that you have been directly and actively engaging in the development related works almost a decade. To get regular update of the grants, awards, funding and scholarships please subscribe to the above link. I'm heartily thankful to you for your kind cooperation and thoughtful consideration. I look forward for your active involvement in fighting against corruption in Nepal. Though it is hard but it is possible. Wish you all the best of luck in your endeavour. Best regards

(Accessed https://www.facebook.com/pages/Action-Works-Nepal/164325856942418#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=132299453522271&id=1624296025&notif_t=share_comment)

How Australian Leadership Award Scholars perceived me?

Recently, as part of the Australian Leadership Awards we, 26 scholars from 12 different countries studying in different Australian universities i.e. Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Wollongoing and the University of Macquaire had attended the Leadership Development Program Workshop from 1-4 July in the Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Resort, New South Wales. It was wonderful, very meaningful and very hectic workshop with lots of fun, individual leadership showcase presentation and sharing, group exercises, games, peer coaching, plenary discussions, outdoor activities such as military-style abseiling, 'leap of faith' and many more. The experience was awesome with full of insightful learning experiences. 

On the last day of the workshop facilitators had asked each participant to draw a picture of each scholar's hand on their handbook and suggested to comments about them on it. This was really great to know how individual scholar view towards each of us. Here are their views about me.
- Energetic and Fun
- Energetic, fun, direct, no fuss, pratical
- Enthusiastic, assertive
- Lively
- Super empowered
- Very ambitious and nice
- Strong determination
- Network
- From Nepal, Yeah!!
- Powerful and inspirational
- Ambitious with set goal
- Future Health Minister
- You are too good, keep your spirit up!
- Nice..........
- Hardworking
- Care and strong
- Our leader
- She likes me! lol.
- Brave/courage/deep thinker/Intelligent
- Supreme courage
- Activist
- Socrable
- Intelligent
- I love you Laxmi, you are very nice friend

As per the exercise during the workshop I have been scored high as a pragmatist followed by theorist, activist and reflector, which is awesome to know ourselves how we think and behave in the natural settings and in our daily lives and our network circle perceive us.