Every year, October 11 is celebrated as Non-Resident Nepalese (NRN) Day in Nepal by the Nepalese people who are residing in various nooks and corners of the world with different engagements.

Staying abroad for almost the entire year, these Nepalese people gather in their home country - Nepal - on this day. No doubt, this forum provides an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas and discuss issues of personal as well as motherland’s development. The fifth meeting of NRNs is to be held on 11 October 2010 Monday in the tourist city of Pokhara.

According to the sources, various NRN personalities and government as well as other officials engaged in different walks of life are aiming to hold discussions about the beneficiaries of NRNs, utilization of the funds generated by the NRNs and promotion of culture, economy, and social status for the development of the country.

The Non-Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA) came into existence at the first Non- Resident Nepalese Conference held on 11-14 October 2003 when the assembled delegates decided to join their hands together to create a common institution of Nepalese residing outside Nepal.

NRNA is a global network of Nepalis associations and is committed to streamline their energy and resources for the transformation of the Nepali society.

From the nationality point of view, both Nepalese nationals and foreign nationals of Nepali origin are regarded as NRNs. According to the representatives of the Non-Resident Nepalese, there are an estimated over seven million Nepalese residing in over fifty five countries around the globe.

According to the unofficial report, a vast majority of NRNs - about five million - are residing in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. Besides this, a large number of them are residing in Myanmar, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong.

As the government has made provisions of Acts to boost NRNs’ role in the development process of Nepal, now the Nepalese anticipated that Nepal’s highway to development process will be smoother in comparison to the past. The Act has been widely accepted and also focuses more on development rather than providing benefit to certain individuals.

According to sources, the NRNs have so far made investment of over 325 million US dollars in Nepal in various projects including Devghat Bridhhasharam, Nepal Public Library, Trade School, One Village One Product, Contribution of Trolleys at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Projects in Pipeline, Nepal Investment Fund, 20.4 MW Mai Hydropower Project in the eastern region, 75 Home District Projects, Daijo - Girls Education Foundation, Kriyaputri Bhawan at Pashupatinath Area Trust etc.

In this context, it would be better to adopt a policy to enable overseas Nepalese to enjoy stable and fruitful lives in their respective host countries, to promote retention of their Nepalese identity and maintenance of relations with their homeland and capitalize on overseas Nepalese to help further Nepal’s national development.

In particular, Nepal needs to embrace a policy intended to enable Nepalese people abroad to enhance their standing in their respective host countries through protection of their basic rights and reinforcement of their legal and social status. It also needs to extend support for the operation of Nepalese cultural schools in areas where Nepalese have immigrated.

The government should create an environment to dispatch performing art troupes to overseas Nepalese communities and promote cultural activities as a means of bolstering their self-esteem and pride, encourage their active participation in economic activities in Nepal as a means of contributing to the overall development of Nepal and enact and revise domestic laws, regulations and systems to strengthen cooperation with talented overseas Nepalese.

Nepal’s overall policy toward Nepalese abroad will serve as a significant political and social yardstick for assessing the country’s stance toward foreign workers amid people of mixed ethnicity, social acceptance and the status of Nepal’s legal and social systems.

While ethnic issues are always sensitive, there are significant diplomatic matters at stake as well. At the same time, it is also important to assure the basic rights and survival of these Nepalese in peripheral areas, even though their nationality may be from poor country.Nepal should undertake diplomatic efforts to ensure that the rights of these people are recognized under the International Human Rights Convention. Nepal needs to adopt clear concepts of what constitutes the Nepalese nation and its compatriots in conjunction with the government’s overseas Nepalese policy. Such concepts should also serve as a foundation for pursuing co-prosperity while promoting the identity of the Nepalese people.

The overseas residents’ policy needs to be promoted in line with clear concepts and long-term vision. In particular, migration and resettlement should be addressed from a global approach and various means should be devised to enhance the cooperation of all Nepalese living abroad. This approach should serve as a starting point for creating and operating a global network of Nepalese.

Accordingly, Nepal’s overseas Nepalese policy should, as the government itself has pointed out, serve as an impetus for facilitating cooperation among overseas Nepalese themselves and with their respective host countries.

The historical legacy of Nepalese needs to be considered. While it is true that the historical backgrounds of ethnic Nepalese are all different, their homeland is obligated to them in various historical regards as well. The overseas Nepalese policy should not be taken as impacting Nepal alone but rather encompassing the entire world and especially the South Asian region and East Asian region.

The migration and dispersal of people is a worldwide phenomenon, globalization being one element of this trend. Such a perspective should be duly reflected in Nepal’s overseas Nepalese policy in order to establish a policy in which globalization and national uniqueness can be balanced.People feel pride in their origin and maintain close-ties with the community they originally come from and support initiatives geared. Nation states have been using such network for advancing the interest of the concerned country. For instance, the financial and security well being of Israel is heavily dependent on the contribution of Jews residing all over the world.

The overseas Chinese Network a.k.a. bamboo network has been playing crucial role in promoting Chinese business interests.

Non Resident Indians are playing increasingly important role in the economic development of India.

So the NRNs also could be development partners of Nepal if the authorities could nurture a closer network of Nepalese residing abroad with Nepal and properly utilise the potentialities the NRNs for furthering Nepal’s socio-economic development roadmap.

Only through such a normative process can Nepal be driven ahead towards the destination of Development Highway Map.
Arun Ranjit


source: Ranjit, A. (2010),"NRNs As Development Partners",Rising Nepal, 8 October 2010