One of the many legacies of the long casteist history of the country is the major structural issues Nepal continues to face. Evidences abound! But I keep coming across hill so-called High caste Hindus who can't see or refuse to see the evidences for what they are.
This is about one such man, a professor at a medical college no less!
Religion does not have a monopoly over morality or ethics. In other words, you don't have to be religious or even be associated with a religion to be a moral or ethical person.
Many societies exist in the world which are considerably less religious than Nepal but, as far as I am concerned, are considerably more moral and ethical.
Given how money has been the driving force behind what a majority do in Nepal and given how little people with power and influence value other people's lives, even during calamitous times -- such the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes and the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic--we in Nepal must education children about empathy at home and school and raise them to be compassionate human beings.
Of course, there are at least a few different ways of doing that.
The caste system has corrupted the minds of Nepalis. Here is an example of how it has corrupted the minds of the Hill so-called High Caste Hindus.
Blinded as they are by structural privilege and their sense of entitlement their social group has enjoyed for generations, they demonstrate subtle internalized casteism stemming from their unconscious sense of superiority.
On November 30, I had an interaction with about thirty 16-19 year-olds. My audience were grades 11 and 12 students at DigiSchool attending extra classes in preparation for aptitude tests needed to gain admission to universities and colleges in the USA, Australia, etc.
The following is an audio recording of the interaction.
Studying, living, working abroad, unconstrained by closed and inward-looking Nepali culture, society, and people, I questioned a lot of what I had been taught in Nepal.
One was the Hindu-mythology-based beliefs, practices, and values.
One lesson was taught through the story of Eklavya and Dronarcharya. We were taught that the story was about model discipleship. But after deeper questioning I have come to the conclusion that its more of caste supremacy than model discipleship.