E-Kantipur

After completing my bachelor’s degree in 1957, I had a deep desire to continue my education, but I had to stay home for two reasons. First, I my health was not good and second, my father could not afford my educational bill because he also had to pay for three younger brothers and one younger sister studying at the local Karfok High School in Ilam district. So instead, I started working as a graduate teacher at Karfok High School to use my knowledge and assist my father in footing the bills.

There were two institutions in Karfok at that time. The first was the high school inaugurated by Crown Prince Mahendra in 1953. The second was the Nepali Bhasa Pracharak Sangh (NBPS) with Narendra Nath Bastola as General Manager. Both institutions received government grants. My father was the vice chairman of the school management committee along with one of my uncles working as the secretary. The Bada Hakim was the ex-officio chairman of the school committee, but he rarely visited the school and my father presided over all the meetings. Bastola attended the committee meetings in an ‘ex-officio’ capacity. I was selected by the school as the teachers’ representative in the committee and I attended all its meetings, so I was familiar with all the aspects of the school’s management. But, the facets of the NBPS were a kept secret except that Bastola was the GM and a few Nepali books had been published under its name.

The school’s finances were transparent. It had been running in a deficit with teachers being paid in small instalments. The school received an annual grant of IRs 5000 and the NBPS was said to receive IRs 10,000. I once asked Bastola to lend some interest-free money to the school from the NBPS fund that could be recovered within three years, by which time the school could become self-sufficient. But he declined without reason. Though I had no knowledge about NBPS’s finances, I knew that the school was in a real deficit and that its accounts were honestly maintained. There was no corruption of any kind.

My two younger brothers appeared for the SLC examination in 1958 and both of them were expected to pass. I thought of my career. I would be headmaster of the school in due time and that would be the zenith of my career. So, I argued with father to let me continue my education. But he said he couldn’t afford the education of three sons in a row, and pampering the first son would be unjustified at the cost my younger brother’s education. He was right.

But he said that he would not stand in my

way if I could find the resources myself.

I competed for an Indian scholarship programme called Colombo Plan. I took leave from the school and proceeded to Kathmandu. I applied for scholarship during 1958-60,

and faced the interview. There was time before the results of the interviews were made public.

The Karfok School’s grant was not received before my departure. If the grant was not sent, the school would be fatally affected. So, I went to the Department of Education in Singh Durbar for verification. I met the Director General (DG) of Education, Sharada Prasad Upadhyaya, who informed me that both Karfok grants were withheld for that fiscal year because of discrepancies in their accounts. I was not aware of the accounts of the NBPS, but I was sure there were no discrepancies in the accounts of the school which I had reviewed several times while helping my uncle. The decision was based on a report by the Inspector General of Schools received two months prior.

I had left the school just one month before and was certain no representative of the Department of Education had visited the school for the whole year until that date, nor had anyone called to see the accounts. I personally knew the Inspector General (IG) of Schools, Dirgha Raj Koirala. It was not possible that he saw the accounts without my knowledge; the whole story had been fabricated. I was furious that the IG would be involved in destroying an educational institution. I told the DG that I would not leave the matter alone and would approach King Mahendra to take necessary action against the IG. I argued that withholding the grant would lead to the closure of the school that the king himself inaugurated as crown prince. The DG asked me to wait and come to Singh Durbar the next morning.

The next day, the DG told me that the school grant was to be released on my assurance, but the NBPS grant would be withheld subject to a direct investigation. It turned out that on a visit to Darjeeling, IG Koirala met Santabir Lama, the new Bada Hakim

designate for Ilam. Because of bad relations with some people of Ilam, including Bastola, he claimed that Bastola was embezzling the government grant. The IG made the mistake

of believing Lama, who had no idea of the financial affairs of Karfok. IG Koirala did not call me for an explanation because he knew I was right. I did not push for direct action against the IG. The school ended up receiving the grant and I got the scholarship for master’s study in political science. I resigned from my teaching post and left for Kathmandu. Away studying for two years, I never found out what happened to the NBPS grant as the institution had dissolved by the time of my return.

Dirgha Raj Koirala was known to my father and also to me. In my later career, I met him on several occasions and found him well mannered. As far as I know he has a fair record of financial dealings as a government secretary and the chief of the Agriculture Development Bank. He has even had a respectful social service record after his retirement. I do not understand why he submitted to such malignant influence in the Karfok affair. Whenever I think of the episode, it pains me to think that a gentleman with the reputation of an inspector general in the field of education could succumb to such an evil design without considering the consequences. Perhaps, this is the face of corruption. Corruption does not always involve financial gains. It is multifaceted. Suppression of truth is corruption. Harming an innocent person or institution is corruption.

knsad66@yahoo.com

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