Suresh Raj's new gimmick

I don’t know whether Mallika Aryal received any money from Tanka Dhakal and Shreesh Shamsher during the erstwhile regime of King Gyanendra. But, it can be guessed that she must have received a hefty sum from the “Sadhu” Suresh Raj and his nepotistic and corrupt administration in KU. After reading “KU’s quality education” by Mallika Aryal, I am set into thinking about my past experience with KU and the education that was delivered in KU. Besides, “vision” of Suresh Raj is something that has been haunting many of us.

Like every institute, when KU was created, the so-called creators like Suresh Raj kept on bragging about the noble cause. There are both noble and novel reasons for having new university- that is what everyone was made to believe by Suresh Raj and Sitaram in the run up to the setting up of KU. They not only lobbied hard for having new university but also made every body sure that they were not imposters. The “vision” Suresh Raj propounded at that time was to lessen the burden of government on higher education and ensure societal participation in functioning of higher education. Suresh Raj and his bootlickers as well as the Journalists like Mallika Aryal has ever since credited Suresh Raj with great “vision.” As a matter of fact, “the societal participation in education” is not a new concept propounded by Suresh Raj at all. This tradition has been there ever since Harvard was established with the donations of a clergyman like John Harvard.

However, to curry favor with influential people, it has been our style to laud even the smallest contributions of these influential people. Suresh Raj never used a single penny for establishing KU but still we are talking of this silver haired man as if he were more visionary and more philanthropic than John Harvard. And the journalists have proved that if given money they can even write in support of King Gyanendra also. By touting up his “vision” through ingratiating journalists, it can be seen that Suresh Raj is now aggressively improving his damaged public image. This sets me into thinking what is more remarkable in Suresh Raj-“borrowed ideas touted as his original vision” or “his never-die hunger for power and chair in KU. “

Contrasting with those days, when Suresh Raj and Sitaram visited every politician to convince them for setting up of KU, Suresh Raj is now queuing up the sycophants, parasites and favor seekers outside his VC chamber in KU. A Professor of TU then has now changed into a Big Boss of KU and a favor seeker has now changed into a favor giver. Suresh Raj has also transformed like the landscape of that forlorn heap of land between Dhulikhel and Banepa and we can see that a child of impoverished family from Sindhuli is now enjoying his meals in five star hotels. Everybody knows that Suresh Raj came from very poor family and every body knows that he has now ensured none of his children, and children of his relatives would ever be impoverished. Like those corrupt bureaucrats, bankers, businessmen, and slipper-wearing politicians, Suresh Raj has also ensured bright future for his progenies along with his present prosperity. Suresh Raj is, therefore, right in saying “The country made me what I am, I have no right to complain.”

Having ensured personal happiness, prosperity and those of his own as well as those of Sitaram, Bhadraman and all other bootlickers’ offsprings, Suresh Raj has no point in complaining. Now the complaints are being made by the ordinary sons of Nepalese who are exploited, defamed and never recognized in KU simply because they preferred not to lick the boot of Suresh Raj. Since Suresh Raj rose up by licking the boots, he has made this a yardstick in KU that everyone there should lick his boot. But, when righteous faculties revolted, Suresh Raj used goons. Suresh Raj did not use Jalan Kumar in vain. Initially, he waited that people would come forward in his defence. As he was made to believe that he is the most “visionary” educationist of Nepal by his sycophants like Sitaram and Bhadraman, Suresh Raj thought that there would be groundswell of supports in his favor. He was assured that those faculties would be debunked by the mass protests.

When no support was forthcoming, Suresh Raj realized that he has been well understood by the people. Those people who lauded Suresh Raj 15 years back, has now preferred to keep mum. Because they have seen and realized that those noble and novel causes espoused for creation of KU was laced with vested interests of Suresh Raj and Sitaram. People have now seen that with increasing clout Suresh Raj has not only run his hegemony in KU but also disfigured the entire academia of Nepal by recognizing the dubious medical colleges. Many charlatans in Kathmandu who are running engineering college within a flat lapped up Suresh Raj’s avarice for power and money. Suresh Raj has, in a nutshell, epitomized everything that is wrong with our academia. Nepotism, corruption, and sycophancy has, apart from killing the essence of KU, given rise to a culture where every money bag wants to be an academic czar. Suresh Raj is money culture and money culture is the main vision of Suresh Raj.

When people could not protest Suresh Raj for his vicious design in spreading money culture in the name of “societal participation,” Suresh Raj was more emboldened and he even deputed some relatives of Sitaram Adhikary to eulogize him as one of the 10 makers of Nepal. But, Suresh Raj forgot what others never did-people are watching him. The watchful eyes of people rejoiced and congratulated themselves when KUPA and other rightful members exposed the myth of Suresh Raj and presented to the whole world the naked truth in the making of KU. Today, Suresh Raj stands tall as the most nepotistic, the most corrupt and the most vicious academic administrator of Nepal. But, still Suresh Raj is not giving up because his survival instinct tells him that in Nepal everything can be manipulated and people have short memory. He is hoping that people would forget his crimes against the academia of Nepal and he would once again be praised, felicitated and a web of myth would be created around his name.

Bereft of any moral support from watchful and dignified academic fraternity, Suresh Raj is now fighting his own battle and employing every other nonsense. Apart from Jalan Kumar, Suresh Raj earlier fielded the local mandale Bel Prasad to defend his nepotistic administration in KU. And when even the advocacy of Bel Prasad could not save him, Suresh Raj had to capitulate before the rightful demands of the faculties. However, the turn of events clearly show that even after his total defeat, Suresh Raj has not given up. While scheming with his henchmen like Sitaram, Pushpa Raj, and Bhadraman, Suresh Raj has opened up a new forum of improving his personal image. This way, while plastering the pages of dailies and weeklies with his interviews and paeans, he would continue to intimidate, threaten and terminate the rightful voices within KU. No doubt! Write-ups of people like Mallika Aryal would always be used to cover up his heinous crimes against the faculties and students of KU.