KATHMANDU: The government has not only been distributing state honors carelessly but has now started disrespecting recipients by announcing awards and failing to present them for years.
The prestige and dignity of state honors have begun to decline as the government announces but fails to distribute them. With the distribution becoming irregular, the very purpose of these honors appears to be diminishing. The reputation of these awards has suffered because, while recipients are announced, titles, decorations and medals are not given to them. So much so that many recipients have begun to forget about their honors after years of waiting. Foreign recipients even joke about how, in their countries, honors are awarded promptly, while in Nepal, it is an endless wait.
These honors (titles, decorations, and medals) are conferred on Nepali citizens who have made distinguished contributions in political, economic, social, cultural, research, or other fields, as well as foreign nationals who have earned international recognition or made significant contributions to Nepal.
In Nepal, these honors once held great prestige. However, now some people have started declining them. While such honors carry tremendous prestige in the UK and other European countries, and even in neighboring India, their value in Nepal is gradually diminishing in Nepal. The failure to distribute them in time has further eroded their significance.
The failure to distribute announced honors, citing financial constraints, is sending negative signals globally. According to Gogan Bahadur Hamal, joint secretary of the Internal Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, 81,790 people have not received honors announced by the state. These include those recognized for their contributions to the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in December 2014, the constitution-making process, and rescue operations during the 2015 earthquakes.
The number of recipients, on the other hand, has been increasing yearly. According to the ministry, there were 269 recipients in 2010. The number reached 982 by 2022.
Minister for Home Affairs, Ramesh Lekhak, has directed officials to find ways to immediately distribute pending honors. “Since the new Home Minister assumed office, he has asked us to explore what can be done about the distribution of these medals,” Hamal said.
According to Hamal, they have submitted a study on pending honors to the Home Minister. “We will distribute medals immediately if ‘needful’ arrangements are made,” he added.
Even though former President Bidya Devi Bhandari had signed some certificates accompanying these honors, they still have not been distributed. This reflects the sorry state of the country’s bureaucracy as well as the political leadership.
In 2023, then Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha directed officials to put a halt on the recipient selection process.
Budget Constraints
After the end of the monarchy, parliament enacted the Decorations Act in 2007, establishing new guidelines for the distribution of titles, decorations and medals. The honors were initially distributed on Republic Day from 2010 but switched to Constitution Day in 2018.
Hamal explained that state expenses have increased due to the rising costs of gold, diamonds, and silver used to prepare medals, along with the increasing number of recipients. “Gold costs over Rs 150,000 per tola. The highest civilian honor, ‘Nepal Ratna,’ now costs about Rs 3.5 million to produce. With rising metal costs and increasing numbers of recipients, the state’s burden has grown,” he added.
Hamal noted that the exact numbers for most honors aren’t specified. “Only Nepal Ratna is limited to one recipient, and Rashtra Paurakh Medal to two. Since the number of recipients is not specified, their numbers fluctuate,” he added. Hamal said it would have been better had the number of recipients been specified in the law.
According to the government, no honors, medals, or decorations were distributed in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2023, and 2024.
When a country reaches a point where it cannot distribute honors, issue licenses, or provide passports, one might question its very purpose. Political leadership must address this issue.
The government has been providing four types of orders, three types of decorations, and 13 types of medals.
