An anthropological perspective on development in Nepal

For Nepal, the central question is no longer simply how to achieve ‘bikas’, but how to rethink it.

Since the 1950s, ‘development’ has become one of the most powerful ideas shaping Nepal’s socio-political imagination and everyday life. From policy dialogues to tea-shop conversations, the language of bikas permeates how progress is understood and measured. Over the decades, the Nepali state has implemented a wide range of development plans, supported by substantial bilateral and multilateral assistance.