Understanding Nepali bureaucracy

Excessive power to 'karmacharis' leads to a lack of efficiency in public institutions.

There are two contradictory macro-narratives in discourses about Nepali bureaucracy. The first depicts the bureaucracy as a permanent establishment with powers challenging political representatives. This narrative fits with politicians’ consistent rant about the all-powerful karmachari tantra . Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent ire against a typist —a relatively junior bureaucrat—for the last-minute changes in the Federal Education Bill underscores the entrenched belief in the all-powerful bureaucratic “deep state”. The second narrative, seemingly at odds with the first, consists of a politicised bureaucracy that is subservient to politicians, colluding and co-opting with them for private gains. News portals frequently report bureaucrats colluding with elected representatives for favourable transfers and kickbacks .