Nepal's Drug War Backlash: Fueling a Red Resurgence

Nepal's War on Drugs: A Red Awakening

As seen in the Hollywood movies of the mid-20th century, an ‘ethereal’ fantasy land deep in the mountains has always spellbound Western youth. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon aimed to stem the tide of drug abuse by cracking down on what had become a hippie enclave in the Himalayas. But in trying to shut down the scene, he inadvertently set the stage for a communist backlash. 

Young folks from the western side of the globe were tired of the societal shocks of the 1960s. They wanted a far-away spot from the mainstream world where they could indulge in unfettered drug use, a spell of peace, friendship, and free love and there was no better place for that on earth than the Himalayan kingdom, Nepal. 

Be it the cult of The Abominable Snowman (1957) or Bollywood’s counterculture touchstone Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971) starring Dev Anand, popular culture had always imagined Nepal as a surreal hippie haven. Young people started pouring into Nepal after it opened its doors to foreigners in 1951 and soon, Kathmandu became the world capital of hippie culture. 

A scenic part of the city around the iconic Swayambhunath temple, Jhonche - a humming urban lane that had been renamed as freak street by its new inhabitants had become a place of pilgrimage for the world’s hippies. They smoked grass, played music, danced, sang, and lived happily in Nepal's Shangri-la on earth of their imaginations. 

Notably, Nepal was one of the last countries on earth to forbid the sale of cannabis, which constituted a major part of its agrarian economy. Nepal's authorities, including the royal secretariat, largely disregarded the issue as they did not create any law and order problem and wisely left the harmless young kids to enjoy themselves in the land which they considered ‘free of restraints’ in a far-flung religious monarchy. 

But during that period, taking a round-the-world air journey was not an option for many therefore to dump the sky-high airfares, the hopeful hippies embarked on a more adventurous inland route popularly known as ‘the Hippie trail’ ranging from the wilderness of Istanbul leading to the Himalayan country of Nepal. 

However, these utopian sojourns did not last long. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared an international ‘war on drugs,’ a matter he considered central to his presidency and called drug abuse “public enemy number one”. Initially, these rumblings from powerful circles were not taken seriously in the kingdom. That soon changed when the then Vice President of the United States, Spiro Agnew, arrived in Nepal in 1973, having followed the hippie trail from Istanbul to Nepal. The US administration threatened Nepal's government with significant cuts to financial aid if drug use was not banned. For Nepal, an underdeveloped nation heavily reliant on such assistance to catch up with the mainstream world amidst the Cold War, this was not a viable option. 

Months later, Nepal enacted its first anti-drug law. Like many other nations, Nepal had to play its cards wisely to avoid economic repercussions from the West. This new law drastically altered the landscape for the hippies, and the Shangri-La of their dreams suddenly vanished, as they could no longer indulge in what they had envisioned. The once-vibrant hippie trail began to decline, and Freak Street, formerly bustling with trekkers and hippies, now saw an influx of American agents seeking to hold them accountable upon their return home. Hashish shops across Nepal were forcibly closed, triggering a backlash. 

Then came a decision with consequences that persist to this day: In order to halt hashish sales, Nepal's government decided to burn down the marijuana fields. 

What the regime failed to see was that far from the political brouhaha and the capital city of Kathmandu, cannabis production was the main source of income in western Nepal. Hashish shops were forcefully shut, and cultivators were subjected to mass arrests. 

The agrarian-based economy of the western region was on the verge of collapse. Leaving the people angry and dissatisfied with the monarchist regime. The panchayat system, established in the 1960s to introduce democratic governance, had become corrupt, and ultimately the authority rested with the crown. 

The government failed to provide the western region with the adequate aid it deserved. Consequently, the masses felt neglected and ignored, believing they were left to starve and disillusioned by a panchayat system that they believed had failed its intended purpose. 

The communist party recognised this as fertile political ground, understanding the vulnerability of the populace, and thus tried to exploit the prevailing discontent. What was once a flourishing agricultural heartland transformed into the epicenter of an armed Maoist insurgency. This conflict, which began in the mid-1990s, brought the nation to a standstill for almost a decade. By 2006, approximately 17,000 Nepalese had perished, marking a devastating shift in Nepal's social fabric. Ultimately, the 239-year-old monarchy came to an end, and the communists were elected to power. 

The United States consistently exercised caution, aiming to prevent any nation from adopting a communist regime. This was particularly true for vulnerable countries bordering China and the ever-expanding Soviet Union to the north, a power consistently eyeing Asian lands for their future trade and prosperity. 

Located at a critical geopolitical crossroads, Nepal holds far greater importance than is often acknowledged. In the 21st century, as geopolitical battles shifted from Europe to the backwaters of the Asia-Pacific, Nepal’s strategic relevance only deepened. Surrounded by rising powers, the country became a stage for competing influences. However, foreign interference, coupled with shortsighted domestic policies, triggered precisely what the United States had hoped to avoid — a communist backlash. 

Gone are those untamed days; Kathmandu, once the vibrant epicenter of hippie culture, has resolutely transformed into a premier mountaineering and trekking destination. Iconic establishments like the Soaltee and the Eden Centre have shed their bohemian past, and Freak Street now offers only a trip down memory lane, a stark contrast to its cannabis-infused heyday. 

Now, Nepal navigates its path within a shifting geopolitical epicenter gravitating towards the Indian subcontinent but the irony remains stark: external intervention, intended to prevent an ideology, ultimately contributed to its enduring presence. 

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