Labor of Love | Dan Edwards (Nepal)

Edwards has made an enormous contribution to Nepal’s history by publishing Railways in Nepal. Based on archival research and images, the book combines the history of transportation and technology into one package, revealing many unknown truths about Nepal’s railways.

Photo: Kanak Dixit/ Twitter

A significant number of people from many walks of life attended a presentation, which was moderated by journalist and rights activists and organized by Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya. In his presentation, Edwards discussed railway expansion. Despite Nepal’s century-long history of railways, Edwards is the first to publish a book with detailed archival collections.

Edwards is a retired senior US bureaucrat who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. He was a geography teacher at St. Xavier’s School and a public school in the Dhading district.

Westerners, notably Americans, have made significant contributions to Nepal’s history. Fr. Ludwig Francis Stiller (1928-2009), who was born in America and dedicated his life to Nepal, died as a Nepali citizen. Nepal’s history would be incomplete without his efforts.

Edwards contributed to Nepal’s railway history by releasing the book Railways in Nepal. “During his time as a peace corps volunteer, Edwards taught us geography at St. Xavier School,” said Kanak Mani Dixit.

Dixit stated in his introduction that the book had various documents and images that were unfamiliar to Nepali readers.

Edwards showed numerous key portions of Nepalese railways to former top administrators, historians, engineers, and journalists of various ages, including senior journalist Bhairab Risal.

Author Edwards’ presentation demonstrated that he worked hard to collect images and records about Nepal’s railways.

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