Bahunists and Bahunism - No Room for feudal elements in the "new Nepal"

(Courtesy: Sano Baje)

When “Bahunists and Bahunism: A Mini Dissertation on the Keepers of Nepal’s Feudal Tradition” first appeared, reader reactions were overwhelmingly positive. There were a few who coughed up the courage to be offended by the truth (mostly, a handful of practicing Bahunists). But overall, the strong endorsement the original text was sufficient cause for a series of writings to follow. The piece below is one of several expositions to come.

Secularism - A strategic makeover of the Bahunist image

The declaration of Nepal as a secular state is an excellent example of Bahunism in action. For those who are unaware of the entrenched culture of Nepali Bahunism, secularization signals a move toward religious freedom. But for those who understand Nepal’s most feudal tradition, secularization also symbolizes a pre-meditated drive at cleansing the Bahunists’ of their feudal, past.

The idea of a secular state was sold to the Nepali people as part of a bid to undermine King Gyanendra’s influence. The act itself however, also functioned as part of a campaign to blur the image of practicing Bahunists (as descendents of “pundits” and royal “purohits”), into the more "respectable" status of politicians and civil society leaders.

As long as Nepal remained a Hindu nation, the conflicting image of Bahunists as ultra-democrats on the one hand, and religious zealots on the other, was sure to persist. This was bad for business and even worse for politics. So for disgruntled Bahunists, the only permanent way out, was secularization.

In a Nepali state minus its "Hindu" tag line, anything became possible; even the overnight makeover of feudal Bahunists (whose ancestors actively enforced the Hindu caste system), into protectors of Nepal's "loktantrik" experiment (where religious oppressors are magically transformed into social liberators).

In one sweeping motion, ultra-Bahunists self-acquitted themselves of their hereditary past of caste-based, religious discrimination. In the same motion, Bahunists also floated the idea of feudalism and monarchism as two sides of the same coin. Somewhere in this perverted translation, there was a hidden attempt at sweeping Bahunism under the rug of "regressive topics"; ideas that supposedly do not belong in a "loktantrik", "new Nepal."

Fortunately, while secularization may have been a Bahunist instigated transformation, Bahunist monopoly does not extend to the vision of a "new Nepal". In this "new Nepal", people of the liberated classes are free to objectively pick and choose their oppressors. Such freedoms are bound to establish clear linkages between grievances and oppressors (at various levels of society). The "gold medal" in the category of ethnic exclusion and oppression is sure to go to Bahunist land owners, village priests, VDC administrators, and others who excelled based on nepotism, not merit.

While the Bahunist hope is that the Royalists take the blame for everything that was rotten with the "old Nepal," this hope is dimming with every passing day. Even Gyanendra is an insufficient distraction when it comes to shielding Bahunists against ill will that has accumulated over several centuries. It is only a matter of time before the house of cards will fall in the following sequence: First the Royalists, then the Maoists, and close behind them, the Bahunists.

The only threat to the Bahunist-Maoist nexus – the Madhesis

When it comes to dirty politics, everyone has a lesson to learn from the Bahunists. When it comes to teaching the Bahunists (and the Maoists) a lesson they will never forget, everyone has debt of gratitude to pay the Madhesis. The non-violent and 100% legitimate Madhesi movement has burst the Bahunist and Maoist bubbles in a such a way that neither group will ever be able to challenge the Madhesis again. A much needed political balance, has finally been struck.

To their credit, the Maoists are the only political players in Nepal who consciously dissociate themselves from feudal Bahunist traditions. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattaria, Chandra Prakash Gajurel, Mohan Baidya, Janardhan Sharma, Dina Nath Sharma, etc., all understood that guilt by association (to their Bahunist brethren) posed the greatest threat to the Maoist revolution. Till this day, Maoist Chairman Dahal insists on being called by his nom de guerre, “Prachanda.”

Unfortunately for the Maoists, Bahunist ties proved too much of a lure to not leverage for political gain. Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Bahunist ties to Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula are well known. This tie, through three “sisters”, extends also to another nefarious Bahunist, Sitaram Yechuri. Similarly, the leader of the Chure Bhawar movement is a blood brother of the present Home Secretary; a man who reports directly to the Home Minister Sitaula.

Such linkages (although unreported by the media, or by civil society groups), were not lost upon a particular group in Nepal’s ethnic melting pot – the Madhesi community. Having been discriminated against and continually exploited by the ruling elite in Kathmandu (especially in the post 1990 era), the Madhesis’ view of Jana Aandola-II varied significantly from the Bahunist interpretation. For the Bahunists, the uprising was where the end of the line; for the Madhesis, the uprising was only a phase in a long process that would result in a departure from Royalism and Bahunism, and a RADICAL departure from Maoism.

When indications of Royalism being replaced by Bahunism emerged, the Madhesis decided they’d had enough. Compounded by two incidents – one, the murder of a Mahesi People’s Rights Forum member by a Maoist in Lahan (the Maoist was part of a security detail that Krishna Prasad Sitaula had discharged) and two, the Bahunist-led distortions of the events that resulted in the Gaur massacre – the Madhesis decided to act.

The rage with which the Madhesi movement was waged, was a wake up call to the Bahunists and the Maoists, on a scale neither group had imagined possible. The emergence of the MPRF as a legitimate, democratic entity has distorted the once comfortable political positions enjoyed by all of Nepal’s mainstream parties. The rush to constituent assembly elections in part, is guided by a sense of urgency felt by the Eight Party Alliance (EPA) to consolidate its electorate immedately (or rather, to salvage what it has left).

The fateful characterization of the Madhesi peoples' uprising as first a Royalist instigated problem and then a security problem and then a slew of other problems (all except a political problem which is what the Madhesi uprising has always been), fueled the Madhesi uprising even more. As costly as it has been in human life and tragedy, the Madhesi revolt has done wonders in exposing the Bahunist-Maoist complex that permeates throughout Nepali civil society, throughout Nepal's human rights organizations and throughout the Nepali media. All these societal elements that were united on the basis of peaceful and democratic principles demonstrated neither a tendency for non-violent conflict resolution, nor any hint of impartial, democratic deliverance when dealing with the Madhesis.

The good news is that the ugly head of Bahunist extremism showed itself in the "new Nepal," but was quickly exposed. Thanks to Nepal's Madhesi people, Bahunists, Bahunism, Maoists and Maoism are all in check. The Madhesi people have provided Nepal a legitimate alternative to what was traditionally showcased as the role of the Nepal's Royal institution - a balancing mechanism against Maoist aggression.

Bahunist drama and kangaroo courts

Some of the most totalitarian advances in Nepal’s modern history have transpired (over the past year) under a Bahun dominated, nepotistic, Illiberal Bahunist Democracy (IBD). For example, at the same time the kangaroo commissioners from the King’s rule (RCCC Commissioners) are being tried by one set of “special” (kangaroo) courts, another set of “special” (kangaroo) courts is busy pardoning political icons, infamous for their rampant corruption.

Former ministers Jaya Prakash Gupta and Chiranjibi Wagle, both of whom (not surprisingly), are former Nepali Congress MPs, were pardoned while the public's attention was distracted by clashes in the Madhes, and well-timed populist rhetoric against the King. The timing of Jaya Prakash Gupta’s pardon was particularly interesting – he was pardoned citing a lack of legal provisions upon which to prosecute his case, a week after he abandoned the Madhesi Peoples’ Rights Forum (MPRF).

Also not surprising is that neither the avowedly incorruptible Maoist leadership nor their handymen the YCL, have uttered as much as a word on these highly irregular pardons. So much for the YCL’s anti-corruption drive, especially now that even Sitaram Prasai is back in the comfort of his own home. (For the sake of the little legitimacy the Maoists still have, it is highly recommended that the YCL stick to the one thing it has proven itself capable of doing - picking up garbage from the streets of Kathmandu).

Unreported by the mainstream Nepali media, the YCL, under the watchful Bahunist eyes of Krishna Prasad Sitaula has kidnapped siblings of NC MPs opposed to the Sitaula-Shekhar-Maoist alliance; the YCL and youths from several other political parties have physically assaulted RPP members for their political beliefs; and they have assaulted NSU and ANNISU students in various educational settings across the country. A popular NC-D (Deuba faction) activist was kidnapped and subsequently murdered by the Maoists. A CDO was physically assaulted, his office ransacked by the YCL (less than a hour outside of the capital).

Out of all these incidents, when does the Bahunist Supremacist Krishna Sitaula's Ministry strongly criticize the Maoists? When Baburam Bhattarai publicly threatens physical action against NC leaders Khum Bahadur Khadka and Govinda Raj Joshi. For the record, these two are known NC strongmen and were the founders of operations Romeo and Sierra-II-Kilo, infamous paramilitary operations launched under the watchful eye of former IGP of the Nepal Police, Achyut Krishna Kharel.

Conclusion:

The immediate post-April 2006 period has witnessed Bahunism at its "best". Bahunist arrogance, self-righteousness and a false claim to all that is democratic has reached its peak - now there is no way left but down. A pronounced sense of Bahunist common cause, collaboration, and cunning has been on display across party lines, across international borders and openly amongst Nepal’s ruling elite. But to think that the Nepali people are incapable of making logical connections between the Bahunist elite and their not-so-clever antics, is naive.

Constituent assembly elections are expected to seal the fate of not just the Maoists, but also the Bahunists. This group's disproportionate domination of all forms of political life and civil service is soon to end. CA elections will spark this debate, subsequent parliamentary elections will seal the Bahunists' fate.

Traditionally, it was the Bahunists who functioned as the well-oiled machinery that kept the Royalists in business. Tension between these two conventional allies gave birth to the Maoists. Friction between the Bahunists and the Maoists led to a 12 year civil war (the political victims of this "fight" are soon to be the Royalists). With the Royalists out of the picture, the entire rationale for the Maoists to exist, is also over.

In theory, with the Royalists and the Maoists relegated to obscurity, the Bahunists should have two reasons to rejoice. In practice, with the Royalists and the Maoists off of Nepal's political stage, the Nepali people do not have to rely on the Bahunists to keep the other two extremes at bay.

Better the Maoists than the Royalists and perhaps the choice is Bahunists over Maoists. But truly, the best of all worlds is when nepotism, extremism, favoritism, manipulation, and disproportionate representation all come to an abrupt end. And by definition, this implies the end of the culture of Bahunism in Nepal. Only then will the birth of a "new Nepal," truly begin.

As the saying goes: "One man's terrorist is another man's revolutionary". Similarly, as offensive and politically incorrect as this writing may appear to some, to others, the arguments presented herein are immensely powerful, liberating and necessary. Truth, reconciliation and the healing of an entire nation is no small task. It all starts somewhere and for many, this open discussion of Bahunists and Bahunism, is where the process of closure begins.

The idea of Bahunism is so integrated, so interwoven, so misunderstood and so feared that hardly anyone dares to speak of its relevance in restructuring Nepal. And yet, unless the socio-political ills that accompany Bahunism are addressed (and erased), a free and fair, merit-based society will never develop in Nepal.

Democracy as an excuse to prolong Bahunist domination in Nepal, is no longer alright. Lip-service alone on peace and democratization to create an illiberal political structure is no longer ok. The Nepali people in totality (especially the emerging generation of leaders) are far ahead of the existing political class. The Royalists are sidelined, the Maoists are on the wane, it's now time for the Bahunists to also move out of the way or risk being forcefully removed.

Related Posts:

Nepali Politics: Brahmin and Chhetri Everywhere
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/nepali-politics-brahmin-and-chhetri.html

Bahunists and Bahunism - A mini-Dissertation on the Caretakers of Nepal's Feudal Tradition
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/03/bahunists-and-bahunism-mini.html

Bahunism Extended to Other Cultures and People - Analysis of Character and Physical Features as Templates
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/03/bahunism-extended-to-other-cultures-and.html

A Gurkha's Perspective on Bahunism
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/courtesy-anonymous-gurkha-listen-nepali.html

Ethnic Assertion, Constituent Assembly Elections and Maoists on the Defensive
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/ethnic-assertion-constituent-assembly.html

Nepal: Can We Ever Reconcile Our Relative Truths?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/11/nepal-can-we-ever-reconcile-our.html

Nepal's Constituent Assembly Elections - It's not Just a Matter of Security
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/nepals-constituent-assembly-elections.html

Revisiting Recent Nepali History - A brief Collection of "Inconvenient Truths"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/revisiting-recent-nepali-history-brief.html