Messiahs Messages and the Mess in Nepal

(Courtesy: Dr. Shiva Gautam)

The movers and shakers of current political landscape of Nepal are the Maoists, Multi-parties (seven parties signing peace accord with the Maoists), Monarchy, Madhesis and Mitra-Raashtras (foreign friendly countries). Despite all the mess created by this motley of quintuple Ms and other minor meddlers and miscreants, there are signs that Nepal will withstand a political tsunami in making, and when the dust settles down, Nepal will still be Nepal and will not turned into something like Mepal. I still want to bet my life on it.

The enthusiasm of April (2006) uprising following the agreement between seven political parties and the Maoists has all been dissipated. One of the main partners of the uprising, the ‘people’, was completely sidelined and long forgotten.

The mandate of the uprising was for the eight political parties to conduct an election of constituent assembly as soon as possible so that a new constitution for new Nepal could be drafted.

To expect that things will be right overnight is outlandishly foolish. But it does not take too much to see that there is more noise than signals. The major share for the prevailing instability, insecurity and confusion goes to political parties and leaders who are expected to act responsibly than extremists and opportunists.

The political parties and leaders, in an attempt to vengefully do away with the monarchy and the king, have turned themselves into kings and started to behave like ones. You really become one with who you hate or love so much. Similarly, the habitual blaming everything on ‘regressive forces’ is making the political parties themselves one of the regressive forces.
The parties and the leaders saw royal presence on the bank notes, on the signboards, on the letterheads, in the statues, in peoples’ genuine grievances but utterly failed to see it within themselves, in their acts and behaviors.

One of the early signs of the new government’s regal act was its granting of secularism in response a protest by few dozen protesters. Why could it just not say to the protesters that it is not an elected government, it has no mandate to decide on sensitive issues and all these will be settled after CA elections and so on. This ensued other demands and their hallow fulfillment by a government that was not elected.

Perhaps the smartest thing following the uprising was opting for the reinstatement of the defunct parliament instead of few other suggested alternatives. It gave a great a sense of continuity and perhaps established precedence. Unfortunately, the same acumen failed to prevail while adopting a new interim constitution.

The reinstated parliament, after amending objectionable clauses, should have considered the existing constitution as the interim constitution. Such a suggestion by different quarters was completely ignored and an ad hoc interim constitution was adopted instead.

Ad hoc-ism is the sign of a royal government, not of a democratic government. The present interim constitution, according to some legal experts, resembles a document signed by two warring factions than a constitution and makes a mockery of all democratic constitutions of the world.

The interim government went even further than the royal government in some instances. In the height of April uprising, the royal government often used to release arrested people by the next day. In democratic society citizens should be allowed to protest in peaceful and non-violent manner. But the interim democratic government not only arrested peacefully demonstrating Madheshis who burnt a page of the interim constitution, but also did not release the arrested immediately. This served as the spark for the Madheshi uprising.

Difference of opinion and conflict are human instincts. In the olden days the tip of a sword settled conflicts. But to satiate this innate human characteristic, modern humanity has invented non-violent means like discussions, debates, negotiations and even competitive games.
Did the government and parties tried to convey that it is the people who have to negotiate among themselves through the constituent assembly? Did the interim government have the legitimacy to engage in separate secret negotiations with various groups?

All these questions are perhaps too late to ask. Hopefully, wisdom will prevail in the future.

Related Posts:

After a Year of "Loktantra" - Is it finally time for a Democratic Alliance?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/04/after-year-of-loktantra-is-it-finally.html

Nepal's Struggle with Feudalism and Fatalism - Moriarty, Martin and Manmohan as "Gods"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/05/nepals-struggle-with-feudalism-and.html

Thank You Daniela - But Nepal is Already on "Plan B"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/05/thank-you-daniela-but-nepal-is-already.html

Life is Good When You Are a Nepali Intellectual Elite
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/life-is-good-when-you-are-nepali.html