Last week, The Himalayan Times started off a piece with the statement, “Nepali Congress has gone republican following the wishes of the people….” The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) uses terms like “People’s Liberation Army” and justifies all its actions in the name of the People. The PEOPLE – who exactly are these people? Do I not belong to the people? Does not each and every one of us Nepali comprise the people? Are our political leaders speaking on our behalf, but without our knowledge or consent? The haphazard use of the term “People” by demagogues across the political spectrum has gone on for long enough. It is time for We, the People, to speak up and tell these power-crazed maniacs that WE are the people and do not be so condescending as to presume to speak on our behalf!
Let’s get down to the basics. At the risk of sounding condescending myself, let me quote the definition(s) of “Democracy”:
1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
3. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
4. Majority rule.
5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.
So today in Nepal, we have a government not elected by the people. The common people – We – are certainly not the source of political power. There is no majority rule, and social equality and respect for the individual is flaunted by everyone from our autocratic political leaders to the taxi drivers blocking traffic in efforts to create yet another of our infamous “bandhs”. Jana Andolan I of 1990 and Jana Andolan II of 2006 are supposed to have delivered Democracy to the people of Nepal. Yet, here we are towards the end of 2007, living in a country falling apart from chronic shortages of essentials, chronic bickering within the oligarchic Eight Party coalition and now chronic inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict. This must be a peculiar Nepali version of democracy indeed!
This situation makes one hearken back to Plato’s assertion that a democratic government holds out the promise of equality for all of its citizens but delivers only the anarchy of an unruly mob, each of whose members is interested only in the pursuit of private interests. This 5th century Greek gadfly further postulated that a democratic person is someone who is utterly controlled by desires, acknowledging no bounds of taste or virtue in the perpetual effort to achieve the momentary satisfaction that pleasure provides. Does this remind us of anyone in the current political landscape? It reminds me of a lot of people.
We do not live in a democracy in present-day Nepal. Let us not fool ourselves. Our voice has been silenced by intimidation and political trickery. It has been taken away from us for others to use as they please. No one speaks for the People of Nepal today. We are the Silent Majority (yes that term again) who must remain silent no more. Let us speak up for our individual rights as Nepalis who deserve and want to work for a better future. Let them not hang over us the mirage of a “New Nepal”. Nothing is new, only the honeyed words of irresponsible politicians seeking to waylay us while they pursue their dreams of power and grandeur. Their dreams are not our dreams. They must be made to realize this.
The new National Anthem speaks of 100 flowers in one garland signifying Nepal and Nepalis. Some of those flowers are more wilted than others. Sixty percent of those flowers are unable to produce enough food to meet basic needs. Fifty percent of those flowers are illiterate. One can produce many more statistics on these flowers; suffice it to say that we are a poor country with serious development problems. Further, those who need it most have the weakest voice. These voices cannot be forced to rise at the barrel of a gun or by baseless demagoguery. They are also the People. They have been fooled for long enough.
This commentator makes no apology for the angry tone of this piece. We are known as a peace-loving people. We tend to accept authority with almost closed eyes. But let us not forget that we also have a martial tradition. Our country was created by the blood of our ancestors. The fighting prowess of Nepalis in the two World Wars and in the Gurkha regiments of India and U.K. is stuff of legends. To fight for our right, to make our voice heard, is not an option anymore. It is the duty of We, the People.
Related Posts:
What is to be Done?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-is-to-be-done.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
Social Capital, Law and Democracy
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/social-capital-law-and-democracy.html
7 comments:
The author has hit the nail squarely on the head. Just adding "jana" or "people" in front of every noun does not, ipso facto, make it representative of the people.
The cardinal characteristics of modern democracies include, inter alia, the following
1. majority rule
2. the consent of the governed,
3. the existence of free and fair elections
4. protection of property and sanctity of contracts,
5. respect for basic rights
6. equality before the law
7. due process
8. political pluralism
9. strong and informed electorate
10. strong institutions including a thriving middle class.
By any of these metrics, Nepal scores exactly 0.
In the Federalist Paper 10, James Madison one of the architects of the constitution of USA and later its president advocated republican set up over democracy as he figured that democracy would not be able to protect individual from the tyranny of the majority. That scenario that he foresaw for USA over 225 years ago did not come to pass there in USA but is exactly what is prevalent in Nepal today under the unelected Yechury Parliament: tyranny of the mob masquerading as parliament and government that is unable to protect the individual.
What Nepal has is basically a regime that is indolent, ineffective and effete but is gradually turning into a predatory regime where liberty is increasingly imperilled.
Nepal is in a situation that Winston Churchill described for war, "Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events."
The politicians of Nepal and make belief democrats have yielded to war on its ancient traditions and institutions and are now slaves of the unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
How come their people?....
1. The participation of the people in terai andolan against these spam were 10 million.
2. Similarly in Limbuwan, Khumbuwan, Tamangselo etc. etc. are more than 2 million.
3. Those who voted even in theaten to kill during king's rule and supporting the constitutional monarchy are around 50%.
How come all their people ???
The day will come the constitutional king again by joining the hand with the ethnic parties should fight against the communism or this syndicate autocratic rule.
How many days Mr. Giri-ja, Shit-aula and his goons maoist can suppress the people by blocking their voices and demands. The day will come when king support to those who are against the prachandapath (of seven parties), these seven parties will melt like ice.
Dear Friend,
We all are well aware that WE all have been the Raiti (Bonded Labour) under the feudalistic regimes of various names since last two centuries. Even the so called democratic governments also could not come out of their feudalistic hangovers and so the common people (Raiti) could not be transformed into citizen. All the kings or the leaders of political partiers always behaved with the people as if they ( the peole) are their slaves with no voice or rights.
Recently, after the fall of king's regime, everybody is talking about freedom, democracy and equality but the traditional heirs to the powers from the political parties are practically reluctant to transform ( empower ) the powerless people of Nepal. And this is the main reason of current conflict.
Everywhere they say or write "Nepali People" meaning the same traditional heir to the power, no body says "The People of Nepal" meaning all the citizerns of Nepal. Thus, the "Nepali Congrss, Nepali Army, Intereim Constitution and the Manifesto of all the major Political Parties mention "Nerpali People" NOT the "PEOPLE of NEPAL"
Unless WE,( The People of Nerpal) are not represented and empowered by law, the dream of equality, freedom and brotherhood will never come true to practice.
RK Shah
People are Girija and Pracanda only. Rest 26 millions are Jantu only. Nepali
are proven foolish
WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SEE IS THAT "NEW PEOPLE" GOVERN "NEW
NEPAL"...OTHERWISE WHY ARE WE TALKING ABT NEW NEPAL??? NOTHING IS NEW
THERE....SAME MENTALITY, SAME PERCEPTION , SAME OLD THEORIES...AND
SAME OLD PEOPLE RULING IT ..I HOPE PEOPLE IN POWER KNOW THAT THIS IS
THE AGE OF THE INTERNET...NO ONE CAN STOP US FROM KNOWING THE TRUTH
AND HAVING INTERNATIONAL LEVEL DISCUSSION AMONG NEPALI PEOPLE. JUST
BECAUSE I AM NOT THERE..DOES NOT MEAN THAT I DONT KNOW.
I AGREE THAT WE HAVE NOT TAKEN ENOUGH INITIATIVES TO REFORM NEPAL AS
WE'D LIKE TO ...BUT WHY ARE THE PEOPLE THERE SO QUIET???
IS EVERYONE HAPPY NOW?? WANTED ALL THE SYSTEMS THAT WERE RULING, TO BE
OUT. AND NOW CAN'T FACE WHAT'S HAPPENING? CMON!!
I THINK WE GET WHAT WE SOW.....ITS THE SEEDS!!
SO CHEERS!!
PS: I WANT TO HELP ALL I CAN FOR NEW PROSPEROUS NEPAL....ALWAYS!!!!!!
BUT HOW CAN I ? SOMEONE SUGGEST?????
xkgskRightly said-it just needs to propogated in vigorous manner. Reality is staring in our face and all we are trying to do is find justification which is simply not there.
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