The Pitfalls of Relying on Indian Benevolence

(Courtesy: el Guapo)

Slightly over 12 months ago, a select group of Nepal's civil society agents were busy lauding India for her role in "restoring" democracy in Nepal. Their logic ran as follows: As the world's largest democracy and Nepal's closest neighbor, India’s 21st century benevolence and her quest to expand liberal democracy, has no limits.

A year later, such laudatory accolades are absent. Activists who once marketed Indian interests as Nepal's own, are completely shut out. Stunned by the swiftness with which Indian security interests have (once again) eclipsed India's alleged democratic compassion, Indian sympathizers in Nepal are at loss for words.

After all the donations of cars and medicine, the lip service about democracy and peace, there is a single term that overwhelmingly describes what the Indian Federal Government desires of Nepal. It desires “security” which from a traditional viewpoint implies a benign Nepal as a geographical buffer state and from a contemporary perspective, implies an environmentally friendly carbon credit worthy source of hydro-power and unregulated fresh water.

The argument that all of India’s security interests are automatically achieved through a stable and democratic Nepal has merit. But when push comes to shove, the idea that India prefers a relatively stable Nepal now over a perfectly democratic Nepal later, has even more merit. Especially when the transition period in question is impossible to determine.

To rationalize the expression of Indian interests differently, compare American foreign policy vis-à-vis the world to Indian foreign policy vis-à-vis South Asia. In the truest form of the neo-conservative tradition, American foreign policy plays out as “benevolent hegemon” in every context EXCEPT when American national interests are at stake.

Where India is concerned, the exception is the rule - everything in South Asia happens to be in India’s national interest. So although policy makers like to project a range of options at their disposal, in reality, the execution of Indian foreign policy is severely constrained. The opportunity to demonstrate the “benevolence” that elite Nepalis like to dream of, is rare if ever, and is certainly not sustainable.

In practice, Indian foreign policy closely reflects the realities of Indian’s geo-political existence. For example, the Indian establishment sees fit to maintain Bhutan as an Indian protectorate so long as Jigme Singhe Wangchuk and his coterie remain subservient to the Indian dictate. Ties with the Burmese military junta are kept strong as long as the Chinese continue rubbing shoulders with the leadership in that country. The Bhutanese government-orchestrated refugee crisis was a bi-lateral issue in India's eyes, even though the process of expulsion involved transportation of refugees through India territory. The Indian government saw fit to declare Nepal’s Maoists as “terrorists,” declare their own Naxalite movement as “India’s greatest security threat,” and still, somehow calculated that “terrorists” could be mainstreamed in Nepal but not in India.

It is clear that where South Asia is concerned, the Indian nation state operates very much in the Realist paradigm. It forwards Indian national interests through proxy wars in smaller countries and where Pakistan is concerned, India maintains a "balance of power" through policies like “détente,” “containment” and “mutually assured destruction." Although the overall Indian economy has exploded onto the twenty-first century stage, Indian politics remains firmly grounded in the Cold War era.

So despite all the lip service that the Indian government pays its neighbors (and the world), the Indian nation state is but a collection of fragmented and often contradictory policies that are simultaneously executed by different Indian agencies. The cohesive, single state image that India projects is applicable only to the world outside of South Asia. In the region where India is situated, she is both a deal maker and a deal breaker, a situational democrat, and a power center that is loathed for maintaining a foreign policy that keeps neighboring states perpetually unstable.

Given these realities, no thinking, feeling or rational human being should be surprised at India’s quest to forward her national security interests in whatever form she sees fit. Where teaching King Gyanendra a lesson in humility was concerned, funding Nepal’s political has-beens (and forging an alliance between them and the Maoists) was in India’s interest. With the growth in nationalist venom from Nepal’s Maoists, energizing the Madhesi issue has become India’s national interest.

Put succinctly, for Indian paranoia to be assuaged, there has to be an Indian lapdog in each of her neighbors' political arenas and Nepal is not an exception to this requirement. Extending this logic further, one may argue that the inability of South Asian nations to fully embrace and institutionalize liberal democratic norms is a direct consequence of the projection of Indian national interests. It becomes impossible to exercise democracy when the installation of "made in India" leadership is a requisite condition to every South Asian stage.

For example, in Nepal's case, it would be counterintuitive to expect any government that is truly accountable to the Nepali people and fully democratic, to continue toeing the Indian line. Although written off as Panchayati era propaganda, the equation of anti-Indian sentiment to radical Nepali nationalism merits much deeper consideration than the current generation of Nepali politicians (who are busy shuttling to New Delhi), are willing to admit.

The only actors in Nepal who are positioned to capitalize on the political currency gained from standing up to India, is a segment of the Nepali Maoist leadership. With guidance from China - a country that has always forwarded its own interests in Nepal by extending support to the most nationalist Nepali group - Nepal's Maoists appear to have enacted a campaign to envelop all would-be forces that see through the charade of Indian duplicity.

The formation of such a coalition is greatly feared and unacceptable to the Indian establishment. The rise of the Madhesi movement and talk about a an autonomous Federal structure where the entire Madhes would be a single state, is a direct result of Indian jitters. Such propositions however, are not be acceptable to the Nepali people. In fact, any resource distribution mechanism (under a Federal structure) that does not demarcate states vertically from north to south, is unrealistic given Nepal's topography. (This is the same reason the Maoist proposal for an ethnicity-based Federal structure was rejected across the board, as elementary populism and nothing more).

Much time has elapsed since April 2006 and many events have come to pass. For one, India’s insistence that the Maoists could be “tamed” through the democratic process has proved to be unrealistic. Second, the Indian assumption that Nepal could be politically stabilized by eliminating the monarch and disarming the Maoists has also proved false. Third, India’s ever image-conscious desire that her actions be interpreted as those of a compassionate regional power have also been overtaken by events that have forced India to realign her threat perception with the reality of nationalist fervor in Nepal.

What all this means for Nepal is that banking on Indian benevolence is not a practical solution to sustained peace, democracy or stability. Similarly, blaming India for taking advantage of the internal fissures in Nepal (while forwarding Indian interests) is just as unproductive. Instead, Nepalis should fully anticipate the Indian government to execute on its fiduciary responsibilities toward the Indian people. And, Nepalis should also understand that situations where Indian and Nepali interests align are the exception, not the norm. And even when such alignments arise, dimensions such as time and the extent of alignment must be dynamically factored into the overall political equation.

This is not to suggest that options proposed by those close to the Indian establishment be discarded. However, this is to suggest that the option that is ultimately adopted, should weigh Nepali national interests as the guiding principle in decision making. A good start to a transition in this direction is to critically analyze any and all suggestions that emanate from the beneficiaries of Indian sponsored funds.

An example of such a endowment is the B.P. Koirala fund which has two primary beneficiaries in Nepal - a well known journalist and a radical academic. Both claim in public that constituent assembly elections must happen at any cost and that those who insist that elections cannot happen "do not understand." What individuals like these do not understand themselves is that the walls of the Indian embassy in Nepal are porous. And when such Indian agents try to re-invent their democratic qualifications by regurgitating half of what they hear, the unspoken half is what Nepalis should focus on.

Constituent Assembly elections along with a host of political agendas can materialize in Nepal the minute such events overlap with Indian interests. India has already demonstrated how easily it was able to end Nepal's civil war - all it took was King Gyanendra rubbing the Indian establishment the wrong way. Given that the movement in the Madhes is completely under Indian influence, the holding of Constituent Assembly elections also rides on Indian whims.

The challenge for Nepalis is to choose the lesser of two evils - to either submit to Indian hegemony by engineering a political scenario that aligns with Indian expectations or to reject Indian hegemony and continue as an independent nation state. The latter option is clearly the more painful but it is also the choice that ensures Nepal's sovereignty and guarantees freedom for the Nepali people.

Essentially, the latter option would be a complete rejection of the idea that India be allowed to exercise political influence over Nepal - either through a modified form of monarchy or through some other political entity. This is also why the latter option is less realistic - to assume that India would roll over and allow Nepal to evolve on its own, directly contravenes India's national interests.

Indian benevolence only goes so far before the kindness impinges on Indian national interests. Unfortunately, Indian benevolence falls far short of what Indian agents in Nepal would like Nepalis to believe. Relying exclusively on the extension of Indian benevolence is a horrible policy option for Nepal.

Related Posts:

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The Problem with Nepali Political Civil Society - The Leftist, the Cowards, and the Compromised
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The Fort

(Courtesy: Roop Joshi)

From the lofty ramparts of his fort, five hundred years ago, Man Singh Tomar looked down upon the city. It was a city he had vanquished.

From the lofty ramparts of this fort, Jahangir again looked down at the city. It was a city he had conquered.

From the lofty ramparts of the same fort, the Maratha rulers looked down at the city. It was a city that was now their own.

From the lofty ramparts of this very fort, the current Maharajah looks down at his city. It is a city of which he is now a part.

In democratic India, there lies a place where the Maharajah - still addressed as such by his people though he has no semblance of official royalty - is revered by his people. Where his actions, though he is Hindu, can stop Hindu-Muslim riots. Where the people know that he will always be there - a symbol of unity, someone with whom they can identify, someone who will always listen to their troubles. He is himself a Member of Parliament and a Congress stalwart.

Meanwhile, the Fort looms over the city casting its protective shadow. Reputed to be one of the most invincible forts of India, it stands rock solid – a symbol of permanence, of continuity, of a glorious history and irrefutable values, all personified by its rulers. The fort houses a Sikh gurudwara, displays Hindu palace architecture, modified by Muslim influence and is guarded by gigantic Jain sculpture. This amalgam of religions speaks of historical changes of power, but more importantly, it is a testimony to the religious tolerance displayed by the rulers. From this same fort, Maharani Lakshmibai goaded her stallion to jump off the ramparts to her death below to escape British captors. Her courage is a testimony to the stirrings of Indian nationalism and to women’s equality.

The city, which is synonymous to its pride – the Fort - owes much to its maharajahs. Its industrial development, irrigation projects and education infrastructure were initiated by the then Maharajah in the closing years of the 19th century. The legacy of the present Maharajah’s father, whose political footsteps he follows, reminds all of what the father did for his city as well as for his country. A MP from his city in national parliament for 30 years, thrice a Minister with various portfolios, he is credited, inter alia, with the modernisation of India’s railway system. The city itself now has a literacy rate of 70%, 10% higher than the national average. It boasts at least 42 institutions of secondary and higher education. It is prominent for its health care facilities with leading hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. It is a modern city with well developed transportation infrastructure connecting it to the rest of the country by train, air and roads.

The above discourse on the fort is not just a romantic reflection on days gone by. Obviously, this Fort represents monarchy. It represents the bedrock of strength on which one can build upon. It represents stability and continuity – of culture, values and a way of life in a shifting world. Further, the positive impact of some of the recent rulers of the city personified by this fort is also quite apparent. After Indian independence, the Princely States ruled by the maharajah’s seceded to the Indian Union. It was an inevitable evolution to secure the huge land mass of India as a single united modern country. There was reason and logic to this development.

So when we debate the issue of monarchy in present-day Nepal, there are lessons to be learnt. There is one, and only one, criterion for the validity of the Nepali monarchy – it must remain, if it serves the interest of Nepal. Does it provide value-added to the sovereignty of Nepal? Does it help with Nepal’s standing in the community of 21st century nations as a united political entity? In spite of premature announcements of the death of the Nepali monarchy and its apparent impending “cremation” by the fabled Constituent Assembly, it is time we look at the institution and judge for ourselves whether it serves a purpose for Nepal and its people. When the winter blizzard is oncoming, let us ensure that we not throw away our coats no matter how old and tattered they may be. Those old coats might be just that edge needed to keep away frostbites.

This unnamed place is a testimony to the validity of a Maharajah’s aura over a thoroughly modern city. This is of use to the city. It is now up to the Nepali people to decide whether their monarchy is useful to their country. Mind you, it is up to the people, not to a triumvirate of unelected politicians. If the majority of Nepalis want a republic, so be it – that is democracy in action. But let the choice be THEIRS.

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We the People
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The Change Doctrine

(Courtesy: Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani)

Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the change that you want to be". This famous dictum by the great leader is a piece of advice that would be in our interest to follow. We are a nation in transition towards transformation in the political power relations that we hope to institutionalize in the future. In the terminology of the theory of change, the country is in the process of unfreezing its ideas about the values and structures characteristic of the present. The logic of unfreezing defines the state of transition ultimately leading to a new stage of refreezing that goes on to outline the new normative conditions of stability consistent with a new political order. Logic of change

The idea of unfreeze, transition and refreeze as a theory of change was first outlined by Kurt Lewin considered as the father of modern social psychology in the first half of the 20th century. Conceptually it is a powerful framework that has been used to study a variety of social situations involving the change process both in individuals and organizational systems. At the individual level change can be profoundly destabilizing for it involves coming face to face with one's image and ego and the reorganization of closely held belief and feelings that may no longer be relevant.

Following Lewin the equilibrium in the person is maintained when the driving forces in the individual is balanced by restraining forces. Once there is an imbalance in the relative strength of these two forces there could emerge the problem of what is known as "survival anxiety" as well as "learning anxiety "since all the belief and convictions that have been held so far as the basis of action need an evaluation. It is something that can be painful and the person has a tendency to avoid it as long as possible. New defenses are created to deny the existence of the problem that tend to be expressed both by a sense of frustration as well as aggression.

In Nepal we have unfrozen our mind in many ways. Janaandolan I and II, the Maoist struggle and the experiences of running a parliamentary system for over 12 years have brought us to the point where old assumptions about social stability and development are no longer viewed as sacrosanct. In this process old terminologies are being redefined and their scope expanded so as to accommodate new ideas and perceptions which are essentially an important part of the unfreezing process.

Let us just take a look at the meaning of two important words that are now in vogue, Loktantra and New Nepal. These two words are frequently used by politicians, intellectuals and all others who are eager to register themselves as the members of the aggragaman (progressive) bandwagon. And yet in actual life how many of us really care about what it implies?

This may seem like a provocative question but our actual behavior indicates at times a schizophrenic mind set that oscillates from complete anarchy in the name of democracy to an authoritarian value system that will make the likes of Jung Bahadur very happy indeed. We have leaders in Nepal who declare boldly in the name of Loktantra that the authority of the SPA (seven party alliance) is absolute to the extent that it can declare a man as a woman and vice versa. Hearing this outburst of unbridled ego it seems that The Almighty in the heaven has finally found a mortal challenger!

Similarly, it is argued that what the country needs is a man like Jung Bahadur, a feudal despot who plunged the country in the darkness of an absolute family rule for over a century with the blessings and support of the then British colonialists, to march towards the "shining city on top of the hill" - The New Nepal. The contradictions are everywhere. In the name of Loktantra some leaders are desperately busy consolidating familytantra and the message is that a new contribution to political science -- the theory of an illiberal and feudal democracy in the name of the supremacy of the people -- is in the offing. Similarly, the rule of law is the new mantra of the political elite and yet the ordinary citizen feels clearly that the country is sliding towards anarchy with the leadership tacitly accepting the logic that it is the highway towards a New Nepal.

As for good governance, the promoters of New Nepal project a value structure that stinks of deceit and corruption to a level never reached before. It is amazing to observe the fact that the economic czars of the SPA, including the Maoists feel proud to go to the donors with their begging bowls for budgetary support and yet these same people who never tire of preaching for austerity and efficiency feel no qualms in providing each nominated member of the parliament Rs 1 million, (a total over Rs 320 million) and that also just a day before the Election Commission declared the rules of conduct for election. This indicates the distinct possibility that the commitment of the SPA to economic discipline and free and fair election is nothing more than a big farce designed to hoodwink the people. No wonder Nepal is emerging prominently not only in the corruption index published by the Transparency International but also as a new fragile and dysfunctional authoritarian state in the region.

Difficult path ahead

The political elite have paid only lip service to reframing or refreezing towards a new value structure relevant to the socio-economic development of the country. Taking a cue from Lewin's theory of change it seems clear that the leadership of the SPA is caught in a vicious circle of survival as well as learning anxiety in any new reframing of the political system. Survival anxiety makes its impact when people feel that their previous held convictions are, after all, not relevant to the present and future without modifications in core assumptions. It is a stage when one starts to swing from one extreme to another as exemplified in the venal attitude of leaders like Prachanda towards the Chief of Nepal Army while feeling cozy and comfortable with former ministers and functionaries of the royal government.

Survival anxiety, on the other hand, normally leads to learning anxiety since the need to search for a new perspective can be painful for the simple reason that it could possibly demolish the ideological base that has been effective so far. The behavior of the Maoists that seems to swing from one extreme to another is a sure indication of survival anxiety of the leadership as it faces the turbulent waters of multiparty democracy in the form of the upcoming election for the constituent assembly if it is held as planned.

Shouting for the demise of the institution of monarchy or the Nepal Army that has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to multi party democracy and civilian leadership in a language that speaks of a great deal of latent sadism while embracing excitedly the torch bearers of the king's regime could be taken as an indication of the fact that there is a new effort towards a cognitive redefinition of ideological rigidities without giving up the revolutionary rhetoric.

But this is likely to fail for the simple reason that a liberal democratic order cannot accommodate a political ideology and a revolutionary posturing that denies the very core of a competitive multi party democratic system, including the notion of constitutional checks and balances. From this perspective the election to the constituent assembly that is reasonably free and fair promises to be a psychological Waterloo for the Maoists unless all the other parties help them to overcome their learning anxieties in a future democratic order.

Ultimately if the Maoists believe in democracy and not a one party dictatorship, they will have to project the change that they want to be both in their speech and action. The people are watching and they can distinguish between fact and fiction.

(The writer is the Co chairman of the Rastriya Janasakti Party)

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Electoral Facade

(Courtesy: Zizimous)

With less than three months left for elections, recent political developments suggest it is becoming increasingly apparent that elections are so far only a distant mirage. There are two critical points of analysis that is being repeatedly ignored and those are directly correlated with the prospects of timely elections happening: the Terai problem and the intent of the Maoist leadership.

The Maoists through the effective usage of Home Minister KP Sitaula have ambushed the Nepali Congress (NC) into a state of paralysis. After the agitation in the Terai early last year, a majority of the political parties lost their base there temporarily. The Indians ever since then had been cajoling the prime minister to move the NC in Terai and fill in the political vacuum created. As a result of continued ignorance demonstrated by the NC, the Indians were forced to glue together a group of moderate Terai leaders to fulfill two purposes - neutralize the radicalization of Terai and to fill in the political vacuum.

Credible information suggests that Maoists are left with only about ten functioning district committees. An influential Terai leader confided that Swiss diplomat Gunther had been approaching various Terai factions repeatedly to work out a possible alliance between the Maoists and the Madeshi groups. However, Gunther's initiatives were rejected downright by the agitating Terai groups because they sensed his initiative as a ploy that was ultimately aimed at aiding the Maoists to regain the lost ground in the Terai. Gunther's term was over without his being able to have his initiative materialised.

But Maoists also independently pursued the move. Maoist Foreign Affairs Chief CP Gajurel met a senior leader of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Goit) last summer when Goit was critically ill. However, Gajurel failed to work out an alliance between the Maoists and the Goit group. Nonetheless, due to the fluidity of the situation in the Terai, the Maoists are now in their last phase of preparation to reenter Terai and regain the lost ground. This is because almost 50 percent of the electoral constituencies are in the Terai and it is pivotal for any party who wishes to win a majority in the elections to win a substantive number of seats there.

But elections are impossible without solving the Terai problem. What we have to understand is that if the elections are held without solving the problem; the people of the Terai would have lost an opportunity forever. And it is very unlikely that the Terai leaders would cow-tow to the threat posed by the SPA and participate in the elections.

India who is a large stakeholder in the Terai affairs would also prefer that the Terai fiasco be solved before the elections. And the Indians know it very well that if the problem is not solved before the elections, it will never be solved after the elections. But the interest of the major three parties in Terai clashes. None of them would want to go to the poll if their position is not better than the other's. More over, they have avoided taking a clear stand on the issues since that may weaken their electoral prospects. That means the big three - Maoists, NC and the UML are in no mood to solve the problem.

It is also equally important to scrutinize the intent of the Maoist leadership. On the 1st of January, Prachanda released a statement demanding that the PLA should be ready to use their weapons impromptu in the immediate future. Due to continued absence of government authority at all levels; the Maoists are consistently seeking avenues to overwhelm the state. Therefore, it is but natural for them to make the inevitable u-turn and shy away from elections yet again.

The intelligence apparatus of the Nepal Police that has presided by no other person than Sitaula fears that Maoists may be deploying the Young Communist League (YCL) cadre in rural areas and the villages to capture voting booths at the 11th hour, so that; the international community and the Nepal Army will be in no position to thwart their booth capturing designs.

If the Maoist leadership comes to a conclusion that the election option is not worth the risk, the Maoists will start galvanizing the issue of PLA-NA integration as the primary issue to scuttle the polls. And succeed they will because, the NC and the UML owe their accession to power to the Maoists. Any fracture in the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) alliance would threaten GP Koirala's position as the PM and the Maoists will exploit his weakness for power to fulfill their objectives.

Although nobody has claimed the responsibility of the bomb blast after the SPA meeting in Khulamanch the other day, all fingers point at the Maoists. This is because the intelligence agencies and the security agencies have received reports confirming that the Maoists in their last CWC have devised two strategies. First, posture as if the party is ready to go to the polls. Second, make all necessary measures to scuttle the polls and galvanize the situation to the party's favor and portray the Maoist party as the alternate to the Koirala government.

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Disappointment at the Postponement of Nepal's CA Elections
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Nepal's Political Paradoxes

(Courtesy: Chiran Jung Thapa)

Nepal has always had a few elements of strangeness. But the recent political climate has provided far too many. From the powerfully weak Prime-minister to the royal-republic, the litany of strangeness has turned Nepal into a glamorous example of political paradoxes.

To begin with, the Transitional Governing Authority (TGA) is a prime example. Touted as the most omnipotent governing authority in the history of Nepal, the TGA is also perhaps the most impotent. It wields such authority that it hacked off the Royal title from everything without a hitch. It declared a country with an overwhelming Hindu majority as secular even without the consent of the governed. But ironically, it has been abysmally incapable of preventing even small bands from shutting entire highways. Also, the most recent protest organized by the cabbies of Katmandu demanding a fare hike, serves as a reminder as to how even a handful could challenge and erode the authority of the invincible TGA. While an entire city is brought to a stand-still repeatedly right under its nose, the TGA's writ appears feckless.

Perhaps more tellingly, the TGA honcho - Prime Minister Girija Koirala accentuates a paradox. Although he is widely acclaimed as the most powerful Prime Minster in Nepal's history, Koirala is also the most senile and hamstrung. With a stature of above six feet, Koirala is not only one of the tallest Nepali politicians ever, but this man wields a towering authority as well. His acquiescence translates into the decision of the TGA. He is supposedly the supreme commander of the single most powerful institution in the country - the national Army. But then again, he can barely operate without of a dose of oxygen. And he can barely stand up to make a speech. His authority has been doggedly hounded by innumerable agitations and the TGA which he leads has had to concede to most of the demands put forth by the agitators. The territory which he is supposed to reign over is being overtly encroached upon. And yet, he dare not make a comment on this issue because it would severely jeopardize his status-quo. Another striking contradiction about Koirala that deserves mentioning has to do with religion. It was under Koirala's stewardship that Nepal was declared a secular country. Interestingly, however, his bellicose zeal to attend religious ceremonies is quite apparent. Even as the head of a secular state, he has hogged all the religious duties previously performed by a Hindu Monarch. To illustrate, Koirala was so incensed when he learnt that the King had visited the Kumari-House during Indra-Jatra to receive blessings of the living Goddess, that he immediately halved the number of guards at the Royal palace to penalize the monarch.

Another salient paradox is the concept of "New Nepal." From the sounds of it, new Nepal is supposed to imply change from the old status quo to a new one. It presupposes new ideas and new faces taking charge. Unfortunately, the ground realities beg to differ. Those waving the banner of New Nepal are the same old faces of the past. And the pundits that have self-designated themselves as the architects of new Nepal are those that are frequently accused of plundering and plunging the country into a violent conflict. Most interestingly, there are occurring examples to indicate that Nepal is being pushed to oldness rather than newness.

Possibly beleaguered by the increasing clamor of the various ethnic groups demanding regional autonomy, the TGA has made the decision to opt for a federal system of governance. But, many believe that such a decision is more likely to push Nepal back a few centuries to the pre- Prithvi Naryan Shah era. Instead of a new, united and powerful Nepal, many believe that the so called New-Nepal will become dismally weak, dictated by foreigners, ethnically fragmented and could soon start resembling the "Bais-say Chaubis-say Rajyas" (fragmented principalities of pre-unified Nepal).

There are even better examples. The recent decision made by the Nepal Electricity authority (NEA) to slap thirty six hours a week load-shedding schedule, is set to plunge the country into a similar darkness that once shrouded Nepal's hills and valleys of the pre-electricity era. And the scarcity of cooking gas, fuel and electricity could certainly compel the populace to opt for wood-burning or coal burning to meet their energy needs like in the past. Given the rampant deforestation and wood smuggling, perhaps even wood has become scarce.

Another paradox is the trumpeted rhetoric of "Nepal's return to democracy." After the King-led government capitulated to the uprising in April 2006, Nepal's return to democracy was jubilantly propagated by both the national and international cheerleaders. While supporters of the TGA fervently claim the establishment of a democratic system, Nepal's ranking in the democracy index published by "The Economist," says otherwise. The Economist has rated Nepal as an authoritarian state. Shockingly, even the notoriously authoritarian countries like Cuba, Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan fared better than Nepal in the rankings.

More than the rankings, however, it is the ground realities that blaringly dampen the democratic merit. Primarily, the TGA and the parliament are not elected bodies. Hence, this body does not have the inviolable mandate of the majority as required to qualify as a democratic system. Also, there is no mechanism to protect the individual liberty and freedom because the law and order has more or less collapsed. Accountability too is virtually inexistent.

The most unbeatable paradox, however, is the current status quo of the Nepali polity - a royal-republic. Recently, a bill passed by the interim parliament has presumably turned Nepal into a republic. The provisions are such that the decision will only be implemented after the Constituent Assembly elections. With the passage of the bill, it has been said that the King and the institution he represents are in the tumbrel. Yet, the King is not a finished article. He has certainly maintained a regal reticence. But, he is still addressed as the King and the title of “the King” is still mentioned in the interim constitution. Even more markedly, he still resides in the Royal Palace guarded by the most complex security arrangement in the country.

Also, despite being on the verge of demise, notable contradictions are emerging. Now, even the avowed roundheads of the past have come around to concede to the fact that the King is a power-centre none could ignore. Sujata Koirala, (the daughter of the Prime Minister), who is being groomed to lead the Nepali-Congress, has been quite openly emphasizing on the need of a constitutional Monarchy. Not only her, other leading figures in the Nepali Congress are openly speaking in favor of the Monarchy as well. Very strangely, even the Maoist boss-man - Prachanda, had recently emphasized on the need to forge an alliance with the Royalists. The significant foreigners too privately admit to the continued links with the Palace.

So, is Nepal really a federal Republic or is it still a Kingdom? Is the state authoritarian or is it democratic? Is a New Nepal in the offing or is it reverting to an old one? Are we witnessing the demise of an institution that is as old as the nation or are we seeing its resurgence after two years of reclusiveness?

What is a baffled layman to make out of these contradictions? It is certainly perplexing and there is a good cause to worry. But unmistakably, given the stagnation and rising public insecurity, public mood of disgruntlement and doubt is on the rise. Now even the international cheerleaders of the past have become increasingly skeptical of the political progress in Nepal. Both nationally and internationally, there is an increasing realization that the fragile alliance stitched together by an outside power is not the sustainable solution to Nepal’s mountainous afflictions. Now, the only hope remains in the vision, willingness and dedication of the emerging generation of leaders. But even that is another paradox. For, all the zeal of the young leaders has been arrested by the elderly resistance.

Related Posts:

Sovereignty Should Lie With the People - But It Lies With the Parties and the Maoists http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/sovereignty-should-lie-with-people-but.html

Debunking the Democratic Dogma
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/debunking-democratic-dogma.html

Stubborn Koirala and NC’s Impending Downfall

(Re-produced, Courtesy: Yubraj Acharya)

For those who closely follow Nepal’s politics, especially the dynamics within the Nepali Congress party (NC), Sujata Koirala’s appointment as a minister without portfolio—or a de facto deputy Prime Ministry, as some have called it—should not have come as a surprise. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s nephew Mahesh Acharya and his close aide Shekhar Koirala have both climbed these ladders before. Prime Minister Koirala’s action revealed not only that he is still a monarchist at heart, but also, and more interestingly, that, despite what the Nepali people have been told and what the international community has been forced to believe, he cares more about retaining the power within the family’s grip than about keeping coalition partners happy so that the peace process can move ahead as planned. This is nothing new.

What seems surprising and disturbing, however, is that even when GPK takes actions as radical as this, the opposition within the party is amazingly silent. The silence raises the suspicion that even outspoken opposition leaders within the party, including Narahari Acharya and Gagan Thapa, may be getting some kickbacks from the party being the leading party in the coalition government—why the silence otherwise? Moreover, the silence proves that the party lacks a leader who can rise up to the occasion when the party and the country need him/her the most. It also proves that, minus the support from GPK, the occasional rhetoric that we hear from some quarters within the NC about reforming the party is a mere political weapon. This observation implies that even if the monarchists and the Maoists are sidelined from Nepali politics after the constituent assembly elections, the lack of proper leadership and vision of NC will continue to be a threat to Nepal’s stability, more so when the GPK and his cronies are around.

While a weakening NC might look appealing to other political parties, including the Maoists and the monarchists, the Nepali people will have to pay the biggest price for NC’s misadventures, as they have been doing in the last seventeen years. A few examples from the history are illustrative. First of all, it was the NC’s insistence that retained the monarchy in 1990, which continues to haunt the nation almost two decades later. It was an internal conflict within the NC that brought down its own majority government after the first elections. Occasional flirtation of NC’s fractions with other smaller parties so that the former can be in power is likely the strongest factor that can explain the countless number of governments we have had in the country since 1990. What’s more, NC likely boasts the largest number of corruption cases files by the CIAA in courts against its politicians. Finally, it was a NC-led government that turned its deaf ears to the Maoists’ 40-point demand that eventually encouraged the latter to launch the war, which has claimed close to 14 thousand lives. When we compare this implicit suppression that the NC has caused to the Nepali people, Musharraf’s suppression of his people in Pakistan, Mugawe’s suppression in Zimbabwe and Castro’s suppression in Cuba all look like a walk in the park!

Fortunately, the evidence from the last decade shows that those who opt for the extreme policy or ideology choices get sidelined eventually, in one way or the other. In the last five years alone, we have seen Gyanendra Shah humbled by the people when he tried to impose a Musharraf-style “democracy” in the country and we have seen the Maoists’ political base weaken significantly by the arrogance of its youth wings, mainly the Young Communist League (YCL), and by the desire of the leadership to not listen to the voice from Tarai. This political ‘cleansing’ process is a good thing—we had been raring false ideologies for too long and it was time they got eliminated! In a similar manner, GPK’s recent foolhardy steps, of which Ms. Koirala’s appointment is just one of the extreme examples, may be suggestive of the fact that, after the Gyanendra Shah and the Maoists, it may be NC’s turn to learn the lessons from the people. Hopefully, people will not have to come down to the streets and face the bullets to teach that lesson this time around.

(This peice was original printed on Nepalnews and is re-produced here with the Author's explicit permission. The author may be reached at: yubraj@gmail.com)

Related Posts:

Nepali Congress under Koirala: The Great Betrayal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/nepali-congress-under-koirala-great.html

The Fallacies of Two Men - Girija & Gyanendra
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/fallacies-of-two-men-girija-gyanendra.html

Debunking the Democratic Dogma
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/debunking-democratic-dogma.html

Deconstructing Matrika Yadav

(Courtesy: Shakun Sherchand Leslie)

Headlines in the Kathmandu Post, January 3, 2008 (19 Poush / 2064) reads- Yadav makes a fuss again!

A video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQDl9l3_wsA

The photograph has two butch looking women, ushering an intense looking man in mud colored jwari vest, a white cotton scarf with a delicate border on the edge, casually cascading his shoulder. The loose, white sleeves covering his arms suggest he is wearing a khurta. The photograph abruptly cuts short the bottom, but any Nepali can guess that he is not making a fashion statement but asserting his identity.

Body language.

His right hand pinching the sides of his mouth- the pointer, the finger closest to the thumb, reveals a very well defined contraction of the muscle/ bone. His mouth has gone dry! He is being ushered to take a step that is soul repelling and yet he is moving forward. He needs courage! In the concoction of his face is the determination of the will. His eyes leak an emotion that is determined in purpose- angry, sharp and volition. Yet, the two women ushering him, reminds me of my own childhood when I was reprimanded and cajoled to meet an adult of importance whose wiles I suspected was very dangerous for the community. The two women besides him- one on his right with a red scarf, stands closer to him and looks like she is proud to be with him; the other on the left is making sure he follows track and does not lose him. Her ears close to the mobile, she appears to be taking instructions. His repulsion and volition spills over the edge of the page and sends a message of what preludes the third andolan.

Reported: In the State Hall, Singha Durbar, Prime Minister Girija P.Koirala waits in his chamber to administer the oath of office. There is no picture revealing him in waiting, but one can imagine a man, whose legs and hands are agile as the spider’s tentacles and his eyes as beady as an octopus, wearing a posture of grey nationality in his labeda surwal and a black topi giving height to his precarious position.

Language of oath: Matrika, sworn in as the Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation, inquires the language of oath. The tradition of oath taking has always been in Nepali. He demands his oath taking in Maithili, his mother tongue. Chief Secretary Bhoj Raj Ghimiri informs him the lack of provision of other languages in the constitution. An angry Yadav accuses the PM of his insensivity to Madeshi people.

Today, after much strife for social inclusion in the civil services by the marginalized groups, the reservations are merely a political stunt. As per the Civil Service Act, 45 % of total vacancies are for women, Janajatis, Madhesis, Dalits, disabled and backward regions. There is not a single chief district officer or police from the Madeshis. Why? In an exam conducted recently by the Public Service Commission, out of 2276 there were only15 Madeshis selected. The “problem of language” was acknowledged by Umakant Jha, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works. For most Madeshis and Janajatis, Nepali is a second language. In a country like Nepal, language is the key to retaining identity and culture. Akash Chaudary explained to me that he had passed the written, oral and physical exams for the recent Armed Police Force but was rejected on the basis of not being able to pay Rs.6 lakhs upfront. This grim fact reveals the selection criteria.

Party disobedience: He disobeys Prachanda, the Maoist Supremo’s “shining path”. Prachanda is at the mercy of the members of the 7 parties to bring him to abide by the rules. He reappears with Maoist leader Minister Dev Gurung.

Oath taking: PM Koirala recites like a high priest of the Sanhedrin in Nepali. Minister Yadav repeats the sentences in Maithili as a Madeshi layman.

Disappointment: Koirala is obviously disappointed with the ceremonial oath taking and leaves without extending his wishes to Yadav.

History: For the first time in history a government minister has taken an oath in his regional language.

During the Malla period, the official language was Sanskrit but the public language was Nepal Vasha ( Newari). Licchavi and Malla kings were republican by nature as they were governed by a council of ministers whose credibility lay with the approval of various communities.

Who is Matrika? Deconstructing Matrika is deconstructing history of feudalism. It permeates not only from the nooks and crannies of Singa Durbar but obviously those who usurped power to diminish the rights of its peoples, specially the rights f Madeshis, Janajatis, Dalits and Women.

Fuss: To deprecate Matrika’s fuss is to deprecate courage. You need courage by actions to determine the self in a country where deconstructing people like Matrika is the norm. One needs courage to go against the grain and construct the self and others. Nepal needs leaders who are guided by conscience rather than construed and conjured by laws. Laws, a discipline of man to encroach on another rather than free him have been the foundation of the fundamental rights in Nepal. A word like hoozor is held tightly by fools and the power it exudes crushes even the wise.

To deconstruct this incident is to know that courage is gathering. The courage of the deer’s to corner the tiger away from their waterhole. In simple human language in the past, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King and in the present, Mandela would call this fuss,
“Civil Disobedience Act”.

History not only repeats itself but teaches all that courage is the heart of human transformation. This incident reflects an honest and transparent sum of the whole unrest in the country.

Deconstructing Matrika is synonymous to deconstructing Nepal.

Related Posts:

Bahunists and Bahunism - No Room for feudal elements in the "new Nepal"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/bahunists-and-bahunism-no-room-for.html

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

Ethnic Groups and Race Based Federalism: A Recipe for Disaster for Nepal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/03/ethnic-groups-and-race-based-federalism.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

Terai And India

(Courtesy: Zizimous)

The possibilities of elections happening are slim. Although the Election Commission may be in a position to clear all technical hitches that might have stood as an obstacle to pave way for elections, political difficulties and issues still remain unsolved and these unsolved political issues are most likely to stand as obstacles for the upcoming elections.

More than fifty percent of the electoral constituencies are in the terai. After 1999, that's when the last elections happened, the Maoist insurgency escalated. As a result, there was a political vacuum in the Terai and the Maoists took advantage of the situation and filled in the vacuum in Terai. Early this year, a forceful agitation erupted in the Terai that symbolically altered the political dynamics of Terai. Consequently, all political parties, more significantly the Maoists lost their base in the Terai. Ever since then the Indians have been insisting the Prime Minister to move the Nepali Congress in the Terai and fill the vacuum in the Terai. However, due to Maoist pressure and Sitaula's maneuvering in collaboration with the Maoists, Nepali Congress failed to enter the Terai.

India, on the other hand has had to reconsider her strategy vis-à-vis Nepal. It now becomes apparent an issue such as 'national security' is more of a priority than democratizing Nepal. The Indian Prime Minister recently described the Maoists problem in India as the greatest threat to their national security. The Indian establishment is particularly worried that should the Maoist regain ground in the Terai, neighboring states that are vulnerable (Bihar,Jharkhand,Chattisgargh) would ultimately fall into the hands of a greater Maoist movement. This is because the RIM dictates the Maoists and concurrently the RIM initially wants the Maoists to establish total control in Nepal before attempting to make further inroads into India from their perceived base in Nepal.

GP Koirala

After Mahanta Thakur quit the Nepali Congress, GP Koirala called a meeting of the NC,UML, and CPN-M high command. In that meeting, it is learnt that GP Koirala had told both Prachanda and Madhav Nepal point blank that India was now scheming designs to remove all of them from power. Having gauged the political developments wrongly, GP Koirala initiated the 23 Point Agreement out of annoyance towards India. On the other hand, the Maoists realized that a serious crisis of confidence had emerged between GP Koirala and India; and naturally the Maoists capitalized on this situation and forced their way through the 23 Point Agreement.

Secondly, GP is now more reliant on the Maoists because he has now distanced himself from India, Nepali Congress and the other democratic forces. And the Maoists have given him assurances to back him to the last moment should he yield to their demands. Therefore, the importance and relevance of Sitaula can be best explained by concluding that Girija now depends heavily on the Maoists to propose his name as the first president and for that matter, Sitaula is Girija's point man.

The Maoists

For the Maoists the 12 Point Agreement and all other subsequent agreements are a catalyst through which they aim to achieve their revolutionary goals. For that matter even the elections are a catalyst through which the Maoists aim to achieve their revolutionary goal. Like Baburam Bhatterai recently commented " we do not want to participate in an election we will lose". When the 23 Point Agreement was signed there are two other agreements that have not been made public: seat sharing agreement in which both the NC and UML are to give some seats to the Maoists and; a Finance Ministry source has confirmed that the GPK government has allocated the Maoists a substantial amount of money that amounts in millions as a compromise for their participation in the polls. But more importantly, elections will only make sense to the Maoists if they can win and implement their revolutionary ideals. However, if they lose the elections, their revolution would have ended and their purpose of participating in the elections to achieve their revolutionary goals would have also failed. Similarly, an electoral defeat would also put the party in a crisis both ideologically and politically.

Other Hurdles

There are two other hurdles, YCL and the relocation if internally displaced people. First, it is unlikely that YCL are going to mend their ways. Since the PLA are locked inside the cantonment, the YCL is the only force through which the Maoists can demonstrate their machismo in the street and mobilize force during elections. It is very unlikely that the Maoist high command would put pressure on the YCL to curtail their unruly attitude because the Maoists high command rely on the YCL as their only effective organization to organize both violence and to mobilize cadres for elections. Since the Maoists have come closer to knowing that they more unpopular than they think they are, the Maoists rely very heavily on the YCL to force people to support them either through force or intimidation.

The other last hurdle is the relocation of the internally displaced people. The internally displaced people are primarily the cadres of Nepali Congress and the UML. In the last ten years when the Army and the PLA fought in rural Nepal, people left in exodus in search of safer places. Unfortunately, the Maoists cadres are cultivating empty fields and have taken in possession of thousands of empty houses across Nepal as theirs. Today, due to the governments indifference there is growing disillusionment towards NC and UML as both these parties have failed to protect their displaced cadres who are also now considering associating themselves with other political parties or launching a political movement simultaneously with the terai movement.

Conclusion

Every one knows the possibility of elections happening is remote. The Maoists will walk out of the government in a couple of month's time when it becomes obvious that elections are not possible. After quitting the government, the Maoists will try to position themselves as the alternate and try to capture state power yet again. On the other hand, blaming the Maoists solely will not solve the problems. GPK and the present government have lost the steam and momentum to either hold elections or solve the Maoist problem. Not only has Girija succumbed to the communists and committed a political suicide but; Girija has also dragged Nepali Congress and now efforts are underway to drag the Nepal Army into complete destruction to pave way for the communists to capture state power.

Related Posts:

Smoke and Mirrors - Why Nepal's Constituent Assembly Elections Won't Happen in April 2008
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/12/smoke-and-mirrors-why-nepals.html

Special Session and After: Thinking Past the Nepali 'Post-conflict'
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/11/special-session-and-after-thinking-past.html

Betrayed Beyond Belief
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/betrayed-beyond-belief.html

Lessons from Bhutto’s assassination

(Re-posted, Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

Benazir Bhutto gave her life for the sake of democracy in Pakistan. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes. Could she have averted her untimely death? You bet. All she had to do is, resort to a deal-based politics like the one that is being practiced in Nepal. She could have averted her assassination by allowing murderous assassins to dictate the course of her country. Her fault: she tried swimming against the tide of religious fanaticism. She courted death in order to regain political space lost to the fundamentalists, unlike in Nepal, where the so-called democrats are selling out ideology and democratic principles for the sake of political survival.

Bhutto, unlike our own "mainstreamers," refused to join hands with ideologues and religious fanatics in Pakistan. She rather chose to fight against them in order to make Pakistan a true democratic state. After living in the United States and the United Kingdom, she must have known the difference between living in a "liberal democracy" and the country held hostage by radicals. In a liberal democracy, for example India, a catholic woman from Italy is accepted and trusted to run the show. Whereas in society infested by political ideologues and religious fanatics—Pakistan—, daughter of the very soil fighting for people's freedom and democracy gets gunned down. Ideologically bankrupt politicians of Nepal should try to understand what the ultimate price could be if the brainwashed ideologues that embrace Mao's ideological fanaticism remain unchecked and are allowed to infest our society. Benazir's assassination holds grave lessons and warnings for Nepal.

Be it Mao's ideological fanaticism, which is embraced by the Maoists in Nepal or Bin Laden's brand of "Islamofascism" practiced by the religious fanatics in Pakistan, they are equally dangerous for liberal democracy. Religious and political fanaticism and liberal democracy do not go together. In Pakistan, with Bhutto's assassination, religious fanatics have succeeded in uprooting the seedlings of democracy completely. Whereas in Nepal, political fanaticism practiced by the Maoists and replicated by the groups led by secessionists such as Jay Krishna Goit and Nagendra Paswan have greatly reduced prospects of democratic consolidation. The chances of democratic consolidation appear bleaker than ever.

Out of many factors that propelled the rise of political fundamentalism in Nepal, the most important one is repeated subversion of democratic process by the political elites. The constant manipulation of people and the political processes by political gladiators has pauperized the society and wallowed the people in abject poverty. Needless to say, the never ending episodes of deal making in the dark corridors never allowed the country to escape from political instability and a cyclical legitimacy crisis.

Besieged by a multitude of hostile forces, the politicians in Nepal are politically insecure. They are so completely engrossed in the struggle for political survival that they want to subvert the genuine political processes. One recent example of such cowardice is Madhav Nepal's disclosure in Biratnagar. He wants the SPA to 'reserve' seats for top SPA leaders during the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. What a mockery of democratic rights of people of Nepal.
Madhav Nepal's recent statement makes it clear that there are many politicians in the so-called mainstream political parties who want to construct a "kleptocratic" regime in which they can steal from the citizens, deceive and undermine them, even though they need them to survive politically. Don't you think these air-headed idiots need a basic course on rights of voters in democracy?

Two years after bringing down an autocratic monarch to his knees, Nepal continues to grapple with complex challenges of national reconciliation, national reconstruction, economic reform, and democratic consolidation. Sad but true, the citizenry is still anxious to see and enjoy the dividends of democracy. The political insincerity of the SPA and the Maoists have bogged down the democratic process to such a degraded level that only those who can muster and unleash enough violence and control the institutions of state can win the political wars for power.
The insensitive and autocratic monarch is sure to go. He deserves the axe that has fallen on his head, no doubt about it. People should face consequences for their actions/inactions. Only then they will start behaving like rational beings. Furthermore, what values can a shrewd king and his rowdy son add to the process of democratic consolidation in Nepal?

That said, let me make it clear that the route that the SPA has taken to unseat Gyanendra is dead wrong. It reflects political vendetta more than anything else. Deciding the fate of an institution through constitutional adventurism is a horrendous idea. The SPA should have allowed people to decide the fate of monarchy in Nepal. This is mainly because one of the major factors responsible for political instability in Nepal is the failure of the political elites to sufficiently adhere to the basic tenets of democracy and constitutionalism.

Nepal is notoriously emerging as a country where nothing works. Inability to embrace a workable political system stems from the opportunism and lack of vision of the politicians like Madhav Nepal within the SPA. They remain bereft of viable political ideology on which the nation's political future can be anchored. This bankruptcy in ideology and vision has made the SPA look more like a syndicate than a political alliance dedicated towards fulfilling peoples' desire for peace, stability, and democracy.

Today, both in Pakistan and Nepal, democracy is put on trial by brainwashed radicals. In Pakistan, by assassinating Benazir Bhutto, to some extent "Islamofacists" have succeeded in aborting democratic dreams. There is a big probability that both Pakistan and Nepal will end up as illiberal democracies. But Pakistanis have at least a reason to be satisfied. They had a leader, Benazir, who gave her life fighting for democracy. She at least tried to save the nation from falling into the hands of radicals unlike our own so-called democrats who have flushed ideology and democratic principles down the toilet for political survival.

The basic difference between Bhutto and the so-called democrats in Nepal is that, Bhutto believed in the tenets of democracy. Unlike pseudo-democrats in Nepal, she knew that fanaticism and democracy do not go hand-in-hand. She never acted as a "useful idiot" at the hands of radicals like our politicians in Nepal. She always adhered to democratic principles and had vowed to wipe them out. Scared to death, radicals had no choice but to assassinate her.

While our own Girija Prasad Koirala, who has given everything but his beloved prime ministerial chair to the Maoist radicals, is awaiting a natural death (whose death, I doubt, will be of any inspiration to those who truly believe in liberal democracy in Nepal and abroad), Bhutto died a hero, a martyr and an inspiration for many both at home an abroad. While Pakistanis are mourning the loss of their beloved and revered leader Benazir, we, the Nepali people are forced to watch painful sale of our democratic dreams.

Related Posts:

Smoke and Mirrors - Why Nepal's Constituent Assembly Elections Won't Happen in April 2008
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/12/smoke-and-mirrors-why-nepals.html

They Shoot Journalists Don't They?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/11/they-shoot-journalists-dont-they-nepali.html

Nepali Congress under Koirala: The Great Betrayal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/nepali-congress-under-koirala-great.html

Sovereignty Should Lie With the People - But It Lies With the Parties and the Maoists
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/sovereignty-should-lie-with-people-but.html