Who’s the Idiot Now?

(Courtesy: Mr. Satyajeet Nepali)

(This section has been removed at the writer's request).

Response to Manjushree Thapa’s An End to Idiocy

Yes, Manjushree Thapa is right; the "idiocy" needs to stop. But the idiotic in Nepal are not just the political leaders. The bigger idiots are the so-called "intelligentsia", "civil society" and so forth whose holier than thou attitudes and complete refusal to engage in introspection give sustenance to even more idiocy. At least the majority of Nepal’s politicians lack the elite, Western education and exposure that comes with it; this is a bad but digestible excuse for Nepali politicians’ idiocy. But for people who have enjoyed the luxury of traveling the world and attending the best liberal education institutions the West has to offer, there is no excuse. People like Manjushree Thapa are even more idiotic than the politicians she conveniently blames – the same politicians that Thapa helped exonerate for over a decade of crimes against the Nepali people. Is it such a wonder that the "idiotic" culture of impunity persists in Nepal?

The real question is, how much intelligence does it take privileged elites like Ms. Thapa, to evaluate the 15 years after 1990 and the "narrowly self-serving" practices that were institutionalized during that time? Wasn't 15 years of malgovernance enough to show that these “democratic” leaders were committed only to “democratically” stuffing their pockets? Just take a look at where the children of such leaders have gone for their higher educations and compare the fee structures at these institutions’ with the leaders’ annual incomes. Idiotic, isn't it?

As for the Maoists, upon what basis did Ms. Thapa and her band of "idiots" misinterpret volume after volume of Maoist writ explaining exactly what the Maoists’ stand for, their brand of radical politics, and their plans for Nepal? So who are the bigger idiots? The politicians who gave birth to the Maoists’ and then subsequently brought the Maoists’ into the “mainstream” or the idiots who were so blinded by the short-term glory of “Storming the Bastille,” that they neglected to evaluate the fully burdened, long term cost of their actions? It is convenient for people like Ms. Thapa to shift positions as it suits her agenda of distancing herself from her feudal roots; but it is not as convenient for a nation of 27 million who have to bear the consequences of the follies of people like Ms. Thapa.

The fact is that Nepal’s intelligentsia did the utmost possible to bring these political parties and Maoists to power, convincing Nepalis that the SPA-M alliance would really make a difference. They were the ones to used their elite, stylish and influential pens to convince the international community that if the 240-year old history and the monarchy were to be jettisoned, Nepal would stand a chance of building a better and brighter future ("New Nepal" as they called it)!

Well, now Nepal is a Republic and according to many, on a fast-track to an illiberal leftist autocracy. And if Ms. Thapa’s escape from this reality is that “this is a process,” there is only one thing to be said in response: “Go tell the 24 million Nepali people who are without running water, electricity and access to basic health care that the “smart” thing to do was to launch a campaign against the Monarchy in return for Maoist domination of the political sphere.” The majority of Nepalis may not be as educated as Ms. Thapa, but even marginally educated know an idiot when they seen one. Who’s the idiot now?

Further, to be completely transparent, Ms. Thapa should also tell the Nepali people that the people her advocacy helped propel to power are “the same Maoists’ who during the years 2000/2001, destroyed nearly $500 million (yes, US Dollars) worth of infrastructure; bridges, roads, repeater stations that were built over the course of the past 30 years.” Tell the Nepali people that they “need to be patient” while people like Ms. Thapa use their entrenched, feudalism-based influence to peddle experiments with one process after another while Nepalis continue to suffer. How idiotic does the truth sound?

The Monarchy, like every other institution in Nepal, needed to be restructured, and reformed, not eliminated. In this regard, many of the politicians who Ms. Thapa regards as “idiots” were the ones trying their level best to rise above the populist idiocy that Ms. Thapa played a role in propagating. Politicians like Shailajha Acharya, K.P. Oli, Prakash Chandra Lohani, Surya Bahadur Thapa, and even Baburam Bhattaria were forced into idiocy by the rhetoric spun by people such as Ms. Thapa – rhetoric which was magnified and spun again by Ms. Thapa’s contacts at the International Crisis Group and various media outlets. How convenient for Ms. Thapa that in hindsight, she finds no issue with her own brand of advocacy but Nepal’s politicians are “idiots!”

After all the damage that has been done, the likes of Ms. Thapa have the gall to go around and tell Nepalis how "narrowly self-serving" our leaders are and how everything is so "idiotic!" Does Ms. Thapa think that the same people who “raped” Nepal for 15 years are likely to recognize the sacrifice that Nepalese have made to re-install them in power? What school of idiocy did Ms. Thapa attend to fool herself into believing that the current generation of Nepali politicians are going to change their ways because of Thapa’s “oh-I'm-fed-up-with-you” article???? Who's the real idiot here?

It's sad, but true. The so-called "intelligentsia" of Nepal have been nothing but "useful idiots" (to use Lenin's term) for the Maoists. And to use the Maoist supremo's own language, they have been "the backs that the Maoists’ climbed upon to smash the head.” In simple terms, the Maoists’ used and abused the human rights agenda, the peace agenda, the democratic agenda and a host of liberal, Western ideals to forward their march to political domination. “Intelligent” people like Ms. Manjushree Thapa, played the role of stepping stones for the Maoists’. When compared to people like Prachanda, Baburam, Ram Bahadur Thapa, and C. P. Gajurel, it is clearly Manjushree Thapa who appears to be the bigger idiot.

The Nepali state is in the tragic form she is today, in no small measure, due to the activism of the likes of Ms. Thapa. Wrinkling up her nose and blaming the political leaders is no excuse. People like Thapa should set a moral precedent by owning up to their own mistakes of the past; by pointing her finger at Nepali politicians, Ms. Thapa is playing the part of the pot, calling the kettle black.

One would have thought that when intelligent people like Manjushree Thapa supported the SPA-M alliance, they had done their due diligence. But apparently not so. Now they are coming around and telling us how pathetic our leaders are and how they’ve pretty much always known it. Then why the idiocy of leading the nation down a path that guaranteed even more idiocy? Neither the politicians that Manjushree despises nor the policemen (one of whom struck Manjushree on her head during a “peaceful” demonstration) are any different today, than they were before 2006. This is a hard fact that no one should idiotically dismiss. Especially Ms. Thapa.

Former King Gyanendra may have been an idiot for acting without a concrete plan but he was nonetheless, an idiot who could be controlled through various policy instruments. Good luck to Manjushree and others, as they try and control the Maoists’ and other politicians by alleging “idiocy” through publications like Kantipur. If Manjushree is “frankly scared” by the Maoists’ today, she is more than likely to be “terrified” by what is yet to come.

Why always blame the "political leaders" for the nation's woes? Shouldn't our "intellectual leaders" have been more realistic and discerning in their judgments about who and what to support and fight for? Instead of going off in their fanciful dreams of revolutionaries building a "New Nepal," shouldn't they have been more responsible? Did they not pause to weigh the likelihood of a better society being built by the same group of leaders who have failed time and again? Before going all-out and calling on the Nepalese people (and the international community) to back the SPA-M alliance, shouldn’t our “intellectual” leaders have given more thought to the costs and benefits of enthroning the same discredited leaders and and a bunch of cold blooded killers (the Maoists')?

Nepali intellectuals, like Ms. Thapa, can't hide behind the facade of incompetent "political leaders" anymore. Their holier-than-thou attitude vis-a-vis Nepal’s political leaders is stale and repulsive. Ordinary Nepalese and the international community backed the SPA-M alliance because our "intellectual leaders" supported them. Articles by Manjushree's ilk crying foul at insincere political leaders doesn't absolve the likes of Thapa from their incompetence, insincerity, and downright “dishonesty.”

Yes, the idiocy and irresponsibility that has brought Nepal where it is today must end but equally, the process must begin with people like Manjushree Thapa reflecting on their own actions more and on the actions of others, less. As the saying goes, Manjushree needs to learn to "walk the walk" as well as she has demonstrated her capacity to "talk the talk."