From Freefall to Basket Case?

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

It's been four months since the Constituent Assembly (CA) election was held and we still don't have a legitimate government. Is it because the proportional representation system has started producing disproportionate results or because the self-portrayed progressives have resorted to the same old tricks played during the coalition era of the past decades?

If the government formation takes four months, how long will it take to undo the failures of the past governments and deliver the dividends of democracy? With this pace, when will the wholesale transformation of Nepal's political and social foundation and the apparent consensus be achieved between various ethnic groups in Nepal?

As usual, no political party is ready to take the responsibility for the current political impasse. Accountability has evaporated in countless networks, bargaining and search for compromises. Shouldn't someone somewhere be responsible for the current state of affairs?

A daughter of noted neurosurgeon was abducted in broad day light from the heart of the capital. Unable to rely on the professional ability of the security apparatus, the hapless father pays multi-million rupees in ransom for the safe release of his sibling. Dr Devkota's willingness to pay ransom to the abductors is an example of erosion of people's faith in government's ability to solve their problems. This is one among hundreds if not thousands of cases happening every month.

Our so-called intellectuals get baffled when high profile abduction cases like the one involving the daughter of Dr Upendra Devkota occur. Like an ignorant little child who suddenly wakes up after a bad dream, they start questioning the existence of the nation's security apparatus and the responsibility of the Home Ministry. Anyone keeping a close tab on Nepal can easily tell that the law and order situation in the country is in a shambles and it has been so for a long time now. It certainly did not happen overnight for anyone to miss it, did it? What appears as if the abduction of Dr Devkota's daughter was the first ripple in a perfectly calm lake? The lake has been muddied and unsettled for a long time now. It is just that in order to appear politically correct some of us chose not to question the abilities of the guards responsible to keep the lake clean and healthy.

We live in a country where the vice-president of the country flouts court order, home minister overlooks crimes (killers of Jitendra Sah and Ram Hari Shrestha are still at large) and the prime minister, instead of firing the incompetent home minister, uses him as his emissary. Lawlessness starts from the top and trickles down to the common man. Criminals at the bottom of this food chain of lawlessness are taking every opportunity to take the law into their hands because that is the example leaders are leading with.

The major political parties are intoxicated by foul poison of power and this is evidenced by their disgraceful attitude towards formation of the new government and writing a constitution. From old guards of Nepali politics to the new entrants like the Maoists, MPRF, and TMLP, political honesty is something that is seriously lacking. Moral nudity on part of the Maoists has become so apparent that it is hard to trust their words.

Needless to say, they were not trustworthy to begin with. When the chances of getting into the power brightens, they suggest the return of all seized properties and curbing illegal acts of their brigade of brigands (YCL), but as soon as their chances of clinching to the power fades, their threat-laden statements start flying in all directions. They get verbal diarrhea.

It is not only the Maoists that have mastered the art of deal making. Upendra Yadav has picked it in a relatively shorter period of time. He is ready to join hands with anyone and everyone so long as he gets his share. The Maoists' call for having a Madhesi president and a Pahadi vice-president was a logical one, but for Upendra Yadav, having his man as a vice-president was more important than ensuring ethnic balance in the top most posts of the land. For him, inclusion of other ethnic groups is irrelevant. So long as the process ensures the inclusion of the members of his vote bank, ethnic empowerment is on the roll!

In order to minimize the dissent that arises from the incompetence on the part of politicians, the political parties have divided the nation along political ideology and ethnicity. And with each passing day, the people are getting sucked into this game plan devised by our politicians to cover up their incompetence and enhance their own political agendas. If a Madhesi intellectual raises a red flag against functioning of Madhesi leaders, he is immediately branded as a traitor. He becomes an instant enemy of his community. Many Madhesis dislike the president simply because, in their eyes, he is not Madhesi enough. His clarion call for national unity is in collision course with agendas pursued by those that do not see anything wrong with vice-president taking oath in Hindi even though it is unconstitutional. If something is unconstitutional, it is unlawful. And, that is how it ought to be.

How we got here and where are we headed? Many of us decided not to raise our voice against the failures of our politicians because our beloved politicians have created an environment whereby anyone, who questions their ability to handle the situation well automatically falls into a least wanted category-status quoists. Is it finally time to realize that Bollywood-type happy ending is not something that happens in African-style drama?

Unless the people rise and make their voice heard, politicians are not going to mend their ways. If we continue to remain divided, we may lose any chances that we might have from this point onwards to emerge as a functional democracy and may end up as a basket case of Asia.

Nepal, in every sense, is a nation under construction. The depth and scale of the transformation taking place in every dimension of Nepal's social, economic, and political lives is very rapid and difficult for even experts to comprehend. The ongoing experiment of building a "New Nepal" if handled properly could be one of the most successful developments in the history of the nation. But if it fails, the consequences for Nepal could be tragic, and possibly catastrophic.

End the Immoral Politics

(Reposted, Courtesy of Dr. Khagendra N. Sharma)

The recent election for the President and the Vice President showed the most naked picture of immoral politics in Nepal. It has shown that everybody can cheat everybody else without the slightest sense of embarrassment. The leaders of the three major parties cheated the CA by not allowing it to start functioning. Then they cheated each other by failing to come to an understanding. They cheated the erstwhile seven party alliance (SPA) by marginalizing the smaller parties. They cheated the very purpose of consensus politics in Nepal. The NC and the UML cheated the Maoists in their attempt to have a common candidate for the president by posing their respective leaders as the indispensable candidate for the post. The Maoists cheated the UML by changing sides in favor of the Forum. They cheated the Forum by proposing their own candidate for the VP. The Forum cheated the Maoists by aligning with the NC and the UML. The TMLP and the SP cheated the Forum by aligning with the Maoists for the post of the president.

The NC leader Girija Prasad Koirala cheated the people by refusing to hand over power. His ambition to become the first president on the republic of Nepal was the root cause of the ensuing political smog in the country. If he had handed over power to the Maoists who got the largest seats in the CA, the country would already have gone ahead some steps in the direction of the constitution building process. But he stuck to his chair with one alibi after another for refusing to hand over power. The country does not still have a legal government.

It is to the credit of some part of fine elements in the political field that eventually Nepal has a President and a VP. But this was achieved at the cost of four very important features in the Nepalese politics for the past two years. The direct fallout of the collective cheating is the death of consensus politics. The consensus politics had steered Nepal into a republican state, but no sooner had the republic been declared than there was the death threat to the consensus politics. No leader seems concerned about the loss of this political culture that could have brought nothing but good results in making a new Nepal.

Another fallout of the death of the consensus politics is the apparent demise of inclusive politics which was the hue and cry for the past two years. The terai grabbed both the President and the VP in the sweep of politics of vengeance. At least one post should have gone to the indigenous or ethnic community or a woman. The President has had a good career record in democratic politics a he has already shown signs of rising above party politics by resigning from his party posts. This will definitely make him acceptable to all the power centres of Nepal. But the VP has a sour memory of bitter encounter with his fraternity at the fag end of his career. He is, therefore, advised not to take revengeful attitude towards his erstwhile fraternity and make seasoned contribution in the process of nation building. (Hearty congratulations to the President and the VP on their oath taking ceremony which progressed while I was writing this feature!)

The third fall out of the death of consensus politics is that the constitution is not allowed to even germinate. The legal pundits who drafted the interim constitution made an improbable provision that the constitution will be made with at least the support of a two/thirds majority if not by consensus. The ideal of a total consensus is a mere utopia. It may occur in insignificant provisions, but in substantive issues, a consensus is a reverie, the inert brain child of party-less politicians. With the Maoists at the head of the government, a simple majority may be possible if there is steep polarization with the entire left on one side. The tricksters in all the parties will not let the Maoists have a two/thirds majority by hook or by crook. With the Maoists not included in the government, the total strength is less than the required two thirds. So, in either case the two/thirds majority is a killing provision.

The fourth fall out is the threat to the integrity of the nation. The terai voice has been raised so loud as to show cracks in the foundation of the nation. The call for an artificial 'one Madhes one province' is so loud that, if not handled very sensitively, it will lead to the bifurcation of the nation. Some of our friends may find the feud palatable, and may be inciting it behind the curtain. It needs to have a thorough national debate during the course of the constitution making. The new leaders of the state should be very sensitive to safeguard the integrity of the nation.

A new government is yet to be formed. The largest party in the CA, the Maoists, have refused to form a government with the past memory still chilling their head. But if their stung ego is the cause of their staying away from the government, can they be rationally expected to support the government formed with their proven enemies in the presidential election? Will the other parties be able to run the government for the full term and also make the new constitution? The provision of the two/thirds will apply to them also equally. The Maoists have solid 229 votes in their fist. With this strength in their hands, they can preempt even the amendment of the interim constitution if by so doing the other parties can try to loosen the knot, because the amendment of the IC will also require two/ thirds majority.

So, what is required is not the removal of the killer provision of the two/thirds majority from the IC but the readjustment of the different school of thoughts to accept the pragmatic view and work accordingly. Pragmatically, the people have ordered the parties to work in unison rather than with partisan methods. The Maoists had asked the people to give them an outright support to run the government with an overwhelming majority (so had the other major parties!); but the people gave them just over a one third strength. However, the people did not give the combination of other parties even this much support in the hustings. The people are the sovereign authority according to the IC and the parties are not only signatories to it but they also have sworn by the same constitution. This denies the largest party, the Maoists, the choice to stay away from the responsibility. Similarly, the people have not given the other parties mandate to govern without the Maoists.

The penultimate inference is that there should be a government of consensus. The erstwhile SPA consensus is not enough; it does not engulf the newly emerging power centres, especially the terai parties who have been able to get the post of the VP with their ingenuity. So, there should be an alliance of the SPA with the new parties. The main task before the CA is the making of the new constitution for which not even the foundation has been laid. The day to day governance does not get eminence over this fundamental task.

Whoever leads the government has to accomplish the task of drafting the new constitution. Development programs can wait as they have waited for so many years of insurgency. But even the time for writing the constitution is being killed by the dirty politics of mutual mistrust. The people want the parties to end all this immoral politics and indulge in the primary task of making the constitution. Consensus government led by the Maoists is the implicit popular mandate and it must be obeyed by all means. That alone can save the integrity of the nation.

Related Posts:

Immoral Depletion of Scarce Resources
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/07/immoral-depletion-of-scarce-resources.html

The Great President Hunt
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/06/great-president-hunt.html

Endless Possibilities in the Republic of Nepal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/05/endless-possibilities-that-accompany.html

The Ultimate Betrayal

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

Finally, by nominating Ram Raja Prasad Singh for the post of president, the Maoists have officially ended an era of consensus politics. An eternal journey with the Maoists, which the Nepali Congress (NC) and the United Marxist Leninist (UML) told us was necessary to build a "New Nepal," is in lurch, after the Maoists have shut the door on the NC and the UML and have decided to build a "New Nepal" on their own.

Things are shaping up to be pretty odd. With the Maoists' latest act of betrayal, Nepali politics is, slowly but surely, getting confrontational. With the Maoists resorting to, my-way-or-the highway attitude, the settling of political vendetta will take the center-stage. Constitution making is the last thing in the minds of politicians. For the Maoists, it is all about how to consolidate the power, and for others, how to contain the Maoists and maximize political bargains.

The mainstream political parties of yesteryears are back to the square one. In 2005, an autocratic monarch had shut the door on them, and now, after three years, it is the very party that they helped spread base in the urban center repeating the act. Is it fate's cruel prank or inability on the part of UML and NC politicians to understand and tackle authoritarian tendencies?

Was it expected? Oh, yes, except a few greedy power-mongers within the NC and the UML, who thought that protracted ideological decay was worth it, everyone else were well aware of the Maoists' intent, and saw betrayal coming. Short term power mongering over long term political survival was almost certain to yield the consolidation of state power, but with the Maoists at the helm.

The NC and UML were bound to get betrayed. It was just a matter of time. It is not only because the Maoists' modus operandi is based on betrayal and lies, but also because the Maoists' strategic end goal: the establishment of a one-party communist republic directly conflicts with the end goal of the NC and UML. Anyone following the Maoist insurgency can easily tell that, at no point throughout the entire period of insurgency or the peace process has its leadership or the surrogates expressed anything but a full-fledged commitment to the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariats. Any misrepresentation of the Maoists' strategic intent has come from outside the party -- mainly from the power-mongers within the NC, UML or the left-leaning civil society.

Had Girija Prasad Koirala not allowed the peace process to be reduced to an "appease process" by fulfilling each and every demand raised by the Maoists, the situation would have been quite different now. Had he taken time to dispassionately evaluate the Maoist machine, he would have understood long ago that the Maoists are in this to win -- not to compromise, or become mainstreamed or to play by anyone else's rules but their own.

The Maoists were successful in clouding his judgments by dangling "Presidential Lollypop" in front of him. Once the Maoists started doing that, their anti-social and undemocratic means were simply shrugged off as negativities associated with the transitional phase.

The NC and UML should learn a lesson from how the Maoists have done "business" to date. Their failure to put oneself inside the Maoist mind and see things as they see them, to understand their beliefs, strategy, and supporting tactics have put ordinary cadres in far flung villages in a very difficult position.

In the last two years, the fat cats within the NC and UML might have profited financially, but when it comes to grassroots cadres, they are worse off than they were three years ago.

In the tarai, they have to face the wrath of the secessionists like Nagendra Paswan and Jay Krishna Goit, and in the hills, newly mushroomed ethnic militant groups have made their life miserable. It is not only the NC and UML cadres that are having a hard time in the changed political context, but there is another group called Internally Displaced People (IDPs) that did not benefit a bit from the grand coalition of the last three years.

They are the forgotten heroes, whose woes both the NC and the UML chose to ignore.
What next? The Maoists will use different combinations of muscle power and ballots to eliminate all marginal threats to their expanding power base. Whether this process of elimination occurs figuratively or literally, whether through perversions of democratic process or through decrees will get clearer in the days ahead.

There is, however, a very little evidence to support that the Maoists will play by the democratic rule book. They, however, will pretend to act democratic as long as it benefits them to do so, but that does not mean that the Maoists have embraced multi-party democracy. They have already started to interpret their victory in the CA election as unconditional support for the full execution of the 'Prachanda path." The chances for a radical party to continue carrying out radical policies in the changed political context should not be negated. It would be a mistake of Himalayan proportion to rely on liberal interpretations of what the Maoist leaders say.

Puspa Kamal Dahal is not that foolish to adopt North Korean-styled one party rule in the current geopolitical situation, but he will do everything to ensure that there is no threat to the Maoist regime from the political opponents that believe in Western-styled multi-party parliamentary democracy. With the brigade of brigands (YCL) at his disposal and the state's security forces under his control, it will not be very difficult for him to find other ways to subvert political competition and administer social control.

The future of the mainstream political parties of yesteryears such as the NC and the UML and the new entrants like MJF and TMLP will largely depend upon how quickly they can reinvent themselves and provide credible alternatives to the Maoist writ. They have a very difficult role to play: checkmate the Maoists and appear constructive to the general populace at the same time. Or else, they will be painted as obstructionists. With security apparatus under the Maoists' control and YCL in villages, the Maoists have more than they need to win elections. The last thing you want to do is give them a chance to vilify your personality.

Related Posts:

The Great President Hunt
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/06/great-president-hunt.html

Girija as Nepal's First President? Just say NO!
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/06/girija-as-nepals-first-president-just.html

The Nepali Congress should Focus on the Party's Reinvention, not on Koirala's Legacy
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/05/nepali-congress-should-focus-on-partys.html

Late Awakening

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

The Maoists are slowly closing in on the democratic forces in Nepal. They have started to mount pressure on Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to resign and have made it crystal clear that the Young Communist League (YCL), which in their view is, an equivalent of youth wings of the NC and the UML is not going to be disbanded anytime soon. Instead of facing dissolution, the YCL is rather getting active. It has decided to launch a month-long nationwide campaign.

By asking Prime Minister Koirala to submit his resignation to the speaker of parliament and facilitate a peaceful handover of power in public, Dr Baburam Bhattarai has delivered the masterstroke! The Maoists are all set to disown the very person, who helped them reach where they are now. Is this a sign of an end of utility of "useful idiots" for the Maoists?

After tirelessly honeymooning for more than two years, the politicians within the NC and the UML have finally started realizing working with the Maoists is difficult. The likes of Ram Chandra Poudel have started to talk what people like me have been telling for the past two and a half years. We wrote countless articles trying to explain the dangers associated with the continued appeasement and political cohabitation. But so long as the prospects of remaining in the power were bright, power hungry people like Poudel never bothered to listen to sane voices that would have given a reason for a logical pause.

The lust for power and the risk of being branded "reactionaries" undoubtedly subdued otherwise a logical caution. Now, when Poudel sees power slipping out of his grip, he is all of a sudden perturbed by the Maoists' dictatorial bent. What an awakening! If the democrats around the world started grasping the threat posed by the radicals this late, within no time, the majority of the democratic state will be bogged down by radical communists and insane Islamofacists.

Can someone actually ask ideologically bankrupt and unprincipled democrats like Poudel, who see the dictatorial bent of the Maoists only now? When did the Maoists actually abandon the idea of establishing a one-party communist state, if they ever did? The Maoists, at no point throughout the peace process or the entire period of insurgency, have expressed anything but a full-fledged commitment to the Maoists' strategic end-goal: the establishment of a one-party communist republic. Any misrepresentation of the Maoists' strategic intent has come from outside the party -- mainly from the left-leaning civil society pundits and the likes of Ram Chandra Poudel.

So for Ram Chandra Poudel to realize the dictatorial bent of the Maoists, at this point in time, after they have threatened to forcefully kick Prime Minister Koirala out of office is a crude awakening.

The so-called democrats that are squirming now wrote their political obituaries the very day they ventured out on a political cohabitation with the Maoists. Instead of squirming now, when it is too late to do anything about the Maoists' motives, it is time to put up a brave face and prepare oneself to become proud prisoners of the past mistakes. It's impossible to break the golden rule of cause and effect; no matter what, you reap what you sow.

In Nepal, for those who never had a choice between bread and freedom, it was quite obvious to side with the Maoists. But for those, who had both bread and freedom, the inability on part of important few like Poudel to see the imminent danger that unholy alliance with the Maoists posed is going to cost dearly.

Both internal and external actors are to be blamed for the current state of affairs. There was a political stagnation when King Gyanendra embarked on his idiotic venture of absolute monarchy. While this man, who became king by default (design component cannot be discredited altogether) was desperate to walk along the path that his shrewd father walked finely nearly half a century ago, two things were happening concurrently. First, the NC and the UML were trying hard to remain indefinitely in the power without facing the electorate. Second, the Maoists that were getting routinely eliminated by the Bhairavnath battalion in the Kathmandu valley were looking for ways to safely root themselves in the valley for the urban centered revolution.

It was King Gyanendra's foolishness that forced democratic forces to go defensive. Instead of working with the democratic forces, which would have made the fight against radical communism much easier, King Gyanendra preferred to ride pompous egoist—Tusli Giri.

For India, this was the best opportunity to get rid of monarchy, whose diehard nationalist course unlike that of King Jigme's in Bhutan always collided with India's security and economic interests in Nepal. As far as the Maoists were concerned, it was once in a lifetime opportunity to utilize rank and files of the NC and the UML that King Gyanendra was trying to obliterate as "useful idiots" in order to leapfrog to a higher level of their revolution pyramid.

In other words, King Gyanendra's idiotic move basically provided an opportunity to everyone that had been waiting for the window of opportunity to open to push through their own little agendas. While all the parties involved tried to outsmart each other, only the Maoists had both the strategy and the end goal handy.

What next? The Maoists have won the elections—fair and square and hence deserve a chance to govern. King Gyanendra should exit and the political parties of yesteryears should do what losers do in politics --- come up with vision and goals that resonate with constituents. The people are mentally prepared to get rid of monarchy and give the Maoists a chance to govern. So be it.

The easiest way for the NC and UML politicians that put bounty on the heads of the Maoist ideologues and deployed military to fight insurgency would be to instigate Nepal Army to commit coup d'etat. But this is not going to benefit the poor Nepali citizens who have been longing for peace for more than a decade. Nor are they ready for another decade long bloodshed. By voting overwhelming for the Maoists, the people have made it clear that they are ready to bow in front of the butcher and get pardoned rather than side with the losers and get hacked.

As keen observers, we all know that the Maoists have neither scored suicide goals in the past, nor will they score in the future. We also know that given the desire of Puspa Kamal Dahal to rule for decades, the days ahead are not going to be easy for the democrats. But we have no choice but to fight it out democratically. It might take years to dislodge the radicals out of power but the good thing about it is that, during the course of democratic struggle, true and principled democrats will get a chance to come to the forefront.

Related Posts:

Nepali Congress Lost in Democratic Translation
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/05/nepali-congress-lost-in-democratic.html

Convince Us It’s Bullets to Ballots
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/courtesy-roop-joshi-as-of-this-writing.html

The Nepali Congress should Focus on the Party's Reinvention, not on Koirala's Legacy
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/05/nepali-congress-should-focus-on-partys.html

The Bewilderness

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

With the successful conclusion of CA polls, all eyes are on India and the United States now. The extent to which India and the US will recalibrate their policy vis-à-vis the Maoist victory in Nepal will determine whether or not the Maoist government will have a smooth sailing.

Puspa Kamal Dahal's assertion that the Maoists are in for a long haul might prove true unless international players like India and the US tighten the screw on the Maoists and provide support to the democratic forces, which at this point in time appears highly unlikely. For India, a nation that has a substantial security and economic interests in Nepal, it simply does not make any sense to overrun a party, which has both: A private militia and people's mandate to govern. And, why should India stick to the old guards if the new kids on the block are willing to render similar services? As far as the United States is concerned, it has already outsourced its Nepal policy to India. Due to the lack of any major interest in Nepal, the US is expected to continue toeing India's policy towards Nepal.

Those in the NC and the UML who think India will not abandon the horse that served their interests faithfully for almost two decades should rethink why India should stick with a horse that lost badly in a high stake derby. They should reconcile with the fact that India loves to bet on a wining horse. If we look around, it becomes evident that, for India, its security and economic interest is far more important than democratic rights of citizens of foreign nations. Indian government's cordial relations with Myanmar's repressive junta and Banngladesh's military rule speak volume about how India hoodwinks international community when it comes to its stand on democracy.

When India can roll-out the red carpet for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, it can definitely do so to keep Puspa Kamal Dahal at its arm's length. It is just a matter of time. The very minute India extract promises from the Maoist comrades on issues related to India's security, democrats in Nepal will be on their own. With time and change in political stature, international actors' betting preferences do change.

For the NC and the UML to beat the Maoists, they have to completely overhaul their current strategy of trying to appear more progressive than the Maoists. Nobody is going to buy that. If the NC and the UML really want to succeed, let the Maoists do what they do best, and you do what you do best — resonate with the people that are at the center of the political spectrum. It is virtually impossible to defeat a party whose very basis of existence is grounded on proletarian agendas by trying to appear more progressive than them. One of the reasons why the NC and the UML had to face humiliating defeat might have to do with this unwarranted political shift. When you, as a centrist political force completely abandon what you traditionally stood for, loyal supporters that are attached to the party on the basis of ideology have no inclination or incentive to remain wedded to the party.

Surprisingly, even after the humiliating defeat, the NC and the UML have not abandoned the Maoist-style of doing business. In a rat race of proving itself more inclusive, visionless and petty-minded politicians at the NC's helm of affairs have chosen to sacrifice people like Radheshyam Adhikari, Harihar Birahi, and Manmohan Bhattarai that make up the NC's intellectual backbone. Instead of nominating these individuals that could have made a significant contribution in drafting a liberal constitution, bewildered NC's leadership decided to nominate semi-illiterates en masse. Does this act of wholesale nomination of semi-illiterates for a responsible job of drafting a constitution, which requires a great deal of technical expertise, really serve the purpose? If the answer is no, then how justified it is to pay bench-warmers as constitution makers? Where is the fiscal responsibility?

Establishing a herd of semi-illiterates to warm benches rather than nominating experts like Radheshyam Adhikari, who have been practicing law for decades, is neither fiscally responsible thing to do, nor a good strategy to counter the Maoists' desire to mould the constitution to their liking. When will the air headed idiots within the NC realize the gravity of the situation?

In a way, the recent CA election results might prove to be blessings for those who really want to practice principle-based politics within the NC and the UML. As it will take considerable time and effort to dislodge the Maoists from the power and defeat them in the upcoming parliamentary and local elections, the fat cats within the NC and the UML that have made a fortune by remaining in power for the last two decades might not have the required patience and the desire to stay put. However, there is no guarantee. If they still decide to hang around, the dedicated cadres that really want to see their party come back to power should revolt. Now is the time for some purification.

Shashank Koirala of the NC and Shankar Pokharel of the UML have the potential to bring back the lost glory. They are neither populist nor tainted. They can actually unite the party and put up a good fight against the Maoists. In order to defeat the Maoists, you got to prove that you are different. So far, by trying to hijack their political agendas, the NC and the UML have been blurring the difference between their party and the Maoists. In the absence of visible difference, people will continue to support the Maoists.

After forming the government in the next couple of weeks, the Maoists will do their best to negate the exiting threats. The threat of takeover by the army will be negated by merging the PLA with the national army and promoting the likes of Kul Bahadur Khadka within the Nepal Army. So the only way left to bring down the Maoist government to its knees, if needed, is through revolution in the tarai. At this point in time, only Madhesi regional parties such as the MPRF and TMDP have the power to unleash enough violence to choke the power structures in Kathmandu. It is, thus, crucial for the NC and the UML to remain in good terms with these regional parties.

At this point in time, the NC and theUML neither have an agenda for counter mobilization nor have the required strength to fight back. So the days ahead are not going to be easy for them. But the game is not over yet. There is one more chance and that is the upcoming elections. In order for the NC and the UML to win the upcoming elections, they need to restructure their party and come up with a sound counter-mobilization strategy. Try to do it right this time around.

Related Posts:

Convince Us It’s Bullets to Ballots
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/courtesy-roop-joshi-as-of-this-writing.html

Riding the Republican Bandwagon
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/riding-republican-bandwagon.html

The Nepali Congress should Focus on the Party's Reinvention, not on Koirala's Legacy

(Courtesy: el Gordo)

As the saying goes, "hope is not a method" and where Nepal's future is concerned, the option of relying exclusively on those who themselves rely on hope, is not a very good option. In a "new Nepal", moderates from all political walks of life need to remain actively engaged - most of all, the "moderate" Maoists.

The Theory of "Moderates" and "Hardliners"

It is the precise theory that NC (Nepali Congress) supporters forwarded after the signing the 12 Point Agreement - that of moderates and hardliners in the Maoist ranks - that today, has to be leveraged by the hopeful and the pragmatic alike. Sadly enough, the proponents of the "moderate Maoist" theory were sufficiently intelligent to construct an arbitrary "center" but not smart enough to recognize the implications of their revised construct on their own party's identity.

Essentially, when radical leftists like Baburam Bhattarai were painted as "moderates," the net effect is that men like Sushil Koirala became rightwing "fascists." Combine changed perceptions such as these with a polity that has historically exhibited strong leftist undercurrents, and the CA election results come into much better focus.

On the topic of perceptions (and the newly nominated "ultra rightwing NC" aside), there are certain considerations that may assist in the institutionalization of multiparty democracy, help resuscitate the old democratic guards, and also help promote the "moderates" within Nepal's Maoist party. If enacted in tandem, these considerations may accelerate the realization of a "new Nepal."

Consideration-1: Relinquish leadership to the Maoists

First among these considerations is that the NC needs to get off its high horse and immediately cede leadership of the interim government to the Maoists. A refusal to do so may aggravate the situation and lead to a revival of unpleasant "memories."

Examples of such foul "memories" include: An NC-led government's issuance of Interpol Red Corner notices; an NC-led government's declaration of Nepali Maoists as terrorists; and Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation under the pretext that the Army refused to follow his orders and fight the Maoists (in Holleri, 2001).

The situation may become even more complicated should the Maoist "hardcore" evoke memories of operations "Romeo" and "Siera-II-Kilo" - both executed under the NC's leadership. Should facts such as these come to light, Maoist "moderates" may not be able to rein in the YCL or even worse, keep the Maoist combatants at bay. The situation may be further exacerbated by Maoist "hardliners" educating their followers on the NC's new position in Nepali politics as the universal lightning rod - a position previously occupied by the far Right (namely, King Gyanendra), with utmost grace and fanfare.

So, in order to avoid these memories from destabilizing the peace process, Girija Prasad Koirala should step aside and the "help" the "moderates" in the Maoist party lead the next government.

Consideration-2: Play a constructive role but stay out of the government

A second consideration is found in the following clarification: "Power sharing" and "consensus" in the context of daily governance and administration is one thing. The same terms applied to the constitution-making process is something entirely different. It is imperative that the NC expend all of its resources on the constitution making process and equally imperative that the NC not join an interim government, whose primary mandate is to write Nepal's constitution anyway!

For the NC as a party, re-making Girija Prasad Koirala's image and guaranteeing his personal legacy should not be a priority. If Koirala is allowed to fully satiate his lust for power, the NC will be stuck with a senile old leader, indefinitely. Koirala's legacy as the man who incited the armed Maoist insurgency may eventually be obscured if he remains in power. However, his legacy as the man who laid the foundation for the NC's destruction will live till eternity.

As a responsible partner in Nepal's peace process, the NC is obligated to help the Maoists run the interim government. The NC should offer unconditional technical and subject mater expertise on the basis of case-by-case consultations. Conversely, as a responsible party at the head of Nepal's government, the Maoists are also obligated to consult with all parties on decisions such as the integration of Maoist combatants, UMIN's reduced role, and basically, on all issues other than those that are debated by the constituent assembly itself.

Neither of the collaborative conditions described above, requires the NC to continue as part of the interim government. This is not to suggest that the NC should threaten the peace process with its non-existent combatants, or a with "peaceful revolt." What is being suggested is that the NC should change with the times and reinvent itself if the party is to remain relevant. Over the immediate future, the NC should fully enjoy the luxuries of being in opposition while participating in the constitution making process, re-imaging the party's image, and preparing for parliamentary elections.

Consideration-3: Get your own house in order before you pass judgment on others

A third consideration is perhaps, the simplest: Many NC leaders (especially the younger generation) are loathe to admit it, but the tyranny and undemocratic patronage they are subjected to, leads not down a path to Narayanhiti Palace, but to Biratnagar, Maharajgung and currently, to the Prime Minister's quarters. If the Nepali Congress is to survive as a going political entity, it must remove Girija Prasad Koirala and cleanse the party of his coterie.

Conclusion

The lessons that Nepal's experience with forced voting (under highly insecure conditions) highlights, are noteworthy. Nepal offers a textbook case study of the reality that principled beliefs are "luxuries" to a population that is preoccupied with the most fundamental of challenges - food, running water, electricity, basic education, etc. Under such conditions, freedom of speech, of movement, of assembly, are "nice to haves" enjoyed by a super elite minority who themselves, find economic sustenance by providing international NGOs and non-profits that much coveted, "feel good" sensation.

If the institutionalization of these "luxuries" is what the super elite minority fought King Gyanendra for, then they had best continue championing their causes because the job is incomplete. Cutting an ambitious monarch down to size at the dawn of 21st century is hardly a feat that deserves endless backslapping. Keeping a country like Nepal focused on the attainment of a liberal democratic polity however, is where the life long challenge lies.

If a truly conviction-driven, apolitical minority desires a fighting chance for liberal democracy in Nepal, then a complete overhaul of the Nepali Congress is a first in a long list of steps to come.

Related Posts:

Election Post-Mortem
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/election-post-mortem.html

Respect Electoral Mandate

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

With the conclusion of CA elections, yesterday's major political parties and new entrants such as MJF and TMLP are busy interpreting the people's verdict to align with their respective worldviews. Predictably, the next round of politicking will involve sharing the "power pie" through some form of "constitutional adventurism." The constitution will once again be amended to suit what will be sold as an "'X' point" deal.

It is quite surprising to see the traditional democratic forces unable to resist Maoist maneuvers because of the incumbents' lust for power. Apparently, the lust is still alive even after humiliating defeat and the Maoists are positioned to accrue additional mileage by relying on their original formula-extending of olive branches. No matter how morally repugnant and unprincipled the act of sharing power with a party that both the UML and NC rank and file claim, "stole" the elections, the idea of holding onto power (no matter the cost) seems to have taken center stage. Short term power mongering over long term survival is almost certain to yield the consolidation of state power, with the Maoists at the helm.

It is quite surprising (although not completely unexpected) to see the politicians of the NC and UML engaged in talks around power sharing even before they have taken complete stock of what the Maoist win means for their own party structures. The NC and UML should have spent time, thoroughly debating the root causes behind its humiliation at the Maoists' hands'. Certainly, the easy way out of this debate would be to point a finger at honorary Maoist, Krishna Prasad Sitaula (no surprises if the Maoists appoint Mr. Sitaula as a Minister without a portfolio in their cabinet), but this is not where the buck should really stop.

Despite politically aligned pundits and constitutional experts who are working around the clock to spin the Maoist victory (and gain bargaining power for the NC and UML), ordinary citizens who believe in democratic process are not fooled. To them, the poll results speak a single truth: The Maoists have won the elections fair and square and there is no reason whatsoever, why they should not be allowed to lead the next government.

Since the Maoists are carrying out this process democratically, there are no objections to be made. Clearly, in Nepal's case, power to the Maoists has arrived "under the shadow of a gun" with much help and fanfare from their political adversaries for whom the lust for power overrides all other considerations. To be perfectly clear, what we are seeing in Nepal now is not any benevolent act of greater good or consensus building for the sake of multiparty democracy. It is power politics, plain and simple.

Those acquainted with historical facts and interpretations of the methods and tools used by radicals to attain (and cling to) power, know exactly what Nepal has acquired through CA elections. However, they also recognize that subverting the people's mandate (irrespective of how unfairly this mandate was allegedly acquired) only benefits another set of power hungry politicians within the NC and the UML that are hell bent on remaining in the corridor of power even after the humiliating defeat.

The question that remains to be answered is whether the Maoists' ascendancy to power will ultimately benefit the consolidation of democracy in Nepal? Given the scale of the Maoists' victory, they are sure to exhibit ideological rigidity and there is very little the parties like the NC, UML, and the international community can do about it. The incentives for ideological rigidity are largely influenced by the leanings of the electorate, and in our case, voters have made their preference clear.

No matter how bitter the outcome is, we got to accept it. It is imperative that everyone respect the verdict of the CA elections and reward the winner. This is the very essence of democracy - people get to choose who they want their leaders to be. Any leadership structure that fails to place the Maoists at the apex, will be a complete perversion of the norms and processes of democracy and simply put, unacceptable.

In today's Nepal, where the deal based politics is the mantra for political survival, the critical democratic challenge is not only to keep winners from abusing their power, but also to keep losers wedded to the rules of the game. And so far, we have no systematic knowledge of the conditions under which this is likely to happen. The political elites in Nepal lack the required willingness to abide by the rules of the democratic game and accept its outcomes when the outcome is not in their favor. Democracy in Nepal chokes every now and then because of the lack of this consent that forms the foundation of political legitimacy.

Legitimate opposition to Nepal's Maoists has always been forwarded as some combination of the following premises: Principled disagreement with the Maoists' violent and gratuitous methods and/or a firm belief that those who rise to power by subverting democracy, are incapable of functioning within a democracy's paradigmatic construct.

As for the first premise, there is nothing left to say - especially when the people on whose behalf the principled stand was taken, have overwhelmingly voted for the perpetrators of their suffering. As for the second premise, only time will tell whether Nepal's Maoists are truly "Maoists" or power-hungry social democrats who happened to borrow Mao's military strategy as means to an end.

The verdict of the CA elections may be used to as an opportunity to improve consensus building amongst all parties and as a period for deep reflection and introspection amongst the major losers. This is a must if multiparty democracy is to survive over the long run.

While the period of opposition based on Maoist methods has come to a spectacular end, a new era which requires working relationships with supposedly "moderate" Maoists by staying outside the government has just begun. Respect the electoral mandate!

Related Posts:

Act Responsibly!
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/act-responsibly.html

Riding the Republican Bandwagon
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/04/riding-republican-bandwagon.html

Act Responsibly!

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

After the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections on 10th of April, Nepali politics will take a new direction. Hopefully, the Maoist party that has been sending conflicting signals about accepting the people's verdict will exhibit some political maturity and decency even if it fails to cruise to thumping victory. If nothing, a lesson that they can take home at the end of the day is that ballots can bring political change faster than bullets. Who knows how long it would have taken, or for that matter, if it was even possible for the Maoist party to overthrow monarchy that had a cozy relationship with professional military through a classic guerrilla hit-and-run tactics.

There is no doubt that violence has served as a springboard for the Maoists to get where they are today but by rejecting CA election results (if they actually do so) the Maoists will be forcing Nepali people to think whether the Maoists' demand for CA polls was a sincere attempt towards empowering the poor and downtrodden masses of Nepal or tactical ploy to lure innocent Nepali people that are yet to experience the trickle down effects of the developmental aid pouring into the country for the last five decades or so.

There is no doubt that the Maoists spearheaded the demand for the republic. But the senseless acts of violence, which the Maoist cadres actually never gave up in the last two years even after signing fifty plus agreements, clearly shows that there is a substantial difference between the kind of republic that the people want and the Maoists cherish for. The people, for sure, do not want a type of republic whereby candidates contesting elections get beaten black and blue by the cadres of brainwashed, irrational, and intolerant Young Communist League. If the Maoists really think it is the most trusted party, then they have even bigger responsibility of delivering what people want: peace, democracy, and prosperity.

The people want real peace, not the false sense of security that Kim Jong-Il has been providing his hapless subjects in North Korea. They want a true democratic state whereby every single individual has a right to float a new political party or contest elections fearlessly, not the one where the party at the helm of affairs decides who is progressive, and hence, worthy enough to contest elections.

Peace and democracy alone will not be enough to contend people for long. If we look back, it becomes evident that, the mass-democratic movements of the eighties that swept the developing world were essentially based on bread and butter and local issues such as electricity, water, and low wages. Unless the political transformation that took place in the last two years brings about socio-economic transformation, neither long lasting peace nor democratic consolidation is possible in Nepal. It is socio-economic transformation, like ocean currents deep below the hurricane-tormented surface of the sea that will have the lasting and permanent effect, when it comes to establishing a largely peaceful democratic state. Failure to bring socio-economic changes will once again force people to rebel; however, the next revolution in Nepal will be against economic apartheid.

As far as the major political parties that have been participating in the democratic exercises of the last two decades are concerned, they have even a greater role to play. They have a solemn duty to show to the people that they are actually capable of bringing peace through the moderation of the Maoists, which they promised will happen eventually, or else it will become clear that the democrats failed to understand the Maoists' ploy of using democrats as "useful idiots" in order to leapfrog to a higher level of the Maoist revolution pyramid.

In addition, the major political parties will have to counter the utopian dreams of equality that the hardcore left sells to woo people in its favor with programs that produce real tangible results if they want to survive politically. They got to prove that they are actually capable of delivering the results. Failure to do so will not only embolden the footings of the Maoists but will also open up a space for another set of radicals to pursue a dream of a perpetual revolution whatever the costs.

The last one and half decades of the Maoist insurgency and the last one year of ethnic dissent are to some extent results of weak performances of the major political parties in terms of social and political integration. Due to lack of internal democracy within political parties, the leaders with vision and actual problem solving abilities never got a chance to come to the forefront. Hopefully, with the onset of a new dawn, intra-party democracy will take root, which is absolutely important for an emergence of competent leadership that can replace the older folks, who tend to have the years they spent in jail fighting for democracy as the only credible credential, which in the real world of performance-based politics is not worth even a penny.

For how long should one's actual potential to deliver tangible results be waived for the years s/he spent in prison fighting for democracy? Shouldn't it stop at some point? What could be better time than now when we are making a fresh start to build a new Nepal?

The challenge of creating a "New Nepal" requires a vision and sacrifices on

part of the political leadership. The abolishment of monarchy is the first step in the process of dismantling feudal structures and creating an equal society. With that taken care of, the real challenge will be to ensure that, rising tide raises all boats. The people have really started seeing the dreams of living in a "New Nepal," in which, the fundamental issue of good governance, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, responsiveness and accountability, will be attended to.
It would not be wise on the part of politicians to let down the people that are so focused on the hope for peace and prosperity with enthusiastic creative imagination. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, who vehemently opposed Nazism famously said: "the ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children."

The current generation of politicians in Nepal, thus, has an obligation to become moral and worthy ancestors. They have a responsibility of making sure that the ongoing political transformation brings peace, prosperity and democratic freedom to the people or else they run the risk of being remembered as bunch of loonies that embarked on the journey of political engineering without proper vision, knowledge, and direction and ended up creating a political Frankenstein.

Related Posts:

Will CA Polls be 'Free and Fair'?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/will-ca-polls-be-free-and-fair.html

Maoist Electoral Strategy - What is the CPN-M up to?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/maoist-electoral-strategy-what-is-cpn-m.html

Riding the Republican Bandwagon

(Courtesy: el Guapo)

It takes courage to break away from "groupthink." It takes strength to articulate original analysis in politically charged environments. It takes genuine intellect to forego self-gratifying populist accolades in favor of rational, hard-hitting inquiry. Examination of this variety unfortunately, has been in short supply during Nepal's run-up to constituent assembly elections.

The radical agendas forwarded by Nepal's Maoists have prevailed. Over the period from April 2006 till the current day, the SPA (Seven Party Alliance) has literally rolled over and acceded to each and every threat of Maoist intimidation. The democrats' actions exemplify what is succinctly surmised as uninhibited Maoist appeasement. The projected perception is that the SPA alliance has "mainstreamed" the Maoists; the underlying truth is that the SPA has migrated to the Maoist agenda.

This process of migration has proved as radical as the revolutionary changes it has attempted to engender. "Made in New Delhi" with the expressed Leftist intent of undermining Nepal's Monarchy, the SPA and the Maoists have reduced the act of an historical constituent assembly election to a referendum on the Monarchy - only a referendum will not be held.

Instead, an "elected" assembly will decide the fate of Nepal's 240 year old Royal institution. The idea of a popular vote has been repeatedly dismissed for no other reason than genuine concern that the Monarchy may actually survive such a vote. The most conservative polls estimate support for the institution of Monarchy at between 40% and 50% - sufficient numbers in any democratic environment to warrant a system of direct universal suffrage. But not in Nepal.

In Nepal's case the radical Left has manipulated the political agenda sufficiently to deny the Nepali citizenry democratic opportunity on the most divisive issue in contemporary politics - the Monarchy. They have even gone a step further by deciding the outcome of the upcoming constituent assembly vote! As part of yet another concession to the Maoists, the SPA coalition has preemptively agreed to abolish the Monarchy during the first sitting of the constituent assembly.

Legally speaking, an unelected body (the SPA) has directed a future body (to-be-elected) on how to "vote" on the issue of the Nepali Monarchy. The judge, the jury and the prosecution in effect, are one in the same. And, not a single democratic entity - individual or nation-state or INGO - appears sufficiently credentialized (or adequately bold) to term the adopted approach "problematic."

Given the process and what is at stake, it is surprising that more violence has not come to fruition in Nepal. Sources such as the International Crisis Group (ICG), the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), the Carter Center, etc., make vague allusions to the propensity for violence during and after the elections. But all reports are authored in terms that are subject to "groupthink": Basically, the assumption that violence is preordained because of the existence of groups that are opposed to elections.

The natural question then, is "but why?" And the answer is "because there's a big white elephant in the room for all who care to acknowledge it - the institution of Monarchy."

The idea that Nepal is held together by the institution of Monarchy is perhaps too traditional a viewpoint for younger Nepalis to stomach. The current King, (King Gyanendra) has also acted irresponsibly and in doing so, has lent much creed to the prevailing republican agenda in Nepal.

However, dispassionate analysis of contemporary events such as the formation of the SPA-Maoist alliance, India's direct involvement in addressing Nepal's insurgency, and the lightning rod that Nepal's Monarchy has played over the past two years, gives any sensible individual reason for pause. Not because the Monarchy is a symbol of national unity but because this current Monarch (as hated as he may be on an individual level), is in a perverted sense, the very reason behind Nepal's peace process.

The fact that the SPA-Maoist alliance came into existence as a platform upon which to jointly oppose the King, that Nepal's Maoist insurgency ended with direct Indian intervention (engendered by "February-1") and that opposition to the Monarchy still remains the only viable public distraction to a plethora of political inadequacies are inalienable truths. Certainly, the gaping functional chasm that will result from the Monarchy's abolition is a thought that gives many non-communist Nepali democrats, sleepless nights.

This notion is precisely what the "big white elephant" in Nepali politics represents. Also embedded within this reflection is the extent to which Nepal's political actors remain hostage to the notion of peace on the Maoists' terms. This is precisely the sort of ingenuous peace that Stalin would have marveled at; the type that is based on an assumed change in strategic Maoist intent when what has progressed over the duration of Nepal's peace process is tactical Maoist adaptation.

Based on this fundamental misperception, Nepal's peace process is described as a "compromise" when in essence, the process has been designed to eliminate a significant power-broker. The peace process has been praised as a spectacular "reconciliation" when in fact, the process has been built on a foundation of hatred and distrust directed at an individual - King Gyanendra. Although Nepal's political pundits are loathe to admit it, these are the real reasons why heightened violence following constituent assembly elections are highly probable.

The act of holding Nepal's constituent assembly elections are depicted as the culmination of the country's struggle for functional democracy (and lasting peace) when in fact, it is just the beginning of an extended and uncertain round of instability. The most "useful of idiots" have gone to the extreme of adopting US Presidential candidate Barrack Obama's tag line - "Change, yes we can" - as a self-deluded affirmation that the abolition of Nepal's Monarchy guarantees democracy for Nepal. If only the SPA and Maoists could abolish others of Nepal's problems the way they intend to abolish its Monarchy!

While many contend that the abolition may serve as a catalyst in the general direction of democracy, others posit that it also points to the emergence of yet another Bhutan - an Indian protectorate which takes orders directly from New Delhi. Inside observers of Nepali politics consistently point to magnified Indian influence in Nepal - particularly through the office of the current Prime Minister. The mainstream media outlets are wary of publishing anything that may be marginally against Indian intersts because their incentive structures are wed to ad-revenues which are largely controlled by Indian avenues in Nepal. As the theory goes, the power vacuum created by the Nepali Monarchy's departure is already being filled by Indian Agents who exercise hefty influence derived from the South Block.

Nepal's traditional politicians it seems, have learned little by way of their self-professed political miscalculations. It was the current Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala under whose administration the armed Maoist insurgency began. It is now the Royally re-vitalized Koirala who champions the "mainstreaming of the Maoists" as his administration's primary accomplishment.

Steroids appear to have given PM Koirala an extended lease on life but they have done little to sharpen his intellectual acumen - politicking is a means to an end, not an end in itself. This is a lesson that Korala's party, the Nepali Congress will painfully learn long after Koirala's eventual demise.

Nepal's republican bandwagon is nearing the end of its journey. Where the drivers of this entourage take the country next, is anyone's guess. But one thing is certain. The process that has led to this event has been severely flawed. The emanating repercussions are sure to haunt the current generation of democratic leaders as they are gradually phased out. The majority of the consequences however, will be borne by an emerging generation of democrats, poised to ascend Nepal's halls of power with their hands tied behind their backs.

Related Posts:

Checkmate or Comeback King?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/courtesy-chiran-j.html

Nepal's CA Elections - Assume Nothing
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/02/nepals-ca-elections-assume-nothing.html

The Pitfalls of Relying on Indian Benevolence
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/01/pitfalls-of-relying-on-indian.html

The CA Elections: Eleventh Hour Observations

(Courtesy: Roop Joshi)

The news bulletin on the radio reports that ten Nepali Congress (NC) workers including a campaigning candidate have been attacked and severely injured with khukuris and stones in Rasuwa by a group of 200 Young Communist League (YCL) cadres. Just the day before, the leaders of the Nepali Congress, United Marxist-Leninists (UML) and Communist Party of Nepal – Maoists had faced the Election Commission, on live TV, and pledged an end to any activities that breached the code of conduct set down by the Commission. This widening gap between the declarations of the politicians on their commitment to the elections and ground reality is causing much turmoil in the minds of the electorate.

On another front, marauding armed factions in the Terai have yet to sit for negotiations with the government. Their key objective is to stop the elections. They have declared a Terai bandh (closure), to commence just a few days before the elections. Meanwhile, Maoist fighters in the various cantonments have started leaving in groups in uniform and armed to “support” the campaigns of the Maoist politicians. UNMIN stands impotent, declaring that this is against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) but that it neither has the capacity nor the mandate to stop this exodus. To top it off, the Election Commission has declared that 227 candidates for the elections have yet to present their citizenship papers and 66 candidates are below the age of 25 – both requirements for candidacy.

On a recent evening, Madhav Kumar Nepal, President of UML as well as Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda, Chairman of the Maoists were on television on separate channels. Mr. Nepal spoke of the significance of the Constituent Assembly elections, how it will take place at all cost and how the end of the monarchy was a done deal. Mr. Dahal was speaking about his college days, trying to provide a human face to his “awesome” reputation. Girija Prasad Koirala, PM and head of the NC, repeatedly asserts, in his usual maudlin manner, that the elections will take place.

However, most Nepalis are still uncertain whether they will take place. Should they take place, it is almost guaranteed that they will not be “free and fair” given the scenario presented above. Every day, Nepalis hold their collective breath wondering if, once again, there will be the all too familiar announcement of a postponement. Should the elections be held, knowing full well that they will not be free and fair? Does the law and order situation allow for these elections? Unsettling questions plague those who are concerned about the elections, while those who do not really know what this hullabaloo is all about enjoy ignorant bliss.

International election monitors – from the EU, Carter Center and many governments and INGOs - have poured in. Former US President Jimmy Carter himself is here for the elections. It is expected that every polling booth will be covered by at least one of these monitors. This is a good sign and signifies the commitment of the international community to peace and democracy in Nepal. However, international commitment without national implementation capacity is not enough. We trust that these monitors will have the moral courage to call the elections, should they occur, as they are - untainted by condescending notions of “budding democracy”.

Our politicians have now started hinting at utilizing the Nepal Army (NA) to provide security for the elections, in addition to the Police and the Armed Police. The NA has been used effectively for this purpose in previous elections. Currently it is solely the provision of the CPA, dictating that the NA be confined to its barracks while the Maoist fighters are confined to their cantonments, which poses a political dilemma for the NA to be assigned security tasks for the elections. As mentioned above, the cantonments are fast emptying and it is commendable that the NA has exercised discipline and remained in its barracks. But if the only way to secure law and order for the elections is to use the NA, some tough political decisions need to be made by the government, and fast, lest the NA be forced to decide for itself.

Let us presume that the elections will be held and the Constituent Assembly formed. The CA will immediately realize that the current interim unelected government has taken decisions that are the purview of the CA. It has declared Nepal a “secular federal republic” without mandate and without taking into account the opinion of the People. This was done in two phases: initially, the declaration of a secular state, followed by the declaration of a “federal democratic republic”. A recent opinion poll undertaken with the involvement of The Asia Foundation indicated that 50% of respondents wanted a place for monarchy in Nepal and 59% wanted Nepal to remain a Hindu State, while 38% did not want to retain the monarchy and 31% wanted a secular state. The survey sample reflected carefully the composition of the general population. These issues must be put to the People for their decision, i.e. by a Referendum. Denial of a referendum will almost certainly lead to violence. Further, the issue of “federalism” needs to be deliberated upon and decided by the CA. This is an intricate issue with numerous implications and cannot be “declared” by a bunch of unelected politicians.

To conclude, after these many years of civil strife, what we want most is Peace and Development. To illustrate, a recent headline read that the World Food Programme has estimated that almost 4 million Nepalis in western Nepal are facing food deficit because of poor harvest and skyrocketing prices. To these 4 million, 15% of the population, the CA is not a priority – their hungry stomachs are. And to an objective observer, the CA – should it be constituted soon – will do little to appease this hunger. Power-crazed, self-centered and divisive politics will not help.

Maoist Electoral Strategy - What is the CPN-M up to?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/maoist-electoral-strategy-what-is-cpn-m.html

Nepal's Political Paradoxes
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/01/nepals-political-paradoxes.html

CA Election: Compromised Beginning, Flawed Process and Ominous Outcomes

(Courtesy: Chiran J. Thapa)

After being postponed twice, it finally appears that the much glorified panacea for Nepal's woes - the Constituent Assembly election (CA) is set to be delivered. Supposedly this time, the bottlenecks have been bottled. So, the manifestoes are being manifested. And at least a few candidates are campaigning. But, the follies have hardly been highlighted.

In any democratic setting, only a free and fair election can institute the representatives chosen by the people. This particular election may possibly install the true people's representatives. But, it will irrefutably have a debauched connotation.

Making peace with any violent political group is always a paradoxical undertaking. On one side, peace may be engendered through negotiations, concessions or a compromise. On the other side, a conciliatory peace making approach inadvertently acknowledges the use of violence. Therefore, this acknowledgement reinforces the use of violence by setting a precedent for other disgruntled and grievous groups. And such precedent leaves ample room for the perpetuation of violence.

In Nepal's case this is exactly what is happening. The CA has been the primary demand of the Maoists all along. When the CA is held, it will translate as a strategic victory for the Maoists. But, this victory will also be a victory of violence. As much as it would bring the country closer towards peace, the CA will also have effectively legitimized the use of violence as an instrument to accomplish political objectives.

The implications are already palpable. For one thing, it has encouraged other grievous groups to opt for violent methods. Before the Maoists ascended to power, there was no other credible violent political group. Today, there are more than a dozen. And the rising trend says it all.

Fair and free from fear?

Granted all is fair when it is done for peace’s sake. But will the process be free and fair? Will it be conducted in absence of fear and intimidation? Most doubt it. The prospect of a free and fair election has become highly suspect mainly due to grave insecurity. Despite the security plans flaunted by the Home Ministry, the security situation is still erratic and parlous.

For one, most national and international observers seem deeply worried by the lack of a favourable security situation. The recent intensification of harassment and acts of violence against candidates and supporters has alarmed the United Nations Electoral Expert Monitoring Team (EEMT). Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) has expressed concerns about election related violence and intimidations too. UNMIN and OHCHR recently issued a joint statement warning about future obstacles and challenges for a free and fair election.

Likewise, the Carter Center has expressed deep concern over reports of violent activities of members of the Maoist youth wing, Young Communist League (YCL). The European Union's Election Observation Mission (EOM) has stressed on an atmosphere free of violence and intimidation before the CA. Not surprisingly, even the Election Commission has demanded that the government beef up security.

All these concerns are rightly reflected. National People's Front Nepal (NPFN) candidate of Banke district - Kamal Prasad Adhikari was murdered. So were a few Maoist cadres. Dilendra Prasad Badu of the Nepali Congress almost suffered a similar fate. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana was manhandled by the YCL cadres while attempting to campaign in his electoral constituency.

Many other candidates have met similar ill-fates. Mangal Gurung, UML's candidate from Manang district was abducted. So were Brij Bihari Sukla of Kapilbastu and Shiva Raj Joshi of Surkhet. UML candidates including Dev Shanker Poudel - have been viciously attacked and injured. House of Krishna Man Shrestha, the Nepali Congress candidate from Banke was bombed. And the list is endless.

Meanwhile, it is reported that more than half of the Maoist combatants in Dashrathpur cantonment have left the cantonment site for campaigning purposes. So, there is pervasive fear amongst other political parties that the combatants were being mobilized to capture polling booths.

But even more ominously, four armed groups of Terai region have recently released a statement vowing to disrupt the CA. In the statement, the Madheshi Mukti Tigers, Terai Cobra, Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha and Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha announced that they were taking actions to foil the election.

Ready for the results?

Even if the security situation were to improve abruptly over night, still lingering is the result of the process. The only certainty in this uncertain process is that the election will yield results. Either way, with a bloated 601 seats at stake, the political configurations and constellations are bound to change. But looking at the current trends, it seems that no permutation will result a smooth transition.

Baburam Bhattarai, Maoist second man in command has already indicated of further violence. Speaking at mass meeting organized in the capital, he recently warned that were the Maoists to lose, they would revolt. He further said that they would employ all available means to capture state power.

Then, there is the Army’s uneasiness. Previously, the Army had subtly indicated its unwillingness to absorb the Maoists into its file and ranks. But with only few weeks to go before election, the Army has flexed its muscles by issuing an even more recalcitrant press statement. Directing towards the Maoists, the Army has stated that it would not bow down or compromise with elements that believe in terrorism, extremism and radicalism. The press release further states that the Army would never work in cahoots with those that raise arms against a democratic system and want to seize state power based on such beliefs.

What if the Maoists lose? What if the Maoists win? What if the Army refuses to accept the results? What if the Madhesi alliance secures a majority? Not only that, what will happen to all the agreements signed by the current Transitional Governing Authority (TGA) with the innumerable agitating groups? Will the newly formed governing authority give credence to the deals signed by an unelected authority? The newly formed authority could easily nullify those agreements citing no binding arrangements for the agreed upon terms. What then?

Of course the CA is being mulishly conducted because the legitimacy of the governing authority is rapidly eroding. Were the election to be postponed again, the ruling alliance will have completely lost its credibility and legitimacy. Thus, the rush is more of a frantic run for legitimacy than a genuine intent to acquire an inviolable mandate of the people.

But, any process conducted in fear can hardly be fair. And ultimately any unfair process will only prove to be far more costly. The recent Kenyan election fiasco should serve as a stark reminder of the inherent perils in a flawed process.

Moreover, after more than a decade of no election, there is no doubt that the people of Nepal are itching to vote and institute their representatives. And of course there is an urgent need to turn the rhetoric of democracy into a reality. But in doing so, it is also imperative that there is a free and fair meaningful process rather than a rushed botched one.

Related Posts:

Nepal's CA Elections - Assume Nothing
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/02/nepals-ca-elections-assume-nothing.html

Maoist Electoral Strategy - What is the CPN-M up to?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/maoist-electoral-strategy-what-is-cpn-m.html

Let the People Decide

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

It’s been almost a decade since Nepal had legitimate elections. A lot of things have changed since then. The Maoists that once ran for their lives are now making others run. The mainstream political parties that once hardheadedly undermined the inclusion of Madhesis and Dalits have fielded candidates from these marginalized groups in large numbers in the upcoming CA elections.

The upcoming CA elections may not be perfect like any other elections in the developing world but they will definitely take the nation a step forward. For now, it is the best game in town. It will help break the cycle of political stagnation.

With the successful conduction of CA elections, we can: (1) get rid of monarchy that has never stopped fiddling around with democracy and democratic rights of people, (2) put a brake on autocratic aspirations of graffiti-president Puspa Kamal Dahal even if it is a temporary one. These two individuals pose a perennial threat to stable democracy. Unless we negate the threat posed by them, transition to a stable multi-party democracy will always remain an illusive dream.

We have long passed the discussion on utility of the monarchy. The nation is ready to embrace a new system. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and his followers should stop confusing the voters with their open exhibition of royal obsession. King Gyanendra’s foolishness of 2005 aside, the monarchy as an institution has been serving as a punching bag for politicians that want to hide their own incompetence and failures. It is, thus, necessary that we get rid of monarchy and prepare grounds for politicians whereby they will be forced to take responsibilities for their incompetence and failures.

Like the democratic movement in Nepal did not die after the demise of the visionary statesman like BP Koirala, we, as a nation, will definitely survive as a republic.

The upcoming CA elections will again bring the democratic forces to the forefront. The people, if given opportunity, would always reject both the hardcore left and the right. If we look at the period between post-1990 popular movement and the beginning of the Maoist movement, the nation had already moved towards the center. Even the United Marxists Leninist Party (UML) which has a sizeable number of extreme left-leaning ideologues like Bam Dev Gautam that appears more radical than many Maoist radicals at the higher echelon of the party, had embraced multiparty parliamentary democracy.

The growth of media was impressive. Slowly but surely the mainstream media was eroding the reach of vernacular weeklies that serve political parties rather than shaping public opinion for the greater good of the nation. Schools and colleges were being opened in villages like never before and the private sector had begun to flourish. Had the Maoists not bogged down the genuine democratic process, we would have made a significant political and economic progress by now.

For the mainstream political parties, gaining the lost political grounds might not be as hard as it might seem to be. All they got to do is, act smart and act now. Before it gets too late, the NC and the UML, that are the major partners of the current coalition should do two things: (a) ask security forces to make the cadres of the mainstream political parties feel safe (2) explain to people as and why it is dangerous to get swayed by the brainwashed ideologues and ethnic hustlers. Give them real world examples. Let he people know how Communist regimes around the world got crumbled under the weight of their Orwellian goals, of which, they never got even close. Tell them why it is dangerous to experiment radical communism even if it is for a short period of time.

It is important for people to know how hard people of former communist regimes are struggling to overcome the legacy of totalitarianism, which aggressively sought to eradicate anything that might serve as an institutional foundation for democracy.

Like the recent uprising in the tarai gave moderate regional parties a space to operate, the upcoming CA elections will give space to moderate mainstream political parties that have been competing with each other democratically for almost two decades. Nepali society will again move towards the center.

Like the 3-year long draconian Panchayat regime could not force the society to move towards the extreme right, the decade old Maoists’ propaganda and violence will not be able to persuade Nepali society to move towards the extreme left. It will simply not happen under the ideal conditions. Nepali society is resilient enough to survive forceful indoctrinations.

Lately, the Maoists have been acting like cornered animals and intensified their attacks on political rivals. The mainstream media are awash with the breach of the election Code of Conduct by the Maoists. It is important to understand that the Maoists are intimidating the mainstream political parties’ rank-and-files with a hope that their intimidation tactics will force the NC and the UML to come to an informal understanding that they need to ensure the victory of the Maoist candidates in the upcoming CA elections. They know it very well that without the support of the NC and the UML, humiliating defeat in the CA polls is inevitable.

Unlike in the past, the NC and the UML should not fall into the laid Maoist trap this time around. Any informal understanding to ensure the Maoist victory will falsely project their strength and hence encourage them to indulge in more irrational political bargains in the future. Let the actual strength of the political parties emerge. That is what democracy is all about, isn’t it?

There is still a huge population that despises both extreme left and the right. Young Turks like Gagan Thapa should rethink the danger associated with positioning oneself towards the far-left fringe of the Congress party. By positioning yourself on the far-left, you will blur the difference between yourself and Khim Lal Devkota.

There is nothing to worry about the Maoist crowd gathered to listen to threat laden rhetoric of the Maoist ideologues in the open theater. Boris Yeltsin is a spectacular example of how former communists can easily become anticommunists. All you got to do is, position yourself in the center, and fight against both the extreme left’s propaganda machine and the muscle power. Once people understand the limits of an outdated utopian dream of equality that the extreme left is trying hard to sell and once they get convinced that the physical threat posed by the left can be challenged, they will come out in favor of democratic forces like never before. People are sick and tired of the violent politics practiced by the hardcore leftist radicals. Just hang in there and do what true democrats do best: fight against the extreme left’s propaganda machine and muscle power by energizing the democratic base. It is definitely a winnable game.

Related Posts:

Will CA Polls be 'Free and Fair'?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/will-ca-polls-be-free-and-fair.html

Maoist Electoral Strategy - What is the CPN-M up to?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/03/maoist-electoral-strategy-what-is-cpn-m.html

Nepal's Political Paradoxes
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/01/nepals-political-paradoxes.html

“Aba Atee Bhayo” (Enough is Enough)

(Courtesy: Roop Joshi)

The Nepali People are being taunted and made fools of by the Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist and its Youth Communist League (YCL). While the campaigning for the scheduled 10th April CA election is now supposed to be well underway, every day brings new reports of the YCL preventing candidates from other parties from campaigning in their constituencies. This blatant breach of the Election Code of Conduct has affected the entire gamut of political parties – Nepali Congress, UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Rastriya Janata Party, and more. All the while, we are supposed to be headed for a “peaceful, democratic New Nepal”.

The case of the YCL attack, and almost assassination, of NC leader Dilendra Prasad Badu in Darchula on 5th February is a case in point. Along with Badu, three other NC cadres and six policemen were also injured in the attack. The all-party commission formed to investigate the incident came out recently with its findings. The Maoists/YCL were the culprits. Then the commission made its ludicrous recommendation: the Government was not to take any action and the Maoists were to censure/reprimand/ whatever the ruffians involved. This, in a nutshell, is the state of Law and Order in Nepal today. The YCL must be held accountable for their actions and the Maoist leadership must take full responsibility for what their cadres have done. The People, that is you and me, have to rise as one voice to protest this threat to our long-awaited chance for peace and democracy and an end to the oligarchic unelected government which we have had for the past two years.

With the pervasive breakdown of law and order across the country, the Home Ministry remains silent. Its minister KP Sitaula, a NC politician, has been accused of being a Maoist stooge for a long time. Yet he remains in the cabinet and the blessings of his boss, Prime Minister Girija Koirala, continue to be showered upon him. One wanders why. Perhaps the Maoists have put the fear of God (what irony!) into the PM and, as he loses his party colleagues every day to the Madhesh parties and as his own party seriously doubts his leadership, he has nowhere to cling to but to the comrades.

Here in the capital, and certainly elsewhere too, we see large hoardings exhorting all to give the “laal salaam” (red salute) to Comrade Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is supposedly going to be the first President of Nepal. This is also a breach of the Election Code of Conduct. But, to fight fire with fire, why does only Comrade Dahal’s picture stare down at us? Do not the other parties have materials for signs? Maybe they cannot think of adequate slogans? Or are their leaders just too shy or too afraid to project their image and their party’s platform? With no chance of more than 10-15% of the CA seats being occupied by Maoists, should there really be a fair and free election, these hoardings are jokes. To you and me they may be jokes, but to the unaware public who do not know what a communist party is, they are a part of a skillful public relations campaign being waged by the Maoists. This charade is only a means to justify blaming others when the CA election does not take place as scheduled. Given established communist operating procedures, the Maoists will not settle for anything less than a sweeping victory in the election.

They will not accept to be partners in a coalition government, because they cannot achieve any of their outdated Marxist-Leninist goals in that manner. But as long as the common voter sees these hoardings, they will believe that someone really is going to be President. Since no other political leader’s face stares down on them, Comrade Dahal must be the man.

When the election does not take place on 10th April, the SPA government immediately loses its legitimacy and credibility. It will have to go. We have waited two years. Enough is enough! The only alternative is a Government of National Unity led by a non-SPA leader, but with an open invitation to the SPA leaders to be included. Should any SPA party resort to arms, the sole remaining option is for it/them to be crushed militarily. The Nepal Army will then have to earn its keep. The Police and Armed Police Force cannot do this alone. Lessons will have to be taken from, say, the then Malaya in the 1950s/60s or Peru more recently. Let us all – the NA primarily as well as we the People – be ready for this eventuality. As the saying goes, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Related Posts

Democracy - Nepali Style
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/12/democracy-nepali-style.html

Unity Call
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/12/unity-call.html

Will CA Polls be 'Free and Fair'?

(Courtesy: Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal)

Election fever has finally hit the nation. After two years of political confusion and chaos, the chances of Constituent Assembly (CA) elections taking place appear brighter than ever. However, the major concern now is: What will happen if elections go one way or the other?

Will the Maoist radicals that believe only violence can effect political change for the people, and for whom, death of innocent civilians, children, or a land owner who owns too large a plot of paddy is simply the cost of war accept the defeat if they fail to emerge as a major political party in CA elections? Will the royalists that seem to be excited by the recent opinion poll that shows a surge in king's popularity accept the verdict of CA polls wholeheartedly if people reject monarchy? What would the mainstream political parties' like the Nepali Congress and the United Marxist Leninist (UML) do if they fail to put up a decent fight in the CA polls?

Has anybody in the mainstream political parties or the donor community thought about these scenarios and their possible fallout seriously? The game does no get over with the CA elections. Rather, the real power game will begin after the elections are over. There is a big possibility of a post-election violence like the one that happened in Kenya recently. As the real battle for the political survival will begin after the CA elections, donor community should work with the moderate political forces and the Army and come up with a post-election strategy.

For Puspa Kamal Dahal, his life-long presidential ambition is at stake, whereas for King Gyanendra, more than two century-old royal legacy is almost over. Will these pompous egoistic individuals accept people's verdict like rational human beings? There is very little room to believe that. So, it is important that we, as a nation, remain prepared for the worst.

On the brighter side, upcoming CA elections have provided a perfect opportunity for the democratic forces in Nepal to emerge as a winner. All they got to do at this point in time is to ensure that elections are not rigged by the groups that want to falsely project themselves as a major political force. Free and fair CA elections have the potential to re-legitimize the mainstream parties through a process of universal suffrage. Rigged elections will further legitimize a decade of violence.

The Maoist party is clinically dead in the tarai. It will, thus, do anything for a clean sweep in the hills. Politically, it is a do-or-die situation for them. The best way of testing the Maoist commitment towards the free and fair elections is through the deployment of the Nepali Army during the CA elections.

As the demands of every dissenting group in the tarai have been fulfilled, except for the secessionists, deployment of the NA to ensure free and fair elections should not be a problem. If there is an opposition, be sure that the opposing group definitely has something else in mind. It would be a blunder to cage a professional army that has successfully conducted elections in war-ridden countries when we need its help to identify the legitimate political forces that the people of Nepal trust to take the nation forward in the right direction.

In a situation whereby the Young Communists League (YCL) is openly intimidating leaders and campaigners of other political parties in the hills and secessionists are creating havoc in the tarai, the only way to enhance the popular participation in the upcoming elections is by making them feel safe at polling stations. And, Nepal Police under Krishna Situala's leadership is neither professionally capable, nor psychologically strong to do so.

Let us all be practical for the greater good of the nation, shall we? At this juncture, we have got two choices: (1) let the polls to be rigged out of fear that lack of political space will force the Maoists to return to the jungles (2) conduct free and fair elections and send a strong message: guns can't buy votes, ultimately you got to win the hearts and minds of people.

Radicals survive their confrontation with reality by withdrawing from society into their "sect." Irrespective of its ideological substance, radicalism as a frame of mind, exists at all times. Our success lies in conducting free and fair elections so that the people that are easily lured and indoctrinated by the radicals like Puspa Kamal Dahal, Nagendra Paswan, and Jay Krishna Goit get a message that, by raising arms against the state you can get only so far.

In a country like ours that has been a victim of bloody insurgency and ethnic divide, elections can be seminal events that, if free and fair, not only confer legitimacy on governments but also can profoundly influence political and social institutions, power arrangements, and citizens' expectations. Confining NA to the barracks at this juncture when the cadres of the Maoists and the secessionists are intimidating and annihilating political opponents will be a blunder of Himalayan proportion.

Do not make upcoming CA elections a fading shadow of democracy, by letting it to get rigged, when we are actually capable of conducting free and fair elections. Rigged elections will further squeeze the juice out of major political parties that are already dehydrated.

Like the Maoist violent means taught those groups out there that are now raising arms against the state that, raising arms against the state is not a heinous crime but a profitable political bargain, rigged elections will teach them another set of lessons: first, bring down the mainstream political parties to their knees at a gun point and then replace them through rigged elections. How good of a lesson would that be?

Related Posts:

Nepal's CA Elections - Assume Nothing
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/02/nepals-ca-elections-assume-nothing.html

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