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Kathmandu Sunday December 16, 2001 Paush 01, 2058.
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Dr Regmi : Icon of intellect
and integrity
By Dr Mohan Lohani
The passing away of Dr Dilliraman Regmi on 30
August this year at the age of 88 has left a void in the political and intellectual
history of this nation. With a brilliant academic career that earned him two degrees in
Nepal’s ancient and modern history, namely, PhD and D Litt from the Patna University
of India in 1962 and 1967 respectively. Dr Regmi’s involvement in politics dates back
to the thirties and forties when he not only joined and led the people’s movement
against the Rana regime but he was also closely associated with the legendary stalwarts of
India like Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Nehru, Subhash C Bose, Dr Rajendra Prasad and Jaya Prakash
Narayan in the freedom struggle against British rule for Indian independence. In brief, Dr
Regmi was a seniormost politician at the time of this death as his political career
spanned more than six decades and a half.
Dr Regmi lost his first wife Kalyani Regmi in
the early forties when he was in Indian jail for his involvement in the freedom struggle
for Indian independence. President KR Narayanan of India has already paid a handsome
tribute to Dr Regmi for his sacrifice and contribution to Indian independence. Like
Mahatma Gandhi, his mentor and source of inspiration, Regmi strongly believed in peace and
the cult of non-violence. It is because of his firm commitment to non-violence that Regmi,
who was also founder president of the Nepal National Congress, dissociated himself from
other Nepalese stalwarts like Tanka Prasad Acharya of Nepal Praja Parishad and BP Koirala
of Nepali Congress. Non-violence remained Regmi’s credo and article of faith till he
breathed his last.
The late Regmi was profoundly saddened by the
growing incidence of violence and terror that resulted in the great loss of life and
property in the country. He exhorted the Maoist insurgents, who waged the so called
people’s war six years ago and resorted to violence, killing, intimidation and
kidnapping to achieve their objective, to shun violence and return to the negotiating
table for a peaceful settlement and reconciliation. It was a coincidence that Dr Regmi
left this world for heavenly abode on the same day, that is, August 30 on which the first
round of Government-Maoist talks took place at the Godawari Resort of Kathmandu. How
delighted and at peace the departed soul of Dr Regmi would have been had the talks ended
up in reconciliation as per the noble wish of one of the most respected leaders of Nepal.
It is a pity that when the country anxiously looked forward to the fourth round of
Government-Maoist talks leading hopefully to a political breakthrough, the Maoist
insurgents shocked the entire nation by brutally attacking and killing the police as well
as the Royal Nepal Army personnel and soldiers and by indulging in other terrorist
activities. The government, as we all know, has been forced to declare a state of
emergency, dub the insurgents terrorists and deploy the army to mop up the terrorists and
repulse their attacks.
Dr Regmi will be remembered by generations to
come for the spirit of service, sacrifice and dedication to a larger cause. More than two
decades ago, he willed a document giving away to the nation all that he possessed - his
land and property including a building, a library with 50 percent books and rare
manuscripts, a personal museum with a collection of preciousa coins and other priceless
objects of art and archaeological significance, a four-wheel drive jeep, and an auditorium
with a seating capacity for more than 100 persons. The value of his entire property is
estimated to fetch, at current market price, not less than rupees one hundred million.
Regmi thus ranks among those few Nepalese who have donated their personal possessions and
property in the larger interest.
Dr Regmi was a principled politician and every
inch a democrat. A great believer in parliamentary democracy he welcomed the restoration
of democracy in 1990. I have heard Prime Minister Deuba speak highly of Dr Regmi for his
uncompromising faith in democracy even during the period when partyless rule was imposed
on the country for nearly 30 years. While Regmi spared none, both the party in power and
the opposition, for their deviation from democratic norms and values and the resultant
incongruities and aberrations such as corruption, bad governance, abuse of power and
indiscipline in all walks of life, he never questioned the rationale and relevance, in the
Nepalese context, of democratic setup accepted by a majority of people in the country.
That leaders of all political parties and people representing all sections of society
attended and addressed the functions and programmes organised by Dr Regmi at his
residence, from time to time, on different occasions is evidence of the high estimation in
which this elder statesman, now no more with us, was held by all Nepalese, irrespective of
their status, across the board. This writer has noticed how CPN(UML) and CPN(ML)
politicians, otherwise at loggerheads and seemingly on non-speaking terms immediately
after the split, shared the same podium, shoulder to shoulder, at functions or talk
programme organised at Dr Regmi’s residence. Dr Regmi has reportedly agreed to use
his good office to bring the two factions together and unite them for a common goal and
for me healthy evolution of a democratic order.
Dr Regmi was founder president and patron of
various organisations such as Society for the Promotion of International Peace and
Understanding, the Gandhi International Centre for Peace and Non-violence and the Gautam
Buddha Foundation. South Asian dignitaries like PM Atal Behari Vajpayee of India and Begum
Sheikh Hasina Wajed, former PM of Bangladesh, have attended the function organised by Dr
Regmi as special honoured guests. The Dr Regmi Trust established in 1997, now headed by
Beni Bahadur Karki, former chairman of the National Assembly, after the death of Dr Regmi,
guides and supervises all these organisations. The Trust is planning to bring out a
commemorative volume on Dr Regmi’s multidimensional personality, his political career
and his intellectual achievements. Regmi’s scholarly works on Nepalese politics and
history are indispensable source materials for all research scholars at the graduate and
postgraduate level.
Finally, Dr Dilliraman Regmi was a man of
integrity and an intellectual of outstanding calibre. While he was minister for education,
home and foreign affairs in the mid-fifties, he never misused authority or official
position to encourage nepotism and favouritism. He advised all those who sought favour
from his to work hard for high posts through proper channels like Public Service
Commission. Those who came into contact with Dr Regmi were equally impressed by the
intellectual sharpness and brilliance of this eminent historian. Priceless, indeed, is the
legacy of the late Regmi to Nepal and its people.
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