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Kathmandu Thursday May 31, 2001 Jestha 18, 2058.
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A bandh by the people ?
The three-day general strike is finally over. As
if by the wave of a magic wand the
streets were empty and the whole country seemed deserted affecting the lives of the
people, inflicting countless inconveniences and immeasurable loss to the country. If we
are to judge by the rate of bandhs taking place in today’s Democratic Nepal and being
claimed as successful, it appears that even a minuscule party calling for a bandh,
irrespective of the cause, is bound to be a success, not because of the support it garners
but because of the fear of harassment. But then, how does one judge the success of the
bandh? Don’t these bandhs deprive the people of their basic democratic rights to make
a choice? These questions need to be answered by the concerned parties calling for these
bandhs because, there have been far too many bandhs with nothing to show by way of
achievement and the public has had enough. Some sense seems to have prevailed, at last,
judging from the retraction of the strike called for May 31.
As for the bandh, just over, the organizers are
claiming the total success of the strike. However, the question remains "Has the
objective of the bandh been achieved?" Can a Bandh instill moral responsibility among
the politicians in Nepal? " These are the questions that I would like to ask here. If
the answer is positive how about calling for a bandh by the people themselves, which would
perhaps be one bandh that would be beneficial to Nepal.
J D Baidya
Thapathali, Kathmandu |
