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| Kathmandu Thursday March 14, 2002 Chaitra 01, 2058. |
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Does Nepal deserve a better
deal?
By RAMAN RAJ MISHRA
There is a saying that goes "First deserve
it then only desire it". Those who do not deserve cannot realistically wish or desire
for things they are not worthy of. It is a natural law that one gets one’s due. There
is a saying in the scriptures that all mankind wants to enjoy the fruits of Dharma
(righteousness), which is happiness, peace, and prosperity. Yet the foolishness of mankind
is that they do not follow the paths of Dharma. On the other hand mankind do not wish to
suffer the consequences of Paapa (misdeed), which is unhappiness, turmoil, and poverty.
Yet the paradox is that mankind engage in Paapa with zeal!
Today, Nepalis do not want to suffer the
consequences of this democracy, which has brought about unhappiness, turmoil and increased
poverty in the country (consequences of Paapa). And they expect, undeservingly, to enjoy
happiness, peace and prosperity (consequences of Dharma). Yet the comedy of it all is that
it was they, on the instigation of Indian politicians in 1990, who had rioted with zeal to
bring about this democracy in Nepal.
The law of Karma is that one reaps what one
sows. So unhappiness, turmoil and poverty are natural consequences of the Paapa Karma
(misdeed) of those who had rioted for this democracy. If the revolt against the Panchayat
System was really a Dharma Karma (right deeds), then we would have enjoyed happiness,
peace and prosperity now.
Yet either through ignorance or hypocrisy we
think we deserve a better deal. Why should the Nepalis today deserve a better deal? Are we
worthy of a better life? Can the people who jump at the instigation of foreigners against
their own country to promote the geopolitical interests of alien powers ever get a better
deal?
What were the national issues of contention
between India and Nepal at the time of the economic blockade of Nepal by India? What was
the real motive of the Indian politicians who had instigated the Nepalis against their own
Monarchy? Why did such Indian politicians not advocate "democracy" in Bhutan?
Ability to ponder such questions and answer them realistically is beyond the mental
capacity of those who still support the present political dispensation.
Our forefathers had left as a legacy an adage
that says, "Even a dead Indian can hoodwink a living Nepali". Adages convey the
knowledge obtained by previous generations to successive generations. Yet the Nepalis of
today have displayed that they do not have the requisite brain to understand even the
experiential knowledge handed down to them from generation to generation. So they thought
Indian politicians like Chandra Shekhar, who had come to Nepal to instigate an apprising
in 1990 were their saviours!
If the Nepalis, who jumped at the instigation of
the Indians, could have understood the implication of the adage handed down to us by our
forefathers, they would have understood the geopolitical overtures of the time. Our
ignorance of the precarious geopolitical situation of Nepal, and the geopolitical
overtures of 1990, has facilitated the sorry state of this country today. It is but
natural that we are suffering the consequences of this geopolitically enforced second
democracy, because we have accepted it.
An observation made by Mirja Galib that,
"Democracy counts heads, but does not weigh them," is worth deliberation.
Democracy functions according to head-counts, in terms of majority and minority. But it
does not consider the quality of brain within the heads thus counted. Democracy can be a
best system or a worst system, depending upon the quality of brains of the majority who
select their leaders.
In seeking to antagonise the people against the
Panchayat System, Nepali intellectuals and the party politicians had promised a better
life. At the instigation of Indian politicians, at the time of the Indian economic
blockade of Nepal, Nepali intellectuals had supported the Indian interest in collaboration
with party politicians. Now, the deceitful Nepali intellectuals and politicians are
accusing the people of "having too high an expectation"!
In fact the people did not have any expectations
except those which the Nepali intellectuals and politicians had promised them. Yet the
conniving Nepali intellectuals and politicians are blaming the people for expecting the
very things which they had promised the people since the Panchayat days! Yet Westerners
have also fallen victim to the propaganda concocted by deceitful Nepali intellectuals and
politicians and think that the people have erred by "having too high an
expectation"!
The deceitful gimmick being performed by Nepali
intellectuals, to divert attention from their misdeed in supporting the Netas since 1990,
lies in blaming the Netas for their incompetence, and unethical behaviour. The Netas
cannot be what they are not. To complain that incompetents are not competent; that the
corrupt are not clean; or that quislings are not nationalists is only to advertise our own
stupidly. It is tantamount to saying that a donkey should be a cow, and criticising donkey
for not being cow! What could be more ludicrous than this? Yet Nepali intellectuals are
doing precisely this when they blame our Netas.
Why blame the Netas, when we still follow them?
And why follow the Netas if they are known to be incompetent and corrupt? Foolish people
follow unethical and conniving leaders. They follow demagogues and quislings, who serve
their foreign masters. The foolish people believe in the unrealistic promises made by
incompetent leaders. And so naturally, we suffer the consequences of such deeds.
Blaming of the Netas by those who had
contributed to empowering the Netas in 1990 and those who still follow them and accept
them as Netas does seem idiotic. But it seems our deceitful intellectuals are blaming the
Netas just to seem to be innocent. They think that people will forget their role in making
a mess of this country.
The changed geopolitical equation since the
advent of democracy in 1990, has compelled our Netas to cringe with sycophantic servitude
in front of the de facto Vice Roy in a foreign embassy. The body language of servitude
displayed by our Netas in the regal presence of foreign dignitaries does show the
subservient status of Nepal. Such behaviour of the Netas also indicates that the
sovereignty of Nepal is not within the country.
Yet, the comedy of it all is that Nepali
intellectuals say "Nepal is a sovereign and independent country." An Indian
scholar analysed the changed geopolitical equation since 1990 and said frankly (Spotlight,
May, 1991) that Nepal, since then had just to maintain an "image of
independence." Mind you not independence, just an image of independence! Our Netas
and intellectuals had openly welcomed Indian interference in the internal affairs of Nepal
in 1990 as they had done in the 1950s. The sovereignty and independence of Nepal has never
been the concern of party leaders and Nepali intellectuals who support them.
The Nepali intellectuals agree that the hike in
taxes and inflation of electricity bills were effected because of the dictates of the
World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. At times, the change of Ministers in the
government is also attributed to the dictates of a foreign embassy. It has been said very
often in the media that party leaders curry favour with the embassy to gain and retain
power in Nepal. In spite of this, Nepali intellectuals hypocritically say, "Nepal is
a sovereign and independent country!" If foreign entities can dictate taxation
policies and if our great leaders have to depend upon the blessings of foreign entities to
gain and retain power, then what grounds do we have to believe that Nepal is a sovereign
and independent country? The laymen cannot be fooled by words like the Nepali
intellectuals. Ground reality and actual facts are the basis for laymen to formulate their
beliefs. Words and imported ideas can fool Nepali intellectuals, but not the laymen.
We are not concerned with the previous
initiatives to establish Nepal as a Zone of Peace. We have given up the policies of import
substitution, trade diversification and a drive to establish and enhance our own industry
and trade. Progressive closure of Nepali trade and industry and consequent increase in
economic dependency are thus facilitated. The utterances of our intellectuals that we are
"a sovereign and independent country", is serving only to pre-empt any possible
initiative by the people to strive for liberation from our current "image of
independence".
So, as long as we keep accepting the Nepali
intellectuals as either wise or erudite, which they certainly are not, and follow the
"Mir Jaffars" and "Lehndup Dorjees" as our leaders, we cannot possibly
deserve a better deal in this democracy. It is natural for Paapa Karma to produces
unhappiness, turmoil and poverty. If we want happiness, peace, and prosperity, then we
have to perform Dharma Karma. But then, do we even know how to go about doing it?
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