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| Kathmandu, Thursday May 09, 2002 Baishakh 26, 2059. |
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Call of time
By VIJAYA RANA
Times change. Regimes come and go. We compare
the present with the past; remembering the good and the bad of that period. The Ranas
ruled Nepal for over a hundred years. But a time came when the people resented the
autocratic hereditary rule. People felt deprived of freedom and equality. It wasn’t
that they didn’t do any good for the nation. But the resentment towards the Ranas was
strong and so we joined hands to put an end to their oligarchic rule.
It took nearly a decade experimenting on
various governments before settling down to Panchayat system headed by King Mahendra. The
Panchayat regime, too, saw many development works in this country. People enjoyed more
freedom and saw better roads and other infrastructures. King Birendra made Nepal known to
the world through his zone of peace proposal. Though King Mahendra was a clever and shrewd
king, his son King Birendra was a trustworthy man. People seethed with rage at the power
wielded by the palace staff. A handful of palace karmacharis were getting their hands into
most of the lucrative deals. It was believed that they were the hands behind making and
unmaking of ministers. It was an era of hukum pramangi.
The maturing political elites were
discontented with this situation. They waged a revolution in which we lost many lives and
succeeded in establishing the multiparty democracy. And a benign King Birendra gracefully
gave in to the public demand and remained a true constitutional monarch till the end.
We had expected a lot from the leaders of the
multiparty democracy. But as time passed by, we began doubting whether we were actually
ready for this system which worked so well in the developed countries. Various thoughts
crossed our minds. Should we have put up with the Panchayat system, or continued with the
interim rule of the Nepali Congress? Perhaps even the autocratic rule of the Ranas was not
so bad? Have we pushed ourselves from the frying pan into the fire? Where has the promise
of Nepal being turned into Singapore evaporated? Where has the assurance of good and fair
governance gone? Is terrorism the byproduct? We felt cheated by our so-called leaders.
Apart from such far-fetched promises, the
multiparty democracy has not delivered much. Nearly all the government-run corporations
are in a shambles due to mismanagement and corruption. The national flag carrier is in
overwhelming debt. Our very own Bir hospital is in a pathetic state. Nepal Bank Limited
has become a bank that we cannot bank upon. The oldest University - Tribhuwan University
that we took so much pride in, is no more the learning center it used to be. The
government-run factories have collapsed. The government-run schools are without teachers
and books. In short successive governments since the restoration of democracy have failed
to deliver any prosperity.
We read about the unethical commissions and
rampant briberies in daily newspapers. The exorbitant and obscene wealth amassed by people
in power is unimaginable. We also read about how the parliamentarians were outraged by the
remarks made by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Maybe he should not have said what he
said. But is it not the topic that any two Nepalis talk about when they meet? Is this not
something understood by all Nepalis? We found that the whole scenario of the Prime
Minister cautioning the COAS and the latter humbly saying that he was misunderstood was
very immature. (His remarks were very well understood by all Nepali speakers). Perhaps
that is what politics is all about.
There is no doubt that the country is in a
very sorry state of affairs. What is worrying is the mass exodus of our youths to foreign
countries. We are losing our intellectually able as well as physically strong manpower.
The highly motivated people who wish to do something in their own country are frustrated
either because they have not the environment to work or their mental stimulation has been
disturbed. The many clever heads in the country are busy making fast money. We need money.
We are not hermits. But we need to balance our earned money with our input of work. Of
course we have people dedicated to Nepal. We definitely need more of that kind to take the
country forward in leaps and bounds. I don’t think for a single moment that we will
perish and decay. After all, we are the land of Lord Pashupatinath and Buddha - the
enlightened one. We are a land of rich culture and heritage and, last but not least, the
land of Mt Everest. But how long should we live singing patriotic songs and glorifying our
heritage and feel pride about things we had no hand in creating?
I would like to call upon our democratic
leaders to work assiduously and unselfishly into making Nepal a prosperous country we all
want it to be. Let not our patriotism be limited to the lyrics of our songs, in the pride
we feel in calling Mt Everest our own or in claiming Buddha to be the son of Nepal. It is
time now to build Nepal into a country that our children can proudly say: this is my own,
my very own land.
I would also like to invoke the reclining Vishnu
to use his devine powers to instil mental aptitude and physical strength into all of us
Nepalis - the former for good planning, managerial skills and far-sightedness and the
latter for much needed hardwork. As for the reclining Vishnu’s representative on
Earth - he may still be finding it difficult to trust people after the "Et Tu
Brute" act of his nephew. The people who is gradually losing their faith in their
elected government, are now calling upon the hand of god for some positive intervention.
Only time will tell. But time is just what we don’t have. The age-old adage- slow and
steady wins the race - has become rather obsolete. We need speed - great speed to catch up
with the developed world. And the time to begin is now.
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