FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

National Democracy Day
Time To Pledge To Fulfil People’s Expectation

By Parshuram K.C.

FALGUN 7 is the day which all freedom loving Nepalese cherish. This is the day, when half a century back, the Nepalese were freed from the brutal and dictatorial rule of the Rana family. The Ranas, starting from the time of Jung Bahadur Rana, continuously ruled the country for 104 years with an iron grip.

When one looks back at the one hundred and four years of darkness in the country, any self-respecting nationalist feels very sad at the way the country floundred in different aspects.

It is history that the Ranas not only oppressed the people, but they did not allow the light of education and other development works to enter the Kingdom.

The people had no rights whatsoever. They were completely at the mercy of the Rana dictators and their henchmen. Meanwhile, the Ranas went on amassing personal wealth, much of which can be seen even now.

Like mentioned already, it is indeed a sad part of the country’s history, that for so long the nation and the people had to suffer. Had the country opened up its doors to development earlier, maybe it would be in a much better position economically and in other ways.

On reflection, apart from the lack of freedom, the worst part of the Rana rule was that they did not allow the general people to be enlightened with education. This has proved to be perhaps the greatest setback for the whole country. The short-sighted decision of the Ranas to consolidate and save their regime by not allowing the people to be educated, is still negatively affecting the country. At a time when other nations were moving forward in leaps and bounds, Nepal was in isolation, only fulfilling the whims of the Rana rulers while the people suffered.

However, such a rule was bound to end. Neither the King, nor the people wanted the nation to suffer for ever. Slowly like a simmering fire, the revolt against the Ranas started from the people’s level. Many people of Nepalese origin from neighbouring countries joined hands with their brothers inside their motherland to bring in the dawn of democracy in Nepal. They even started an armed revolt for this lofty objective.

As could be expected, brave Nepalese sons even lost their lives in this fight for freedom. The cruel rulers that they were, the Ranas did not hesitate to use power to try and suppress the people’s movement.

But in the end, all the people, led by late King Tribhuvan, rose against the brutal autocratic system and on Falgun 7, 2007 B.S., democracy was finally established in the country.

That is why till now, Falgun 7 is observed as the National Democracy Day and people from all walks of life solemnly remember how important this is to all freedom loving Nepalese.

However at that time, when soon after democracy was established in the country, due to the political infighting within the different parties that cropped up, the nation could still not see much progress even after the people gained political freedom. Yet, only the political leaders of that time cannot be blamed for the country’s woes.

The lack of any planning, programmes and infrastructure for development, were mainly due to the vested interest of the Rana rulers, who craved for only personal wealth while the country and the people got nothing. The democratic rulers of a free Nepal, had to start from scratch to get things moving.

It can be recalled that many parts of the world saw some astounding growth and development in the first few decades of the Twentieth century. But Nepal was locked up and kept away from even a whiff of those industrial and scientific achievements. Had Nepal been allowed to march along with other countries, maybe the level of development would have been much better than what it is now.

But that was not to be. Even after the dawn of the Twentieth Century, the country had to wait for full five decades before the people could taste freedom.

But sadly, once more the political freedom of the people was snatched away ten years after the dawn of democracy and for over three decades, the country was again ruled under a dictatorial political system. Though not as bad as the Rana regime, as far as development programmes were concerned, yet, many Nepalese had to suffer political suppression during the panchayat rule as well.

But once more, all the Nepalese people, led by the Nepali Congress and other political parties, re-ushered in multi-party democracy and ensured the fundamental rights of the people. It was a momentous occasion in the beginning months of 1990, when through the Popular Peoples’ Movement, the dictatorial Panchayat system was cast aside.

The national Democracy Day ever since, has had a new meaning, as the people are at present, really enjoying a full fledged democratic system, which the brave martyrs of the country had dreamed of. The Constitution fully guarantees all the fundamental rights of the citizens. In fact one of the basic tenets of the present Constitution is that the sovereignty has been vested on the people.

Of course, in the ten years since the re-ushering in of the present democratic system also, all the aspirations of the people have not been fulfilled. In fact, the government faces enormous challenges on different fronts. But all the political parties and their leaders, who struggled so much for democracy, should remember that constant tussle for power will not be in the interest of anyone.

The time has come for all to work together to consolidate the hard won democracy and concentrate to work for the development of the nation and welfare of the people.

The National Democracy day is the right time for us all to solemnly pledge to fulfil such lofty objectives, which the martyrs dreamt of even as they laid down their lives for our freedom.

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