OPINION (Spotlight Weekly)

The Challenges The New Monarch Faces

By MADHAV KUMAR RIMAL

The macabre killings in the Royal Palace in Kathmandu on that fateful evening on June 1, 2001 have decreed that the successor to the Shah throne, HM King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev must take up the gauntlet and save the country from going into disintegration. In the gravest of situation in which King Gyanendra has assumed the responsibility of guiding the nation he has to use his utmost discretion in choosing his advisers. There will be no dearth of mushrooming loyalists who will stoop to all kinds of tricks and vows to win the confidence of the new monarch. It need not be emphasized that the royal advisers have left the king in the lurch on many occasions in the past, and they have already made a dubious beginning with the new king. Since King Gyanendra has assumed the throne in a most unusual and extraordinary situation, it has become imperative for him to weigh and judge every advice meticulously before executing it. At the present juncture he cannot afford to take even one wrong step. Those who know him closely are fully reassured that he is well qualified to meet all the challenges he may have to face, and the future of Nepalese monarchy is absolutely safe in his secure hands.

King Gyanendra has not inherited a bed of roses. With the most inept and corrupt government whose whole concern is focused on amassing illegal wealth; with the bigger political parties divided into factions aggravating the already unstable political situation; with the general mass groaning under sky-rocketing prices of daily necessities, unavailability of drinking water and stinking garbage making life hell in the capital city; with total insecurity of life and property; with unbearable burden of foreign debt; with unfriendly foreign media badly hurting tourism, one of the mainstay of the nationís economy by baseless damaging publicity and disinforming the world about the recent tragic happenings in Nepal; and above all with the Maoists spreading their tentacles around the country, he faces problems that could overwhelm ordinary people. Since all these problems need immediate attention it may not be easy to set priorities. It thus becomes the bounden duty of all patriotic Nepalis to rally round the new king and offer him unflinching cooperation. It is, indeed, very unfortunate that the leader of the opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal decided not to cooperate with the new king at this time of national calamity. This sort of behavior has not only reflected his real character but also exposed his attitude towards the solidarity of the nation as a whole. What can the people of Nepal expect from such politicians? That the new king has to be very wary of such people need not be emphasized.

That King Gyanendra has expressed his commitment to multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy and to continue walking on the path laid down by his illustrious brother has set at rest any misgiving lurking in some minds. The spontaneous expression of intense grief at the unthinkable tragedy and the unsullied demonstration of love and respect for their beloved king by the people irrespective of their caste or creed is the unquestionable testimony of faith they harbor in the institution of monarchy. The impulsive manifestation of their inherent feelings for their monarch by the people must sound a clear warning to the politicians never to try to belittle the exalted institution. With such an effective and invincible charm at his disposal, King Gyanendra must start redressing the miseries of his people without losing any time. The callous behavior of the corrupt politicians, the nonperformance of all the political parties that have wielded the reins of government and the high expectations of the people are sure to demand extreme caution, dedication and hard work from the new king. The people are clamoring to curb corruption and take the corrupt politicians to task. The magnitude of political corruption has started disillusioning the people in the very democratic system. Unless this process is arrested, the hard won democracy might not survive at all. Politicization of bureaucracy has turned the administration party-oriented and non-functioning. Since the politicians in charge have institutionalized corruption, it has become free for all and all kinds of bureaucrats, high and low or big and small do not bat even their eyelids to accept any bribe in public. King Gyanendra has to root out this evil. Even partial success to bring the corrupt to book is sure to win national applause. Another pressing problem before the new king is the resolution of the Maoists issue. Since the use of force may only exacerbate the dispute, the Maoists must be brought to the negotiating table. Even late King Birendra was averse to using the Royal Nepal Army against the Maoists. There are many who can talk to Maoist leaders and convince them to enter into dialogue. Prime Minister Koirala has failed. So, King Gyanendra has to find some other means, and that too, as early as possible.

In a few days the parliament is meeting for the budget session. The chagrin Prime Minister Koirala had to face at his failure to pass the anti-national citizenship amendment bill must be smarting him incessantly. It is being rumored that he is sure to bring the bill with minor amendments and try to hoodwink the new king. Since King Gyanendra is also alive to the dangers, Koirala will not be successful in his nefarious tricks. Because of such anti-national activities of the Koirala government and the appalling miseries, the poor people of Nepal had to endure during the last more than a decade of multi-party regime which has started threatening the very democratic process, so dearly nurtured by late King Birendra, the overwhelming majority of Nepalese were demanding that Girija Koirala be replaced. Any leader with a reasonable sense of political morality and faith in democratic traditions would have voluntarily resigned on a couple of issues that Prime minister Koirala had faced. But, Koirala being totally unaware of such virtues, did not oblige the nation. In due course, after the pangs of sorrow and grief subside, King Gyanendra must give due consideration over this issue. In the meantime, if the Prime minister realizes his mistakes and makes significant improvements in his behavior, the necessity of second thoughts might be felt.

The unprecedented tragedy that struck Nepal has staggered the whole world. When the whole nation was reeling with the shock, unfriendly elements did not flinch even for a moment to exploit the sad events to further their vile ends. King Gyanendra wants the truth to come out and for that purpose constituted a commission with wide powers to probe into the affairs. The commission is to submit its findings in a few days. But, elements inimical to the nationís solidarity have floated all kinds of totally baseless rumors. King Gyanendra must make a note of such elements and deal with them accordingly. The new king himself must set right certain misdirections that have crept in Nepalís relations with her bigger neighbor in the South -- India. And this is going to be a tough job. Since the mandarins in the South Block seem to be unable to shake off the hangover of the Raj era, and the Indian political leadership under their thumb, poor Nepal has to face very difficult situation periodically. No Nepalese can even imagine of having confrontation with India. It is not the religious or cultural affinity, neither the traditional relationship, as the Indians want to claim, that impels Nepal to maintain a cordial and friendly relationship with India. It is Nepalís utter necessity. Her geography, her size and her economic backwardness are such constraints which leave her very little room to maneuver in her relationship with her bigger neighbor in the south. In a little more than five decades that Nepal has established political relationship with independent India, the bilateral relationship has seen many ups and downs. Nepal being at the receiving end cannot take lionís share of the blame. Unfortunately, the Indian media miss no opportunity to rub on Nepalís smallness. At times, the Nepalese are forced to think whether the Indian media are guided by officialdom. And our elected government can never stand up to their height dealing with the Indians. In such a situation, the king has to shoulder the added responsibility. King Gyanendra, with his wisdom and maturity, will succeed to bring the relations back to the normal keel.