In our year ending issue we tried to review
the main happenings in our national life during the year that was. This is the first issue
of our New year. While wishing all our readers — A Very Happy New Year — we will
attempt to tell our people, very humbly of course, what we should do in the coming months.
More than a decade old bad governance and more than two year's violent insurgency in the
six year long anti-state struggle started by the Maoists, has almost broken the spinal
cord of the nation. Senseless destructions of meager infrastructures of the nation by the
Maoist insurgents can never earn them any support or sympathy from any single Nepali. They
too must understand that the violence and vandalism they are resorting to cannot be in
anybody's interest. They will only contribute to alienate their admirers and sympathizers.
Had they limited their anti-state activities to peaceful demonstrations, we are sure, the
whole nation would have, not only acclaimed them but followed their leadership. If they
realize their mistake and miscalculation even now, they must decide to restart the
dialogue without undue delay. If they are being used by some inimical forces they must be
able to see through their evil designs. Because a maneater does not make any distinction
between its preys. If they do not want to negotiate with the present establishment, the
Nepalese people, the security forces and the King will find the alternative establishment
with whom they can start the negotiation with a clean state. This mad killing of Nepalese
by Nepalese has to stop immediately. And if we are to survive as a nation, we must all
unite and stop the despicable acts of political destabilisation by all unfriendly forces
with strength and determination. As such the top priority that we face today is cessation
of the civil war most urgently. And this demands that we must very strongly impress our
friends in the south to sincerely cooperate with us. The eye-wash gestures of handing over
non-descript sickmen as Maoists, ignoring all legal formalities, may only pose severe
problems in future dealings. If as reported the sharp retort given to a Nepali
Congress leader by a senior Indian diplomat in a recent meeting is any indication it can
be easily presumed our Indian friends are not in a mood to restrict the activities of the
Maoists but directly egging them on in their "dynamic politics." The report said
they simply reminded the Nepali Congress leader how they themselves had enjoyed Indian
support and hospitality in dethroning the Ranas and fighting the Panchayat regime.
Consequently our second priority at the moment, is to reevaluate our relationship with
India and re-define it to suit the exigencies of changed times. And this needs a strong
leadership. The present Nepali Congress leadership cannot rise upto the occasion. Nepal
badly needs a leadership that has integrity, can command respect of the people and restore
Nepal's image in the region and around the world. And the third priority is cleansing
domestic politics. Since the restoration of democracy twelve years ago the behavior of
Nepalese politicians has not only soiled the nation's image but pushed the country to the
brink of economic ruin. They have proved beyond a ray of doubt that they cannot be
entrusted with the reins of government any more. As the poorest country in the region,
Nepal has to thank these politicians for all the miseries she is facing today. As such, as
long these politicians are not totally sidelined, there is no future for the country.
In all these three priorities, Nepal needs
unstinted cooperation and sympathy of India. As far the Nepalese Maoists who maintain an
easy supply line and are free to take refuge in India are concerned, India should no
longer follow a double standard. Moreover, if she is to prove her bonafide in fighting
global terrorism, she has to put a total stop on Nepalese Maoist activities in India. If
she prevaricates, she would be doing so at the risk of hurting her own interest in the
global context. Since terrorism has no fixed boundary and can hurt nations even at great
distance, Nepal must be able to share any available information with her friends, near and
far, so that they may also take appropriate steps to root out terrorism in this region.
Regarding reassessment of bilateral relations, both Nepal and India have to discard the
empty rhetorics of affinity in culture and religion and age-old relationship and come down
to real brasstacks. Nepal's geopolitical compulsions do not permit her to have any kind of
confrontation with her southern neighbor. Her physical vulnerability coupled with her
developing economy restrain her from harboring any kind of chauvinism. Indeed they feel
proud that they have never been colonized and this feeling, at times, could be reflected
in her behavior with India. India, on the other hand, seems to be obsessed with the idea
of inheriting the role enjoyed by the super power before the second world war -- the
British. The Indian bureaucracy, developed and nurtured by the colonial power, are still
finding it difficult to shed off the colonial mindset. Consequently, all their smaller
neighbors not only suffer from a fear psychosis but also feel continuously exploited,
politically and economically. Nepal, in particular, has to bear the brunt of their
obsession. In the last decade and a half since they clamped economic blockade on Nepal,
bilateral relations between the two countries has sunk even below the stable minimum.
Ominous development in recent years has been the seeping in of the mistrust to the
people's level. Not to be able to win unstinted goodwill of Nepal could be said to be
India's biggest diplomatic failure. As such, both Nepal and India must not lose any time
to repair what is causing the damage in their relationship. Even in cleansing
Nepal's domestic politics, India's cooperation is equally indispensable. If the Indian
diplomats did not think it necessary to resort to subterfuge in interfering in Nepal's
affair in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Ranas nearly five decades back, they are
taking recourse to much finesse these days. Since uncalled for interference always
generates resentment and antipathy, India has to stop destabilizing Nepal's domestic
politics if she really wants to win Nepal's goodwill and friendship. Politically stable
and economically prosperous Nepal will always work as a bulwark for India. India's
behavior in the region is definite to have decisive repercussions in the achievement of
her soaring ambitions. |
