Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

The dismal failure of both the Chand and the Thapa governments has only contributed to aggravate the extreme volatile situation gripping the country. And King Gyanendra must be a very worried man. Braving the royal displeasure we had expressed our disapproval at the appointment of the Thapa government. After more than ten months we stand vindicated. Surya Bahadur Thapa, the incumbent Prime Minister has totally failed on all counts. He could not form a broad based coalition government. The Maoist problem is nowhere near any solution. He has not been able even to take any initiatives to bring them to dialogue. The government is continuously losing all authority outside of the capital. The all round misery and the insecurity of life and property of the people is constantly on the rise. There is absolute lawlessness and anarchy all over the Kingdom. The mishandling of the ongoing agitation of the five political parties has started to pick up momentum. The discredited politicians who had forfeited all public sympathy and were looked down upon as starving man eaters dying for power and pelf are sure to bounce back if the official rot is not arrested immediately. The Thapa government, due to its incompetence, has begun not only alienating but antagonizing all sections of the society. The students, the artists, the doctors, the civil service, the intelligentsia, the business community and even the house wives. Its treatment of the press people has been most abominable. It does not have any more even an iota of justification to stay in power. It is only providing a fertile ground for the trouble makers to fish in the muddled waters. Any undue delay in replacing the Thapa government with a more representative, efficient and dedicated government is sure to push the country further down the road towards disaster. King Gyanendra does not have many options. But he must be able to choose the best one. In a situation where even the life of the House of Representatives has expired its restoration or the restoration of the Deuba government do not command any legitimacy. Consequently, King Gyanendra need not feel any kind of pressure from the corrupt politicians who are lusting for the luxurious life, the glamour of office and the power to enrich themselves and their henchmen. But his unwavering commitment to democracy and constitutional monarchy has always impelled him to restore the democratic process at the earliest possible time and he has even commanded to start the electoral process within one year. So, at such a critical time he urgently needs wiser counsels. Even though he himself is very wise, but two wise heads are always better than one. As such, we do trust he will act quick. No more procrastination.

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The article “India’s options in Nepal” written by an Indian columnist C. Raja Mohan and published recently in one of India’s leading dailies reflects, most unambiguously, the Indian mindset towards Nepal (The full text is published elsewhere in this issue). This is not the first time such provocative article has been published in the Indian media and Raja Mohan is not the first columnist to do so. As a matter of fact, it has been reported, he happens to be just one of the many who are regularly commissioned to write such commentaries on Nepal by the power that be. Consequently, they are usually interpreted as the official thinking by proxy. Whatever their real intentions, such articles have always contributed towards deepening the mistrusts and misgivings and expose the Indian myth of age old relations and sincere friendship between the two neighbors- a giant and a pigmy. Try howsoever hard the poor Nepali might to heal their wounds given by the domineering behavior of their friendly neighbor, such occasional pinpricks and provocations keep on rubbing salt. The assiduous endeavors of poor Nepalese to patch up the differences and generate genuine good will and understanding have always been nullified by such unnecessary and uncalled for Indian propaganda. Raja Mohan does not fail to exert their right to urge the King of Nepal to follow their advice. He even extols their military alliance to Royal Nepali Army but unabashedly ignores the way they are using the Nepali Maoist insurgents they themselves branded terrorists. He even forgets that Nepal is a fully sovereign independent nation and its Head of State is not bound to accept any advice from whatsoever a quarter it might come. What does he mean when he writes, “New Delhi can no longer afford to remain a bystander in Nepal.” He transgresses all political decorum when he comments, “The time has come for New Delhi to think of specific actions before the situation in Nepal gets out of hand.” His baseless and harsh criticisms of the Head of State of a neighboring friendly country is not only in bad but out and out an outrage. He even goes to the extent of cautioning the King when he states, “if he does not come quickly to reasonable terms, India will have to think of other alternatives”. (Read the Full text inside) Although he has not spelt out the “other alternatives”, it is not very difficult to visualize his thinking. Nepal's friends and the world community must not fail to take note of this fact. However, Nepal attaches little significance to such rantings as she is capable enough to look after herself. Still, she has quite dependable friends, near and far, who would not hesitate to come to her help, if necessary. Even the feuding political parties of Nepal and the fighting Maoists must not take such derogatory remarks against their country and their Head of State lying down. After all they also are Nepalis and the country’s pride and honor must be dear to them too. We do trust our good Indian friends will not permit their media to try to create bad blood between the so called close neighbors. Even though the press is quite free in a democratic society, there are certain norms and ethics that guide them which they must not violate. And no media should adhere to policies that might ultimately hurt its national interest. Since it would be in India’s overall interest to keep their smaller neighbors happy and the region free from political instability, she must desist from encouraging factors that would only contribute to muddle the political waters in the subcontinent hurting the whole region.