Nepal’s tryst with democracy, even after long five
decades, has failed to produce the desired result. It is, indeed, a very profound subject
to be dealt in such a small space like this Editor’s Note. Since it has become
imperative in the present political scenario of our nation that our overwhelmingly poor
and exploited community be enlightened about the causes of the failure, we have ventured
to take up the issue. All right minded Nepalis will agree that the most important cause of
this dismal situation is the lack of integrity in our rulers, politicians and the small
intelligentsia. None of them has been able to lead the poor and ignorant people in the
right direction so that the country could have prospered with dignity and not become a
nation of beggars. Their insatiable greed for wealth and their fad for personal
aggrandizement has not only impoverished the whole country but sowed the seed of
pernicious social disparity and discrimination that have brought us today to the brink of
annihilation. The more than a century long Rana regime, the thirty years of Panchayat
polity and the fifteen years of pseudo democracy – all must share the blame for this
present state of destructive civil war in the country. History is witness whenever the
Palace has faltered, the country has faced great calamity and difficulties. Were it not
for the Palace intrigues, Jung Bahadur would not have turned the country into a family
fiefdom for over a hundred years. Had King Tribhuwan not surrendered at the Indian Embassy
in Kathmandu to end the Rana rule in Nepal, perhaps, we would not have lost our pride and
developed the servile attitude that has been continuously restricting our rulers, our
politicians and a greater segment of our civil society to stand up to their full height
and attain their legitimate stature. And now, when the country is at the crossroads of
survival and destruction, it is again the Palace that has to play the crucial role. At
this juncture, if King Gyanendra hesitates to take appropriate steps to stem the worsening
situation in the country, the Palace again might have to bear the brunt if anything
untoward befalls upon our poor nation. By giving in to the pressures of the tried and
found wanting politicians, the invisible forces, the sycophants or all of them, King
Gyanendra might be severely jeopardizing the more important aspect – the security of
the country. Because democracy and security are not only indissolubly intertwined in the
present day politics but serve as essential foil for each other. More so, in countries
like ours where democracy is in the evolutionary stage. Besides, even through monarchy can
no more play the traditional role in Nepal’s politics, it cannot stay a silent
spectator when unscrupulous politicians gamble away country’s solidarity and
sovereignty. Whether Sher Bahadur Deuba’s appointment, at this juncture, meets the
need of the hour is the burning question troubling many a patriotic Nepali heart. But that
it has belied the expectations of the general mass and, once again, exposed the
machinations of Palace coterie has been irrefutably confirmed by the lack of national and
international enthusiasm. Whether Deuba will be able to rise up to the occasion and
justify King Gyanendra’s decision and form a government of men of clean image
representing various big and small political parties, the Janajatis, the Dalits and the
independent women etc etc will usher in his dawn of success or failure. Even though it has
become an indispensable necessity for the CPN (UML) to join the Deuba government their
hidden apprehensions and some other sinister considerations might force them to give
second thoughts and create unsurmountable problems for Deuba. But the mother of all
questions is whether Deuba will be able to immediately stop the deaths and destructions in
the country, the killings of Nepalis by Nepalis and restore peace and normalcy in the
country; whether he will be able to bring the Maoists back to their fold and whether he
will be able to convince the great neighbor in the south to lend its genuine and unstinted
cooperation to achieve this objective. If we have been able to learn anything from our
more than half a century’s experience, we should know how difficult it is and Deuba
might prove to be quite unequal to the task. Since there seems to be no option, right at
the moment, we have to give Deuba the benefit of doubt and wish him well. |
