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Editor’s Note
- M.K. Rimal, USA
Some developments since we have been away from our dear motherland should have been able to guide the establishment for restoring lasting peace and normalcy in our troubled land. The declaration of three month long unilateral cease-fire by the Maoists should have been utilized by the government to bring them to the negotiating table. But even after the expiry of the stipulated period there are no signs of any move in that direction. King Gyanendra’s announcement of the general elections in 2007 must be taken as a positive step to restore multi-party democracy in the country. Even the municipal polls that will be conducted by the government in a few months have to be taken as the preliminary moves for the restoration of representative administration. The fortunate decision by the so called senior political parties to boycott the elections should have inspired the rulers to develop the smaller political parties into a viable political force to replace the anti-national political parties. It is still not too late to use their boycott to totally purge them out of national politics for all time to come. Because the discredited senior leaders of these political parties have, time and again, established themselves as foreign stooges. It is a great pity how the small Nepali intelligentsia accepts them as its national leaders. This is indeed a golden opportunity provided by recent political developments in Nepal to root out the evil of direct foreign interference in the country’s national politics. But, as usual, the establishment seems to be missing the bus. No one needs to go too far to find the causes for such dismal failures. When small men rise or are elevated to power they can only bring shame and disaster to the country. When a person finds the boots too big to fit, it is but natural he/she will falter. It is very surprising why King Gyanendra is taking such a long time to act. A wise and experienced king as he is, he surely is well aware what is good for Nepal and the Nepali people. And he also knows how bad advisers are apt to lead the country to doom. It is an axiomatic truth that even a monarch has to be constantly vigilant of his close confidants and must never depend on them in to-to. History and Puranas are galore with examples how bad advisors have led to the downfall of mighty empires and how dynasties have been wiped out by unreasonable obduracy. The most recent example is that of George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America and the most powerful man in the world, how his close advisers have taken him for a ride and have pushed him into the most unenviable situation. He is, indeed, the President of the number one country of the world, but will he be given an honorable niche in history is doubtful. Once you start sliding down you don’t stop till you hit the ground, if you are not exceptionally a very strong person. As such, the time has come when king Gyanendra has to put his foot down and say “enough is enough.” Nepal, like the United States of America, cannot take it anymore. It is very heartening to know that King Gyanendra has led his country’s delegation to the 13 th annual SAARC Summit at Dhaka, where he must have repaired Nepal’s damaged image to a great extent. We are confident he must have impressed his Indian friends about the utter necessity of India’s sincere goodwill and cooperation if Nepal wants to scrape though her troubles. As a matter of fact, it is high time both Nepal and India gave serious considerations on what has gone wrong in their bi-lateral relations. Despite their vociferous claims of traditional friendly relations, severe mistrusts and misgivings have always marred their relationship to the extreme detriment of both. We simply cannot afford to permit this state of affairs to linger on. Even the Maoist problem that has been plaguing Nepal far more than a decade cannot be resolved without India’s unstinted cooperation. That India is using it as leverage against Nepal is an open secret. Such behavior, however, will ultimately hurt India’s ambitious global plans and she will be willing to fully cooperate with Nepal if Nepal can pressurize her. And this only King Gyanendra can do as the senior politicians of Nepal can neither command the trust and respect of the Nepali people nor the Indians. Consequently, King Gyanendra must shoulder this heavy responsibility most ungrudgingly. For this he has to seek the support and cooperation of patriotic Nepalis at home and true friends abroad. Those who have been tried and found wanting must be discarded without any ado. One must not hesitate too long to cut off the limb that has become gangrenous. The instituttion of monarchy for Nepal is too important and valuable to be endangered in any manner. And at this particular juncture of time it is the monarchy that can work as the invincible shield against the forces of disintegration that have already started to raise ugly heads in Nepali politics. Even the Indo-Am-Brit entente cannot and will not support the concept of republicanism in Nepal. Since the clock cannot be turned back without bringing it to a halt, King Gyanendra has to move forward with the time if Nepal is to survive and move ahead.
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