For Harmony And Coexistence

Despite claims by conflicting political forces regarding the support of Nepali people to them, the message from the streets of Kathmandu and elsewhere is clear that the overwhelming majority of people are in favor of harmony and coexistence between the country’s major political forces: the King and the organized political parties.  People are supporting political parties according to their strength and popularity and they are also supporting the King, perhaps with more regard and reverence, as any respected monarch should have. Along with taking part in the demonstrations of political parties, Nepalese also cheered with full regards to King Gyanendra during his recent countrywide tour including in Patan city. Nepal , at present, is at worst of situations and is facing worst of choices. The country has neither doomed, nor has it failed but there are machinations active to prove the worst of all

People in parties' demonstrations : Support for modern forces

By KESHAB POUDEL

Is it possible for any head of the state or head of the government in any South Asian country to mingle with the crowd without too much care about security? King Gyanandra’s walkabouts in the streets of the Patan on Thursday ( 22 September 2005 ) and his visit to other parts of the country showed that it is still possible in the Nepal , which is projected as one of the most violent zones in the world by international media.

While walking for about six hours mingling with a huge and cheering crowd, King Gyanendra listened to the voices of the street passing by narrow alleys of Patan, which is regarded as a stronghold of Nepalese communists including the radical United People’s Front (UPF) - a splinter of the Maoists. The massive crowd poured the street to cheer the King who was in a public relations drive.

This was not the first such visit of King Gyanendra as he has already traveled to different parts of the country including the remote areas reportedly declared as dangerous zones for him. As usual, on his own personal style, King Gyanendra talked with people and listened to their grievances during his public relation exercises that were attended by huge crowd.

Along with welcoming the monarch, people in the streets are also participating in the demonstrations of political parties - which are demanding to restore the democratic rights of the people. Just a day before King’s visit to Patan, a large number of people participated in a demonstration organized by political parties chanting all kinds of revolutionary slogans pronounced by the leaders.

The commentators, internal and external, are at a loss wondering how the same people can give contradictory messages to the parties as well as to the King. But common Nepalese are much more wiser to see and understand the compulsions of harmony and coexistence of both the forces. One has to understand and patiently feel the silent message conveyed by the crowd who believe that the organized political parties and the crown can very well harmonize their interests and coexist to promote the common good of the people.

Although the King and the political parties interpreted the people’s presence to suit their own interests, they should not ignore the genuine message of people who want to see the national unity and harmony between all political forces.

“Few people are creating disturbance in Kathmandu . You have to work in accordance with the wish of the people,” said King Gyanendra addressing the nominated members of district development committees of Bagmati zone. Monarch seems to be misinformed about the genuine concerns of tens of thousands of people taking part in the demonstrations organized by political parties. Actually, most of the people who come to cheer him were not outsiders.

Similarly, political parties, too, must not undermine the huge crowd, who waited for hours to get a glimpse of the monarch, gathering at the streets of Patan to welcome King Gyanendra and Queen Komal.

“It was organized show of the King who used every coercive method to force private boarding schools to bring their children. It was state-sponsored gathering organized by spending millions of rupees and mobilization of security forces,” said Madhav Kumar Nepal , general secretary of CPN-UML. ”There are many instances how administrations pressured school teachers.”

In w hatever way the King and the leaders of major political parties observe the mood of the people, it was easily noticeable by the gestures of the crowd that they see monarchy and political parties as complimentary to each other and in absence of one, the other will be weakened to perform a desired role.

“Different people may have different standard of assessment but he who wants peace and stability and development to the country cannot read the language of silent majority in a negative or nihilist manner,” said a political analyst.

Attendance of large crowd in the streets of Patan mean that the voices to reverse the democratic system and calls for republic are not demands of genuine Nepalese. Such radical ideas are coming from somewhere else.

The political mood of the people of Nepal in a miniature form was replicated in the streets of Kathmandu . There have been remarkable demonstrations of different political parties with impressive participation of the people.

From civil society to some populist media, the impression was created that the King lacks popular support in the country. This time, the King started a public relations program and there was a massive presence of people during his recent visits to much troubled areas of the eastern and western districts of Nepal .

It was so obvious by reports in the press as well as electronic media that it could be interpreted as the massive support of the people for King and against the opposition political forces. But it is not. People want harmony and national unity between them.

Show of Daylight

Few days back in a town of Lalitpur , adjoining the capital, King Gyanendra had six hours public contact with the people. The way he was mingling with the crowd was unique in the sense compared to other heads of the state of this region. It was a show in the broad daylight that the King was receiving petitions and appeals amidst the big crowd.

Can one see presidents, prime ministers or monarchs of the region mingling with such massive crowd for so many hours? There are widely publicized reports to the people far and distant that the government has confined its rule within the capital. All these public relations program of the King contradict that report. There is nothing better than to see the fact that the people in Nepal and in capital city, too, have been responding to both the King and the political parties.

People have shown, time and again, that they have faith in constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy. But why the antagonists from both the camps are not ready to read the writing in the wall? I n the eyes of overwhelming common people, these two forces are not contradictory.

The message of the street is very clear. If the common people are left free to choose, they will choose both the forces – the King representing the traditional forces as a factor of stability and the organized political parties for the modernizing democratic role.

Unfortunately, there are other powerful interests involved in the political situation, which have vested interests to fulfill by creating rift between the organized political parties and the King. As long as their machination work, a class of vested interests will emerge to prolong the deadlock and this deadlock needs to be removed by our own introspections instead by increasing the gap.

Cultural of Monarchy

Nepal has a long history of the institution of monarchy and there are traditions and practices that the monarch and people work together side by side from nation building to modernizing of the country.

In the long history of monarchy, people have seen various kinds individuals in the throne and all of them had their own styles but the basic essence of the institution of monarchy remains similar as it stands as a factor of stability in Nepal . Whatever the situations in the country may be, the institution of monarchy symbolizes as the factor of national unity.

Nepal ’s scholars and members of so-called civil society had criticized the political leaders as inefficient and corrupt when they were in power weakening the modern institutions. The same class of people and so-called intellectuals - who do not have any faith in the liberal democratic system - are now provoking the people in the street using jargons like “absolute democracy” or Loktantra and coining new phrases against the institution of monarchy. As unstable as their minds are, they will raise another issue next time even if their demand of absolute democracy is fulfilled.

At a time when some radical leaders are openly demanding the republican set up arguing that the monarchy has lost its utility, impressive attendance by overwhelming number of public in the King’s public relations program showed the genuine mood of the people.

Situated between Asia’s two major powers China and India , Nepal ’s institution of monarchy not only guarantees political stability in Nepal but also prevents spill over effects of Nepal ’s internal instability to the region.

While addressing the civil servants and officials, King Gyanendra – who seems to have many things in his heart and mind - used unnecessary words not at par with the decency and decorum of the institution of monarchy. But one cannot equate his individual weaknesses and problems with the institution he represents. Thanks to the presence of the institution of monarchy, Nepal is able to bring back the stability in any kind of political changes.

At a time when the leaders of country’s major political parties – who claim to be champions of rights of the people - too are violating their limits in delivering their statements attacking the institution of monarchy as well as the person in throne, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to expect the other side to remain as a silent spectator.

Unlike the leaders of major political parties, common people have reaffirmed the faith in the institution of monarchy not going for the likes and dislikes of individual King.  Similarly, people are also supporting the demonstrations organized by political parties with a demand to restore the rights of the people not going for the likes and dislikes of statements of individual leaders and so-called radical members of civil society.

Monarchy and Democratic forces

As B.P. Koirala said the monarchy and the democratic forces are harmonizing forces, people of Nepal have, time and again, showed the same feeling towards both the political forces. Monarchy is a stable institution that can help to build modern democratic institutions.

Although King Gyanendra is traveling all over the country meeting the people from different walks of life, he is not a competing force to political parties as he is not going to take part in competitive politics.

Unlike leaders of organized political forces who have to establish their leadership contesting periodical elections and competing with other political parties, monarchy is an institution of faith.

Despite the call for the republicanism from various political forces, urban-based members of civil society and common people of Nepal living in all parts of the country support the institution of monarchy, which has been a part of Nepalese tradition and culture as Nepalese nation and people have grown under the monarchical tradition.

People, too, equally treat the organized political forces that champion the cause of democracy - which is the inherent rights of individual. Thus, a working relation between the King and parties should be developed to evolve a liberal democratic process in the country. The situation is that neither the monarch can withdraw the democratic process at his will nor the independence of country can be preserved without the support of monarch.

“We need multiparty democracy as well as constitutional monarchy. I don’t think absolute monarchy is in the long term interest of monarchy nor do I think the demand of republic is in the interest of democrats,” said Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, vice president of Rastriya Janashakti Party. “Sooner they understand each other, better for the country.”

Let the Vijaya Dashami, a major festival, usher in a new environment and period for soul-searching for all. After visiting different parts of the country and meeting people of different walks of life, let King Gyanendra, as the head of the family of the nation, take lead, which is due upon him. In proportion to his power and responsibility, he can lead. This will not diminish King Gyanendra’s personality and dignity.

As people have already indicated what they want to see and whom they support, the time has come now to negotiate between the two forces respecting and recognizing each others’ strengths. Keeping national interest in mind, they must sit together.

“The same issue can be seen from different perspectives. He who desires peace, stability and unity can see the problem in one perspective positively and optimistically but he who is persistent to work against all these things under seen and unseen influences may be tempted to interpret every event in negative and pessimistic manner. The country is at the crossroads of the best of the opportunities and probably the worst of the choosers. The country is not doomed, neither it has failed but there are machinations to prove it worst of all,” said a political analyst.