Role of India, the United States as well as EU would be very crucial in bringing both warring rivals to table

-Professor Prem Raman Uprety, Central Department of History, T.U

He is a Nepali scholar who prefers to talk less and accomplish much. He is surely an asset of the nation for his decades and decades long experience gained in the discipline of History, both national and international.

He is the one who is appreciated by his students in the class and by his friends outside. Highly amicable as he is, his presentations at the seminars make the participants to remain spell-bound.

Last December, at a telegraph Weekly seminar, Prof. Uprety had assumed the chair of the chief guest. His extempore lecture he made on the occasion compelled the participants to applaud his talent and depth of knowledge that he possesses on contemporary national and international events.

It is not for nothing that some American Universities have accepted Prof. Uprety’s books on history in their curricula.

We are proud of you Professor!.

The depth of his knowledge will be at best known to our readers when they will go through his explanations printed below.

Last week we approached this "most-simple" but "internationally acclaimed scholar" for a tête-à-tête. Below the results: Chief editor.

TGQ1: The agitating parliamentary parties allege the King to have acted in contravention with the 1990 constitution stipulations. The King disagrees. The tussle is on.

Whom you blame for all these chaos and political instability? The King or the parties?

Prof. Uprety: Both the parties and the King have ignored the spirit of the constitution. It is the parties that have placed the constitution in the dock by asking the King to postpone the elections for fourteen months. The King then considering himself the guardian of the constitution played his own game. He dismissed the Prime Minister by proclaiming the Article 127 and took all the executive authority in himself. After now he has appointed two prime ministers he claims to have given all the executive authority to the prime minister but the political parties and the media don't buy this argument. The quandary of the King is that he wants to be in control of the country but at the same time say that he is not.

For the current political instability, all are partly responsible.

TGQ2: Debates have been there of late of whether the country should turn its eyes in favor of a republican order given the King’s alleged exceeding his constitutional limits. Do you see a republican order possible or desirable at this crucial juncture wherein the country is in? Your comments please?

Prof. Uprety: The concept of the republic in Nepal goes back to 1940s when the brochures and pamphlets issued by the Raktpat committee highlighted themes like long-live the republic of Nepal. These pamphlets first of all appeared in the Kathmandu valley and Ilam. They were posted from Kanpur, India, under the signature of the General Secretary J.B.Malla.

In 1950, during the Bairganiya conference, radical youths of the Nepali Congress like the late Devendra Raj Upadhyaya introduced a minority resolution asking the congress to fight for a republic. But the resolution was turned down. The revolution of 1990 divided the country into two camps: the supporters of the republican tradition and the monarchists (including constitutional monarchists). However, a very strong section of Nepalese society was not satisfied with th compromise made in the 1990s. Especially the Jan Morcha. This political group though they contested the 1991 elections, yet felt very much marginalised by the establishment as well as the UML. So they did not contest the election of 1994 and went to the "People's War" which has been going for almost a decade. At the moment, even the Maoists have diluted their current demand for a republic and accepted the constitutional monarchy for the present. Therefore, in the current situation the establishment of a republic may not be possible at this juncture but in future it can't be excluded because the population of the republican tradition is going in numbers.

The survey of Political Science Association of 1992 among the active workers of three parties in Kathmandu valley shows the following results: In UML, 70% were in favor of Republican tradition. In the Nepali Congress, 60% opted for a republic and even in the RPP, 25 % had faith in republican tradition. Though this is a poor sample, yet it is indicative of the mood of the political workers in our country..

TGQ3: With top-hats of the Maoists insurgency either in jail or facing charges in neighboring India, do you subscribe to the view that the insurgency as such is a weakened one at the moment and could be brought to the table if tactical diplomacy is adopted? Is the insurgency a weakened force as is supposed? What could be the reasons the Maoists pushing the idea of UN mediation and the government rejecting the idea?

Professor Uprety: The present government in Nepal a month ago had asserted that the Maoists insurgency was on the wane. But the recent attacks of Bhojpur and Myagdi and other parts of Nepal like Dhanusha and Ilam has shown that the Maoists insurgency has not wakened if not it seems to be gaining strength day by day. The basic problem between the government and the Maoists is lack of trust. So the Maoists would like to bring the United Nations in the negotiating table. But the government is opposed to it.

In this connection, the role of neighboring India and United States as well as the European Union would be very crucial in bringing both the parties to the negotiating table and come out with some amicable solutions.

TGQ4: It is alleged that there does not exist any sort of civil society in the country. Even if it does exist, it is merely a bunch of biased political activists or a congregation of impotent/eunuchs ? Do you agree to this allegation or have some thing to differ with this widespread allegations?

Professor Uprety: The civil society in a true sense unfortunately does not exist in this country because the so-called civil societies are capitalized by either by political activists or in many cases by political leaders who have enjoyed benefits during the past fourteen years. In a true sense the civil society must be administered by individuals who have no connections with a political organization.

TGQ5: The King and his loyal government prefer elections to bring to track the derailed system and the constitution. The agitating parties dismiss it on the count of inadequate security in the districts. This difference apparently is seen in the international community as well. The US favors elections. The European reject elections.

As a leading scholar, what you say in this regard?

Professor Uprety: There is no doubt that elections are the ultimate solution of this political impasse. But the first pre-condition for election is to bring the Maoists to a peace table and make them a partner in the election process. Then only genuine elections can be held in this country.

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