The King and his armies

All the democratic forces in Nepal as well as the Maoists wanted the Parliament to act immediately to strip the King of his status as the Commander in Chief of the Army. The power to appoint the Army Chief now vests with the Cabinet rather than the King.

Given the special importance of armed forces in any country and the need to keep them professional, the Koirala government had moved rather gingerly before making these fundamental changes relating to the nature of the Nepali state and the control over the instruments of coercion.

The question is not whether King Gyanendra needs to approve the historic proclamation to make it legal. The real question was about the political readiness of the Royal Nepal Army to serve under elected leaders.

The government had been in consultation with the Army brass on the issue in the last few weeks and it is believed that the RNA was indeed amenable to the basic changes in Nepal’s power structure. The Army establishment appears to have recognised that its own future as an institution no longer lay with the King but with the representatives of the people.

That the Army Chief General Pyar Jung Thapa played a key role in persuading the King to avoid the final clamp down and cede power has created a new basis for trust between the armed forces and the seven party alliance.

Once the armed forces come under the control of the political leaders, it will fundamentally change the balance of power within the Kingdom. Until now the political parties did not have arms or armies. They were controlled by the King and the Maoists.

Kathmandu Thermidor

All revolutions face the danger of repeating the excesses of the autocratic regimes they overthrow. The use and abuse of state power by the new rulers often resembles that of the ancien regime.

This condition goes by the name of Thermidor, the eleventh month of the French Revolutionary calendar, which saw the new order take to old ways of cracking down on people. The more things change the more they look the same; plus ca change, as the French say.

It might be too early to say that Thermidor has arrived in Nepal. As the people on the street demand cutting King Gyanendra to size, human rights activists are warning against the misuse of power by the new government led by the Seven Party Alliance.

The well known Asian Centre for Human Rights has slammed the recent arrest in Kathmandu of key members of the previous regime identified as responsible for the brutalities against the mass movement for democracy last month.

The Supreme Court has admitted a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the detained ministers and asked the government to show cause for their arrest.

Among those arrested were former ministers for home, foreign affairs and information. The government also sacked a number of senior officials, including the Chief Secretary and the intelligence chiefs.

In defence, the government says it is under intense popular pressure to “punish the guilty”, especially those responsible for planning the massive repression against the democracy movement last month.

The human rights groups insist that those responsible must be brought to book by using normal laws of the land and not the extraordinary powers that were developed by the old order.

The new government’s power today derives more from popular will and less from the constitution, which itself is up for change. The challenge, then, for the government lies in acting as a “trustee” of the people’s will without yielding to temptations that power always generates.

Treating Nepalwith respect

Despite the great challenges ahead there is an extraordinary optimism that today animates the Nepali political classes. That they stared down a repressive monarchy and refused half a loaf that was recommended by India and the international community has enormously added to the political self-assurance in Nepal.

The dramatic proclamation on reducing the monarchy’s powers today would boost that self-confidence. It is important for the Indian establishment to recognise this historic transformation in Nepal and stop treating Kathmandu with the traditional political condescension. Respect to the Nepali nation, in actions and not just words, must now on be a key element of Delhi’s policy towards Kathmandu.

raja.mohan@expressindia.com