Opinion All hail the king
With the fruits of the Nepal peace process turning sour,is the monarchy back in reckoning?
It looked like former king Gyanendra was taking a cue from Indira Gandhi when she went around Belchhi in Bihar on an elephant to commiserate with victims of caste wars way back in 1978. That was when she was hounded by the Janata government soon after the Congress lost the General Elections in 1977. The Janata experiment began to disintegrate,and Indira swung back to power. Obviously,Gyanendras was not an elected post when he lost his position in a manner that did not conform with established norms and process. The constituent assembly was directed by a parliament that was revived long after its dissolution. The government led by G.P. Koirala passed the bill for scrapping the monarchy at 11.30 at the night,in two minutes. The debate followed only after that.
But given the unpopularity of the king then,no one raised procedural issues. But like Indira Gandhi during the 1977-80 phase,he was a cementing force who brought together diverse political parties united only by animosity towards him. This orchestrated politics of consensus tumbled soon after the monarchy was gone.
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M),which emerged as the single largest party with 38 per cent popular votes and 238 seats in a house of 601,refused to continue with G.P. Koiralas leadership,and instead its chairman Prachanda became the prime minister. The Nepali Congress ,the party that led the movement for democracy,refused to join Prachanda. The demise of consensus politics has been largely responsible for missing the May 28,2010 deadline for delivering a new constitution.
In between,the model of federalism creation of federal units on caste and ethnic lines with the right to self determination as suggested by the Maoists has triggered speculations about the integrity of the nation,perhaps for the first time in its modern history. The other major parties have failed to effectively challenge the Maoist concept of federalism. Gyanendra who has since apologised for taking over power for 15 months and as a result ending the 240-year-old monarchy,first appealed to the government,political parties and the public to preserve Nepals image as a country known for its religious and social harmony. The cause was when Pashupatinath temple,revered by Hindus across the world,stopped daily puja and rituals for days together in protest against the Maoist government removing Indian priests,breaking a centuries-old tradition. This showed him as a victimised peacemaker the state is hounding him,his property was nationalised without giving him a chance to defend the right to property,and the international community treated him as persona non grata. They now realise that he could be the rallying point for people frustrated with the corruption,non-delivery and collective failure of the big three parties. Apart from India and perhaps China,some European diplomats have been in contact with him.
The voices in favour of referendum are getting more vocal,organised and strident as the parties which crusaded for this have failed,and let down the people. Gyanendra expressed hope during his recent visit to Nepalgunj in western Nepal,that he might still have a space. He did not spell this out but people,like in some other places in the past months,shouted slogans like raja aau,desh bachau (king come back and save the nation). They have a reason. The Maoists have used the peace and democratic process to capture the state. There is a perceived threat to national unity and social and religious accord. Democratic parties have failed to deliver a constitution and consolidate democracy,and there has been brazen meddling by the outside world. Negativism,symbolised by piled up anger and frustration of the people continues to be a big factor in politics in the region,and Nepal is no exception.
yubharaj.ghimire@expressindia.com
Share
