Opinion Kathmandus blame game
Euphoria does not rule Nepals politics any longer.
Euphoria does not rule Nepals politics any longer. Uncertainty and the fear of the birth of a dictatorship preoccupy key Nepali actors these days. Narayan Man Bijukchhe,a fan of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il,says the country may witness the rise of a dictator as Nepali political actors have bungled the opportunity to write a new constitution. C.P. Mainali and Chitra Bahadur K.C.,two veteran leftist parliamentarians and heroes of the movement for restoration of democracy,concur.
Subhash Nembang,the speaker of the constituent assembly,recently said that the objectives of the last mass movement are yet to be institutionalised. What he meant was that federalism,republicanism and secularism will be institutionalised only if the constituent assembly delivers a constitution within the extended timeframe by May 28,2011. But the chances of parties meeting the deadline appear remote.
By raising the fear of a return to dictatorship these leaders are,in a way,admitting their failure to fulfil the assignment that the 2006 mass movement,and the peoples mandate reflected in the April 2008 constituent assembly election,gave them. Their failure to come together to prepare a common agenda,and to elect a government in the House for the past four months which has left the country without a full-fledged government has made people restive and angry with politicians. But instead of owning responsibility for their failure,they are only blaming each other. The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) has not tired of blaming India for causing instability.
The UCPN-Ms chairman,Prachanda,is currently in China as a guest of the Communist Party of China to attend the Shanghai Expos concluding ceremony. But he said he would be discussing Nepals peace process,politics and development with Chinese leaders during his five-day visit that began on October 22. India,which played a major role in bringing the Maoists and seven pro-democracy parties together on an anti-monarchy platform,may or may not have realised that its policy has backfired. But the Maoists the largest party in the constituent assembly have truly brought Beijing to the centre of Nepali politics.
What is to blame for this: Indias Nepal policy or the Maoists? Nobody,including Indias friends,believes any more that Nepals situation can be retrieved without involving China in the process. The deadly blow that moderate and traditional forces have been given,the way the Maoists dictated the agenda,and the way the monarchy was denied existence even as a constitutional institution were bound to have ended in the present chaos and uncertainty. Cornered and humiliated,moderate or traditionalist forces can ally with,or transform into,radical,communal and fundamentalist groups: Nepal may be a case in point. Left to himself,Nehru may not perhaps have wanted to work together with traditionalists like Patel and Rajendra Prasad soon after independence. But that co-existence helped the consolidation of democracy in Indias crucial transitional phase and afterwards.
Even the architects of Indias Nepal policy have failed to learn from Indias experience. Clearly,the actors,parties and forces that brought the 2006 changes in Nepal have failed since. What can put things back on track is a sincere and objective review of policies,and corrective measures from all sides concerned.
yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com
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