Modern-day iconoclasm refers, among others, to the destruction of long-held social mores, religious beliefs and customs. Lenin and his followers can be called the first of such iconoclasts. Marxist ideology as interpreted by Lenin and his successors held religion, culture and traditions as obstacles to the construction of their brand of communist society. Hence, churches, mosques and temples were systemically destroyed, religious leaders frequently persecuted and atheist propagandas were made in schools and colleges to mislead the young minds.
The ‘cultural revolution’ unleashed by Mao’s China is yet another example of the practice of iconoclasm in a communist regime. In the book Chinese Shadows, its author Simon Leys has presented a graphic account of cultural, religious and human destructions that were committed.
There is no denying Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is a hardcore communist. He makes no effort to hide his pathological hatred for the western brand of democracy. Like his fellow comrades, he is convinced that peace, progress and prosperity in Nepal is possible only when the old set of political, social and cultural values are destroyed completely through their brand of radical communism. He was one of the active brains behind the decade-long violent radical movement, precisely to realize, though unsuccessfully, those very ideological goals. From this standpoint, the term ‘modern-day iconoclast’ suits him perfectly.
BABURAM BHATTARAI´S TENURE
Bhattarai is convinced that peace, progress and prosperity in Nepal is possible only when the old set of political, social and cultural values are destroyed.
ICONOCLASTIC ADVENTURES
The operation demolition unleashed as part of his ‘Katmandu road-widening’ campaign, soon after he became the PM can be called his first journey to as an iconoclast. Many houses in and around the city were mercilessly knocked-down, with scant regard to their architectural and cultural heritage. The old mud brick houses on either side of the Kamalpokhari-Gyaneshwar roads were typical of old culture and tradition and unique in themselves, with small lattice windows and low entrance doors.
In the aftermath, the whole city looks disfigured, and movement has become difficult with piles of debris left unattended by the roads. But the clean-up campaign looks remote, as his days as prime minister now seem numbered.
In the midst of this demolition campaign, yet another was set in motion. This time, slum settlements on the Bagmati river bank were the intended targets. The settlements were razed to the ground in a flash. The slum dwellers were suddenly rendered homeless and destitute. Bhattarai did what his predecessors had never dared to do.
However, his real and grand iconoclastic adventure came on May 27, and on an unprecedented scale. Late at night, in one stroke and without the full knowledge of top leaders of other key parties, Bhattarai dissolved the CA, a little before its natural demise was due.
I am not implying that he was singularly responsible for the demise of the CA. The CA’s inability to deliver constitution is a collective failure of the four big blocs and their top leaders, in particular. To top it all, this decision has earned him the dubious distinction of a prime minister who chose to preside over the death of the very CA that he hailed as his brain-child.
Be that as it may, he has to be admired for the amazing shrewdness with which he achieved such a feat. Overnight, the 601 CA members were stripped of their powers and positions; his own party and those of the NC, the UML and the UDMP were made to bite the dust. The constantly bickering, power- hungry and infamous big four political party leaders were humbled. In a sense, he injected the notion of equality by suddenly leveling the political playground for all political parties.
Yet, he was cunning enough to keep the government alive and safe, even in the midst of the tumults, albeit in a caretaker role. With this smart move, he has placed himself in an unassailable, if not invincible, position, at least for now. He knows fully well the clamor for his step-down is meaningless in the absence of political consensus—something that is at best, elusive.
The prime minister cannot be blamed for the decision he took on that fateful night. There is a proverb in Nepali, Anikalma Biu Jogaunu, Hulchalma Jiu Jogaunu (Try to save food during famine and your life during war or riots). He followed this trick from the book for protecting his personal interest in a perilous time.
Bhattarai looked relaxed and unfazed. There was no angst or remorse on his face when he spoke to the press at his residence soon after his iconoclastic decisions. For a man schooled in a completely different political philosophy, demolishing the Parliament, the symbol of bourgeois ideology as per him, couldn’t be more gratifying.
PUBLIC MOOD
The demise of the CA, it seems, came as more of a relief than shock, judging from the unusual calm seen all over the country the next day. The din and dust, the cacophony and clamor, the strikes and bandas that had become daily banes in the past few weeks had all disappeared. Men on the street showed little emotion or concern that the CA had been dissolved without delivering a constitution. On the contrary, there was respite that peace and normalcy had returned.
This public indifference and apathy was quite understandable. The CA was gradually losing its relevance and credibility as a representative body, mainly due to the lack of assertiveness by its members. Its important agenda items were high-jacked by a few top leaders of the four big parties, who chose to operate in an aura of exclusivity.
In fact, its condition, especially in the last few weeks before its expiry, was comparable to a patient at the terminal stage of its life—abandoned and ignored by its entire family and waiting for its final deliverance. I would say the prime minister did a great job; rather than making the best treatment available to it, he thought it convenient to deliver the sick patient from further misery and suffering.
The PM, therefore, would do well to feel proud of, and revel in, his stupendous successes. My humble suggestion to him would be that he should show the door to those of his few well-wishers who may dare to advise him otherwise. In the glorious tradition of his predecessors, he should cling to power, leech-like, and continue with his iconoclastic adventures, demolishing all social, cultural and historical symbols and vestiges of the past, irrespective of their virtues, until he succeeds to implement his amorphous agenda of ‘state capture’.
And the best part, he needn’t be afraid of the people’s wrath. We, the people of Nepal, have proven ourselves to be the meek sacrificial lambs for centuries in the altars of kings, and politicians. It is but natural that ‘a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves’.
The author is former chief of protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
bhimsen29@gmail.com
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