Their own making has snowballed. It is a pathetic drama onto vulgarity now. We the Nepali people, where the sovereignty of this country is said to rest, is made a meek a spectator. The stage-managed drama is assuming hilarious extravaganza. As if this was not enough, wanting a pound of flesh attitude is governing the government formation even after almost three weeks since the PM resigned. The deluge of major decisions for the party’s grip in bureaucracy and state fund by a caretaker government, violating all norms of governance, is alarming. Likewise, the gusto to amass fortune by last minute unscrupulous activity in the name of the people shows the glaring other face.
Everyone talks of the people and for the people, the mandate of the people, the decision of the people – people and people, nothing less than people. The rhyme synchronizes well; the reason is flawed. Now threat, intimidation, physical violence are made to surface for the people. Although I am ignorant about what comprises civil society in Nepal, I know for sure that it has lost a significant portion of its hard-earned credibility now. So has the United Nations’ verification agency here. But let us not forget that the people who decide live beyond the stage-managed drama. They are more awake, even if dumb over the ugly drama of political vulgarity. Can the Maoist navigate with such arm-twisting tools? Why is the interlude so fearful? Where exactly are we the Nepali people? What happens to the fragile and unstable equilibrium of the peace process? How much sovereign and independent are we as a nation? These are unanswered questions suffocating the people. Perhaps the answer lies in contradiction. Not just contradiction – blatant contradiction, emanating from malice, deceit, callousness and betrayal.
Contradiction is the byproduct of conflict. Problem arises in the country not because of conflict. As such a society becomes dead without conflict. I would consider conflict to be of four types – within an individual, between individuals, individual versus society and individual versus universe. Allow me to draw a few lines from one of my articles on conflict resolution. “The very fact that a society always moves and can never remain static is because of conflict. It is the spark that propels a given society forming what we know as social dynamics.”
This dynamics constantly generates forces of conflict resolution. The interest of various cleavages or the heterogeneity in the society needs constant articulation and aggregation to form the homogeneity of a nation. Failure on this count compels people to cross the constitutional boundary that could eventually lead to the collapse of the existing political system when the passion runs in spate. We have our example. Thus, the ailment lies not in conflict. Then, where is the ailment? Yes, it is on contradiction. It takes the form of greed and when that gets the driving seat, poor people constantly have to face the brunt of their political masters. The situation becomes precarious when the already weak check and balance mechanism of the system is deliberately made weakest to augment individual and party interests as opposed to the welfare of the many.
The 2005’s 12-point agreement catapulted the Maoists to where they are today. The agreement was made in India like the 1950’s ‘Delhi Compromise’. Then the primary objective was to secure the 1950’s treaty from over a century-old family oligarchy that was being swept by the winds of change amidst instability created by the Tibetan crisis. The contradiction became glaring as progressive forces were forced to be wedded with the forces of status quo with oligarchy’s last prime minister as the first democratic prime minister of Nepal, as if democracy were nothing but just a gift of India. The Panchayat system collapsed because of internal contradiction. So did King Gyanendra’s regime. His unfettered ambition like his father’s camouflaged in his commitment to 21st century’s democracy and constitutional monarchy was a bundle of contradictions. Thus, it boomeranged, taking away the 240-year-old monarchy as India’s ‘twin pillar’ principle changed when it found the iron hot.
There are two aspects to Nepali politics. First is the continuity of a psyche of dependency with foreign powers. As such, it goes beyond. We all know that nobody or no country is ‘autonomous’ in the present world. This calls for a healthy relationship of interdependency. In our case, the relationship is an edited version of servitude. The political psyche thus emanates and is heavily conditioned. Politicians are made to believe that to reach or remain in power is not possible without the blessing from foreign masters. This is the primary ailment. The secondary is unmanageable internal contradiction, requiring frequent interference from foreign masters who themselves are devoured by their own contradictions.
India’s failure to accept Nepal as sovereign and independent country the way India is or Pakistan and Bangladesh are, is the root cause of the problem. India’s duel foreign policy – the colonial and nonaligned – in Nepal is sure to breed more contradiction for both the countries in future. So India should not lose time to converge it into one and psychologically accept Nepal as independent and sovereign country. The contradiction, if left open, can be devastating.
The contradiction is manageable within a certain level. When it metamorphoses into greed, it becomes so powerful or our politicians are so lured that they lose their indigenous strength and open the doors for outside interference. The greed to loot the national coffer and remain in power at any cost had long exposed the champions of democracy in Nepali Congress and UML. The Maoist leaders have done enough damage to themselves. They have now produced more load of contradiction than they can carry and the country can bear. The present politics of vulgarity has become nakedly repulsive. Let it not slip further. Let the Maoist leadership not fall down further. Let peace not be a façade supreme at this critical time of our nation. Let wisdom prevail.
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