A nation tittering on the verge of a collective collapse needs help from everyone and VP Jha has an opportunity to interject a sense of hope for this faltering nation. My humble request to him is to abide by the SC’s verdict.
Leaders need to take the responsibility to strengthen our fragile institutions by condemning rampant extremism and stand up for the country’s territorial integrity, unity and collective general welfare.
Taking it as a sign of defeat or victory by any group will be a mistake. As a consequence of his act to respect the verdict of the SC, if he does so, the whole nation stands to gain in the long run. Politics is all about compromises and humility and his decision will only strengthen the foundation of this young nation’s institutional framework.
But Nepali institutions have been going through such tests for the past few years and so the VP’s poor judgment in the unannounced and surprise use of Hindi for his oath-taking ceremony is just one of many such examples. There have been more serious fault lines in our leaders’ actions. Whether it is the Shaktikhor video of Pushpa Kamal Dahal misleading the United Nation’s Mission in Nepal and the world about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) number and his unapologetic defense of it, or our leaders’ habit of making an opportunistic run to Lainchaur asking for help to bring down the government, at no point in our history has the Nepali nation state been as weak as it is now. And, who can forget the hasty decision by Girija Prasad Koirala and his partners to induct the Maoists into the interim government without first settling the issue of the Young Communist League, the PLA, and a fair condition for electoral campaigns. It is our collective responsibility to save this country from further deterioration. Let this act of VP’s righting of the wrong, legally speaking, be an example for others.
Many political leaders do make mistakes but they do not shy away from showing humility for the greater good of the nation. US President Barack Obama backtracked from his initial reaction to the police incident involving the arrest of a Black professor by a White officer. These gestures, big and small, are important to heal race relations. Such humility displayed by the leaders may not always fall under the legal definition and jargons but they play an important role to calm emotional sentiments. This is particularly important for a country like Nepal where ethnic tension has reached a breaking point. Nepali people do need to hear the message of hope, unity and resolution from their leaders. Beyond legality, let this be an example in humility displayed by a leader, which can be an example for others.
Furthermore, the VP’s decision to abide by the SC’s verdict has a long-term legal implication. The three branches of the government are the pillars of our democratic system and they lay the foundation for the constitution of any country. Checks-and-balances provided by these branches form the basis of a nation’s governing structure. Demonstration of respect for law is the hallmark of any democratic system. In the Nepali case, striving to reach a higher goal in our struggle to nurture democracy at this trying time demands a tougher vigilance from high offices. It means that we must nurture the law of this land. To that end, modeling appropriate legal behavior becomes every Nepali’s primary duty, especially when it comes from one of the highest offices of the land.
Thus, I am confident that VP Jha’s decision to take the oath in Nepali as per the verdict of SC will be a symbol of his constitutional conscience and it will set an example for 23 million people of this land. But other leaders also need to do their part in taking personal and collective responsibility to strengthen our fragile institutions both in speech and deed by condemning rampant extremism and standing up for the country’s territorial integrity, unity and collective general welfare. Courageous leadership, not populist caution, is what we need at this juncture to save the nation from crumbling.
(Writer is professor, University of New Mexico.)
bohara@unm.edu
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