


Goodbye to all that

The abolition of the monarchy may be the easy part for Nepal's government

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I think Nepali people had two options. Either to accept King who only believe in absolute monarchy. This guy does not at all believe in sharing power or giving away some power to people. Other way around there is Maosist. They killed 13000 innocent people.
In comparing these two forces, I would choose Maosist. Because they bring republic to nepal. And they diserve this oppertunity. Real thing in Nepal right now is who can bring in peace. It takes time to bring in long lasting peace. Dont expect miracle from them. But atleast give them some time to show what they have in there sleeves.
We know our politicians, if king gets power he will invite Kamal Thapa and Tulsi Giri and imagine what they can do. If we give power to Congress and UML the same old story will repeate. I cannot say whether maosist can do something or not. But I want to give them a try...........


Though fundamentally I do not oppose repubilc Nepal, but I think this is a big game under Indian sleeve. I as Nepalese worry about the future existence of unwanted Indian intervation. There are many signals which indicate strong probility of Nepal in the path of "Sikkimization". Though most of the kings did not work as per people's will, kings will be remembered as nationalist than political leaders who are submissive and slavish to Indian authority. I think, Indian intervention will increase more and more in future.


This will intensify the desire of Hindus to have India declared a Hindu state.

Nepal was the only Hindu state in the world.


Its one thing to challenge the system and quite another to create a new one.
Challenging an existing system is a lot less difficult. You need to direct the existing discontent towards a figure or object or rule and be focussed about it.
But once the system has been toppled, its quite another thing to create a new system. Here is where the mettle of the leader comes through.
Mahatma Gandhi relentlessly chased the Brits out of India but parallely developed in the congress party leaders like Patel, Nehru, and many others who had a clear vision and direction for India beyond the British and Gandhi. That's why India moves on today in the right direction albeit slowly and ponderously.
So also the case with South Africa and Nelson Mandela. And yes its true of China too.
Its now the test for Prachanda. The clarity of his vision, his commitment to Nepal and his ability to carry the politicians and populance will determine the future of Nepal. Hope is this will happen, else Nepal may go the way of the Sudan, Myanmar or Pakistan. Another wasted revolution.


I read the news with sadness and nostalgia for a Nepalese kingdom that I once knew many years ago. there is nothing wrong with a monarchal system if the ruler remembers that he/she is the servant of the people and the priviledges that come with the position also entail a huge responsibility to care for the people. It seems to me that the horrible massacre of King Birendra and most of the family were the beginning of the end, I knew some of the royal family and it appeared that Birendra was a genuine caring monarch who,if given the chance, would have led his country into a more democratic pathway with the king in a constitutional role. Nepal was quite a backward and poor country in those days, especially outside of Katmandu and very few educated people, hence the support for the the Maoists. I for one was always suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the massacre and that Gyanendra was not present, so able to assume the mantle. In my time in Nepal he was known as the "black prince" by us foreign entrepeneurs and not a nice man to tangle with, small wonder he antagonised a delicate situation and tried to become an absolute monarch, not the right thing to do in these times. I wonder how Nepal will fare as a republic, I think it will take some time to settle down, hopefully not to painful a growth process.


Come the day when the British monarchy is given a 15 day notice to vacate the unearned privileges and fancy premises and fade out.
I wonder though if any of them is qualified even remotely to be employable . Sell Big Issue, may be.


In a hopeful vein, there is a potentially unifying issue for the Nepali citizenry: economic development.

Wait, don't laugh yet. Granted, through almost five decades of development plans, an alphabet soup of aid agencies, PVOs, and NGOs, and untold millions of dollars spent, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

Since the 1990s, the Maoists effective recruiting point and rationale has stemed from an allegation that national elites, governmental and caste based, were stealing the people's wealth and opportunity. They weren't wrong. [Which in no way excuses the human rights abuses of either party during the armed conflict.] For example, I worked in Rolpa District under a US government regional development scheme which spent tens of millions of dollars over two decades. The kleptocracy, aided by a US government blind eye, got the most of it, and Rolpa became a center of the Maoist movement.

Your average Nepali citizen farmer could not articulate " the role of good governance in macroeconomic policy" but, through the wisdom of the masses, I propose that is exactly what they voted for in the recent election. This isn't about Prachanda's more esoteric communist theory of past years, and certainly has nothing to do with ancient cold war concerns. It is about livelihood.

To date the Maoists have been defined mainly by what they are against. There is no guarantee they can be competent managers, or even honor their pledge to stick to democrat means. I would postulate, however, that the new government knows that its mandate ultimately is linked to clean governance. The world community should miss no opportunity to assist the new republic in patient, rational economic growth under rule of law.


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