आज राजाले दलहरुलाई झापड दिने
२०६२ असोज ६ बिहीबार
सात दलले राजधानी केन्द्रित आन्दोलन गरिरहेका बेला आज राजा उपत्यका कै एउटा सहरमा पैदल हिँडेर सर्वसाधारणसँग भलाकुसारी गर्ने ‘नाटक’ गर्दैछन्। दलहरुलाई राजाको यो गतिलो झापड हो। बुझ्न सके यो एउटा खतरनाक चुनौति पनि हो। एकातर्फ दलहरुको आन्दोलन बिस्तारै सेलाउँदै छ भने अर्कोतर्फ गाउँमा हैन, राजा सहरमा नै आफ्नो प्रभाव देखाउन लागिपरेका छन्।
मध्यमाञ्चलको अनौपचारिक भ्रमणका क्रममा राजा आज ललितपुर सवारी हुन लागेको हो। समय सरकारी समाचार एजेन्सी राससले पनि तोकेको छैन। तर त्यसले जारी गरेको समाचारमा भनिएको छ, मौसुफहरूबाट भ्रमणका क्रममा ललितपुरका विभिन्न स्थानमा भेला भएका र्सवसाधारणलाई सामूहिक दर्शनभेट बक्सनाका साथै उनीहरूसँग प्रत्यक्ष संवाद गरिबक्सने छ। राजाका साथ रानी पनि रहनेछन्। बाँकी
जहाँसम्म भोलिको भीडको कुरा छ। हो, पक्कै पनि भोलि राजालाई हेर्नेहरुको भीड लाग्नेछ। तर यो भीडलाई राजावादीहरुले आफ्नो सफलताका रुपमा लिनुहुँदैन। किन ? लौ भोलि त्यही ठाउँमा प्रचार गरेर राजेश हमाल वा करिश्मा मानन्धरलाई त्यसरी नै हिँडाउनुस् त…त्योभन्दा घटी मान्छेको भीड जम्मा हुँदैन। जसले जे पनि राजा देशको सर्वोच्च पद भएकोले त्यसमा ग्ल्यामर छ। त्यही ग्ल्यामर पछ्याउँदै मानिसहरु त्यहाँ जम्मा हुने हुन्। त्यहाँ भेला हुने सबै राजावादीहरुले चाहे जस्ता सक्रिय राजतन्त्रका समर्थकहरु हैनन्। यो बुझ्न जरुरी छ।
उता दलहरुले पनि अब लाज बचाउनका लागि मात्र गरिरहेको आन्दोलनको स्वरुप र शैलिमा परिवर्तन गर्नैपर्छ। ५०-१०० जनाको नियमित अनुहारले आन्दोलन धान्दैन। जनतालाई विश्वासमा लिनुपर्यो। जनता अब मूर्ख छैनन्। तपाईँहरुलाई घुम्ने मेचमा बसाउन र पजेरो चढाउनका लागि कोही पनि सडकमा आउनेवाला छैनन्।
अझ अहिलेको आन्दोलन त प्रष्टै छ, नेपाली काँग्रेसको महाधिवेशनमा भाग लिनका लागि आएका कार्यकर्ताहरुबाट धानिएको हो। उनीहरुलाई पार्टी सभापति गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइरालाले घर नफर्कन अनुरोध गरेका थिए। ती कार्यकर्ताहरु यताउता लाग्ला भनेर नै दिनदिनै आन्दोलनका नाममा आन्दोलन गरिँदै आएको हो। तर उनीहरु पनि अब धेरै बस्नेवाला छैनन्। दशैं आइसक्यो। कतिपय त आवश्यक किनमेल गरेर घर फर्किसकेका छन्। अब बाँकी पनि छिट्टै नै फर्कनेछन्। दशैंपछि तिहार आउनेछ र सेलाइसकेको आन्दोलन अब पुस माघ नभई तात्नेवाला छैन।
यता राजावादीहरु दलहरुको शिथिल हुँदै गरेको आन्दोलनलाई एक गतिलो धक्का दिन प्रयासरत छन्। संभवतः दशैंअघि वा दशैंका क्रममा राजाबाट केही महत्त्वपूर्ण परिवर्तन हुनेछ। मलाई लाग्छ, त्यो कदम कठोर नै हुनेछ। यो मेरो अनुमान टिकाको शुभ साइट पारेर युवराज घोषणा गरिएको विगतको इतिहासबाट अभिप्रेरित छ।
ke ho ta vannu paryo ni! samachar lekhda pani kehi hune chha vanera Gopye rakhinchha ra? Afno pathaklai navannu ta abiswas garnu hoina? je hos na vane ke vayo? malai lagchha kehi mahatwapurna pariwartan hune chha, kathornai hune chha vanne ani tyo ke navanne?
ki vannai hunna natra tapailai je lageko chha tyo vannu parchha ni. ki hoina?
la aba tyo kura herna paiyos hai voli tapaiko blog kholda?
Comment by suvash Sharma — September 22, 2005 @ 2:02 am
Palace, Parties and People Power
Govinda Neupane
The Ranas led the coalition of upper classes during their rule till 1951. After they were compelled to share power at leadership level, the new tussle began between the Shah Kings and the political parties. Due to the prevalence of feudalism in the society and the king’s control over the army, the parties were pushed to the background for more than 30 years. A ‘lofty’ word Panchayat was invented to cover the king’s direct rule. Although the parties continued low intensity resistance for fairly a long time, the palace was in total command. Thematically, the battle between them revolved around the system of governance. The palace was in favor of party-less system so as to actively control over the leadership, whereas the parties were for sharing the power with the palace by establishing a multiparty polity. They were in favor of constitutional monarchy as one of its ingredients. Other than some factions of the communist party such as the Jhapalies and the Fourth Congress, no political party was taking issues of fundamental changes in the society as its agenda during the 30 years period. Therefore, at the core, the political mobilization by the mainstream parties had nothing related to the structural issues.
People starved and died. People rebelled and failed. People tried and tested defeat. But as a collective mass, they never succumbed. The historic movements of 1970s, 1980s and the early 1990s offer evidences to justify this conclusion. The parties sided with the people. They never led them; neither had they launched movements effectively at the national level. But, people power expressed through the movements launched by the students, professionals and general people was overwhelming and the ruling class realized the need for sharing power. Hence, the contradictions between the palace and the parties related to the leadership had been managed by bringing temporary halt of animosity. They agreed to introduce multiparty system with essentially a powerful monarchy which had its total control over the army. The mainstream parties chanted loudly that the system they introduced was multiparty with constitutional monarchy. The arrangement announced that time in a document called constitution simply reflected the agreement for power-sharing. The document was neither the product of people’s general will nor it was the product of the reconciliation. Therefore, the contradiction between these two forces continued.
In the mean time, in 1996, the Maoists started armed insurrection, which progressed to a full fledge war. The two forces – the palace and the parties got divided over the method and leadership in dealing with the Maoists. For the parties, it was the opportunity to take control over the army at the most and have a say on its mobilization at the least. The army, as it had been traditionally getting orders from the palace and was loyal to it was reluctant to come under the control of the party’s government. Hence, the palace saw this opportunity to regain control over the leadership. They started the grand fight once again, sometimes clandestinely and sometimes publicly. The Maoists happily utilized the opportunity provided by the wrangling among the ruling elites. The fire was further fueled by the inefficiency, corruption, loss of credibility and division within the parliamentary party camps. As a result, the yesteryear’s heroes degenerated to the meanest villains making them vulnerable to any external push.
The palace enjoys the support of the army and has a traditional support base outside. It was reluctant to reconcile with the parties. The parliamentary political parties are on the defensive due to their misrule of several years. Their party leaderships are discredited. People do not trust them. Even, their own party cadres are reluctant to respond to the calls given by these parties. The so-called international community publicly supports the parties and clandestinely supplies resources to the palace-led government. The palace, perhaps, believes that the more the Maoists gain strengths, the more the so-called international community shall come closer to it.
The palace, after taking absolute power in February this year, boldly elaborated its priorities. The priorities included bringing peace by quelling the rebellion, controlling corruption and taking action against the corrupt officials of the previous regimes, restore democracy and reinitiate development programs. The palace set a time frame of three years to complete the restoration process. To achieve these goals, the palace introduced state of emergency, implemented censorship regime, quelled opposition voices by imprisoning political leaders and interfered in the means of mass communication. The cabinet formed after the king’s address of February 01 did not justify the beginning of clean governance. The collective face of the royal government was no different from the previous one. Those who were hoping against hope were frustrated when the anti-corruption commission was formed. Legal framework, operational instruments and personalities nominated all added to their hopelessness. This was one of the most important strategic errors. Rather than closing down the strategically less important enemy fronts, the royal government expanded them by introducing new fronts. The palace, perhaps, believed that single-minded determination alone can produce results. The parties, bewildered initially, got some respite not because of their actions, but due to the arrogance of the new ministers, missing credibility of the commission and the so-called international community’s moral support. Finally, they had some sense of confidence back after their pilgrim to the Indian capital and the sympathy-led support of the Maoists. After these ICU medications, their heart has started to pump blood, at least to keep them alive.
The government is ruling effectively in urban areas. The rural areas are under strong influence of the Maoists. Now, there are three possibilities – the government will regain control allover Nepal, the Maoists will win or a new mechanism will effectively end the divide and reunify the governance. The first two refer to the military solution, whereas the third is related to the political solution. The political solution could be achieved only by bringing people power into play and designing a system that could address the transformational agenda, which includes but limited to inclusive democracy, federalism and radical socio-economic changes. The election of the constituent assembly could be the new starting point that may herald the beginning of a new Nepali political amphitheater. Not only the palace, the parties, the Maoists and the people could participate in this democratic process, but also the structural issues could be resolved in the new environment. Are the political players ready to listen and participate to resolve the structural issues proactively? Or, they simply wait to succumb to the people power?
Comment by ashikmalla — September 22, 2005 @ 1:14 pm
‘Mainstream’ political parties: course correction or marginalization?
Govinda Neupane
In Nepal, these days, the political field is one of the most fascinating arenas to watch out. The society and the state are in the process of fundamental change. There are many pessimists who love to preach inevitability of doomsday. They are the champions of negativism. They say that Nepal is at the verge of collapse as a state. That is not the case. Instead, the society is passing through the phase of great transformation. Feudalism is fast disappearing in the rural areas. In urban areas, the workers, professionals and people from lower middle classes are agitating for better living conditions and unrestricted exercise of their civil and political rights. Hence, allover Nepal, new information as well as awareness are giving birth to new organizations. New productive forces are emerging and the new production relations are in the making. True, there are difficulties. However, it is equally true that the pace of fundamental change is momentous and historic.
The aspirations of the people and strategic positioning of the major political forces have been heralding the beginning of a new era. The palace is clear on its mission, strategies and methods. The Maoists are equally clear not only on their destination but also the roads and pathways that they have to travel through. However, the ‘mainstream’ political parties are the divided houses. Therefore, there is the greater need to analyze objectively the problems, positions and prospects of the parliamentary political front in general and the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) in particular.
To unite their divided houses, the parliamentary political parties sometimes raise abstract slogans such as “Total Democracy” and sometimes they swing between the stated ideals of the parties and the personal needs of their leaders. These needs include “save your skin yourself”, “change colors like lizards to adjust with” and “spread thin so as to collect benefits from everywhere”. The base of such needs is their past, full of controversies, corruptions and conspiracies. Clinging on power to collect benefits was their mission during those days when they were in power. They not only enjoyed power but also misused it. And, they corrupted themselves together with many others around them. It should be noted that the term “leaders” here refers to a large majority of central leaders of the parliamentary political parties including the Congress and the UML. Now, it would be the most natural and prudent course if they leave the scene voluntarily and spend times repenting for all the wrongdoings they were and are responsible for. This could be the single most valuable contribution from them. Through a process of purification that includes expressing genuine regrets, declaring the wealth they have amassed illegally, volunteering for investigation and accepting judgments of the court of justice, they could get another opportunity to reclaim their positions in the galaxy of better political leaders. Some of them could come clean and the others could be rehabilitated once they go through the purification process. However, accountability is not much in practice in Nepal. The feudal mindset certainly limits their motivation to experiment with truth. Therefore, they are simply trying to cover their ugly past with some cosmetic words of regrets.
Now, the upheavals have started to surface in the political parties too. The opposition within Nepali Congress and the former student leader’s alumni in UML are the new faces of a new reality. They may not prevail in their own parties. They may even have to swallow the bitter pills of defeat. However, as a trend, they have already registered their strong presence. The Congress, perhaps, has seen two radically different political lines, perhaps, first time in its entire history. The UML also once again has been proceeding to go through the two-line struggle. Lately, the UML has developed administrative mechanisms to quell opposing voices within the party. Hence, the prevalence of the political process is in question.
There could be four probable courses of actions of the on-going struggles inside the Congress and the UML. 1) The struggles, if conducted in a political and professional manner, could give birth to a new Congress and a new UML. Even after the rebirth, the Congress will continue to occupy the center-right and the UML the center-left portion of the political space but they could develop as the genuine democratic parties. In this scenario, they could participate in the valuable process of socio-political and economic change. Moreover, they could go beyond catch phrases such as “Total Democracy”. These phrases may not represent the transformational needs of the state and the society. One has to remember that the transformational agenda includes inclusive democracy, cooperative federalism, multiparty system and the radical agenda for socio-economic change. 2) The second scenario could be that that the opposition within Nepali Congress and the alumni within the UML will be thrown out from their respective parties. This is quite possible as their parties have taken such actions in the past. Or, they may be silenced as the minorities. Some members of the new alumni in UML have shown submissiveness of its extreme nature in the past. Also, this time they may walk along the same road. If that would happen, the history will repeat itself in an ugly fashion. 3) In case of their ouster from the parties or they leave on their own, they may form the new political organizations or venture into the political oblivion by joining the civil society. If they decide to form political parties, they may have to struggle hard. However, the new political environment may offer opportunities to gain ground fast. 4) In case, if the opposing factions from both the parties leave their parties, they may come together to form a center-left party. Hence, the opposition within Congress and the alumni could put their energies and resources together to advance the progressive agenda. This formation may get tremendous boost if some of the prominent personalities (like Dr Devendra Raj Pandey and Shyam Shrestha) of the extended civil society join hands with them in a functunal politico-organizatonal arrangement.
The political process that has been seen in the form of upheavals is taking shape by creating divisions in the ‘mainstream’ political parties too and may result to realignments of the political forces. However, if the political leaders who remind the misrule and corruptions of the past continue in the leadership positions, if the political parties swing to this and that side and use cunning tricks to fool the general people, if the transformational agenda is not adopted, if the rectification and democratization process in the political parties does not take place and if the ‘mainstream’ parties shy away from championing the cause of the mass movement, nobody can save them from further marginalization. In that situation, new political formations could emerge and the political process will continue to move forward. However, more recently, the ‘mainstream’ parties have shown some character and motivation towards reclaiming their mass base by adopting the democratic agenda and by leading the popular agitation at least in the cities.
Also, the media advocates of the multiparty system and the powerful movement launched by the civil society should share responsibilities by offering their ideas and services to clean up the mess in the political formations. The improved politico-organizational health of the ‘mainstream’ political parties certainly will contribute to realize the democratic aspirations of the people and attaining the goal of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Nepal.
Comment by govindra neupane — September 22, 2005 @ 1:19 pm
hey Govinde, ke garya yo? katro laamo lekh copy paste garera comment ko swadai bigaryo, yo lekh katai chhapauna ko lekheko, tara nachhapiyeko le ranthaniyera yehan paste garyaa ho? mauka maa chaukaa……. ki yo ashik bhanne le gareko ho? Ashik le Govinda ko lekh copy paste garya bhaye Govinda lai kehi bhannu chhaina, tara kina Ashik ko dimaag maa Govinda ko lekh ko bhuut chadyo bujhna sakiena
Comment by ZZ — September 22, 2005 @ 6:09 pm
ke lekheko ho yo ? man vaye nepalima lekhera dinu ni blogerlai . hunda na khandako bak bak
Comment by Ramhari Koirala — September 22, 2005 @ 10:43 pm