Post demise of Girija Prasad Koirala

I woke up today to newspapers that were all filled with articles, news, analysis and condolences offered to late leader Girija Prasad Koirala. I among many others have been the one who frequently felt GPK was responsible in one or other ways in the turmoil that is prevalent in the country. Opinions were also building up that no change will take place until GPK relinquishes power and his position as a center of power was broken. GPK on the other hand was far from giving chance for other to rise may be out of fear that his position will be overshadowed or probably he thought no one was capable enough. Whenever anyone tried to raise hood, their political career suffered examples of Saileja Acharya, Krishna Pd. Bhattarai, Sher Bd. Deuba suggest the same thing. Many times he was cursed but he never deterred from whatever he decided. All of us have heard people becoming critical of him, sometimes even cursing him to death. But not many of them felt sad when he left. I wonder how many of us had thought so many people would participate in his last journey. It would be unwise to say all of them had participated because the loved the late leader.

Media now is putting in efforts in creating hopelessness and pessimism as if with the demise of GPK hopes have shattered and doomsday will be soon here. Unfortunately this is the same media that had become so critical of him in recent times. Nothing and no one can be so much of opportunist like media. It is leading bandwagon to portrait the leader as evangelical, someone who only had capacity to take the country out of turmoil, same things that they presented as his stubbornness now has become his confidence, and his nepotism has now become his ability to see right people. The country was in shock to learn that the elderly leader had passed away, catching on the sentiment media led the bandwagon of identifying him as messiah, an emancipator. Minutes later they came up with creative nicknames like “man of the soil”, “man of the nation”, “true leader”, “great leader”, “great human”. I am surprised how creative and enterprising media can be. I am also surprised at the reason they felt he should be portrayed thus. They didn’t look at what the Nepalese felt and had to say about the leader but they took a hint from who was coming to offer respect to him from India. If Indian ministers are coming no doubt he was a great leader. India was first to be grieved to have learnt the demise of the person who they believed was entire Nepal or who knows from whom they could do things they wanted to do here. One of the Indian leaders even went on to say GPK was Nepalese version of Mahatma Gandhi. Either he hated Gandhi or he didn’t know anything about GPK.

GPK did have the characteristics of great leader, he had strong confidence (I had never earlier said he was stubborn), infallible commitment to what he felt was right. Problem was probably in whether what he felt right was really right. He lent ears to few ones entirely dismissing others. Think about how he ruled his party, he was a complete authoritarian. He bypassed party’s mechanism to secure the position of a minister in the minister’s council. He later lifted the incompetent daughter to the position of deputy prime minister irking the dismayed party members. Now wasn’t he also a great bargainer? He played “this for that” and “that for this”, were all those bargains in favor of the country? Indeed he seemed to come out with solutions when there were deadlocks. Unfortunately what apparently looked as solution were only temporary-quick fix the latest being the formation of high level political mechanism. In one aspect he tried to be Gandhi, Gandhi went on to offering whatever Jinnah asked when Pakistan was formed while GPK was doing something similar with Prachanda the President of Maoists Party. His later days inclination to Maoists could have given Maoists confidence in demonstrating what I would like to call “out-of-law” activities and practices. His relationship with the current government was either of a support or threat is again doubtful.

Demise of GPK has certainly left uncertainties behind, but uncertainties have been something that we have learnt to live with the only fact is now even quick-temporary fixes have died out. Politics is an area where predictions enjoy faltering; still we cannot keep ourselves away from making speculations. Being captive of the same, few things look apparent to me as well. First the fate of Sujata Koirala looks bleak; she has lost the shoulders she had so far ridden. If she fails to find a high-profile fool her political career does not look promising, unless she manages to gather sympathy votes. Unfortunately polls are not anywhere near in the future and thanks to short term memory of people sympathy (if any) is likely to fade out.

GPK crushed the hoods of everyone that challenged his position and no succession plan was done. Piggybacking Sujata Koirala took place really late so Nepali Congress is sure to go through the most turbulent phase and extreme of power play. I won’t be surprised if it disintegrates and if it does even it would continue losing its supporters. The leaders in the forefront are not promising at all be that Sher Bd. Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel, Sushil Koirala. The possibility of paths clearing for younger generation is very unlikely.

CPN UML is already a party with no strong adhesion between members and it will fail to establish itself as a strong party. It also has a bad reputation of a party with no firm stand on anything. People have shown their resentment against the party by defeating their top leaders in the constitution assembly elections. Whether GPK was alive or he passes away CPN UML is already in troubled water, it always has been.

For Maoists, they in real terms have lost their guardian. GPK could have helped them clean their international image, he was the one with whom they could whine time and again for smallest of the things. He was also someone who had lolly-pops for them regularly. He thus in some way controlled their behavior and placated them when they cried. They might be more undisciplined and we will have many more bandhs awaiting us.

Current government might stay for a while as it will take some time for differences in Nepali Congress to surface. When GPK was alive, the NC members seemed to have full support for government while GPK had hinted that an alternative was possible (may be he thought the path for his daughter would be clearer) and this was also viewed as their way of showing their displeasure to the ailing leader.

India might have already engaged itself in identifying the replacement of GPK or to influence the turn of events in its favor. We can only wait and watch who India picks as its man.

Students, vice-President and the Madhesh agenda

It’s a story of once upon a time as I cannot remember the precise date or year. So once upon a time, there were lesser buildings in Kathmandu, there were no traffic-jam woes, crisis of fuel were unheard of, there were no many television channels, when children spent less time in TV, video games, cartoons were luxury beyond the access of ordinary children. In short, that was the time when I was a school going child. There used to be routines and one period ended with the start of another period, Mathematics after Science, English after Mathematics, Geography after English and so forth. Even then students hated studies. It used to be a difficult task to keep oneself bound in the subject. When the boredom of all the students used to climb to the peak in unison they used to request the teacher to do some extra activities and postpone the lesson. Antakshri, singing, quiz etc. were our limited choice. So even that time we used to escape studies but then we were at school. Even today students feel bored of studies but they have found a different way out. They feel bored more frequently and their boredom is burnt as effigies, burnt as tires, pelted as stones, vandalized as vehicles and so on. They are adept at creating hill out of mole. Patriotism has been limited to criticizing the self tagged traitors and the blots on the face of the country. Patriotism is only burning effigies and tires disrupting the life. Most of these very youth if got few thousands will sit for TOEFL and IELTS and fly to navigate their different world of karma but they will still burn effigies. Only if we manage to keep ourselves bound to our duties may be our country will be in the right track. I do not claim that aspiring to go outside to garnish one’s future is wrong what I really detest is the chanting of this pseudo-patriotism. Peaceful protest is one thing but bringing the whole movement of country to a halt over an issue cannot be justified as patriotism. We have long lost our faith to rule of law, we do not believe in our judiciary so instead of protesting things by registering a writ in the court we love to take things at hand. Pelting is new national games, we love pelting stones and we equally love watching stones being pelted. Students are gathering unparallel experiences in these things in special.

Not very long ago, I had observed that people divided themselves in terms of their political beliefs. Some were congress loyalists, some were UML loyalists, some RPP loyalist and so on. They argued like stray dogs fighting over a carcass to prove their parties are better. Today the division is more vicious, more eerie. Nepalese have not adopted a regional mindset and the recent development has only cemented it. It can be seen in the letters to editors in the news-paper. The burning issue is over the oath taken by the deputy President. I have been observing these letters to editors soon the issue led to burning of effigies and vandalism. There are letters from people with surnames acharya, rai, shrestha, poudel, karki, khadka etc. and there are letters from people with surnames Shah, Jha, Yadav, Mishra, Das etc. while all the formers lambast the vice-President for taking oath in Hindu most of the later think the issue is politically motivated and needs no such attention. Yes the country is divided in terms of ethnicity roughly between two the Pahades and the Madhesis. While the Pahades claim Hindi is and never was a language in Nepal while the Madhesis claim though Hindi was not legally the regional language they have used it over time to communicate among themselves and they have always felt the language is theirs. A new battle in country which has already been tattered by so many battles. If anyone was to ask for my opinion (though my opinion does not count) I believe the vice-President should not have used Hindi and he should have come out of his regional prejudices because now he is the vice-President of the entire nation not only of Madhes. He has been elected to the post under the interim-constitution which still has it clear that Nepali is the national language. If he didn’t feel so or felt the constitution was wrongly written, he should have never accepted the position. Now after his unexpected action, those who didn’t like it should have filed a petition of writ in the court and let it decide. This whole drama especially at the cost of nation was not so necessary. Here for yet another time the heinous face of politics and politicians has unfolded for yet another time. The other allies of the three party alliance have come out with no opinion of their own while their pawns are protesting in the streets and ironically office-goers and wage-earners are facing a huge problem.

Once upon a time there was mayhem in the country over the so-called interview of an Indian actor who was supposed to say something unacceptable to Nepal (I had watched the interview and I did not notice even the mention of Nepal). There were arson, burning effigies, flags set ablaze, cinema halls vandalized over a trivial issue which finally took an ethnic colors and madhesis were man-handled in Kathmandu while the Madhesis made the lives of Pahades in terai (especially Birgunj, Nepalgunj etc.) terrible. That time I had sensed the country will witness ethnic disturbances sooner or later. Once upon a time a laborer had wailed of injustice before me. He said from the time of his great grandfather had been living in Nepal, he was born in this country and his great-grandfather, grandfather and his father were cremated in this very country still he had no citizenship card. Devoid of citizenship card he could not apply for job and could never get government subsidies. That was also the time when the Kathmanduites spat words of hatred to Madhesis people who brought to our homes the fruits and vegetables. They were(are) humiliated, manhandled, looted and regarded as an outcast. The tone of our language dropped from modest to rude and humiliating when we talked with these Madhesis. Whether someone agrees or denies, the country had (has) always treated them as second-class citizen, like the jews in pre World War-II world. The venom was churning which set the country ablaze almost a year back in the name of Madhes revolution. A party sprouted from the womb of hatred and regional biases, the country plunged into more difficult and deep social pit. Geographic positioning of the country itself has been the constant attention grabber. It still and will always be a battle point that can never be neglected. So, interest of neighbor who deep down still feels Nepal as its own colony might have played role in fouling the atmosphere.

Anarchy

There are too less good examples that we present to rest of the world as a country than the bad examples. We grant ourselves pride to emerge as a country who have peacefully solved a crisis after a decade long civil war. Possibly this is one of the shortest civil war in the history of world. At the same time we astonish the world by successfully having a constituent assembly election amid high tensions and our tendencies to expect worse. The same us, smear our faces with greed for power, with greed for position. The leaders who give generous speech in mass meetings cannot accept that they are losing power. They have always have contradiction with what they say and what they do. All they need is power not people. To hell with the mandates of the people, despite a shameful defeat in elections our leaders dodge when its time to leave their positions. They hail the mandates before the mass but in closed meeting rooms they cannot form an accord just because they don’t want to see power slipping away from hand. Despite renaming the country from Kingdom of Nepal to Federal Democratic of Nepal, if there is anything rampant its anarchy. Maoists who have come to mainstream politics still have parallel forces with military capabilities. Their claim to abide by the interim constitution is also their commitment to the judiciary of the country and its whole legal process yet they have their own tribunals, civil courts handling cases. Highways are jammed just because some reckless drivers run over someone. I do not intend to say the drivers should not be punished but blocking highways is no ailment. Why all these sort of things happen? People have come to know that if they want to get their things heard barricades, violence and closure are the only ways. They have lost their faith in government; they have learnt it that law is just a piece for decoration and the government will never do justice. We have started a new culture and its not the people who are to be blamed for these daily blockades, arsons and closures. In recent past no talks have been initiated before a closure has been called, before highways have been blocked, before schools have been shut, before effigies have been burnt.
The other thing is the lack of market policy. Unfortunately the country has no market policy and prices can be fixed by anyone. I doubt if there are bodies that tries to check the inflation and other economies indices which can be helpful in forecasting the future and hence taking timely precautions. In their cat fights the politicians’ contempt of general public is clearly visible. They do nothing to ease the lives of a common man but use everything in their arsenal to make the lives harder. With one leg already in the grave they dream to be the first president of the country while they say position is just a worn out clothes for them however they are so in love with their worn out clothes that there is no way they can shed those cloths. Their words and their deeds are never in accord.
I present a small example. This week the prices of fuel (petrol, diesel and gas) was raised which was quite expected. Everyone knew the change in price is not avoidable but the government as always raised the price with no calculation. They have no mechanism to control and govern its effects in daily commodities and services. They have no steering bodies committee which overlooks and instructs the commodities and services market to make adjustment in the price. Especially when there is change in prices of fuel, it creates a chain reaction and hence before changes are made an elaborate study is a must. Our per capita income is very low and still a common man is very poor, he relies in subsistence labor. But how will our politician get time amid their rigorous meetings to secure their power and position. Their concern for the people is only for the time of election, only till election the people are their and they are superior. After they have won, its them who have the power. This time the price of petrol increased by 25% (it was Rs 80 per liter before and now its Rs. 100), how would one speculate on the adjustment of fare in public transport. Of course public transports need to hike their price. How much would one guess on the increment in the fare when the fuel price rises by 25%. At maximum one expects a 10% rise but what will you do when the conductor slaps you a ticket that costs 35% more. For a public vehicle capable of carrying a minimum of 15 people even a 10% rise is high but in the state with careless government with no policies every organization can exercise a monopoly. Every section has their own unions and every union belongs to some political parties and the shameless government does nothing. How can a minister endorse such a foolish decision? A minister can be foolish but how can one believe the whole ministry is filled with foolish people. Just because they have government vehicles for them, they have no concern to a common man. Till yesterday I was paying Rs. 11 between home to office and back now I have to pay 14.85. Now the conductor will have no return of 15 paisa and I will have to pay fifteen. Is the 35% rise in fare against 20% rise in fuel justified? The government is snoring in its deep sleep. Everyone can do anything and no one can ask you or prevent you from doing this.
Now 35% rise in fare will hit the market really hard, the prices of commodities will rise by not less than 20% , who knows if it rises by 50% as they can do anything. There will be few more general strikes, more fences will be broken, more beds in the hospital will be filled and government will make derisory adjustments, the opposition parties will get an agenda and again everything will come to halt. This is how our country has run in the past and the symptoms of future are worse. Common man will painfully suffer, drown in tear will not afford to live in the expensive world and eventually he will die.
Isn’t its high time for us to stabilize a system and make the presence of government felt? Isn’t its time to establish a rule of law? Isn’t its time to rid our system from discrepancies? How are we going to pave path for a economically sustainable future when we have no policies for present? Those who survive in the present are those who will remain to see the future. Where are the economic policies? Is it the way to bring economic revolution? Is this the liberty we wanted? When policies are made for a common cause for a common good, its democracy, when policies are made to appease a section then this is dictatorship. When there is impunity rampant, when people inflict others by right and when there is no body or institution to avail justice it is anarchy and that is where we seem to be living, in an anarchist state.