Nepal Becoming Lawless State
Mohan Nepali, Kathmandu
The feudalist and status-quoist forces of Nepal have brought the country into a political and moral dilemma. When a
criminal armed group under a political veil massacred 30 unarmed civilians in a leisurely manner in Rautahat district on
March 20 this year, the Nepal government could not prove its existence. The cold-blooded massacre took place before the
eyes of the district administration of the Nepal government. When the victims’ family members reported to police with
the name list of locally identified list of criminals, the Rautahat district administration refused to receive the
information report. This only proved how the Nepal government has been manipulated by other forces.
Nepal’s borders have been openly encroached by the Indian side. The local Nepalis living at Indo-Nepal border areas
usually complain against how Indian robbers and criminals enter Nepal every day and loot and kill the Nepalis. Yet the
Nepal government has neither listened to their problems nor has taken any necessary measures to make its citizens feel
secure and sovereign. On the one hand, the Indian security forces have been deployed at Indo-Nepal borders and on the
other hand the Nepali security forces have always been misused only for vested political interests. Especially, the
current Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is a power-hungry man who never respects people’s genuine voices. All he
does is family politics. He is making all possible efforts to prepare his own daughter Sujata Koirala, his son Shekhar
Koirala, his niece Sailaja Acharya, his nephew Mahesh Acharya and a few other hardline loyalists as his successors.
Koirala does not seem to have thought about his politics beyond family framework. This is the complaint of the Nepali
Congress Party workers and supporters who refuse to follow the hereditary rule within their party. They say the Koirala
family is in close collaboration with the king and his political forces in order to discourage any transformative
affairs. This is the main reason why the Nepali Congress leadership always stands against the implementation of any good
declaration that is in favor of the majority of people.
Analysts strongly argue that Nepal’s political patterns will never change so long as the main status-quoist forces such
as the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Congress (Democratic) and the United Marxists-Leninists (UML) remain in the
mainstream of Nepal’s national politics. Ordinary farmers and workers refuse to believe that these party leaderships can
contribute to positive changes in the country. Hari Lal Maharjan of Kirtipur (Kathmandu), a farmer likes to see a new
leadership in Nepal’s national politics. “I’m already annoyed to the last extent by these political parties. They
neither did well in the past while in power nor are doing well,” Maharjan says. He further says, “These previously
ruling parties have not to this day changed their bad habits. I don’t believe they can do any better now.” A similar
view was expressed by another farmer Jit Lal Maharjan. He is not very hopeful of any remarkable change in the work of
the parties. “We never get fertilizers on time,” Jit Lal says. “If ruling parties are busy only about their power and
cannot do small things for us, how can they do big things,” he questions.
As to how successful the current mainstream political parties are, Nim Ratna Dangol, a worker in a local clothing store
in the historical city Patan, believes that if new and honest leadership runs Nepal, the country can rapidly advance. He
says, “The present parties have already proved they are corrupt and cannot sacrifice for people. New leadership in Nepal
is compulsory.” But he could not state if there is any particular new leadership likely to replace the existing one. He
only said that the leadership of his vision would be honest and sacrificing for people.
While ordinary Nepalis have been expressing mistrust in the parties, they are trumpeting the elections of the
Constituent Assembly, with king and his men in all state mechanisms. The only difference between 14 months ago and today
is that the king is not directly ruling. But he, as a de facto ruler, has not ceased to rule Nepal.
They mystery why the king is still a de facto ruler of Nepal can be unfolded if one goes into the historical background
of Nepal’s politics. Moreover, the study of the 14 months’ phenomena after the king retreated from the direct rule would
facilitate one’s understanding about why the king is still in the heads of status-quoist political parties of Nepal.
There are many concrete evidences that the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), now in the government in which Maoist insurgents
remain as a separate opposition force (a surprising political exercise in the world), did make a secret compromise to
preserve the monarchy of Nepal. While the April uprising in 2006 was about to abolish monarchy from the streets, the SPA
quickly reached a compromise with the king. The consequence of this was the reinstitution of the House of
Representatives dissolved by the elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2001. It has now been proved by their
anti-people activities. For example, the Nepal government has not taken action against those pointed out by the
Rayamajhi Investigating Commission report. Almost all of the military generals blacklisted by the Commission report have
now been promoted. Almost all the police officials involved in human rights violations have also been promoted. All the
king’s secretaries have been maintained. About five thousand soldiers are with king. They are his pocket guards.
Moreover, king’s illegal properties have not been seized despite the order given by the parliament 14 months ago. Chief
District Officers in all the 75 districts belong to royal ideology. They run district administration so as to facilitate
a suitable atmosphere for the return of royal politics.
The king of Nepal still owns a huge area of land worth billions. He has never touched soil nor has touched a farmer’s
tool. But he owns an unlimited amount of land while the homeless of Nepal have not been heard at all. He is believed to
have hidden billions of dollars in Swiss Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and City Bank. He owns dozens of tax-evading
companies. The Nepal government has not been able to search for his illegal properties so as to nationalize them. But
the Nepal government has shown a piece of drama by propagandizing the nationalization of seven palaces where the king’s
family members do not live. Those palaces have never been king’s private properties. While the Nepal government has
protected king’s illegal properties worth billions, it has preferred to linger in power by propagandizing the
nationalization of palaces.
In the Nepal Army, all the generals are hardline monarchists though they falsely claim that they respect democracy and
the Nepal government. The interpersonal communication of these generals proves how hard they have been working to
protect feudal monarchy in Nepal. The Nepal government is foolishly talking of holding the constituent assembly
elections with these monarchist generals as security chiefs.
In Nepal’s districts like Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi, Sarlahai, Siraha, Saptari, Parsa, Bara, Banke, Surkhet and Dailekh,
armed contras trained and financed by monarchist forces are still in existence. They are doubted to have hidden American
M-16s for revenge against Maoists.
People have begun to believe that the current Nepal government has sold out the Terai region of the country. This doubt
has been exposed by the local inhabitants of the Terai region because the Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) headed by
an ex-land broker Nagendra Paswan (who calls himself Jwala Singh meaning ‘fire flames’) has time again invited the Nepal
government to come with the Nepal Army to fight his force and has begun a bloody communal campaign to kill and chase all
the people of other races living and working in the Terai region. He has clearly declared that only the people of Indian
origin are allowed to live in the region. In an interview with the Nayapatrika daily published on 26 August 2007, he has clearly stated that his armed group would not allow any mechanisms of the
Nepal government to function in the Terai region. But the Nepal government has not responded in the capacity of a
sovereign government. This proves that the present government is not people’s government. It is serving some other
interests.
The sooner this government is replaced by a new and transformative leadership, the better for Nepal. Those who can dare
to proclaim the republic and the abolition of feudal monarchy will be wholeheartedly supported by the people. Any
uncorrupt political forces that can practically begin political, socio-economic and religious-cultural transformation
can be the new leaderships going to replace the current anti-change government.
***************