Lessons from Uttar Pradesh

Last week, the voters of Uttar Pradesh (UP) finally got rid of the chaos of Hindutva and dynasty based politics. The verdict is in, and the national parties such as Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Congress Party have been shown the door. Neither the slogan of "Hindu nationalism" of BJP, nor the Congress Party's "secularism" promoted by none other than the heir of the Congress party — Rahul Gandhi — could cut any ice with the highly discerning voters of Uttar Pradesh.

Former schoolteacher Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 206 constituencies out of 402 total seats in the state assembly. Although she has a narrow majority, she has achieved what Bhim Rao Ambedkar and her mentor Kanshi Ram could not in their lifetimes. She has made millions of Dalits who have been marginalized and powerless for decades, in Uttar Pradesh (and throughout India) hopeful for better days ahead.

Furthermore, she has brought an end to the politics of manipulation and maneuverings, fulfilling the electorates' desire for political stability. No party in UP had been able to secure a majority since BJP won 221 seats in the 1991 Assembly polls when the notion of "Hindu nationalism" was at its peak.

Maywati has crumbled established citadels and has upset all electoral calculations. Her victory has surprised both her rivals and exit-pollsters. She has emerged triumphant in the face of innumerable odds. She did not have a poster boy like the Congress did. Nor did she have hoards of actors and actresses — Amitabh Bachhan, Jaya Bachhan, Jaya Prada — campaigning for her party like Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party (SP) did. Out of many things, the recent election in UP also has proved that the likes of Amitabh Bachchan cannot sell everything.

Maywati has defied the notion that media can turn around elections. While other parties used actors, actresses, and business tycoons for campaigning, Maywati focused on the basics of politics —- go to people and seek their support. She asked her cadres to visit every village and every house to mobilize their support.

Mayawati has proven that her experience as a former teacher gives her an understanding of not only child psychology, but also psychology of the voters and the strategy that needs to be pursued to secure power. She realized very early on in her political career what Bhim Rao Ambedkar and her mentor Kanshi Ram failed to understand: without cohabitation with the upper caste Brahmins and Thakurs and forging alliance with Muslims, Dalits' quest for power would remain an unachievable goal. Thus, Mayawati did everything under the sun to woo previously adversarial social groups. She carried out a series of Bhaichara (caste amity) campaigns.

When it comes to how she changed her political course, her slogans say it all. She made a complete U-turn from "tilak, taraju aur talwar, maro unko jhoote char" (beat up Brahmins, Vaishyas and Kshatriyas) to "Haathi nahin Ganesh hain, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh hain" (it is not elephant but Lord Ganesh, symbolizing all gods and communities). She changed her party's image from an upper caste bashing party to an upper caste accommodating party. To ensure upper castes' loyalty towards BSP, of the total of 139 upper caste candidates, BSP fielded 86 Brahmins. In addition to the necessity of Brahmins' vote, Mayawati knew it very well that the road to power could not be constructed without Muslim votes. She fielded as many as 61 Muslim candidates in the polls.

Mayawati, thus, exhibited political ingenuity and tore apart BJP's grip on upper caste voters and SP's grip on Muslim voters. Clearly, the politics of inclusion have paid off for Mayawati.

Mayawati outsmarted the BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, and other regional political parties through the process of social engineering. The spectacular victory of Mayawati's BSP has potential lessons for both the major political and various ethnic groups that have been pushing for their empowerment in Nepal. Learn from the mistakes of others, or end up becoming a loser in future.

The Nepali Congress (NC) cannot achieve anything without reinventing itself. Although India's Congress party used charming prince Rahul Gandhi to lure voters, he had nothing new to offer. Like India's Congress Party, Nepali Congress (NC) has nothing new to offer. Rather than cozying itself with the political left, it should get nearer to the ethnic groups that believe in inclusive democracy.

Although the NC preaches democracy and secularism, it is heavily dominated by the Koirala clan. This clan calls itself democratic and secular, but still promotes irrational practices. The likes of Sujata Koirala have gained prominence due to their relationship with Girija Prasad Koirala but lack leadership qualities and will end up meeting the fate of Ajit Singh, the son of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

As a matter of fact, she might not even have the stature that Ajit Singh has in Indian politics. Unlike Ajit Singh, who does have backings of Jat community, Sujata is on her own. Sujata with her husband being a Christian and daughter married to a Muslim will not have any backing of the Brahmin community under which she falls by birth.

Thus, the days of the likes of Sujata Koirala in Nepali politics are numbered. With the demise of Girija Prasad Koirala, they too will become a history. The leaders of NC that have risen to prominence through hard work will soon have their heyday. For now, they should indulge themselves in introspection and work towards reinventing the party.

Slogans and rhetoric alone cannot win elections. Neither the campaign revolving around the idea of "India Shining," helped the BJP,

nor has UP mein dam hai kyon ki zulm yahan kam hai (UP has future because crime rate is low here) worked for Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi party. The voters are not foolish, they will no longer be mesmerized by slogans and rhetoric alone. They will now take a calculated look at the political leadership before casting their votes. So, the political left should shed its rhetorical politics and shy away from class-based politics. At the end of the day, like in UP, the party that is inclusive will have better prospects and will enjoy the support of the majority.

The former royalist party that functions like an elite's club will have no political future. The virtual wipe-out of Viswanath Pratap Singh, the descendent of former Maharaja of one of the many princely states in India, has clearly exhibited that money cannot buy votes; you will have to earn it. So, the parties like Rastriya Prajatantra Paty (RPP) and Rastriya Jansakti Party (RJP) have arduous road ahead. Do it right or perish.

Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and NFIN should do what Mayawati did in UP. Instead of alienating the so-called upper castes Pahadis, get them onboard. It would definitely not hurt, it would help. The propagation of sectarian hatred will aid no one in the long run. The BJP strategy to raise the communal temperature did not augur well as planned by BJP in UP. Upper caste Hindus refused to swallow the bait this time around and rather sided with BSP.

The recent uprising in terai has clearly demonstrated that there exists a political space for a genuine political force to grow. There are millions of Pahadis residing in Madhes that do not have problem with Upendra Yadav becoming their democratically elected prime minister. So, Upendra Yadav, who also happens to be a former teacher like Mayawati, has a good prospect as an emerging leader that can address woes of ethnic communities that have been bypassed thus far and at the same time lead the nation. All he needs to do is ensure that the ongoing ethnic movement does not become narrowly focused and communal. The communal politics has no future. Learn it easy way just by seeing Mayawati's experience in UP. For Mayawati it took years to figure that out.

Nation on the brink

While the Eight Party Alliance's (EPA) government is trying hard to maintain its composure and portray things as normal, the situation in the country is obviously far from being normal. It has been more than a year since the despotic regime of King Gyanendra crumbled, but with each passing day the future of this largely hungry nation appears bleaker than ever.

People have started asking: What have we, as citizens, achieved since the fall of King Gyanendra's despotic regime?

The nation's democracy is becoming a casualty in the "crossfire" of partisanship. Peace, which the Nepali people longed for so dearly, appears no-where in sight. The outrages against the defenseless populations: the senseless robbing and murder continue unabated. Incidents of marauding raids are increasing at an unprecedented rate.

Our combined desire to have Constituent Assembly (CA) elections is in limbo due to the intra and inter-party power struggle amongst the political parties representing the EPA. Because of inability of the EPA government to secure peace, hold CA elections on time, and bring other positive changes that are long over due, people have started referring the past one year as a "lost year."

The Maoist leaders that once ran for life have become parliamentarians and ministers and are enjoying their heyday. While the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are forced to live under sub-human conditions away from their home, the Maoists that chased them away from their homes are riding imported cars — be it state owned or forcibly seized from private citizens.

The NC and UML stalwarts seem to have forgotten the promises made to ordinary Nepalis during the April uprising and are once again busy enjoying their field day in the corridor of Singha Durbar.

The Youth Communist League's (YCL) mayhem continues unchecked in the capital and elsewhere in the country. The two rival factions-the Maoists and the Madhesi People's Rights Forum — are locked in a deadly duel for power in terai. The society that once exemplified harmony is now inching towards anarchy.

To some extent, the ongoing political violence is influenced by opportunities arising from state's weakness to ensure inclusion of ethnic communities and control political nudity of the Maoists.

The government offices in terai have been shut down for months now. The Pahadis have started leaving terai, fearing their lives. The government's power and the administrative structures vital to securing the law and order are shrinking.

Clearly, the political order is being founded on and sustained by violence. In the present day Nepal, violence, not public virtue, seems to be the basis of authority. The ordinary citizens have started suspecting the ability of the government to secure peace, and the Maoist commitment towards democracy.

Unfortunately, they are forced to keep their heads down in the face of the guns that the Maoists have covertly stored and the absence of viable options.

How do these symptoms of a dying political and social order play out? The signs of morbidity are very much evident in the present political, economic, and social life. With the ongoing decay of political and social order, politics is no longer the instrument through which contending interests are conciliated in a structured framework. Investors are shying away and moving towards greener and safer pastures and people have started suspecting those that do not belong to their own ethnic community.

The only things that will be born of this condition is a regime of rapine, despotism, poverty, and powerlessness. The current situation, if not corrected, would lead to an accelerating loss of state sovereignty, concomitant decay of state institutions, and worsen communal violence that is already reshaping social relations.

Furthermore, it will slow down the democratization process, which is essential for pulling Nepal out of poverty and placing it more firmly on the path of stability and sustainable development. It is necessary to stop political violence and lawlessness, because it impedes the necessary economic development. It does so by destroying human lives, economic assets, and through penalizing the accumulation of capital and wealth.

Every society that witnesses political upheaval confronts political violence and lawlessness for a while, but if not controlled, it can spread faster than wild fire and destabilize the essential democratic foundations in long term. Thus, political violence and lawlessness syndrome should be controlled effectively, because if allowed to persist, they could destroy people's right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Organized criminal groups, having nexus with the corrupt officials and politicians, will start mushrooming. Organized crimes as a result of such nexus will be extremely hard to control. A country, if infested by the twin problems or crime and underdevelopment, would have little prospects of developing into a stable and prosperous democracy.

A country like Nepal which has weak institutions is an idle breeding ground for an organized crime and corruption. Crime and corruption thrive best in unstable situations, such as the one Nepal is facing. Thus, before organized crime syndicates and warlords root into our society, the current EPA government should contain political violence and lawlessness.

Nepal is already confronted with high incidence of poverty and backwardness, and therefore, it cannot afford to get locked in a double bind of political violence and poverty. There are no easy ways out of this vicious circle. Thus, political leaders should not commit the same mistakes that they committed during the 1990s. This time around, they should do it and do it right. The Nepalis, who fought hard for democracy, do not deserve anarchy, poverty, and powerlessness.

Establishing a state's authority both in and out of the capital is an essential condition for any political order, including democracy. Building a decentralized system, through devolution of power, may ultimately be the best deterrent against future guerrilla resurgence and sudden outburst of political violence. A well functioning democracy is in everyone's best interest. Hence, the EPA government should work towards strengthening the capacity of the state in traditionally "stateless" areas in order to rein in violence and create space for an unbiased civil society to take root. It is crucial for the consolidation of peace, stability, and democracy in Nepal.

Endangered Pluralism

The violent protest in front of the venue of the “Miss Nepal” contest last week has made it clear that xenophobic brand of nationalism is on the rise in Nepal. It came as no surprise when the Maoists joined other leftists groups and demonstrated in front of the venue where the contestants were competing for the coveted crown. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a Maoist ideologue and the information minister, had publicly acknowledged that he is both personally and ideologically, against the beauty pageants. If he could, he would have stopped the recently held “Miss Nepal” contest from taking off.

Despite vehement opposition from the leftists and the radical feminist groups in Nepal, the beauty pageants are organized year after year and operated within a greater context of generalized and widely accepted misogyny. It may be hard for freedom-loving, open-minded people to comprehend why the leftists and the radical feminists are hell-bent against things such as “beauty pageants,” which do not infringe on anyone else's personal rights.

Richard Wilk's claim may be helpful in understanding why the political left and the radical feminists hate beauty pageants and vehemently oppose it. Wilk says the pageants make sense of everyday life in this global order by creating common categories of difference. Furthermore, under the watchful eye of television, beauty pageants are engaged in ideological labor that undermines the presumptions of a global capitalist order, which is extremely distasteful to the political left.

The political left and die-hard feminists are totally against the beauty pageants and think such contests demean women and corrupt Nepali culture. They think beauty pageants as subordination of women to the status of sex objects in the new economy of global consumerism. What these leftists ideologues and the so called “hard core feminists,” who if allowed, would reduce the women's status to a vessels for reproduction fail to understand is that the norms that these beauty pageants promote are not even remotely as obsolete as they like to believe. What they seem to undermine is the fact that the beauty pageants do reflect contemporary culture, one in which the political left and the feminist groups pay lip service to women's right.

The leftist groups pose to be progressive and claim to be the champions of the women's right issues, but in fact they try to control the freedom of women. They fear that events such as beauty pageants would free women from socio-cultural bindings and subsequently lead to the liberation of their subjects. They tirelessly talk about equality and human rights of women but their sister organizations such as Youth Communist League (YCL), in the name of moral and cultural policing try to deprive women of their rights to indulge in things they like and want to participate in, and infringe women's right to choose. Thus, the Maoists and the other leftists groups are hiding their real willingness to subjugate women in a cloak of good intentions. If the leftists and the feminists really vouch for liberation and upliftment of women, which they claim to be the case, they should take on more pressing issue such as marginalization of women and work towards weakening the patriarchal structures, which is the main culprit behind women's backwardness.

The never-ending opposition of beauty pageants by the leftists and the so-called “women rights” groups reflects the problematic politics and the desperateness on the part of the feminists to align with the leftist groups to ensure the momentum of their fizzling movement. In the name of retention of culture, what the leftists and the feminists in Nepal are trying to do is stereotype the image of Nepali women. They want to project Nepali women as weak and submissive. For them, reinforcing the fundamentalist viewpoint of women as subordinate pays and it pays heavily. If women start perceiving themselves strong and independent, the very slogan of liberation of women that the leftists and the feminists have been cashing in so far becomes redundant and untenable. Thus, what the liftists and the feminists in the name of opposition to commoditization of women are trying to do is promote their own version of “cultural nationalism” as a substitute for the state-sponsored ideology of secularism in Nepal.

The powerful rhetoric of “cultural nationalism,” which the political left preaches, when set against the so-called hegemony of Westernization, becomes emotionally appealing to the millions of leftists and the feminists who perceive westernization of Nepali society as an inherent threat to their political future. So far the political left has been tremendously successful in manipulating the anti-western sentiment propagated by the leftist media and the polity under the deceptive garb of cultural retention to propagate their political ideology. The protest against beauty pageants is one of many such manipulative moves that the political left uses to promote the notion of “cultural nationalism,” which contributes towards securing its goal of establishing a proletarian communist state.

Beauty pageants draw a lot of flak from the leftist groups and the feminist groups who object to, basically because they cannot see the beauty contests further than the judgment of woman's appearance and promotion of glamour. The beauty pageants should be viewed as an event showcasing women's talent rather than an event showcasing beauty, sexism, vulgarism etc. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

Beauty pageants are innocuous. It helps winners catapult their careers in an upward motion. Their participation elevates their status so they are likely to succeed in their future endeavors. Besides, the winners of the pageants participate in promoting social issues and issues related to nature conservation, which in itself is a great thing.

The leftists and the feminist groups need to drop the obsession with women's bodies and what women do with it. They should stop viewing women as vessels for reproduction and putting women's right to bodily autonomy on the chopping block. The true liberation of women will take place only when they can freely decide on what they want to do with their body. The time has come whereby we, Nepali citizens, rise against the cultural and moral policing by the leftist and the radical feminists. The talibanisation of Nepali society in the name of “cultural nationalism” is simply unacceptable.

Nepal: Arresting Corruption

Last week, the Supreme Court judges delivered verdicts on two most closely watched corruption cases against ex-ministers one after another. It looked like as if the old men presiding over the benches had suddenly gotten agile and had become more responsible. However, the new found agility on part of judges caused tornado affect and sucked the trust towards judiciary out when they acquitted the two most tainted ex-ministers of all corruption charges.

The two most tainted men -Khum Bahadur Khadka and Govinda Raj Joshi- that were perceived to have used and abused the system for their personal gains in the last fifteen years were given a clean chit. The ex-ministers duo must be excited because they can now regain the lost power and acquire ministerial berths in post April-revolution Nepal.

By providing a clean chit to these tainted men that were even considered corrupt in their own party circle, the Supreme Court has set a precedent-if you have money and power, you can swindle tax payers' hard earned money and still live a life of a free man. The verdict in these two cases is a severe blow to the rule of law and fight against corruption. In both of these verdicts, questionable conducts of the two defendants were matched by many aspects of the judges that delivered the controversial verdict.

Even if these cases were not a "slam dunk case" on part of Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIIA), the burden of proof for proving that their property came from legal source but not through embezzlement rested on Mr. Khadka and Joshi themselves. The recent verdicts raise questions about the embezzled money getting trickled down to the court rooms. Such perception in itself is a dangerous thing because correction warrants for both marketing a non-corrupt image of judiciary and rebuilding the legitimacy of, and confidence in, the system. Corruption in the judiciary, real or perceived, has an over all impact on the measures taken to control corruption in the country.

As judiciary is one arm of defense against corruption, even perception of corruption in judiciary dwarfs the chances of controlling corruption in other areas. In addition, it is important to remain cautious regarding the corruption in judiciary because if a citizenry start perceiving judiciary to be corrupt and playing at the hands of corrupt politicians and government officials, they will stop knocking at the court's door. This is what is exactly happening in Nigeria which is considered as one of the most corrupt nation on the face of earth. Less than percent of the people surveyed in Nigeria, selected courts as their first choice institution for the correction of corruption. Nigerians seems to have lost faith on judiciary as an intuition to control corruption.

Corruption in the judiciary in Nepal is mainly occurs because of the lack of accountability. Even when judicial process and decisions are viewed and understood by citizens as politically or financially motivated, judges are not held accountable. As judges are not being held accountable, impact on overall effort to control corruption in the country is not gaining any grounds.

It is important to preserve the integrity of judiciary because where there is a high level of trust in the judiciary, there is a lower level of corruption. So, in order to lower the rate of corruption, it is important to keep judiciary clean and trust worthy. However, with all due respect to the judiciary in Nepal, the recent verdicts on these two cases have proved that these men in black coats are encouraging culture of corruption on and off the courtrooms.

Why is corruption a big deal? It is a big deal because it has ripple effect on economic efficiency and development. It retards economic growth, lowers investment, and last but not the least negatively impacts political stability. Foreign direct investments have negative correlation with the presence of corruption within the public sectors in the country. So, for an underdeveloped country like Nepal which is trying to attract foreign investment, it is extremely important to keep the level of corruption under control.

What can Nepalese people do when the corrupt politicians and officials are let set loose by the courts? If nothing, they can demonstrate and force politicians and government officials to step down from the public office like the Filipinos did in the case of President Estrada of the Philippines. In 2002 the protesters demonstrated ferociously and demanded the resignation when the legislature failed to act on evidence of his corruption.

Kathleen Barrett rightly points out the possible damages of perceived corruption in judiciary when she says,"It can be argued that perceived corruption in the judiciary is at least as harmful, if not more so, than actual corruption since the effects are the same but perceptions are not as easy to change as actions".

Judges must be held accountable for their decisions by the general public. If a judge is allowed to apply laws based on the value of a side payment then there is not equality before the law. The very nation of social equity gets eroded. It is not about the freedom of few individuals that amassed illegal wealth through corruption but about the impact of corruption on overall socioeconomic fabric of a society. The effect tends to reverberate through out the economy rather than being confined to the corruption based transactions.

Dual citizenship: A win-win proposition

The Nepalis are not far behind when it comes to trotting the globe and exploring opportunities. Though they can be found in every corner of the world, in some countries there are many, whereas in others, a handful. However, no matter where they are and in what conditions they are living, they share one common characteristic-undiminished love for their country.

Every single Nepali citizen, who is living abroad, has either been contributing, or possesses the desire to contribute in some form. Whether it is by remitting money or by doing philanthropic work, the Nepali Diaspora is trying to keep the linkage with Nepal alive.

There are many expatriates who have spent their youth gaining valuable experience and making fortune in the West. These Nepalis now want to contribute towards the development of Nepal and upliftment of Nepalis languishing at the bottom of the pyramid.

However, this is only possible if the government provides a conducive environment.

One way of tapping this vast potential is by providing Nepali diaspora, who are living in foreign shores, their desired right to possess dual citizenship. In an era where the movement of educated manpower is no more considered brain drain but brain circulation, Nepal can tremendously benefit from opening the gate for Nepali diaspora through the provision of dual citizenship.

We live in a world whereby the concept of cultural retention has lost its relevance, and globalization has become a modern day cult. Emergence of multiple identities that did not exist before is now being welcomed. Thus, dual citizenship should not be considered antithetical to the ideal of loyalty to one's homeland.

India's former prime minister Moraji Desai's famous anti-dual-citizenship quip, that "no man can serve two masters," has no buyer in today's modern India.

The number of countries joining the bandwagon of dual citizenship policy is increasing at a rapid pace. Countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana and the Dominican Republic have a huge number of Diaspora living abroad. Each of these countries has allowed their citizens to possess dual citizenship, while recognizing that it has the advantages of broadening a country's economic base, fostering trade and investment, and an enhanced availability of skilled manpower.

The value of Dual Citizenship increasingly becomes a necessity as society becomes more global and integrated. Many countries around the globe have recognized the possible contribution of a diaspora to the development of their country, and these countries have made an effort to attract it.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed a program called Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA). This program aims at the transfer of vital skills and resources present in the African diaspora to priority sectors back home. It also aims at matching the profiles of migrants with the demand from African countries. MIDA is meant to channel the available skills, namely financial skills and other available resources of a Diaspora, to support development projects.

Over time, arguments against dual citizenship are becoming less compelling, while arguments in favor of dual citizenship are gaining grounds. With an ongoing rapid globalization, the political reasons that were once used to reject the idea of dual citizenship have lost their significance. Today economic and cultural arguments in favor of dual citizenship have more buyers than they previously did in the twentieth century.

When the developed countries such Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are liberalizing their immigration policy to attract skilled workers, we are happy with meager remittances. The successive governments, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, failed to acknowledge the need of contribution of Nepali diaspora in enhancing economic growth and development.

The government pays millions of rupees annually to foreign-born consultants to work in Nepal; however it fails to pay a comparable amount to the similarly qualified Nepali professional who is living abroad and willing to work in Nepal. In terms of employment opportunities, these Nepali professionals are discriminated against the Westerners in their own country.

Nepal stands at a crossroads, and the need to change is apparent. In fact, the need to seek individuals with expertise and experiences that are helpful in developing the country is greater now than at any other time in the history of Nepal as a sovereign nation. Thus, the call for a sustained economic development should not be dwarfed by the sheer jingoism of individuals who think that dual citizenship is antithetical to the ideal of loyalty to one's homeland.

Dual citizenship is a progressive action, and Nepal would do well in taking advantage of it. Through dual citizenship the growing numbers of Nepali Diaspora can benefit from opportunities overseas, while maintaining their cultural and economic links with Nepal. In addition, they can bring back to the Nepali community their valuable expertise, knowledge, and funds needed to foster economic prosperity and sustained development.

Nepal can learn from an Indian experience; for India's acknowledgement of contribution of Diaspora is clearly reflected in its recent steps to appease Indian Diaspora. India in 2003 founded the Ministry of Overseas Indians to deal with issues and policies related to Diaspora. It introduced a dual citizenship system in order to facilitate investment and prioritize the transfer of technical know-how from the Diaspora to India.

Another example of current dual citizenship laws is in Ireland. Ireland is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and has tremendously benefited from "citizenship by descent" laws.

Many Nepalis settled abroad may want to return in a late-inning of their life, because in Nepal they can become "big fish in a small pond". There exists distinctive opportunities to make an impact. In addition, there are some opportunities that are distinct and unique, and which cannot be duplicated in the West. Many Nepali expatriates long to return to Nepal, not because they have failed, but because they are successful in their country of residence. It is their desire to contribute to their country of origin that lures them to take the reverse route.

Dual citizenship will provide expatriates to return and invest in Nepal, entice foreign investors, and enhance cross-border cooperation. Dual citizenship will facilitate the freedom of movement of Nepali settled abroad, allowing skills to move as opportunities arise in Nepal. It will permit an opportunity to well-educated children of Nepali diaspora born abroad, but want to contribute towards Nepal's development.

In addition, Nepal can benefit from the political and economic clout that Nepali diaspora possess, and which can be used in favor of their country of descent. Investments from Nepali diaspora can make our path towards sustainable development less bumpy. In a country like Nepal, where domestic sources of capital are scarce, investment and expertise of expatriates can be of tremendous help.

In addition to the economy, dual citizenship will help democratize the Nepali society. There are several thousand Nepalis. These people have lived and practiced democracy in countries where democracy is more institutionalized. These expatriates, and their siblings with their dual nationalities and exposure, could be of tremendous help when it comes to consolidation of democracy. They could provide a helping hand when it comes to navigating democratic Nepal through the twenty-first century.

Dual citizenship will enhance Nepali expatriates' ability to transact and move freely, especially in and out of Nepal; and this would be a prerequisite for fostering trade and investment. In order to build a prosperous and democratized society we need to be forthcoming in employing enlightened, reasoning, and dynamic imagination.

Students' Moral Bankruptcy

There are thousands of students in Nepal that would cherish attending university level courses but cannot do so because of the harsh economic realities of life. Unfortunately, the ones that get a chance to attend a university hardly realize how fortunate they are to get a degree. This is evident from the act of vandalism that took place a couple of weeks ago. Students of the Education Department of the Tribhuvan University set ablaze the central department of Education alleging that the recent results of first year Masters Level studies were unfair. This is not the फर्स्ट time that students have indulged themselves in vandalism. It seems to have become a common practice.

Are these students, who indulged in acts of vandalism, really committed ones who want to enrich their lives or is it an act of budding student politicians who think student politics is an expressway to national politics? If those involved in vandalism are really serious students committed to getting good grades and want to make more of life, we should immediately correct the system.

Taking actions against those professors that are careless and do not understand the sacrifices students make and long hours they put in would be a good start. We should not let these professors' actions dampen the spirit of our young minds. But if it is an act of so-called student leaders, then time is ripe to start thinking about reforming student politics in colleges and universities across the nation.

Our college campuses should not be allowed to become infested by dirty politics. It should by no means be allowed to become a breeding ground for those sleazy politicians of tomorrow. There is a vast difference between a student assembly or union comprising neutral students that fight for the rights of the students and a front organization of political parties that operate within college campuses. Not that I condone vandalism but there is nothing to fear when a student association works for advancement of education and student rights.

However, we do need to be concerned when our innocent students that have the power of changing the face of our nation are used and abused by political parties for their own political gains.

Students should be given a chance to start their educational career with a fresh mind which is not polluted with political biases. Under the prevailing conditions, the first thing incoming college student receives is the membership of a front organization of political parties that operate in almost every college campuses across the nation. This breeds biased ideologues instead of a genuine patriotic professional. Students come out of our universities with a politically biased mind and start viewing all of those with opposing political views as a regressive element of society. This does more harm than good because it depletes the level of political and social tolerance in a society.

When it comes to student politics what we need to understand is that it should be the students that are benefited from the causes that student leaders pursue. It is hard to comprehend how vandalizing a department benefits students. How does vandalism help solve the problem of carelessness on the part of a professor? If we are trying to scare professors and force them to curve the grades for good grades alone then the students would be without sound knowledge, which is not useful.

In this competitive world, you may be able to get a job with good grades but will not be able to succeed in the absence of real knowledge. If phony grades were of any help, all those students who buy certificates from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India and have distinction would all have become doctors, engineers, and highest ranking officials in Nepal. Thus, we should strive towards making our educational institutions competitive and set the highest possible standard for our students rather than reducing it to a phony degree granting machine.

Student politics is not a bad thing in itself. Some of the finest leaders of our time have a past in student politics. However, what racks ordinary citizens' mind is that how far they have crossed the line. Setting ablaze a department where thousands of aspiring teachers had dreamt of gaining the valuable skills that a good teacher possesses is a heinous crime.

There are good students and there are bad students, just like there are good professors and bad professors. We should find a better way to straighten out the act of those careless professors out there whose acts malign the image of educators and certainly vandalism of a department is not the way to resolve this problem. When we could bring down King Gyananda's despotic rule by resorting to non-violent means we can definitely get the act of our careless professors straight without inflicting harm to our alma mater.

There is, no doubt, that the students have been at the forefront of every political and social movements of Nepal. Be it 1980, 1990, or 2006's democratic movement, students made tremendous contributions and sacrifices for the establishment of democracy.

It is not only in Nepal but throughout the globe, students have played and continue to play important roles when it comes to fighting against injustices. Be it against apartheid in South Africa or against the Vietnam War in America, students organized themselves and vehemently opposed against apartheid and war.

However, after the end of Vietnam War students got back to their campuses and prioritized their studies. Students' associations in Europe and America are more into working for the educational advancement of the fellow students rather than working as political pawns in the dirty games of political parties.

It is an open secret that students are the strongest weapons of the political parties to organize a successful movement that can bring down any government in Nepal. But, unfortunately at the cost of the year lost or sometimes lives for the benefit of political parties. Students should decide for themselves if it is worth it.

We freed ourselves from Rana oligarchy more than five decades ago, and have witnessed many forms of governments, but the plight of the common people continues unabated. No matter what form of government we choose to have the hard reality is that thousands of people are still forced to go to bed hungry every night.

Thus, we cannot afford to put students in the streets against the government again and again. Students are not a political weapon but they are our investment in future economic growth. We can change the government by simply following the democratic process -- voting them out, if we are unsatisfied with their performance.

University students should consider themselves as a fortunate few whose dreams are still afloat. Those who are now in universities have an opportunity and a moral responsibility to build the future of this country for which our politicians simply do not have the time or intention to consider.

If students do not realize their moral responsibility now, there cannot be any hope that this hungry nation would ever do justice to or offer any dignity to those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Peace under the gun?

The news about the government and the Maoists making a breakthrough on the issue of arms management took everyone by surprise. The Kathmandu Post (Oct 31) quoted an anonymous leader involved in the negotiation and reported that a breakthrough acceptable to the government, the Maoists and the international community had been reached.

However, the recent interview given by Maoist leader Ram Bahadur Thapa "Badal" to Nepal Magazine states otherwise. He flatly refuses any possibility of the Maoists agreeing to the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration (DDR) formula put forward by the United Nations (UN). His perception of DDR as a means to force the Maoists to surrender raises serious doubts about him toeing the line with the Maoist supreme leaders, Prachanda and Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, on the issue of arms management. The brewing suspicion of him leading a splinter Maoist rebel group holds ground more than ever now and should not be understated.

A flurry of statements from the Maoist and SPA leaders in recent days have led to waxing and waning of people's expectations for a durable peace and stability. The marriage of convenience between the SPA and Maoists during the April revolution had instilled a ray of hope for a lasting peace and stability among the conflict-ridden Nepali citizens. However, with each day's passing, both peace and democracy seem to be an elusive dream.

As long as the Maoists maintain their goals inflexible and provide conflicting signals, there is a strong possibility that talks may soon hit the wall. Their refusal to disarm may prove to be a stumbling block in the ongoing peace process. When a party involved in negotiation puts forward inflexible goals, overlapping bargaining ranges fail to emerge and negotiations can break down prematurely.

At this point in time, the Maoists are trying to prove that they can hold out longer than their opposition during both negotiations and war. They understand that the longer they can stall negotiations, the more likely they are to convince the SPA government to capitulate.

The Maoist leaders are reluctant to disarm militiamen because while divulging secret weapons depots might facilitate settlement, it will simultaneously leave them vulnerable to intimidations and attacks. They know that the people and security forces that they have intimidated during this decade-long insurgency will lash out at them at the first chance they get.

Thus, the Maoists are trapped in a Catch-22 situation when it comes to the issue of disarmament. If the Maoist leaders agree to complete decommissioning of weapons, they will be making their militiamen dangerously vulnerable to annihilation; if they refuse to do so, they would be triggering the very security dilemma they hope to avoid.

Insurgency resolution is always a complex matter, no matter how simple and straightforward it may look from outside. It is complex not because of conflicting objectives, but because of conflicting perceptions of the issues involved and the complicated relationships between adversaries.

Resolving the Maoist insurgency requires more than agreeing to a ceasefire. An extension of a ceasefire is not a guarantor of peace. Successful resolution of the Maoist conflict warrants complete disarmament and demobilization of Maoist militiamen, integration of militiamen into the mainstream of society, and building an interim government capable of accommodating insurgents' interests. However, the formation of an interim government including the Maoists should be based on the complete disarmament and demobilization of Maoist militiamen.

Disarmament and demobilization of Maoist militiamen is crucial because a free and fair Constituent Assembly (CA) election is not possible without complete disarmament of Maoist militiamen. If they are not disarmed, the Maoists will definitely try to capitalize on people's fears. It would be naive to think that the demagogues, with their pathetic human right records, would act like Boy Scouts during the CA election.

In addition, if the CA election is held without disarming the Maoist rbels, it will be dominated by concerns about peace and security. Furthermore, the voters will be forced to use the limited power of their franchise to appease armed insurgents with a hope that this will prevent rebels from heading back to the jungles.

Thus, successful disarmament and demobilization of the militiamen is extremely important in enhancing confidence in the electoral process and guaranteeing fair election results.

Peace and democracy cannot flourish under the gun. The mad rush towards the formation of an interim government without addressing the core issues--- disarmament and demobilization of armed rebels --- would be a futile attempt towards a lasting peace and stability. The solution based on power sharing without taking care of the core issues remains incomplete. Forcing unwilling and contentious factions together in any kind of power-sharing structure is not a lasting solution and is bound to fail in the long run.

If we look at the world's history, it becomes evident that settlements based on power sharing without taking care of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration (DDR) issues eventually fail and lead to renewed war. For instance, failure to disarm combatants led to renewed conflict in Angola.

According to Margaret Antsee, the UN special envoy to Angola, "Any lasting solution of a long-standing civil war depends on a satisfactory resolution of the military element." Thus, complete disarmament and demobilization of Maoist militiamen should be the central component of efforts towards re-establishing legitimate governance, lasting peace, and a well-functioning democracy.

If peace talks are on the verge of breakdown, the Maoist fear of annihilation can be subsided through a firm commitment from the third party. The UN can mobilize peace keeping forces in the field to actively punish violations and protect disarmed Maoist militiamen. This will ensure that the Maoist security concerns will not be negated and will promote their willingness towards disarmament.

The ongoing peace negotiations may fail, not because the Maoists do not want peace, but because they cannot solve certain tenacious bargaining problems. If the Maoists want to establish themselves as a political force, they should view disarmament and demobilization as an important step towards both confidence-building among the parties and the development of new institutions and procedures of decision-making that are necessary for sustaining peace and democracy.

The Maoists should move away from their current competitive-bargaining strategy and adopt a softer cooperative-bargaining strategy. This is mainly because competitive-bargaining strategy assumes a "win-lose" situation. As neither the Maoists nor the government want to be perceived as a loser, this strategy does not lend itself to the compromises necessary to bring an end to the conflict; no substantial progress can be made as such. Cooperative-bargaining is based more on a "win-win" mentality and is geared more towards focusing on benefits for the parties involved.