Time for course correction

Chickens of “consensus” politics have come home to roost. The manhandling of Finance Minister Surendra Pandey by the Maoist members of parliament is a preview of what the future holds for the politicians of the current coalition, who once endlessly harped on the need for consensus, if the outcomes of the political bargain do not go the Maoists’ way. The footage of the ultra-progressives (read the Maoists) manhandling the less-progressive (the minister from the less-progressive CPN-UML) is just a mouse-click away for the world to see. The timing could not have gotten any better. Pandey got roughed up at a time when the never-ending rounds of elections for the post of prime minister was providing the world a glimpse of how exactly a dysfunctional political system looks like.

As usual, each side is blaming the other for the incident. Anything new in that? Not really. The blame-game has been going on for a while now. Instead of trying to figure out who is at fault, it would be helpful if we spent our time and energy trying to understand why something as serious as this happened inside the parliament. It happened for a simple reason. And the reason is that as a nation, we allow politicians to run the country by cutting deals in the name of consensus. Nobody except the dealmakers actually know the terms and conditions of the deals. So, it is very easy for them to lie about them later. What makes this deal-based process even more complicated is that, for these dealmakers, pleasing their masters (Chinese for the Maoists and Indians for the current coalition members) is much more important and lies at the heart of anything they do or agree to than serving the nation’s interest and fulfilling people’s expectations.

Blaming the Maoists for insincerity at this point in time is completely absurd and unintelligent. The Maoists have been inconsistently consistent throughout about their motive behind joining the hands with the political parties. They wanted to use the opportunity to achieve their goal of establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. The rationalization of the Maoists’ intent to come overground came from the very politicians that now grouch about the Maoist motives, pundits who change their color faster than chameleons to remain politically-relevant and human right activists that are now nowhere to be seen when a people’s representative is manhandled in broad light inside the parliament. Hence, the wound that politicians of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML complain about is self-inflicted. The sooner they learn to live with it, the better off they will be.

The Maoists are now one of the dominant players of Nepali politics and there is logic to what they do. Every move of theirs is well-calculated and is meant to serve their political agenda. With India against their quest for power, the Maoists have no choice but to tilt the domestic political balance by coercing their political opponents. They want the opponents to be perceived as feeble and power-hungry who will eventually succumb to their bullying tactics. And there is precedence to what they believe in. On the other side, there is no political preparation to tackle the Maoists. All they have is the same old slogan of how big a threat the Maoists are for democracy, which gives them an opportunity to cash in on India’s soured relationship with the Maoists, both of which will not take the coalition very far.

Putting the blame on the Maoists will not serve any purpose when it comes to correcting the course that they are in. The NC and the UML should prove to the people, which they have not done so far, that they can effectively govern the nation and meet people’s expectations. The state’s reach has been shrinking with each passing day. Regurgitation of the same old stale slogan of democracy being in danger from the likes of Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who not very long ago used every argument that they could think of to justify how bringing the Maoists overground was good for democracy, makes the case that the coalition is trying to make against the Maoists look malicious and empty.

The ongoing small-scale confrontation between the major partners of the coalition and the Maoists will get bigger and more frequent in the days to come. This is just the beginning. The NC, with its new president, can be a game changer if it dares to get away from the influence of the likes of Sitaula that failed miserably to correctly assess the Maoists’ motives. It is time to play the game with the Maoists the way they do. Backdoor dealings with them should be completely stopped. Things as important as budget should be made public with or without the Maoist support. If they oppose, they are the ones that will be seen as obstructionist, and if they get physical, they should end up behind bars. Appeasing the Maoists so far has not gotten the nation anywhere, has it? It is high time that they be held accountable for their acts.

The moving of the political process forward should be done smartly. Staying put in a futile prime ministerial election process makes the NC look like a club of politically-immature jokers. Its obsession with the prime ministership is pushing Jhala Nath Khanal and his fellow comrades closer to Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Helping the UML retain its political base is as important as maintaining its own political space for the NC. The UML’s loss is the Maoists party´s gain. Hence, letting Khanal become the prime minister is politically more profitable for the NC than alienating him by endlessly bidding for Ram Chandra Poudel. Even if Poudel became the prime minister, there will absolutely nothing in this lame duck environment for him to achieve that will change the NC’s face and fate. So, why remain obsessed? Cut your losses by not appearing insensitive to Khanal’s desperation to become the prime minister.

Banking on India’s support and regurgitation of democracy-in-peril rhetoric may work for a while and help the coalition stay put in power for some time, but with China’s support, the Maoist party is hell-bent on tipping the balance. If and when the balance tips, India will have no choice but to reengage with the Maoists. Aung San Suu Kyi received Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1993 from the Indian government, but when the Indian government later on realized that the Burmese junta was not going to release Suu Kyi anytime soon, it started reengaging with the junta that put her under house arrest. Than Swe’s recent gala reception in India and the endless case made by India’s foreign policy experts, including Shyam Saran, about the necessity of becoming pragmatic when it came to dealing with Myanmar’s junta is an example of how far the Indian pendulum can swing with change in domestic political situation. Endless complaints about the Maoists’ anti-democratic acts have not made them change their ways, so it is time you change your ways and do things differently Mr Sushil Koirala. By opting for that, you would be doing a huge both to your party as well as the nation.

Illusive realization

A renowned journalist in Kathmandu during a conversation last week acknowledged something that very few journalists in Nepal dare to write about. He basically told me three things. First, the peace process is dead. Second, the euphoria of spring 2006 revolution has all but dissipated and there is a seething anger among the public about the ongoing political mess. Third, the country needs a major course correction if it is to be saved from slipping into anarchy. 

His views did not surprise me at all. It did not surprise me, because for me, achieving multiparty democracy by joining hands with the violent radical communists was always a far-fetched dream that I simply could not conceptualize. Hard- headed me? Sure, but I have to have evidences to believe in something. For me, hope is not a method. And, if history is any lesson, it has never happened anywhere else. Deep down, this is one of such instances where I very much wanted to be proved wrong. Honestly, there are very few instances when I have felt that way. The nation and people would have benefited and their hope for peace would have come true.

His words got me thinking. How did we get where we are? The political malaise that we witness in Nepal is not of current making. It is a result of inept political decisions taken year after year for more than the past one and a half decade. The revolution of 1990 had provided a perfect platform to radically transform the nation. It is impossible to have such a golden opportunity anytime soon. Girija Prasad Koirala’s hunger for power, ballot-rigging and horse-trading culture that he oversaw and did nothing to control, herd of incompetent and corrupt politicians that he cropped to checkmate Ganeshman Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s more moderate and comparatively well-educated followers destroyed the prospects of democratic consolidation in Nepal. Inability to bring about a social change through radical reforms turned a perfect ground for democratic consolidation into a breeding ground for violent insurgency, which Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai had failed to achieve their political dreams under Nirmal Lama’s leadership and beyond were sharp enough to see.

GP Koirala’s annihilation methods of fellow competitors within the party and exceptional expertise in bringing down the government soon became the norm in Nepali politics. All sides: United Marxist Leninist (UML) to former royalists adapted it well to their best advantage. The recent audio tape scandal in which Krishna Bahadur Mahara is heard pleading his Chinese handler millions for political horse-trading is nothing new in Nepali politics. The only difference is that Mahara having been on the run in jungles did not realize that, unlike in jungles, in human settlements, communications can be intercepted and recorded to score political points. People learn from mistakes. This incidence is sure to bring about enhanced sophistication in Mahara’s future dealings.

In Nepal, politics has never been about people. It is practiced in the name of people but not for the people. If we look back, justifications for political change has been always based on people. But as and when political changes materialize, it is quickly reduced to a political opportunism and money making scheme. Repetition of it over and over again can be interpreted in two ways. A more neutral interpretation would call it as the failure of political leadership without raising a question of about whether or not it ever had a vision about as and how to bring about socio-political and economic change. But if an evidence based approach is to be taken, there is ample room to suspect the very intentions of politicians that advocate political change. Looking back political change that politicians pushed for appears more like a ploy to get to the corridor of power and remain there than anything else. What follows the change is misinterpretation of what change was actually for.

The political bickering and power struggle of mid-90s and onward succumbed whatever little vision that Nepali politicians had in terms of bringing about the real change in Nepal. Politicians both within the Nepali Congress and the UML spent more time sharpening their skills required to out-compete the opposition faction within the party than thinking through the issues confronting Nepali society. In the absence of their ability to solve people’s problems, emergence of a powerful political force was eminent, which they conveniently undermined till the Maoists gained grounds and emerged as a prominent threat for their political survival.

Gyanendra’s political adventurism provided a perfect ground for the Maoists to lure the major political parties. The political parties by then had become so used to remaining in the power that they saw nothing wrong in the Maoists’ lewd act.India’s assurance as a guarantor must have provided additional confidence. But what the parties that agreed to bed with the Maoists and India that provided both the moral and material support to the Maoists during the insurgency undermined was that the Maoists that were promising to play by the rules were not loafers that all of a sudden had gotten their hands on guns.

The mainstreaming of a violent radical communist group that had picked guns after being disillusioned with the parliamentary democracy cannot and should not have been based on mere commitments. But the necessity clouded judgments. India saw it as a perfect opportunity to dislodge ultra-nationalist monarchy, parties wanted additional force to fight back the crackdown on them, and as far as the Maoists were concerned, it was the best opportunity to parachute to the urban areas. There might be few, but there people like myself, who still believe that Gyanendra’s political adventurism could have been defeated without joining hands with the Maoists. It would have taken time and that is what GP Koirala did not have on his side. Joining hands with the Maoists has created more problems than it has solved. Looking back, politicians must have realized that putting strategy before ideology is never productive in the long run. Joining hands with ideologically antagonistic force is always counterproductive and dangerous.

It is not the politicians’ fault, entirely. Neither media, nor intellectuals cautioned about the possible dangers associated with bedding with the Maoists. Some did not want to jeopardize their status by sticking their neck out, whereas others did not want to come across as a “regressive” element in a nation that is immersed in “ultra-progressive” glory. That was three years ago. The media and intellectuals are still reluctant to question the utility of the Constituent Assembly, whose main function is to draft a new constitution and act as a legislature. Failure to promulgate a constitution within the stipulated date and elect a prime minister even after the seven rounds of voting has already proved its futility. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity. Isn’t it high time for Nepali media, academics, and intellectuals to engage in real analysis rather than put faith in the process that has failed to produce results? Committing one mistake after another is not the way to build an egalitarian society. Learning from the past mistakes and doing things differently when things do not work is.

Identify the problem

Will the nation have a new prime minister on August 2? The chances are slim. The chances are slim not because the political parties are not on the same page on who should be leading the government but because there is no proper framework that forces them to come to an agreement. If the past history is any indication of as and when Nepali politicians come to a consensus, it is the political survival or the chances of losing pay and perks that drive them.

Where has the call for “political consensus” gotten us? There is a rapid decay in social and institutional capital. Insecurity and political instability have triggered massive flight of human and financial capital. Lack of security has forced thousands of village development committee secretaries to resign en masse, which will have disastrous impact on community development. The Maoists cashed-in on local disenchantment when local bodies were functional. Their absence, now, will result in an unchecked mushrooming of radical and criminal groups. The difference between the two is pretty blurred in Nepal.

Let’s accept the fact that living in the hell of misplaced good intentions has not gotten us anywhere. The never-ending cry for political consensus will have to come to an end some day, the sooner the better. Politics is a competitive business and it is better that way. Every politician has an ambition to reach to the top most level. And, especially in a context like ours, where the political process is translucent and rules are arbitrary, it is quite natural for the politicians to do whatever it takes to get the job. Political pundits and the media should shed their obsession with “political consensus” and think about ways to as and how we can make politicians act responsibly and deliver so that we are not at their mercy. They should stop hinting that without political consensus the country is going to go down the drain. We are already on our way there if we don’t reverse our course!

We live in a nation where a majority government did not last a full term. What kind of consensus are we talking about here? Is it even rational to ask for everlasting consensus among the parties with such a stark difference in ideology and agenda?

Yes, we all need a constitution, and without a consensus among the political parties, it is not possible to have one. Makes perfect sense, at least theoretically. But theories are good on paper. We live in a practical world where economic dividends and power define political actions. Constitution-making is neither economically profitable, nor does it bar politicians not engaged in its making ineligible to enjoy power. So why bother? Besides, each party has its own view as to how the constitution should be. The Maoists do not care about it, as they know very well that with the current configuration in the Constituent Assembly (CA), they cannot have the constitution of their liking. The major political parties of yesteryears want to have a constitution not very different from the 1990s, which they very well know is not possible given the fragmented political landscape and upsurge in ethnic consciousness. As far as ethnic parties are concerned, sticking to the ridiculously inflexible ethnic demands, which they themselves put on the backburner while in power, is the only way to remain in circulation in Nepali politics.

If the Maoists agree to the kind of the constitution that the NC and the UML want and the way they want the Nepal Army-People’s Liberation Army (PLA) merger to happen, it will be like mainstreaming into the post-1990 political system. If that is what they wanted, there was no need to fight the decade-long bloody insurgency. For the NC and UML, agreeing to the Maoists’ terms and conditions for constitution-writing and PLA merger would mean dwarfing their own future prospects. Why would they want to do that? The rude awakening that came with the Maoist victory in the CA election is enough to keep them skeptical toward the Maoists for a long time.

Every political parties on the ground will talk about the necessity of having a constitution and moving the political process forward but that is all we will get if the system is not forced to change. The change in guard is irrelevant at this point in time. The debate should be over whether or not the new prime minister will be able to achieve the things that we want him to achieve? If not, how does it matter?

There is a fault within the existing system, which political pundits, media, and the so- called intellectuals are collectively ignoring. Endless regurgitation of the need for consensus is not going to help ease the existing political stalemate, which actually is the result of the consistent abuse of the political system in the name of consensus. By forcing strange bedfellows to conjugate indefinitely, we are dwarfing the chances of realization of democracy. The realization of democracy is contingent upon rules of the game that provide political parties competing against one another a chance to govern within institutional systems that guarantee fairness and a genuine opportunity for alternation of power between competing parties. We need a political system that can punish crime and corruption, mediate between ethnic forces and competing economic interests and turf incompetents out peacefully.

There is no way that politicians are going to agree on the contentious issues, for example, whether or not the entire Madhes should be one province. Such issues determine the political career of many politicians who would be jobless if these issues are solved amicably. The best way to deal with such issues would be referendum. By trying to take a short-cut, we are wasting our time, resources, and energy, which need to be used in creating employment opportunities for youths. In the absence of decent employment opportunities, young Nepalis are being turned into hotheads by conniving separatists, radical ideologues, and criminals.

Our obsession with “political consensus” has allowed politicians to abuse the political system endlessly. They can conveniently choose chance over sovereignty; uncertainty over certainty; darkness over light. The only way to stop the free fall is to take the route that we should have taken after the CA failed to do its duty. We should have gone for fresh elections with contentious issues on the ballet. The process would have been much more transparent. By shying away from the democratic processes and forcing unusual bedfellows to remain in symbiotic relationship indefinitely, we are stifling the prospects of democratic consolidation. It is about time we identified the real problem behind the existing political stalemate.

The silent majority awakens

The Maoists’ “indefinite strike” aimed at dislodging the government hardly lasted a week. Comrades, who roared like lions while delivering their May Day speeches, appeared like wet kittens during the press conference organized to call off the strike. And, it all happened within a week. What forced the Maoists to call off their strike? It is a second major setback for them. The first being their unsuccessful attempt to bring down the government by obstructing the Constituent Assembly (CA).

People watching the press conference could easily tell that Pushpa Kamal Dahal was lying when he said the decision to call off the strike was due to the discomfort faced by the general public. While he slyly based his premise to call off the strike on discomfort of the general public, he contradicted the very stance within minutes by labeling thousands of anti-strike protesters conspiratorial puppets riled up by the government to ignite confrontation among the public. The audacity it takes to tell these lies, straight to people’s faces that have watched Dahal’s honest side in Saktikhor tape shows that he doesn’t really care about the truth.

Forget about the Saktikhor tape, it does not take much effort to find out the level of compassion that Dahal and his comrades have for common folks. The Maoists are still not letting thousands of people displaced during and after the insurgency to return home. Their property is yet to be returned. Every now and then the sister organizations of the Maoist party shuts down schools and colleges to prove their strength leaving children wondering about their future. The infamous acts of Young Communist Leaguers that have terrorized public are yet to stop.

If Dahal and his comrades were really serious about providing comfort to the people, they would have disbanded YCL long time ago, returned the seized properties, and instructed their ideologues in the guise of student leaders not to fiddle around with the educational sector. All these are sufficient to prove that Dahal’s reason to call off the strike is nothing but a lie.

Here are the real reasons why Dahal and his comrades called off the strike. The relationship between India and the Maoist party is getting worse, and India is hell-bent on not letting the revolutionaries come back to power unless they tone down their anti-India rhetoric. With India antagonized, the Maoists could not afford to lose the support of Europeans, specifically the Scandinavians. It would not reflect positively on the Scandinavians to support a party that pretty much makes the common folks life difficult.

To make the matter worse for the revolutionaries, a peace rally was organized by the Valley folks. The Maoists were caught off guard by the sheer number of participants in the peace rally. Thousands of people who participated in the rally provided a further jolt to the Maoists’ crippling strike. Diminishing returns and increasing domestic and international pressure were the real reasons why Dahal and his comrades called off the strike. Beneath the heaps of lies and deceptions, is the compulsion that transformed the roaring lions into feeble kittens.

We have to understand that the Maoists were forced to call off their indefinite strike. If they hadn’t called it off, it would have certainly invited bigger troubles for them. Had the Maoists gone berserk, the government would have been left with only one option, ie, to deploy the army. In the worst case scenario, the CA would have been dissolved. The mobilization of the army would have stalled the so-called peace process, which the Maoists have abused to every possible extent for their benefit, and which has so far produced everything but peace. With the dissolution of the CA, they would no longer have the status of the largest party, from which, comes their demand to lead the government. The Maoists took the lumps because they realized that they were treading on dangerous grounds. Swallowing pride when cornered is straight from the radical communists’ playbook.

For now, the Maoists’ push for mobocracy has been defeated. But the battle is far from over. The Maoists have withdrawn, temporarily, but have not completely ejected themselves from the game. They will reassess the failure, re-plan, and strike again in the future, for sure. Let’s not be mistaken. They are in this game to win, not to let others win. They fought the decade-long insurgency because they want to dislodge the system and establish the one that works for them. The parties finally seem to realize the Maoists’ intentions and end goals. Whether it is the survival instinct that has kicked in or the international players’ warnings, the realization seems to have come to the Maoist leaders, finally.

The brighter side of the Maoists’ failed attempt to promote mobocracy is that it has riled up the silent majority and sidelined the Maoist supporters in the guise of civil society advocates and human rights activists. The silent majority, whom the Maoists have been taking for a free ride and whose power they have been undermining, is, finally, waking up. This is also an indication that people are willing to confront the comrades if the government is really serious about tightening the noose on the Maoists. The appeasement of radicals has never brought peace anywhere in the world. It is good that the post 12-point agreement has all but vanished. We need pragmatists who understand the threat and dare to deal with it. The politics of lies and deceptions that Dahal and his fellow comrades have been using should be brought to an end once and for all. They should be stopped from coming to the power at any cost unless they reform themselves completely, and fulfill their past commitments and promises.

Work together

Less than three months remain before the deadline set for promulgation of a new constitution expires. Except for the likes of Subash Nembamg, who can with a straight face claim the possibility of the impossible, even the perpetual optimists that believe in the last minute miracles in Nepali politics have given up hope. The chances of having a new constitution by the stipulated date are pretty slim, if not impossible.

It may be difficult for many to understand why there is no concerted effort toward drafting the constitution. The simple answer to this question is that for politicians it is not the priority. The progress toward meeting the deadline is not attached to the pay and perks of the politicians in the Constituent Assembly (CA). It is a classic example of what could happen if the pay is not contingent upon the performance and deliverables. Even if the politicians make it a priority, the chances of reaching an agreement in issues such as federalism is highly unlikely. So why spend time and energy on doing a thing that is going nowhere? Makes perfect sense!

Although the country witnessed a revolution, the nature of Nepali politics has not changed. Instead of working together to tackle the issues confronting the nation, the politicians aim to outfox each other. Increasingly widening deficit in trust, especially between the radical left and the centrist forces, is perpetuating a system that is not just Machiavellian but outright Hobessian.

While the Maoist party is struggling hard to maintain its ballooned support base, the centrist forces that ruled the country for the good part of the last two decades are having a hard time minimizing the defection of their cadres to the newly-emerged ethnic groups and to the Maoist camp. The political vacuum that Maoists had aimed to fill after the uprooting of the monarchy has not been as easy as anticipated. Ethnic grievances which the Maoists cashed in during the insurgency have been successfully hijacked by the newly-mushroomed ethnic parties. Lack of a visible enemy that they can claim important to defeat for the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat might have brought trepidation on the Maoist camp. In the absence of a visible enemy, a march to the promised land will remain on hold without any particular timeframe. This may eventually bewilder the cadres that might well then turn against the dream merchants.

The Maoists themselves are responsible for the state that they are presently in. The autocratic aspirations harbored by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his fellow comrades could not remain dormant for long. They wanted to neutralize the Nepal Army (NA), which they see as the biggest hurdle toward complete control over Nepali politics, early on in the game. The souring of the relationship with NA, which was not that good to begin with, was not a huge problem, but the decision to vilify India for their own political miscalculation was the biggest blunder they committed. The Maoist propagandists really shot themselves in the foot as they started shooting from their mouths.

Looking back, it becomes quite evident that the Maoists played the master manipulator and successfully herded the centrist forces to minefield but they seem to have no vision following that. Lack of their ability to outgrow the guerrilla mindset is the main reason behind the erosion of both the internal community’s goodwill and internal political support early on in the process. There was no reason to create Young Communist League (YCL) and continue marauding raids on innocent civilians after they came over-ground. If political insecurity was the reason behind YCL’s creation, they could have disbanded it after CA elections. The general public that had been betrayed time and again by the mainstream political parties for years had no reason to not support the Maoists had the Maoists fulfilled their promise of contributing toward establishing peace and stability.

It would, however, be quite unrealistic and insincere to blame only the Maoists for the current state of affairs. The major political parties are equally responsible for where we are now. Propaganda aside, unlike the major political parties that are yet to admit publicly that there has been a failure of intellect on their part in not realizing the Maoists’ real intentions, the Maoists have been inconsistently consistent about their end goal. They have been clear that at the end of the day, they want the dictatorship of the proletariat. We may choose to disagree with what they believe in or of the viability of their belief system in the current geopolitical context, but at least they have something that they believe in, and have a path charted out to achieve it.

As far as the major political parties are concerned, except for lofty promises, which they failed to deliver during their heydays, and instilling fear about what the Maoists would do to the nation if they have their way, there is nothing substantial that they have to offer to the general public. They are yet to realize that the best way to remain in power is by delivering. Instead of setting good examples so that they regain the trust of people, they are still clinging on the path that led them down. Look at what Madhav Kumar Nepal did to save his face in the aftermath of the broad daylight murder of two media entrepreneurs. Instead of asking the home minister to resign, he forced the State Home Minister Mohammad Rizwan Ansari, who happens to be the only member from UML to win the CA election, to resign. What kind of message, if any, does this kind of action send? Poaching weaker targets to save face is not only bad politics but also bad governance.

Nobody deserves more blame for the country’s sorry state than the politicians. The 2006 April revolution had provided a perfect opportunity to reconcile their differences and start afresh toward building an egalitarian society. But realization of it appears bleaker with each passing day. The time has come for the centrist forces to realize that radical communism is here to stay. It’s better if they learnt to live and deal with it. As far as the Maoists are concerned, it’s time for them to come out of their guerilla mindset. It might be easier and safer for them to get to power through electoral means than by completely bringing down the existing system through another “revolution” which has to be violent if it is to achieve its objective. The later may be too risky and has its consequences.

And, let’s say even if they succeeded in achieving it, it may not last for long. Even if it lasts for sometime, the possibility of what Cambodian Khmer Rouge leaders are facing now in the international criminal court will always remain a possibility. Khmer Rouge leaders too believed that their movement was for the betterment of people, didn’t they? Given the risks associated with bringing down the state, adhering to electoral politics may be a safer bet.

Stop speculating

The murder of media entrepreneur Jamim Shah in the heart of the capital has exposed the ineptitude of the country’s internal security apparatus and degenerating security situation in the country. Was the murder, which the media is already calling a contract killing, connected to his allegiance with infamous underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Agency (ISI), or is it a calculated ploy meant to send chills in the spines of those that dare to work for the forces that are odds with the Indian establishment? Is it a mere coincidence that Shah has been murdered at a time when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the largest party in Nepal, is in a jingoistic mode, or happened, now, just because it is more convenient to execute the plan, as the internal security is in shambles? We may never have the answers to these questions but they are worth pondering upon.

As one who happens to know about Shah based on stories carried out by various newspapers and magazines, to me he comes across as a cosmopolitan man of diverse experience. Born in a Newari neighborhood and married to a Hindu girl, his life story exemplifies both the possibility of coexistence and breaking of the religious shackles, which in a traditional society like ours is not an easy thing. For a Muslim man to marry a Hindu girl, that too, a quarter of a century ago, in a Hindu kingdom, needed a bit of courage without doubt. It shows that his sense of progression definitely stretched beyond the rhetoric unlike of our present day politicians.

Shah did not buy his way into the Constituent Assembly (CA) in order to become a part of the history of building a “New Nepal” like many businessmen in Nepal. In a nation, where the difference between politicians and businessmen is getting increasingly blurred and where crime and corruption is edging out politics, we all stand benefited from Shah’s detrainment. But these aspects never got reported. For Shah, the media trials never ended. Even though he was never convicted in a court of law for his associations and criminal activities that might have resulted from it, trials by media severely damaged Shah’s reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of any verdict.

The ghastly murder of Shah has basically shown two things. First, Nepali media pretty easily gets sucked into the propaganda fed by unseen forces and foreign media. Second, Nepali politicians have learned nothing from past blows in our gut. This is not the first time that a Nepali citizen implicated as working for Dawood Ibrahim and ISI has been murdered in a broad daylight. Remember Mirza Dil Sad Beg’s murder couple of years ago? He too was implicated as one of Dawood’s men in Nepal. Both of these men had one thing in common- unproven allegiance to Dawood Ibrahim and the ISI.

What about the Nepali citizens who have allegiance with Chhota Rajan, the break away Hindu faction of Dawood’s gang or the Research and Analysis Wing [RAW], an Indian Intelligence Agency? Despite the fact that Nepali politicians visit New Delhi more than regional politicians from within India itself and a media house reportedly being run on Indian benevolence, we never hear any negativity surrounding the relationships. None in particular has been implicated like Shah had been for his or her association with the RAW or the Chhota Rajan’s gang. Indian media is silent about it and so is the Nepali media. This raises an interesting question. Is Indian media selectively feeding its Nepali counterpart on the links that Nepali citizens have with the Dawood Ibrahim gang and the ISI or the relationship of Nepali citizens with the India’s RAW and Rajan’s gang is legal and transparent and that it does not require any mention in the media?

Nepali citizens are being repeatedly butchered for their unproven allegiance to the underworld fugitive and foreign intelligence agency but all our government does is set up inquiry commissions, whose findings are at best inconclusive, and end up collecting dusts. If you think rationally, it is not even worth setting a commission, anymore. Instead of the media subtly hinting that Shah deserved his fate, it should be pointing finger at the government, which is so incompetent that the security apparatus under its watch failed to apprehend criminals that murdered a prominent citizen in the heart of the city.

Appending the killers of Shah is important because it will once and for all expose the forces that murder Nepali citizens in their own land for alien motives. As a nation, we deserve the right to know, why Nepali citizens are maligned and murdered over and over again, don’t we? Nobody expects the current government to get to the bottom and find out if Shah was really working for Dawood, or for that matter, ISI, but it can do the minimum—provide some solace to his grieving wife, son, and father, who are paying the price of living in a lawless land, by at least finding out if the killers were really from the Chhota Rajan Gang or someone else was involved in the foul play.

The Nepali media should once and for all stop this game of subtly hinting “Who is working for whom?” and force the government to pursue on hard evidence so that culprits get punished for their unlawful allegiance and innocent citizens are not dragged into the neighboring countries’ perennial animosity. If we really get into this game of speculating “who is working for whom?”, we may soon reach a point whereby we realize that there are none at the highest level of the government and the opposition party that put nation’s interest before his or her own interest. If anything, such deduction would inflict more pain. Why pursue that path?

Learn from the past

There are hardly four months left for the term of the Constituent Assembly (CA) to expire. Looking at the politicians’ demeanor, it does not appear that they are genuinely concerned about the impending crisis. The day-to-day struggle for political survival has sucked out the sense of responsibility from Nepali politicians. Drafting the constitution seems to be the last thing in their mind. In a populist nation, where mere shifting of blame can get one out of trouble, their carefree attitude is well-justified.

Insincerity in Nepali politics becomes evident from the ongoing political mess. The political mess that the Maoists created by trying to get rid of Rookmangud Katawal last year is yet to be sorted out. Now, we have a High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) under the leadership of Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala with Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Jhala Nath Khanal as members. Interestingly, one of the three men in-charge to sort out the existing mess is also the man (read Dahal) who created the mess in the first place. It is the Nepali way of righting the wrongs: Make the troublemaker a troubleshooter.

Some may find it as the only way to move forward, but as far as I am concerned, such measures will invite more problems than they can actually solve. The never-ending quest for shortcuts has led us to where we are now. It may troubleshoot the current problem but creating such a mechanism is wrong on so many levels. Measures like this one will allow personality cult to develop and turn the so-called top leaders into indispensable nannies. Common men’s faith on institutions will eventually fizzle out if the elected bodies such as the CA are bypassed, repeatedly. Solution to the existing and future political problems—this definitely will not be the last one—should be explored in the CA, not outside. Plus, a nation cannot and should not be run through never-ending series of deal makings.

Before getting into the necessity and fixes that mechanisms such as HLPM can bring about, it is necessary to take a step back and examine who creates these never-ending series of political mess, for which, we need these extra-constitutional mechanisms. The latest one started with the reinstatement of former Nepal Army Chief Katawal. Dahal and his men in the name of establishing civilian supremacy obstructed the CA for months and forced numerous nationwide strikes. After being unable to coerce the coalition members, Dahal is now all set to find a solution through HLPM. If you connect the dots, it becomes crystal clear that there is a method to the Maoists’ mode of operandi. Dahal and his top-level subordinate are using the Madman theory of politics!

While the politicians of the major political parties such as NC and CPN-UML often appear reasonable, which is not solely because of their level-headedness but compulsion, Dahal and his comrades warn Nepali public in general, and politicians of opposition parties in particular, that there is a mad figure hovering in the background who could go off the handle anytime. The unending series of nonsense that Dahal’s men were engaged in has not stopped altogether even after Dahal has been inducted as a member of the HLPM. Only last Friday, the Maoists’ waved black flags at President Dr Ram Baran Yadav in Panauti, Kavre district, when he arrived there to inaugurate a ceremony marking the Makar Mela. Dahal’s men are continuously engaged in activities that are aimed at undermining the strength of the state. If asked, none of the leaders at the helm of the affairs will own responsibility for such actions. As usual, they will shrug it by portraying it as an isolated incident. Over the years, the Maoists have perfected the Madman theory. By openly threatening the nation with bloodshed and turning gullible intelligentsia into fellow travelers through their populist agendas, the Maoists in Nepal have been able to achieve what other insurgent groups in South Asia can only dream of.

While Dahal and his men have mastered the Madman theory and have been using it very effectively to their benefit, the politicians on the other side of the isle such as Ram Chandra Poudel have perfected Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf nicknamed as “Baghdad Bob” theory—keep on claiming supremacy till you are doomed. Like Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Saddam Hussein’s information minister, who claimed that there were no American troops in Baghdad and that the Americans were committing suicide by the hundreds at the city’s gates while the American tanks were rolling a few hundred meters from the location where he held the press conference, Poudel and the likes continue to bask upon past glory. Recently, during his speech at the Chatham House in London, Poudel put the blame for current instability and chaos squarely on the Maoists and vowed that the NC would not let the core values of open society, parliamentary politics, human rights and accountability be compromised. Poudel must be living in Bagdad Bob’s fantasy world to have missed what the Maoists did recently to his colleague duo Minendra Rijal and Prakash Sharan Mahat, who also represent NC in the current government. Rijal was manhandled and Mahat’s official vehicle has vandalized by Maoists cadres.

If history has taught us anything with regard to talking to the Maoists in the dark corridors, it is this: Striking deals in dark corridors gets us nowhere. There is a method to their madness; you got to understand that and learn to deal with it effectively. The only way to tame the Maoists is by defeating their agendas in the CA. Remember, living in a fantasy world got Bagdad’s Bob nowhere and the result will not be any different for those suffering from Baghdad Bob’s syndrome in Nepal. Wake up!

Will 2010 be any different?

Nobody can tell for sure if 2010 will be any better than the year 2009. It is difficult to predict what the year 2010 holds for Nepal not because of the uncertain nature of Nepali politics but because the power to shape Nepal’s future no longer lies in the hands of Nepali politicians. The ruling coalition, although technically legitimate, continues to remain in power despite its lethal incompetence for a simple reason - India wants it to remain in power. The government is rudderless and more interested in its day-to-day survival than anything else.

It might be intellectually taxing for external observers trying to make sense out of how a twenty-two party coalition with diverse political ideologies and agendas continue to sail through by shutting out the largest party in parliament, but for someone that keeps a close eye on Nepali politics, it is not anything puzzling or new. Nepali political parties have long been transformed into subservient clients by India and this is not the first time that they are herded at India’s behest. An inconvenient truth about Nepali politics is that over the years India has successfully transformed Nepali political parties into subservient clients.

The fall of Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s government over the Rookmangud Katawal’s controversy is a clear depiction of what could happen if a party dares to outgrow its client status. The withdrawal of support to Dahal’s government by the coalition members was the inability of the members to act against the Indian directives than anything else. The politicians in Nepal know very well that acting against the master’s wishes could prove to be fatal, politically.

Peace in Nepal, in 2010, is only possible if the Maoists realize the danger associated with letting the stipulated time for constitution-drafting expire. Once the CA term expires, it will be easier for the government that India puts together to go after the Maoists.After the fall of the Maoist government, Dahal and his fellow comrades have been trying their best to arouse nationalist fervor for political expediency. For people, who have closely watched the inception of the Maoist insurgency and its subsequent growth over the years, the role that India played in grooming Nepali Maoist party and unleashing it as a political force is no secret. The Maoists’ and India’s path crossed when Dahal tried repeating King Mahendra’s game of playing China card against India. In doing so, what Dahal and his fellow comrades failed to understand is that the internal political dynamics and the geopolitical realities had changed drastically over the years. Unlike B P Koirala, who then was unwilling to turn Nepal into a client state, there are way too many politicians that are happy to execute that role now. Dahal and his men were way off in calculating the level of India’s penetration in Nepali politics.

Out of power, the Maoists are now playing the nationalist card to drum-up support basically to force India to engage them. The Maoists know very well that in a nation with approximately half of the population around twenty-six years in age, which boasts of Nepal’s uncompromised sovereignty, anti-India rhetoric will always play out well. For these youngsters that grew up witnessing rising political corruption, lawlessness, and increasing Indian involvement in Nepali politics, it is quite natural to fall into the Maoists’ jingoistic trap. But before falling into the trap, it is important that the younger generation try and understand what the Maoist party that grew on Indian benevolence wants to gain out of the latest nationalist tirade. It is important to make sure that the Maoist party, which would definitely not have been what is today without India’s material and moral support, uses the support of the nationalists, especially the younger generation that boasts of uncompromised sovereignty of Nepal, to safeguard Nepal’s sovereignty, but not as a bargaining chip to outbid other clients’ will to serve Indian interests.

So what does it look like in terms of achieving peace and stability in 2010? The chances are slim! The chances are slim because the party that has the majority in the parliament is yet to realize the consequences of slowing down the process of drafting the constitution. After May 28, 2010, when the term of the CA expires, the political capital that arose from CA electoral victory will no longer be there for the Maoists to boast upon. There will be no venue for the Maoists, except for the streets, to vent their anger.

The politicians of the current coalition most of whom have been reduced to poodles that are willing to tirelessly wag the tail at India’s behest will be the ones that will benefit the most if the constitution is not drafted on time. If the Maoists are real nationalists, they should realize that the best way to reduce Indian interference in Nepal is by ensuring that there is a constitution by the end of May, which will ensure future elections. The Maoists can reduce Indian interference by winning elections handsomely even though some danger of Indian-administered split of the party will always remain a possibility. Let the actions replace rhetoric this time around.Peace in Nepal, in 2010, is only possible if the Maoists realize the danger associated with letting the stipulated time for constitution-drafting expire.

Once the CA term expires, it will be easier for the government that India puts together to go after the Maoists. As a matter of fact, many politicians within the various political parties want that to happen. With no safe haven to seek refuge in, unlike in the past, the Maoists will be at the receiving end. The Maoists still have the real opportunity to translate the impending crisis into an opportunity. Speed up the constitution-drafting process so that elections can take place in future.

With the kind of support the Maoist party commands on the ground, Dahal can once again emerge victorious. All he has got to do is control criminal activities that the YCL and his militant labor union are engaged in. A little extra effort to win the support of educated and civilized mass that the Maoist party lacks at the moment will do no harm.If Dahal fails to the see the writing on the wall and act swiftly in the next couple of weeks, we will not have peace anytime soon. Peace will only come after India completely turns the Maoist party into one of its subservient clients ready to serve Indian interests.

No matter what it says, India wants Nepal to be a client state and they have not been this close anytime in the history of Nepal in realizing their goal.

Selective justice

On Dec 12, Major Niranjan Basnet – a prime accused in the torture and murder of Maina Sunar – was arrested and taken into custody by the Military Police. The arrest of Basnet has gotten lately dormant human rights groups all excited, who now want him to be tried in a civilian court. What is wrong with that? If we look at it purely from a judicial point of view, there is nothing wrong with that. Trying security personnel in civilian court might flood courts and outstrip their institutional capacity but other than that, there should be no problem trying him in the court. But the issue here is not whether or not he should be tried in the civilian court. The larger issue here is whether or not there is a pattern when it comes to holding people accountable for human rights abuses. If we take a step back and look at the people that human rights groups in Nepal want to be put on trial, it soon becomes crystal clear that these groups want selective justice.

Why just smaller fishes like Basnet or for that matter only security personnel? Why not Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai and the likes that initiated the insurgency in the first place? Shouldn’t the people that initiated insurgency, and under whose watch, the Maoists cadres mercilessly butchered innocent civilians be held accountable for their crimes? Personally, I have not seen any human rights activists calling for prosecution of Dahal, Bhattarai and the likes for human rights abuses in public. Am I the one that missed Nepali human rights activists’ call for comprehensive justice or is it them who are in a secret mission of poaching soft targets? Looking at what human rights groups in Nepal are engaged in, it becomes clear that they are driven by political agendas. When it comes to deciding who to go after, they are clearly not merely seeking judicial justice. It is profoundly political.

Human rights abusers have to be punished irrespective of who they are and what their position is in the society. It is not only the state, more specifically, the Nepali Army, which is responsible for the past human rights abuses in Nepal. What about the human rights abuses committed by the then CPN (Maoist)? The Maoists that killed journalists Birendra Sah and Dikendra Thapa are still untouched and human rights activists do not seem to be very enthusiastic in making sure that their children have faith in human rights defenders when they grow up. The daughters of Armed Police Force Chief Late Krishna Mohan Shrestha are still waiting for justice to be served. By now, the children of Brigadier General Sagar Bahadur Pandey, who along with his wife was killed by the landmine set up by the Maoists’ in 2003, must have given up their hope of seeing the killers of their parents being punished. It is not only the security personnel but also civil servants that were butchered by the Maoists during the insurgency. The Maoists insurgents that killed Chief District Officer Damodar Pant in Jumla in 2002 are yet to be brought to justice. In many instances, not only the people that were performing their duties, but their family members, too, were targeted. In 2005, the Maoists wiped out an entire family of a policeman, including three women in the family and a one-year old child, at Attariya in Kailali district. Why aren’t the human rights activists talking about the rights of a child that was fourteen years younger than Sunar?

In a poor country like Nepal, where an individual’s future potential is contingent upon the endowment his or her family possesses and where endowment determines entitlements, shouldn’t the Maoists that wiped out these kids’ income-generating parents be held responsible for destroying their future potential? Strangely, the human rights community seems to have no compassion for the loss suffered by the people whose loved ones were killed serving the nation. These people were there not because they wanted to fight the insurgents that wanted to bring down the state on their own. They were there because the state wanted them to be there and defend the state. The human rights community might not have realized this but by keeping silent on the plight of the family members of all fallen heroes, they are demoralizing thousands of servicemen that genuinely want to contribute towards peace, stability and security of the nation.

By cherry-picking the selected cases involving security personnel and remaining silent on the atrocities committed by the Maoists, human rights activists in Nepal are making it easier for the government, which is increasingly tilting towards the right to accuse them of being “leftist delinquents.” If these right groups do not correct their ways, they will be increasingly seen and treated as enemies instead of allies in the advancement of human rights. The governments in poor developing countries do not human rights groups seriously because these groups themselves time and again show that they have political agendas. It is high time that the human rights groups in Nepal analyze both their actions and inactions and the far-reaching consequences of both. Protecting human rights requires much more than appearing on television, writing opinion pieces, and putting out statements.

Basic human rights that human rights activists in Nepal are claiming to be fighting for are supposed to be about justice. Where is justice when the people who initiated the insurgency that turned a peaceful nation into a killing field are let off the hook and the ones that were forced to defend the state are selectively picked for prosecution? For human rights activists to be credible, respected and effective, they should be pushing for the prosecution of all those who violated human rights precepts. Justice is only justice if it is consistent. If justice is selective, it is injustice!

Nonviolence: Path to freedom

Sumit Sharma Sameer, in Unfinished Journey: A Story of a Nation, provides a good overview of hope, anxiety, and frustration of the young generation clamoring for meaningful and viable change in Nepal. From evolution of the state to faltering of the peace process, it tries to capture the lapses on part of the political parties to translate opportunities into actions. Sameer raises an interesting question about armed movements’ ability to actually free people. Do they really liberate people?

Armed movements never free people. Like in the case of Nepal, it elevates the stature of those that initiate them, but society as a whole, is caught in an endless, and to a large extent, needless rebellion. Norman Borlaug, the father of green revolution and Muhammad Yunus, the genius behind Grameen revolution, brought about revolution that liberated billions of poor from vicious cycle of poverty, hunger, and deprivation, which armed groups in Nepal claim to be fighting for, without resorting to guns. Gandhi brought a submissive nation to its feet and an empire to its knees without resorting to any kind of violence.

Before getting into why armed movements are carried out, it is important to realize where actually they happen. Armed movements and political violence thrive in places where literacy rate is low, institutions are weak, and the political leadership is corrupt and visionless. You do not see mushrooming of modern day Robin Hood like in Nepal, in matured western democracies. It simply does not happen for a very simple reason- the chances of Robin Hood, himself getting killed or imprisoned are, almost certain. So it is all about risk and reward. In Nepal, risks faced by insurgents are too low to forgo. Plus, insurgency is a low-skill occupation. What would most of the Maoist insurgents, or for that matter Jwala Singh or Goit’s men, be doing had they not become insurgents? Did they have a successful career?

The restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990 had provided a perfect opportunity to address social inequalities but once again the political leadership failed to capitalize on the gains and bring about much needed social change. Instead of cashing in on the opportunity of transforming the nation, the new set of politicians saw it as their opportunity to enrich themselves. Nepali Congress (NC), which claims itself as the party of Nepali people that believe in nationalism, democracy and socialism failed miserably to strengthen the very ideals it claimed to have fought for. As a matter of fact, under the leadership of Girija Prasad Koirala (GPK), nationalism further decayed, political corruption flourished, and democracy, instead of getting consolidated weakened. Common men’s faith in democracy started fading away as GPK’s unquenchable hunger for power started coming to the fore. In the absence of radical social reforms to correct past inequalities, the concept of socialism remained limited to NC’s manifesto.

While GPK was strengthening his grip on power by destroying the brewing dissent within the party (sidelining Ganeshman Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and the famous group of 36), something else was happening, elsewhere. Two Brahmins - Puspa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai – who had failed to fulfill their political dreams under multiparty set-up were evaluating the lucrative opportunity of armed rebellion. Their political outfit under Nirmal Lama was not going anywhere. They knew that the call for reversing inequalities would resonate with poor, especially in remote hinterland, whose connection with the state was weak, had abundance of cheap labor, and where poverty was rampant. The political parties’ inability to address the common folk’s problems strengthened insurgents’ appeal. Plus, the mainstream political parties’ halfhearted battle to defeat the insurgency and India’s policy of perpetuating managed instability in Nepal allowed the insurgency to flourish unchecked. Then came Gyanendra’s political adventurism. It provided the Maoists a lifetime opportunity to deliver the master stroke.

After the old set of fundamentalist - the Maoists - came overground, the new seminaries emerged to protest the older ones they thought had become “modernist.” The political parties’ willingness to join hands with the Maoists has legitimized violence as a political means to get to power. Once violence is legitimized, it simply does not go away, easily. It took less than one percent of the population with guns to wreak havoc and bring down the state to its knees. When the state kneels down to such a meager percentage of people, the state will always remain at the cross-hair of the radical forces that want to collapse the state. Radical demagoguery has invaded public space in Nepal with a momentum that no one is capable of reversing, not at least in the near future.

Political violence in Nepal further deepened after the Maoists came overground because Girija Prasad Koirala, Sekhar Koirala and Krishna Prasad Sitaula saw it as their opportunity to consolidate their grip on power and they wanted to achieve that by appeasing the Maoists. In order to emerge out as the only Maoist handlers, they let the rebranded PLA (read YCL) trash law and order situation in the country. The victims of the Maoists’ belligerence – both the state and people - were left to wallow in the swamp. While the perpetrator of the violence were turned celebrity by the GPK’s government, victims of the Maoist atrocities were denied even a false comfort.

Armed insurgency might have ceased but the political violence will not cease altogether no matter who gets and remains in the power. The path that both the centrist forces and the Maoists are taking will not address the causes that instigate and perpetuate violence. The major centrist parties like NC and UML are not yet ready to introduce social reforms needed to address the structural causes of conflict. On the other hand, the radical reforms that the Maoists want to bring about, will not ensure long term growth and prosperity. It might be appealing to the have-nots but it will not have the inbuilt capacity to bring about long-term changes in the lives of people.

If the centrist parties want to reclaim their lost political space, they will have to establish another horizon. The key to the moderate parties’ future lies in their ability to unlock the Madhesi, Janjati, and youth’s demands, and spearhead it. There is a transparent anger, leavened by confusion, among these groups which is provoking a drift to the most familiar port, the Maoists. Make marginalized people equal citizens rather than playing with their sentiments like the Maoists do. Declaring states unilaterally whereby indigenous or backward castes have an opportunity to foul mouth a Brahmin is not the empowerment that these people need and deserve. It does not put food in the plates of their hungry children, nor does it provide their children an educational opportunity.

Instead of wasting time in countering radicals’ propaganda, the centrist parties should use their time and resources to come up with a social reform plan of their own. They should stop trying to outshine the Maoists by re-packaging the Maoists’ agendas. It will simply not work. The challenge in distinguishing oneself from the Maoists is an enormously important task that the politicians of centrist parties are neglecting to act on. The politicians of NC and UML are busy maintaining political correctness and in the process, burying their centrist identity. The sooner you realize that winning public support is not contingent upon radical populism, the sooner you will be able to turn the tide.

Crime & corruption edging out politics

Political instability in Nepal is increasingly becoming a boon for some at the cost of many. Recent reports on how local leaders of the major political parties in Dang divided 750 thousand rupees of public money among themselves clearly shows how easily political consensus can be reached when it comes to looting the state. The loot was shared by the local politicians of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal-Unified-Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), Madhesi Peoples´ Rights Forum (MPRF) and Rastriya Janamorcha Party.

Renowned Indian journalist M J Akbar has explained the contradiction of fundamentalism very succinctly. One of the greatest contradictions of fundamentalist politics, according to Akbar, is that it cannot deliver on the basic problem that provoked its rise – economic deprivation. Maybe the proletariats realized that early on. Be it promoting nepotism through an appointment of a sister with a degree in microbiology in the planning commission by Hisila Yami or the foot soldiers dividing the pie in Dang, they have embraced vices they vouched to eradicate pretty well and without wasting much time.

It is not only the poor local politicians trying to establish a foothold in politics who are engaged in looting the state; the so-called top leaders of major political parties have not given up their right to loot the state altogether. Madhav Kumar Nepal’s government is planning to waive arrears worth Rs 10 million incurred by former prime ministers and ministers over the last two decades. Except for Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, all former prime ministers of the last two decades are in the list. The timing cannot get better because PM Nepal himself is in the list for the generosity he exhibited during his stint as a deputy prime minister of the country some years ago.

When it comes to looting the state, consensus does not evade Nepalese politicians. And, they really are getting sophisticated at it. All-party unity in draining the state’s coffer is not something that is local to Dang. Lately, this has been happening in every nook and corner of the country. But what is surprising is that how quickly the proletariats and groups fighting for ethnic empowerment learned the game of the “feudalists” and “colonizers.” No wonder, the country slips in the corruption index. Corruption in Nepal has worsened over the years. From 121 position in 2008, it slipped to 143 in the Transparency International (TI) 2009’s ranking. With this pace, we will soon be surpassing Afghanistan, the only nation more corrupt than us in South Asia. Not only in corruption, we might also soon surpass Afghanistan in violent crimes.

In the name of inclusion, mindless zombies like Karima Begum, who take laws into their hands and shamelessly justify the wrongdoings, are made ministers. What do you think the likes of Begum would do if and when they fail to get elected in future? Retire gracefully and lead a life of law-abiding citizens?It is not the likes of Karima Begum who decide on inclusive agenda. They are there to make noise and warm benches. Who gets what is decided somewhere in the dark corridors. As if opening the political space for the likes of Begum was not enough, Madhav Kumar Nepal’s government has decided to withdraw nearly 286 cases, of which 200 were murders, against various individuals and groups.

The line between politics and criminality has become so blurred that checking criminalization of politics and corruption is becoming impossible. The state is increasingly being looked upon as something that is there for everyone to loot.Political instability and crime grow when political corruption becomes acceptable. This is what happened in Bihar. Bihar, after independence, in 1950, was India’s third-richest state. And, now, it is now one of India’s poorest states. It has become a byword for lawlessness, corruption, mafia-styled politics, communal fiefdom and underdevelopment.

Crime and corruption will get worse in Nepal in the coming days and years, as politicians, both self-proclaimed messiah of the proletariats and ethnic minorities, have joined the old players, whom they fought to replace in looting the state. As the politicians get sophisticated and the state’s resources to loot upon get scarcer, these politicians will shift their target from the state resources to private properties. There are four ways for citizens to safeguard their property: (a) do it yourself (b) do it in mutual association with others (c) do it by hiring others (d) and do it through the state. As the first and the fourth options are virtually inapplicable due to the absence of the state’s presence and criminalization of the politics, citizens basically have two choices: (a) associate with the radicals/criminals or (b) hire them to safeguard their property. Criminalization of politics and political corruption are damaging for any society. If allowed to flourish, they will not only destroy the very fabric of the society but also negatively impact development. Corruption is inversely related to growth.

Madhav Kumar Nepal government’s decision to waive the arrears incurred by former prime ministers and ministers should be challenged in the Supreme Court. Sustained control of political corruption requires a consistent demonstration of genuine commitment on the part of the top political elite towards the eradication of the menace. In the case of Nepal, it is the other way round. There is a consistent demonstration of camaraderie among the top political elite to perpetuate the menace. They are more interested in playing a “tolerant corruption” game rather than exhibiting “zero tolerance for corruption.”

Nepal may not come out of revolutionary mode anytime soon. The politicians of yesteryears have not given up their dirty tricks and corrupt mindset that pushed multiparty democracy to a dysfunctional state and the new luminaries on the block have picked up the very same tricks and tactics used by the people that they fought to replace, and that too, very early on in the game. It is increasingly becoming clearer that Nepal not only faces the danger from the ones that want to collapse the state but also from the ones that claim to safeguard the state from collapsing. Both the sides increasingly appear to be dishonest and corrupt.

Understanding the radical mindset

Much of the country wants the current stalemate to end but the political system is deadlocked. The political divide in the last couple of months have further widened with the Maoists’ autocratic aspirations and Talibanish character coming to the fore. Liberals, who were soft on the Maoists despite the latter’s avowed objective of establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat by overthrowing the supposedly-rotten bourgeois system, are not ready to act as useful idiots anymore. Along with the useful idiots, hopeful idiots, too, seem to have woken up, finally. The members of latter group who once openly embraced the Maoists and rationalized their irrational behavior at the cost of mainstreaming the Maoists have started writing responses to the United Nations’ secretary general’s call for a national unity government. Nepal, as a nation, suffers not only from violent radicals’ dishonest intent but also from the intellectual dishonesty of the so-called intellectuals that have gotten habituated of playing on either side of the fence.

The drift between the Maoists and the democratic forces was eminent because the strategic end goals of these two forces are distinctly different. The Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai in his latest interview with World People’s Resistance Movement (WPRM), without mincing a word, has clearly said that the alignment with the bourgeois democratic parties was to abolish monarchy following which the contention is between the bourgeois and the proletariat forces. That is what we are now witnessing: The next leg of the struggle. Should the democratic forces be concerned? Of course, yes!Even though Bhattarai tried his best to contextualize things that he said in the interview with WPRM in his interview with Rabindra Mishra of BBC, anyone who has read the text of the interview given to WPRM knew Bhattarai was lying. Without using any qualifier, he has clearly said that the Maoists have never abandoned protracted people’s war; there has only been a tactical shift within the strategy. He calls democracy as a form of bourgeois dictatorship. It raises a question about what kind of system the Maoists actually want. Here is what the Maoists want. Within the framework of the dictatorship of the proletariat, competition will be organized among the masses of the people, whereby the masses will be constantly energized until proletarian dictatorship is established. The revolution, according to the chief Maoist ideologue, will not stop until all the classes are abolished; the state is abolished; and the property system is abolished.

For now, the ongoing political stalemate may be over as the Maoists are unable to chip away the coalition partners and bring down the government. The flexibility that the Maoists are exhibiting or will exhibit in the coming days, however, is/will be to safeguard the gains. The Maoists know it very well that at this point in time all they got to do is not let the coalition deliver. They know it very well that eventually the international community will either have to reinstate them or force the government to conduct fresh elections. Either ways, they win. If elections are held, the Maoists will once again make a clean sweep. They will win not only because they are the only ones present at the grassroots level but also because radicals always win when the political landscape is fragmented. As the government fails to deliver, voters disappointed with the coalition partners will join small regional parties built around single issues, such as ethnic discrimination, economic marginalization and many others. Such splinter parties that have mushroomed in every region of the country will further weaken the more moderate parties like NC and UML.

The emergence of the Nazis after 1930 took place in a similar situation that we are in now.The Nazis benefited from these splinter parties in the protestant-bourgeois camp and absorbed most of their voters. In the case of Nepal, it is even more easier because along with the brainwashed poor, indoctrinated with the Marxist doctrine of a class war, the city-based intelligentsia that have forgiven the killings of thousands of civilians and security personnel and destruction of public property believe that the Maoists stand for the poor and are fighting to bring about social transformation. The city-based intelligentsia is disillusioned because in its analysis, it attaches the state’s inability to solve common men’s problems with ineffectiveness of multiparty democracy. It is not multiparty democracy but a few incompetent and corrupt politicians that failed in the country. In Cuba, which is revered by the Maoists, out of 70 Cuban intellectuals arrested six years ago in what has become known as Cuba’s Black Spring, more than 20 are still languishing in various jails in sub-human conditions. If things go the Maoists way, social transformation that the city-based intelligentsia has been hankering for may not extend beyond fractured skulls resulting from security personnel’s baton.

Trading a democratic system with a dictatorship is a horrible idea. There was no need of a violent armed insurgency to repair the lapses of the government during the last two decades to begin with. Democratic system is self-correcting and incompetent and corrupt get flushed out periodically as voters get more educated and sophisticated. With improved administrative corrections, containment of corruption and better economic packages for the least developed areas, positive changes in the lives of people could have been brought. But that is too late even to discuss now. No matter how flexible the Maoists may appear for now, they will not abandon their strategic end goal. They will continue to try to secure success through fault lines of the state. Unless the state is aware of these fault lines and employs all possible resources to repair the gaps which the Maoists will try to take advantage of, Maoist takeover is eminent. It may take sometime but it will certainly happen.

Never-ending demands

It’s been five months since the Maoists started obstructing parliament sessions in the name of establishing “civilian supremacy.” After five months, the Maoists seem to have finally realized that obstructing the House sessions is not good enough to create an environment for them to get back to power.

It seems the master manipulators too have started getting it wrong when it comes to judging the way the experienced players of yesteryears react to coercion. Why is coercion not working the way it used to before? It is not working because the ring master – India – is quite aware of the Maoists’ intentions. Plus, obstructing the parliament does not bother the politicians. More than 50 percent of the current parliamentarians might never have, in their wildest dreams, expected to be where they are today. To them, as long as the pay and perks are paid on time, obstructions can continue. As far as those that are in the government are concerned, obstructions does not hinder their chances of enriching themselves and doing whatever little they can in the lawless land. Obstructions also does not affect senior leaders of the UML and NC because they have made enough to live lavish lifestyles in Kathmandu and their children have successfully made their way to greener pastures, beyond YCL’s clutches.

Realizing the fact that they were not able to dent a hole to force major political parties to cave in to their demands, the Maoist standing committee meeting held on Oct 23 has come up with an ultimatum and a deadline. According to the comrades, if the ongoing negotiation fails to restore “civilian supremacy” and rectify the president’s “unconstitutional” move by Nov 1, a strong protest movement is eminent. While the “civilian supremacists” keep their fight for the supremacy of civilians alive, the livelihoods of those whose rights they say they are fighting for are actually getting affected. According to the Industry Association, more than 200 industries have shut down their operation in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor alone. The proletariats’ dream of prosperity might have to wait till the aspiring dictators establish a foothold in Nepali politics and be actually able to administer the dictatorship of the proletariat. Till then, all obstructions and destructions that affect livelihood opportunities of the proletariats are genuine sacrifices required for building a prosperous future.

Even if the ongoing dialogue ends the current political impasse, the Maoists will once again find some other issues to obstruct the political process. This is not the first time that the Maoists are obstructing the political process, is it? People have lost track of the agreements that have been signed with the Maoists in the past. What have all those agreements signed in the past produced for ordinary citizens? Yes, it has produced tons of benefits for the Maoists but what about the common men longing for peace and stability?

The ongoing obstructions are a part of the greater design – not to let others succeed. And, this will not be the last time that the Maoists will be engaging in obstructionist activities. They have done in the past and they will do in the future. Their actions are guided by their end goal – a firm grip on power. The Maoists are in this game to win it, not to compromise or let others emerge victorious. Why is it so difficult to understand that? To people with common sense, it is obvious that the Maoists in the name of “peace process” want a complete dominance over Nepal politics. For the agenda-driven “civil society” and the likes, appeasement of the Maoists is the only way to the promised “peace land.” Before deciding on continuing with the advice of these fellow travelers, we should ask ourselves: Are we prepared to concede every time we are obstructed or threatened? Will our compliance bring an end to the Maoists’ obstructions and brutalities? Quite the contrary—if we look back, it becomes evident that the Maoists’ demands have escalated, not ceased.

Through obstructions, the Maoists want to sap the political parties’ morale and instill fear and uncertainty. They seek to undermine the political parties’ confidence and values, to sow division and intolerance both within and between parties. Needless to say, the Maoists have learnt and profited from the political parties’ weaknesses and fear.The political parties should be ready to play a hardball with the Maoists, and yes, it does not have to be confrontational. First and foremost, it is important to understand the game that the Maoists play. They have mastered the art of using one force against another. So the cohesion is a must if political survival is something that the democratic forces in Nepal are interested in.

The number game that India helped achieve this time around is not an eternal formula. If the major political parties continue to pursue the path of “appeasement,” there will soon be a day whereby people of Nepal will compromise for false sense of security promised by the Maoists rather than waiting for the delivery of democracy and peace by eternal “appeasers.” The best way of dealing with the Maoists is to keep them engaged, frustrated and accountable for the crimes they commit. Caving in to their demands only emboldens them. The more you bow to their demands, the more you invite them to commit further obstructions.

Time for course correction

In The Fund for Peace Failed States Index 2009, Nepal occupies the 25th position. For eternal optimists, we are still 24 ranks away from being the most probable country to fail and as we sail through the transition period, things will somehow get better and the dream of “New Nepal” will be realized eventually. But for people who believe that hope is not a method, to be anywhere near Ethiopia and Afghanistan that rank 16th and 7th respectively is pretty scary, especially when things are getting worse rather than improving. It does not take very long for a nation to move up the index of failed states if the self-destructive course that a country is in is not corrected. It did not take very long for Zimbabwe, which was once considered the breadbasket of Africa, to become a basket case, did it? A single man’s never-quenching thirst for power has turned the future of millions of Zimbabweans upside down and Nepal has quite a few of them.

For radical communists, the more things get worse, better are the prospects of establishing “civilian supremacy.” As long as North Korea, where under “civilian supremacy” millions of civilians starve everyday, ranks ahead of us, self-annihilation is actually a leap forward. It is not only Pushpa Kamal Dahal for whom Nepal’s march towards becoming a failed state does not matter. There are others too. For Girija Prasad Koirala (GPK), whose hunger for power seems boundless, there is obviously Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, which ranks second in the list. The phrase “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” coined by the historian and moralist John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton and which applies well to Mugabe might as well apply to GPK if he fails to contain his greed. After falling out of favor with India, he has started courting China, East-European and Scandinavian nations now. How far can he go and how low can he stoop to elevate his daughter’s political career is yet to be seen.

The sad thing about the ongoing situation in Nepal is that most people know that the country is headed in the wrong direction but there is very little that they can do to bring it back into track.

As far as self-proclaimed messiah of Madhesi cause Upendra Yadav, who did everything but push for greater Madhesis’ right during his stint as foreign minister in the Maoist cabinet, is concerned, there is Iraq in the list, which ranks as the 6th most likely country to become a failed stated. Iraq is a perfect example for those who want to elevate their political stature by inciting ethnic hatred. Ignoring the fact that he blew off a golden opportunity to keep up the momentum to secure genuine rights that Madhesis have been denied for decades as long as he was in the corridor of power, he is back in action, that too in Raj Thakre’s style, threatening an already fragmented society with another round of ethnic uprising.

For observers who believe in measuring political progress based on indicators on the ground, Nepal’s chances of slipping further away from being a failed state is very dismal unless there is a major course correction. In the current set-up, there are way too many power hungry, morally bankrupt and shameless politicians that have emerged out at the top echelons of politics. Unlike in neighboring India, where only competent men make it to the top, the political system in Nepal is overburdened with too many power hungry, corrupt and incompetent politicians. The political system in India is far from being perfect but very few incompetent and insincere men actually become ministers in the central cabinet, and even when once in a while people like Sibu Soren penetrate the system, they somehow get flushed out periodically. Their chance of causing a collateral damage to the system, unlike in Nepal, is pretty slim.

The sad thing about the ongoing situation in Nepal is that most people know that the country is headed in the wrong direction but there is very little that they can do to bring it back into track. Finally, even those political pundits that endlessly vouched for joining hands with the radical communists that have been inconsistently consistent about the dictatorship of the proletariat, have started visualizing democracy’s blurred future. When academics with political ambitions get into punditry, the prescription is bound to be flawed. Where in the world has multi-party democracy been realized by joining hands with radical communists?

India, which provided aid and shelter to the Maoists during the decade-long violent insurgency in Nepal and facilitated its bedding with the centrist forces in Nepal, appears restless as continued commitment to the process it helped facilitate is benefiting everyone else but itself. India’s desperation will grow even further as the Maoists continue to tilt north. The Maoists know it very well that, as long they court China, the chances of Indian-sponsored annihilation is impossible. Plus, they are the ones that are best organized with well-crafted agenda, issues, roadmap and muscle power.

It is needless to say that the Maoists are shrewd operatives. Look at how well they define their agenda and keep the top leaders of the major political parties engaged in futile political debate such as “civilian supremacy” while the Maoists cadres at the grassroots level are busy expanding their political base. What are these politicians of the major political parties trying to achieve by debating “civilian supremacy” with radicals that believe in bringing change by butchering innocent civilians? Isn’t the contradiction quite clear?

The UML is already divided. The good chunk of the party leaders’ heart is with the Maoists’ cause. As far as NC is concerned, Dahal has once again rocked its boat by luring power hungry GPK. India for now seems to have ganged-up Ram Chandra Poudel, Sushil Koirala and others to checkmate GPK’s ambitions but there will be more GPK types in future as long as India believes in administering proxy rule in Nepal by buying off a handful of politicians.

India’s level of influence in Nepal is bound to dwindle unless there is a major course correction. Administering a proxy rule by purchasing a few politicians might be less costly and work for a short term, but if long-term security interest is what India is really concerned about, it should invest in and push for infrastructure development and institutional building. It should win hearts and minds of Nepalis rather than winning over a few politicians. Buying off politicians of a neighboring nation, which has tons of unemployed hotheads ready to be recruited for violent conflicts, is definitely not a sound investment. As the culture of political bribery gets entrenched, there will be simply too many heads to buy and too many bidders to outbid. The best way to checkmate the rise of radical forces that would eventually pose security threats to India is by building strong institutions in Nepal. It might take a while to produce dividends but that would be a more cost-effective and secure investment.

Politicized Courts

Recently, out of 42 committee members, 23 members of the Constituent Assembly’s (CA) committee to determine the judicial system in an up or down vote supported the provision for appointment and dismissal of justices from the parliament in the new constitution. Although the vote does not mean anything unless the CA decides on whether or not such a provision would actually be enshrined in the new constitution, it is important to understand why it is being pushed by the Maoists. And what it will mean in terms of political freedom in Nepal.

Political interference in judicial processes is not something that is unheard of. The judiciary in Nepal has actually never been fully independent. Be it in Panchayat or post-Panchayat era, political elites always have gotten the verdict the way they want. Has anyone heard of a politician no matter how corrupt he or she is – Nepal has plenty of them – going to jail? No politician has ever gone to jail for corruption or other serious crimes. Almost half a dozen of post-1990 politicians who are considered to be the most corrupt were given clean chit by various courts in Nepal. As free individuals, they are once again active in carving our collective destiny.
All our comrades are trying to do is replicate the well-tested model of using judiciary for political control. The control over the judiciary will take the notion of “civilian supremacy” even a step further.

Judicial activism is nothing new, why even bother? It is important to understand why the Maoists want a judicial system whereby judges are appointed by the parliament. The Maoists know it very well that the independence of judiciary is the biggest threat to any autocratic regime. Be it a radical communist state like North Korea or theocracy such as Iran, appointing ideologues as judges is crucial for the survival of the regime. The judicial system in North Korea, which is notoriously famous for its Stalinist show trials, does not require legal education as a qualification for being elected as a judge or so-called “people’s assessor.” Political reliability is the sole criteria for nomination. In Cuba, the judiciary is not even recognized as an independent branch of the government. Both in law and practice, it is subjugated to the executive. In Iran, where hundreds of reformist politicians, lawyers and journalists are endlessly accused and prosecuted for conspiring against the regime, the supreme leader picks the chief justice. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently tapped Sadeq Larijani, brother of Ali Larijani, Iran’s powerful parliamentary speaker.

Is it clear now why Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his comrades want the exact same judicial system that the dear leader Kim Jong-Il and Castro brothers have in North Korea and Cuba respectively. Or, for that matter, Khamenei has in Iran? The Maoists comrades know it very well that without having ideologues in the courtrooms, they cannot nail down political opponents. Anyone who has read Soviet history knows very well what role courts played when it came to handling political enemies. The courts and judges were used at all times against political enemies even though the repressive communist regime relied heavily on more direct forms of repression for matters of high priority, especially during the key periods of revolutionary change. So, all our comrades are trying to do is replicate the well-tested model of using judiciary for political control. The control over the judiciary will take the notion of “civilian supremacy” even a step further.

We have a dysfunctional judiciary now, which needs to be corrected. But if Dahal and his men are allowed to succeed in their latest design, judiciary will be in a gutter. And, it will take ages to get an independent judiciary then after. The judiciary is yet to be independent in most of the former communist countries even after nearly two decades of the fall of communist regimes. Even today in Russia, judiciary suffers from communist era hangovers. The exercise of rule of law is marred by the politicized use of statutes to punish political opponents.It is a well-orchestrated move on the part of the Maoists to destroy whatever independence the judiciary has in Nepal because an independent judiciary that is beyond the executive’s reach and capable of impartial adjudication is a real threat to their aspirations. Independent judiciary restricts the tools that autocrats typically employ to control political life and stay in power.

It is understandable why the Maoists want politicized courts but it is hard to understand why the regional parties are tailgating the Maoists in this issue. The Madhesi parties, among many other things, also claim to be fighting for political freedom. If that’s the case, they should do a little bit of homework on what politicization of judiciary does to the political freedom they claim to be fighting for. The level of freedom in any country is greatly dependent on whether or not the judges of that country are truly independent. A society can be free, and free in a real sense, only when the judiciary is loyal to the law. Citizens of a country where the judges are not independent from influences of power can only dream of complete political freedom.

Laws should be interpreted in an impartial way and justice should be served by competent and neutral judges. Nepali people deserve real political freedom and equality before law not the Stalinist show trials administered by some brainwashed ideologue, who barely managed to get a law degree.

Dealing with the nightmare

In Nepal, the more things change, the more they stay the same. As a matter of fact, one can argue, and argue pretty convincingly, that the more things change, the more they get worse. The general public would be happy if they stayed the same, as things have lately been deteriorating beyond one’s belief. Here is an example. The culture of gun-totting progressive politics initiated by the Maoists and glorified by the civil society pundits is being replicated in every nook and corner of the country. According to the home ministry’s latest report, there are 109 armed groups operating within Nepal. Soon every household in the country will have weapons like in North Western frontier province of Pakistan. All peasants empowered. Progressive politics cannot get better than that, can it?

The rise of criminal outfits in the name of ethnic resistance is a distinctive form of organized crime and reflects more than just the temporary dislocations and uncertainties of the country’s transition to a free-market democracy. When killings of innocent civilians are rationalized in the name of progress, what you end up getting is more killings, not less. It is common sense. Forming a criminal group that operates under the guise of ethnic resistance is the easiest part. What is hard, however, is shielding such outfits from possible crackdown by security forces. For that, you have to have the backing of political parties and support of the elites within the ethnic minorities who can blow tons of hot air when one of these criminals gets killed or trapped into the security force’s net.

People wonder why the law and order situation is not improving with the change of government. The simple answer is that except for the general public, who has to work hard to make ends meet, everyone else is benefiting from it, especially the political parties. Let’s take an example of criminal groups that have infested the Tarai. India wants them because it can use them at key moments; the regional Madhesi parties want them because they provide a solid back-up; the NC and UML use them at key moments and think they are useful because they provide competition to the Madhesi parties. Why would you go after people that might be of some use to further your agenda down the road?

Recently, Superintendent of Police Ramesh Kharel was transferred from Siraha, where he had been undertaking a special initiative to deal with criminal activities. The elites, blinded with ethnic vendetta, hated him because he was really getting good at containing criminal activities taking place in the name of politics. But instead of praising him for his hard work, he is being accused of human rights violations by elites within the ethnic minorities in the Tarai. What about the human rights violations these criminals are engaged in? They are actively engaged in everything from fleecing local businessmen and relatively well-to-do citizens to abductions and killings of innocent civilians. Think about the overall socioeconomic costs of their antisocial activities.

I am not surprised by the condemnation coming from the supporters of these criminals who see the work of our men in uniform through ethnic lenses but what surprises me the most is the transfer of an officer, who was pretty successful in curbing criminal activities, by the home minister who says he is all for maintaining law and order. Madhav Kumar Nepal’s government, which was born because of Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s miscalculations, appears bewildered and directionless. It is a classical case of not knowing what to do with an unexpected and under deserved bounty.

Kharel is one of the thousands of brave men and women in the security sector that put their lives in harms way so that, we, the general public, feel safe. But these men and women get repeatedly betrayed by the politicians who send them to political landmines. It happened with the Nepali Army during the insurgency and now it is being repeated with the Nepal Police. The professionals from the police and army are never applauded for their hard work. Especially, the army is always at the crosshair of leftist politicians and left-leaning civil society pundits and human rights defenders. Despite being confined to the barracks and adhering to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the army has not been left out of the political games being played out in the country’s highly-politicized media landscape. And, particularly the political pundits, depending on which side of the political divide they identify with, have often found political angles for stories demonizing the army.

It is not very hard to understand why they want to constantly drag the security forces into the political debate. The threat of military intervention in politics increases when civilian leaders fail to provide “good government” and earn their legitimacy by solving the problems plaguing the country. When politicians cannot deliver, what they typically do –and this is true to all failing nations like ours – is blame the military for hatching conspiracies. As political legitimacy dwindles, the game of preempting military intervention into politics increases. The talk about civilian supremacy over the army that the Maoists regurgitated endlessly after Dahal’s government collapsed was nothing but a move towards what Samuel P. Huntington called subjective control of the military. It entails ideological indoctrination of the armed forces as well as promoting rivalries between the various branches of the military. It is right out of the “red book” of the former Soviet Union’s communists.

The politicians, irrespective of their position in the political spectrum, will continue to suffer from the nightmare of army intervention till they successfully create a state structure to promote a national identity aimed at enticing diverse groups to identify with the new order, determine the level of popular participation in political processes suitable to multi-party democratic framework, and organize the fair distribution of wealth. It is not too late to work on these fronts. Instead of trying to remain relevant in politics by attacking the last functioning institution, do the right thing. The best way to preempt possible military intervention in politics is by ensuring good governance. This will leave military elites with no options to develop such an inclination nor the opportunity to intervene in politics.