Moving Beyond Sectarianism

As Nepal is trying to recover from the hemorrhages of a decade-long insurgency, it is taking fresh hits from another set of dream merchants - secessionists - Jay Krishna Goit and Jwala Singh and Messiahs of ethnic cause। However, the sad part is that they do it even when the country is bleeding and society is trying to come together after years of violence, mistrust, and blame games.

The country is being treated like old, poor, and helpless parents that do not have anything to pass along to their children। Like children who abandon poor and ailing parents that are unable to pass along any fortune, a growing number of groups are now exhibiting their disgruntlement and threatening to disassociate.

Instead of nurturing the nation to heal and deliver the things, we are bleeding it further, in order to succumb and surrender to our demands। We might be doing so while not understanding the situation; the things that united and prosperous democracies have to offer are completely different from those of an ethnically divided, highly unstable, and vulnerable nation. For example, the things that Ghana, a young but successful democracy, have to offer to its citizens are way better and higher in standards than what Sudan, an ethnically divided and unstable nation has to and can offer to its citizens.

While other countries around the world are modernizing their economies to compete in global markets, Nepal is getting bogged down by ethnic violence, lack of rule of law, accountability and good governance, and demand for secession। Every time it tries to get back on its feet, political insincerity and manipulation pulls out the carpet from beneath its feet. After 1950, when visionary leaders like B P Koirala tried giving the country a fresh life through an infusion of vision, King Mahendra pulled the plug. After 1990, when democracy was infusing changes, the Maoists bogged it down.

Now, when it is trying to heal again, ethnic groups have blown their own war horn। It's not about whether the demands are genuine or not, but the timing. The country is being hit when it hurts most; when it is weak.

Our politicians have grossly reduced the saying, "All's fair in love and war" to "All's fair in politics and the quest for power।" However, in the game of power politics, what our politicians tend to misunderstand is that immoral and undemocratic means inevitably lead to immoral and undemocratic ends. The spillover effects of immoral and undemocratic acts are always irrational, illogical, and anti-social. For example, the Maoists, in their quest for power, divided the nation along the lines of ethnicity. Now they are the ones that are having a tough time dealing with the evils of an ethnic divide which they inculcated and exacerbated among people of different ethnicities.

What the Maoists failed to understand during their heyday of people's war is that in a politically enlightened country like Nepal, they will not be able to stop people from adopting formulas that work, even if it is for a short period of time।

One of the reasons why acts of political manipulation and undemocratic means to grab power are getting deeper instead of ceasing is because the perpetrators of immoral and undemocratic acts have never been punished in the entire history of Nepal as a sovereign state। The culture of impunity has reduced the need for rule of law into an oxymoron.

The Nepali society has been the victim of a lack of accountability on the part of politicians and bureaucrats for a long time now। Wrongdoers and spoilers in politics and bureaucracy have never been punished for their past deeds and that has now jeopardized the citizens' right to peace, stability, and prosperity. The reward for wrongdoers and culture of impunity started with heinous crime that Janga Bahadur committed early on in the history. Furthermore, the last Rana ruler, Mohan Shamsher, was not punished and forced to forfeit his property that was amassed at the expense of development of the nation; instead, he was made prime minister even after the fall of the Rana regime.

Similarly, the crooks of the Panchayat era that strangled democratic rights from seeing the light of dawn for 29 long years never got punished for their involvement in the suppression of the peoples' right to freedom, and are still walking free. The Mallik Commission, appointed to investigate the loss of life and property during the people's movement in 1990 and disappearances during the Panchayat era, is still collecting the dust. The reluctance on the part of the Seven Party Alliance's (SPA) government to make the Rayamajhi Commission's report public signals that there is a large possibility that the wrongdoers of King Gyanendra's repressive regime will, as usual, not be punished. The Rayamajhi Commission's report may meet the same fate as the Mallik Commission's report did and may just end up collecting dust.
Wise people learn from history and to date we have not been so wise when it comes to learning both from our mistakes and the mistakes that people in situations similar to ours have committed around the world। What we, as a nation, have failed to grasp so far is that we cannot have the basis of democracy if we don't have the rule of law and accountability. How long should this violence in the name of equality and social justice be tolerated before it is deemed political manipulation?

"New Nepal" will not bear even a tinge of newness if the lawlessness is not controlled and the lack of accountability not checked। It will rather exacerbate the existing instability and open the door for fictionalizations, mafias, and all of the other problems that stem out in the absence of the rule of law and lack of accountability. Those who are burning down the private and public properties in the name of seeking justice and equality are keeping us behind and making us grossly unequal by diminishing our competitive strength in the world arena. Those who destroy scarce resources in the name of seeking equality are by no means any less guilty than those who failed to ensure their equality.

The road to peace, stability, and democracy should not be allowed to turn murky and subsequently hijacked by individuals that want to impose their form of democracy। Be it the king or Prachanda, if they try to quench their thirst for power by quelling the peoples' right to freedom and democracy, they are the perpetrators. They should be held accountable for souring our dreams and hindering our road to prosperity. Our collective destiny cannot and should not be allowed to become a victim of power-mongers that try to ill-define the stretch and bounds of democracy for personal gain.

When democracy can emerge and persist in an impoverished, landlocked, and predominantly Muslim nation like Mali (emerged in 1992), where the average life expectancy of only 49 years is lower than ours, then there is no reason, at least in principle, why democracy cannot institutionalize and sustain in Nepal. As far as the persistence and smooth functioning of democracy is concerned, Seymour Martin Lipset's argument, "the richer the country, the greater the chance that it would sustain democracy" cannot be discredited altogether. In the absence of our ability to combine democracy on the one hand, with freedom, the rule of law, accountability, and good governance - prerequisites for the overall development and prosperity of citizens - on the other hand, power-mongers will time and again try to raise their heads and attempt to defeat the existence and need of democracy. They will do so to impose their own version of democracy, which will be highly illiberal in nature but will bear the tag "for the suppressed, by the suppressed." Are we ready for more propaganda yet?

Madhesi Movement:Blessing in disguise?

The violent protests in terai, which started on January 19, claimed over one and a half dozens of innocent lives. Public property worth millions of rupees has been destroyed. The lives of the poor, who work daily to make their ends, have been seriously jeopardized. While the government is hesitatingly signaling its willingness to have a dialogue, the damage
might have already been done. The social harmony has been seriously disturbed.

The current violence shows the level of anger in Nepali society, which can vent at any time. The challenge ahead in addition to establishing peace, security, and democracy, is to reconcile ethnic and cultural diversity with the concept of a mature and cohesive nationhood. However, it is not an easy task to construct political and economic institutions that will enable the existing ethnic diversity to be readily compatible with the perception of belonging to a single country.

Bismarck famously noted politics as the art of the possible. Jean Monnet, a century later, updated this notion and made it even more appealing. According to Monnet, politics is the art of making possible what is necessary. At this point in time, it is necessary to address the grievances of Madhesis, Dalits, women and the people from the mountains. They do not have enough say in the process of nation-building, and the government should leave no stone unturned to change this.

Irrespective of who was raising the issue, the grievances of Madhesis to a large extent were valid to be addressed. The Madhesi youth, like youth of any other ethnicity that are largely unemployed, may get trapped into the game plan of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) and get swayed with the idea of the armed separatist movement.

It is not possible to establish a new Nepal when approximately 40 percent of people from terai, women, Dalits, and marginalized people from hills and mountains, feel alienated and have grievances that need to be addressed.

So the grievances of Madhesis were genuine but the tone of Madhesi leaders and intellectuals show that they are more troubled by the ethnic slurs they encounter in their day-to-day lives than the real empowerment that has eluded them so far. The missing link in this debate is that it is not only Pahades that are discriminating Madhesis, but also the upper caste Madhesis, such as Jha, Mishra, and Bhumiyars that discriminate against Dalit Madhesis such as Dom and Chamars. A change of heart is necessary among upper caste Madhesis too.

Trying to bring down Pahades onto their knees by burning down their property will not result in a change of hearts and attitudes among Pahades. Old habits die hard. The malaise of discrimination and ill-treatment will die a natural death with an increase in the level of education both among Pahades and Madhesis and modernization of society. Eventually, it will be a thing of our past. It will not happen overnight; perhaps not even in our lifetime, but it will definitely happen if we construct an adequate political and economic institution that enables ethnic diversity now.

Although the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States in 1865, blacks and other minorities are still discriminated against, and still have to encounter racial slurs. Nobody likes to talk about it or acknowledge it, but it is there.

Former Senator George Allen of Virginia used the term Macaca—a monkey native to Asia—to insult a volunteer of Indian descent working for his opponent. Although that very racial slur proved to be exceptionally expensive to his race for the United States senate, it shows how deep racial discrimination is ingrained in American society.

Recently, Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, called fellow Senator Barrack Obama, "a fellow democrat and presidential hopeful for 2008 as the only African-American who is articulate, bright, clean and nice-looking" in his article published in The New York Observer.

Such racial slurs which are neither politically nor socially correct are still not uncommon even in the Western democracies, and they often come from people who are supposed to push for ethnic and racial equity. Consequently, instead of laying too much emphasis on ethnic slurs that Pahades use and venting anger to settle vendetta, Madhesis should make sure that the government builds institutions that are necessary to ensure their empowerment.

The window of opportunity is now open, and the Madhesi leaders should do their best to grab it. They should push for a system that works on the basis of recognition of separate identities born out of ethnicity, and demonstrate the potential to accommodate, reconcile, and manage social diversities within an overarching polity. Institutional safeguards should be in place to ensure that no group feels privileged or discriminated in the process, or else the actual empowerment will never happen.

The ongoing violent protests have provided Madhesis with tremendous bargaining power, and opportunity to regain political landscape that has been lost to the Maoists. The ongoing protests have put Maoists on a back foot; they are scrambling hard to reorganize their agenda and devise their future strategy with regard to Madhes and Madhesis. It has made Maoists more politically insecure than ever, at least in terai. In order to maintain their political stature and fiefdom, they will covertly store more weapons than they had planned to. Thus, we will not have absolute peace any time soon.

However, at this point in time if Madhesis are somehow able to unite and establish a democratic front, they can seriously challenge Maoists' fiefdom in terai, annulling Maoists' aspiration of establishing a proletarian communist state; this will be a great achievement in itself.
In addition to many things, the ongoing political protests have proved that it does not take a lot of time for people to unite and there is a potential for a serious political force to develop in Nepal. It also has proven that the fear psychosis that Maoists have been able to instill in Nepali society can be evaporated with a strong slogan and comprehensive mass mobilization. Thus, Madhesis should use the existing inertia to establish a meaningful democratic political force that can challenge Maoists' terror reign and bring them into a democratic framework so that they do not indulge in politics of violence and embrace modern politics based on human values.

The only way to bring Maoists into the mainstream is by mass mobilization, and challenging their fiefdom. Maoists will remain faithful to their commitment towards democracy only when they realize that they cannot rule Nepal by resorting to guns and terrorizing people. Other methods, including endlessly conceding to Maoist demands, are politically suicidal for Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and are doomed to fail in the long run.

The Madhesi movement should be seen as an opportunity by SPA to institutionalize democracy and ensure their survival. SPA and the international community should try helping Madhesis—even if it requires a covert operation—to establish a democratic front. As several senior Maoist leaders have already made it clear that they will not settle for anything less than a proletarian communist state, the only force that can checkmate them is Madhesi in terai. Maoists in terai are running for their lives now. The ongoing violent protests in terai have clearly demonstrated that Madhesis can reverse the trend of Maoist run over the democratic forces.

As far as Madhesis are concerned, the time is ripe for them to organize and establish themselves as a democratic force. All Madhesis need now is charismatic leaders that can see things beyond race, ethnicity, and political vendetta. Madhesis can seriously help establish inclusive democracy where different ethnic groups can coexist and realize their dreams.

Nepal - Inclusion With Vision

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's commitment that “All marginalized groups would be included in all the organs of state machinery on a proportional basis.” However, translating a political speech into viable affirmative action programs that will ensure the actual empowerment of marginalized groups through proper representation may not be as easy as it seems.
The challenge ahead is to construct just affirmative action policies that can adequately and efficiently administer compensatory and distributive justice, but at the same time have very little room for abuse by free. One of the most important roles of a state that strives towards inclusive democracy is to reach out to marginalized groups that have been bypassed either by choice or by default. This will ensure that public service system is inclusive and representative. We, as a nation, will be better off by ensuring inclusion of marginalized groups rather than exclusion, which in itself is undemocratic. Thus, inclusion of all marginalized groups bypassed so far, in all of the organs of state machinery on a proportional basis, is necessary to inculcate a feeling of belonging and to make state machineries more responsive to the needs of everyone's need.


One of the ways adopted to correct past mistakes is through affirmative action policies to ensure empowerment of the marginalized groups. However, there is a fine line between effective administration of compensatory and distributive justice through affirmative action policies that ensures empowerment of marginalized groups and the reverse discrimination. In South Africa, after the African National Congress took power in the early 1990s, they tried correcting past indecencies by offering a severance package to white civil servants did not serve as a good omen as a majority of the experienced white civil servants left government service. This had a tremendous negative affect on bureaucracy and the overall development of the nation.

Thus, the burden lies on the government to ensure that the group that was privileged in the past does not become a victim of reverse discrimination and withdraw its contribution to the society। An abrupt withdrawal and flight of this section of society that is well-educated, relatively wealthy, and politically enlightened could prove to be disastrous for development of the nation. For empowerment of members of a marginalized group to take place, it is important to identify the individuals within the marginalized groups that are actually deprived and in need of the state’s intervention. Thus, preference should be given to only those castes within the officially declared marginalized groups for their upliftment, enhancement, and subsequently empowerment. For example, the members of backward caste Madhesis and Madhesi Dalits such as Lohar, Sonar, Dom, Chamars, Musahars and others who actually face discrimination on a daily basis, are at the bottom of the economic ladder and do not have access to social goods and opportunity should be the ones to benefit from the affirmative action policies, but not to the whole “Madhesi group” which they are part of. This is mainly so because some members of the “Madhesi group” such as those belonging to upper castes- Brahmins, Rajputs, and Bhumiyars- are actually more successful and financially well off than the lower caste Madhesis, Dalit Madhesis and even lower caste and Dalit Pahades. If they, along with lower caste and Dalit Madhesis, are made entitled to affirmative actions, the well-educated upper caste Madhesis that are better educated and financially well-off will quickly learn to hop opportunities and reduce affirmative action policies to “affirmative auction.”

So, instead of blindly allocating opportunities to the people within the certain group, a combination of factors like wealth, education level, income, occupation, and geographical disparities should be used to identify truly needy people among the officially classified marginalized groups. The resources and opportunities thus saved can be distributed among those who are that are needy but are born in the upper castes by default, not by choice.
The government should learn from the Indian experience। Despite having the public policy of affirmative action in India in some form or the other for more than five decades now, approximately 25 percent of total population is still languishing below the poverty line. The people that make up this 25 percent are mostly backward castes and Dalits. So, merely having policies in place does not ensure empowerment and emancipation. For real empowerment and emancipation to occur, policies should be able to deliver to those who need the most. In addition, affirmative action policies should be auditable. It should be audited from time to time to see if it is really addressing the issue that it is suppose to address or just enhancing dependency and the sense of entitlement among the recipients.

Our success lies in devising affirmative action policies that are unique, workable in the sociocultural context of Nepal and which reach those who deserve it the most। The policies should be time-bound rather than open ended. Failure to do so would result in a situation like in India, whereby the hope that reservation would be abolished after the catching-up by the marginalized groups, has not yet been realised. In the absence of a strict time frame, the very notion of catch-up will be defined to suit the political needs and will be subjected to political manipulation. As in India, there will be a consistent and concerted effort to extend reservation to cover more and more groups. It will be impossible to get rid of politically expedient policies of reservation in the absence of a time frame, even if it is a generation or two later. Thus, having a timeline in place is extremely important to prevent preference from turning out to be an entitlement. Failure to do so will eventually constrict opportunities for upper castes and ignite social tension. The formation of upper-class militia such as Ranvir Sena in Bihar in future cannot be ruled out altogether.

The overall goal of affirmative action policies that are to be implemented in Nepal should be to make discriminated and bypassed members of marginalized group become more competent and help them to emerge as natural competitors rather than enhance intergenerational dependency.

Students' Moral Bankruptcy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bumpy road ahead

The midnight accord was a big deal. Certainly, it marked an end of the aspiration of experimenting with radical communism in Nepal, cherished by the Maoist insurgents. Girija Prasad Koirala, who in the past had been consistently labeled as having a hawkish personality and was often blamed for propagating nepotism and corruption, has finally been able to achieve people's aspirations of peace. His sheer determination to restore peace and stability has paid off at the end.

Prachanda has done a big favor to himself. By signing the peace accord, he has saved himself from going down in history as a notorious and stubborn insurgent leader. Time will tell if he has a vision to establish himself as a true statesman or if he simply succeeded in reaching where he is now because of the failure of politicians in the past.

Everyone, except for King Gyanendra and his cronies, has tremendously benefited from the midnight accord. The biggest winners are the Nepali people who have been longing for a durable peace and democracy for quite some time.

That King Gyanendra's failed bid to establish an autocratic regime proved to be a boon for the people. The people suffered for a couple of months, but this provided a platform for them to unite for a republic Nepal. Had King Gyanendra not been blinded by his autocratic aspirations, pushing freedom-loving people to the wall, it might have taken longer for us to convince the Maoists to join the mainstream politics.

The midnight accord has given the political parties that committed numerous mistakes and mismanaged national priorities an opportunity for a fresh start. Politicians have a golden opportunity to whitewash their previous records of corruption, nepotism, and incompetence now by lending an ear to the grievances of their constituents and fulfilling their aspirations.

The cloud of uncertainty and insecurity looming over the Nepali sky has finally cleared. Hopefully, all of the smoking guns will fall silent for good. After several tumultuous years marred by violence and political instability, the people can now breathe a sigh of relief. However, the days ahead are not filled with beds of roses. The real challenge begins with this new dawn. This is mainly because the stability of a conflict-ridden country largely depends on the success of reconciliation and reconstruction measures.

The countries in transition from a time of war to a time of peace are often confronted with a significant chance of sliding back into warfare. Thus, the mere signing of a peace agreement is not a guarantee of stability and peace.

The transitional phase is always a difficult and bumpy time because of constant uncertainty and insecurity. The leaders of all political parties, including the Maoists, should be careful because mistakes and mismanagement of problems during the transition phase can cause the country to slide back into warfare.

In order to establish a durable peace and stability, the violence and lawlessness that has existed thus far must give way to the security of citizens and the rule of law; social and political exclusion must give way to participatory institutions; animosity between the Maoists and the internally displaced persons (IDPs) must give way to national reconciliation; and the economy that has been ravaged by the decade-long violent insurgency must be transformed into a well-functioning market economy. The challenges ahead could be overwhelming if not dealt with carefully.

The most difficult question confronting us is where to begin with the reconciliation and reconstruction process. The government can begin by establishing positive measures such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It is extremely important because this has an ability to bring people on both sides of the conflict together to explore their mutual fear and anger and helps build bridges of trust between them.

Constructive reconciliation is extremely important for a meaningful transformation and democratization of our society. This is mainly because at the heart of any sustainable peace is the condition and process of reconciliation that helps restore a certain wholeness. It enhances the capacity of our society to let go of the hatred and hurt of the past and help warring sides to envision common future. It will instill a sense of friendship and nurture understanding between both the oppressors and victims.

Reconciliation is extremely important if peace is to be stabilized. Many peace agreements are orphaned in the absence of reconciliation. In the absence of reconciliation programs, the warring sides soon realize that it is impossible to co-exist and the conflict becomes renewed. One example of what can happen in the absence of reconciliation is the case of the second Intifada carried out by Palestine since 2000. Despite signing the Oslo accord and other numerous agreements, the warring sides (Israel and Palestine) have not been able to achieve a stable peace.

As reconciliation is a bottom-up process, the government should encourage people from both sides of the divide to come forward and forgive and reconcile with their one-time adversaries. Reconciliation is not easy because it forces each party to deal with human emotions and self-respect. It is hard for the victims of Maoist atrocities to forget their past grievances and forgive their oppressors. At the same time, it will be extremely difficult for the Maoist militiamen that committed crimes against humanity to admit their guilt and, with it, shed their arrogance.

Nepal has undergone a profound change, and the change poses new challenges for all of us. Citizens face the challenges of adapting to the changed social and political conditions; the government faces the challenges of directing the nation through the extremely painful process of reconciliation as well as the difficult process of reconstruction.

Like any other war-ravaged country, the decade-long insurgency has taken its toll on this country's overall economic development. Nepal today suffers from economic underdevelopment and damaged physical, economic, and social infrastructures. This armed conflict that has dragged on for a decade and a half has delayed the developmental process and eroded its developmental foundation. Bringing a highly polarized society together to rejuvenate a national economy that is capable of taking care of the basic needs of all citizens is not an easy task.

Rebuilding damaged physical and economic infrastructures is important, but the government should not get absorbed in the "mechanical-materialist approach" of reconstruction. This is mainly because reconstruction cannot be truly achieved in a society like ours without reforming social and political structures and the human relationships that are necessary to foster reconciliation and an idea of peaceful co-existence.

The government should reform economic policy and make development more inclusive, promote equity, and create special programs aimed at consolidating peace and stability. The economic policy of a new Nepal should thus focus not only on securing rapid economic growth, but also on equity, social inclusion, and stable peace. It should be aimed at fostering political and social adjustment vis-a-vis economic adjustment. Economic development alone cannot sustain peace if the underlying political and socioeconomic causes that sparked the Maoist conflict are not resolved.

Peace and disarmament

Six months after the April revolution, a gloomy prognosis has replaced the historic euphoria. The turtle pace of peace negotiations forced those hopeful of permanent peace and stability to celebrate the Dashain festival amidst confusion and uncertainty. Despite signing multiple agreements with the government, the Maoists have not deviated an inch from their ideology: violence makes everything possible. Their excesses continue unabated. They still engage in kidnapping, extortion, forceful indoctrination, coercive recruitment, torture and murder of innocent civilians. Fear and frustration out of subjugation has made our poorly governed and bleakly maintained nation even more vulnerable to negative outbursts.

With their continued actions, the Maoists are trying to malign the credibility of security guarantees that a government is supposed to provide to its citizens. It is an attempt to generate public impatience with the government's inability to maintain law and order. Maoists' documented pattern of behavior reflects that, for them, it is struggle at a different level.

The Maoists are trying to overwhelm the system without provoking the Nepali Army. Their myopic goal is to extort as much money as possible so that they can become a larger and more organized force to overwhelm the system. The Maoist threat of violence is nothing but a tactical move to achieve the end of violence without incurring any loss at the hands of the Nepali Army.

The time is ripe for the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) to ascertain where Maoist interests lie. Despite the government's relentless effort to appease the whims of Maoists, the Maoist actions show that they want complete dominance over the Nepali politics rather than share the limelight with SPA. SPA might have accepted the Maoists as their partner but the Maoists are yet to accept SPA as a friendly political force.

Although the Maoists have easy access and refuge in urban areas with the help of seven party alliance, they still deny access to political activists belonging to other parties in rural areas. All that the Maoists want at this point is to consolidate their base and garner support in urban areas without losing an inch in rural areas.

The Maoists have outperformed the SPA politicians in media campaigns. The government has miserably failed to actively communicate with the general population in order to manage expectations, build support, and allay suspicions. There seems to exist a disconnect between the people's aspirations for peace and stability and the actual ability of the political leaders to deliver. The people are not yearning for modern cars, luxurious houses, lavish vacations and other trendy gizmos: rather, they could be well-content in a simple life, free of violence, corruption, and living in inferno.

The SPA leaders should move away from fear's paralysis and put the Maoist leadership in defensive with active media campaigns. They should push for complete disarmament of Maoist militiamen. This is crucial for the ultimate survival of political parties and establishment of permanent peace, security and stability.

Many peacekeeping missions undertaken by the United Nations in conflict-ridden countries since the late 1980s failed mainly because weapons harvesting of combatants was not done properly; at best, it could be regarded as having been done very poorly. Thus, long term peace and stability of our conflict-ridden society largely depends on well-structured peace building negotiations between warring sides, humanitarian and infrastructure tasks to support local populations, and the permanent disarmament and demobilization of Maoist militiamen; failure to do so will render permanent peace a distant dream. This is mainly because uncollected weapons and unemployed ex-militiamen can easily reintegrate into society and pose a threat to long-term peace, stability and democracy. Failure to manage arms, which are the prime source of Maoists' fiefdom, can and will have a negative impact on the success of ongoing peace efforts, the consolidation of peace, and the prevention of future conflict from possible break away factions of the Maoist party.

Peace and stability warrants strengthening the power of the government, which can only be possible when the Maoist militiamen are disarmed completely. Thus, complete disarmament of the Maoist militia is crucial to reducing the potential for escalation of the insurgency, and as a part of conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.

However, disarming the Maoists is not an easy task for the United Nations or any other international agency that might be interested in negotiating peace. This is because the Maoists do not have any incentive to tell the truth about the number of weapons they possess, and Maoist commanders will definitely try to covertly retain weapons and troops in case things do not go their way. For the Maoists, who can collect huge sums of money through extortion and by exercising fiefdom, conflict's familiar pattern is a safer bet than peace, which is altogether a new leap into the unknown and uncertain future.

The Maoists are hesitant to surrender their weapons because weapons possess economic as well as security values for them. With virtually non-existent employment opportunities and a lack of marketable skills among the Maoist militiamen, there are no real incentives for them to lay down their arms. The willingness to completely disarm on the part of the Maoist militia will largely depend on the government's ability to guarantee employment opportunities, food security, and the personal safety of Maoist militiamen.

One of the ways to deal with this is to secure overseas employment opportunities for the Maoist militiamen. By doing so, the government will not have to bear the burden of providing them jobs in the armed forces. The country can benefit through increased remittances and it will provide the Maoist militiamen with first-hand experiences of earning money through a fair and legal means while instilling in them a sense of respect for private property which they currently lack. In addition, the possibilities of ex-militiamen organizing themselves and starting insurgencies reduce drastically.

The Maoists should move beyond their rhetoric and begin to see disarmament as part of a wider political process aimed at resolving underlying and structural sources of conflict. Conflict is a vicious cycle and the sooner one can achieve an end to this recurring circle of violence, the better it is. This is mainly because conflict is a highly persistent condition. Societies caught in a vortex of conflict have a high probability of remaining in conflict.

Sebastian Mallaby rightly points out the nature of conflict when he notes, "violent conflict might become self-sustaining, because war breeds the conditions which make fresh conflict likely". What Maoist leadership should not underestimate is the impact of war weariness on their militia. If war stretches on for too long and the militiamen perceive victory to be unachievable, they may gradually lose their continued will to fight.

With the international community against them and having militiamen "burn out," the Maoist leadership might be deprived of the fair deal that they can negotiate now to find a timely and safe resolution to the conflict.

Counteracting Maoist Strategies in Nepal

After the April uprising, the mood of general public seems to be upbeat. People have begun to see a silver lining in the otherwise murky cloud. With the eight point pact between the government and the Maoist rebels, bloody insurgency that took lives of approximately 14,000 people seems to be coming to an end, hopefully a logical one.

However, even after the eight point pact, kidnappings and extortion of innocent citizens have not subsided. Kidnappings and extortions by the Maoists continue unabated.

Thousands of homes of internally displaced citizens padlocked by the Maoist insurgents are yet to be unlocked. Their lands have been distributed to create an utopian society and movable assets used up. Despite such atrocities, the current government seems to be reluctant to vigorously raise the issue and force the Maoist leadership to do something about it. The Maoists as usual have not been sticking to the agreements whole heartedly. This is not the first time they have breached an agreement. If one can get away with crimes, why bother about its judicial ramifications? It makes perfect sense.

While the Maoists seem upbeat about their political future, the government appears helpless, feeble, and in disarray. For now, its main agenda seems to be keeping insurgents happy, contended, and engaged. However, with Maoists' chairman blowing hot and cold on politicians, Nepalese Army, and the king concurrently, the political landscape is dangerously tilting in Maoists' favor and may not remain the same for long. Keeping the Maoists engaged is necessary but not enough to ensure the dominance of democratic forces. With an increase in dominance of CPN-Maoist in national politics and supposedly end of the monarchy after constituent assembly, what will the Nepali political landscape look like? With an increase in Maoist dominance in Nepali politics, members of UML and other splinter communist groups that share the same common minimum values may desert their parties and readily join the Maoist bandwagon. That will push social and liberal democrats towards oblivion. Their very existence may become questionable.

After constituent assembly when monarchy is undone, what happens if the Maoists do not gain majority in parliament? Will they resort to persuasive politics and try winning mind and hearts of ordinary citizens whom they frightened and intimidated for one and a half decades? Big brains churning out political strategies for SPA should be pondering upon these questions, sooner the better.

If the Maoists lose elections and become a minority group in the parliament, it is very likely that some of their leaders will again head out to jungles and resort to guns to maintain their fiefdom or they may resort to guns and rig their way to the power. It is all together a different question whether or not they will be able to hold on to power in the current geopolitical settings for long. Either of these two routes is alarmingly dangerous.

Prime Minister Koirala's instance on ceremonial monarchy is very insightful. It may not be a very popular or politically correct thing to do now, but it is the right thing to do. Politicians like Koirala should demonstrate the courage and do the right thing rather than cruising in with popular opinion. Having a ceremonial king may not be a popular idea but it serves the people's interests. It will provide international community a base and a space to operate in case communist groups go out of whack and follow Cuban, North Korean, or for that matter Venezuelan path.

Mere signing agreement does not mean anything. It is not only about bringing the Maoists on-board and keeping them engaged. The SPA should work towards retaining their lost grounds by proving themselves strong and visionary.

They should try defending their existence and redefine their strategy in order to gain public confidence in them.

Even after the 12-point pact, 25-point code of conduct and the eight-point agreement, Maoists' brutality continues unabated. It is propagating the perception of lawlessness. But establishing the rule of law and maintaining security is very important for the success of any peace process and beyond. Failure to establish the rule of --- and maintain --- law and order effectively has left East Timor in a lurch.

The government should not ignore Maoist atrocities or any other criminal groups. We may choose to ignore lawlessness, but the only thing we can hope after that is social unrest, untold bloodshed, and the end of our dreams.

A well functioning legal system is in everyone's best interest. It provides an arena in which citizens can hold politicians and civil servants to account. In addition, it helps citizens protect themselves from exploitation by rich and powerful, and help resolve conflicts in an amicable manner.

A rule of law is central to the realization of constitutionally guaranteed rights and is important to achieve the broader goals of development and poverty reduction.We had a well functioning parliament a decade ago. It did not take very long for things to go out of hand and we risked ourselves of becoming a failed

state. Be it an irrational thinking of bunch of leftist radicals that thought power comes from the barrel of gun or incompetent politicians who think they could get away without serving their constituents and enriching themselves. The decade old insurgency brought us nothing but made us to realize that the armed struggle is an incorrect approach. Sanity has finally made a come back, better late than never, and let us hope it prevails.

Nepal is confronted with significant challenges and seemingly intr-actableproblems. Corruption and weak adherence to the rule of law are the biggest blems. Political will to address governance and ensure economic development is central to the Nepal's future.