Review of World Politics
By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
“And nothing to look backwards to with pride,
And nothing to look forward to with hope.”
-Robert Frost, American poet
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s dissolution of the House of Representatives has evoked legal challenges. The main discussion in the country [or the Himalayan Federal Democratic Republic/HFDR) has been monopolized by legal experts or more exclusively the pundits of constitutional law. It has mainly been argued that the Oli’s unilateral step was a contravention of the HFDR Constitution of 2015 and that the various steps undertaken by the Oli government have been a descent into authoritarianism.
The fact is that all the political forces in the country have conspired to build a terrible swamp of corruption and non-governance since the horrible Palace Massacre of 2001. It is as if we have built a big hole in the Kathmandu Valley and we are all in it and don’t know how to get out of it. Let’s call it the ‘Kathmandu Quagmire’.
There is little doubt that Oli and his Communist comrades – as well as his opposition-friends – have broken every democracy-rule book. He heads the government of the privileged few, who govern in their own interest [not the general, i.e. of the people], and, therefore, can be termed oligarchic [Aristotle]. But KPS Oli has taken his ‘Oli-garchy’ to the lowest depths of corruption, nepotism, favouritism. It has become so overweening and intolerant that there are tendencies to authoritarianism and totalitarianism [which is being kept in check by the Nepal Army]. Oli has all the makings of an oriental despot!
However, the various commentators and experts forget certain facts in their condemnation of Oli.
- Nepal’s experiment with democracy started 70 years ago after the successful culmination of the Revolution of 1950-51 under the leadership of King Tribhuwan and the active management of the Nepali Congress. This glorious revolution terminated the autocratic Rana regime and ushered in a new era in Nepal’s history. King Tribhuwan can, therefore, be rightly glorified as the ‘Father of Modern Nepal’.
It is, therefore, going fast and loose with historical facts to designate the time only after 2006 as the period of ‘democratic transition’ [vide: Asish Pradhan: “Oli’s Power Grab Endangers Nepal’s Fragile Democratic Transition”, WPR/World Politics Review, Jan. 20, 2021].
- The so-called ‘People’s War’ foisted by the Maoists on the country between 1996-2005 was not a proper ‘civil war’, but it was an insurrection against the state. It only lasted so long because domestically due to the complete incompetence of the political establishment. Externally, as we now know, it was nurtured, financed, and trained by the Indian establishment against a functioning democratic constitutional monarchic system [which was a thorn on the side of the then Nehru-Gandhi upper echelons of the Indian National Congress (INC) government.
- The constitutional drafting process was flawed from beginning to end. What came out after a most torturous period – in which the Indians were stage-managing and micro-managing, including encouraging protests and insurrection in Tarai-Madhes – was neither fish nor fowl.
Compared to the previous constitution, the brand-new constitution was imperfect in various ways. Thus, the hallowed institution of the ‘Hindu Constitutional Monarchy’ was summarily thrown out without the need of a people’s referendum.
‘What you frame, is what you get’ and thus future troubles were inherent in the constitution.
- After the Indian interference, came the Chinese interference. They were instrumental in forging the marriage of convenience between the two Communist parties. The united party was able to convince a gullible Nepali electorate (like Trump’s supporters) to give them an overwhelming mandate for change, development and progress.
But nothing of the support occurred. Like Communists everywhere, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) in government was a total failure. It was riddled with grave internal contradictions and rampant corruption. Thus, the Prachanda-Makune faction of the NCP is only the other side of the same coin. We can have no hope if they takeover power.
- The whole discussion about Oli’s descent into authoritarianism is, therefore, on the wrong track. We have to carefully analyse the trajectory of Nepal’s modern history to come to valid conclusions and future course of action, i.e.
- i. How did we get to where we are today?
- ii. Who are the responsible actors?
- iii. Who can we trust in today’s imbroglio?
- iv. If we were on the wrong track, how do we get back on the right course?
- Thus, at the present juncture, there are no favourable outcomes. There is no doubt that Oli’s tenure has been a complete failure. He has made a mess of matters.
He is now flirting with the Hindu nationalists and supporters of the monarchy as a way of dangling the possibility of restoration. But he is just muddying the waters and confusing everyone as is his won’t [see:TKP, Jan.26: “Oli’s temple visit carries an underlying political message…”].
The restoration of the House may satisfy the ‘status quoits’ of the Nepali people.
What we have to remember is that Oli was only the culmination of a difficult period of our modern history [just like Donald Trump in America]; he is the cause, not the symptom of a failed and corrupt system. The whole structure has to be cleaned out.
After Oli, what? If Oli is somehow ousted, then what? Do we want Nepali politicians in thrall to India — the Nepali Quislings — to take over the helm of affairs?
- With the Covid-19 pandemic still raging and with mass vaccinations nowhere in sight, can we afford to go through fresh elections?
The main opposition, the Nepali Congress has failed the people, although it has not shed its bragging rights. This opposition party has lost all sense of direction. Sitting on the fence is no viable option in these troubled times.
The first step out of the ‘Kathmandu Quagmire’ would be to follow the very cogent arguments and suggestions of former minister and astute political analyst Shrish Shumsher J.B. Rana and reinstate the previous constitution as a starting point [vide various editions of The People’s Review].
United States: Poetry & Politics
The new U.S. president has to bring enough fresh air into the toxic political atmosphere to move forward. In the country of his Irish ancestors, poetry is the language of politics and he could find inspiration in the words of Robert Frost:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The American Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, 22, created a sensation at the inauguration of the 46th U.S. President Joseph R. Biden on January 20 by emotionally reciting her self-composed poem: “The Hill We Climb.”
Gorman had been shocked by the apocalyptic scenes that had unfolded at the US Capitol on January 6 and had been inspired to compose these moving lines:
We’ve seen a force that would shatter
our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant
delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be
periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.
Even we Nepalese can take solace in this beautiful poem, which also captures our deepest yearnings!
The very young poet succeeded in writing lines that would inspire hope and foster a sense of collective purpose, “at a time when Americans are reeling from a deadly pandemic, political violence and partisan division” (Alexandra Alter/NYT, Jan. 22).
Gorman’s verses reflected the weight of loss that the country has endured and the current fragile state of the country:
When day comes, we ask ourselves:
Where can we find light
In this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
Her lines also echoed the theme of the Biden inauguration, “America United”, and she spoke of the possibility of unity and reconciliation [which we all also hope for, since ‘hope springs eternal in the human breast’]:
And so we lift our gazes, not to what
stands between us, but what stands
before us
We close he divide because we know
to put country first, we must first put
our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach
Out our arms to one another. We seek
Harm to none and harmony for all.
This could not only be the way forward for us Nepalese, but it is also a universal message.
Gorman expressed herself eloquently: “Poetry is typically the touchstone that we go back to when we have to remind ourselves of the history we stand on, and the future that we stand for” (NYT).
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
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