By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
It has been a fascinating political journey since the great Revolution of 1950-51 under the leadership of King Tribhuwan which brought to an end the 104 years of Rana autocracy.
Domestic Progress
We Nepalese can be proud of ourselves that we have made considerable progress since the dawn of the new era.
Depending on statistics available, for instance our GDP per capita rose from a mere US $ Dollar 50 in 1960 to US $ Dollar 1,208 in 2015.
Our average life expectancy rose from less than 30 years in 1960 to over 70 years in 2023.
Nepalese living below the poverty line fell from about 50 % percent in 1990 to about 15 % percent in 2023.
Nepalese access to electric power rose from a few percentage points in 1960 to nearly 85 % percent in 2023.
Nepalese access to safe drinking water also rose from a few percentage points in 1960 to nearly 92 % percent in 2023.
These advances were made not because of, but in spite of the so-called leaders.
Just imagine where we would be today, if crooks and vagabonds were not at the helm of state!
External Affairs
For all their internal repression, even the fiercest critics of the Ranas cannot doubt their intense patriotism.
They cleverly recognized that the British were the supreme masters in South Asia and tailored their external policy accordingly.
They continued their friendly policy towards the Middle Kingdom, and only after the Celestial Kingdom was superseded by the new Republic, did they stop the time-honoured diplomatic practice of sending five-yearly tribute missions to the Son of Heaven.
Our Rana rulers, therefore, recognized the supreme importance of our relations to China – going back to ancient times.
China itself did not consider Nepal [until the modern era confined to the Valley and environs] just one of the many states on the periphery, and the Nepalese another one of those barbaric tribes.
Even after the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1911, the Nepalese were invited to join the great Chinese family of nations – but the Ranas politely declined!
In the modern era, far-sighted politicians of the likes of B.P. Koirala, Tanka Prasad Acharya, Dr. K.I. Singh continued the policy of fierce independence from both the south and north. They were made of sterner stuff.
The Age of Crooks
Unfortunately, they have given way to uneducated, inexperienced crooks and carpetbaggers.
The current prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Prachanda has the effrontery to claim that the government’s efforts to combat corruption will be intensified (TRN/The Rising Nepal, July 2).
He also asserted that ‘the government had adopted a unique approach to address the challenges faced by the people’. However, he left unsaid whether we should laugh or cry!
The fact is that recent major turbulences include the Corona Pandemic scam, fake Bhutanese refugee scam and the Lalita Niwas Land Grab scandal – and constitute the tip of the iceberg of various ongoing schemes of ‘getting rich quick’ by political parties in power.
Previously, we had among others, the Pajero incident, the Royal Nepal Airlines shady business, Nepal Oil Corporation/Gopal Bahadur Khadga scam and other corrupt practices.
Our politicians in general have become such masters of dishonest schemes, frauds and swindle that they have exhausted even the dictionary of available words to describe their misdeeds and dishonest behaviour.
We have leaders without leadership qualities – flawed characters, morally depraved, rotten to the core and putrid.
They do give the Italian and American mafias a good run for their money!
The terrible extent of corruption as such is reflected in the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha saw fit to denounce it during his official visit to Chengdu, China: “Bad governance is a big problem of the country. The government has accorded high priorities to effectively control corruption and establish good governance” (TRN).
The Nepalese people have tried everything, but the Kathmandu Swamp keeps on encroaching on their freedom and way of life.
There is no other way than to rid Nepalese society of these utterly corrupt politicians and would-be leaders.
We must rise up against them and establish a new system.
We need a two-year interregnum to explore new ways, means and methods for our society and the environment.
In this period, politicians will be banned and we will be governed by technocrats (who may come from political parties).
Gifted people like Mahabir Pun , Dr. Swarnim Wagle and Anil Keshari Shah should be given their due in projecting a more effective Nepal.
Any whiff or ogre of corruption should be nipped in the bud by adopting the Singapore model of remuneration, i.e. very high pay for ministers and officials of state institutions, so that temptation for bribes, payoffs and kickbacks are reduced to a minimum.
At the same time, good governance must be aimed for at every level of state administration. This applies to all services provided to the people.
Good governance probably translates to digital governance – and also digital control and accountability.
The state should strive for basic health and education to all, free of costs.
Favouritism and nepotism must be reduced to the minimum level. Meritocracy will have to play a significant role in both the public and private sectors.
We need a new or revised Constitution written in close consultation with the people at all levels, all walks of life and all ethnic groups.
Hindu Constitutional Monarchy
The all-important questions of a Hindu State and Constitutional Monarchy should also be finally resolved – if necessary by a referendum.
In the meantime, it would facilitate matters if the erstwhile royal family took a more pro-active, people-near role.
In our current miserable state of the nation, it would have helped tremendously if we had a head-of-state who was above politics and can bring people together. Constitutional monarchy stands for harmony and above the fray.
Former politicians as presidents don’t seem to have the healing power of monarchs.
In the current era of multiple strategic competition verging on confrontation where Nepal is buffeted by rival cross-currents, a constitutional monarch would have tremendous significance as the symbol and guarantor of the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Let us never forget that many of our politicians – willingly and wittingly – were and are ready to see Nepal reduced to the status of a vassal state [no prize for guessing of which country!].
Such a multi-faceted development model for our country would then ensure all-round prosperity. We need not look to Singapore or Switzerland, we would have our own home-grown prototype — of the Himalayan Republic or the (revitalized) Himalayan Monarchy?
The writer can be reached at:shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
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