On/Off the Record
By P.R. Pradhan
The month of Pous is meaningful for Nepali nationals, as we are enjoying independence, sovereignty, and Nepali identity due to the foresightedness of the Nepali monarchs.
Although there is a narrative developed by those anti-national people that King Mahendra introduced a dictatorial partyless Panchayat system on 1 Pous, the patriotic population believes that the move was initiated in greater interests of the nation. The move was to save Nepali identity. King Mahendra, during his one decade of rule, did many remarkable works for nation-building.
Accordingly, 14 Pous is the birth anniversary of King Birendra, who struggled hard to save the Nepali identity. India, since it became independent from the British rulers, is eyeing Nepal’s sovereignty. We are all aware of Indira Gandhi’s plan either to annex Nepal or split Nepal’s Tarai districts and encroach the Nepali territory. The Indian grand design is still active. Understandably, Indians, to succeed in this plan, are continuously spending a huge amount of funds in Nepal. We all know that the Indians are actively involved in micromanagement in Nepal. While going through history, we can observe the continuous struggle of King Birendra against those conspiracies imposed by the Indians. Whether it was a quest for declaring Nepal a “Zone of Peace” or rejection of the citizenship amendment bill, all were intended to safeguard Nepali identity.
The Royal Palace bloodbath took place immediately after the Palace rejected the citizenship amendment bill, which was endorsed by those “loktantrik” leaders of the day. If King Birendra had approved the controversial citizenship amendment bill, perhaps, the Palace bloodbath could have been avoided.
In 1990, the then-Indian foreign secretary SK Singh visited Kathmandu with a long list of Indian concerns. The major Indian concern was to keep Nepal under the Indian security umbrella. The Indian official had given the option that if Nepal had accepted the Indian proposal, the partyless Panchayat system could be retained for a minimum of three decades. However, King Birendra didn’t compromise against the greater national interests.
King Gyanendra should not have been dethroned if he had accepted the Indian proposal for Bhutanization of Nepal. These historical facts confirm that the kings of Nepal never compromised with foreign powers against the greater interests of the nation.
At a time when imperialist British rulers were expanding their colony in India, King Prithivi Narayan Shah decided to unify small states to save the Satanat civilization. King Prithivi unified small states creating a Greater Nepal of brave warriors, with whom the British army faced humiliating defeat. The British army cunningly won the Nalapani War by cutting down the water supply at the Nalapani Fort. Nevertheless, the British army faced a heavy loss and Nepali warriors were commended and recognized as brave warriors by the British commanders. Following the one-sided Sugauli Treaty, the British rulers forcefully occupied a big portion of Nepali territory from Mechi to Tista rivers in the East, Mahakali to Satlaj in the West and River Ganga in the South.
Still, if we follow the path of King Prithivi and King Mahendra, we don’t see any problem in transforming our motherland into a vibrant, prosperous and strong nation.
Contradicting these all historical glories, since we saw the political leaders enjoying the executive power in the country, the nation is continuously been ruined.
We found the kings more responsible towards the people than the political leaders of the day. Today, the nation’s economy has been seriously ruined. The debt burden is continuously increasing, whereas, the government revenue is unable to meet the general sector expenditure, which is known as nonproductive sector expenditure. More seriously, the revenue from the industrial sector has declined, which means failure in the industrialization of the nation. As a result, there is a lack of employment opportunities within the country and youths are going abroad seeking jobs.
The government has imposed multiple taxes on citizens making them difficult for their survival. A group of political leaders have imposed a political syndicate and enjoy power turn by turn exploiting the taxpayers’ money.
For over one and a half decades, there has been the absence of the monarchy, and today, the deposed monarchy has become popular among the people, and we can see a human sea to greet the monarch wherever he goes. This is the referendum on the popularity of the monarchy and the quest of the people for restoration of the institution of monarchy.
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