By Shashi P.B. Malla
It can be said that consensus is the means and not the end of democracy.
After the Gen Z uprising there was a general consensus in the political spectrum that there should be a general election to the House of Representatives because the old order had no longer any legitimacy.
The Himalayan Republic 1.0 had lost the mandate of heaven.
Consensus regulates the question of how social order is established and preserved in any society or social group.
One can either emphasize coercion as the basis of social order or argue that some degree of general consensus over values and norms provides the crucial basis of society.
In practice, social order conceptualizes the bases of order in terms of both normative consensus and physical coercion.
For legitimacy, a new government had to be elected into office and the new order required the political participation of the people.
Only with the robust participation of the people in politics from the grassroots upward can democracy be truly established – and it must be nurtured and not exploited as by the old, established big parties Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Maoists.
Role of Monarchists/Royalists
As there is no way of avoiding the general election, the role of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) will be crucial in the movement to restore Constitutional Monarchy and Sanatan Dharma.
The erstwhile royal house can only hope that the RPP does well in the polls to at least be a coalition partner in the government.
The RPP can then canvass from within the coalition government for a larger consensus to hold the people’s referendum for the restoration of constitutional monarchy and Sanatan dharma.
This is the only legitimate, democratic and constitutional path for the restoration.
The members of the erstwhile royal family can, of course, in various ways contribute to enhancing the momentum.
There is after all a groundswell of support for the royals in the general public.
The RPP-leaders have to play their valuable cards close to their chests very carefully. It is not only the question of ‘no risk, no gain’ but also not to venture beyond the bounds of prudence.
The RPP has wisely chosen the Prithvi Path in their election manifesto.
In the coming days, they should highlight both the domestic and external dimensions of the Great King’s doctrine of vibrant and sustainable existence in a hostile environment.
They should present themselves as the heirs and vanguard of what the nation’s founder set out to do and the monarch as the very protector of the new order.
The writer can be reached at:
shashimalla125@gmail.com
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