- Basanta Bhujel
When position and wealth are more important to leaders than the country, then nationalism is weakened. BP Koirala, a visionary politician, did say this about the indispensability of monarchy in Nepal. Why did the BP see the inevitability of the person who was ousted from the post of Prime Minister and imprisoned for years? Today’s politicians need to find out the answer to this question. The biggest loss when the country is gone is to the king. The king cannot be deceived by any temptation of a foreign power, but the politician does not make much difference. The sky does not fall for the politicians if the country does not disappear, their business will continue.
Whatever the foreign intervention, the country has remained so far. Our monarchy may have many flaws, but it has left us with a huge country from Himal to Terai and from Mechi to Mahakali. The monarchy collapsed due to the then King Gyanendra’s own small mistake. The biggest and most frightening mistake is being made by the leaders we believe in. The coming days will show whether the monarchy will return or not. Let’s make this huge country like Nepal, which was built and left by the Shah dynasty, strong as much as possible, and prevent it from collapsing. There is no need to do anything else if those who come to power are honest. The characteristic of a multi-party system is unity in diversity. The more parties there are, the more agendas, ideas, and principles there are. But on the question of strengthening nationalism, everyone had to stand together. Where to do politics without the country? That thought had to grow in the leaders. The control of the people’s representatives is needed in the state machinery as there is no conscience of the employees in the state machinery. The duty of the people’s representatives is guardianship. What effect will the steps taken today have on tomorrow? The people’s
representatives need to think that. The foreign game of conflict between citizens is old. The future of the world is getting dark because of Corona. The focus of our country’s government policymakers is on positions and chairs rather than goodwill and support for citizens.
Of those who have gone to Qatar for foreign employment, 350,000 Nepali workers are returning home. Where will they be managed in their native land? What policies do our state have and are making? It’s just a matter of Qatar; the number of returnees from other countries can be significant. Have you been debating such issues? I watched the news, snatching the leader’s chair, insulting the opportunity, and the mentality of taking revenge. During the Rana period, there was an annual pajni. There were a lot of whipping and blind devotees in the palaces. At present, a similar crowd is gathering at the leader’s palace. If only the characters change, the trend is the same. Faith in the party and the leader is not bad, being a blind devotee is not so bad, it is a matter of one’s own will. Citizens are free to do whatever they want without hurting others. But isn’t there any injustice done to the common people while slapping the crooks, thugs, and brokers? What did the leaders think? We Nepalese are no longer of the 18th century, we are of the 21st century. The country is first, then the position and the party. The duty of a citizen is mentioned in the constitution. Which should be mentioned in the citizenship certificate? Only then does the citizen realize his duty.
Many of us Nepalese know about Nelson Mandela, we also know about Mahatma Gandhi. In the case of Nepal itself, Prithvi Narayan Shah and BP Koirala cannot be compared with others. Apart from these two great men, the list of leaders who give priority to the nation over their position is not short. Ganeshman Singh had already rejected the post of Prime Minister. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai also did not show any greed to remain in office. Even Manmohan Adhikari did not show much greed. In the case of Madan Bhandari, he fell victim to a conspiracy with time left to be evaluated. If he had wanted, the party president could have become the leader of the parliamentary party, but he made Manmohan the party president and became the general secretary. By making Manmohan the leader of the parliamentary party, he became the deputy leader. He put the future of the party and the country before his position.
At first glance, Prime Minister KP Oli may be highly valued. He also seems to be addicted to the post, but it is Oli who has come out strongly against BP Koirala since the Sugauli Treaty against India’s Hepah and Micah tendencies. Whether in the matter of thwarting the conspiracy of the ethnic state to be imposed during the constitution-drafting process or in the case of the blockade imposed by India saying that the constitution was not favorable to him, Oli stood firm. Even the then King Mahendra remained silent about Kalapani in the name of protecting his crown. But Prime Minister Oli left that territory on the map of Nepal. Now we have to be able to use that territory practically. But India has deployed troops. We cannot chase their military power out of Kalapani for the time being. Therefore, the only solution is for the people to unite and fight against India. For this, arrangements will be made not to consume Indian goods, not to go to India for employment, not to bring Indian workers in the country, and to try to become self-reliant in the economy. If that happens, India will be forced to withdraw its troops from our land.
Conquered by the chaos in the country, the people have started saying that they need a ruler like Buddha or a dictator like Jung Bahadur. But dictatorial control is short-lived, and in the long run, it pays off. Governments that unite the people and satisfy the people will pay off in the long run. Take, for example, the dictator of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. For a few years, he ruled well. They have made the country prosperous and the people happy. But within a few years, he was overwhelmed by power frenzy. Engaged in corruption. Let’s compare North Korea and South Korea. With the liberation from Japanese colonization, Korea split into two countries, North and South. Dictatorship begins in North Korea Democratic rule begins in South Korea. Therefore, the alternative to democracy is a better democracy, not autocracy. Let us not think of returning to autocracy as an alternative. Let’s try to improve the party and the party leaders. In five years, the ruler will be replaced. If all the people are united, the bad rulers will be wiped out in the elections. They do not dare to be corrupt. They do not dare to stand at the expense of the nation. But we will one day be without sovereignty if the practice of feeding and drinking votes based on the same amount of money earned by the leaders through corruption continues.
(Bhujel is a retired engineer in the British Army)
