Nepalis are concerned, and very much so. Every single day we wonder what is being done to get our country out of this political and diplomatic mess. But the end of each day only seems to bring more disappointment on this front. The government is moving at a tortuously slow pace and there seems to be no end in sight. So The Week talked to some political commentators to make sense of this situation and understand the reasons behind the lack of progress.
Dhana Kumari Sunwar
Human Rights Activist
The government hasn’t shown as much sensitivity as the Madhesi issue deserves. They insist that they are working for the overall welfare of the country but that is not an excuse to be indifferent to rights of various people from different communities which form the country. On the flipside, I’m also worried with the protesters’ uncompromising approach to see to it that their demands are met at any cost.
The only way out is a settlement. All concerned parties must come to the table and negotiate. For this I believe the civil society can play an important role. At the moment we need impartial mediators working for the interest of the country. I believe this is sorely lacking right now. We desperately need mediators who can revive this lost trust among the leaders and the protestors. It will take a good facilitator to make the opposing parties see reason, make them at the least sympathize with the other and become willing to address the pressing issues.
Dr Rajesh Ahiraj
Editor of Madheshvani
I believe the cause of the current political deadlock boils down to two factors: the mentality of different communities and their idea of what the other communities should be entitled to. We can see that some still harbor suspicions regarding other community’s agendas and what they are capable of as well. Similarly in this environment of distrust, people have varying views on what other communities should be permitted to achieve. The fact that the present mindset isn’t one for accepting rights of all communities is the reason we have not made any progress.
So I’d say the only way forward is equality. I believe this is where non political wings of the country should exercise their influence, make a conscious effort to work for the benefit of the nation than their respective communities and convince the concerned parties to adopt this kind of ideology as well. For us to move forward, the state needs to shake off its biases and citizens should have the confidence that they are going to be treated fairly on the simple merit that they are all Nepalis.
Sanjeev Pokharel
Blogger
At the moment, there are multiple problems crippling our country and what’s more, from the border blockade to the Tarai movements and even the obstruction of earthquake reconstructions, we can see they are all interconnected to a certain extent.
So the best solution would be to stop evading the necessary talks. The only way forward is for the leaders to sit together, address the issues and come up with suitable agreements.
The parties are using national propagandas to justify postponing crucial discussions. They are citing India’s involvement in the Madhesi movement as their main reason for being reluctant to listen to the voices rising from Madhesh. This obviously can’t continue for long. I think it all boils down to the fact that there is a lack of mutual trust between different parties and communities. There always were cracks on the social structure of our state. We tried to suppress them for long but that’s not an option anymore. So before the foundations become weaker, there is a need to open channels of genuine dialogue.