Janaandolan II Anniversary

Today marks the 4th anniversary of the success of the historic people’s movement, popularly known as Janaandolan II. It was four years ago on this day that the king reinstated parliament and ceded power to the people following widespread protests across the nation. Following that, there were great hopes among the people about their own as well as the nation’s future. However, four years on, the people feel cheated as they fail to sense any significant change in their lives. In fact, there is a general feeling among the people that their condition has worsened over the past few years as they endure lawlessness, treacherous power cuts and rising food prices, among other things.



People everywhere desire peace, democracy, rule of law and political stability. That was what the people who took to the streets in April 2006 desired and hoped for. Sadly, the political parties seem to have taken the people’s support for granted. Lest they forget, the people supported them for the idea of democracy and justice; they did not do it for a party or a group of political parties. It is about time the political parties got their acts together and seriously worked toward satisfying the democratic aspirations of the people.



The starting point in this direction would be to take to constitution-writing seriously. In democracy, it is natural for political parties to have differences. However, these inter-party differences need to be set aside to fulfill a national agenda, which, at present, happens to be the writing of the constitution. Nepalis want a constitution that will institutionalize democracy, human rights, rule of law and respect their federalist aspirations. Therefore, dilly-dallying in writing the statute has to stop now and the task must be completed in earnest.



The Constituent Assembly has so far done a fantastic job. All the 11 Thematic Committees have submitted their reports to the CA, thus laying down a solid foundation for drafting the statute. What is even more laudable is that the reports are extremely inclusive as they were readied after wide consultations with the common Nepali men and women from across the country. Against this backdrop, if the top leadership of the major political parties are able to show magnanimity by shedding off their differences for the larger interest of the nation, there is no reason why we will not have an exemplary statute sooner rather than later.



Political parties have to realize that there is no alternative to consensus. Giving up their individual agenda for the national good is the need of the hour. There are no differences that cannot be resolved if there is a real willingness to do so. They must understand that sacrificing their individual interests to promote national interests will not make them appear weak; instead, on the contrary, it will burnish their image in everyone’s eye. May this day provide the leaders with a new determination to work on people’s behalf!

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