Compulsive politics

During what appeared to be the colossal Maoist showdown of May 1 and general strikes that followed, Kathmandu was almost engulfed by, in Prachanda’s diction, “shabbily dressed poor and hungry rustics.” These rustics, feared by Kathmandu elites as marauders, included young and old, men and women and also some children. They spent the first few days singing and dancing, clapping and applauding in the streets. They besieged the roads waving red flags, sitting still under the scorching heat for long hours, sweating, but determined to do and die. They withstood this ordeal for about a week with unwashed clothes, slippers on, cracked feet and hands, rough and coarse body. They portrayed the real picture of Nepal, the real problem that the state has feigned ignorance of. This must have sent an alarm to the Kathmandu elites that the huge section of their Nepali brethren is still fighting extreme penury. We are told that they were ferried from suburbs and hills and forced in Kathmandu against their will. Whatever the case, the spectacle was enough to solicit some sympathy and love for them.



Toward the end, they even had to fight for life. “People” largely consisting of members of sister organizations of other political parties, allegedly mobilized for retaliation against Maoist cadres by Nepali Congress, UML and the Hindu Fundamentalists, in Jorpati and Basundhara of Kathmandu and in Birgunj came out against them with arms. Both the attackers and the attacked brandished sticks and clubs and knives and khukuris in the air and threatened to kill the opponents. Watching this sight of political Mahabharata on the television sent a chill of terror in me. I had this shuddering apprehension that the country is set for civil war, that the nation will have to drench herself in one more bloodbath. God forbid this nightmare!



As the confrontation was escalating, many Kathmanduites may have wondered “why did these people come at all? Why can’t they simply stay at home? Why are they so passionate about politics, this dirty game?” These wonderings are worth answering. It is not just people had too much of banda to tolerate or the Aristotelian maxim of man is by nature a political animal explanation. It appears to me that politics for Nepali people goes beyond these.




All those people who were set to kill or get killed, who attacked or were attacked during the general strike were affiliated to one or other political parties. For a reason that may sound weird to some, I refuse to believe that there are citizens in this country. Every citizen in this country is a political cadre/supporter. Whether they be industrialists or businessmen, artists or human rights activists or civil society members, they all bear loyalty to one or the other party. Some overtly let their loyalty be public, like the political cadres, others only suggest like writers do sometimes, and the others keep it within themselves and tend to use it when the opportune moment comes. It is another thing that despite this political bent, Nepali people in general are known for abhorring politics and politicians. Hardly anyone refutes you when you call politicians thieves.



There is a compulsion for every Nepali to be a follower of a political party. You cannot remain just a citizen in this country. You cannot only be Nepali; you must develop an inclination to one or the other political parties or you must become its supporter. In villages and towns, politics is your protection, defense and shield. If you do not have political identity or have not hobnobbed with one or the other powerful political leaders, you may be accused of the crime you have not committed and no one will come to advocate on your behalf for justice. You may be transferred to the remotest of the places, your promotion prospects will lie at peril, and your job opportunities will be limited. While if you are a cadre or a mere supporter of a political party, you can be released from jail even if you have murdered somebody and you can walk scot-free. You can be a member of an underworld, you can be a gangster and yet you can be above the law. You can get political appointments, your job transfers and promotions are guaranteed. And believe me you cannot take a simple recommendation from the village development committee offices without hassles if you cannot exert a little political pressure. You may only be able to register a complaint in the police office and chief district officer´s office but will fail to draw their attention to your case if you lack a political backing. And most importantly, political parties in Nepal are dream sellers. And innocent people are easily duped by the one that can best sell its dreams. As a result, there are always some people who are loyal to political parties for their loyalty toward dreams.



Therefore hundreds of thousands of people come to the mass gatherings, the protests and the movements called by the political parties, whether be it organized by Nepali Congress or CPN-UML or the Maoists. And at a signal from their leadership, they go berserk, drugged by the opium of politics, they become ready to kill and be killed.



All those Maoist cadres who came to the capital to awaken their dreams for better life, but who sadly became the victims themselves, and those others who were trying to prove these protesters incapable of garnering sympathy from general public are products of this political reality. And now we stand at a juncture of confrontational and violent politics. “There are no true friends in politics. We are all sharks circling and waiting for tears of blood to appear in the water,” Alan Clark, British Conservative MP, military historian, and diarist had discoursed brilliantly. I have a premonition that Nepali politics is on the way to making Lark’s prediction its guiding principle.



mbpoudyal@yahoo.com

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