We endure this ad only to avoid the inconvenience of turning the radio/ TV off till the news comes on again. The advertisement succeeds in having just the opposite effect. Instead of feeling attracted to the supposedly superior juice, we think instead on how the average Nepali village school kid will relish any juice as a treat. He doesn’t care for the eight-times-more variety. The case must be the same with India, which has made a lot of economic progress but at the cost of the poor getting poorer. (If in doubt, just visit any slum next to an Indian railway station.)
The Maoists should see the positives in other parties and cooperate to move our country forward. Too much negativism from them may cause people to say, “Maobadis? Chhya!”
Politically, our United Maoists are doing something similar, expressing “chhya” at every program the new government undertakes. Actually, we have reasons to be cautiously optimistic. When Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned over two months ago, with him also stepped down the United Maoists leaders who have never renounced violence. While the Maoists led the government, Birendra Sah, Ramhari Shrestha, Uma Singh, Prachanda Thaiba (among others) lost their lives. Maoist thugs attacked Kantipur Publications and the Himal Media.
When UML’s Madhav Kumar Nepal took over, a sigh of relief escaped from most citizens wanting a liberal democracy. “Thank God, a party that renounced violence leads!” (Nepali communist movement started with bloodshed, the Naxalite-style execution of some landlords in Jhapa.) Under the UML-led government, the general population expects an end to killing of opponents, whether they are journalists or politicians. The media can continue investigative journalism without the fear of government harassment. Murder and threats will no longer become the government’s hidden policy.
The Maoists’ house-disruption for two months should serve as a warning to all parties. In future, groups shouldn’t obstruct the parliament to spite their opponents. Why? The Maoists said they had learnt the trick from UML and NC gurus. True enough.
The NC and UML jointly disrupted the house for “noble” purposes. Let them do it no more, whatever the reason. (They should seek justice through other means, like the courts.) The NC wanted to force the Maoists to return the land/property confiscated by the former rebels. The UML wished Prachanda Thaiba’s murderer arrested. Not wanting to do both and to cover up their own inefficiency, the Maoists resigned, making scapegoats of the president and army chief Rookmangud Katawal.
We have to give credit to various peoples and factors for the July 6 house resumption: The PM’s compromising skill, his willingness to become the “underdog”, the speaker’s persistence, the diplomacy of foreign envoys, the Maoist fear of international shame and their desire for removal of the “terrorist” tag. Many will chide the ambassadors for “intervening” in our internal affairs. However, these critics fail to appreciate that the atheistic Maoists have no moral compunction. The only language they understand is international loss-of-face. (Note that India has begun to call her Maoists “terrorists” as well.) Besides, for a good cause, anyone, including diplomats, should take the initiative through proper channels.
On July 13, the Finance Minister presented his budget to the assembled house.
The UML-led budget has features which the Maoists, NC, and other parties should note. The compromising PM has included good programs of both the Maoists and the NC. This liberal, consensus-approach didn’t normally take place when Girijababu and Dahal were in power. Many times Koirala broadcast his own ideas, and let his cabinet and coalition members know about them from the media! Thus, he lost the trust of Madhesi parliamentarians like Mahanta Thakur, Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Jaya Prakash Gupta and Sharad Singh Bhandari. Dahal had his own grand design of state capture, so even to consult others would have distracted him. Thus his futile attempt to punish the army chief and the president even when 18 other parties thought otherwise. Like the Indian boy of the ad, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, CP Gajurel, Dinanath Sharma and other Maoist big shots continue to call this government “illegitimate”!
At the parliament (July 6), Dahal compared poorly with Madhav Kumar mainly because he played on the negative too much. Calling Madhavji “remote-controlled” encouraged the question, “What about Dahal himself?” If he hints that India guides the UML leader, doesn’t China have the remote control that controls the Maoists? On October 30, 2008 three Chinese officials, Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Communication Minister Krishna Mahara, Maoist Secretariat Member Netra Bikram Chand and Parliamentarian Ms. Gharti slipped over to Khasa to “spend” a few days. The Maoists were seeking Chinese help in ensuring the PLA-Nepal Army integration on terms favorable to themselves.
Besides, on the Katawal issue, Dahal himself admitted to foreign media that he had sought the help of an Indian mediator who failed to arrive. He had asked for “remote-control” on his own. It’s high time the Maoists discarded their inherent hypocrisy and stopped playing China against India as King Mahendra did. Our unique geography leaves us no choice but to keep both our neighbors happy. Accusing Madhavji of being remote-controlled ended up in garnering more sympathy for the PM. Like the “chhya” ad, Dahal’s sarcasm backfired.
Dahal and other Maoist leaders claim themselves “properly elected” and the present government led by a “gang of losers”. We can agree with them only if the Maoists hadn’t hindered sympathizers of other parties from getting to the CA polling booths, hadn’t scared people by claiming to find through a special “telescope” who votes for whom! Besides, why did the former PM Dahal ask Madhav Kumar, an election-losing candidate, to chair the Constitutional Committee?
The United Maoists reaction to the new budget too has been a big “chhya”, despite the fact that it includes the best features from the previous Maoist-led government. Now a caste-Dalit wedding can bring in Rs 100,000 as reward. To get some share of the pie, parents may no longer ostracize such courageous couples. Someone willing to marry a widow has the extra incentive of Rs 50,000. (Couples producing daughters too should also get a reward, like in India, so that we don’t have future tragedies like those the SLC-topper Bhawana Tamang experienced.) Provided that the government actually implements these and other schemes, this budget will right a lot of wrongs of our society.
The Maoists should see the positives in other parties and cooperate to move our country forward. Too much negativism from them may cause people to respond in the same coin, “Maobadis? Chhya!”
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