Things should now change. The long wait is now over. The constitution should be here by tomorrow provided nothing untoward happens. It's pretty unfortunate that even at this stage when all procedural work has been completed there is cloud of suspicion and uncertainty. We as a nation have never been so volatile.As the work on new constitution was going on we were constantly and cleverly reminded that new constitution is no magic wand and hence one should not have many expectations of things turning gold overnight. I will hold on to that thought but at the same time I need to be uplifted. The very fact that we have been forced to wait for seven long years means that the morning after the new constitution gets formally promulgated ought to feel different.
In pursuit of a constitution, we all have lived a significant chunk of our lives with uncertainties and fear. On such occasions, I have gotten irked and peeved with no one but myself. The fact that thousands died in war-time and hundreds died in peaceful times have badly affected our normal sensibilities. So much so for the violence, burnings and bandas that I have heard many say that perhaps we were better off without the liberties, something we have fought for what seems like ages now.
Actually, it's not the death that's been disturbing for acts of everyday lives too seem to have gone awry. The new constitution may not be panacea to such problems but it should pave the way for solving problems, nonetheless.
Here are some examples. In my ride through the streets of main city thoroughfares I have always noticed our colleges getting lost in the crowd of Australian, Norwegian, Slovakian, Ukrainian and American college hoardings that advertise all kinds of what not degrees. While the colleges take a deserted look, interestingly it's peripheral area that is abuzz with throngs of hopeful students with copies of fancy prospectuses and proficiency test materials in their hands. Something inside has always made me question as to what is it we are looking for in the name of higher education. Perhaps the lure of money has been too strong that we have surrendered ourselves to going abroad. If we are bit educated we go abroad as 'students' and if not, just go straight. And in the process we leave the state of affairs of our universities to deteriorate from bad to worse.
The period has been disturbing not just due to serious issues like that of the migrant workers but the feebleness of our state. While the case of Saudi diplomat may have caused minor stir and quietly subsided by now, we have had Nepali souls gone totally unaccounted for in far off places. Some have been hacked to death in broad daylight while others have been working till they drop. There is perhaps a need for Nepal as a state to make its mark, at least make its presence felt.
The professional in me always told me that when it's work, I should never take things easy. Yet, when I saw people walking leisurely on the streets carrying all sorts of flags I wonder how life can be so free without having to take the pains of reporting your work to your boss. And if in that rally and procession a student was sighted, things would get even bad for us. We have been forced to accept the fact that the culture of banda is here to stay. There was a ray of hope when all leaders gathered in now debris laden Tudikhel to take an oath of not organizing any banda ever again. It's ironical that we now have been forced to live our lives with experts telling us how many billions of rupees went down the drain as a result of bandas. Yet bandas are announced routinely.
The Tarai once burned badly. And it's burning all over once again. Some leaders seem to have drawn the wrath of many for leading the protests. The question thrown at them is why resort to violence when there are options available through dialogue. I am not sure how much of that holds ground. The fact that there is very thin line between 'criminals' and 'revolutionaries' and we have Maoists as perfect example and therefore I think the issue needs far more serious addressing.
The fact that Madhesh has already thrown itself into flames once and now twice probably means that sooner the solution is sought the better. The fact that people are agitating for what now has been more than month indicates that there are some issues still to be addressed otherwise the agitation would not have sustained so long. We have experienced Kapilvastu once and now there's Kailali and Mahottari and Dhanusha. It's time we somehow put an end to 'flame-happy' Madhesh!
I recently came across this tweet and for me that is the best representation of what we have become as a nation. The tweet roughly translated would look something like "I belong to that country where doctors go on strike and political leaders open hospitals and businessmen run politics, where foreigners live and citizens go abroad." So pathetic has the state become that the going out is the best option. The tweet successfully captures what we all have been forced to live through.
If there was ever a time where I was soul searching and waiting for a perfect time to expect something positive, this probably is the 'perfect time'. For years we have been living in delusion, with never ending rhetoric thrown by leaders. It's about time we put that to bed.
There always has been that elusive goal we have been thrust upon only to figure out that there's one more. We were told that after peace talks with Maoists we would prosper and we never did. We were then told that all ill exists because of the monarch and once we throw him out out we would prosper and we never did. Finally we were told that once we overcome the ultimate hurdle of drafting a new constitution we would prosper. It's finally here. We've had enough. We better prosper.
hiteshkarki@gmail.com
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