Back to the old, bad ways

The Maoists have been unable to reconcile with a democratic system of consensus and concessions. Their leader still believes he is the supreme commander leading an insurgency.

The India bogey has been raised so often by Nepal’s fractious politicians, when they can’t get their act together, that it has become boring. After having frittered away what could have been a remarkable transition from an armed struggle to a genuine democracy, Nepal’s Maoists have gone back to their old ploy of taking potshots at India. In a childish outburst, unseemly for a former prime minister, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) leader Prachanda recently stated that instead of talking to the remote-controlled government in Kathmandu, he would talk directly to the Indian masters on restoring civil supremacy in Nepal. Only to find his partymen rebuffing him. Then there’s also his desire to come and set right the ‘unequal’ Indo-Nepal treaty of 1950, something we have been hearing ad nauseam.

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All the Maoists have contributed to this desperately poor mountain nation is their obstructionist and agitational politics. With the violence that has characterised their recent strikes, the country seems headed for civil strife. The Nepali Congress-CPN (UML) government of Madhav Kumar Nepal does not seem to know how to contain this constant unrest, barring asking the Maoists to engage in dialogue. The China card is being played again, ostensibly to keep India off balance. The Nepalese can legitimately ask their politicians what they’ve done in the cause of development after the end of long years of armed struggle and the departure of an unpopular monarch. No effort has been made to strengthen the tourism infrastructure, once a major draw. Schools and colleges are regularly shut during mass agitations, denying students an education.

The Maoists have been unable to reconcile with a democratic system of consensus and concessions. Their leader still believes he is the supreme commander leading an insurgency. That he’s no politician is clear from his belief that he can do without India’s good offices, despite Nepal’s crucial dependence on India for basics like fuel. Trying to scrap the 1950 treaty will only plunge the country into further hardship. The only answer to Nepal’s problems is for the various political factions to agree to a constructive and time-bound plan for getting the country back on its feet. But with the Maoists now threatening further agitations, that does not seem even remotely possible. All India will get out of this is larger numbers of Nepalis crossing over the open border in the hope of a better future.