Nepali Times
Editorial
Divide and ruin


If anyone has cast a spell on this land, then it is probably a curse that Nepalis will never be able to work together. Ever since the Pandes and the Thapas were at each others' throats in the early 19th century, our rulers have sought self-preservation by destroying rivals.

Today, whether it is in a football federation, a human rights organisation, a political party or unsuccessful efforts to muster the common will to lift the country out of its misery, we can't seem to be able to forge the necessary consensus.

No nation has a monopoly on fractiousness and discord, but on a worldwide scale for the most ununited state, Nepal must come very near the top. Most of us can't bear to see a fellow Nepali get ahead, a compatriot honoured or a Nepali getting well-deserved international recognition. So it was that when a leader in the last government got the other side to agree on a ceasefire and was close to working out a peace plan to resolve the conflict, the whole deal was subverted because no one wanted him to earn the peace dividend. Peace is now such a precious commodity that whoever delivers it will not have to worry about legitimacy for the next decade.

Nepal's tragedy has been that our rulers have always believed in ruling by dividing. They derived short-term political gain by keeping those down the power ladder squabbling madly so they could climb on. This technique was perfected into an art form and the tradition carries to this day. Those who should be engaged in unifying the country, pulling together political forces to forge a common destiny, sewing back society's tattered fabric are busy keeping things apart.

Instead of making political parties work together to find a consensus on a common constitutional front to counter extremism, we find the powers-that-be using their bag of tricks to tear them asunder. The RPP is virtually split, the UML has a vertical split and the Nepali Congress was veritably split two years ago. Not over any major ideological disagreement, or over a matter of principle on deeply cherished beliefs, but for short-sighted, narrow-minded personal gain. Who benefits from this? Not the parties, not democracy, not the country. And, surely, it is not going to help us get any nearer to resolving the current conflict.

That was the diagnosis. So, what is the treatment? You can start by agreeing to disagree, but sooner or later you have to work towards a consensus on the necessity of representative government that is inclusive and reformist, that has the moral mandate to end this unconscionable conflict.


LATEST ISSUE
638
(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


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