Political analyst Nilambar Acharya in an interview with Himal Khabarpatrika (17-23 January)
KIRAN NEPAL
Himal: After struggling to pass a new constitution through an elected assembly, declaring Nepal a republic, have we, as a country, really moved forward?
Nilambar Acharya: No country moves forward as smoothly as it wants. The way forward is always punctuated with difficulties and challenges, which are magnified by the lack of a far-sighted leadership. India, South Africa and Eastern Europe, which are now stable and prosperous, all faced obstacles. But they had capable statesmen able to overcome the challenges. Countries that lack strong leadership during transition periods are still unstable.
So, we lack a strong leadership?
Yes. We launched several people’s movements, but a leader who could end the prolonged transition and take us on the path of prosperity was never born. The political transition that began in 2006 is a case in point. After the monarchy was overthrown, the parties that led the Jana Andolan II and the rebels who fought a war tried to outsmart each other to take the credit of the new political achievements. They ended up agreeing on a dual leadership of transition, which has not ended yet.
Why haven’t we seen a strong leader yet?
When we fall sick, we go to India. When our children cannot go to schools, we send them to India. If we fail to find jobs, we go to India. We are heavily dependent on India because we have never tried to solve our problems within. India, for its part, seems to care for Nepal, but is always looking to micromanage us. As a result, our political leadership has never been strong and mature.
Are we still struggling to abolish feudalism?
Yes. We abolished the political institution representing feudalism, but not feudalism per se. Instead of abolishing feudalism completely, we have now begun lobbying for the guaranteed seats for certain castes and ethnic groups. We introduced the Proportional Representation (PR) system, but did not impose a threshold.
Nepalis were hoping that the new constitution would take them to prosperity…
The crisis is not about the constitution. It is about leadership. Our leaders have failed to manage the political change. The problem lies in their attitude but we are blaming the system.
Our economy is collapsing, but our political parties look indifferent. Why?
Again, the absence of strong leadership. Nine months since the earthquake, the homeless are still in temporary shelters. Did our leaders not anticipate a harsh winter? If they did, why did they not act more swiftly? We do not have a leader who thinks for the country and the people. Those who are ruling us are not even party leaders. They are just leaders of their own cliques. We are facing a huge shortage of cooking gas. But our Prime Minister says: “Wait, I will fit gas pipes in all homes”. How can a PM who has failed to give us even a half cylinder of gas deliver hollow promises like this?
India’s blockade has prompted people to give the benefit of the doubt to the government. How long will that support last?
The government can blame the Indian blockade for our suffering, but only to a certain point. People will start asking: what exactly did you do to alleviate our pain? Did you control the black-market? Did you supply essential commodities? Did you even try to airlift medicines? The government cannot say its hands are tied because of the blockade. It should have worked harder to ease people’s suffering. People do not want to hear just vague promises. They want the results.
What should be our future roadmap?
Nothing can happen overnight. But one month is enough for a government to at least start doing things that will offer people hope for the future. It has been three months since this government came to power, but the PM is still speaking like an opposition leader. The government claims to have given priority to earthquake survivors, but that is just a vague promise. How can the government reach out to them when the blockade is on and the supply of essentials has not been eased? The government must stop delivering hollow promises, and start real work.
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