Here we go again with CK Lal ('Our praetorian guards', #168). Were the NEA and NTC, those models of efficiency, not charging exorbitant fees way before the insurgency? The cost per kwh was certainly a major issue behind the derailment of Arun III, if I recall the debates correctly. Also, one would be hard-pressed to find a nation that has not been united or created by force. The Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, Zulus, European nations, South American nations and so on have been united by force. It is an undeniable and flawed element of human nature and utopians tend to conveniently ignore this. Paul Johnson, an American historian, asks (I partially paraphrase) "...can a nation, born in sin and war, rise above the injustices of its origins, and by its moral purpose and performance, atone from them?"

In Nepal, we need to right past wrongs but this doesn't have to occur through an insurgency that unleashes even more pain and misery and drains our meagre resources even further. Working within a system can also bring change and opportunity-with far less misery. Finally, one needs to have a nation like Rome before reaching for a comparison with its Praetorian Guard. We are talking about a country that never even approached a millionth of the glory of Rome. When has the RNA ever made or broken emperors, kings or prime ministers? They can barely hold their own. Earth to CK Lal: please return from Planet Hyperbole to writing great articles again.

P Rana,
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