Your editorial "D?j? vu" (#102) laments the slow choking death of democracy in Nepal. Yes, the sovereignty lies with the people, however, our leadership whether radical, left, centre or right of the country have failed us gravely.
In the natural state, people strive for security and stability, then, only the people will exercise their fundamental rights and duties as a polity. Security and stability is the key to growth and development of an economy. Growth leads to employment and income for the people. When people's income rise, then, there is growth of the middle class which is the back bone of a functioning democracy, a balance to the societal structure. The power of the people also functions due to self-interest. Therefore, it is only natural for the people to either support or acquiesce in the old or any regime that can provide stability. The average Ram, Shyam, Hari, Rita or Sita does not have the luxury of thinking of the merits of democracy. They are merely interested in having food in their bhancha.
It is not the sovereign power of the people that is at risk here, it's the political elite and the parties of the multiparty system. The leaders have committed hara-kiri to democracy. The sovereign power of the people like the all mighty bear is in hibernation-it will rise up again when there is hunger and the right season.

Subarna Bhattachan,
Kansas, USA

. Thank you for your daring editorial. I couldn't agree with you more that it is not democracy that has failed, but politicians who have handed this country over to the Maoists. So, the answer to the Maoist problem is to make democracy function more efficiently, so that it is truly representative of the overall needs of Nepal's majority population that is poor, neglected and marginalised. That is the only way. A rightwing dictatorship now, will only hasten the day when we will have a leftwing dictatorship.

Hari Gautam,
Kathmandu