Musings of a common man: Vive Le Republic!

Two years ago, this blog covered the crisis then occurring in Nepal, wherein the pro-democracy activists were pitted against the incumbent monarch, King Gyanendra. Then, one had mused that if the ‘good’ King weren’t careful, his people would gladly throw him overboard for his Machiavellian ways.

And now, one cannot help the temptation of saying, “I told you so”. To be fair, any person with a basic knowledge of history and politics would have been able to predict that this would be the way things would turn out. So, no credit to me alone for having ‘predicted’ this event.

Nepal now stands on the threshold of a new age. One hopes that the future is more calm and peaceful for the Himalayan state, considering that it’s people have suffered so much over the past decades, nay centuries, owing to the intransigence of a few autocratic tyrants. That the Maoists, people who most other people would say are most amenable to overthrowing governments and ruling like dictators themselves, are now part of the democratic process is encouraging.

The challenge before Nepal now is to let go of the past, of its bigoted traditions and rituals, of a civil code that was meant to repress the significant majority of the people, and to forge ahead into a future more agreeable to everyone. The discontent that fuelled the Maoists’ power needs to be addressed, and alleviated.

It would not do anyone any credit if the new regime fails the people just as miserably as the old one. Let us not forget that even after the French Revolution, the nouveau regime got barely 15 years when the people began clamouring for a renewal of the monarchy, leading to the First French Empire. Nepal cannot afford to slip into this state of affairs, because unlike in the 17th century, when times were slow and somewhat relaxed, now the world is more fast-paced, and any internal turmoil would result in unforgivable delays in the modernization of the Nepalese nation.