‘DILLI KO BICHALLI’ n ‘Loktantra’
by SURENDRA PHUYAL
It was a Nepali afternoon in Dilli.
It could well be an effort to draw inter/national attention to the plight of Nepal’s rulers and the ruled — and all that paradox.
On the pleasant Sunday afternoon, about 30,000 Nepalis from across Indian coast to coast and hill to plain descended on Dilli’s Ramlila Maidan. That Maidan in the heart of Dilli is famous for Ramlila performance during Dusshera or Navratri.
But on Sunday, as the Maoist revolt entered its 11th year of bloodshed, lootpat and militancy, the Maidan saw Nepalis of all geographic and political hue congregrate for a cause: a peaceful and prosperous Nepal. That they were trucked into Delhi’s heart by Maoist aligned Akhil Bharat Nepali Janadhikar Surakshya Samiti could merely be a coincidence.
For I could see no difference between the people that arrived here Sunday for the mass showdown, and those that descended on Tundikhel when I was a little boy or those that descended on Pokhara Stadium for royal felicitation two years ago.
Just listen to Durga Bahadur Khatri, 50, of a remote Surkhet village who is currently visiting his relatives in Dilli. And who was on the Ramlila ground Sunday, “I came here because my folks said there’s going to be some kind of ‘Pancha Ryali’.” Bhim Prasad Parajuli, 64, originally from Nawalparasi but now a watchman in Panipat, said, “It’s just another ploy to usurp power.”
Clearly, most of the people represented the ‘gundruk-dhindo’ Nepali masses across the length and breadth of Nepal who have been forced to leave their homeland for safety and a decent way of life. Something they no longer find in Nepal these days. India is no America or Japan. But India, despite her terrible crime records and ‘charsho-bishi’ culture, ensures relative safety.
Behind that Nepali cynicism lies the deep-rooted Nepali desire and prayers for a peaceful and prosperous Nepal. This ongoing tumult and churning should churn out that elixir… which has got to be different from the Panchayati Prajatantra, the post 1990 Bhadragol that forced the rebels into the jungles and, most importantly, the post Feb 1, 2005 Raj that plunged Nepal into a much deeper crisis.
Bloodbath and bloodshed is not the answer. Nepal needs some genuine sacrifice and roundtable, consensual exercise to make sure that it really grows and prospers in the decades to come with ChIndia, and that all the ‘Bahadurs’ — of Dilli, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kargil, London, Brunei, Malaysia, Koea and the MiddleEast or wherever in the world they may be can earn a decent living in Nepal itself. For, the vast hydropower, agriculture, industrialization, tourism, natural resource management potential is still untapped.
As we wait for another Spring of Hope, in Nepal — as Nepal’s friends worldwide pointed out after the disastrous elections this past week – it’s definitely the time for reconciliation and reconciliation to ensure more democracy, not less. That should also ensure better governance and improvements in basic social, human development indicators. What do you think?
END
February 12th, 2006 at 9:43 am
good sense of humour. understanding “politics” was never so easy! would like to read more of this kind in future
great job..cheers!!!
February 15th, 2006 at 8:02 am
yes definetely it is the “gundruk dindho” masses who will always suffer and again these same people will be (mis)used by all of their tormentors.i dont think that those people would have gone to support the maoist who have forced them to flee to india.