06-17-2004, 06:44 AM
Problems of Himalay Parivaar are problems of Bharat. The damage done by accepting the accession of Tibet by China is no less disastrous than the internationalisation of the Jammu and Kashmir problem.
What are the chances that a radical rethinking occurs in national security interests and in promoting not only the re-establishment of Free Tibet but also detoxification of Nepal by removing the maoist menace. It is Bharat's responsibility, it is bharatiya dharma.
Kalyanaraman
Turmoil of Himalayan proportions
Arabinda Ghose in Pioneer, June 17, 2004
Reacting to the resignation of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on May 7, 2004, after a little more than 11 months in office, a Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudyal demanded the restoration of the "stalled constitutional process" and formation of a responsible government. "I hope a dialogue will proceed between the King and the major political parties," he had added.
Seventy-five plus Surya Bahadur Thapa, a known loyalist and leader of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), was appointed Prime Minister on June 4, 2003, after his predecessor and a non-controversial party colleague Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigned a few days earlier. Both were prime ministers during the 29-year old Panchayati system. The mainstream political parties, the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninists) and some other parties launched an agitation demanding the resignation of Mr Thapa and restoration of the "constitutional process". Even Mr Thapa's own party chief, Mr Pashupati Shumshere Rana, had led a demonstration supporting the demands made by the other mainstream parties.
However, one may ask Mr Poudyal and others whether it is at all possible to restore the constitutional process in present-day Nepal. And in any case, where do the vital constitutional organs of the state exist today? It was a red letter day for the people of Nepal, led by the Nepali Congress Party and the UML to some extent, when popular agitations forced Late King Birendra to restore parliamentary democracy on April 8, 1990, after 29 years and the country got a new Constitution on November 10 that year which transferred the sovereignty of the country from the crown to the people (Article 3) and adopted a parliamentary system, constitutional monarchy and a multi-party polity (Preamble).
The first general election was held in April-May 1991 and a Nepali Congress Government led by Mr Girija Prasad Koirala had taken office. However, the new system did not work smoothly even for five years. Factionalism in the Nepali Congress, which has been its bane since the very beginning of its foundation, was the main reason for such an affair. Came the June 1, 2001, massacre of the royal family and the crowning of Prince Gyanendra, brother of King Birendra, taking over as the King on June 7 that year.
The disunity in the Nepali Congress, the split in the party between Mr Koirala and his one-time junior colleague, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba, and above all the rapid spread of Maoists who have gained control of a large territory mostly in Western Nepal, have played havoc with the constitutional process. Mr Deuba had become Prime Minister in early 2002 with a mandate to hold the general election by November 13, 2002. King Gyanendra sacked him on October 4, 2002, on the ground that he had expressed his inability to hold the elections.
A supposedly non-partisan Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who would not contest the elections, was appointed the Prime Minister in Mr Deuba's place. He was removed after a few months and Mr Surya Bahadur Thapa was appointed the new premier and has now quit. Who succeeds him appears to be only an academic exercises. The stark truth is the main plank of the Constitution has disappeared after November 13, 2002, because by that date a Pratinidhi Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, had become non-existent.
The Kingdom is now being ruled under one provision of the Constitution: Article 127 - thoughtfully inserted by the framers in 1990. A free translation of this article from the original Nepali says that the King is empowered to issue orders to get across any obstacles, which may come in the way of implementing the Constitution. So, the King is empowered to issue any order under Article 127 for ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Constitution. It is this Article which empowers the King to appoint or dismiss ministries and undertake any other measure for implementing the constitutional provisions.
The real problem before Nepal today is how to deal with the Maoist violence that has claimed the lives of about 10,000 people. Even with a trained Royal Nepal Army equipped with modern weapons from the United States and India, it is becoming difficult to contain bloodletting. There has been "internal" displacement of people in Nepal - girls and women going to Kathmandu and able-bodied men and youth are heading for India in search of jobs. With constitutional breakdown and Maoist violence pushing the kingdom to the brink, it is time India took greater interest in Nepal. (NPA)
http://dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_...t&counter_img=2
What are the chances that a radical rethinking occurs in national security interests and in promoting not only the re-establishment of Free Tibet but also detoxification of Nepal by removing the maoist menace. It is Bharat's responsibility, it is bharatiya dharma.
Kalyanaraman
Turmoil of Himalayan proportions
Arabinda Ghose in Pioneer, June 17, 2004
Reacting to the resignation of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on May 7, 2004, after a little more than 11 months in office, a Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudyal demanded the restoration of the "stalled constitutional process" and formation of a responsible government. "I hope a dialogue will proceed between the King and the major political parties," he had added.
Seventy-five plus Surya Bahadur Thapa, a known loyalist and leader of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), was appointed Prime Minister on June 4, 2003, after his predecessor and a non-controversial party colleague Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigned a few days earlier. Both were prime ministers during the 29-year old Panchayati system. The mainstream political parties, the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninists) and some other parties launched an agitation demanding the resignation of Mr Thapa and restoration of the "constitutional process". Even Mr Thapa's own party chief, Mr Pashupati Shumshere Rana, had led a demonstration supporting the demands made by the other mainstream parties.
However, one may ask Mr Poudyal and others whether it is at all possible to restore the constitutional process in present-day Nepal. And in any case, where do the vital constitutional organs of the state exist today? It was a red letter day for the people of Nepal, led by the Nepali Congress Party and the UML to some extent, when popular agitations forced Late King Birendra to restore parliamentary democracy on April 8, 1990, after 29 years and the country got a new Constitution on November 10 that year which transferred the sovereignty of the country from the crown to the people (Article 3) and adopted a parliamentary system, constitutional monarchy and a multi-party polity (Preamble).
The first general election was held in April-May 1991 and a Nepali Congress Government led by Mr Girija Prasad Koirala had taken office. However, the new system did not work smoothly even for five years. Factionalism in the Nepali Congress, which has been its bane since the very beginning of its foundation, was the main reason for such an affair. Came the June 1, 2001, massacre of the royal family and the crowning of Prince Gyanendra, brother of King Birendra, taking over as the King on June 7 that year.
The disunity in the Nepali Congress, the split in the party between Mr Koirala and his one-time junior colleague, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba, and above all the rapid spread of Maoists who have gained control of a large territory mostly in Western Nepal, have played havoc with the constitutional process. Mr Deuba had become Prime Minister in early 2002 with a mandate to hold the general election by November 13, 2002. King Gyanendra sacked him on October 4, 2002, on the ground that he had expressed his inability to hold the elections.
A supposedly non-partisan Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who would not contest the elections, was appointed the Prime Minister in Mr Deuba's place. He was removed after a few months and Mr Surya Bahadur Thapa was appointed the new premier and has now quit. Who succeeds him appears to be only an academic exercises. The stark truth is the main plank of the Constitution has disappeared after November 13, 2002, because by that date a Pratinidhi Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, had become non-existent.
The Kingdom is now being ruled under one provision of the Constitution: Article 127 - thoughtfully inserted by the framers in 1990. A free translation of this article from the original Nepali says that the King is empowered to issue orders to get across any obstacles, which may come in the way of implementing the Constitution. So, the King is empowered to issue any order under Article 127 for ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Constitution. It is this Article which empowers the King to appoint or dismiss ministries and undertake any other measure for implementing the constitutional provisions.
The real problem before Nepal today is how to deal with the Maoist violence that has claimed the lives of about 10,000 people. Even with a trained Royal Nepal Army equipped with modern weapons from the United States and India, it is becoming difficult to contain bloodletting. There has been "internal" displacement of people in Nepal - girls and women going to Kathmandu and able-bodied men and youth are heading for India in search of jobs. With constitutional breakdown and Maoist violence pushing the kingdom to the brink, it is time India took greater interest in Nepal. (NPA)
http://dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_...t&counter_img=2