Nepal: Nationalism never ridiculed in past as it stands today

Chandra Bahadur Gurung

General Secretary, RPP-Nepal

TGQ1: The national politics is swinging around the two alliances with the aim of retaining the current Chair. Where the RPP-Nepal does find itself in this phenomenon? We listen of talks for fresh election or say for a fresh new mandate. But for what purpose?

Mr. Gurung: Well, the situation is paradoxical. The Constituent Assembly which lasted for four years has already died and it has been more than four months of its sudden death. The CA body which was the result of the sacrifices by the Nepali population deviated from its mandated job or was made to bag failure for which the major parties like the Unified Maoists, the Nepali Congress, the UML and the Madhesi front remain answerable and there should be no doubt about this fact. Nobody needs to remind the Nepalese population as to how and why the mandated CA body died an unnatural death.  Which course the national politics will take place nobody knows? It can take even a course as is being taken by Camels. But yet the Nepal President has instructed the parties to forge consensus well within this Nepali month-Ashoj.  The people understand that the political parties though were in knowledge that a dangerous political vacuum does exist in the country at the moment but yet they-read the political parties- have kept themselves engaged in low level exercise for being in power. This the people understand. The Maoists though talks in a double manner and at times talk of having consensus among the parties but yet the party prefers the institutionalization of an authoritarian rule. Indications to this effect have already surfaced. Similarly, the Nepali Congress and the UML too appear to be in a mood to use the office of the Nepal President for goading the country towards yet another totalitarian rule under the cover of democracy. This too has become pretty clear to all and sundry.

The RPP-Nepal that is my party possesses a different opinion. It rejects both of the previous notions as acquired by the Maoists or for that matter the NC and the UML. We differ with both of their ideologies, working procedures and behavioral attitudes. And we have been telling since long that the sovereign Nepali population be allowed to chart their future through the conduct of a fresh poll which could give ultimately an outlet to the current political impasse. The people should be allowed to use their sovereign rights.

As regards your associated question, it remains now no longer a secret that the CA body which was in existence due to the sacrifices made by the people died a premature death because of the incompetency exhibited by the major party leaders which could not finally draft a new constitution for the country. We could also learn, in the mean time, that any constitution drafted by some sort of commission or a committee can’s draft a national Charter which the people will adore. The people’s representatives must be allowed to draft the constitution and thus my party prefers once again the election of a new CA body.

TGQ2: In the recent days, talks are in the political circuit that Nepali nationalism is experiencing grave threat. What your party has been doing in this regard as you claim yourself as the number one nationalist party? Why some interested parties take your party as a group of regressive forces? What could have been the reason?

Mr. Gurung: Yes! Definitely this aspect we understand and it is in our knowledge as well. We are certainly grave on this particular issue as such.

Understandably, never in the history of Nepal as a nation-state had our nationalism issue been so much ridiculed. Neither have we had to experience, our ancestors included, and such a terrible period what we have at the moment. At best they may have fought a war. At the moment beginning from the policy making level and down to the implementation plane, we could easily observe the strong penetration of foreign forces. The intervention is associated with such an infiltration.  From East to West of the Nepali territory, at some fifty four plus places, our lands have been under occupation or say lands have been encroached upon. Never had the pride and glory of the Nepali population gone down to such a low ever in the history of the nation. We all better understand that the 12 point agreement which was totally a sponsored activity engineered by the New Delhi establishment even did not talk of the overthrowing of the Nepali monarchy institution.  Nepal as a single Hindu nation had survived since ancient times with a different and unique identity. We have had our own peculiar distinctiveness and uniqueness in the global arena. At the moment, bids for the disintegration of the entire nation-state are on forwarding the demand for ethnicity based federal order. Our uninterrupted sovereignty is under threat. That these nasty bids were the acts of foreign forces is not a thing or subject matter to get in knowledge. Who doesn’t know about this reality? The issues related with our national unity are being pushed towards a serious threat under the influence of alien forces which we all know. The RPP-Nepal is committed to preserve the elements that are associated with our ancient glories. We will not only preserve but also regain the lost Nepali pride and glory.

As regards your tagged question well, we are ready to be dubbed as anything under the sun but will not compromise on retaining our territorial integrity, national sovereignty and for a united Nepal come what may. We are ready to listen to any sort of blames or for that matter allegation from any quarters.

TGQ3: So will it be a blunder if we take RPP-Nepal as a party excessively close to the former Nepal Monarch? How will you react? Don’t you think that the proposed next election could be held by April-May next year? What your party has in its mind if the elections are not held per chance?

Mr. Gurung: Yes definitely it would be a Himalayan blunder. We understand that some people are still in a disillusioned state and were doing all that wherein four blind men were searching the voluminous body of an elephant and giving it any name. They are just like those blind men. They are visualizing our party in their preferred ways. This is nothing more than what could be taken as blind thoughts. Even some so called leaders and intellectuals have a sort of disillusion about our party in their respective minds as regards our relations with the King.  

We just have that thought in order to preserve the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We need the institution of the Nepali monarchy. This is how we have been explaining our stance and talk of the monarchy as an essential element for the country.  We have nothing for give and take with the King. We have proposed this theory upon analyzing thoroughly that which were the essential “components” that were certainly needed for the continuation of our national independence and sovereignty. Because of the fact that is also one of the components which is why we have been voicing in favor of the monarchy institution. Nothing more than that. Rest assured. This is just a matter of our party’s political belief.

Yes! We too understand this fact. We have already guessed about what you have stated in your query. And that is why we are in a mood to heat and hit the streets and preparing for that eventuality. Take it for granted that the moment or the day we are told that the proposed elections will not be conducted as promised, from the very next moment we will come to the streets with the slogan of the revival of the Hindu state and that of Nepali Monarchy. We will be in the streets instantly. 

TGQ4: Very freshly we heard that the parties of the former Panchas were to unite. At the moment, the unification talks have suddenly eloped. Can you tell us as to where stand now the unity process?

Mr. Gurung:  To recall, the previous seven parties and the Maoists which later became the major parties, like the UML, the Nepali Congress and the Maoists, when miserably failed to provide an outlet to the present day political stalemate, we felt that the general Nepali population now prefers a new alternative political force to be in existence. This is what we at the party paraphernalia presumed. What became tentatively clear is that when we knew that the RJP party led by Surya Bahadur Thapa was not going against the adopted republican order and similarly on the contrary we have had our own preferred stance with the slogan of a democracy with the King and also have vowed not to compromise from our declared stance then there was no question of having unity with the S.B. Thapa led RJP. The unity talks thus ended. But yet our unity efforts with the RPP led by Mr. Pasupati S. Rana is still in progress. Most of the RPP stalwarts and workers do subscribe to the ideologies adhered to by our party which is what has encouraged us at the RPP-Nepal to hasten the unity process with the Rana led RPP. It could be taken this way.

TGQ5: All of a sudden a section of the Maoists and Nepali Congress men have begun demanding or say lobbying for the revival of the now dead CA body. Do you have any reservation on such a demand?

Mr. Gurung: We have strong reservations on this very demand.  This demand as such could be taken as immoral one in political sense but also is an unconstitutional as per the interim constitution. Mind it that the Supreme Court too has instructed in its last verdict to go in for fresh polls. After the fracture of the New Delhi 12 point roadmap, the Nepali Congress and the Maoists wish to befool the entire population in order to revolve around the Chair politics. We have, for example, been demanding fresh polls since two years. We are cautious over both the domestic and international conspiracies.  That’s why we on the one hand preparing to face the election, and on the other, also preparing for waging a street struggle. The revival of the dead CA will not be acceptable to our party under any circumstances. If the CA is revived would mean the insult of the sovereign rights of the Nepali population. In such an eventuality, we together with the people will come to the streets and wage a fierce struggle. That’s all.

Text courtesy: Jan Dharana Weekly dated October 11, 2012. Thanks: Chief Ed.

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Comments

  • Posted on - 2012-10-22    by     gaunle
  • Mr CB gurung may be right in his own way but situation has advanced so much that it may be next to impossible to step back at this critical juncture!
  • Posted on - 2012-10-22    by     Shyam Kc
  • On the moral ethical and legal ground CA can not be revived. Only option is to go for a fresh mandate from the people , that is election by consensus or by an independent Government . If not the people should revolt and revive 1990 constitution . This is what Mr Chandra B Gurung is saying, he is right.
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