The majority of Nepalis, living under less than a dollar a day, genuinely desire for political and socio-economic transformation of their society. Their leaderships have betrayed them repeatedly since 1951 when the hereditary Rana rulers departed from the political frontstage of Nepal.
A major political concern in Nepal is that of ad hoc politics that has been seasonalized by different forces that rise to power at different times. This tendency among Nepali political forces is a serious hurdle to efforts for transformation. Ranas ruled Nepal for 104 years (1846-1950). They kept Nepal in complete darkness. They began selling Nepali youths for the British Empire then. The subsequent rulers continued exporting Nepali youths to fight for foreign countries as mercenaries. With a growing level of human rights consciousness, the Nepalis hired by the British Army have begun to raise their demand for equality. They have won some of the legal battles. Their pension has been raised somewhat. Because of their continuous fight for their human rights, the British government has agreed to provide them some facilities that their own soldiers get. Despite this being the situation of citizens, the Nepal government has not planned to engage the Nepali youths at home. Consequently, thousands of the Nepalis still continue going abroad for livelihood.
The leaderships of Nepali political parties, in general, have been following sensualist politics for decades. They have a deep-rooted tendency to focusing their minds and activities on accumulating much wealth in a very short period of time. They generally mobilize people not for transforming their society as a whole but for their own prosperity. When they have political power, they overshadow people’s issues.
They think their personal prosperity means people’s prosperity. They become active to fulfill their short term objectives. Nepali politicians’ self-orientedness has resulted in the nourishment of ad hoc politics. They are highly disoriented from the long-term vision stated in their party manifestos. Their documented vision does not mean anything in practical terms. They have proved by their actions how easily they can betray people. They give promises but never bother thinking back over them.
Saying good things and doing bad things has become a self-implied truth in Nepal. Nepali politicians in general need people only when they have been expelled from power by their rival forces. They do not imagine staying out of power. They believe they are born to remain always in power and enjoy their paradise. For this, they need people’s help and support. In order to get people’s help and support, they shout people’s slogans. But when they reach power with people’s massive support, they immediately forget who got them power in reality. This has become the general nature of Nepali political leaderships.
As politics is the central nervous system of human society, nobody can remain aloof from it. Politics refers to using power for people’s development and wellbeing. But when politicians misuse power for their personal luxuries and for the interests of a limited class, it is the people who have to undergo immeasurable pain.
People work hard day and night but gain little to maintain their lives. Because of their survival crisis, they have little time to study, research and find better ways for improving their life status. Their hardships weaken them. They seek some ways of relieving themselves of their sufferings. They join or support certain parties hoping for better life. When they are not happy with certain parties, they withdraw their support or join other parties. This process continues. It is an unavoidable truth in the case of Nepal.
It is equally true that the Nepalis have not to this day found a true leadership in power. The leadership may be in the process of emergence, or it may have already emerged (who knows?). But the Nepalis have not experienced one to this day. The leaderlessness remains a severe headache for the Nepalis.
Things remain unmanaged. They are in search of a new leadership that can mobilize them towards political and socio-economic transformation. The process of political and socio-economic transformation of the Nepali society is being disrupted obviously by regressive, feudalist and status-quoist forces that have continuously ruled Nepal for decades. These forces do not want to miss their paradise. They are about to lose it. Therefore, they are making every unethical attempt to derail the process of conflict transformation in the country. They want to revoke war and violence. If the war resumes, they are the ones who benefit the most.
People are the ones who suffer the most. Such traditional leaders think politics is their private enterprise. They have lost public spirit. They want to divide people and rule them without much resistance to face. They want to import more weapons and benefit from lucrative commissions. They want to make fake bills and embezzle budgets. The genuine peace and progress of people will dry the illegal paths of their benefits. For this reason, they are the ones who throttle people and any emerging leaders trying to be different from them.
In essence, Nepali politics is ad hoc politics that is getting its water and fertilization from morally bankrupt and corrupt leaderships.
Where there is a will, there is way. People are history makers. They give birth to new leaderships. They have resources. There is no reason why one should be pessimistic in this context.