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Feudal Politics of Propaganda & Democracy in Nepal

Prakash Bom - 2/12/2008

Feudalism was imposed arbitrarily upon humanity with the set of beliefs and practices of the dominant tribe or caste or class of people on hereditary basis in the socio-political and economic evolution of the society. Later in Middle Ages its practice was sustained by religion and its propaganda. That is still exists in South Asian socio-political and economic lives of people dominantly. Even the most versed and educated upper caste ruling elites of South Asia take such propaganda unquestionably as their tradition no matter how it marginalizes other people – women, indigenous, and Dallits (Hindu's lower caste) population – from the socio-political and economic developments.

Nepal is the living example, which has not yet awakened fully from centuries' victimizations of the feudal politics of propagandas. Many of us still keep hanging on them for granted even those propagandas prevent us from progress. Yet we fight for democracy without knowing fully its true nature that it is evolutionarily antithesis of feudalism. Democracy cannot justify, for instance, the caste system of South Asian feudal Hindu tradition and its socio-political and economic establishment that has marginalized so many ethnic groups of people, women, and Dallits. That is to say, democracy will apparently continue with the establishments of feudalism in Nepal but it will not yield democratic developments. It has never given way fully in the past.

Those who argue that Democratic Republic of India has still rebellions and as Republic nation it has not yet solved its socio-political and economic problems in terms of yielding democracy to its poor populations. This is because Indian socio-political and economic establishment has long been overseen by the feudal politics of propaganda, particularly in the northern states of India. On the contrary, states that are overseen by the communists politics of propaganda has yield democracy to poor people, for example, in West Bengal and Kerala. Historically, the communism in multiparty democratic republic setup has yielded more democracy to people than communism in the totalitarian republic rule. Nevertheless, feudalism with its religious perversion and arbitrary rule is intrinsically anti-democratic or regressive. Traditionally, it prevents democracy from being institutionalized, particularly in grass-root levels.

Henceforth, based on these historical facts and reasoning Nepal will not yield democracy to people as long as it perverts democracy with the feudalism or feudal socio-political and economic establishment (political tradition and culture). Nepal's only hope lies on next twenty years' target to practice electoral democracy that will systematically eradicate the feudal values and practice in socio-political and economic life of people. The feudal politics of propagandas that are storming all over the nation recently again against the changes that took place currently and changes proposed to be implemented after the successful CA elections are the undercurrent elements of regression that the SPA and their leaderships must make people aware of.

SPA must respond to the feudal politics of propaganda as publicized in such an statement internationally "Interim Parliament's decision to abolish the monarchy doesn't reflect the majority view of the people" with their clear stand in speech, action and commitments. Generally, feudalist combatants do not respect historical facts on which democratic evolution sustains. For them the mandate of French Revolution is not acceptable. However, they try in everyway to take the unnecessary advantages of democratic process against the political leaderships who are mandated for the change that people aspired. They accuse that "some leaders have tried to take the action that's against cultural, social and traditional values". We have to understand that people's aspiration is to eradicate feudal socio-political and economic tradition that made, for example, Tharus, one of the indigenous ethnic groups of Nepal, homeless and landless or agrarian slaves for centuries.

We have to be able to recognize distinctly the semantics of feudal politics of propaganda that claims - "A majority of the people find great meaning in the institution of the monarchy." The same repetitive century old feudal propaganda entitled the ordained individual monarch of the feudal institution of monarchy "an incarnation of Hindu god" Personally, I would have no issue with the institution of the monarchy if it had changed, as it should have been long ago its beliefs and values to a secular democratic institution. In my opinion if it could have it would have become one of the democratic institutions of the nation. However, the contemporary members of the institutions have failed with their own feudal acts of a grand ambitious regression. In long shot, it has become a failed institution, which has no credential for democratic values and culture.

In the horizon of Nepal there is no cloud that can have a silver lining or hope for the monarchy to come back. The SPA leaderships with their speech, action and commitment must dispute such a feudal politics of propaganda. The storm of propaganda might turn into tornado if not it is addressed with profound reasoning to defend the Interim Parliament's declaration for the establishment of 'Federal Democratic Republic'. It is self-contradictory and immoral to fight for democracy yet become the victims of the feudal politics of propaganda and its tradition and socio-political values. It was indeed irresponsible and dishonor to democracy that SPA continued with the feudal tradition of impunity for the atrocities committed ruthlessly against people's peaceful April Uprising. Had justice been established against council of the former royal ministers who committed atrocities against peaceful people's movement at least on the political level, the hope of people in democracy could have been uplifted and on the international relation level the democratic process could have established credentials for the independent judiciary system.

The feudalist political parties, generally called royalists are about to rock Nepal with their feudal politics of propaganda for the reinstate of Hindu State. Their goal is to bring the institution of the feudal monarchy back to power. The endeavor is completely regressive yet abortive because by even all the might of Hindu-gods from above heaven and if there is any in the hell the democracy will not fly with feudalism. It will eventually abolish (due to its intrinsic evolutionary phenomenon) the entire institution due to its failure to democratize its institution with secular values, norms, and practice in this 21st century, particularly in the contemporary politics of Nepal.

Feudal institution in democracy either must be thus democratized with the secular political values, norms and practice or get abolished. Perseverance of the Feudal values and practice for the sake of tradition and religion in democracy prolong tradition of impunity, favoritism, nepotism and appalling corruption. That's why Nepal has after April Uprising become subject of criticism in the international community for prolonging impunity against the justice.
Democracy is a cogent practice of systems or methods that seeks justice not only through the verdicts of Supreme Court judges but also through the verdict of people's movements, people's ballot, political consensus and the votes of the legislators in the Parliament. Political leaderships who do not comply with the practice of democracy are not trustworthy for democratic leadership – be the king who claims that the king cannot make mistakes or the communist revolutionaries' whose propaganda spread hope among their cadres for democracy in transit to global Maoism or feudalist democrats who do not comply with their own party's majority votes in central committee for declaring federal democratic republic or ethnocentric separatists leaderships who demand an autonomous state by segregating entire Nepali-national-hood for their own ethnic supremacy. Among all these who is stubborn and denies self-criticism for his or her vulnerability as a human being is the most ignorant and unworthy – to trust his or her leadership is to terrorize the hope of people in democracy.