Home >> South Asia >> Nepal & Bhutan

     Email   Print 

Nepal: A Revolution sans Revolution

N.P.Upadhyaya - 6/8/2008

Kathmandu: Not even a single person had thought that the now forlorn King Gyanendra would be so much modest, accommodative and reconciliatory in nature. But he exhibited all these qualities, unusual as it may appear peeping back into the days of his direct rule, while meeting a government delegation Monday, June 2, 08, morning which was led by none less than by Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula.

The former King in his all modesty talked to Sitaula in such a manner that could surely have surprised even an “immodest” Sitaula that he is by all means.

The dethroned King not only exhibited his willingness to abide by the people’s verdict but also assured the government delegation that any cooperation that was needed from him for the smooth functioning of the republican order in Nepal , he would extend the required support without any hesitation.

If so this should mean that the former King has not only reconciled with his “fate” but also hinted that he would not exceed his “limits” and would wish to be a part of the new system of governance.

Contrary to the speculation that former King will put hurdles prior to the implementation of the republican order and that he will create Himalayan problems for the governments of the day because he was just a wounded lion, all have gone to the dogs.

Instead, the former King’s positive assurances ventilated through Home Minister Sitaula and later passed onto the ruling elites must have compelled the present day rulers of this country to think that the erstwhile Monarch was made up of a different stuff than what they had thought of.

The rumors that were in vogue prior to the CA polls were, among others, firstly, the CA polls would not take place on time because there were chances that King Gyanendra might devise schemes and strategies to foil the very prospect of the election; that the wounded lion may create panic in the entire country in order to frighten the mass who out of fear would not even loiter around the polling stations on the polling date; that the King will encourage the Terai armed outfits to create a sort of mayhem in the entire Terai belt causing panic and terror in the minds of the local population who in turn would refrain from going to the polling stations; that the India’s Hindu fundamentalists who want the continuation of the Nepali monarchy would disturb the CA poll in the areas that bordered Indian towns; that the King would through his “loyal supporters” housed in the parties of the former Panchas will manage some how or the other to secure his place in the new system of governance and many others.

However, speculations that were in circulation then all have come to untrue and that even the Maoists who had suspected that the King might take the conduct of the poll in a some what “bad taste” were taken aback when the then King “appealed” the entire population to actively participate in the democratic exercise that it was by all means. That was not the end.

The then King after the CA poll results were declared congratulated the people for having participated in the democratic exercise which was in many more ways than one a sort of congratulatory message to the Maoists-visibly an arch rival of the then King.

And that the rumors that the King will not vacate the Royal Palace too became redundant. Contrary to the expectations and circulating rumors, the former King through his own “news channels” made it abundantly clear to the entire population that he will go by the verdict of the people and also honor all the “instructions” of the incumbent government made to him.

That the former King was a different stuff has come to the fore when Home Minister Sitaula met the King Monday morning.

If one were to believe minister Sitaula’s utterances which he aired Monday afternoon, then what comes to the fore is that former King Gyanendra is more republican than the normal republicans. He exhibited that he was more Christian than the Pope.

Or else why a King who enjoyed all the luxuries and dictated his terms and conditions on the people and was the heir apparent to a very old institution with 240 years long history could so easily convert himself as a commoner? This is just unbelievable but since it has happened then one has to conclude that King Gyanendra was not in himself a haughty political persona as was widely believed but his men in the notorious coterie made him to act otherwise.

By accepting the mood of the people, the former king has avoided “bloodshed”. Had he so desired to prolong his rule, he could have done so at the cost of so many precious lives.

The King was wise enough that he reconciled with his own population but collected the courage not to compromise with the omnipotent notorious “Evan the Terrible” that is the Indian establishment in order to beg his rule to continue for some time to come. This is his greatness.

He will be thus remembered for ever by the “nationalists” but not by the Lendhup Dorjes who are in the making.

To sum up, the former King has exhibited his sagacity. Now it becomes the bounden duty on the part of the new government to offer him a “bungalow” where he can permanently reside with his “mother”.

It is the duty of the State now to offer the former King with adequate security which he needs, as a matter of fact.

No bloodshed. A revolution of high voltage was thus accomplished without a revolution. This is Nepali tradition, perhaps.

The easy manner in which the King gave up the throne and the palace perhaps has no parallels in the contemporary world history.

The rest for the Historians to record the “soft” transformation of a Hindu Kingdom into a secular Republic. Unbelievable but a true story. The rare event of its own kind will surely enhance the prestige and popularity of this small country in the comity of nations. Nepal ’s lost glory will be regained.

Former King Gyanendra, a staunch nationalist by all means, has already made a history. That he is the son of this great soil becomes clear from his penchant to live in this soil for ever. He could have easily gone any where in the world but he chose not to leave the country which gave him the birth. A lesson to the invisible “traitors” whose number is increasing every day.
Now it is time to watch how the Nepali versions of the most hated traitors of the age like Jaychands and Mirjaffors surface in the country’s politics. Needless to say, we have already enough of Lendhups.