E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, MAR 22 -

To thousands of Nepalis who lined up at Dashrath Stadium to pay their last respects to former prime minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala on the warm Sunday afternoon, the octogenarian leader’s death had left a deep void.

“This has to be one of the biggest gatherings in Nepal’s history,” said Arjun Shahi, who was making his way through the crowds for a glimpse of his beloved leader lying in state. “The closest parallel was when tens of thousands turned up on the streets of Kathmandu for King Birendra’s funeral.”

The other occasion which saw such a huge crowd, ironically enough was the massive turnout during Jana Andolan II, which overthrew King Birendra’s successor, Gyanendra. And it was Koirala who led the Andolan that ultimately dethroned Gyanendra, paving the way for a republic Nepal. 

It seemed as if a sea of humanity had burst into the stadium. They were women, men and the old and the young, people from the hills and the Tarai. They came from towns and villages. They carried bouquets and Koirala’s portrait. Still others carried the Nepali Congress flags.

But everyone carried a heavy heart. All of them also carried suspicion, doubt and uncertainty about the country’s fate. There were unanswered questions - about the peace process and the statute in-the-making.

Taxi driver Surendra Dangol, 35 said the country has plunged into further uncertainty. “Girija is no more. So, I think Gyanendra (the ex-King) will make an attempt to create his space in politics,” said Dangol, who substantiated his views saying, ‘Gyanendra feared Koirala’s towering personality’.

Many bore apprehensions that country’s fledgling peace might fall apart with the demise of the architect of the peace process. There was no dearth of people saying promulgation of the constitution in the remaining 64 days was ‘impossible’ as the patriarch of Nepal’s politics was no more.

“Koirala passed away at a time when the country needed him the most,” said 45-year-old political worker Arjun Kumar Khadka, who arrived in Kathmandu from Udayapur to attend Koirala’s last rites. “The country would have immensely benefited if he had survived till the completion of the peace process and the constitution,” said Khadka as he jostled in the crowd at the entrance of the Stadium.

For fifty-three-year-old Dhan Bahadur Bhandari of Thankot, Nepal had lost its guardian. “I am sad,” said Khadka as he wiped the tears that rolled down his cheeks. “There is a difference, a huge difference between Koirala and other leaders - he had strong conviction and he was a man of courage. Unlike others, he would do what he spoke. He stood tall during the ups and downs, and highs and lows.”

Koirala has left a rich legacy and it’s up to the people of Nepal to walk the path he trod. Sarita Juwa, 32, a teacher from Patan and Bishes Koirala, 17, a +2 student at New Summit College who was among the thousands at Dashrath Stadium said, “The most befitting tribute to Koirala would be to materalise his dreams of peace, statute and institutionalisation of democracy.”

Posted on: 2010-03-22 12:00

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