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Look, prove your worth in gold
NOV 16 - Turbulence, of course, is here to stay.
Which means there are too many questions in the mass psyche, with not many knowing the answers. In fact, much the similar questions crowd one’s mind when watching the endless soap operas served by dazzle of television channels. Like politics, which has gained a conspiratorial ring about it and thus takes the breath away, many of them leave you breathless at times.
Widely asked questions off the small screen, of course, are as follows: How long will Prime Minister (Surya Bahadur) Thapa occupy the top chair? Consider this: How long will the regression last? Here’s a plain one: How long will the foreign forces continue disrupting the political process? Last question, of course, is: When is he (Thapa) resigning?
For all practical purposes, anyone who has sympathy towards the current dispensation will certainly not ask: How long will regression last? Neither can you expect him to even ask: How long will the foreign forces continue disrupting the political process? He will certainly never ask: When is he (it’s Thapa, again) resigning?
By the same token, anyone who considers the ascendancy of Thapa to the top post as the unfortunate development will certainly not ask: How long will Prime Minister Thapa occupy the Prime Ministerial chair? You can’t expect him to ask: How long will regression last? He can’t even ask: How long will the foreign forces continue to disrupt the political process? Again he will never ask: When is he (well, it’s Thapa, once again) resigning?
Well the answers to the above set of questions, too, vary according to the person who is doing the asking. Well if you are asked the last question which, of course, is when is Thapa resigning by someone who does not consider him as legitimate Prime Minister at all in the first place, then you are likely to run out not only words but also ideas. That is because the people who have been time and again predicting the fall of Prime Minister Thapa have been found eating their words. He has simply refused to resign out of office. Your answer could be he has been retained by his masters for the time being and will be in place as long as the current constitution does not loose its further relevance.
Adding twist to the tale, Thapa has expressed determination to fight out the rebels and hold elections. There are times when one forgets that he is the same person who presided over the referendum in 1979 the way he expresses unflinching verbal commitment to democracy. I for one will not be surprised if someone declares him Saviour of Democracy some day.
The penultimate question was: How long will the foreign forces continue to disrupt the political process? Here again while an apologist of Thapa may not buy your argument that the current dispensation was the baby born out of foreign intervention in domestic affairs, the detractors may, of course, aver that the scenario might continue as long as the purpose of the intervention is not met.
The purpose can be having a say on anything from water, fire, earth and air. Anyone who knows the value of water and earth and also knows when air and fire are most in demand may not need any further explanation. If anyone needs elaboration, think of future when Nepal may evolve as a base with aircraft taking off with carpet bombers to bomb a, say, Red enemy. Water and earth should not be mysterious elements for us.
The question before the penultimate one was: How long will the regression last? Certainly, since the question cannot be expected to come from anyone who may be apologist of Thapa, one is left to answer a democrat to boot who, in turn, could be expected to ask a couple of questions to anyone who may attribute regression to ambitious constitutional monarch.
It must be conceded here that regression is the culmination of years of misrule. Well, the question is certainly a million dollar one, with far less clues dangling in the air. Whatever one grabs at for possible clues, too, do not lead one to anywhere. Whoever is weaving all this should surely be a genius. Meanwhile, what can be said with complete confidence is even Thapa, too, does not have the answer. He can, however, be expected to tell something about it for inspiration. What is regression for some is revolution for others and herein perhaps lies the answer.
Yet another question was :How long will Thapa occupy the Prime Ministerial chair? This question can come from fence sitters, who do not think they have much stake in politics. In fact, these types of questions come from housewives, who do not have much knowledge about politics yet ask the question to please their hubbies at times. However, this is one of such questions, which has answers implied in it. Thapa will be on that chair as long as someone wants him on it. Plain and simple.
However, it is not as plain and simple as it appears. Thapa did not drive to the Singha Durbar complex on his own. Someone had planned his appointment and demarche long before he dreamt about it in the first place. Hence the unfolding soap opera of election today and talks tomorrow cannot be expected to come to an early end until the one who calls it a day.
Conversely, if it was someone else who planned his arrival, what goes without saying is those who planned his arrival can forecast his departure with precision. If wishes were horses he could be told to pack off by those who are having a hot pot shot at him. They will have to wait for simply a large number of stars to cross the heavens in a brilliant streak of light.
However, there is a way to get rid of him, though and that, of course, will require those rooting for his head to work in a more or less unconventional way as politics goes. One does not extend resignation on silver platter, neither does one even think of it through fair weather. Which means those who identify themselves with rule of law, as the leaders of the political parties avowedly claim, will have to prove their worth in gold. Posted on: 2003-11-15 10:20
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