Calling for new leaders
It is interesting that the issue of who governs this country keeps cropping up even when one is trying to focus on more substantial issues like constitution and integration. But there is a simple logic behind it: every party in the country and every leader within these parties wants to lead the country towards the completion of these two historical tasks. And yet there seems to be considerable wrangling and great confusion within each party. This confusion emanates from the difference between party line and question of leadership.
The present situation demands leaders who are capable of grasping the aspirations of the oppressed people, those want to rid the country of historical disparities based on class, gender, region and ethnicity but at the same time can keep the country strong and united. But most of our traditional leaders cannot abandon the old way of thinking. Yes, we have removed the monarchy, the totem of feudalism. But remnants of feudalism, which sank its roots deep into Nepali soil in the last 240 years, still guides the minds of party leaders. As a result, new leaders, who are trying to push new lines of thought, are having a tough time in making their presence felt.
Countless people’s movements, 10 years of ‘People’s War’ and the Madhesi Movement have brought about a sea change in Nepali polity and society. This is a time which calls for structural changes, not only in state governance, but also in party functioning and transformation in the thinking pattern of Nepali leaders. This is so because many new ideas and issues have emerged to challenge the old monolithic state and the old monolithic ways of thinking. Today, we need flexible leaders who are able to fulfill aspirations of the people who have been oppressed for a long time, while being firm enough to take the country ahead united. After all, leadership is about coping with changes. Great changes demand great leadership. Today we need leadership that respects internal party democracy but is also good at exercising centralisation: leadership that can thrive on and manage contradictions. For such leaders, the challenges are not signs of despair, but opportunities to apply scientific knowledge and creative thinking. I the absence of such leadership, more and more confusion is being created both among and within the
parties.
Within the Maoist party, there is a clash between those who want to consolidate the new line that reinforces the concept of republican state, addresses class, gender, regional and ethnic issues in the new state and institutionalises a new national army that is inclusive and answerable to the rule of law. And there are those who want to hop on to the fast track of completing the revolution by drafting a communist constitution and forming a communist-laden national army. Among Nepali Congress and CPN-UML there is contradiction between those who want federalism based on geography and administration divisions (a reformed version of the old, monolithic state) and those who want federalism based on inclusion and devolution of power and which addresses oppression based on class, gender, ethnicity and region. In the question of Army integration, there is one section that is obsessed with professionalism of the Army. This section wants to use standard norms of recruitment as the basis of integration (like the old Royal Army) but also another section which understands that the norms should be based on the historical needs of the time.
Amid this confusion, the Maoist Party, the architect of the new line, has to lead the country. The line and leadership has to converge to take ownership of the core Maoist agendas. Its leadership must be trustworthy and consistent in what it says and does. Ideologically, it must realise that it is not a communist state that it has to lead now, but a state which is trying to come out from 240 years under a feudalistic yoke and is now entering a capitalist age. While respecting competition between different political and economic forces, it has to lead by ideological supremacy, not based on force, but by winning hearts and minds and practicing what it preaches. The Maoists must also realise that science and strategy are not enough. The art of leadership also demands the capacity to enthuse a sense of belonging and psychological well-being among Nepalis in this period of transition. They should take note of the fact that the question of leadership in Nepal has broader ramifications in Asia.
It is important to realise that the leadership of Nepal, a poor country situated in an increasingly important geo-strategic region between two Asian giants with competing ideologies, will be carefully watched. Nepal watchers inside the country, meanwhile, should be aware of the fact that countries that are stable and strong may be able to afford incompetent and corrupt leaders, but the ones that are poor and unstable cannot afford such a luxury.
Lastly, those who are trying to stay in power with the support of outside forces or through unholy designs ought to realise that their future is bleak. Ultimately, it is objective necessity that establishes leadership. Plekhanov, the great Russian thinker, said, “A great man is great not because his qualities give individual features to great historical events, but because he possesses qualities which make him most capable of serving the great social needs of his time, needs which arose as a result of general and particular causes.” So far we have had stop-gap leaders. Now it is the time for visionary leaders who can fulfill today’s historical needs.
Yami is a UCPN (Maoist) Central Committee member
hisila.post@gmail.com
Posted on: 2011-04-22 09:42
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