Nepal is as holy a place for Hindus and Buddhists as Mecca for Muslims and Jerusalem to Jews and Christians: Prasai
Dirgha Raj Prasai is very active in political commentary. He is against the current political change after the success of April 2006 uprising, which declared the country republic and a secular state. He is strongly advocating reverting the decision of republic and secular state as he believes that there should be some checks and balance as the political parties have been creating syndicate in the country and the institution of monarchy could play such a role. Amid rumors that the former King is lobbying at the diplomatic level for reviving the institution of monarchy, we talked with Mr. Prasai on how he sees the current situation of the country and why he is supporting the agenda of reviving some form of monarchy. The views expressed in the interview are the personal views of Prasai and not Nepalekhabar’s. Here are the excerpts:
How do you see current situation of the country and whom do you blame for the sorry state?
On 24th April, 2006, the people’s uprising came to a stop after an agreement was reached between the monarchy, NC, UML and the Maoists. The agitators had agreed to keep monarchy as an alternative force in times of crisis. An agreement was reached to reinstate the House of Representatives, which was dissolved under NC’s recommendation 6 years ago, although the monarchy did not possess the right to reinstate it. The monarchy reinstated the parliament and appointed Girija Prasad Koirala to the premiership post. The former King himself in the Royal Palace premises presided over the oath of office ceremony of Prime Minister. Gradually, the agreement reached with the former King was broken and the royal institution attacked, which is a work of huge betrayal.
The former King resurrected a dead parliament. The parliament then declared the country secular and did away with the Institution, which gave it a new lease of life. Was it a constitutional step? If there is nothing constitutional then where is democracy? It was not the mandate of the revived parliament to do whatever it preferred. It was at best just an interim set-up. How can an interim set-up take such revolutionary decisions that have vast political ramifications? Nepal is a country which has a long history of communal harmony where all castes, religions and languages have survived and flourished with tolerance and co-existence. Since 2006, anarchy and lawlessness are ruling the roost in Nepal. The Constitution of 1990 was forcibly removed by the same vicious circle using unilateral and undemocratic process.
You have been advocating for need to revive monarchy in the country. Do you see any such possibility?
Necessity is the mother of invention. Without monarchy, Nepal can’t adjust and the presidential system cannot keep the balance and co-ordinate between the various castes, ethnic group and religions. It also cannot balance the cordial relations between China and India. The permanent institution- ‘Monarchy’ – can unite the people and maintain cordial relations between Nepal, India and China.
In a country with such geographical and ethnic diversities, Nepal will fall into a severely dangerous situation because of the tug of war for power and money. This can be avoided if there is monarchy because monarchy is always impartial politically. All of us are against anomalies within the royal institution, but those things could be sorted out through negotiation with the monarch. But, it is unfortunate that the politicians have learnt no lessons from their past mistakes. To make no mistakes is not in the power of man, but it is from their errors and mistakes that the wise and good learn wisdom for the future. Constitutionalism is the way for the nation. But the political parties are not following the norms of the constitution nor the existing laws. They are establishing anarchism by various destructive activities.
Don’t you think Nepali people have endorsed the proposal of republic and it is not possible to revoke the decision?
There is a huge mass of people who still see the need and necessity of monarchy in Nepal. It is legitimate to raise the issue of whether Nepal should remain a monarchial country or a republic. The Interim Constitution that walked the unconstitutional path by stepping over constitutionalism was in itself handicapped. The declaration of republic on 28 May was unconstitutional.
To say actually, the number of CA members is 601 and it is in accordance to the Interim Constitution. It was a blunder to summon the first session of the parliament without the presence of all 601 members and before the new constitution was written by elected constituent assembly. When taking a decision on someone, it is against the principle of natural law to deprive him/her of the right to speak on his/her defense.
It was not for whether to keep monarchy or not. The constituent assembly was just a representative organization to formulate a new constitution and it did not have any right to displace monarchy. Can the future of the country be decided just because so called big political parties ganged up together?
Don’t you think the ambition of former King Gyanendra is responsible for end of monarchy as he tried to breach the constitutional provision of the 1990 constitution and imposed direct rule?
In 2001, when NC leader and then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba handed over the governance to the former King, all political leaders had hoped to become appointed PM by the former King. Girija sent an emissary while Madhav Nepal wrote an application to the former King. But, it was not possible to accommodate everybody in the government. When their desires went unfulfilled, politicians started accusing the former King of dictatorship, which has developed into the current scenario. What can be a bigger crime for politicians than to put all the blame on the former King to hide their crimes?
Even the former royalist parties like RPP and RPP Nepal accepted republic in this context; will there be any possibility for revival of monarchy?
RPP-Nepal is only one party in the existing mechanism. People do not believe in RPP-Nepal’s functioning. After all, RPP-Nepal has not accepted the republican system. Nepalese people themselves want to restore monarchy in the current situation. They are tired of the acts of treason committed by the politicians and are raising unified voice from villages to cities in support of the royal institution. ‘Come the King and Save the Nation,’ is a voice of the Nepalese people. Now, it’s time for former King Gyanendra to speak. The Nepalese people rush towards him wherever he shows up and pour their grievances. Former King Gyanendra is sad to note all this. He is now compelled to speak the truth. Former King Gyanendra is not simply a king but represents patriotism. During his visit of Pokhara, Baglung, Shangya and Tanau, the former King said, ‘The political situation in the country is not satisfactory and it is a cause of worry. All are not happy with the political situation in the country. We need to improve the situation in the country.’
You also advocate for reviving Hindu state but what is the problem with giving equal respect to all religions by making secular state?
Nepal is the origin of Hindus and Buddhists. This is the land where their civilization began. When Nepal was the only Hindu country in the world with a Hindu king, Hindus all over the world had great respect and faith for the country. Nepalese around the world and Nepal’s well-wishers are anxious about this conspiracy against the monarchy by some leaders. Nepal was the pious Hindu country in the laps of the Himalayas, beautiful and peaceful, and the birth place of Buddha and origin of Hinduism. Nepal is as holy a place to Hindus and Buddhists, as Mecca for Muslims and Jerusalem to Jews and Christians. We the Nepalese people must be conscious to save the Nepalese pious identity, traditional culture and prestige.
The declaration of Nepal as a Hindu state does not signify just its religion; rather it is taken as the source of Nepalese nationalism and as an inseparable part of Nepal. So, the party leaders made a grave mistake by declaring Nepal a secular state. If instead of declaring Nepal as solely a Hindu country, it would have made sense if it were declared as both Hindu and Buddhist country. But it is a matter of serious concern for whose interest Nepal was declared a secular state. Nepal is a small country and on the south there is a big country with an open border. There are about 800 million Hindus and Indian Hindus respect Nepal as a Hindu state. This should be taken as a matter of pride for us.
Even if one talks about secularism, the census 2001 AD can be taken as referendum. At that time, those who call themselves intellectuals, leaders of ethnic communities and communists and those who call themselves Christians had made the campaign not to write anything in the column for religion or not to write Hindu as their religion. But the Hindus never confronted them or made it an issue. Despite the campaign against Hinduism, the number of Hindus in Nepal was found to be 82 percent. If one keeps the Buddhists out, the number of Hindus before the 2001 census was 83 per cent. Half of the diminished percentage was due to the increase in Buddhism and Kiratis and the other half percentage point was the increment in Christians. The rise in Buddhism and Kiratis do not make much of a difference because Buddhism and Hinduism are complementary to each other and Kiratis also worship the same gods such as Shiva and Bhagawati like the Hindus. Then, if Nepal is to be declared a secular country, all countries, which call themselves as Christians or Muslim countries should also be declared secular countries.
In your view what can be done for bringing political stability in the country?
History is evidence that the parliamentary parties, mainly the Nepali Congress and the UML, who came to power after 1990 completely failed to steer the country and they handed over power to the former King in 2001. Later when they failed to get the position and power they wanted, they climbed on the shoulder of the Maoists to launch an anarchic struggle aided by ‘subtle hints’ from the notorious Indian intelligence agency RAW.
The former King has no role in the current sorry state of the country. So, Nepalese people shall not remain quiet if these political parties try to destroy the identity of this country, their tradition and the basic foundation of this state. Therefore, this uncertain and precarious situation can only be averted if a balance can be maintained among nationality, monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Nepal’s independence, sovereignty and democracy can never be safeguarded by abolishing monarchy. If Nepal’s monarchy will be abolished forever, the power balance of this region will be disrupted. Nepal’s monarchy is the guarantor for peace and stability of this region. We Nepalese people no longer want the unconstitutional rule of the so called visionless larger party leaders including the Maoists. The Nepalese only believe in parliamentary democracy and always follow the constitutional path. Now, the only way would be the acceptance and restoration of benevolent and people-oriented monarchy.
We can’t create leadership overnight and most of the leaders and political parties in Nepal are guided by personal and party interests, so what could be the alternative for political stability in the country?
The Republican Party leadership can’t give the good leadership to the people. It is only by the reinstatement of former King Gyanendra that will make possible the process of bringing the chaotic situation into an ordered track. Former King Gyanendra is well aware of the situation of the nation, and has experience on how to handle it. One happy side of the matter is that former King Gyanendra does not have any prejudice against anyone. He has the capability of uniting all sides. The Constitution of 2015 can’t be implemented, so, we should convince all to solve the burning crisis of the country under the mediation of former King Gyanendra. A new cabinet should be formed to give solution to the nation.
Do you have any message to the readers?
From the very beginning, I have been expressing to save the various unique identities of Nepal. But the deviant leaders never give their attention to the country, being only involved in their pretty interests. So, all sectors of the country have become restive and chaotic after the Pandora’s Box of the constitution assembly was opened. Even after hundreds of people were killed and hundreds injured and maimed and the Terai befalling into flames of ethnic, sectarian and communal disturbances and physical infrastructure worth billions destroyed, the Congress, UML and Maoist led governments did not want to take any responsibility. Those dozen Madhesis who are bent on splitting the Terai from the country are none other than agents of RAW, who have done nothing for the Terai. The nationalist people of Terai should find and punish these Quislings.
The monarchy was taken as a symbol of unity among the people. The reality is that the Nepalese people including Indian Hindus are and feel protected only when there will be monarchial identity in Nepal. The monarchy was pivotal in integrating Nepal, establishing democratic and just society at par with the modern world. So, the monarchy must be reinstated. There will be acceptance for the restoration of benevolent and people-oriented monarchy. Only this option will open the doors for political resolution in Nepal.
(Editor’s Note: How do you find this interview? Please send your comment to editor@nepalekhabar.com)