Dear sons and daughters of Nepal,

We do not really know what the situation is like in our country. We have heard more rumours and less facts; and we have made our own judgement based on those rumours. Our opinions have been divided into almost two halves. One half supporting the King's move and the other half opposing the action. Almost all of us who are fortunate enough to live in the west at this torrid time are capable to think sensibly on this issue.So lets contemplate with the love for the country and citizens in mind now.

Some of us may have been victims of atrocities committed by the Maoists. Some may have suffered because of the corrupted political leaders. And some of us may have been the victim of injustice in the Panchayat era and at present. So we are expressing our vengeance against those who have made us to suffer. And therefore we are divided. The citizens who are educated, who have seen how democray functions, who know the fruits of social justice in a developed society; we are divided. And this is not a good sign for the future. Tommorow, we have to take the burden of Nepal in our shoulders. We have to hand the nation to our next generation. We have to make sure that we can hand over a peaceful and prosperous nation to our children and die. Otherwise we are not different to the previous generation which never got the oppurtunity like us to see the democracy and prosperity of the western world. Our children will blame us if we fail to do better things for our country.So let's try to be impartial, let's forget our personal interest, let's put away our vengeance against both sides of the debate.With a cool mind let's discuss what can we do at best to resolve the current crisis from our part. I will try to give my assement in the next thread on what can we expect in the near future and what is best for the country in the coming days. Please put your thoughts, unbiased and pragmatic, without spilling your anguish and hatred to all the sides- political parties, monarchy and maoists.I hope all of you will take part in this debate very seriously.
Newuser.

Lets call an end to violence and call for peace. I think you are in a state of Euphoria. If there was no conflict of interest, there would have been no violence to start with and to return to the state of ultimate peace all demands have to be met. The king has to keep power and the Maoist have to get the king out and institute a communist rule, and the political parties (all) have to have power. Now how is that possible. The other alternative is to compromise and a comprise can only occur when one side has more to lose than the other. It remains to be seen who will lose more.

Dear BGM, my idea is not euphoric. It's pragmatic and best suitable option for all the sides.

Who do you think are winning or loosing at present?

I think it's all the Nepalese- the king, the maoists, political parties and the public loosing very badly now. The continuation of violence means irrepairable loss to Nepal. The more the violence continues, the greater will be the chance of loosing everything. Even the sovereignty of the country. At least the dignity has already fallen so low.

If only one side wins, there will be no peace in Nepal. Be sure. Why? because the loosing side never sits quiet. Even a knocked out boxer vows to defeat the victor in the next bout. We are talking about politics and we are talking about mass. So peace will never prevail unless all the sides make a compromised deal.

What is a compromise than?
For Gyanendra- limitation of his unassailable constitutional power. But he can enjoy all the powers of a truly constitutional monarch. What wrong does this do to him anyway?What will Gyanendra gain by retaining the supremacy of the army and the authority to dismiss governments at his will? What profit has he made now? I see nothing. May be I am wrong if you guys think so.

For Maoists- Giving up the dream of making Nepal a communist republic. How could they estabilish communism in Nepal when this system has been proven a failure in the rest of the world? North Korea apart, I do not call China or Cuba as real communist republics. NK may be a true communist republic but it's failure to deliver the people is clearly open to the world. Who says Maoism can be or will be estabilished in Nepal? Only lunatics like Prachanda and Baburam.

For political leaders- Limitation of their power as legislators and policy-makers only. Setting up a limitation on their rights to take part in election and remain in government.Few more comstitutional changes to make them legally accountable for their wrongdoings.

All the above compromise can be made by rewriting the constitution. You tell me which side will precisely loose what things if the constitution is rewritten? A constitution which puts the King and the people in equal footing and that limits the authority of the politicians and make them accountable for their wrong doings makes everyone the victor and none the vanquished. More importantly this is the main demand of the warring rebels and once Gyanendra accepts their demand to hold a constituent assembly election, they must and they will immidiately lay down their arms. Otherwise status quo means loss to everybody. Loss to Nepal that may finally cost the sovereignty of the nation.Let alone the chance of the King or Maoists or politicians ruling the country single handedly.

oye maobaadi!!!
ajhai afulai thinking imparaially and sensibly..... this dude has his head full of crap... and all he spilsl out is crap......

oye ta saala... pani banduk bokera jangle ja.... jungli janawar ko baas asthan ki jungle ho ki zoo....
hehehehe

Newuser,
Heard your calling. But who art thou, our saviour? Seriously.
na naam na pata

. maoists ko jamghat ta yaa po cha...
reply highfly's question

and jivin's The Burned AID too...

naravakshi janawar haru... katti ragat piuna sakne.....

New User, I like your views, at least I'm convinced with your last thread, but the main problem is how the hell those two (actually three) damn power (king, maobadi & so called prajatantrabadi) will come to the compromising point. Do you think king will just give up his all current achievement, noway........ it's not that easy. And maobadi... do they just give up their weapons, just by requesting or threatning. No way.... I don't count the third power(Prajatantrabadi) for now. They don't have anything left to show. International community le kehi jharlan ra kham la bhaner kuri ra chan.

ohm shanti jay Nepal

tara ma convinced bhayer ke garne hunu parne haru bha cahinan.... question is how to convince them....

Omh Shanit Jay nepal

After a short break, I am trying to give continuation to this thread stressing my views that democratic rights should be restored in Nepal for every good reasons.

The latest developments in Nepal are suggesting that the country is heading towards further crisis. As criticism is mounting and support decreasing of his actions, King Gyanendra has shown signs of deterioration in his self belief. He has pushed the barriers of civil liberties and his supporters have gone crazy to survive the chance of ruling Nepal in darkness for long. However, their humble pie is crumbling to pieces.

In recent days, the security forces have achieved a morale boosting win in Bardiya. However, the incident in Sandhikharka(Arghakhachi) is an evidence that security forces cannot avoid maoists attack everywhere in the country. If the Maoists can launch another major attack against the security forces and inflict a bigger casualty on the government side, the upbeat mood of the government hierarchy after the Bardiya success will be short-lived.

King Gyanendra has opted to dismiss the call from the international community to respect human rights commitment once again. Security forces' refusal of the government run National Human rights commission to make a field trip to Kapilbastu is an ample proof of the attempt to hide the truth of human rights violation. This kind of actions will only help to raise concerns of the international community. Further more, when reports of disappearances and extra-judicial killings are rising on, the restrictions on the investigation of such cases will increase the number of violations unprecedentedly. There are every chances of innocents being victims of government and maoists atrocities when an independent body is denied to investigate the truth. The governments denial suggests that it's involvements are questionable. The attempt to cover up murders and extra judicial killings require more killings of innocent civilians. Slowly, this kind of incidents will transform our security forces as that of Saddam Hussein's army of the 80s and the 90s. It may not be impossible now to find one of our own kins being a victim of security forces' abuse no matter he or she is totally unaffiliated to any political belief. The restrictions of independent reporting of maoists related incident will further hide the truth in the battlefield.


Gyanendra's ambition to rule Nepal on his own may not have been challenged by the people very quickly but the opposition from the international community has given him a lot of headache. So, he is sending Rameshnath Pandey to India. Mr. Pandey has no special assurances for India apart from the logic that Maoists should be wiped out for the good of India itself. But India has lots of bargain. Without getting assurances that it's bargain will be fulfilled, India is never going to give Gyanendra a good sleep. So either Nepal has to fulfill India's wholesome demand or face a strong oppostion from India for the long run. Both options are not good for the cause of Nepal.

This trip to India by Rameshnath Pandey is more important because US assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca is visiting India very soon. The meeting between Rocca and Natwar Singh will certainly decide the fate of international military assistance to Nepal. As both the countries US and India being the advocate of democracy and civil liberties, they cannot continue assisting Nepal unless King Gyanendra lifts the shameless ban on fundamental principles of freedom. King Gyanendra cannot fight against the maoists also without getting military aids from India and the west. So he has got to lift the ban sooner or letter. If he lifts them now, he doesn't need to compromise with India. Otherwise, Nepal's water resources and geographical integrity will have to pay the price for the short sighted autocratic restrictions imposed by King Gyanendra.

As Abe Lincoln said: 'You can't please all the people all the time'. Readers feedback only underlines how tastes differ and perceptions of the same posting vary.

Yet I have a responsibility to remain in touch with the views of the whole of this diverse audience.
I also have a duty to respect standards of taste and decency. I cherish the right to challenge and surprise my readers ? but not to offend them needlessly.

This requires care, not just abou tputting my views, but also about the likely readers expectations of the posting or service being provided.

lovely articles by newuser..so enlightening. pls keep posting. and writing.

Newuser dude

Just because you see me as some sort of Maoist supporter doesnt mean that I actually have to be a Maoist supporter. Despite this clarification if you still see me that way, I dont see any reason to care about it anymore.

It appears as if you are so much interested in bringing peace but I dont seem to see you dig deeper into the root causes into the Maoist problem. In my opinion, it looks like you haven seen the Maoists problem started only after the arrival of democracy in 1990 subsequently leading to war in 1996.

Dude you gotta understand that the Maoists get the credit of only initiating the revolt. If the Maoists have had never existed in Nepal there still will be a revolt against the establishment. Enough social, political, economic tensions were brewing up since the formation of Nepal as a state underneath the surface, a long before the arrival of democracy in 1990.

The huge social, political, economic disparity between the "rulers" and the "ruled", between city and villages, between different races has become the most fundamental reasons for any uprisings and revolt in most countries in the world.

May be it is possible to kill handfull of people who participate in the revolt but unfortunately the continuing huge disparity will continue to produce people who will revolt and the war will go on. It is really sad to say that the outburst of anger in the form of killings by any individuals involved in any revolts in any country and society is the result of long term suppression they suffered in the hands of rulers and the establishment.

IF anyone can offer some hope and help for the politically, ecomonically, socially and racially suppressed groups of people definately it will the best remedy for any potential revolt in any country and society.

Newuser dude if you can find any probable solution on this front, probably your intention of bringing peace will become a reality. IF not simply looking at the outer political picture such as comments form the US State Department will not make any changes on the ground.
Chao

Things are getting clearer day by day about the intentions of King Gyanendra. First let's start from the news about the arrest of Kanak Dixit.
Kanak Dixit was detained on Monday evening without handing any charges. Some loyalists of the royal palace have already created a reason to protect this move saying that Dixit had been to India few days ago and he might be detained by the security forces on suspicion of his involvement in dissident political activities taking place in India. Some of the sajhaites have branded him as Girija's mouthpiece and some have even gone to label him as a RAW agent. Ridiculous allegations. We cannot expect any better arguement from those Gyanendra loyalists but the fact is Kanak Dixit has been arrested because of this cover story (linked) published in the latest issue of Himal Khabarpatrika. Please read this story if you want to know what is inside.

- http://www.nepalihimal.com/2061/falgun-16-30/aabaran_biswa_samudaya%20_ra_nepal.htm

The gist of the story is that King Gyanendra has not been able to convince the international community led by India about the justification of the Royal move in Feb 1. Dixit's argument in the cover story is a crystal clear fact which any person with an IQ of at least 100 can understand. How can Gyanendra expect India, USA or UK giving explicit approval of his move that includes detention of political leaders, ban on independent media and imposition of severe restrictions on civil liberties? There is no point in him to expect their support while his restrictions are no less than that of NorthKorea. There's more freedom in China, Cuba, Zimbabwe or Pakistan then in Nepal at present. How the hell can George Bush speak about rooting out autocractic regime from the world(refer to his state of the union address) if he supports Gyanendra in this situation?
If he has to generate support from India and the USA, Gyanendra most lift a number of bans. It is inevitable and the longer Gyanendra takes to soften the restrictions, the more suspicion will arise to the international community.

Dixit also adds in his cover story that the democratic freedom restored by the pressure from India and International community will be costly for Nepal. His argument is very plausible. (I have expressed a similar kind of opinion some where up in the thread almost a week ago). Gyanendra should have realised this fact and never opted to take such a draconian measure in the first hand. Once he did, he should have lifted some of those bans sooner. But he has sticked to his initial moves and this means the international community(specially India) will make this a case for bargain. Gyanendra shouldn't have allowed this oppurtunity for the international community because sooner or later he has to lift the bans if he wants to extend his direct rule for 3 years.
Now Dixit goes on to say that other countries shouldn't be given the chance to involve in restoring partial democracy in Nepal and it is us Nepalese who should step up for our democracy. Because, involvement of foreigners in our democratic movement will give them a chance of bargaining with our estabilishments time and again. Over dependence on India by our political leaders have in the past cost a lot on our bilateral trade, water sharing and territorial disputes. Again Dixit's argument is very authentic and patriotic.

So, why should Dixit be arrested because of this lead article? The new regime(in Dixit's word) had outlined it's media guideline and said- everything except the materials that help the terrorists(maoists) can be published. And there is nothing as such in this cover story. Even then, they have arrested him because their intentions are clear. 'Not to let any one who oppose autocracy to speak their mind.' If they speak, the public will be conscious and rise against them. Because Kanak has published some bitter truths about Tulsi Giri and Rameshnath Pandey, these cronies might have initiated personally to teach him some lessons- If you oppose us, we will throw you to the dungeon. I know that he will not be kept in detention for long. Gyanendra will again loose his case if he doesn't free Kanak on Tuesday and he is not that stupid to keep him in custody for long. But this is a warning to the rest of the media that the restrictions will be further tightened. He wants to scare the media. He wants to scare Kanak Dixit. And this is the most frightening part of the whole incident. Gyanendra's intention is to rule Nepal in darkness so that no one will ever venture to write or broadcast any thing against his interest in the future. However, as a professional neither Kanak should deviate his mission nor other journalists should be scared from this arrests. If they are scared, their rights will be taken partly and partially and finally the same days of Panchayati darkness will come back. Rest is the nightmare.
Much said about Kanak's article. Now I must categorically dismiss the allegations labelled on him. Not because I have any relation with him but because of my understanding of his contribution in the development of fair and analytical journalism in Nepal. He is one of the role models for investigative journalism of Nepal and a true mentor to the new generation who are taking up the subject as their profession. First, because he has expressed his fear about India's potentially decisive role in meddling on Nepali affairs, the allegation that he is a RAW agent is totally absurd. Second, because Himal have always highlighted the wrong doings of Girija Prasad Koirala in the past he cannot be labelled as a mouth piece of GPK. Infact, Himal was one of the few magazines or newspaper which have reported on wrongdoings committed by everyone Girija to Deuba, Makune to Surya Bahadur Thapa and Paras to Sharad |Chandra Shah. Himal is one of the few good things that came into existence and flourished in post democracy. They are the watershed in our media industry. To sum up, detention of Kanak Dixit is the sign of psychological rupture in Gyanendra's mindset.Instead of strenghtening his position, Gyanendra has to loose more by detaining a truly professional and responsible journalist. I hope our journalist community will not be scared of this incident and continue to explore the truth no matter if they have to end up behind bars. If they shut their mouth today, their mouth will be sewed for long.
newuser

As for Bhrasta Netaji, I have yet to address your concerns. I do understand the problems you have raised about the disparity between the rulers and ruled. The problems of the poors in Nepal is obviously centuries old phenomenon and that could have been boiled one day sooner or later even if the Maoists had not started their 'jana yudda'.
But these sort of disparities exist in every society in the world. It is in smaller scale in the developed countries and wider scale in developing nations. These issues are some thing that can be minimised but not totally cleared up. If the rulers rule the country sensibly, I mean if they put a good governance, implementing an equal share of development efforts in urban and rural areas, the huge disparity can be minimised. I mean taking up arms is not the solution. Solution is imparting fair share of national development efforts. In Nepal's case over looking the plight of Karnali, Seti and Mahakali was a grave mistake of our rulers. However, this is not something that can be erased by creating a maoists state. This is something that can be gradually brought into smaller degree by imparting more of national encome to those areas. We can discuss on this issue in depth in the upcoming days.

नेपाललाई कस्तो राजनीतिक परिवर्तनको खाँचो छ?
नेपाल राजनीतिक संकटको गहीरो भूमरीमा फसेको छ। सबै राजनीतिक पक्षहरु देशको वास्ताविक समस्या निराकरण गर्ने सम्भावित उपायको सामुहिक खोजी गर्ने भन्दा पनि कसरी परिस्थितिलाई आफ्नो अनुकुल पारेर सत्ताको मूख्य हिस्सा आफ्नो मुठ्ठिमा कस्ने भनेर एक्लै एक्लै भौतारिइरहेका छन्। यो नै देशका लागि सवभन्दा दूर्भाग्यपूर्ण कुरा हो। हाम्रा शासक तथा राजनीतिज्ञहरु आफूहरुबाट विगतमा भएका भूलहरु सच्च्याएर अघि बढ्नुपर्ने टड्कारो आवश्यकता देशले माग गरिरहेका बखत पनि सत्ता लिप्साको फोहोरी खेलमा तल्लिन भैरहनु नेपाल र नेपालीका लागि दुखद यथार्थ बन्न पुगेको छ। अहिले राजा, बहुदलवादी राजनीतिक दलहरु र माओवादी तीनै पक्ष?ले अख्तियार गरेको राजनीतिक बाटोले देशलाई संकटको भूमरीबाट सुरक्षित रुपमा निकाल्नुको सट्टा भूमरीमा रन्थना?एर डुबाइदिने खतरा बढ्दै गैरहेको छ। वर्तमान राजनीतिक दूष्चक्र अझै केहि समय घुमिनै रह्यो भने नेपालको सार्वभौमिक अखण्डता सदाका लागि विलिन हुने पीडादायी सम्भावनको वादल सगरमाथा र माछापुच्छ्रे वरिपरि मडारिइरहेको छ। त्यसैले नेपालको अस्तित्वमा गौरव गर्ने सम्पूर्ण सचेत नेपाली आमाका सपूतहरु- हामी सवैले राजनीतिको फोहोरी खेलबाट देशलाई पराजित र पराधिन गराउन खोज्ने स्वार्थी शासक र नेताहरुलाई सहि मार्गमा फर्काउने उपायहरुको खोजी गर्नु वान्छनिय भएको छ। कुनै एक राजनीतिक वर्गको समर्थन गरेर तीन पक्षबीचको सत्ता संघर्षको आगोमा घ्यू थप्ने होइन कि तीनै पक्षलाई आ-आफ्नो राजनीतिक दिवास्वप्न र असम्भव सुगा रटान परित्याग गरि स्वच्छ र देशभक्तिपूर्ण राजनीतिको मूलधारमा समाहित हुन वाध्य पार्नु समयको आवश्यकता र हाम्रो दायित्व हुन आउँछ। आउनुस नेपाली दाजुभाई दिदीवहिनीहरु एकैछिन नेपालमा भैरहेको राजनीतिक झगडाको ओखति के हुन सक्छ त? यसबारेमा आ- आफ्ना वुद्धि र वर्कतले भ्याएसम्मका उपायहरुको खोजी गरौं। सत्ताका लागि बैचारिक र शसस्त्र संघर्षरत सबै पक्षहरुलाई मेलमिलापको डोरीले वाध्ने गाँठो के हुनसक्छ? यहि जटील र गहन यक्षप्रश्नको उत्तर खोज्ने इमान्दार प्रयास गरौं।

Please put your comments and I will also keep on writing . Newuser

Newuser's last question (in Nepali) reminds me of Nepal Parichaya or Panchayat ko question. Still feel siringa from those days!

नेपाल परिचय र पंचायत रे। के थियो सिताराजी त्यसमा? र किन सिरिङ्ग?

नेपाललाई कस्तो राजनीतिक परिवर्तनको खाँचो छ?

नेपाल राजनीतिक संकटको गहीरो भूमरीमा फसेको छ। सबै राजनीतिक पक्षहरु देशको वास्ताविक समस्या निराकरण गर्ने सम्भावित उपायको सामुहिक खोजी गर्ने भन्दा पनि कसरी परिस्थितिलाई आफ्नो अनुकुल पारेर सत्ताको मूख्य हिस्सा आफ्नो मुठ्ठिमा कस्ने भनेर एक्लै एक्लै भौतारिइरहेका छन्। यो नै देशका लागि सवभन्दा दूर्भाग्यपूर्ण कुरा हो। हाम्रा शासक तथा राजनीतिज्ञहरु आफूहरुबाट विगतमा भएका भूलहरु सच्च्याएर अघि बढ्नुपर्ने टड्कारो आवश्यकता देशले माग गरिरहेका बखत पनि सत्ता लिप्साको फोहोरी खेलमा तल्लिन भैरहनु नेपाल र नेपालीका लागि दुखद यथार्थ बन्न पुगेको छ। अहिले राजा, बहुदलवादी राजनीतिक दलहरु र माओवादी तीनै पक्ष?ले अख्तियार गरेको राजनीतिक बाटोले देशलाई संकटको भूमरीबाट सुरक्षित रुपमा निकाल्नुको सट्टा भूमरीमा रन्थना?एर डुबाइदिने खतरा बढ्दै गैरहेको छ। वर्तमान राजनीतिक दूष्चक्र अझै केहि समय घुमिनै रह्यो भने नेपालको सार्वभौमिक अखण्डता सदाका लागि विलिन हुने पीडादायी सम्भावनको वादल सगरमाथा र माछापुच्छ्रे वरिपरि मडारिइरहेको छ। त्यसैले नेपालको अस्तित्वमा गौरव गर्ने सम्पूर्ण सचेत नेपाली आमाका सपूतहरु- हामी सवैले राजनीतिको फोहोरी खेलबाट देशलाई पराजित र पराधिन गराउन खोज्ने स्वार्थी शासक र नेताहरुलाई सहि मार्गमा फर्काउने उपायहरुको खोजी गर्नु वान्छनिय भएको छ। कुनै एक राजनीतिक वर्गको समर्थन गरेर तीन पक्षबीचको सत्ता संघर्षको आगोमा घ्यू थप्ने होइन कि तीनै पक्षलाई आ-आफ्नो राजनीतिक दिवास्वप्न र असम्भव सुगा रटान परित्याग गरि स्वच्छ र देशभक्तिपूर्ण राजनीतिको मूलधारमा समाहित हुन वाध्य पार्नु समयको आवश्यकता र हाम्रो दायित्व हुन आउँछ। आउनुस नेपाली दाजुभाई दिदीवहिनीहरु एकैछिन नेपालमा भैरहेको राजनीतिक झगडाको ओखति के हुन सक्छ त? यसबारेमा आ- आफ्ना वुद्धि र वर्कतले भ्याएसम्मका उपायहरुको खोजी गरौं। सत्ताका लागि बैचारिक र शसस्त्र संघर्षरत सबै पक्षहरुलाई मेलमिलापको डोरीले वाध्ने गाँठो के हुनसक्छ? यहि जटील र गहन यक्षप्रश्नको उत्तर खोज्ने इमान्दार प्रयास गरौं।

Please put your comments and I will also keep on writing . Newuser

Worth reading article by Abhi Subedi in thursday's The Kathmandu post.


Poetics of fear


By ABHI SUBEDI

- I want to begin with the reiteration of my very simple yet profound knowledge. That is, all the major wars of the poor countries are fought with the weapons given or sold out by the powerful countries of the world. Students at the Central Department of English asked me once to sum up the legacy of the Western rule in the postcolonial world in one word. I put what was coursing through my turbulent mind for long in one tangible word. I said?the word is ?gun?, which can represent the legacy of the Western world to the garib or the poor countries of the third world. After I pronounced the word I felt an energy welling up within me as it were. I became so eloquent on the subject that I covered in brief the history of the countries that I have followed with interest over the decades.

Lethal trade

Examples abound. The nearest one comes from South Asia. Indian and Pakistani leaders vie for arms. If an American President or the Secretary of State or even a simple envoy gravitates to this part of the world, Indian and Pakistani politicians in the government and outside compete to get this person?s greater attention. They look at this person with covetous eyes. The expectation is not for food or medicine, but for arms, yes, the lethal, horrible arms and ammunition and money to buy them. "What do they need these arms for?" I asked the students on my part. Students scored full marks in that question. They said in a chorus?"to kill each other." The next question I rolled down was: "Why do they want to kill each other?" The students could not score any marks. They did not know why the people of India and Pakistan want to kill each other. Personally, I hazarded many guesses for the exact answer. I said?perhaps they started killing each other to rewrite the geopolitical boundaries. Perhaps they want to kill each other because they pray to different unseen or nebulous deities. Perhaps their prayers have different morning and evening ragas. Perhaps they think they feel differently when it pains them. Perhaps they know that they have guns and the Americans and other metropolitan powers have promised more guns so that they can kill each other. Finally, perhaps they think they do not know why they kill each other.

In this confusion, they have groped for answer inside and outside the bleeding, burning boundaries and territories of this region. They have come up with a devastatingly complex answer?the nuclear weapon. Governments, who need to address the most human questions, slide more and more into the terrible realms of history. They are both the victims as well as the creators of their own traps in history. They do so by creating the other?the giver of guns by using which they perpetually fight futile and useless wars. This is a unique inverse postcolonial alterity that the countries once ruled by the Western powers have created.

Farewell to arms

But the present reality is that ideologies, historical contestations and rhetoric of utopia have to be thoroughly rephrased and reworked. Traps, torture chambers and killing machineries are things to be stored in the museums but not to be practised in reality anymore. The hungry people need food; the weak and ill people need nourishment and medicine; the children need education and all people need security and minimum care. It is the responsibility of the state and related organisations at both the national and international levels to work towards it. Finally, every person even if he/she has to go to bed most nights on hungry stomach has self-respect. That needs to be restored and honoured. But these simple propositions are lost into the tangled maze of the postcolonial history. Hunger for more guns among the people of these poor regions is increasing. And the gun givers or gun snatchers happily play the role. They rule this and similar other postcolonial world with contentment and contestations among themselves.

The gun irony cuts deeper. Though I never like guns, they gave me a great revelation in my life when I suddenly woke up one morning to hear the news that the foreign donors were going to cut the supply of guns to this country. Such a decision will make some Nepalis jubilant and others unhappy. The insurgency side too would be doing the same?reacting to the gun-giving and gun-snatching issues differently. But my shock is deeper. If the people of a small and poor country like Nepal have already begun to use guns as stake like India and Pakistan to draw bleeding boundaries between the people, that means they are sliding into a hopeless situation. Jubilation and dismay over who loses and who receives guns is the greatest absurdity ever experienced by this country. What is going on? The metropolitan countries wanted to see Nepal as Shangri-La and save it as a "bell jar" where they could come and make up for the entropy they have experienced back home.

But now if others want to see as yet another model in Nepal where even the poorest of the people can continue the violent contestations with guns and prove themselves as the models for bloody experiments for the 21st century, then we are doomed. Nepalis have only one option to save themselves from becoming the Western gun babies. They should end the gun game and stop narrating the gun saga to their children. To engage in a lethal contestation is to become the absurd victim in the hands of those who have always supplied guns to the people of the poor hemispheres.

Finally, a few words about the poetics of fear. In literature and arts, fear is always given a structure like Gothic novels, magic realist narratives, turbulent visual images as in the paintings of Europe in different centuries depicting the horrible cholera epidemic.

But in Nepal the politics of fear is going to have far-reaching consequences. The people sandwiched in the fear game will be demoralised and will take at least half-a-century to fully recover from the trauma. It is easy to create fear, but difficult to undo the terrible impact of fear. Haunted people will long lose the sense of balance and liberty.

Some unsolicited advice
In hindsight, everyone should have done everything differently

We Nepalis are great at dispensing advice as long as we don't have to follow them ourselves. Following this grand tradition, here is my own two-cent's worth:

1. Don't anger a Tibet-loving US senator by arresting a few meditating Tibetans, especially when there is a trade
bill or a garment bill sponsored by the Senator on the floor of the US Congress. (And don't try to use the garment quota bill to beat the NEA over the head on Bhote Kosi.)

2. Don't get into a personality clash and break up a party when the Maoists are at the gates. The public will consider this a very selfish act and may not reelect you. If there is ever an election, that is.

3. Try to remain united and sensible when the king is touring his dom advocating an active monarchy. Learn to
take the hint. Have you forgotten a simple childhood story: it is easier to break one stick than a bundle of seven?

4. Once in a while it does not hurt for the political leadership to oppose the Maoists and their atrocities at Ranta Park. The public may actually be convinced that it is all about something bigger than just ministerial portfolios.

5. Let's not p--- off India to please Pakistan, of all countries, for god's sake. Haven't we learned the lesson being squeezed in 1988-89?

6. Whatever happens, don?t bring a pair of octogenarians to save the country, especially when one of them seems to have lost his Nepali accent. Push comes to shove, there are still plenty of 70-year-old young turks around.

7. Choose your enemy carefully. Opening yourself up on three fronts may not be such a good idea no matter how
noble the cause. The advisers must have said, "no pain no gain", but it comes with too high a risk.

8. Political daughters should have realised that taking a rikshaw to Jogbani and taking a train to New Delhi would
have been much safer than riding an Enfield Bullet across the tarai for five days.

9. A ?can?t we all get along? speech may be imprudent when a bunch of old friends of your daddy are in detention, including your uncle.

10. If we practiced what we preached we could have embarked on a path to liberal democracy a long time ago.

11. Nature abhors a vacuum, so does politics. Something or someone will quickly move in to fill the gap. Dissolving local councils was the single most awful idea. Stopping FM news is the second most-awful.

13. C?mon, jailing a 70-year-old professor is just plain silly. Fight an armed Maoist, not an old man with a pen.

14. Holding the Royal Nepal Army to a higher level of accountability on human rights is all very well. But let?s not overlook what the Maoists have been doing.

16. You can?t keep things hidden for long in this day and age. It?s counterproductive to stop phones, radio and internet in the 21st century.

Alok K Bohara, PhD, is professor of economics, University of New Mexico, USA bohara@unm.edu