nispaksha, Theory is one thing, but practice is another, especially in politics. I remain somewhat of a pragmatist, and that is why I have never been certain about republicanism for Nepal at this time while the Maoists are killing people and destroying infrastructure. My "crime" was to once admit on Sajha that I was, at best, ambivalent about this whole notion of republicanism. But Nepe, who expected an easy approval from all and easy rounds of wah-wah for his manifesto, was furious at my professed ambivalence. And let me say that my ambivalence stems NOT out of any love for the Palace (as Nepe mistakenly and repeatedly claims) but out of my disappointment with the political parties' repeated failures to rein in the king when there were opportunities to do so. Sure, I'd like to believe in the poitical parties. But when I see them bungling even on small matters, and unable to get their act together (while Nepal is turning into a killing field, thanks to both the army and the Maoists) I do have a hard time visualising them as the ones who can really go all out to throw out the King and who really have the best interests of the people they are supposed to represent at heart. Seeing how the fights within Koirala dynasty is playing out, it does make me wonder whether all we will see is the mere eplacement of the Shahs with the Koiralas! Yes, as a libertarian, I do find the notion of monarchy quite outdated and do not buy the usual pro-monarch arguments that the likes of Mohammed Mohsin and others offer. But it is at this cross-road of Monarhy, Maoists and Political Parties, I, for one, have decided that the greatest threat to Nepal, the greatest problem in Nepal NOW is that of the Maoists who threaten ALL our liberties. The king and the parties were with us before 1996. The King and the parties had had their clashes in 1990 too. If the King takes over the country entirely, he will be writing his own epitaph. I am sure he knows this. The parties, at this time, CANNOT take over the entire country. I am sure they know this too. Their common enemy is the Maoists. Maoists have hijacked the agenda of political parties and used that agenda to destructive ends, and political parties should now focus their enegy to reclaim their agenda back from the Maoists. And the further the two forces (King and political parties) get cut off from the goal of finishing or defanging their common enemy, the more they just end up tearing at one another -- like they have been doing and thereby NOT serving Nepal's interests. Solution? Here, I support Deuba's intention to go for the elections, which will be difficult to stage, yes; but NOT impossible. My proposal is: Let's invite all sorts of international observers so that Deuba or the King's forces will not get to stage a sham election, as political parties fear. Look, we have to take some risks in these risky times. This is where civil society ko genuine activism is needed to push the elections. If the Maoists create problems, then, they should further exposed as terrorists to the world community. After finishing the elections, let the new elected government take over and let it make its decisions as to what it next wants to do re: the powers of the King and so forth. If the King gets clever and tries to do his own thig, then, let's hope that the elected reps will have enough cojones to stamp their feet to decide on behalf of the janata. My point is that: Until we get out of this terrible fix, this strange impasse, and take the country forward, all talks about republicamism and so forth are mere distractions that only play into the hands of the Maosts. As for Sangraula's piece, it's ironic that in the very parties he had exalted last spring, he now finds faults that alienated people of Kathmandu. My point: Those faults were there with the parties then as they are with them now. Good that Sangraula finally woke up to that realisation. oohi ashu