A little more on my ancient AGHORI theory. Here is an anecdotal musing of mine over what a friend called "The Fourth Political Power" which is your "Political movement under Civil society's leadership" September 22, 2003. - http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/OpenThread.cfm?forum=122&ThreadID=12335#40323 . . .Some people like to compares the Maoists to the emergence of Taliban in Afganistan. I think there is an analogy, at least at the beginning. Now, I don't think Afganistan is going to be reenacted in Nepal. But we certainly have a thing or two to learn from them to determine our future course. Basically we should note that the solution was not to bring back what Taliban had replaced or reinstate the primitive institution of the Monarchy back, but to embrace modern democracy. Some skeptic claim if we remove Monarchy we will become Afaganistan. I say we already are Afganistan. There is no going back. There is no staying where we are. We can only move forward. And boldly embrace modern democracy. If we failed to be a modern and vibrant democracy, our fate is sealed to be a second Sikkim. Frankly my dear, the monarchy can not be a justification for the state of Nepal in our time. This institution, from now on, is always going to be challenged, if not by 'Maoists' then by next 'French revolutionaries'. As it will go on, one fine day, people tired of asking the same primitive questions continuously and shedding blood for Nepali Chogyal will look at our Sikkimeli brothers and say 'after all, it does not look that bad'. Only a vibrant and modern democracy can justify the existence of the state of Nepal. Nothing else can. Have full democracy, save Nepal. Keep trying save the Monarchy, lose the country. It is quite interesting to see some educated folks buy a quite opposite pro-monarchy alarm, that absence of the monarchy might lead to our Sikkimization ! They fail to see that from now on, no matter who supports, the Monarchy never can have the old power back. From now on, no matter how the Maoists war ends, the Monarchy will always remain a controversial institution. From now on, even if the Monarchy succeeds to remain, there will be always some people plotting to oust it. And they fail to see that the Sikkim happened FOR republicanism. It did not happen DUE to republicanism ! It is exactly for this reason why a fourth power got to emerge now. It's not that it's not happening. It's happening. But there is an urgent need for it to be heard louder, to be more visible, to be pro-active, to be organized and to look reliable. While I think social scientists should have better and more comprehensive ideas than an ordinary guy like me can suggest, but I think there are two major hurdles this force should overcome first. First, it has to let people know that it exists. The problem is that at least at the level of communication and at a superficial level, it appears that people have been 'brain-washed' by repeated use of the phrase 'three powers'. This brain-washing is so severe that a lot of people simply can not think there is even a possibility of a fourth element to exist. The king, the political parties and the Maoists. That's all we have, that's all there can be and that's all you can choose one from. Funny thing, they even don't know they exist themselves. I mean, shouldn't those who do not agree with any of these three powers but also do not see any alternatives (I think the majority, if not an overwhelming majority of Nepali people belong to this class) realize that they themselves constitute an alternative, a power, no matter how insignificant it may be ? But, No. They don't. That's why I call it being brain-washed. It's time to remove that cloud. It's time to come out of that three-slot ghetto of thinking. It's time to use the phrase 'Fourth Power' ! The second hurdle is a small class of those educated folks who is knowingly or unknowingly breeding pessimism and readying the ground for a compromise with one of the powers in the name pragmatism. The challenge for the Fourth Power is to expose that these guys are not pragmatist. Their pragmatism is a hysteria. The vision of their pragmatism does not go beyond one more night of survival. These guys do not have a clue how we're gonna survive the day after tomorrow. I would call theirs a 'quasi-pragmatism' or perhaps better a 'short-sighted pragmatism'. I think these two are major and immediate challenge for the Forth Power to be. Once these are overcome, we can leave the rest to the natural laws. The fittest will survive. And that is right too. Because that is the natural justice of life. If it has to be the Maoists, no matter how we fail to understand it, it's gonna happen. If it has to be the King, no matter how I despise him, it's gonna happen. If it could be the Fourth Power, no matter how late it joined, it's gonna happen. The point is we have to be there. And we are coming.