That was a great article by Akhilesh Upadhyay - there is nothing more democratic than exercising your freedom of conscience by questioning inconsistencies in the media and politics and holding people accountable for what they are say and do. Even if such people happen to be your bread and butter, or your life and soul. I have said on numerous occasions, the parties but come clean on whether or not they want Monarchy. If they do, then they must learn to live with it. If they don't then they must say so publicly and openly seek to abolish it. Their failure to make up their minds on this as well as some other major issues, as I see it, is emblematic of a larger problem with our parties - namely inconsistency between what they believe in and say versus what their policies and practices reflect. This, I believe, has been as damaging a factor as corruption in shredding the reputation of the parties to tatters as it sends mixed messages and confusing signals to the public about the capabilities of the parties to lead. I do not question the motives of anyone - monarchist or democrat, progressive or republican. I am willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and believe those who are doing this are in it because of a strong sense of conviction that their viewpoint is the one that can take the country forward. I am convinced the King cannot rule the country on his own. The dynamics on the ground don't allow it - he may at most stop some bleeding but cannot cure the country on his own. If a reconciliation can be brought about between the King and the parties and that gets extended to the Maoists, then the country will be saved from more bloodshed. Time is running out but any such reconciliation, even if it is brought about by what we have become used to calling "external forces", is our last chance of creating a quadrangular polity of the King, Maoists, NC and UML that might be able to bring about peace and stability in the country. If this doesn't happen soon, then we are headed for a structural realignment on a scale never seen before in our history. If the political conflict continues to drag on it will act as a catalyst to bring to the fore the deeply buried social and economic fault lines in Nepal. It is hard to imagine what kind of country will emerge as a result. The trend in Nepali politics for the last 60 years is on a trajectory of power moving away from the elite to the masses. I see no data to suggest otherwise. Absolute monarchy, on the other hand, subjects the monarch to becoming an oppressor and weakens the insitution in the long run (if the power shifts of the past are any indication of how power might shift in the future.) There is still time for King Gyanendra and Girija Prasad Koirala to make up and kiss. As repugnant as the idea may sound to some and improbable to others, I feel doing so is a better option than what could turn out to be the inevitable the kiss of death: having to play second fiddle to India or Prachanda - both the King and parties loose big in such a case. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: I am not a politician, journalist or academic (although I might sound like one sometimes) and stake no claim to political or analytical expertise beyond holding opinions about current affairs. Any semblance, however unlikley that may be, to such expertise is purely coincidental :) To good life and peace in our beloved country.