It has been a year and a half since the king relinquished powers after a brief stint as the head of government but the much touted peace is nowhere in sight. If anything, things have only gotten worse much to the dismay of the common people who were under the impression that an eight-party government would herald an era of peace. The euphoria and enthusiasm was misplaced to begin with. It can be nothing but an utter naivete to assume that the political parties can steer the country out of the present quagmire when the fact of the matter is: they are infact the root cause of the problem themselves. They are termites (metaphorically speaking) and you know how destructive they can be. They completely decimated the country during their 14 years of "democratic" rule. They are squarely to blame for the mindless civil war that erupted because of their petty squabble for power which has caused immeasurable pain to the nation. Their report card leaves much to be desired for. To say that the country today is in a state of anarchy is an understatement. Not a single day goes by without someone being killed or public/private properties being arsoned or vandalised. Today, we identify ourselves by what caste we belong to and we are no more a Nepali first and foremost. Where is the oneness, the sense of brotherhood and fraternity that was so inherent in us? The selfish politicians should have refrained from playing the ethnic card for thier vested interests. As if they have not caused enough harm to the country already. Things look pretty grim all around. Tarai is in complete tatters. The region is bursting at the seams with armed extremist groups, many of them former disciples of Prachanda, bent on throwing the normal life out of gear. Inspired by the success that Maoists have achieved through violence & terrorism these extremists have brought the terai life to a complete halt. The people of hill origin continue to be murdered with impunity while the incompetent eight party government watches from the fringe with utter helplessness. One can quite easily surmise what things will be like in a situation where there is a single party running the government. All hell will break loose. I can't imagine the situation in Nepal getting any better. I see darkness all around. But we have brought this upon ourselves. As the saying goes: you reap as you sow.