Nepe

Thanks for your insights. A couple of comments:


(1) Sikkimization I find it interesting that whoever loses power in Nepal always raises the ghost of Sikkim. The Panchas did it when they lost and the Congress people are doing it now  although to a lesser extent. The thinking perhaps being if we in all our guts and glory cannot  deliver, then no one else can. All such comments whether made by royalists, democrats and communists must always be taken with a grain of salt IMHO because there is an undertone of bitterness and defeat in it.

However, come to think of it, power has changed pretty much along economic lines in Nepal from the times of the Ranas to the present. With each change power has been successively pushed downwards towards those claiming to represent the  next group of underprivileged people. To me that shows each ruling group, and the elites within them, have proved to be inept for one reason or the other (lack of vision, ethics, checks and balances etc etc). With each such failure people have become more open to trying out options previously considered taboo.  At the end of the day this comes down to economics in my opinion. The Nepali people have proved they are willing to take political risks for socio-economic gains. In light of this, to your point, I can clearly see how people might want to try out some sort of arrangement with India in the future if successive governments continue to fail. That is the real "grand-design". Therefore, in a twisted way, poverty and not India is the greatest threat to our national sovereignty.

The Maoists are the penultimate safety valve. If they can alleviate poverty or at least give that perception, then that's good for the country because people will have increased faith in the ability of the country to be viable.

(2) Ethnic Parties I don't think the idea of a coalition of ethnic and regional  parties governing the nation some day is too far fetched. The Maoists, more than anyone else, want to create a federal structure based on ethnicity. That provides fertile ground for regional parties to form and grow. If the Maoist fail, a coalition of these parties can become the ultimate safety valve against a failed state and a possible desire by Nepalese to  think the unthinkable thought of joining India. The one concern there being the current crop of regional parties, especially those in the Terai, need to prove their nationalist credentials because their politicians have been talking pretty recklessly on the issue of nationalism and sovereignty

(3) Mr Prachanda,  please tell me you know what you're doing As I said before I am willing to give the Maoists the initial benefit of the doubt that objectivity and decency demand. In fact, I found Mr Gajurel's we-are-not-stupid comments rather insightful. However, I find their political platform is based on a vision of the country that sees predators and preys, victims and perpetrators everywhere. It is a deeply divisive and potentially self-destructive ideology that has the potential to cause far more damage than the more benign ideologies of the NC (and to a lesser extent the UML)

Hope all else is well with you.