Posted by: Captain Haddock May 28, 2008
Login in to Rate this Post:
0 
? 
?
I am happy to see the monarchy go. I have waited a long time for this day. The country has finally moved away from a diminishing but influential clique of people who were well positioned in society, some of whom were extremely arrogant, often high-handed and oppressive and acutely behind the times in recognizing the social and political change sweeping the country. History has shown that those who cannot move with the times, whether they be Ranas, Shahs, Congress, UML (and someday perhaps even the Maoists) will be cast aside by the tides of change.
I believe the social significance of this as large, if not larger, than the political one. For the first time in our history, the society at large and not one person or institution gets to define what it means to be a people and a nation. This rings true to the notion that the people of the country are the masters of their destiny even though many of us don't know how to read and write, are superstitious, fatalistic and have a tendency to take to the streets over any issue.
I am glad to see the end of the monarchy but I feel there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the future of the country. The biggest concern being the huge gap between Maoist rhetoric and political reality. The YCL is still running amuck and we now have a politically absurd situation of a government within a government and an army within an army. While ethnic aspirations both in the Terai and hills have wrongly been suppressed for far too long, the current crop of parties generate little confidence that they can solve these issues.
All in all I think this is a historic day for the country and don't want to take anything away from the occasion but far more important than celebrating a republic or wishing the King "goodbye" is to keep our sights and focus on the problems facing the country. Monarchy may be gone but poverty isn't gone. Mayhem and lawlessness are not gone. The top-down elitist culture that has it's roots in the monarchy and pervades all aspects of our society isn't gone. These are the real evils facing the country and they will take a long time to go. Abolishing them is far more important than abolishing just the monarchy. I can only hope that with the parties no longer distracted by a scheming palace, they will finally get to focus on the issues that really matter to people like law and order, water, electricity, jobs, education, health care etc.
Jai Nepal!
I believe the social significance of this as large, if not larger, than the political one. For the first time in our history, the society at large and not one person or institution gets to define what it means to be a people and a nation. This rings true to the notion that the people of the country are the masters of their destiny even though many of us don't know how to read and write, are superstitious, fatalistic and have a tendency to take to the streets over any issue.
I am glad to see the end of the monarchy but I feel there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the future of the country. The biggest concern being the huge gap between Maoist rhetoric and political reality. The YCL is still running amuck and we now have a politically absurd situation of a government within a government and an army within an army. While ethnic aspirations both in the Terai and hills have wrongly been suppressed for far too long, the current crop of parties generate little confidence that they can solve these issues.
All in all I think this is a historic day for the country and don't want to take anything away from the occasion but far more important than celebrating a republic or wishing the King "goodbye" is to keep our sights and focus on the problems facing the country. Monarchy may be gone but poverty isn't gone. Mayhem and lawlessness are not gone. The top-down elitist culture that has it's roots in the monarchy and pervades all aspects of our society isn't gone. These are the real evils facing the country and they will take a long time to go. Abolishing them is far more important than abolishing just the monarchy. I can only hope that with the parties no longer distracted by a scheming palace, they will finally get to focus on the issues that really matter to people like law and order, water, electricity, jobs, education, health care etc.
Jai Nepal!