Nepal Maoists´ Advocacy for People Oriented Democracy Nepal´s Last Hope
Prakash Bom
September 10, 2008
Nepal a nation of the most primordial form of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religion enclaves of diverse society since Neolithic period of human history never has dared to evolve out of its feudal way of life that has been obscured with multifaceted superstitions and religious propaganda. The feudal caste system of Nepal is the example that the nation had a long wait for Maoist led government to scrape out "Haliya" or a land-tiller system from practice even though it was officially abolished in 2001. The Haliya practice enforces children to inherit debt accrued by their parents and grandparents generations after generations by working in the fields for moneylenders and landlords.
At this point nation´s political interest has taken different direction. It is a question whether Nepal should carry on with the feudal practice or root it out entirely, which demands law enforcement other than the culture of impunity. It is a question of modernization that whether Nepal can address its backwardness with the industrial and technological developments or caved down with the conceit of tradition.
It is a serious challenge for feudal minded mainstream political parties, which are less willing to root out the feudal establishments. But Maoist led government´s policies and programs addressed to the Constituent Assembly by the President have guaranteed a people-oriented modern democracy.
Time will tell how far Maoists will be successful. But it is the responsibility of all – people, political parties and international community to support such policies and programs to be implemented. The feudal moneylenders and landlords, for example, who used to earn parasitically must be rooted out with the law enforcement. For this matter, Nepal Maoist revolution or ´People´s War´ was successful in the rural Nepal.
Democracy that does nothing but only party politics for power particularly for the power of political leaders in party hierarchy is irresponsible and Nepal´s mainstream democratic parties such as Nepali Congress and UML are succumbed to it. But if they fail to change their party policies with the new direction of the nation because they despise Maoist party and plot Maoist failure it will be unfortunate not only to their politics but to the nation and people of Nepal.
These are the political parties that Maoists have to remain consistently alert of for honestly advocating the norms and principle of people-oriented modern democracy with the maximum politics of consensus and the practice of doable electoral democratic process.
If Maoists can honestly accomplish the maximum politics of consensus and the practice of doable electoral democratic process (I think the Prime Minister and Maoist Chairman Prachand is capable of) Maoists can successfully lead the nation with the people oriented policies and programs.
There are no other ways for Maoists to be successful – politics of intimation or dictatorship. Therefore, they must entirely give up their threatening politics and eccentric method of political stand-off because the people have given them responsibility for building the nation as their last hope. They must be honestly serious in implementing norms and principles of people-oriented modern democracy with the rule of law abolishing the tradition of feudal impunity and party politics of hierarchy.
For example, their Young Communist League (YCL) must run under the rule of law. As everyone if YCL breach the law they must be brought to justice. It is rather Maoist should set the example so that other political parties such as Nepali Congress and UML cannot rescue their cadres if they breach the law. It is not guaranteed that NC and UML cadres are not vulnerable.
People can agree no more with the integration of "People´s Liberation Army of Maoists party" who dedicated their life during the civil war or Maoist Revolution in the national military force. PLA militia must be honored but with the maximum politics of consensus. But if NC as a second major political party opposes then PLA integration can be sanctioned with the majority vote of Constituent Assembly. This is how PLA integration can help implement people-oriented modern democracy and peace. This is how feudal-minded old-fashioned democratic parties´ outcry gimmicks can be mortified.
Nevertheless, the demand of the International Human Rights Watch must also be enforced to bring those individuals to justice who committed human rights violence during twelve years civil war. May they be the cadres of Maoists or members of PLA or Armed Police Force or Nepal Army or government executives? But the establishment of the people-oriented modern democracy must soon or later eradicate the culture of impunity.
Similarly, the government cabinet ruled political tradition of nomination for the political appointments must be instated with the practice of doable electoral democratic process to make appointments people-oriented so that appointed CEOS become responsible ethically to the people and nation rather than their political parties.
Therefore, it should be mandatory to process such appointments, for instance, appointment of the vice chairman of National Planning Commission Dr. Pitamber Sharma, through the commission of the Constituent Assembly hearing. It will be the perpetuation of politics of arbitration of old regimes if the doable electoral process is not set for all political appointments. The process in fact honors the qualified nominees like Dr. Sharma with the assertion of legitimacy.
The politics of party-leader-hierarchy that the most of main political parties such as NC and UML are organized of on their intra-party level must come to an end with the establishment of people-oriented modern democracy. This means a political party can establish nationwide primary party memberships free of charge and those members vote in general elections and party primary elections to nominate (if ever it required) party representatives to compete in the local, state and federal general elections.
On the intra-party level party must set delegates for each electoral constituent as per the federal structure of the states – electoral constituent level, local government level, state level and central level party organizations. The delegates of each state of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal must represent the central organization of the party such as NC´S Central Working Committee, UML´S Central Committee and Maoist´s Central Secretariat. Every major decision of the central organization of the party ought to be determined with the votes of these delegates even though party can nominate party´s honorable leaders in the local, state and central organization levels.
It is the responsibility of the main political parties to set the example of their intra-party organization as per the restructuring of the state into federal system. If the nation is restructured but party remain dominated by the politics of party-leader-hierarchy then it is anti-democratic. It is the sole responsibility of Maoist party to bring change in its intra-party organization levels to set example for other political parties to follow the path of people-oriented modern democracy.
Nepal must be consistently altered for not to make mistake with its state restructuring design by the Indian federal system, which is devoid of local government mechanism. For example, had Bihar State of India local government mechanism the elected representatives of local government authorities could have alerted state and central governments of India about the structural condition of Koshi barrage; had Nepal local government structure the 2001´s official abolition of Haliya could have been enforced long ago.
Nepal therefore by no means carbon copy Indian federalism sending its bunch of secretaries to seminar in Delhi for learning about federalism. Nepal has to discover its own federal government structure that suits with its physical geography and the diverse demography, which can find a common ground for its national integrity. The Western European federal model (Swiss or Belgium) is the most suitable one for Nepal to establish people-oriented modern democracy that can establish the smallest unit of electoral government with the federal government structure in the local level.
At this point nation´s political interest has taken different direction. It is a question whether Nepal should carry on with the feudal practice or root it out entirely, which demands law enforcement other than the culture of impunity. It is a question of modernization that whether Nepal can address its backwardness with the industrial and technological developments or caved down with the conceit of tradition.
It is a serious challenge for feudal minded mainstream political parties, which are less willing to root out the feudal establishments. But Maoist led government´s policies and programs addressed to the Constituent Assembly by the President have guaranteed a people-oriented modern democracy.
Time will tell how far Maoists will be successful. But it is the responsibility of all – people, political parties and international community to support such policies and programs to be implemented. The feudal moneylenders and landlords, for example, who used to earn parasitically must be rooted out with the law enforcement. For this matter, Nepal Maoist revolution or ´People´s War´ was successful in the rural Nepal.
Democracy that does nothing but only party politics for power particularly for the power of political leaders in party hierarchy is irresponsible and Nepal´s mainstream democratic parties such as Nepali Congress and UML are succumbed to it. But if they fail to change their party policies with the new direction of the nation because they despise Maoist party and plot Maoist failure it will be unfortunate not only to their politics but to the nation and people of Nepal.
These are the political parties that Maoists have to remain consistently alert of for honestly advocating the norms and principle of people-oriented modern democracy with the maximum politics of consensus and the practice of doable electoral democratic process.
If Maoists can honestly accomplish the maximum politics of consensus and the practice of doable electoral democratic process (I think the Prime Minister and Maoist Chairman Prachand is capable of) Maoists can successfully lead the nation with the people oriented policies and programs.
There are no other ways for Maoists to be successful – politics of intimation or dictatorship. Therefore, they must entirely give up their threatening politics and eccentric method of political stand-off because the people have given them responsibility for building the nation as their last hope. They must be honestly serious in implementing norms and principles of people-oriented modern democracy with the rule of law abolishing the tradition of feudal impunity and party politics of hierarchy.
For example, their Young Communist League (YCL) must run under the rule of law. As everyone if YCL breach the law they must be brought to justice. It is rather Maoist should set the example so that other political parties such as Nepali Congress and UML cannot rescue their cadres if they breach the law. It is not guaranteed that NC and UML cadres are not vulnerable.
People can agree no more with the integration of "People´s Liberation Army of Maoists party" who dedicated their life during the civil war or Maoist Revolution in the national military force. PLA militia must be honored but with the maximum politics of consensus. But if NC as a second major political party opposes then PLA integration can be sanctioned with the majority vote of Constituent Assembly. This is how PLA integration can help implement people-oriented modern democracy and peace. This is how feudal-minded old-fashioned democratic parties´ outcry gimmicks can be mortified.
Nevertheless, the demand of the International Human Rights Watch must also be enforced to bring those individuals to justice who committed human rights violence during twelve years civil war. May they be the cadres of Maoists or members of PLA or Armed Police Force or Nepal Army or government executives? But the establishment of the people-oriented modern democracy must soon or later eradicate the culture of impunity.
Similarly, the government cabinet ruled political tradition of nomination for the political appointments must be instated with the practice of doable electoral democratic process to make appointments people-oriented so that appointed CEOS become responsible ethically to the people and nation rather than their political parties.
Therefore, it should be mandatory to process such appointments, for instance, appointment of the vice chairman of National Planning Commission Dr. Pitamber Sharma, through the commission of the Constituent Assembly hearing. It will be the perpetuation of politics of arbitration of old regimes if the doable electoral process is not set for all political appointments. The process in fact honors the qualified nominees like Dr. Sharma with the assertion of legitimacy.
The politics of party-leader-hierarchy that the most of main political parties such as NC and UML are organized of on their intra-party level must come to an end with the establishment of people-oriented modern democracy. This means a political party can establish nationwide primary party memberships free of charge and those members vote in general elections and party primary elections to nominate (if ever it required) party representatives to compete in the local, state and federal general elections.
On the intra-party level party must set delegates for each electoral constituent as per the federal structure of the states – electoral constituent level, local government level, state level and central level party organizations. The delegates of each state of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal must represent the central organization of the party such as NC´S Central Working Committee, UML´S Central Committee and Maoist´s Central Secretariat. Every major decision of the central organization of the party ought to be determined with the votes of these delegates even though party can nominate party´s honorable leaders in the local, state and central organization levels.
It is the responsibility of the main political parties to set the example of their intra-party organization as per the restructuring of the state into federal system. If the nation is restructured but party remain dominated by the politics of party-leader-hierarchy then it is anti-democratic. It is the sole responsibility of Maoist party to bring change in its intra-party organization levels to set example for other political parties to follow the path of people-oriented modern democracy.
Nepal must be consistently altered for not to make mistake with its state restructuring design by the Indian federal system, which is devoid of local government mechanism. For example, had Bihar State of India local government mechanism the elected representatives of local government authorities could have alerted state and central governments of India about the structural condition of Koshi barrage; had Nepal local government structure the 2001´s official abolition of Haliya could have been enforced long ago.
Nepal therefore by no means carbon copy Indian federalism sending its bunch of secretaries to seminar in Delhi for learning about federalism. Nepal has to discover its own federal government structure that suits with its physical geography and the diverse demography, which can find a common ground for its national integrity. The Western European federal model (Swiss or Belgium) is the most suitable one for Nepal to establish people-oriented modern democracy that can establish the smallest unit of electoral government with the federal government structure in the local level.