King's Birthday Fiasco

King Gyanendra is the luckiest king of Shah dynasty to have lived for sixty years. Since King Prithvi Narayan Shah, no king has lived so long (and you thought Nepal's low life expectancy is due to poverty only?) Whether or not King Gyanendra will remain as the king is still in the hands of Constituent Assembly, but even as a general citizen he enjoys the right to celebrate his diamond-jubilee birthday and throw a party as per his wish. When the news about the king throwing party for over thousand people at a hotel in the capital spread like a wildfire, not many raised their brows. However, when all the "who's who of the society" started receiving invitations, some on behalf of Queen Aishwarya and some on behalf of Crown Prince Paras, the people got alarmed. The birthday party was suddenly considered as a royal ploy to taste the political clout of the king. Hence, rejection.

Diplomatic corps have proved their talent to sniff the political connotation of the king's invitation. The European ambassadors expressed their opinion collectively through British Ambassador Dr Andrew Hall that at this particular time their participation does not "send a helpful signal". Outgoing US ambassador James F Moriarty said his attendance "would not serve any useful purpose". Similarly, Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee had plain "not going" message to the king. These statements send a very powerful message in favor of Nepal's democracy and the Nepali people. The democratic world deserves a standing ovation from all those who embrace plural values and foster democracy. It is now almost certain that except for some exceptions, all other diplomatic missions will be busy sending RSVP to the royal palace.

The message is loud and clear. The king's resurgence is not possible in Nepal. Neither political party nor foreign forces nor the general public is ready to accept the king who imposed autocratic rule for over a year before bowing out to the pressure of people's movement on April 24th, 2006. The birthday party also exposed king's henchmen Swami Prapannacharya, Dr Durga Pokharel and others who have shamelessly drafted a citation terming King Gyanendra as the one who awarded democracy to this country, and as the only source of national integrity and stability. People certainly feel pity on such apologists. It is also an opportunity for the parties in the government to prove their stance on monarchy. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has rightfully and tacitly urged the king to quit, respecting the people's demand. He has also urged all the feudal fiats to support the constituent assembly election that would draft the constitution for a new Nepal. So, it is almost certain that the king's birthday party is going to be a fiasco.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, July 6, 2007