Prachanda's dream and the stuff of kings will not mix

C K Lal

On February the 13th, Maoists celebrated the 13th anniversary of the armed rebellion in Kathmandu with the pageantry befitting a proletarian party seeking to establish a "people's republic". Presumably, such a state will be patterned after North Korea, the sole surviving model of a Maoist republic in the world. Under the benign gaze of Chairman Prachanda, Nepal will then probably begin building better presidential palaces than the gawky Narayanhiti or jinxed Diyalo Bangla constructed by kings. The Maoists will be careful not to emulate the official residence of the prime minister at Baluwatar, reputed to have been intentionally designed by royal astrologers and architects with a flawed feng shui to ensure that its occupant never serves a full term.Unfortunately for Comrade Dahal, nobody in Kathmandu takes his presidential dreams too seriously. The buzz in town is that royal representatives have succeeded in persuading the Indian establishment about the necessity of keeping some form of kingship in Nepal. The delegation of ruling Congress (I) from New Delhi scoffed at all such rumours, but there was no mistaking the body language of Digvijay Singh, a former jagirdar himself, who is believed to be a close confidante of the Uncrowned Empress of India — Sonia Gandhi.StrangleholdImmediately upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport, still named after the grand-father of suspended king Gyanendra, Diggy Raja pointedly told the media that the success of the peace process depended upon everyone faithfully implementing past agreements. What we don't know is that the Sujata Koirala model of cultural monarchy may have been a part of the quadrilateral deal between mainstream parties, Maoists, monarchists and their Indian mediators in New Delhi. If that was so, the future of Constituent Assembly(CA) elections rescheduled for April 10 is probably still uncertain.Speaking at an interaction early this week, Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai urged royalists not to obstruct the polls. His party will have to do more than that to ensure that the elections are held at all. There is no way entrenched interest groups will let an election happen that is sure to dismantle their stranglehold over Nepali society and the state.Royalty"If the King is nationalist, he should help in smooth conduct of the election," Bhattarai reportedly told the audience. BP Koirala had said something similar prior to the referendum in 1980. Events proved how naïve he had been by not learning from history. In the past, almost every hereditary ruler of Nepal, at least since the time of Jang Bahadur, has bowed and scraped before imperial agents in Calcutta and New Delhi to protect their privileges and keep all possible challengers in check. Kings and princes are pragmatic people; they know that nationalism is for the rabble, not for nobles.Gyanendra knows that had Indians not backed his grandfather, he would have been the king in 1950s. He also knows that almost every Rana prime minister and their progenies had to find shelter in India once their time was up. Clearly on the instigation of someone else, Gyanendra overplayed his hand with February 1, 2005 power grab. But that doesn't mean that he hadn't kept his channels of communication with the Indian establishment open. It seems CA elections are impossible unless some space for the suspended king is found in the new scheme of things to come.The idea of the "Baby King" floated by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is a non-starter. Egyptians tried that with King Ahmad Fu'ad, aged 7 months. The baby reigned for less than a year and became the last monarch to ascend the Egyptian throne. With Hridayendra, son of Crown Prince Paras, as Baby King, royalists will have no use for the likes of Girija or Sujata in Baluwatar. At best, they will be politely asked to leave the country, on health grounds of course.The concept of cultural monarchy holds better promise. Long after privy purses of ex-royals were abolished, the Maharaja of Mysore and King of Tehri Garhwal still preside over colourful Dusshera processions. When a young Chogyal was "crowned" in Sikkim, all legislators of the tiny state of India dutifully lined up to offer him khada. In tribal societies, chieftains fulfil an emotional need of identifying oneself with real or imagined glories of the past. Perhaps this is what Herbert Spencer had in mind when he opined that removing monarchy is like snatching the favourite toy from a shrieking child.There are models of rulers without realm. Dalai Lama presides over the Tibetan community spread all over the world. The Syedna is the spiritual leader of all Bohra Muslims with power and prestige worthy of a king. Prince Aga Khan is the hereditary Imam of all Ismaili Muslims. Most Rajputs still defer to the Maharana of Udaipur even though he is just another hotelier in Rajasthan. It's probably possible to have a mention of something like "Emperor of Nepali Jati" or "Gorkhali Samrat" in the interim constitution and give him — or her — the status equivalent to a minister of state. His or Her Majesty can then continue to do business and pay taxes like everyone else. People will be happy to greet them on temple doors and Buddhist stupas.FacilitatorUnless something is done quick time, the D-day of CA elections will turn out to be a mirage once again. The list of political bigwigs doubting elections is impressive. The challenger to Koirala's prime ministerial throne in Nepali Congress party is ex-premier Sher Bahadur Deuba. This is what he says, "The elections cannot be held in the current fragile security situation." Shekhar Koirala, the octogenarian prime minister's nephew, concurs, "As the securitysituation is deteriorating, holding the polls is impossible." Home Minister Krishna Prasad Situala warns that the country will get into a deeper crisis if elections are not held on schedule. Prachanda threatens to launch a stir if polls are once again scuttled. Who are these worthies talking to? They need to be part of the solution rather than add to the mounting problems of Prime Minister Koirala.The last agreement between warring parties of Nepal was reputed to have been facilitated by Sitaram Yechury. Probably the new agreement will require the initiative of Rajnath Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party, an outfit that has been backed by kings of Nepal since its Jan Sangh days. The Royal Palace in Kathmandu is eagerly waiting for the arrival of a BJP team in the country.The writer is a commentator and columnist based in Kathmandu.

Source: Mail Today, February 16, 2008