Their Majesties finally left Narayanhity palace for the last time yesterday evening ending almost 240 years of monarchy in Nepal.
After his first and final press conference, many commented on how well he spoke and how calm and serene he seemed in the midst of all this upheaval. The common refrain in the media was that he didn’t seem troubled at all.
And why should he be.
I am no fan of Gyanendra but I am a staunch Monarchist.
He was just a figurehead of the institution that is the MONARCHY and in the rushed decision of the Constituent Assembly, they have mightily confused the two.
The Economic, Cultural, Historic relevance of a Monarchy seems to be lost on all and what happens to Nepal in the coming years is what should be worrying for the Nepalese people not Gyanendra Shah. So its no wonder that he is not worried.
When the Shah of Iran was deposed people danced in the streets till they realized what they had gotten themselves into. Now many Nepalese are doing the same.
In His Majesty’s last words, "May Lord Pashupatinath look after us", because the Maoists don’t seem to care.
Addressing a public rally in the heart of Kathmandu last week, Maoist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal declared, "We will no longer tolerate criticism as we have been elected by the people." In a tirade against Kantipur Publications he added, "They continuously criticised us before the CA elections, but now we have become the largest party."
Applause greeted Dahal as he advised journalists from other newspapers to think twice before writing anything against the Maoists.
Well Done. It takes either extreme courage or extreme ignorance to applaud your own downfall.
Below is a picture taken at the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly.
A sign of things to come perhaps.
At the CA's first session on 28 May, UML MP Kamala Sharma takes off her shoe to beat NC leader Purna Bahadur Khadka, who she holds responsible for the death of her husband Rishi Prasad Sharma during the election campaign. Khadka's bodyguards shot him.
Sad, the monarchy is over... I have always been proud of the fact that Nepal was the only Hindu kingdom in the world and someday I wanted to go back to my roots...but no longer.
ReplyDeleteThe King is Dead, Long Live the King
The misguided policies of the congress party of India and their allies have added to the woes of all Nepalis. Third class communist leaders like Yechuri were being worshipped by Nepali politicians while gleefully disgracing their own institution of monarchy.
ReplyDeleteIndians of Nepalese orgin are also being harassed in Darjeeling. A statehood is not only rightly deserved but long overdue. The Nepali people should not be so complacent and should form a strong lobby to get things moving for them.
Most of us do agree with you. Monarchy has a certain role in Nepal (specially Nepal!) because of the troubled times ahead. No one should be naive enough to believe that the Maoists carried to the power of governance by their false hopes and lies to the masses can solve the problems of Nepal. Nepal's problem lies deeper than deciding "which political party" should rule the country. Missmanagement for years with increasing debt, missing industrial and agricultural base, rampant corruption, primitive education system and tribal mentality (madhesis vs the rest etc) has but destroyed the country beyond recognition. And we may have not seen the worst yet! We probably will need the King again (even in the form of the rather unpopular Gyanendra!). Now you know why Gyanendra is smiling! I am reminded of the famous lines uttered by the California's actor/governor, Arny, "I'll be back".
ReplyDeleteRaj.