I am honestly tired of asking myself why on earth this man called Parmananda Jha is behaving the way he is. Well it is none of my concern why someone is this way or that way but this guy's stubbornness is creating ground for confrontations in my country where too many people have nothing to do and so many are looking for something to do, why not it be causing destructions, for in the rule of a namesake government life is not promoted and thus starts searching for its identity in ways that can often become destructive for life itself in the long run. Thus jobless youths tired of asking themselves what they are good for, what they are worth and what they at all can, often go all out for potentially harmful confrontations. Amidst such a background it is at least irresponsible what Mr. Jha is doing.
It is an issue but...
...again, it is indeed an issue whether regional languages should be listed under official languages of a country. That said it is a very complicated issue. If we call all the regional languages of Nepal official languages, then we run into the next question of whether we give all languages a status equal to the Nepali language. That will include things like whether we should start having official documents in all the languages, for else one document that originates from the Terai might be in a language that is not understandable to a hilly area (or vice versa), thereby limiting the movement of people for reasons of employment and otherwise. Such practice will potentially cause regional identity to be promoted, and this will lead to our country being a collection of smaller population groups that fail to mix up with each other. Given the strong interest of giant neighbours in our country, social groupism would be very fertile ground and if such things happen further I would not negate possibilities of parts of our country being found under the maps of another country in the textbooks of the future.
Now one might ask why not have different languages within the same country and mix up with each other. After all India survives as a nation although regionalism is immensely strong there, why should it not be good for Nepal? As long as regions survive as more or less stable economic subunits of a nation, the problem usually does not manifest and social integrity maintains itself but as the economy sways (and it does in the free market economy model) latent social conflicts manifest themselves and such things can become mighty ugly. We have heard of the Maharashtrians chasing away poor Biharis who had moved to Mumbai for jobs!
Then in face of the talks of a federal structure, I believe it is important that we drop language demands at least for now. I believe so because raising the issue of language at the same time of the issue of how to divide the country into states might confuse us and we might end up with language-based states. The problem with this is that because regional languages have a strong geographical component, dividing the country based on language will be equivalent to dividing based on geography. We might then have the Terai constituted of a few states, some valleys might become states, and the hills will be the rest. Now the hilly areas of Nepal are seriously underdeveloped. Not that they do not have potential but ours being a poor country with a corrupt administration, we have virtually no infrastructure for the people in the hills, agricultural activity in the hills is limited in terms of possibilities and production, and because of lack of essential infrastructure like means of transport, electricity etc. 1. hardly any jobs are placed in the hills 2. noone likes to go and work there. Therefore having states that are constituted of hills alone will potentially produce big differences between states in terms of economy and social aspects dependent on it. One might argue that in a federal system the central government will be there to take care and minimize such differences between states. We don't believe, do we, that political leaders of the current mindset and it's products will be able to rise up above their own regional issues and think at a national level? I mean look at the responses of political parties and individual leaders to the Jha issue. People have spoken against the court's decisions and even doing so they simply escape just like that...
Let's give it all together a serious thought, eh?
As if there are no more imminent issues in the war-torn country with failed governnance and an ever growing anarchist mentality, we are really giving too much attention to the Jha issue.
And then still it is an issue. Jha is still the vice-president and we need to figure out how to get away with this problem. No point going about as he and his supporters have been doing. A political solution is needed that is legally sound too. Now that is the tricky part. The Supreme Court has spoken and Jha seems not to listen. Can we ask the Supreme Court to reverse its decision? Theoretically the Parliament could discuss the issue and come up with an amendment of the constitution. In that way the tension would be diffused. But then that is not how we want our constitution to be, malleable to demands of a stubborn VP or unreasonable groups, is it? Even if we think of the amendment as a potential way out it is not likely that there would be consensus required for a change in the constitution. Therefore the court's decision cannot change and Jha will have to retake his oath if he wants to stay VP. Else resign on moral grounds and work from outside for gathering support on his issues.
Jha has however been saying that he won't take the oath again. And there is some political backing that he has got. It is nonsense what they are doing and I can think of no good motif to what's going on, but it is the way it is and if the VP does as he is saying, namely not resign and not retake the oath, we run into a weird crisis. In that case the VP would be a criminal of the law but then with the backing he has and the potential of conflicts we need to find a solution. To me there is one way out of this by which all parties can escape without losing dignity and that is for the VP and political parties to sit together with the government and for the government to promise to start discussions for making regional languages official in the next constitution, and that in such a situation Jha retakes the oath in Nepali and we move towards problems like the diarrhoes, landmines, illiteracy, high crime rates etc.
If Jha did not resign and did not take the oath, a confrontation might take place. Of course such real confrontation would also produce a result. But it's ugly isn't it? And then why should some heads that were in fact not a part of the problem in the first place get hurt. More importantly such confrontantions leave traces for the future propagating further confrontational sentiments.
Hope
Let's hope Mr. Jha is not an agent operating for foreign interests. Let's hope he understands the seriousness of the issue and that he retakes the oath in Nepali and helps avoid a confrontation whose preparations he has been fuelling. Let's hope he realises he has been on the wrong side of nationality with his stubbornness at such a crucial time. And no I don't expect him to state it in open that he made a mistake. It is enough if he realized silently for himself and changed him for the better. After all we want to respect our VP and have him beyond regional issues.
raktim.nepali@gmail.com
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Thursday 20 August 2009
Shame on us all!
It has been a while since I posted on this blog. Some things have happened, but they have not been very novel and have been shameful. Let's go for a quick review.
Many of the poorest of Nepalis who have shamefully been failed by the state died and are dying of a disease caused by the lack of basic sanitation. It just makes my hairs stand and hurts deep within to know that I have been busy surfing the internet while a mother carries a sick baby to an unmanned health centre hours away and arrives with a little corpse. Shame on me!
Our health minister deserves special mention for his trip to Germany for a conference on federalism amidst such scenes in the far west. Shame on you, Mr. Minister! And then he tried to escape saying that the cabinet was not supportive. Pleasse give your mouth some time off and think in silence- do you really think it is alright the way you have been as a health minister?
Several of our ministers have been traveling to Delhi sometimes amidst rumours that weapons are being bought and at other times that some trade treaties will be signed. The common people have no clue what's going on. Ministers speak dubious statements as to whether weapons are being imported. The press writes different things. And no one really knows what's going on, do they? In any case, we do deserve statements from those who like to call themselves the ruling leaders. And for failing us- Shame Mr. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. Shame on you! You are failing the people all the time, and search refuge in lame excuses. Shame, shame, shame!
Mr. Parmananda Jha has blatantly rejected the decision of the supreme court that he should take the oath of office in Nepali. And the Madhes-based parties have been supporting him in this. Even younger generation people are doing the same. Shame on you all. Please ask yourself- how can we talk of establishing the rule of law with the same mouth that shouts condemnation against court decisions? The court has decided based on the constitution. And negating court decisions is seriously dangerous. Do we not have enough of anarchy and lawlessness already? Why, Mr. Jha, you being a justice yourself, are you willing to play with the sentiments of the people? Why? Shame on you. I am truly ashamed of you. Please take your time to digest the fact that you have stepped over the same law, protecting which you made your living! Shame on you!
And madhesi parties and students- it is indeed a genuine matter that regional languages should be accepted as official languages. I read somewhere the other day that the Jha issue should not be blown out of proportion because he has signed the oath in Nepali anyway. Perhaps the law should come up with something like that- that as long as the Nepali statement is signed, the spoken oath can take place in any language. Well in any case, it is a case of having to change the law. And the court is not there for that. Who should know this better than Mr. Jha and he has failed to express this to the Madhesi people. The court is there to keep the law, to change it is the job of the lawmakers, the parliamentarians. So why go about condemning the court rather than holding discussions with political entities as to resolving such issues in the next constitution. So shame on you all who condemned the court. Shame, shame, shame.
The Maoists have said they want to go for the next uprising. Lets see what they want to do. But they have clearly been overtaken by the desire for power. That is there to see. It has been more than a few months since they started declaring the current government is seeing it's last days. Why are you so obsessed about the age of the current government? True that mistakes were made. True that whether MK Nepal is a worthy leader is questionable. But it is also true that the current government has a majority. Why not accept it for the sake of accepting legality of the current political system? So shame on you!
And then there is something that is absolutely unacceptable. When Prachanda talks about making a national government, he claims this and that coalition partner is not happy with the current government. Then he adds- I will talk with Girija Babu etc. about it all. Now this is a very filthy practice. He is literally reducing the Maoists to himself and the Congress to Girija Prasad Koirala. This is dangerous! Not all of us who voted for the Congress voted for Girija Babu or those of us who voted for the Maoists voted for Prachanda. We vote out of belief for a party and so it would be only fair if parties held consultations and not individuals. Individual consultations let our political parties be split and ruled by intent players like Mahamahim Sood. The MJF split is still fresh, isn't it? So shame on all parties for allowing one or two of their so-called leaders to essentially dictate them. Shame on Girija for the way he promotes Sujata. And shame on Sujata. Well I think I should take back the last shame statement. I read an interview of Sujata and realized that it was an interview where there was no view at all. So perhaps it is not fair to expect her to be shameful.
As long as such shameful things happen in our country, we can forget creating a new prosperous Nepal. And if we are happy with forgetting our dreams of a prosperous Nepal, shame on us. Let us at least try being accountable and making others accountable- starting with our leaders.
As much as I have been suspicious of the ex-King in the past and as much as I hate him for the time of his rule, I have to admit here that I am surprised that he has been very gentlemanly. He doesn't go about making nonsense statements, is consistent with what he says, and has even expressed willingness to pay taxes. So there we go, something positive. Now of course there might be hidden motifs under what he does, but then in a country as dirty as ours, in a politics as filthy as ours and in a society increasingly anarchistic, we need to start with cleaning the surface and then only can we dig into hidden motifs. And at this point, I would love to have an one-to-one session with ex-King Gyanendra. Sometimes I wonder if he seriously means good, although his feudalistic ways are not acceptable to me!
Going for a serious session with myself and my shames, wish that our leaders did the same!
raktim.nepali@gmail.com
Many of the poorest of Nepalis who have shamefully been failed by the state died and are dying of a disease caused by the lack of basic sanitation. It just makes my hairs stand and hurts deep within to know that I have been busy surfing the internet while a mother carries a sick baby to an unmanned health centre hours away and arrives with a little corpse. Shame on me!
Our health minister deserves special mention for his trip to Germany for a conference on federalism amidst such scenes in the far west. Shame on you, Mr. Minister! And then he tried to escape saying that the cabinet was not supportive. Pleasse give your mouth some time off and think in silence- do you really think it is alright the way you have been as a health minister?
Several of our ministers have been traveling to Delhi sometimes amidst rumours that weapons are being bought and at other times that some trade treaties will be signed. The common people have no clue what's going on. Ministers speak dubious statements as to whether weapons are being imported. The press writes different things. And no one really knows what's going on, do they? In any case, we do deserve statements from those who like to call themselves the ruling leaders. And for failing us- Shame Mr. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. Shame on you! You are failing the people all the time, and search refuge in lame excuses. Shame, shame, shame!
Mr. Parmananda Jha has blatantly rejected the decision of the supreme court that he should take the oath of office in Nepali. And the Madhes-based parties have been supporting him in this. Even younger generation people are doing the same. Shame on you all. Please ask yourself- how can we talk of establishing the rule of law with the same mouth that shouts condemnation against court decisions? The court has decided based on the constitution. And negating court decisions is seriously dangerous. Do we not have enough of anarchy and lawlessness already? Why, Mr. Jha, you being a justice yourself, are you willing to play with the sentiments of the people? Why? Shame on you. I am truly ashamed of you. Please take your time to digest the fact that you have stepped over the same law, protecting which you made your living! Shame on you!
And madhesi parties and students- it is indeed a genuine matter that regional languages should be accepted as official languages. I read somewhere the other day that the Jha issue should not be blown out of proportion because he has signed the oath in Nepali anyway. Perhaps the law should come up with something like that- that as long as the Nepali statement is signed, the spoken oath can take place in any language. Well in any case, it is a case of having to change the law. And the court is not there for that. Who should know this better than Mr. Jha and he has failed to express this to the Madhesi people. The court is there to keep the law, to change it is the job of the lawmakers, the parliamentarians. So why go about condemning the court rather than holding discussions with political entities as to resolving such issues in the next constitution. So shame on you all who condemned the court. Shame, shame, shame.
The Maoists have said they want to go for the next uprising. Lets see what they want to do. But they have clearly been overtaken by the desire for power. That is there to see. It has been more than a few months since they started declaring the current government is seeing it's last days. Why are you so obsessed about the age of the current government? True that mistakes were made. True that whether MK Nepal is a worthy leader is questionable. But it is also true that the current government has a majority. Why not accept it for the sake of accepting legality of the current political system? So shame on you!
And then there is something that is absolutely unacceptable. When Prachanda talks about making a national government, he claims this and that coalition partner is not happy with the current government. Then he adds- I will talk with Girija Babu etc. about it all. Now this is a very filthy practice. He is literally reducing the Maoists to himself and the Congress to Girija Prasad Koirala. This is dangerous! Not all of us who voted for the Congress voted for Girija Babu or those of us who voted for the Maoists voted for Prachanda. We vote out of belief for a party and so it would be only fair if parties held consultations and not individuals. Individual consultations let our political parties be split and ruled by intent players like Mahamahim Sood. The MJF split is still fresh, isn't it? So shame on all parties for allowing one or two of their so-called leaders to essentially dictate them. Shame on Girija for the way he promotes Sujata. And shame on Sujata. Well I think I should take back the last shame statement. I read an interview of Sujata and realized that it was an interview where there was no view at all. So perhaps it is not fair to expect her to be shameful.
As long as such shameful things happen in our country, we can forget creating a new prosperous Nepal. And if we are happy with forgetting our dreams of a prosperous Nepal, shame on us. Let us at least try being accountable and making others accountable- starting with our leaders.
As much as I have been suspicious of the ex-King in the past and as much as I hate him for the time of his rule, I have to admit here that I am surprised that he has been very gentlemanly. He doesn't go about making nonsense statements, is consistent with what he says, and has even expressed willingness to pay taxes. So there we go, something positive. Now of course there might be hidden motifs under what he does, but then in a country as dirty as ours, in a politics as filthy as ours and in a society increasingly anarchistic, we need to start with cleaning the surface and then only can we dig into hidden motifs. And at this point, I would love to have an one-to-one session with ex-King Gyanendra. Sometimes I wonder if he seriously means good, although his feudalistic ways are not acceptable to me!
Going for a serious session with myself and my shames, wish that our leaders did the same!
raktim.nepali@gmail.com
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