Within five decades long course of political evolution, the country’s overall political development has passed through several rounds of extremism – particularly the organized student movements. Whoever is in the opposition, the destruction of public property and disturbing normal life seems to be the only powerful political instrument to press the government of the day. Having grown up in a destructive political environment, Nepalese political culture revolves around conflicts and violence. With over 42 percent of population below the poverty line and 50 percent illiterate, formulating liberal democratic culture is not an easy task
By KESHAB POUDEL
As soon as a government vehicle entered into Lagankhel area in front of Machhindra Campus on 29 January, 2004, a day when seven student organizations had called Lalitpur Bandh (general strike), a group of youths stopped the vehicle and ordered the driver to get out of the car. In a dramatic move, the youths then lit the match and set fire at the vehicle destroying a public property and allowing country’s scarce resources to go into flames.
Within ten minutes, youths affiliated with the five agitating political parties witnessed the four wheel car turn into ashes. Till the time police arrived at the scene and used lathi to disperse them, other three taxis were badly damaged by the same youths.
Similarly, a group of students destroyed another public car in front of Tri Chandra Campus. Owned by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a state-owned enterprise, the car needs at least a million rupees to repair.
Cases of destruction do not end here as other group of students light fire on a public car near the premises of Amrit Campus. Some students destroyed a vehicle owned by Nepal Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) elsewhere.
In all these cases, the police arrested three dozen students involved in the rampant vandalism. As usual, Home Ministry spokesperson Gopendra Bahadur Pandey declared in his regular press briefing that these students were released following the investigation.
Pandey did not disclose on what ground these students were released but this has been a regular practice for the last twelve years. Whether it is under the direct rule of King or democratic rule, it does not make any difference to the law breakers. The role of the police seems to be confined to arrest agitating students and to release them after certain hours.
Such practices encourage law breaker youths particularly students. Following the major student movement of 1979, the students are able to grab the concession from the state authority and the student agitators are immune from laws. “In the name of political agitation, you are allowed to destroy everything and secure immunity against law,” said a legal practitioner.
Even if those students are charged of sedition and other offense, they are confident that their prison term will not last long. In every political negotiation, whether it is with mainstream political parties or the Maoists, the talks open with demands to release them, which are swiftly met.
“When student leaders and other agitators know fully about this reality, they will not mind engaging in whatever actions they like. This psychology will have long term effect in society,” said a sociologist. “You can easily encourage youths to break the law but it will take many more years to bring deviated students into the right track and teach them about the sanctity of laws.”
According to Home Ministry, agitating students have already destroyed 26 public cars in the course of political agitation against the regression. The monetary worth of these cars alone is about Rs. 50 to 60 million or around 1 million US dollar. If one gauges the total economic damage done by the student unions including the economic cost of Bandh, it will go much higher.
This is just a damage of a month of relatively peaceful agitation conducted by five mainstream political parties. The country has lost economic cost worth of more than Rs.100 billion in the political violence of mainstream political parties (Excluding the damage done by Maoist).
“If the total damage of caused by Maoist insurgency is included, it will appear irrecoverable for the country for many decades to come,” said a senior official at the Home Ministry.
Even then, economic damages might be recovered once the country reverts back to its normal cycle and pace in the overall development but the question remains: how can we change the behavior of those who have already deviated and defied the rule of law.
“Since we are struggling to restore democratic process to right track, such destruction is nothing compared to the cost of values we want to restore in the country,” said Gagan Thapa, president of Nepal Student Union. “We will continue our efforts till democracy is completely restored.”
Plenty of Acts No Respite
Although there are plenty of acts to stop/punish offenders, every government compromises at the time of political negotiations. The major parties including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (Democratic) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party – which are in the race for political power, do not realize what moral ground they will have next time to denounce such violence acts committed by others.
Public Offense Act, Anti-terrorism Act and Civil Code Act has numerous clauses to penalize the offenders; what is lacking is the willingness to follow the rule of law. Even if the local administration and police administration file the case, the government, under its special privilege, withdraws the charges.
In the last many years, the role of every government seemed to be that of withdrawing charges slapped against the offenders who destroy public property and violate the rule of law. The situation is that even criminals were released in the political pay roll.
There is immunity to the politically backed students and youths and one does not need to follow the law in course of any political agitation. “Challenging the rules and laws seems to be first criteria of exercising the freedom,” said a lawyer.
“We do not want to take any students in detention since the government will finally issue an order to release them. What is the use of law at a time when we are compelled to release those who have been brutally killing our colleagues in uniform,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. “Frustrated by the actions and slogans of students and polices of the governments, many police officers just want to fulfill their formal duties.”
This is not for the first time when the students and other political leaders are taking their issues to the street and encouraging the youths and party workers to go for destruction of public property.
During the period of elected and accountable prime ministers, destruction of public property continued to be a game of politics and lawlessness virtually existed everywhere. Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, the country’s youths continued to be groomed under the culture of violence and amid extremist parties – which did not have any faith in the liberal democracy – who led the political course. Upsurge of Maoist violence and growing attacks on the educational institutions have turned the situation from bad to worse.
“Students and youths are the power of the country and they have to take all necessary actions to restore the democratic process in the country,” said former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala addressing a gathering of students.
Although the liberal democratic system survives in the rule of law, the whole political culture is pushing the country towards the rule of jungle. There is a tendency to ignore the law and take other course.
Violence In Media
Students, trade union leaders and political activists are not alone to follow the course of violence. The media, which is supposed to enjoy its freedom under the rule of law and exercise tolerance, also seems to be following the same course. Whether in covering the news and expressing the views, the media does not mind encouraging the culture of anarchy.
Although there are public and private media, both of them are taking similar lines and the difference is just whose side it is taking. The government owned media is encouraging violence denouncing the agitators and supporting the authorities whereas the private media denounce the security forces treating students’ acts of destruction of public property and limiting individual freedom as acts of heroism. These characters are only adding fuel to the fire and promoting the culture of lawlessness.
Despite the fierce battle against each other to prove itself as more nationalist, the media owned by Nepalese nationals is not acting in much different manner in using provocative languages and actions than the media run under the foreign investment.
Interestingly, the culture of lawlessness seems to be common in the battle of journalists as shown by recent incidents where some of the groups pelted stones at the building as well as burnt the copies of The Himalayan Times, a newspaper with Indian investment. Whether political leaders, student leaders or media owners, every one prefers to embrace extreme path.
Constitutional Means Vs Anti-constitutional Means
Political parties in the opposition are not alone to promote the culture of lawlessness but public authorities who have to exercise their authority taking maximum level of cautions, too, are ignoring this basic spirit of rule of law.
In the name of controlling the corruption, the Commission of Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) seems to have secured a license to cross any legal and/or constitutional limits. The CIAA has already arrested more than five dozens of politicians and former senior civil servants in corruption related cases asking them huge amount of money in bail so that a person accused of corruption would have to end his life in prison.
At a time when the country does not have popularly accountable government, there is possibility to violate the rule of law by such unaccountable bodies. In the course of political development, people at large, too, would gradually suffer the violation of their rights. At a time when the institution of judiciary is yet to defend the rights of individual, power without accountability is always prone to misuse the power.
Liberalism and Extremism
Extremism, in any form, cannot go together with liberal democratic process since liberal democracy survives on the very essence of rule of law, tolerance and patience. Once the fundamentals of liberal democracy are compromised under the pressure of extremism and violence, no democracy can stabilize.
Although political leaders, intellectuals and so called member of civil society encouraged the students and youths to break the law in 1990 on the ground that then political system was despotic, the practice adopted to overthrow the Panchayat system was similarly applied to all the governments formed after 1990. Extremism seems to be in the blood of certain Nepalese intellectuals and politicians, who express their opinion without analyzing the future consequences. They always talk about Utopian system rather than system based on reality.
No government survived peacefully in the system, which was destabilized during the political process of 1990. The first Congress majority government led by Girija Prasad Koirala did not find it easy to govern during its three and a half years of tenure when it had to face a number of violent demonstrations. Similarly, nine months long communist government, too, faced violent pressures from the opposition including the Nepali Congress and Rastriya Prajatantra Party.
The last government of Girija Prasad Koirala ended up facing the continued standoff in the parliamentary session for 64 days and several rounds of general strikes and violent demonstrations launched by five parties including the RPP led by the present prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa.
By breaking the laws and inciting the violence, what political parties have succeeded in teaching Nepalese youths is that: the force of destruction always prevails rather than a constructive approach.
Launched under the leadership of the country’s oldest liberal democratic party, an octogenarian and experienced leader Girija Prasad Koirala, whose commitment to the democracy is unchallenged, ongoing political agitation, too, has become destructive in nature.
No Restraint
Except the party and individuals in power, nobody seems to be interested in applying restraint. The role of opposition is always to follow the path of lawlessness and violence.
Despite holding the absolute majority in the parliament, no government was able to fulfill its full tenure and formulate the policy as per its wish. From blocking the parliamentary session to agitating at the street and calling general strike, the opposition parties resorted to every possible means to dislodge the government of the day.
Even after the restoration of political process, the country would have to see similar situation like in the past. The experiences of other countries have shown that political evolution is a long term and painful process. More the extremists prevail; difficult it is to achieve the successful liberal democracy.
Feudal Character
Liberal democracy can flourish only in a country where the economic growth rate is relatively high and there are strong modern institutions as well as favorable geographical locations.
Based on the traditional feudalistic society with low per capita income, low literacy and virtually non-existent modern institutions make the process of political evolution more difficult in countries like Nepal. Most importantly, Nepal’s geographical location – sandwiched between two Asian powers, India on the South and China on the north – has added complications.
Since the two Asian giants India and China are, openly or secretly, competing with each other in the international sphere including in the region, the countries like Nepal has to suffer.
Peace and stability are prerequisite of transformation of feudalistic system and economic growth, harmony and tolerance are the basis to develop the political culture required to evolve liberal democratic system.
At a time when youths are being groomed under the shadow of extremism, lawlessness and violence, it will take a long time to see the emergence of fulfilling new democratic system in Nepal. By encouraging student leaders and youths to harp republican slogans, political leaders are creating more gaps with the stable monarchy undermining the consequences of destabilization of country’s oldest institution.
Faces of Extremism
Students and youths are not alone to harp the agenda of extremism and lawlessness. Intellectuals, university professors and senior political leaders, too, are equally responsible.
A university professor, retired or active, does not mind to express extreme views supporting any act of vandalism touting it as a symbol of revolution. From medical practitioners to so called political ideologues, representing extremist side or liberal democratic side, all are speaking the same language justifying the vandalism and anarchy.
“The student leaders are showing the way to the political leaders who often end their political agitation in compromise. Even if students burn the entire city for the cause of democracy, there is no question to condemn them,” said a senior retired professor of Tribhuwan University, who claims to be a supporter of Nepali Congress. “We do not need a state of all these traditional institutions.”
There is no dearth of such irresponsible professors and intellectuals, whose minds are unstable at best. Such intellectuals and professors only realize the wrong on the parts of such agitation when they themselves are victimized.
Conclusion
After the decision of five agitating student unions to take the present violence into the classrooms of schools, the country will enter into a new phase of extremism. At a time when more the 30 percent of rural population is facing one kind of extremism at their neighborhood, the relatively peaceful urban schools will now have to face another dose of extremism and violence wrapped in the sugar-coat of democracy and to be delivered by the student wings of five agitating parties who claim to be champions of democracy and liberalism.
If the situation continues, the country will neither have any environment to flourish the liberal democratic process nor can it achieve a long lasting peace for economic growth.