The process of metamorphosis of Nepali society will continue until freedom is assured and protected

By Yurendra Basnett

Tocqueville once remarked, ‘I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it.’ And so does the sentiment reverberate in Nepal beyond the physical boundaries, forming a human chain, if you may, across the globe. But how does one comprehend such a phenomena? Do we, existing in our own petty follies, place it under the carpets (as we seem to do so often) and tuck ourselves to the comforts of our rugs? Or do we make peace with our own contradictions? What one does is predicated by how one places oneself in the larger scheme of things. But prior to probing into such contentions, we must first comprehend the phenomenon that engulfs the nation.

The cliché, so apt in the contemporary affairs of Nepal – ‘there can be no smoke without the fire’ – begs acknowledgement. While the fire (metaphorically speaking), flickers and seeks expression, it, nonetheless, has managed to rekindle the hearts of many; and hence, a force to be contended with. In a more mundane parlance, we are witnessing the ‘politics of anti-politics’. Though this concept carries with it a whole range of explanatory power, here, it is specifically used to describe the participation of ‘civil society’ in the recent movement for democracy ushered by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and backed by the political consent of the Maoist. But seldom do common men, in the history of a nation, put down their tools with which they earn their daily bread and take part in something much larger than life. So, what fuels the fire that intoxicate the heart and numb the mind, arousing the courage and passion, of these humble souls, to undertake a journey that of the hero’s and martyr’s?

Regrettably, those that forget history are cursed to repeat it. Empires
and armies that attempted to usurp freedom have inevitably succumbed to it.

Standing at the crossroads, the ancient and not-so-ancient political martyrs of this nation twist in their grave with the formidable echo of freedom, which once more drum the psyche of the nation. It is not ideology, power or structure that has had the profound affect of uniting mankind. They may have, but only gained a fleeting existence. The quintessential yearning for freedom continues to be the indefatigable force nurtured by mankind. So basic it is and so natural it is that one need only turn the pages of history to find a plethora of its testimony. And yet, regrettably, those that forget history are cursed to repeat it. Empires and armies that attempted to usurp freedom have inevitably succumbed to it. And civilization emerged to its glorious forms, through the course of history, only on the basis of assuring a greater degree of freedom and liberty to the one it replaced. Our nation is no different to any other and this ‘law of mankind’ that forms the very basis of any nation applies here too.

The common man takes part in this movement not merely for ideology, power or structure. The quest is to protect freedom, both tangible and intangible: freedom from hunger to freedom from oppression. When such freedoms are curbed, and when one is denied the opportunity to seek such forms of freedom, it necessitates utilization of one’s agency to assuage one’s deprivation. Humans in general have the ability to cope with adverse situations, but this coping mechanism has its limitation beyond which it is left with no alternative other than to ‘fight for its basic rights’. And hence, we see and observe, under the smoke, the ‘whispers of freedom’, expressed with passion and fraternity.

The political movement initiated by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) has moved beyond being merely political. The political parties have gained, in the course, a new legitimacy, which had been lost or had waned depending on one’s political orientation. However, what is important to underscore is that the political parties (the SPA) are themselves in the course of being re-baptized. They may retain their names, but the movement will have a profound effect on their own political orientation. How they will be oriented or what its outcome will be is difficult to predict. But to retain the new found legitimacy it must listen to the masses. And the masses have a message in the form of a whisper that the political parties must listen hard in order to hear. Moreover, the recent movement, more than mere political objectives, must foster the middle ground and pacify the extreme forces in order to remain significant and legitimate.

Undermining these whispers, in the conundrum of noise that the recent movement has created, will not allow the nation to be in peace. And, therefore, as we get overwhelmed by recent development, a cautionary note must be struck. Failure to listen to these whispers posits grave consequences to the nation and the state, beyond the achievement of the objectives of the political movement. Revolutions of different forms, as observed through history, have at times achieved its political objectives. But failure to assure and protect freedoms to its people has inevitably succumbed to counterrevolutions.

Therefore, to the torch bearers of democracy that stand on the shoulders of the nation – while you gaze with one eye on the future of the nation with hope and optimism, let the other eye not lose sight of the shoulders that you stand on. They are of none other than that of the commons, who have put down their tools and forgotten about their bread today so that you could be supported. You have once in the past forgotten the shoulders that you stood on. Failure to do so again will render you to the abyss of political graveyard.

Finally, as the nation goes through a Hegelian metamorphosis, it is once again placed in a critical juncture. What will be the outcome of this particular metamorphosis is difficult to caricature. However, what can be said with certainty is that the process of metamorphosis will continue not till the establishment of communism as Marx elucidated in his seminal works, but till freedom is assured and protected. Nation and States exist uncontested only when freedoms to its people is guaranteed and protected. It is, therefore, imperative that the present movement led by SPA does not lose sight of this – to do so will only push the nation into deeper chaos. And, to all those concerned – listen to the whispers of the nation under the conundrum of noise and smoke. The secret of the fire that burns and the fuel that fuels the fire lies in these whispers.

(Basnett is a post-graduate student at the London School of Economics.Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected])

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