By Shashi P.B.B. Malla

Lately there have been some peculiar attacks on the movement and very concept of restoring the Hindu Monarchy and all that it entails.

At the same time, the same antagonists are very vociferous about defending the current political dispensation and equating it with the ‘citadel democracy’.

Writing in The Kathmandu Post, Bishal Thapa argues that “Nepal’s civil society must guard against the broader risks from the growing pro-monarchy movement” (April 25).

Shri Thapa must be living in his own dream world, because the Nepali civil society that he has conjured up doesn’t exist at all.

Thapa Ji also attempts to convey the impression that a ‘Hindu Monarchy’ would be a mortal danger to the very existence of the Nepali state, i.e. if the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) succeeds in its machinations “there may be no Nepal for the monarchy to save.”

Thapa himself paints a very dire picture of the state of the nation – the very ‘Himalayan Republic’ that he champions.

He writes: “Across Nepal, a deep moral decay appears to be seeping in. We have normalised corruption….

“Our social fabric has become the system, just as corrupt, unjust and unequal.”

However, Thapa Ji is unwilling to delve into the problem of accountability – those responsible for this state of affairs.

Where remains the vaunted Nepali civil society?

Instead Thapa laments: “Where are our religious and spiritual leaders when we need them the most?”

Unfortunately, we do not have the equivalent of the Roman Catholic Pope.

Thapa hopes that ordinary Nepalese will/can force their political leadership to perform better.

Therefore, he sees a prosperous federal democratic republic as our best and last hope.

If that is really the case – and Thapa has no valid and convincing arguments – then we are truly lost.

Fortunately, many Nepalese have not given up hope – they are willing to work side by side with a restored Constitutional Monarch to rebuild the nation themselves.

“Nostalgia & Senile Romanticism Toward Monarchy”

The second article in Republica by Sudeep Marasini attacks the Monarchy (without distinguishing between the absolute and constitutional variants) from a different angle (April 25).

Like Thapa, Marasini does recognize the ills of the current Himalayan Republic and the “profound disillusionment with incumbent politicians” and their “kakistocratic apparatus”.

However, he places too much trust on: “Democracy’s ability to self-correct is its greatest strength, not its perfection. Its openness to criticism, adaptation and reform makes it uniquely resilient.”

“Loktantra” is nowhere near this ideal, nor are its protagonists willing and able to reform themselves nor the system itself.

Where does this leave the majority of Nepalese aspiring to a new lease of life?

It is their fundamental ‘democratic right’ to wish for radical regime change for a better way of life, and this cannot be equated with ‘nostalgia’ or ‘romanticism’.

The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com