Corpses, dust and smoke

By Devendra Gautam

The caretaker government formed in the immediate aftermath of a youths-led movement on Sept 8-9 has an uphill battle ahead: conducting elections within six months (of which one month has already passed), which is easier said than done. 

The three principal organs of the state have suffered burns of varying degrees in the ensuing violence along with the fourth estate, a soft target of all kinds of nefarious elements and governments of different hues and shades. 

Apparently, the cardinal rule of sorts — don’t shoot the messenger just because you don’t like the message — does not apply in the motherland of all sorts of ‘revolutions’, right? What say you, guys?

This much for the fourth estate, which, by and large, has remained financially unwell for quite some time.  

Back to the (literally) smouldering streets. 

Many police posts, tasked with maintaining law and order, have burnt to a cinder. For many police personnel, according to reports, even uniform has become a luxury, leave alone other amenities. At this point in time, the morale of the police force may not be exactly high as it has just survived a serious crisis, with burns and scars. 

Facts are indeed frightening. Out of more than 14, 000 inmates, who escaped from 28 prisons and juvenile detention centers across Nepal during the protests, nearly 5,700 individuals, including hardened criminals, are still on the run—with looted weapons—while 8,851 escapees, including 341 juvenile detainees, have voluntarily surrendered, as of this writing.  

What worries the citizenry the most is the lack of a credible search, arrest and disarming operation targeted at the absconders. One wonders if the government is waiting for some divine signal to start such an operation against those out on the loose, many armed to the teeth, on an auspicious date.   

Still, the government appears serious about conducting the national elections within the stipulated timeframe (March 5, 2026) and handing over the reins to an elected government. It has directed the Election Commission to make preparations for the polls and called Nepali missions abroad to garner support of host governments and organizations for the cause.     

All well and good, but polls cannot take place in a vacuum. The democratic exercise is impossible without taking a shaken and stirred people into confidence, for which a semblance of order is necessary. In every democracy worth its name, polls are impossible without the participation of political parties and our strain is no exception, most probably. 

But the government seems to have forgotten—or undermined, deliberately or otherwise—even to take the parties represented in the erstwhile Parliament into confidence, leave alone the other political outfits.  

Apart from issuing instructions to the EC and making logistical arrangements for the vote, the government should also reach out to the parties if it is indeed serious about fulfilling its mandate. 

On their part, the tried and tested parties, especially the three major parties, should not forget that a free, fair and credible vote can still take the country out of this long and dark tunnel of anarchy at a time when their credibility has hit rock bottom in the wake of a series of corruption scams. 

On the contrary, the two major parties represented in the erstwhile parliament — the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML — have begun pressing for the reinstatement of the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, even as time-worn, rudderless and much discredited top brass remain at their helm. 

The preps for the polls and the calls for the reinstatement of the lower chamber appear to be taking the country to a collision course amid rising discontent among Gen-Z, which spearheaded the recent movement demanding corruption control, action against the corrupt, an end to nepotism, good governance and political stability, and other sections of the society that harbour similar aspirations. 

All in all, the time has come for the top brass of the parties to make the biggest contribution of their respective political careers spanning decades. By hanging up their boots, facilitating the elevation of relatively young leaders through a democratic process, guiding them through the transition and subjecting them into probes into their alleged involvement in scams (which have become their ‘legacy’), these leaders can help usher Nepal into a new era and avert a looming disaster. 

That’s a small sacrifice for leaders, who have spent years behind  bars for higher ideals like democracy, human rights, good governance and what not, right?

The good ole Marcus Aurelius sounds so very sane even in these mad times when he says:  How is it with your ruling part? On this all depends. All other things, within or without our control, are but corpses, dust, and smoke.