[These are all wishful thinking]
(1) Bring the King and the Shah-Rana-Thapa-Pandey political-military oligarchy to the 21st century mindset.
These guys still think that they have the birth-right to rule Nepal without the consent of the people. At first they justified using the feudal argument, "because our ancestors united the country". Now they use more sophisticated one. General Sachit S JBR claimed that, "if monarchy had participated in the elections, the political parties would have been wiped out." The first argument is a non-starter because it’s not Prithivi Narayan Shah who united the country but the blood and sweat of ordinary Nepalese. Moreover, if that argument were to hold, the descendents of George Washington should rule America or Mao’s China. As for the second argument, if the king is so popular, why don't they accept the Maoists demand for a referendum? That'd solve the political crisis Nepal is in. Btw, the Royal massacre of 2001 is nothing but an attempt by the reactionary elements in the Palace and the military to reverse the clock of democratization.
(2) Bring Maoists to the mainstream
Whatever people's view about the Maoists, they are a significant political force in the country, especially in the rural areas. I wonder how many political pundits that pontificate on gbnc have actually been to a Nepali village. Nepal cannot move forward politically without a tangible solution to this problem. Maoists' ideology per se is not the issue. The issue is their adherence to "armed struggle" to attain their political goals. The irony is that the Maoists have achieved astounding success in the past 10 years through an astute use of violence. They won’t give that up without gaining something tangible in return i.e. a constituent assembly. At present the 1990 constitution is dead. A constituent assembly could bring the Maoists to the mainstream but that could bring a rightist backlash – I’d say the risk is worth it.
(3) Change the structure of the RNA
The institutional structure of the RNA is such that if your last name is not Shah, Thapa, Rana or Pandey you've no chance of being at the top. The higher echelon of the RNA think that it is beneath them to accept orders coming from anywhere but the Palace. The RNA’s command and control was the issue during the multi-party system - remember Girija ordering the RNA to deal with the Maoists and the latter refusing? Like the Baathists in Iraq, the reactionary elements within RNA are a potentially dangerous destabilizing force in Nepal if the current rightwing regime is replaced by something more democratic – one can argue the RNA was probably the happiest institution to see the multiparty system fail.
(4) Make political parties accountable to people
In proper democracies, political parties compete against each other on policy grounds. If people think that a particular set of policies benefit them, they’ll vote for a party that advocates them. In this way political parties become accountable to people. But in Nepal politics is driven by personalities and not by policies (I don’t know whether it’s the fault of the people or the parties). The breakups, mergers and constant realignment of different permutations of Congress and Communist parties during the 1990s for no other reason but simple grab for power were a major turnoff. That's probably the reason why there is so much lethargy in the current pro-democracy movement.
Political parties in Nepal also have put their parochial interest over the national interest. The case in point is the incessant bands and strikes. In the parliamentary democracy, national debates are settled in the parliament and during elections, and not on the streets every week. The constant bands and strikes during the multiparty rule was not only pain in the neck that hurt the economy but it also created chaos and drove people towards the rightwing elements promising law and order.
Political parties in power should concentrate on governing and not on meddling with the bureaucracy. But during the 1990s, the extent of party interventions reached even the primary school level teachers in the public schools.
(5) Make the court system independent
Laws should be blind but not in Nepal. Personal corruption was rampant during the 1990s because politician felt immune from the laws. The same goes with the current regime – the Supreme Court has been totally comprised by the chairman king and his henchmen.
.png)
