Palace off the wheels

It is a measure of King Gyanendra’s ‘achievement’ that in the space of a few days he has managed to convert the pro-democracy upsurge in Nepal into a movement demanding the end of a more than 250-year-old line of monarchs who were, till not so long ago, revered as living gods. The scornful reaction of the seven-party alliance (SPA) to the king’s offer of taking the reins of government is a measure of how much the ground has shifted from under King Gyanendra’s feet. Listening to his Friday speech offering to restore “executive power” to the people, it was difficult to decide which model of monarchy he was espousing — that of Louis XVI, who refused to see the approaching revolution, or his successor, Louis XVIII, who inspired Talleyrand’s immortal comment that the Bourbons had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing.

King Gyanendra ought to have at least known that the circumstances of February 2005, when he seized power, and of April 2006, when he was compelled to make his offer in the face of mounting protests, are not the same thing. Time has not stood still: the monarchy’s position has been eroded and its options sharply reduced. The SPA has been superseded by a people’s revolt that may not be in anyone’s control. At the same time, the Maoists in the countryside have become more powerful.

The king’s actions may or may not have been occasioned by his meetings with the Indian prime minister’s special envoy, Karan Singh, on Thursday, but it should be clear that India has nothing but Nepal’s best interests in mind. Geography, specifically the Himalayas, makes us the mountain kingdom’s only real neighbour and, therefore, we have great stakes in each other’s well-being. At the same time, it should be clear that the time for restoring status quo ante has gone. So, while the restoration of the 1990 model constitutional monarchy may be good in theory, it may no longer be a practical proposition, given the widespread distrust and revulsion that King Gyanendra’s tactics have evoked. If the Nepalese people are determined to create a Constituent Assembly and become a republic, so be it. It is not in India’s interest to block change in Nepal, but to ensure that it takes place peacefully and does not destabilise the country.

Source: HindustanTimes