-Karma
All of us will agree that Nepal is facing enormous problems at present.
We must be clear that these problems did not appear suddenly, but were just
underneath the surface of Nepali society since a long time ago and the Maoists
have brought them out in the open. It would be very naive to think that Nepali
society will emerge from these problems overnight. To solve these problems and
tackle the grave challenges for a long term solution, their root cause
must be addressed scientifically. Otherwise these problems will only be
suppressed for the time being. Similarly, a qualified doctor never prescribes
medicine to patients without identification of the cause of the disease first.
Temporary measure might be to prescribe a pain killer, but only temporary
measures might be counter productive in the long run. It will hide those
problems to be identified and later on, once they are identified, it will be
too late to cure them. So a pain killer or temporary measures could act in like
fashion, they could be a slow poison and counter productive to their long
lasting solution. Similarly in Nepal, it is impossible to tackle these problems
for a long lasting peace while ignoring the root cause of problems in Nepali
society.
It is said
that the socio-economic structure is the base or foundation of society and
politics, culture, economy, etc., are the super-structures of that base. Or let
us put it in this way that super-structures are a reflection of the base, so
that the super-structure and base have a dialectical relationship. So, without
drastic change in base of society, it is impossible to carry on real effective
changes in the super-structure of society. Of course, the base can also be
affected due to the changes in it's super- structure. But if we want to have
real, fundamental change, then we must be prepared to effect change from the
bottom up, rather than from the top down. This is the right starting point to
change society. For example, if we wish to construct a building properly,
then its foundation must be solid, of strong concrete. If its foundation is
weak or rotten, then no matter how beautiful and strong its roof, it might
still collapse at any time. So if we are looking forward to a Nepal which is
strong, developed, prosperous, civilised, peaceful, and fully democratic based
on a society espousing the values of justice, equality and freedom, we must be
prepared to bring about drastic change in the very foundation of Nepali society
which is literally rotten to its core.
Unfortunately, Nepalese policy makers have, in the past as now, always
preferred to effect only nominal changes in the super-structure while keeping
the foundation more and less the same. It is like someone repairing the roof of
the house without replacing its rotten foundation, so that the house might
collapse any time. Again it is very true of Nepali society, too. Especially
since the Sugauli treaty, the Nepalese socio - economic structure has basically
been semi- feudal and semi-colonial. This represents the biggest obstacle for
the progress of our society. As the reflection of the base of Nepalese society,
our culture, politics, economy, etc., are distorted beyond recognition. As a
result, our society is facing rampant corruption, bad governance, severe poverty,
high unemployment, inequality based on inhumane discrimination against various
oppressed ethnic groups. In consequence, Nepal is considered one of the most
deprived and least developed, poorest countries in the world, ravaged by yet
another phase of bloody civil war. Of course, the blame goes to various
political leaders or policy makers, but the main reason which must be
acknowledged is that the Nepalese ruling class has never sincerely tried to
bring about drastic and effective change from the very foundation of society.
Any changes made have been purely cosmetic.
In the context of
the possible forthcoming negotiations between the Maoists and the
government, it is high time to address the root cause of the country's
problems. It is clear that the root cause of the problems of Nepali society are
the backward reactionary semi-feudal and semi- colonial socio-economic
structure. It appears that a handful of reactionary feudalists, compradors and
bureaucratic capitalists form the ruling classes and have been collaborating
with foreign monopolist capitalists contrary to Nepal's national interest. The
backward socio-economic structure created as a result acts to serve the
interests of this tiny group of ruling
classes as well as serving their foreign master's interests as well. This
development has acted to suppress the Nepalese masses, who have, in
consequence, been unable to recognise their true interests. Therefore it is my
belief that the backward socio-economic structure must be replaced by one which
is conducive to the interests of the mass of the population. Only then can we
expect to translate the present chaos into long lasting peace, progress,
prosperity, harmony and freedom.
We should be very clear that even if
the Maoist movement had not appeared at this moment, some sorts of problems
still would have appeared in other forms in our society. Even if the Maoists
were to join the so-called mainstream of the nation or if they could be brought
under control by means of force, I believe that as long as we merely implement
nominal changes while ignoring their fundamental cause, it is quite
possible that Nepalese society will continue to face tremendous problems. If we
continue to desist from tackling the severe poverty, high unemployment, rampant
corruption, bad governance and discrimination against indigenous, so-called
untouchable and other oppressed ethnic groups, then it is very possible that it
may be their turn to launch hostilities against the state. While this may paint
a very gloomy and pessimistic picture, but, unfortunately, this is the bitter
reality of our
society: although these people share a large percentage of the population, they
have been oppressed and exploited brutally since a long time ago, in respect to
their culture, language, politics and economy by a tiny ruling minority who are
mostly from the so-called high caste strata of Nepalese society, by using all
sorts of suppressive methods. If Nepalese society were to face ugly communal
hostilities which might threaten Nepal's sovereignty, harmony and unity,
the ruling class and high caste strata will be responsible for the creation of
these dire consequences. Let us be open and honest and not try to hide the
facts. For example, how big is the presence of large portions of these oppressed
ethnic groups in high level politics, the armed forces, bureaucracy, in the
academic field, key financial sectors and in other leading sectors of nation?
The answer is, an only very nominal number. Therefore, without the proper representation
of all of ethnic groups in every aspect of society, how can we expect a long
lasting peace in Nepal? It would therefore, appear that the only way to
solve the problems is to bring about drastic changes in society from its base.
From now on, the Nepalese peoples want to see these changes in action and not
only in words, by empty promises. I do believe that all of us more or less
agree that the best way is always to prevent the causes of diseases rather than
to cure the disease once it attacks. The wise way is to address cause of
problems rather than to take just temporary measures to solve them. Therefore,
the solution must be to look forward and not backward and thereby to address
the root cause of problems in our society to ensure the development and
preservation of its rich heritage threatened now by its immanent destruction.