It was only when the Maoists walked out of the coalition cabinet on Tuesday that the seven party alliance woke up from is collective reverie. The NC swiftly remembered the Maoists weren't just another junior partner in the ruling alliance.
The UML was jolted out of its apathy and inaction. Other parties realised the fragility of the peace process.
Backroom negotiations began immediately to patch things up. If Krishna Bahadur Mahara and his comrades return to Singha Darbar soon, this drama will have served its purpose. But all this only distracted us from the crisis in Kapilbastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi.
The violence that erupted in the aftermath of murder of Abdul Moid Khan has already claimed 12 lives, the whereabouts of hundreds are unknown, thousands are taking shelter at temporary camps in Gorusinghe. While all this was happening, the party leaders in Kathmandu were playing musical chairs. Until Thursday morning, no prominent politician has deemed it fit to visit the riot-affected region and offer sympathy and relief to victims of violence.
Khan was related to the alleged gangster and late parliamentarian Mirza Dilsad Beg, and had been used by almost all political parties. He headed the anti-Maoist vigilante group, was associated with the NC and was active in the MJF. He may have been eliminated by criminal gangs operating from across the border. It could have been the Maoists. Or maybe Hindutva elements.
Whoever killed Khan, it wouldn't have been a cause for a communal flare-up had the local administration responded quickly. The backlash in Rupandehi could have been avoided with a little foresight and preparation. Local administrations in Nepal have never been known for their capacity for emergency response. But the utter failure of the law and order machinery in the country over last few months, through Lahan, Nepalganj, Gaur, and now Kapilbastu, is a national disgrace.
Preoccupied with multiple crises, the prime minister is unable to pay attention to details. Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula lacks stature to inspire a demoralised police force. But there is more to frequent violent eruptions than mere failure of policing. It somehow seems that violence has become the normal method of articulating grievances against the state.
Part of the blame for making violence respectable must be laid at the doors of the Maoist leadership. When ends justify means, anything goes and morality is the first casualty. Maoists argue that they had the right to raise arms against the state because it was not to their liking. Since revolution isn't a tea-party, victimisation of innocents was unavoidable. Jaikrishna Goit and Jwala Singh are speaking the same language that was once taught to them by Mohan Baidya.
Violence is also more likely when there is a widespread belief that state institutions with a legal monopoly over coercive force are weak or partisan. When a government is perceived to be both, risks of lawlessness are much higher.
Unfortunately, most Nepalis don't identify themselves with the machinery of the government that supposedly exists to protect, support and serve the people.
There never was much faith in the impartiality of officers. Now even their competence has come under a cloud. So, everybody is taking the law into their own hands. Fragile inter-community relations in the tarai show that donor-inspired NGOs have failed to function as forums of social aggregation. In times of crisis, DINGOs are no match even to much-maligned bourgeois initiatives such as Rotary, Lions, Jaycees and Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The role must be filled by genuine civil society, trade unions, community-based organisations and voluntary groups to counter the culture of violence.
The best respect we can pay to the victims of last week's violence is to help create a culture of tolerance, empathy and peace. Pious words, but then what are the heavens for?
CK lal in
