Some permanence for a change

The air blows heavy with expectation. Thursday is set to bring out hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women into the streets in what is said to be the biggest ever rally in Nepali history. The time of reckoning is here: what will it herald for Nepal? Will it be another ‘interim’ solution or will it be a more permanent one this time around?

We face a peculiar and rather difficult situation here with the monarchy and the Maoists on the two extremes, and the seven agitating parties smack in the middle. Equilibrium is hard to achieve, and any equation that does not take into account any one of the three is good enough for just another temporary solution.

Compromise formulae have already been exhausted, with every one attempted in the past few years failing. We saw the monarch take things into his own hands in an attempt to salvage what was left of this nation. Surrounded by his band of sycophants, he however failed to impress with any of his efforts, and plunged Nepal into a more serious and deeper crisis. Faced with an autocratic monarch, the political parties did a paradigm shift to align with the Maoists whom they thought as the lesser evil.

Every single front that has a voice is promulgating a solution, and I truly believe the time is ripe for one. But what form will it take? The monarch is too deep into this mess to come out unscathed, the political parties too advanced into this movement to change their stance and sell out yet again, and the Maoists?

As many predict, an emergency may be declared on the eve of the mass rally. The general public having borne the high-handedness of the administration, and survived bullets, tear gas and batons in recent weeks, the potency of such a measure is questionable. There are others who expect the monarch to step down and make way for a republic, but that too may be far fetched. A constituent assembly and the formation of a democracy with the monarch as its titular head seems another possibility. This requires the Maoists to lay down arms and join the national mainstream, but more importantly, the monarch has to accede to it.

As a common person, I can but guess the outcome, and accept it when it comes, at least temporarily. But I really crave for something permanent: from one ‘interim’ to another to another has been a long tiring journey. I seek respite. Give me some permanence for a change.