A Catch-22 Logic of a Cultural-King of Nepal for Maoists to Ingest

Author: Prakash Bom, April 21, 2008

The dangerous of all about the institution of monarchy of Nepal is the retention of its feudal tradition that sustains on Hindu religion of beliefs and superstitions in the name of culture. It will be rather creating a non-win situation for people against their aspiration after all that two hundred and fifty years´ suffering. In a true sense the monarchy has no culture, which implies role of cultivation for change that its fellow countrymen can adapt to better rational tools for their survival such as freedom, justice and equality. Instead it has always been ambitiously convoluted with its despotic power to make its countrymen slave of its selected class of ruling elites. It is indeed unfortunate to even think to let it continue with its tradition in the name of culture after having people´s mandate to uproot it entirely.

How much dangerous that cultural-king heritage will be for democracy to nurture its culture in the lives of people with freedom, justice and equality is the most important elements of all to consider at this point in time of nation´s history. First of all, if culture-king exists Nepal by no means can adopt full-fledged democracy that is devoid of Hindu legal concepts ´Muluki-ain´, which have governed most discriminatively lives of people under the current legal system. As a matter of fact, the first meet of CA should abolish the ´Muliki-ain´ along with the institution of the monarchy. It will not be complete just by abolishing the institution of the monarchy without abolishing its feudal Hindu legal heritage for the establishment of the federal democratic republic setup.

The federal democratic republic Nepal will have to design a completely new legal system that is based on secular democratic norms and principles, which sustains on rational and scientific thinking. For example, under Hindu legal concepts the women are denied of ownership of their parental property; they are considered second-sex as submissive to men. On the contrary, women have played as important role as men in the evolution of society therefore the secular democratic legal system guarantees their equal right to their parental property ownership. Likewise there are many aspects of Hindu legal system completely injustice to people of Nepal. Therefore, the impact of keeping the monarchy with status of culture-king will be self-contradictory to the norms of secular democracy.

Similarly, there are many discriminative social conducts in practice that have had been once for a long period of time enforced by the Hindu legal system under this institution of the monarchy to exercise its code of conduct in the society for untouchable group of people – Dalits and women. For instance, if a wife of a Brahmin, the upper caste Hindu has a period or menstruation she becomes untouchable for a week. Dalits are by birth untouchable. Both social discriminations can neither be justified with the democratic norms and principles nor can be supported with the scientific evidence. These social conducts must have legal provisions for defending rights of the marginalized class and group of people of society. That is why Nepal needs a complete secular democratic legal system that complies with norms of international human rights. Also such a secular democratic legal system must be based human rational and scientific thinking that is absolutely devoid of elements of religi on or supernatural or superstition. Last two hundred years evidence proves that the culture-king is an undemocratic intention of the Hindu feudal institution of monarchy to carry on with its baggage in the name of culture.

Politically, the culture-king option will dishonor the aspiration of people of Nepal, will disrespect the mandate of people´s movements and in fact it will leave the Maoist people´s war unfinished. What element is lobbying this is indeed very very suspicious. However, a graceful exit of the monarchy without any string attached to its abolished institution of the monarchy traditional-wise – future culture or allowance will accomplish the aspiration of the people of Nepal, justify the twelve years´ Maoist Peoples´ War and liberate the people from their two hundred and fifty years suffering.

There should be no doubt that, as citizens of Nepal members of monarchy should have political, social and economic rights as rest of the citizens of Nepal. Under the rule of law no one should have special privilege to be above the law. This is what members of the feudal Hindu institution of monarchy are addicted to for their security. It seems as if they are not capable of living without safe landing on top of all and above the law. Therefore, such lobby has been initiated to enigma Maoist to take unnecessary advantage of their landslide victory phobia. I hope Maoist leaderships are aware and are capable of thinking rationally to discover the gimmick of the catch-22 puzzle.

Without convoluting the political process if Nepal has been declared a secular democratic state then Nepal should not have any of the cultural-king like elements instigated with catch-22 logic that can in essence dishonor the sacrifice of people and dormant the overall political change. People have given their full supports to Maoists with their CA votes to implement the mandate for abolishing the institution of monarchy and its Hindu legal system entirely. If Maoists failed to do so then what else will honor people´s sacrifice in all that struggles - People´s War, April Uprising, Madhes-Uprising and CA elections? Maoist leaderships must remain alert in considering this seriously. If not it will be just a political game at the expensive of lives of innocent people.

If the Maoists have seriously thought about the drafting a new constitution of the federal democratic republic Nepal then they must think about designing a new legal system of Nepal that is based on secular democratic values and scientific thinking. Current Hindu legal system cannot therefore exist together with the new secular democratic constitution. If the Hindu legal system is not abolished along with the abolition of the institution of the monarchy it will remain in the practice as the dominant legal collective consciousness of legal experts and ruling elites in conflict with the provisions of the new constitution. As a result, the provisions of the new constitution will be ineffective from their implementations – logistics and materials. The monarchy and the Muluki-ain therefore must be annihilated all together without the trace of its tradition, belief and superstition by the first meet of the electoral of the constituency assembly. Any trace of it will contaminate the culture of democracy to be nurtured in the lives of people of Nepal in coming days of a new democratic Nepal.