Hope amidst alarm

Nepal not only looks like it is in turmoil, it is in turmoil. The anarchy in the country is near-total, with the Maoists having the run of the countryside and extracting 'voluntary donations' from all and sundry, the state institutions (including the police) cowed and sequestered, and the law-and-order situation just about the worst in living memory. The home minister doubles as the chief of the government's negotiating team, and has not had the time – even if he had the inclination – to motivate the administration and challenge the rebels to keep within the bounds of the law. Prime Minister G P Koirala seems to have the right instincts in terms of bringing the Maoists in from the cold without compromising on principles of pluralism and democracy, but at 84 years of age, he seems not to have the energy to lead the seven-party government as one. Meanwhile, the Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has gone on a media blitz yet again, appearing on television and radio as an accessible, avuncular rebel, clearly seeking to put the stigma of brutality – including memories of 'socket bombs', maimings and safaya (eliminations) – behind him, in an attempt to come into aboveground politics.

With the absence of governance in large parts of the country, and the Maoist bravado at high decibel in recent weeks, it might appear that the principles of pluralism may indeed be lost. But the fact is that the peace process in Nepal is very much on track. Holding a Central Committee meeting in a hill district just east of Kathmandu last month, the Maoists decided not to go back to the jungle – even though they claim loudly that the SPA government is prevaricating on its promise of bringing the Maoists into the government, and taking the country towards the constituent assembly. They have decided to fight 'peacefully' through an urban agitation, and there is no doubt that the Maoists still have the ability to bring tens of thousands of villagers into the Kathmandu Valley on the basis of threat alone. The fact that the Maoist student wing had to truck in schoolchildren to show their strength during a recent convention in Kathmandu is not lost on observers.