Sleuth, Monk and Consultant

 A Japanese ascetic stopping over on the way to Lhasa finds time to tell Chandra Shamsher like it is.

A glance back into the past of any nation reveals certain moments when a turn other than the one eventually taken could have altered its fate dramatically. Nepal is no exception to this, and a document that has recently come to light offers evidence of one such moment in its history.

The document in question is a 57-page letter written by one Ekai Kawaguchi to Chandra Shamsher, the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Entitled Memorial, this booklet was salvaged from among other 'useless' papers thrown out from Patan's Shree Durbar and is now reposed in the Madan Purashkar Pustakalaya.

Ekai Kawaguchi was a Japanese Buddhist monk who visited Nepal three times in the course of his two trips to Tibet in the early years of this century. Remarkable for the fact that he succeeded in getting to Lhasa and living there for more than a year during Tibet´s strictest years of seclusion, Kawaguchi´s trip was also one that made him, by his own claim, the first Japanese to enter Nepal.

Nepal, too, was rigidly observing its own closed-door policy at the time. Under such circumstances, Kawaguchi´s repeated incursions into the country led to speculations that he was an agent for his government. In fact, during his second visit in 1902, Chandra Shamsher directly asked Kawaguchi if it was the Japanese Foreign Minister or the Chief Marshal who had sent him. Kawaguchi somehow managed to impress upon the Prime Minister of his being no more than a humble monk in search of Sanskrit scriptures on Buddhism. Whether Chandra Shamsher actually believed him or not is an open question but, interestingly, the two later had a confidential talk for about two hours. The substance of this conversation is still a secret, for Kawaguchi was made to give his word that he would not mention it even in his diary.

Kawaguchi arrived in Kathmandu once more in 1905 to make good his promise to bring a Japanese edition of Buddhist texts in return for the Sanskrit ones he had received previously. It wasduring this sojourn inNepal that he authored the Memorial to Chandra Shamsher which he says was "inconsequence of our last conversation." Since the letter is dated 22 October, 1905, and he arrived in Kathmandu in early March of the same year, the conversation alluded to could not have been of three years before.

Full of courtly phrases embellished further by flattery, the Memorial at times reads like a Machiavellian treatise on governance, and alternately sounds like a composition by a diplomat tendering counsel to the ruler of an inferior country. Throughout, Kawaguchi is tactful enough to refrain from mentioning British India by name even once, although it is quite clear that the letter´s basic purpose was to wean Nepal away from British influence.

The Memorial

In a text that is occasionally marred by misspellings, Kawaguchi begins with the usual remarks of praise that characterise such correspondence. He calls Chandra Shamsher "the father of life and liberty" who "saved them (the Nepalis) from foreign yoke" and whose "memory will be engraved on their heart." His intention, he says, is that "the land that sent us light and moderation should receive back from us science and wisdom so that it may retain its pristine glory."

But that is not all. His other motive is to "see the great pan-Asiatic feeling fostered everywhere" and "see the day when the Asiatic will be combined and act as a body in concert and be a guarantee to the independence of Asia." How he proposes that be achieved is spelt out in quite some detail in the letter.

Quoting Wellington on Waterloo, Kawaguchi emphasizes the importance of education, and by education he is explicit on what kind he means, "The Indians are being educated for the last two centuries and you know the quality of stuff, turned out and with the perfect system what wonders we have done in less than half a century." His view that "education must be worked under national principles" is somewhat out of tune with his later offer to secure "experienced teachers … from my country" who " would be… glad to serve you in any capacity."

The services Kawaguchi offers of his countrymen are not limited to education alone. The following extract, one which leads to the suspicion that perhaps the simple monk was more than what he claimed to be, is particularly enlightening of that.

… you could establish a great arsenal in the interior of the country where your neighbour may not be able to find out what you are doing. With Electricity and Japanese Engineers (if you are afraid of the friction with your neighbour you may bring them through China with your mission) you may do wonders. A factory just to turnout rifles and guns with cardite ammunition for it should be ample for your present need. My countrymen will do for you anything. Once they have put on Nepalese dress and picked up Nepalese language it is hard to find out who they are so closely they resemble your people. Your men are clever immitators so I think a small number of staff will be sufficient, I think the whole cost of the scheme will not be much. I think you cannot do this without out-side help, as for the army instructors, these could be trained in Japan. Your men after they their college education may be sent to Japan where they could learn the art thoroughly. This is a slow method but a Wise one. I could understand your peculiar position and the careful and cautious way, you are managing things hold out a lot of hope to me.

In the ambiguity of the last sentence, Kawaguchi may have been referring to either Chandra Shamsher's domestic concerns (having survived an assassination attempt in 1903) or his balancing act vis-a-vis the British. His further comments, however, dispel any notion of doubts that the pragmatic monk may have had of Chandra Shamsher's options for dealing with them.

He advocates modernising the army, for he believes that "is a fighting machine (the Nepali army's) value is nil." And in an ostentatious display of national pride, he points out the results of the Russo-Japanese War to give credence to his view that "old tradition "and valour" alone do not suffice in "these days of modern anus and their scientific application," Kawaguchi does not believe that is enough, for he advises having "reserves well-trained that could be called out at times of war" which he says "will .be cheaper to the state" and at the same time lead to the fortuitous result that "your neighbour might think that you are politically ;not ambitious."

On the home front, Kawaguchi derides the "chakary" system as "the relic of feudalism". He attributes all court intrigues to be the cause of this system which, he says, gives rise to the situation where the ruler's every move is known to everyone and hence emboldening hopefuls to conspire against the ruler. Kawaguchi´s suggestion to Chandra Shamsher on this score is to keep his distance and yet to utilise his spy system to monitor the movements of his kinsmen who, according to Kawaguchi, are most likely to move against him. As for the other nobles, Kawaguchi feels that getting them involved in profitable occupations such as agriculture should keep their attention diverted away from the centre of power.

Kawaguchi also mentions the disadvantages of having a centralised army, for in times of domestic disputes such a body can easily be swayed to one side or the other. He says that an army distributed about the country would not tenable to be used try his opponents and had the added advantage of keeping secret "the nature composition and number" of troops.

Kawaguchi seems not to have appreciated the Ranas' hereditary system of brother-to-brother succession. This imposes a burden on the country, he says. He states that under this system every new ruler means a re-filling of the ruler's coffers which would not be the case if the successor were the son. Later events of instability arising out of internecine rivalries between Rana families were to vindicate him to an extent.

Kawaguchi's observations on various other aspects of national life are uncannily relevant even in contemporary times. He is appalled at the lack of any forest management principles and is not above stating the obvious — "… your mountains are almost bare and treeless and no step is taken to reforest them. It pays just as well to do so and cut by rotation and sell off as the ordinary rice-field."

On commerce and industry, Kawaguchi underlines government initiative as being essential to growth. He calls for Chandra Shamsher´s "goodwill and moral support" in the beginning to encourage people to invest within the county and urges looking beyond immediate profit. His outlook is that this activity will "support so much of the people and the people´s money is your own." The good monk probably did not realise how literally the Prime Minister might have agreed with the latter sentiment.

While taking leave, Kawaguchi tactfully reminds Chandra Shamsher that any fault in his missive is due to his being "a stranger" to Nepal, and with a plethora of "banzais", he signs off "Your Buddhist monk."

Thapa is a teacher in Lalitpur.