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As we celebrate this week as martyr’s week, it’s crucial to reflect on the forgotten heroes and their families. Historically, a martyr is someone who sacrifices their life for a sacred cause. Martyrs are our heroes. As Benjamin Disraeli eloquently stated, “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”

Deserving more than words

On 21 Sept 2023, during a program organized by the Martyrs’ and Disappeared Warriors Children’s Foundation in Sindhuli, I encountered the families of martyrs—vulnerable, elderly, illiterate, with no income, deprived of information, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and grappling with medical conditions. Despite these challenges, the children displayed exceptional natural intellect, particularly in the fields of law, engineering, agriculture and journalism—key positions that hold the potential to reform the country. It is crucial for the government to recognize and harness their potential through placements or further grooming, ensuring they contribute meaningfully to society.

In 2020, BMC International Health and Human Rights published a journal on the quality of life (QOL) of women from families of martyred individuals in Iraq. The study underscored the significance of QOL for the conflict-affected. The families of martyrs may carry an inner sense of pride for the supreme sacrifices made by their sons, husbands, and parents, but their QOL remains below par. They deserve more.

For CNN and the Times, the concept of ‘heroes’ might vary—they declare heroes annually. However, for Nepalis, our heroes are the families who continue to walk with pride, fully aware that their loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice for the country. Yet, their QOL needs improvement; some are oblivious to a government led by the ‘Maoist’ party. A prevailing concern is that these families do not sense a connection to government ministers led by the same leaders for whom their children and parents gave their lives.

International practices

International practices provide noteworthy examples. India not only compensates them financially but also offers jobs for their next of kin. On 26 July 2023, “The Times of India” reported that the next of kin of 19 martyrs were appointed to different government jobs on the grounds of compassion.  Azerbaijan went further, providing separate housing for about 9,200 families of martyrs and distributing more than 7,200 cars to war-disabled individuals.  Even conflict-torn countries like Afghanistan and Libya have passed bills honoring the martyrs and their family members. Afghanistan has a dedicated ministry overseeing the welfare of the martyrs’ families.

Nepal’s peace process

The recent visit of the UN Secretary-General to Nepal accentuates the urgency of bringing the peace process to a logical conclusion, an outcome incomplete without acknowledging the martyrs’ contributions. All leaders and dignitaries pledged support during his visit, and the time is now to translate those commitments into tangible action.

Article 42 (5) of Nepal’s Constitution guarantees the families of martyrs essential rights in education, health, employment, housing, and social security, accompanied by justice and respect. While martyrs receive commendable recognition at remembrance events, such as shawls and certificates, the focus must shift from being a platform for political speeches. These families, who are more than just affiliated with any political party, represent the nation’s heroes. Their sacrifices have granted us the freedom of expression and the ability to openly critique authorities. It is crucial that their status remains a national issue rather than being exploited for political gain.

The government must guarantee that the next of kin are not only honored as national martyrs but also provided benefits such as tax exemption, housing, placement in public services, employment, and, most importantly, free access to health and education. This is the minimum the nation can do to honor those martyrs who sacrificed their lives, bequeathing us the freedom and democracy we cherish today.

Champa Devi Karki of CPN (Maoist Center) was almost sure to win the National Assembly election as one of the ruling coalition candidates from Koshi province. But she lost the Jan 25 vote to CPN-UML candidate Rukmini Koirala. 

Maoist leaders now claim that Karki lost because of the betrayal of trust by the Nepali Congress. They say although the Maoist party voted for NC candidate Krishna Prasad Sitaula, there was a significant crossing of the floor  by the NC voters. 

Though the Maoists emerged as the largest party in the NA after the election held to select 19 upper house members, the party is unhappy with the poll outcome from Koshi.

It is said that NC senior leader Shekhar Koirala, who is earnestly working to break the Maoist-Congress alliance, influenced the voting pattern of the NC. Earlier, the Koirala faction had switched to the UML to elect Kedar Bahadur Karki as chief minister after NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba fielded his candidate. It was later revealed that there was a secret understanding between Koirala and Deuba in the appointment of chief minister, which miffed the Maoist party. 

That was the first instance which sowed the seed of discord inside the ruling coalition. The latest election betrayal in Koshi province has deepened the mistrust between the Maoists and NC.  

"We have reached a point where we have to seriously review our alliance with the Nepali Congress,” says Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun. “In every election, we have been voting for NC candidates, and in return, we are being betrayed. The Koshi province election has forced us to think whether the current coalition is beneficial for us.”  

What happened in Koshi province is not the only reason why the Maoist and NC are growing apart. It began with the arrest of senior NC leader and former home minister Bal Krishna Khand in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal.

Many NC leaders suspect that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Center is weaponing corruption scandals against the NC leaders while overlooking the misdeeds of the leaders within his own party. 

NC senior leader Koirala has always been vocal about changing the current coalition and forging an alliance with the UML. Of late, more and more leaders are joining the chorus. They want to remove Dahal from power because they feel that his government has not been good to the NC. Even though the Maoist Center has only 32 seats in the House of Representatives, making it the third largest party, NC leaders believe the Maoist party is becoming overbearing in the government affairs — even bullying the NC and UML by opening investigation into past corruption scandals involving their leaders.   

Meanwhile, the Maoist leaders claim it is the NC that has been dictating the government’s decision-making process including in the foreign policy realm. A senior Maoist leader says the NC has tied the hands of Prime Minister Dahal, so that he is unable to make independent decisions. 

The Maoist party is particularly displeased with Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud from the NC. “The Foreign Minister has failed to strike a balance among the three major powers because he and his party are biased towards India and the US.” 

During his China visit, Prime Minister Dahal made some commitments regarding the Belt and Road Initiatives and other projects, but there has been little to no follow through on those pledges. The Maoists blame the NC-led Foreign Ministry for this. 

Maoist leaders say Prime Minister Dahal wants to sign the BRI implementation plan at the earliest, but the foreign minister has not been cooperative.  

Some NC leaders believe that the only reason the NC-Maoist coalition has not fallen through is because Deuba wants to ensure a smooth transfer of power. They say the party president is of the belief that he can get to power only if Dahal is allowed to remain in power for two and a half years. 

Though there are strong voices inside the NC that the party should not forge an electoral alliance with Maoists in the next general elections, Deuba is of the view that without an alliance the NC alone cannot maintain the status of the largest party. 

However, Deuba does not see the similar prospect in forging an alliance with the UML. He is of the view that there cannot be an electoral partnership between first and second parties. The NC regards the UML, which has a strong organizational base, as a key election rival. 

In the past, the UML had even reached out to the NC, proposing an alliance deal between the two parties to ensure the government’s stability until the next elections. But Deuba was not keen to talk with the UML. 

As the Maoist-NC coalition teeters on the brink, the UML watches from the sidelines. UML Chairman Oli, who had previously made his mission to win a single party majority in the 2027 general elections, has been hinting at mid-term elections in recent days. Oli senses the simmering tension within the ruling coalition.

Prime Minister Dahal is likely to face more political challenges from his own coalition partner and the opposition in the days ahead. The UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party are already planning to hit the streets against the government. The last thing Dahal wants is an unruly coalition. 

Ann Patchett is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have read and loved ‘Run’, ‘Commonwealth’, and ‘Bel Canto’. I have a copy of ‘The Dutch House’ on my shelf reserved for that time when I hit a reading slump. I know Patchett will get me out of it. I recently came across one of her essay collections while browsing at the bookstore. I had no intention of buying a book. I had made a pact with my husband that I wouldn’t buy any books in January. I was waiting for a friend and had stepped into the bookstore to kill some time.

But there were only two copies of ‘These Precious Days’ and I had never seen the book at any other bookstore. I just couldn’t walk away. I went back to the bookstore a few days ago to buy a copy for my friend. The blurb at the back of the book says, ‘Read it, cherish it, buy a copy for your best friend, then read it once more.’ I want to give this book to anyone who is feeling upset or unsettled in life. It’s filled with nuggets of hard-earned wisdom. Patchett’s writing takes your mind off things. And you can relate to so many things that it makes you feel a little less lonely.

The essays are personal. In one Patchett talks about her relationship with her three fathers, and how each of them taught her different things. “Without ever meaning to, my father taught me at a very early age to give up on the idea of approval,” writes Patchett while speaking about her father’s scorn for her writing. When her mother remarried for the third time, Patchett was just 27. Something about her mother’s easy approach to marriage, of not giving up on it despite hers not working out, made Patchett more accepting of life’s ups and downs.

In another essay, she talks about the hardships in a writer’s life, the uncertainty that comes with being a writer, and the many pressures and pitfalls of publishing. Another deals with the often harrowing and intrusive questions that are raised about her decision not to have children. “To have a child required the willful forgetting of what childhood was actually like; it required you to turn away from the very real chance that you do to the person you loved most in the world the exact same thing that was done to you. No. No, thank you.”

In Those Precious Days, the longest essay of the collection and the one the anthology is named after, she writes about her friend Sooki’s battle with cancer. Patchett and Sooki strike up a rare friendship after the two cross paths when Patchett is called upon to interview Tom Hanks for his book, ‘Uncommon Type’. Sooki is his assistant. There are also lighthearted essays that are filled with warmth and humor. She writes about how owning a bookstore has changed her life. She writes about her mother, her husband, and her dog. That everyone and everything is just fodder for a writer is made evident by her eagerness to write about them all.

 Some essays are short and some are long. But they all feel complete by themselves. Many of them have been previously published in various publications, though the book versions have been slightly tweaked. Patchett’s insight and compassion infuse life into the stories. Patchett is first and foremost a storyteller but she shines as an essayist too. “Essays never filled my days,” she says in the first one in the collection, “But they reminded me that I was still a writer when I wasn’t writing a novel.”

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56922687-these-precious-days  

Those Precious Days

Ann Patchett

Published: 2021

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Pages: 322, Paperback

Political and constitutional changes have been a long-drawn-out affair, in the case of Nepal. 

For instance, the Constituent Assembly (CA) materialized 55 long years (in 2008) after its germination as an idea in 1951 following the advent of democracy. This delay can be attributed to manipulation on the part of our political parties.

One school of thought, though, assumes that the historic charter (the Constitution of 2015) promulgated through a CA does not have much to do with popular aspirations of Nepali citizens, whereas the other argues that it does. 

Sovereign Nepali citizens and their representatives—leaders of political parties—presumably have a central role in determining the kind of political systems they want and the roadmap for the future, with the Constitution acting as a point of reference. 

But our political parties are not acting in line with their very own manifestos and ideologies, giving rise to a state of impunity. First and foremost, these forces need to become clean, clear and accountable toward their political manifestos and ideologies. If this happens, we will have a drastic transformation in our views and visions. 

The derivatives

We encounter a lot of confusion while trying to trace the roots of our parliamentary democracy. Discourses tend to show that external diplomatic influences played a pivotal role in the establishment of democracy in Nepal rather than the domestic forces. This couriers a miserable deal with our preamble of sovereign state and somehow paves a depraved way out. 

What shall we do in such a scenario? Opt for a diplomatic transformation?

Amid all this, the to and fro of the former king has political parties, the old guard in particular, panicked along with the Hindutva factor. However, the new forces are quite upbeat and have already begun preparing for 2027, when general elections will take place. 

Hindutva does not necessarily mean an absolute religious rule. Rather, it can lay the foundation for good governance. Caught in a crossroads, Nepal has a gigantic opportunity to put its development agenda on the front-burner by going for collective bargaining with external forces like India, China, the US and the UK instead of focusing on the trivial issues.  

Parliamentary democracy constitutes a robust foundation in the countries with a laissez-faire governing system, where power is vested in the public or citizens. However, laissez-faire may result in despotism in the long run. This very idea of political shift may lead to an imbalance of power between the government bodies as seen now in Nepal between federal and local governments. A clear example of this imbalance is the relation between Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the federal government of Nepal. Potential tyranny, lack of trust between coalition partners and tyranny by majority can also be a clumsy manner for political derivation maintained through parliamentary democracy.

The way forward

The literacy rate has gone up in Nepal, as indicated by the 2021 census, possibly pointing toward rising public awareness, among others. Thanks to growing factionalism within their ranks, political forces are losing their cadres and followers, prompting new generations to seek alternatives of the old guard. 

All this is likely to deal the status-quoists a huge blow in the next general elections, with the scholar and well-versed political marcher possibly fielding their candidacies. 

To minimize the damage, the old guard needs to minimize social, developmental and inclusive gaps via politically collaborative foundations. Their focus should be on maintaining the rule of law, ending impunity, striving for economic reforms through diplomatic dialogues, and development of politically collaborative environments.