Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah faces a contempt of court case for a social media post denouncing Patan High Court’s interim order to allow the screening of ‘Adipurush’, an Indian film based on epic Hindu mythology ‘Ramayan’. Earlier, Shah had banned the screening of the film, raising objection to one of the lines that he claimed portrayed ‘Janaki’ (goddess Sita) as India’s daughter. However, it was ironic enough that Shah, who is also a rapper, was resorting to such a thing as censorship, and when his mayoral injunction was removed by the court of law, he decided to call Nepali government and courts “slaves” of India. Shah lit a tinderbox of controversy over a film and when things didn’t go his way, he turned it into a matter of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘independence’. Many say it is not the mayor who should be wielding the sword of censorship, that there is the Censor Board of Nepal. But the board gave the film its green light without removing the “controversial” dialogue.

Nationalism is a popular ideology right now, and Mayor Shah seems to be cashing on it. Earlier this month when there was a controversy over the ‘Akhand Bharat’ mural inside India’s new parliament building, he had the map of ‘greater Nepal’ placed in his office.

Many people praised Shah for this, saying that unlike the government of Nepal, the mayor had the courage to send a reply to India’s ‘Akhand Bharat’ mural. After much public criticism, the government finally sought clarification from India regarding the map mural. In the case of ‘Adipurush’ too, many people celebrated Mayor Shah’s decision to ban its screening and criticized the government for not even raising a peep. Shah’s historic mayoral election victory as an independent candidate reflected Kathmandu voters' frustration toward political parties. After coming to power, Shah performed many tasks that his predecessors could not. For instance, he dismantled illegally built structures around the city, improved road condition, brought transparency to municipal works, and took initiatives to preserve ancient heritages. He was rightly praised by the members of public for being a man of action. The only area where Shah and his office faced criticism was the decision to remove landless squatters from public land and indiscriminately seize the goods of street vendors. Some see his gentrification drive as hostile toward the poor. But his supporters continue to see him as an outsider maverick. Mayor Shah recognizes the deep-seated frustration of his supporters toward traditional political parties, so every now and then he panders to this frustration by taking jibes at the parties, leaders and government ministers. A few months ago he decided to stop collecting garbage from Singhadurbar, where most of the federal ministries lie, for non-cooperation with the city office for management of waste. As the issue grabbed media attention, Shah took to his social media saying to the effect that the ministers who work inside Singhadurbar must be disposed of to Sisdol landfill site first in order for Kathmandu to become a clean city. Naturally, his statement struck a chord with his supporters. More recently, when the government decided to announce the revival of Constituency Development Fund, Mayor Shah once again took a dig at lawmakers by comparing their status as that of municipal ward chairpersons. But it is one thing to criticize the government and another to brazenly refuse to follow a court’s order. This is not the first time Mayor Shah’s decision has landed in court. Recently, a team of municipal police shut down an education fair, which led the organizer to knock on the door of Patan High Court. The court then issued an interim order paving the way for the organizer to resume the fair. But the court order concerning the screening of ‘Adipurush’ has caused much controversy, as Mayor Shah has not only tried to undermine the sanctity of the court but of democracy itself. In his tweet related to his defiance of the court order, there are more than 1,000 replies, and the majority of them have advised Mayor Shah to accept the court’s order even if it does not feel right. His followers have cautioned him not to go against the court order. Then there are those who are of the view that major political parties that are running the country for over three decades have been flouting the court orders all the time, and it is not right to point the finger only at Shah. Former Supreme Court justice Balaram KC says Mayor Shah should have maintained restraint but what he wrote on his social media should not constitute contempt of court. He adds the controversy should have been settled by the court by inviting the two sides for discussion. Major political parties and their leaders are afraid of speaking against Shah, because they fear that criticizing the Kathmandu mayor will result in a public backlash. Instead, he is being praised by parties carrying a nationalist agenda. CPN-UML leader Bhim Rawal has defended Shah, saying that the court order shows that nationalism has become weak. He has written on his social media that all the state institutions such as legislative, judiciary, and executive should stand in favor of national interests. Similarly, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa has said while some of Mayor Shah’s working style could be controversial, his heart is in the right place. KC, the former Supreme Court justice, says Mayor Shah enjoys unquestionable support, courtesy of major parties’ decades long failure to change. His ‘nationalist’ posturing has only solidified his position. There is no doubt that Mayor Shah has overwhelming support, but he should be careful not to let the fame and popularity get to his head. Rash actions and misplaced attention are not what his supporters want from him. With all the accolades and support, Shah is in a position where his actions and conducts are hardly seen with a critical lens. It is a dangerous position to be in when there is no one to tell him right from wrong.