Parties are cheating the people
By Yuba Nath Lamsal
A common perception among the general public in Nepal is that politicians often lie and they are not sincere to the country and the people. This should not be generalized to all the politicians because there might be some honest, sincere and value-based leaders. But their number is small and they have been outnumbered by the crowd of leaders and politicians whose words and works never match.
Gone are the days when politics was value based. This is a general tendency not only in Nepal but in the world. The credibility of politicians has plummeted deep down in recent years. Politics is viewed as the business of the crooks. There were the days of Karl Marx, Fredrik Angels, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Vladimir Lenin and Willy Brant. In our own neighbourhood, were born Mahatam Gandhi who preached and practiced non-violence in politics. His simplicity, truthfulness, honesty, patriotism, self-less sacrifice and principled politics was well appreciated throughout the world. Gandhi’s way and style has been a source of inspiration even today. Around the same time, Nehru, Patel and Jayaprakash Narayan also showed an example of political honesty. In China, Mao Tse Tung emerged as a leader of commitment, who not only established a modern China but also provided a new vision to many poor and working class people in the world. Even today, Mao is revered in the world as a genuine champion of poor, downtrodden and exploited people. Apart from Mao, China got some other visionary leaders like Chao En Lai and Deng Xiaoping, who modernized China and paved the path for political stability and development. These leaders took politics as a service to the people and the nation.
With the demise of this generation, the world is bereft of honest and visionary leaders and value based politics. A new generation of leaders was born that set their own priority. The values and norms that were championed by the older generation slowly disappeared globally. The new breed of leaders has taken politics as a profession and profit-making business and their motive was guided more by profit and benefit rather than the service.
With the onslaught of global capitalism, market has determined everything including politics. The politics has gone to the backstage with economy taking the center stage. The fundamental principle and objective of the market capitalism is the profit. Like in economics, the new concept of market politics or market democracy has emerged in the contemporary politics. Values and ideology are no longer the guiding force in the today’s politics. What determines in the present day politics is the immediate benefit.
After the collapse of the Soviet-model of socialism and its empire in the Eastern Europe back in 1990s, communism is in the defensive stage. In socialism and communism too, the market impact has been visible. The liberal democracy based on multi-party based competition and periodic election have been the political lingua franca in the world. Individual liberty and economic prosperity are the demand of the twenty-first century. The socialist states too have adopted this model within their system. Those countries that adopted changes have survived in the new wave of democratic change. But the regimes that resisted democratic reforms and changes have either already perished or are on the verge of extinction.
At the same time, reforms and liberalization in haste have also brought about negative results. Soviet Union should be taken as its best example. The country that remained under the command of a unified and centralized political and economic system for seven years found itself in chaos when Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms and openness all of sudden. This country was ill-prepared to adopt such reforms and openness in such a swift manner. Its result was shocking and everything got messed up in the new system. This situation ultimately paved the way for disintegration of the Soviet Union.
On the contrary, China adopted more cautionary and practical approach. China under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping introduced economic reforms quite earlier than the glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union. China started with economic reforms in a slow and cautious way whereas Soviet Union let loose everything that soon went out of control. Now China has emerged as a global economic power.
Back in Nepal, the craze for liberty, democracy and openness has been a long phenomenon. The democratic movement germinated more than seventy years ago, when different conscious groups made their efforts to overthrow the oligarchic regime and establish a democratic polity in Nepal. Although the efforts had been made in a clandestine manner as the political activities had been restricted during that time, the plans came to the notice of the rulers. The furious Rana rulers announced the death sentence to four promising Nepali youths and life-term to several others. The four youths who attained martyrdom were Sukra Raj Shastri, Gangalal, Dharmabhakta Mathema and Dasharath Chand. The rulers had hinted that they would reverse the decision if they (martyrs) begged an apology. They were so determined to their commitment and values that the youth leaders chose to die rather than begging apology to those who had exploited the people. This determination and values of the martyrs inspired and provided strength to the people to rise against the oligarchic Rana rule.
The values and commitments with which leaders fought for their ideals soon started evaporating in the later years. Soon after going to power, the leaders emerged as the new feudal lords instead of being the genuine representatives of the people. The degeneration of moral ethnics and political values in the political leaders gave rise to political bickering and apathy of people towards the politicians. The kings often took advantage out of the people’s apathy and trampled democracy and people’s rights.
Even after the political change in 1990, the change was not seen in the mindset, behavior and functioning of the leaders. The lack of political and democratic culture often led to ugly inter-party and intra-party confrontation. As a result, leaders slowly lost trust of the people. This was the reason why the parties failed to get massive support from the people when Gyanendra Shah, the then king, took over power by dissolving the democratically elected government.
There is a marked discrepancy in the programmes and practice of the leaders and the parties. This is with all the three major parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Maoists. Going by its political document, Nepali Congress is a social democratic party but it has never practiced socialism in its economic policy. The party pursued ultra-capitalist economic policies, which are not at all compatible with democratic socialism. So far as the CPN-UML is concerned, its name suggests that it is a communist party. But its programmes and practices are anti-communist. The UML talks of communism with the people but champions capitalist democracy when with the foreigners especially western donors. Similarly, the Maoists, too, are preaching one thing and practicing something else. The Maoists claim to be a revolutionary communist party but their activities hardly support their claims. The Maoist party is soon turning into a party of feudal and rightist elements as they are bringing in all the erstwhile rightist and reactionary people into the party fold and shaping their activities accordingly. In the name of revolution, the Maoists are criminalizing the politics and politicizing the crimes.
The political parties are deceiving the people through their double standard, inconsistency and discrepancy in the principles and practices. This is all because the political and democratic values and principles are slowly evaporating. The politics devoid of principle, as once stated by Mahatma Gandhi, is a body without soul. Thus, our political leaders now need to practice what they preach. Otherwise, Nepalese democratic movement may again suffer a setback.
A common perception among the general public in Nepal is that politicians often lie and they are not sincere to the country and the people. This should not be generalized to all the politicians because there might be some honest, sincere and value-based leaders. But their number is small and they have been outnumbered by the crowd of leaders and politicians whose words and works never match.
Gone are the days when politics was value based. This is a general tendency not only in Nepal but in the world. The credibility of politicians has plummeted deep down in recent years. Politics is viewed as the business of the crooks. There were the days of Karl Marx, Fredrik Angels, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Vladimir Lenin and Willy Brant. In our own neighbourhood, were born Mahatam Gandhi who preached and practiced non-violence in politics. His simplicity, truthfulness, honesty, patriotism, self-less sacrifice and principled politics was well appreciated throughout the world. Gandhi’s way and style has been a source of inspiration even today. Around the same time, Nehru, Patel and Jayaprakash Narayan also showed an example of political honesty. In China, Mao Tse Tung emerged as a leader of commitment, who not only established a modern China but also provided a new vision to many poor and working class people in the world. Even today, Mao is revered in the world as a genuine champion of poor, downtrodden and exploited people. Apart from Mao, China got some other visionary leaders like Chao En Lai and Deng Xiaoping, who modernized China and paved the path for political stability and development. These leaders took politics as a service to the people and the nation.
With the demise of this generation, the world is bereft of honest and visionary leaders and value based politics. A new generation of leaders was born that set their own priority. The values and norms that were championed by the older generation slowly disappeared globally. The new breed of leaders has taken politics as a profession and profit-making business and their motive was guided more by profit and benefit rather than the service.
With the onslaught of global capitalism, market has determined everything including politics. The politics has gone to the backstage with economy taking the center stage. The fundamental principle and objective of the market capitalism is the profit. Like in economics, the new concept of market politics or market democracy has emerged in the contemporary politics. Values and ideology are no longer the guiding force in the today’s politics. What determines in the present day politics is the immediate benefit.
After the collapse of the Soviet-model of socialism and its empire in the Eastern Europe back in 1990s, communism is in the defensive stage. In socialism and communism too, the market impact has been visible. The liberal democracy based on multi-party based competition and periodic election have been the political lingua franca in the world. Individual liberty and economic prosperity are the demand of the twenty-first century. The socialist states too have adopted this model within their system. Those countries that adopted changes have survived in the new wave of democratic change. But the regimes that resisted democratic reforms and changes have either already perished or are on the verge of extinction.
At the same time, reforms and liberalization in haste have also brought about negative results. Soviet Union should be taken as its best example. The country that remained under the command of a unified and centralized political and economic system for seven years found itself in chaos when Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms and openness all of sudden. This country was ill-prepared to adopt such reforms and openness in such a swift manner. Its result was shocking and everything got messed up in the new system. This situation ultimately paved the way for disintegration of the Soviet Union.
On the contrary, China adopted more cautionary and practical approach. China under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping introduced economic reforms quite earlier than the glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union. China started with economic reforms in a slow and cautious way whereas Soviet Union let loose everything that soon went out of control. Now China has emerged as a global economic power.
Back in Nepal, the craze for liberty, democracy and openness has been a long phenomenon. The democratic movement germinated more than seventy years ago, when different conscious groups made their efforts to overthrow the oligarchic regime and establish a democratic polity in Nepal. Although the efforts had been made in a clandestine manner as the political activities had been restricted during that time, the plans came to the notice of the rulers. The furious Rana rulers announced the death sentence to four promising Nepali youths and life-term to several others. The four youths who attained martyrdom were Sukra Raj Shastri, Gangalal, Dharmabhakta Mathema and Dasharath Chand. The rulers had hinted that they would reverse the decision if they (martyrs) begged an apology. They were so determined to their commitment and values that the youth leaders chose to die rather than begging apology to those who had exploited the people. This determination and values of the martyrs inspired and provided strength to the people to rise against the oligarchic Rana rule.
The values and commitments with which leaders fought for their ideals soon started evaporating in the later years. Soon after going to power, the leaders emerged as the new feudal lords instead of being the genuine representatives of the people. The degeneration of moral ethnics and political values in the political leaders gave rise to political bickering and apathy of people towards the politicians. The kings often took advantage out of the people’s apathy and trampled democracy and people’s rights.
Even after the political change in 1990, the change was not seen in the mindset, behavior and functioning of the leaders. The lack of political and democratic culture often led to ugly inter-party and intra-party confrontation. As a result, leaders slowly lost trust of the people. This was the reason why the parties failed to get massive support from the people when Gyanendra Shah, the then king, took over power by dissolving the democratically elected government.
There is a marked discrepancy in the programmes and practice of the leaders and the parties. This is with all the three major parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Maoists. Going by its political document, Nepali Congress is a social democratic party but it has never practiced socialism in its economic policy. The party pursued ultra-capitalist economic policies, which are not at all compatible with democratic socialism. So far as the CPN-UML is concerned, its name suggests that it is a communist party. But its programmes and practices are anti-communist. The UML talks of communism with the people but champions capitalist democracy when with the foreigners especially western donors. Similarly, the Maoists, too, are preaching one thing and practicing something else. The Maoists claim to be a revolutionary communist party but their activities hardly support their claims. The Maoist party is soon turning into a party of feudal and rightist elements as they are bringing in all the erstwhile rightist and reactionary people into the party fold and shaping their activities accordingly. In the name of revolution, the Maoists are criminalizing the politics and politicizing the crimes.
The political parties are deceiving the people through their double standard, inconsistency and discrepancy in the principles and practices. This is all because the political and democratic values and principles are slowly evaporating. The politics devoid of principle, as once stated by Mahatma Gandhi, is a body without soul. Thus, our political leaders now need to practice what they preach. Otherwise, Nepalese democratic movement may again suffer a setback.
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