News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal Nepal saw a systemic political transformation in 1951 having a huge impact on all aspects and sectors of the country. A popular movement overthrew the Rana's family oligarchy and established a multi-party political system in Nepal in 1951. The political change heralded a new chapter in Nepal's foreign policy and diplomatic arena, as well. Although efforts for diversification of Nepal's foreign policy and diplomacy started during the Rana rule, not much progress had been achieved due to lack of political and democratic legitimacy. Nepal had diplomatic relations with a single country—the United Kingdom—for almost 130 years until 1947. Rana rulers were happy and safe as long as they continued to get British support and they did not feel necessary to develop relations with other countries. When the British withdrew from India, Rana regime started felt insecure and hastened to establish relations with other countries. In the later part of the Rana rule, Nepa...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Geopolitical compulsion has been a key determinant in foreign policy formulation right from the time when the concept of a nation state started emerging in Nepal.  Soon after the unification, Nepalese rulers tried to adopt independent foreign policy based on Nepal's need and demand, but the internal political brickbats and intrigue constrained the desire to reach out to the world. Although Jung Bahadur Rana came to power with British support, he had subtly tried to come out from the British-centric policy once he consolidated his hold onto power. Jung Bahadur's efforts to reach out to Europe and even Africa and maintain a balance with the northern neighbour was partly his desire to adopt independent foreign policy and partly out of his dissatisfaction with the British. Jung Bahadur's dissatisfaction with the British brewed after Nepal helped the East India Company to curb Sepoy mutiny in India. After successfully controlling the Sepoy mutiny, Jung Bahad...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Big powers always try to make sure that their presence and influence in the neighbourhood and international arena remain strong and their interests are better served. Anything done for this purpose by any country is called power projection. Power projection is a part of international politics and the act of power projection can be pursued in both hard and soft forms. Hard power is military machine whereas soft power comes out of other means of persuasion to make one's presence felt; influence maintained and its national interest served. Three Cs In the game of international power politics, the letter 'C' has a special meaning and significance. Big powers rely on and apply three 'Cs' for power projection, and have their interest served abroad or in other countries. The three 'Cs' mainly refer to the words: 'convince, confuse and confront'. The first two are mainly to do with the use of soft power while the third one refers t...

Yuba Nath Lamsal It seems as though a new kind of political polarisation is in the offing. This is mainly after the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) withdrew its support to the government and decided to launch fresh protests demanding that its concerns and agenda be addressed through constitution amendment.  Going one step forward, the UDMF declared that it would not participate in the local election scheduled for May 14. Instead, it says it would try to foil it if the election were held without addressing their demands. Amendment bill The government has already registered the constitution amendment bill in the parliament. The bill is now property of the Legislature-Parliament, to which the UDMF is also a part. The onus now lies on the parliament in general and the political parties in particular to decide on the bill— whether to pass in its original and modified form or reject it. As the Madhesi Front is a key stakeholder, it, too, is required to play a constructive ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Many of us tend to believe that foreign policy is primarily an elitist domain.  This is a general belief not only in Nepal but also in the world as a whole. Foreign policy is the domain of the government, and the ordinary people are not directly involved in foreign policy formulation and its execution. But in the present and modern world wherein democracy has become a common global lingua franca, foreign policy, too, is becoming the subject of public scrutiny. Foreign policy is said to be the extension of domestic policy. Foreign policy formulation and execution is, therefore, not an independent entity, but a part of overall governance. Since a democratic government consists of elected representatives, the people, too, have an indirect participation in foreign policy formulation and execution. The foreign ministry appears to be the core agency in executing foreign policy, but it is the legislative and executive which are responsible for foreign policy formu...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The infamous massacre known as the Kot Parva took place on the night of September 14, 1846, in which most of the senior officials and military commanders were killed on the premises of the royal place of Nepal, giving rise to Jung Bahadur Rana to power. Soon after the Kot massacre, the powerful Queen Laxmi Devi appointed Jung Bahadur as the new prime minister of Nepal. Jung’s rise to power made a big impact on Nepal's political and diplomatic arena. In politics, it started the clan rule of Ranas rendering the Shah kings into mere rubber stamps whereas the Rana Prime Minister became all powerful, which came to an end only in 1951 following a popular uprising.  Policy shift Jung's rise to power resulted in a major redefinition of Nepal's foreign policy, more particularly viz-a-viz China and British India. According to Leo Rose, a practical politician like Jung Bahadur was aware of the decline of Chinese power and it was not in a position or willing to...

Yuba Nath Lamsal With the announcement of the local election, political uncertainty has come to an end.  Given the complications in the national political landscape for varied reasons, uncertainty over early local election had loomed large in the Nepalese political landscape. Now the uncertainty is cleared and unless some foreseeable circumstances take place, the much-waited local election will be held simultaneously throughout the country on May 14, 2017. There has not been election for the local bodies for almost two decades. The last local election in Nepal had been held in 1997. In the absence of the elected people's representatives, civil servants have been manning and running the local bodies. The local bodies are the foundation of democratic structure and democracy cannot be institutionalised without practicing it in all levels. In such a case, good governance is out of question and the concept of local self-governance has remained only in papers. Fundamental spirit ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The protracted power tussle between the ruling and opposition parties and their calculated divergence on multiple issues is nothing other than their lack of confidence on their organisational strength and popular base. Viewed from their track records of at least for the last one decade, if not more, none of the political parties seems to have lived up to general expectations of the people. Key forces In the political spectrum of Nepal, four forces hold the key role. These key forces are the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Center and Madhesis. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has recently emerged as another force to reckon with especially after the merger of the two factions of the RPP. An extreme leftist force is also trying to emerge, but its presence has not been felt significantly visible in Nepal's political landscape so far. In the Constituent Assembly election held in 2013, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML emerged as the largest and the s...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Election for local bodies appears to be round the corner. If all goes well, the local election will be held in next three months. The constitution  requires all three elections should be held in the next eleven months. The three elections are for local bodies (municipalities and village councils); provincial legislature and federal legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. But uncertainties still prevail. Limited time Given the climatic condition and cultural tradition of Nepal, we have limited months for holding the elections. Elections in Nepal are not possible in all 12 months of the year. The period between mid-June and mid-September is rainy season during which our farmers are occupied in agricultural activities. During the monsoon season, the country often suffers from floods and landslides, which may pose difficulty even for the movement of people. Soon after the rainy season is over festival season begins. G...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Most people often tend to define as well as believe that history is the documentation of the past events. It may be true, to a large extent, as history contains and compiles every incident and every bit of information that takes place in the past. However, history is not merely a record of the past. A real and genuine history is the objective analysis and interpretation of the incidents taken place in the past from which lessons are leant to cope with the present situation and chalk out the future course. Importance History deals with both documentation as well as its interpretation of the past events. The proper study and analysis of past is a must to exactly understand and ascertain the present situation. In the absence of understanding the past and objective analysis of the present, the forward journey often becomes difficult and the vision for the future gets blurred. Ignorance or distortion of history leads to failure in achieving the goal set forth. Study...