Corpses, Dust And Smoke

The caretaker government formed in the immediate aftermath of a youth-led movement on Sept 8-9 has an uphill battle ahead: conducting national elections within six months (of which one month has already passed). The three principal organs of the state have suffered burns of varying degrees in the ensuing violence, along with the fourth estate, a soft target of different nefarious elements and governments of different hues and shades. 

Apparently, the cardinal rule — don’t shoot the messenger just because you don’t like the message — doesn’t apply in the motherland of all sorts of ‘revolutions’, right? 

Back to the (literally) smoldering streets. Many police posts, tasked with maintaining law and order, have been burnt to a cinder. For many police personnel, even a uniform has become a luxury; forget other amenities. At this juncture, the morale of the police force may not be exactly high as it has just survived a grave crisis. 

Facts are indeed frightening. Out of over 14,000 inmates who fled 28 prisons and juvenile detention centers during the protests, nearly 5,700 individuals, including hardened criminals, are on the run — many with looted arms — while 8,851 escapees have voluntarily surrendered, as of this writing.  What worries the citizenry the most is the lack of a credible search, arrest and disarmament operation against the absconders. Is the government waiting for some auspicious date to start such an operation against the jailbirds on the loose, many armed to the teeth?   

Still, the government appears serious about conducting elections within the deadline (March 5, 2026) and handing over the reins to an elected government. It has directed the Election Commission to make preparations for the polls and called Nepali embassies to garner support.   All well and good, but polls can’t happen in a vacuum. The democratic exercise is impossible without taking a shaken and stirred people into confidence, for which a semblance of order is necessary. In every democracy worth its name, polls are impossible without the participation of parties, and our strain is no exception, most probably. 

But the government seems least bothered about taking the parties represented in the erstwhile Parliament into confidence, let alone the other political outfits.  Sans a doubt, the government should also reach out to the parties if it indeed wants polls. On their part, the tried and tested parties, especially the three major parties, should not forget that a free, fair and credible vote can still take Nepal out of this crisis, at a time when their credibility has hit rock bottom, thanks to a series of corruption scams. 

All in all, the time has come for the brass of the parties to make the biggest contribution of their careers spanning decades. By hanging up their boots, facilitating the elevation of young leaders through a democratic process, guiding them through the transition and subjecting them to probes into their alleged involvement in scams (which have become their ‘legacy’), these leaders can help usher Nepal into a new era, a common aspiration of GenZ and older generations.  

The good ole Marcus Aurelius sounds so very sane even in these mad times:  How is it with your ruling part? On this all depends. All other things, within or without our control, are but corpses, dust, and smoke.