CPN-UML’s East-West Campaign And PN Shah’s Sword

CPN-UML’s East-West Campaign And PN Shah’s Sword

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Leaders of CPN-UML carrying the bloodstained sword of their Lord Prithvi Narayan Shah in their hands went to Terai with the message of ‘either you accept our dictate or cut off your noses, and ears and even shut up your mouths.” The people of Saptari appropriately replied to the challenges of CPN-UML leaders. Following the democratic norms and values, the CPN-UML leaders needed to go to the people with the constitution and discuss with the people where the local folks want the correction in the constitution, and what they could correct in other words peaceful and democratic resolution of any dispute. However, CPN-UML leaders went with the intention of violence, so violence met with violence. The Saptari incident of March 6, 2017 is the challenge to Kamal Thapa carrying the PN Shah’s sword for imposing the Hindu religion on the non-Hindu Nepalese, and to Chitra Bahadur KC, CP Mainali, and Narayan Man Bijuckchhe carrying the PN Shah’s sword for imposing the unitary system.

The so-called peaceful East-West Campaign of CPN-UML leaders is not a peaceful at all rather the forceful one to impose the CPN-UML’s rigid stand on not amending the constitution even following the democratic process for it in the parliament. They wanted to demonstrate that they carried the bloodstained sword of PN Shah, and “either you accept our stand on not changing anything in the constitution or you would get your noses, and ears cut off and your mouths shut up forever.” This was a greatest violence, CPN-UML leaders wanted to inflict on the people that have been for the peaceful resolution of any dispute over the constitution.

CPN-UML lawmakers holding the PN Shah’s sword had stalled the parliament stating they did not allow any process for amending the constitution for a month even delaying other parliamentary regular businesses. They did not want to follow the democratic norms and values and let the parliament work. They have every democratic peaceful means to block any amendment to the constitution not the brutal forces. They needed to understand that their aggressive forces would encounter other undemocratic forces, too.

KP Oli and his colleagues such as Jhalanath Khanal and others had once went to the Chandragiri Hill saw the beautiful valley from there as did PN Shah they thought, and then stated that the statue of PN Shah needed to install there, as PN Shah first saw the so beautiful Nepal Valley for the first time from there and made the determination to win it, not knowing that the then King of Bhaktapur: Ranajit Malla brought up PN Shah in his royal palace. These guys have demonstrated that they have the dirty blood of PN Shah flowing in them otherwise they would not have any praise for a person such as PN Shah that knew nothing but to kill anybody speaking against him not to mention doing anything. These guys also either unknowingly or deliberately humiliated the indigenous people of the Nepal Valley that had faced the humiliating defeat at the hands of the less civilized clan of the Khas turned into Shah.

The East-West campaign of the CPN-UML was nothing but to show the muscle of the PN Shah to the common folks. What these KP Oli and his colleagues wanted to demonstrate had been that they had the power similar to that of the PN Shah and they could win the State power no matter what forces they might need to encounter in their mission. They did not have the democratic principles and values in their mind if they had they would carry the constitution of Nepal with them and called on the people to discuss it and try to convince the common folks and political leaders and everybody of the benefits of the new constitution rather than trying to show their strength to the common folks. PN Shah won the Nepal Valley no doubt about it but the doubt now is whether the CPN-UML leaders could win the Terai with the sword of the PN Shah.

CPN-UML leaders went to the East-West campaign with the PN Shah’s sword in their hands but the local folks did not carry any deadly weapons but they simply carried the clubs in their hands to defend themselves when they were fighting against the deadly weapon of the PN Shah. Again, the sword of PN Shah killed the innocent Nepalese for fighting against the deadly weapon of the PN Shah.

When the common folks would not have any democratic means to fight against the tyranny imposed on them they would surely resort to violence. Denying the amendment to the constitution forcibly at the parliament, the CPN-UML leaders had effectively shut the door to the dissidents to fight peacefully for their rights. So, the only option left to them was to resort to the violent uprising. That has been the phenomenon seen elsewhere in the world. The CPN-UML leaders did not want to realize this fact.

The four brave sons of Nepal such as Sukra Raj Shatri, Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Dasharath Chand, and Ganga Lal Shrestha rose up against the PN Shah’s sword the then Rana autocrats had been holding against the people in 1942. That sword was broken up in 1951 but again Mahendra took the bits and pieces of it back from the trashcan and made it a shining sword for himself, and killed many democratic leaders with that sword, and shut up the mouths of the common folks. His son Birendra simply continued to hold the sword threatening to kill anybody that would rise against him. In fact, he did kill some brave sons and daughters fighting against the deadly weapon.

Again under the leadership of the Supreme Leader Ganeshman Singh, Nepalese managed to break it up in 1990 at the cost of so many beautiful lives. Nepalese thought that the PN Shah with his bloodstained sword had gone forever in 1990 but it was not so. Some of the so-called leaders of the democratic parties with different fancy names with the noxious blood of PN Shah in their veins again put together pieces of the broken sword of PN Shah, and held in their hands and revived the dead politicians from their grave to power again.

No wonder again the freak King Gyanendra took up the bloodstained sword in his hand and told the common folks that his ancestors had won this sword and why he would not use it for his benefits in 2005. However, the ten-year people’s war culminating into the people’s movement broke it up again in 2006, and put an end to the dynasty that held such a sword forever in 2008.

Now, the CPN-UML leaders are putting the bits and pieces of the bloodstained sword of the PN Shah into a single sword back again, and showing it to the common folks and telling them, “look, it is the sword of the PN Shah that cut off the noses and ears of the people, opposing it we would do the same to you; so, follow our order or perish.” That was the direct message the CPN-UML leaders have been carrying to the people while in the East-West campaign in Terai.

CK Raut and his followers, Vaidhya Maoists and Biplav Maoists must understand that today everybody has the peaceful means to present her/his grievances and win the support of everybody for her/his cause in the State. Every person or political party can go to the people and convince the people for giving their mandate to change the constitution or any rule and law to make them acceptable to all. They don’t need to resort to violence. They simply need to follow the constitution for any political change they want to make.

The so-called Madheshi political parties and their leaders have to go to the people and have the people’s mandate through the ballot to change anything they dislike in the constitution. However, before the Madheshi leaders could launch any violent movement against the State, the CPN-UML leaders went with the deadly weapon of the PN Shah making the people waiting for violent uprising to come out instantly. However, violence would not work any more, the Madheshi leaders needed to learn as much as the CPN-UML needed, too.

However, we need to appreciate Kamal Thapa: the super leader of the RPP for saying that he is for imposing the Hinduism or reviving PN Shah following the constitution and receiving the mandate from the people. That is nothing but the correct way of following the democratic means for any change. Kamal Thapa correctly realized that using the PN Shah’s sword would not work at all and impossible, too. This fact unfortunately, CPN-UML leaders either did not understand or they had the dream of rising up to be the PN Shah again. However, Thapa loved to garland the portrait of PN Shah holding the deadly weapon.

Chitra Bahadur KC, CP Mainali and Narayan Man Bijuckchhe or anybody willing to reverse the political trend, need to follow the correct path Kamal Thapa has chosen. They need to shut up their mouths to do anything violently. They need to go to the people and put their agenda on the ballot and get the people’s mandate for any change they want in the constitution.

Vaidhya Maoists and Biplav Maoists also needed to come out of their daydream and accept the constitution that is most people-oriented than any other had been in the past. If they want to make it better they need to follow the constitution and get the people’s mandate for doing so. They surely would not be able to repeat the people’s war again because the people have been quite different from the people of mid 1990s when most of the people were ready to shed their blood for a piece of land. So, they need to participate in the upcoming elections to the local governments and show their presence in the local governance rather than thinking to take up arms and fight against the so progressive constitution even though it might have some flaws that need to be corrected.

March 7, 2017