Mahatma Gandhi’s campaigns were the first stories of mass civic resistance reported worldwide. Ever since, the frequency with which people resorted to this method has greatly increased. Gandhi said, “The people, when they become conscious of their power, will have every right to take possession of what belongs to them.” The power of civil disobedience is such that it played a crucial role in dismantling autocratic regimes over the last 50 years.

Strikes, boycotts and civil disobedience are among the tactics that interrupt the capacity of those resisting change to monopolise information and dictate events. This presumed triumph of ‘good people’ over ‘bad system’ restored faith in humanity, encouraging considerable optimism on an international scale. This new politics would be, it was assumed, characterised by the associations of civil society, which were expected to emerge in response to the end of repressive regimes. The civil society-led movement was a major catalyst behind the ‘third wave of democratisation’ when most despotic regimes disappeared from the world.

The recent upsurge of civil society in Nepal is a classic example. Although the civil society backed by the political parties played a considerable role in reinstalling democracy in 1990, the strength of opposition against bad people and bad system was weakened during the 1990s thereby distorting the meaning of ‘civil’ to read ‘uncivil society,’ which was a distinct departure from the general model of civil society.

This was partly because civil society became anti-democratic, money-oriented and partisan. This sort of civil society was also behind the derailing of democratic process. It was also because the post-1990s civil society was largely populated by ex-bureaucrats, retired judges, armchair political pundits and so-called conglomerates of Valley bas-ed elites, who engaged in discrediting democracy, abusing freedom and siphoning off donor money.

However, today the responsibility has once again fallen on the civil society, and it is an opportune time to promote civic citizenship for the sake of democratic rights and responsibilities. All said, the civil society-led movement is facing a litmus test: whether it can bring about the real changes for the restoration of democracy in the country or not. It has now to see how best it could mobilise the movement and make it all-inclusive and all-representative. The real challenge it faces is how best to instil a sense of belongingness towards nation and democracy among the security forces and the civil servants, many of whom, it is believed, have joined the stir.

The government’s superiority will last only as long as the present power structure is intact. When commands will be disobeyed, weapon power will end. The ball is in the civil and political activists’ court because all depends on how best they can convince the societal forces to disobey the orders of the royal regime. What is needed is a broad social unity, systematic planning and non-violent discipline to drive the present movement forward.