The people are upset and disenchanted with this generation's incompetent, power-hungry and corrupt leaders who have been ruling the country for more than three decades
The country is in a state of confusion, upheaval, disorder and uncertainty. This trend has continued since the dawn of democracy in Nepal. People are upset with the government, hate all the political leaders and want to get rid of them. In view of all this political turmoil, people are looking for a bold and daring leader with a new vision and orientation to provide stability, rule of law, a corruption-free bureaucracy, and move the country ahead. This all reminds us of the need of a fellow like Jung Bahadur Rana. He is one of the most remembered fellow in Nepal's history for different reasons. Mostly, Jung Bahadur's image has been smeared as a villain, known for his oppressive dictatorship, tyranny, debauchery, economic exploitation and religious persecution. At the same time, people remember him for ending factional infighting in the court, introducing innovation in the bureaucracy, judiciary, and modernising Nepal.
Before the advent of democracy, access to power was through succession, mutinies, palace feuds, scandals and usurping power. Power usurping by force was common during that era. Peaceful transition of power was rare. Jung Bahadur was ambitious, cunning, bold, smart and a man of great courage. In that sense, one cannot blame him for committing anything extraordinary. Before Jung Bahadur took over power, palace feud was at its height. Although, Rajendra Bikram Shah was the king and Fateh Jung Shah the prime minister, they were mere puppets or insigficants. Queen Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and General Gagan Singh Khawas had close relations and exercised the real power of the state and acted randomly. This was in violation of the hierarchical norms and palace tradition. Jung Bahadur was against such malpractices. With a view to abolishing the malpractice and re-establishing the tradition of monarchy, Jung Bahadur secretly organised the military with close associates and staged a coup famously known as the 'Kot Parva', or massacre, in the history of Nepal.
Despite his autocratic and authoritarian rule, Jung Bahadur always followed ethics, norms and conviction. He was in command of the military and courtiers. No element could oppose him in the palace. In this situation, he could dethrone the king, abolish the monarchy and declare himself the absolute ruler of the kingdom. But he was kind enough to let the king and queen survive. Further, Queen Rajya Laxmi Devi wanted Jung Bahadur to declare her son Ranendra as the successor of king Rajendra instead of Surendra. This was against the norms and practices of the monarchical system, which Jung Bahadur Rana did not allow despite threats on his own life from the queen. The queen thus secretly planned to murder Jung Bahadur, which backfired and resulted in the 'Bhandar Khal Parva' and her deportation to Banaras. In both these incidents, no innocent life was lost. It even did not exceed one hundred in the count.
Jung Bahadur also was a true and a loyal friend in need. This is illustrated when he rescued the British from the sepoy rebellion in India in 1857. Jung Bahadur rushed to India himself with more than 12,000 troops at the request of the British to suppress the sepoy revolt. As the revolt was unplanned, spontaneous, and the rebels were looking for someone to lead it, he could have sided with the rebels and grasped the opportunity to his own benefit by annexing more Indian territory for Nepal, as the British were panic-stricken having lost more than 6,000 troops and family members. He also could have mustered the support of the Gurkhas serving in the British Army. He had many other options to benefit from, but Jung Bahadur remained unmoved and helped the British to quell the revolt.
The purpose of the Maoist insurgency was economic and social transformation, establish people's rule, and abolish monarchy and feudal society. In the initial stages of the civil war, people took it positively and expected some change from the then existing frail and corrupt government. But soon it turned out to be violent, characterised as crime against humanity, with summary executions, massacres, kidnappings and mass rapes. Many innocent people were victimised, and 3,000 people disappeared, according to the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons. The Maoist insurgency ended in 2006 with a loss of more than 17,000 lives following a 12-point agreement sponsored by New Delhi.
The role of India in the Maoist insurgency in Nepal is interesting. Why did India let it use its territory against Nepal? Further, India also offered shelter to the Maoist leaders and provided training to the Maoist guerillas. What was the motive of India behind supporting and helping the Maoist insurgency in Nepal? It is also interesting to note why the Maoist movement was launched from India instead of China as India is not a communist country? Despite the loss of all these lives and political violence for more than a decade, it did not bring any change. Ratherit has brought more political turmoil, uncertainty, corruption, nepotism, misuse of power, scandals and foreign interference. The people are upset and disenchanted with this generation's incompetent, power-hungry and corrupt leaders who have been ruling for more than three decades. All the top leaders are seen as the main source of corruption. Shamelessly, they try to stick to power by hook orby crook.
It is now high time that they are sidelined and replaced by a dynamic leader like Jung Bahadur Rana, who waged war against Tibet in 1855 and removed the status of Nepal as a tributary state of China, and instead forced Tibet to pay 10,000 rupees annually as reparation. Although young, Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Balendra Shah looks like a potential leader of the future. His performance as the mayor of Kathmandu is highly appreciated by the people. Like Jung Bahadur, he looks bold, energetic and visionary. Let us dump the old conmen and vote for Balendra in 2084 BS as an independent candidate.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 22, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.