Not talking peace

The three-day long bandh called by the Maoists have only succeeded in adding to the hardships of the common man. The bandh had been called after the other political parties did not yield to the Maoists demands for the so called "civilian supremacy" and formation of a national unity government under its leadership. Although there is much talk about the desirability of a politics of consensus amongst the major political parties little headway has been made in this direction since the deadlock began after the President's move to reinstate the then Army Chief Rookmangud Katawal. Although the leaders said that they were ready to exercise the maximum flexibility this was not done in practice. Despite the Maoists' affirmation that they were against the politics of bandhs while they were in power, they have resorted to this time and again in attempts to get their unreasonable demands fulfilled. As if this was not enough, the Maoists have been confiscating private and public land illegally and have yet to return land they had pledged to do so when they signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The people have suffered enough during the decade long conflict period and they are hoping that they would finally get a reprieve. But the activities of the Maoists so far have belied their expectations.

Moreover, by declaring autonomous states the Maoists have tried to bring divisions in the society. The Nepalese people for long have enjoyed harmonious relations. The Maoists say that they have declared the autonomous states only for the sake of publicity. However, by declaring such states there is danger of communalism rising in the country bringing in its aftermath the possibility of violence and even a civil war. The Maoists had not heeded the call of various political parties not to declare such states in such an irresponsible manner, however their pleas fell on deaf ears. This should have been decided by the Constituent Assembly which has the people's mandate to decide on such matters. Unfortunately, the Maoists by declaring the autonomous states have gone beyond their jurisdiction. In fact, no single party has any authority to take such steps.

Similarly, the appeals made by the political parties and civil society not to hold the bandh were unheeded by the Maoists. As a result immense damage has been done and scores of people have been injured in ugly confrontations and property and vehicles vandalized. Every bandh costs the country millions, or possibly billions. Apart from this the movement of the people is virtually paralyzed and schools and industries, and various institutions are closed. In a democracy, the people have the right to hold peaceful protests, but these recent protests have been anything but peaceful although the bandh organizers had at first said that they would be holding peaceful protests. It would thus be in order to hold talks to settle differences and not take to the streets at the flimsiest excuses. With the deadline of writing the constitution less than six months away, the UCPN (M) has taken the wild measure of enforcing bandhs which will not only impact on statute drafting but may also derail the peace process.

Little leeway

Everyone seems to believe in brain drain all because it is a pointer to the fact that whoever is going abroad has found a greener pasture. To stem the tide is not a simple proposition all because the authorities realize the problem only when lot of cusecs of water has flowed under the bridge. In this

respect, the ministers and bureaucrats at home are too lost in their own world to think how the skilled and trained manpower could be lured to remain in the country. The wages and perks may be one side of the story, the other relates to the dignity of the profession as the case may be. It is here that the government falters without fail.

To learn of the doctor-patient ratio at 1:30000 in the rural areas and the flight of doctors to wealthy nations at the same time is just too much salt in the food. Despite the grim health care scenario with the shortage of skilled medical manpower, the government is unable to do anything. We talk of MDGs as if they were easy shots, but the reality is with this lackluster scenario the deadline will come and go without any achievement in the real sense of the word. Only one message can be delivered: Act urgently.