Koirala has been forgotten by the NC as has Mahatma Gandhi by the Indian Congress. It is no wonder then that it is sinking like the Indian Congress. It can be seen in the failure to obtain a majority despite tying bogeys in the last election with ideologically different parties in addition to the dismal defeat in the last by-elections
The Nepali Congress (NC) is observing the 43rddeath anniversary of its legendary leader B P Koirala throughout the country with its leaders highlighting his illustrious contribution in the political, economic and social front.
Their portrayal has, however, been like the story of the blind men describing the elephant by touching its various parts. Some of them touched the ear and said that it was a fan. The others touched its legs and thought that it was the trunk of a tree. But nobody could say that it was an elephant.
Similar is the plight of the Nepali Congress politicians and intelligentsia at the moment.
Koirala was a polymath of the first water. He was not only an exponent of political theories, such as democratic socialism, which is considered his forte but also a great writer.
His literary genius can be seen palpably in several books that he has authored.
But his message has been like, what the renowned poet laureate Lekha Nath Paudel wrote, the pearl thrown in the land of the tribal.
In the past, the rulers used to send their succeeding sons to study outside their palace. Accordingly, Dasarath of the Ramayan fame sent Rama to the sanctuary of sage Vasistha inhis teens with his younger brothers. He later practised the political, social and other philosophies due to which he was able to rule exceedingly well, with the result that his regime is known as Ram Rajya, an icon of good governance.
The Pandavas and Kauravs of Mahabharat also obtained the necessary knowledge from the reputed teacher Dronacharya.
These myths carried down to the real world, where we see Chanakya in fourth century BC providing the intellectual wherewithal to King Chandragupta Maurya. His seminal book Arthashastra continues to illuminate even to the present day like the light on the other side of the tunnel.
In Nepal also, this tradition can be glaringly seen in the provision of the court teachers who were held in high esteem. Pratap Malla had Lambakarna Bhatta and Gyanananda. Siddhi Nar Singh Malla had Viswa Nath Upadhyaya, his mentor, for whom he constructed the Vishwa Nath Templein Patan Durbar square.
But not always had these court teachers being treated with the honour that they deserve. For example, Prithvi Narayan Shaha invited his teacher Goreswore Panta from Benares to arrange for an unarmed meeting on the bank of Trishuli River with his rival, Tri Bikram Sen, the King of Tanahu. Sen agreed as Panta was his teacher as well.
But Shaha charged with arms earlier hidden on the Trishuli River bank, imprisoning the Tanahu king. Later he banished Panta back to Benares.
Mahatma Gandhi performed a valuable job for the Indian Congress. He provided the much needed vision, mission and goal for this party. It was ably followed by Jawahar Lal Nehru and his contemporaries in the early phase. But he has been largely forgotten now, following which the Congress has been reduced to a lesser political party in India.
Koirala holds a similar stature in the Nepali Congress. Its main slogan consisting of democracy, nationalism, socialism and constitutional monarchy was coined by Koirala, which have been rightly portrayed as the four stars that appear on the NC flag.
He had an unusual capability to communicate with the people. This genius can be seen in his definition of democracy, communism and socialism. He said that socialism emerges when you add democracy to communism. Communism results when democracy is taken out of socialism.
While politics formed the spine of his life, literature always remained in the sidelines like the shadow following the body. It was, however, one of his great passions. He differentiated literature from politics in a very simple manner in a way understandable to the commoner by saying that even an emperor can be nude in literature while even a simple political volunteer needs a bare minimum of cloth for a cover-up.
Koirala has been forgotten by the NC as has Mahatma Gandhi by the Indian Congress. It is no wonder then that it is sinking like the Indian Congress as did the legendary Titanic, which was considered invincible.
It can be seen in the failure to obtain a majority despite tying bogeys in the last election with ideologically different parties in addition to the dismal defeat faced in the last by-elections.
Koirala is in fact a step ahead of the aforementioned reputed ideologues.
He not only framed a political ideology for the Nepali Congress but he also became the prime minister for a brief spell, which will be remembered for ever in Nepal.
The NC has diverted so alarmingly from the BP path that it has reached atop a steep political cliff. It has been glaringly seen in the support shown by some central members to former home minister Bal Krishna Khand after being tainted in the Bhutanese refugee scam. In a similar circumstance, the former finance minister, Ram Sharan Mahat, recognised as one of the best financial ministers nationally and internationally, voluntarily stepped down to facilitate the judicial proceeding when charged with the abuse of foreign currency in 1997 by the opposition. He was again restored as the finance minister after he was found to be innocent by the inquiry committee set up for this purpose. It bolstered the image of both Mahat and the NC in stark contrast to it being tarnished by the Khand episode.
At a time when the NC has been perceived as the promoter and protector of corruption in the country, the ideals of BP can act as a savior, like the legendary sanjibani herb. But his ideals have to be translated in real life instead of carrying out a mere ritual as is the practice at the present. It alone can rescue the NC ship, which is otherwise swaying in troubled waters.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.