The eight-party alliance as well as many other political parties, having reconciled with the change in the popular mood after Jana Andolan II, have been repeatedly pledging to build a new Nepal based upon freedom and equality of all Nepalis. A new Nepal where no person, family or caste would be treated superior and all feudal practices would be done away with. However, the behaviour of political leaders in public gatherings and functions has shown vestiges of the feudal past.

Feudalism is an economic order as well as a cultural phenomenon which does not believe in equality of humans but in the needs of a privileged person, family and class. The behaviour of the political leaders vis-à-vis their party cadres and followers and the common masses is similar to the feudal lordship which the leaders have pledged to abolish.

The glaring example of the appearance of neo-feudalism is the twin public appearances of the PM within a time span of less than two months. The PM in his capacity as the head of the state witnessed the bhoto of Macchindranath at Jawalakhel and on September 4, visited the Krishna temple in Patan to receive tika. Bhoto Jatra is a festival of Hindus and Buddhists while Krishna Janmastami is a purely Hindu festival. The Interim Constitution has declared Nepal a secular state. How can the head of the state of a secular state then attend a festival of a particular religion?

One has to scan the history of these festivals in which erstwhile monarchs presided over. A Hindu monarch is considered divine, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. A monarch, therefore, is not only the head of the state but also a deity. The hereditary monarch belongs to a particular family of a particular Hindu caste. Girija Prasad Koirala, the present head of state, cannot be regarded either as a deity or somebody superior to other people. So these steps have to be taken seriously.

In many countries in the world in the last century, the leaders of democratic and anti-colonial movements gradually turned into dictators. Sukarno of Indonesia, Nkrumah of Ghana, Kaunda of Zambia — all great leaders and revolutionaries of their time — and Mugabe of present-day Zimbabwe, are examples of degeneration of democratic freedom fighters into dictators. The self-seekers and sycophants around the leaders derailed them from their path and made a monster of a man. In Nepal, too, there is no dearth of self-seekers and sycophants as well and kith and kin would like to see their nominee as the king or as somehow superior. Unless the leaders lift themselves above the crowd of self-seekers and sycophants, they will continue to be beset by unhealthy desires.

If we are going to bury feudalism we must bury all the feudal practices and be

careful not to confer the monarchical privileges on the democratic head of state. In Nepali history, monarchs have been either Buddhists or Hindus from particular families. They had even privileges as deities or demigods to preside over religious functions. In the changed circumstances, the head of state, unless we continue with monarchy, cannot take up the role of the monarch in a secular state.

We are moving in a new direction. We still have a king but his role as a political head of state has been taken over by the PM. So, the PM is the acting head of state only in the political realm. The title is “acting head of state”; it does not make him an acting king. Hence any function in which the presence of a king is required has to be either abolished or left to the religious authorities to decide. However, a head of state, either nominated or elected by the people, should never be given the task related to religious activities in a secular state.

Many people might opine that this is not an important issue to be discussed but we must not forget that “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. To let a new tradition establish itself without going into its pros and cons would create new hurdles in the building of a new Nepal. The sycophants might enjoy the emergence of a new halo around their master but for the process of democratisation and strengthening of democratic culture, any vestige of feudalism has to be abolished. Whether one likes monarchy or not, the truth remains that a leader of a political party cannot act like a monarch.

The other important point is in the mode of talk and speech. The “royal language” used to address members of the royal family is gaining popularity among those around political leadership. Nepali language has many ways of addressing people. The democratic timi and tapai are fast being replaced by court language that the sycophants are using to please their leaders. The leaders must refrain from this mode of address, which is at its heart a remnant of feudal culture. No mode of address that creates a gulf between the addressor and the addressee should be permitted. Great care has to be taken in all spheres to erase the vestiges of the feudal past.

Upadhyay is ex-foreign minister