India's U-Turn: Are Proponents Of Democracy Strong Enough?

The question of democracy in Nepal has global implications. India, US, and the EU need to keep this in mind. Countries that before have pumped in tens of millions of dollars worth of weapons should seriously consider pumping in a few million to the democratic cause in Nepal. Democrats need to outdo the autocrats when it comes to sophistication in organization, and efficiency in the execution of the protest movement.

India is not in a position to directly challenge China. Powers like the US need to realize that a China that is a democracy will be much more reasonable on issues like Taiwan. And so Chinese boosts to the king need to be countered.

The reasons for funding the democratic movement in Nepal are:

1. It costs much less than funding the Royal Nepali Army.
2. The Nepali democrats would subsequently work to export democracy to the other countries in the region.
   
3. There might be long-term democratic implications also into China.
4. Either you are for democracy, or against it. There is no middle ground.
   
5. Put your money where your mouth is.

I think one thing that might have made India do its U-turn could be that the Nepali democrats have not been able to put any major protest against the king out in the streets. The clampdown has not made it possible. But that is not a good excuse. The top-down nature of deciding how to move ahead, and a lack of sophisticated organization methods have played into the king's hand. A heightened Maoist acitivity in India might also have prompted India to tone down a bit.

I think India's "very soon" should mean after emergency is lifted at the end of this month.

It is also possible the king is exaggerating the extent of Manmohan's assurance, because the guy does like to cast the impression he is a brilliant politician. He is trying to create the impression he made Manmohan see reason by talking to him.

In The News

• Top News ; Nepal crown prince dons father's mantle: Keralanext Paras, portrayed by the foreign media as a young man still sowing his wild oats and fond of frequenting discos ...... The WHF, that aims at establishing Hindu supremacy worldwide, regards King Gyanendra, ruler of the only Hindu kingdom in the world, an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, and therefore the sovereign of Hindus all over the world. ..... the crown prince too has had an extraordinarily busy social calendar perceived as a grooming for future...... On April 9, along with his parents, he attended an army programme where he looked the identical image of his father, both wearing similar uniforms, caps and dark glasses....... he exchanged pleasantries with the heads of different foreign embassies and missions
• Fresh agitations planned in Kathmandu from May 1 Hindu ..... huge demonstrations in capital ...... gearing up for massive anti-King demonstrations ..... NC, CPN-UML, NC (Democratic), People's Front Nepal and Nepal Sadbhavana Party (A) are working out on a common agenda to launch fresh agitations ...... Girija Prasad Koirala will leave on a country-wide tour to hold meetings with party cadres in all five administrative regions
• Top News ; Nepal king's foreign trip lands commoners in trouble:Keralanext, India Royal Nepalese Airlines, deeply in the red ..... The state carrier has only two Boeings. With King Gyanendra and his sizeable entourage leaving Kathmandu on a nine-day tour abroad, one of the aircraft had to be put at his disposal.
• Villagers in Nepal form self-defence committees to fight Maoist ...Webindia123, India a strong 500-member army of young men and women..... "We have sold our land, homes everything to raise this army...what will we do with all this if we don't have life. All these people here, they have sold their fields, homes. We have collected 200,000 to 400,000 rupees so far. If we don't have life then what is the worth of all that money"
• CPI (M) opposes arms supply to Nepal Hindu
• Left raps Centre on arms to Nepal Indian Express, India ‘‘There should be no question of resuming arms supplies to a despotic king who suppressed the elementary democratic rights of the people’’ ..... municipal polls announced by the king are ‘‘farcical and cannot be a substitute for full restoration of parliamentary democracy and having an elected government’’. ...... resumption of military supply would ‘‘weaken revival of democracy in Nepal’’.
• China rolls out red carpet for king Calcutta Telegraph Delhi fears that taking too hard a line with the king would push him closer to Beijing. With China already enjoying close relations with Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, India can ill afford to “lose” Nepal .... The king’s position is that he had no choice but to dismiss the government as it was failing to end a Maoist insurgency that has gripped Nepal since the mid-1990s ..... there is little evidence that the king’s actions, or China’s support, have fazed the guerrillas ...... the day the king landed in China, the Maoists called for an 11-day general strike.
  
• CPI (ML) criticises renewal of military aid to Nepal:- Webindia123, India
• Coup rebels offloaded Calcutta Telegraph Devendra Raj Pandey, the finance minister in the sacked regime, could make it to Delhi as he had come by road. He said the “civil community” in India could not fathom the “gravity” of the situation after the king “staged a coup” and killed democracy...... Pandey said Nepal is abuzz with two trains of thought: one is the restoration of status quo ante, thus allowing political parties to again assume power, and the other is the scrapping of the current constitution to make way for “constitutional monarchy”. The latter option bears the threat of the royalty’s intervention in the elected government any time.
• India does a U-turn on arms supply to Nepal, delivery The Hindu ... a consignment of arms which had been in the pipeline when King Gyanendra seized direct control of the Government on February 1 would be delivered "very soon." On his part, the King assured the Prime Minister that democracy in Nepal would be restored "sooner rather than later" and that he would be sensitive to Indian concerns that there be a "road map" for restarting the political process ....... On King Gyanendra's statement that Indian military supplies would now be forthcoming, all Dr. Singh was prepared to say was: "His Majesty raised that issue with me and I said we will look at these things in the proper perspective." ...... Indian officials were caught off guard by the Nepalese monarch's statement to NDTV soon after ..... cited his controversial decision to hold municipal elections as the first step...... It is not clear whether the decision to send the one pending consignment of arms to Nepal will be followed up soon with other deliveries...... Gyanendra, who continues to defy calls made by people in Nepal — and the international community — for a speedy return to democratic rule ...... In his speech to the Jakarta summit, the King was unapologetic ..... and claimed that .... the international war on terrorism had been strengthened as a result.
• India rising: PM chosen to lead Asia Times of India Natwar Singh said that India was now ready to attend the SAARC Summit in Dhaka.
• Pakistan lacks freedom, follow India: Pak media Indian Express For Pakistan life will not be good till they get rid of the General, establish a humming India-like (not Bangladesh-like) democracy. Till then, water will well in every Pakistani’s eyes.