Democracy For Nepal: The April Revolution Asks For A New Political Party

Thursday, May 04, 2006

The April Revolution Asks For A New Political Party

An Open Letter To Gagan Thapa

We braved batons and bullets. We were not scared of the king, and he and the likes of him have been in place for over two centuries. We were not scared of the army, although an emergency was threatened. We were not scared of the police, although it was let loose upon us in large numbers. They envisioned a movement, we gave a revolution.

The revolution is very much on.

But I get a very clear impression the spirit of the seven party alliance is not revolutionary. They have not taken any steps to try and bring the culprits of the previous regime to justice. That would entail getting back the Rs. 50 arab lost over the past few years to gross mismanagement and corruption. That would entail finding out who were the ones to give out orders for the gross repressions of the peaceful protestors: lives and limbs were lost. That would entail documenting human rights violations.

The king's autocracy was hell, but then that is what we expected it to be. The 1990s were hell too, only we did not expect them to be hell.

A constituent assembly is the bare minimum. But a revolution asks for more than the bare minimum. Where do the seven plus one parties stand on the republic question? Where do they stand on political reform? Where do they stand on federalism? Where do they stand on internal democracy in the parties? Where do they stand, period?

The April Revolution is one for world history. But not yet. Much work remains to be done. We still have to watch out for regression. We still have to watch out for mediocrity. We still have to watch out for unimaginative political leadership. We still have to watch out for politicians who constantly lag behind the people. We have to watch out for those who try to suggest the 1990s were Nepal's golden age, when they were anything but. We have to watch out for those who are looking for excuses and ways to impose a ceremonial monarchy upon a people clamoring for a republic. We have to watch out for those looking for escape clauses to put into the next constitution that will prevent social justice after all. We have to maintain a constant vigil, because the revolution is very much on.

Revolution? We did it. Republic? We want it. A new political party is the price we are going to have to pay.

Proposed Republican Constitution 2006
Janata Dal Constitution

The new political party has to be a fundamental departure. It will make a clear stand for a federal republic. It will introduce the concept of total, transparent democracy. It will practice internal democracy. It will keep all its book keeping transparent and online. It will contest in all seats for the constituent assembly. And it will distribute tickets for those seats in a democratic way. Only party members in a particular constituency will get to decide through internal voting as to who gets the ticket. It will not be the party president doing the distributing from Kathmandu.

We will be competing for the votes of the voters below the poverty line. We intend to go head to head with the Maoists. Fuck Mao. We are going to be the darling of the masses. Yes, we will do land reform.

The challenge is to capture the spirit of the April Revolution. No party has done it.

I believe the April Revolution has given Nepal an opportunity to shoot for a cutting edge democracy such that the April Revolution can stand in the same league as the October Revolution in Russia, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, and the Indian Struggle For Independence. But whether or not we will qualify will depend on if or not we can give an original twist to the concept of democracy in our next constitution. I think we should shoot for a democracy where parties do not get to raise funds, instead they get state funds in direct proportion to the number of votes they earn, and they keep all their book keeping online.

Let Gagan Thapa be the founding president. Then let him have the prerogative to nominate four other Officers in the party for the central leadership. Let there be a district committee in each of the 75 districts. Then let's have a central committee member for each million people in the country. That is 27 members. Plus five Officers. We will combine a few districts to get close to the million mark. And then we will get one of the district presidents to come up. But all this is to be an interim arrangement until we formally hold our convention before the constituent assembly elections.

All our deliberations and expenses are to be posted online. At the district level, at the central level.

Those opposed to the idea of a new political party are no different from those in the Nepali Congress who are opposed to abolishing the monarchy. A reformed Congress is like a reformed monarchy: it is still there. It will be decades before the Congress reforms itself to our standards. On the other hand, we can come into power and pass laws to make all parties come around to our gospel of a total, transparent democracy.

Let's give a serious thought to the idea.

How big was the Congress in 1988? How big was it in 1992? I think we will have a shot at emerging the largest party in the country, because we will be the only one in spirit with the April Revolution.

18 Days Of April Revolution: Victory

On The Web

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