Thursday, January 28, 2010

Whatever Happened to Nationalism?

I wait at least a week before posting anew in my blog. But this morning's headline "VP Reinstatement Bill Passed" was simply too much! The legislature-parliament, also known euphemistically as the Constituent Assembly, has endorsed a bill "paving the way for the reactivation of duties and responsibilities of Parmananda Jha as the country's Vice President". This gentleman's authority as VP was "deactivated" last August through a Supreme Court order because he took his oath of office in the Hindi language which was not in line with the existing (Interim) Constitution.

It was indeed a sight to behold at the swearing-in last year of the first President and VP of "Republican" Nepal. The President, after his own searing-in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, administered the VP oath to Mr. Jha in pure Nepali. Mr. Jha, standing resplendent there in his Indian outfit, did a simultaneous translation worthy of any UN General Assembly translator, and took his oath in Hindi.

Jha is a madhesi, from the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Party, and also an ex-SC justice who left under a cloud of scandal. His mother tongue may be Maithali but certainly not Hindi, which is one of the major official languages of India. It took numerous street agitations and the SC ruling to remove this treasonous man from the high office of VP. Now the CA is trying to reinstate him. Could it be just a coincidence that the Indian Foreign Minister and the Indian Chief of Army Staff just concluded their official visits to Nepal?

If the Nepalis in Madhesh (the southern belt of Nepal adjacent to India) consider themselves Nepali first, they had better come to their senses, and soon. If their allegiance is first to the Hindi language, and by inference to India, then a few million more Indian citizens should make no difference to our mighty neighbour. In juxtapose, our President is also from the Madhesh. He took his oath in Nepali and he has never been seen in public except in "labeta suruwal and Nepali cap" - the true national dress for Nepali men. Madhesh, compare and learn your lesson.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What makes you think that we have any nationalism left in us? We have given our fate to the so called elected leaders ready to sell nationalism and even their mothers including their motherland for the price of hanging on to power.

Anonymous said...

The Sikkimisation of Nepal started with the signing of the SPA+M agreement in Delhi. Be ready to sing Jana Gana Mana...

Anonymous said...

Be ready to rename your blog site to "Chiya Dukan ka Gup-Shup"

Horatio said...

I cringe at the above 3 anonymous comments.

As long as there is a country called Nepal, flying the double-triangle moon and sun flag; as long as enough people here feel they are Nepalis; as long as we do not become fatalistic zombies - nationalism lives on.

If you are Nepalis (and at least the first commentator seems to be one), why do you gentlemen/ladies give up so easily? If you are not Nepalis, your comments reek of Nepali-baiting. Go fish elsewhere.

Ko Ko said...

See the rights of the sovereign king as was in the Panchayat Constitiution. You will then know that such rights, like right to warn, to advise etc. is in fact being actually being practices or used by the Indian ambassador.

Maintain a deceptive image of independence, seems to be the fashion these days. .. . no ? ( to Horatio )

Horatio said...

Thank you for your perceptive comment, Ko Ko.

Unfortunately the comrades have taken the lead in maintaining that "deceptive image of independence" (well put!) and they are getting away with it.

Anonymous said...

Churchill once wrote, "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." Take note NC and UML.

Ko Ko said...

Churchill is right. But here the appeasement process is being called the peace process.

And that too only appeasing the Maoists, and not the many insurgent groups... and they think peace will prevail just because it is deceptively called a peace process.