A huge hue and cry of Nepalese themselves against the U.S. $500 million grant assistance to Nepal is beyond explanation.
This grant is being branded as an attempt by the United States to encroach into the sovereignty of Nepal. The clauses and sub-clauses of the agreement are being scrutinized and the ‘findings’ are surfacing.
Interestingly, these so-called ‘anti-Nepal’ findings do not stand on any substantial ground. The conclusions and inferences seem to be based on mere assumptions and deliberate misinterpretations of facts.
It is very much evident that the opponents of MCC had preconceived conclusions in their minds even before they had a look over the document.
They simply were determined from the very beginning to brand United States as an offender and MCC as an aggression tool full of conspiracy.
There is no point in going through the allegations made against the agreement and trying to defend it.
Had there been real confusion it makes sense to explain and clarify the position. These ‘revolutionary and nationalist opinion builder’ opponents of MCC are simply engaged in the fear-mongering job.
They are spreading the notion among the common citizens of the country that implementation of MCC would put their motherland under the total control of the United States of America; the sovereignty of the country would be compromised; and MCC is a grand design of ‘imperialist’ U.S. to encircle Nepal’s good friend and trustworthy neighbor, China. Ironically, a large section of the Nepalese population seems to be buying this grapevine.
I have no doubts in my mind that the majority of communists and few ‘intellectuals’ in Nepal are the direct operatives of MSS (Ministry of Security Services) of China. The general population is simply being brainwashed and allured to the charm of communist China.
Many educated Nepalese, in fact, do sincerely believe that the so-called democratic world is ‘capitalist exploiters’ always eager to establish their supremacy over poverty-stricken poor countries.
The sentiments of the people are so tuned that they view the democratic world, especially the USA, as absolute aggressors. They have many stories of US atrocities in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
They love to recite the stories of People’s Liberation under the leadership of revered Comrades such as Mao, Ho Chi Minh, and Kim Ul Sung.
The fascination for ‘revolutionary messiahs’ such as Gonzalo and Che Guevara is overwhelming in the minds of many youths. Minds of the relatively less educated mass population have been forcefully implanted with this ethos.
This absolutely left-skewed ideological formation in Nepal is not an overnight development. This is the result of the rigorous implementation of a long and well-designed plan orchestrated by evil minds.
The plan was executed under tacit collusion of extreme rightist pro monarchial force and extreme leftist pro-Chinese communists.
This unbelievable strategic alliance between two opposite poles was inspired by the hidden interests of collusion partners. Each of them had their own objective to achieve and both thought that they were using each other.
Communists were a trivial ignorable political force in Nepal before 1960. It was in 1960 December the then king Mahendra dismantled the democratic setup and took over the control of the country as an absolute monarch.
Pro democrat force, led by Nepali Congress, was the major force in the country and was believed to be heavily pro India.
In fact, due to thousands of years of people-to-people contact and cultural similarities between Nepal and India, the general population of both the countries hardly saw each other as ‘foreigners’!
Many leaders of the Nepali Congress, including the deposed Prime Minister B. P. Koirala had actively participated in the Indian independence movement.
B.P. and others are well recognized in India as freedom fighters. Mahatma Gandhi is an undisputed source of inspiration for many Nepalese.
It was quite but natural that India had a huge influence over the tiny neighbor Nepal at the people’s level.
King Mahendra’s ambition to rule the country was almost impossible without reducing the popularity of democratic force, principally the Nepali Congress.
Simultaneously, whatsoever influence India had over Nepal, had to be reverted. The king took advantage of the massive poverty of Nepal.
The very attractive and appealing slogans of ‘proletarian’s dictatorship’ and ‘man needs bread to eat and then mouth to speak’ were used as a strategy.
The then minuscule political force in Nepal, the communists, were very carefully projected as ‘advocates of poor’.
The king had banned all the political parties, but clandestinely engaged his machinery to stimulate and encourage the communists.
Interestingly, the communists who were in favor of the pluralist democratic system were treated very harshly.
These moderate communists were branded ‘anti nationals’ putting them in the same bracket with Nepali Congress. Whereas, apparently communist hardliners slowly but steadily started to grow in the Nepalese society.
On the surface, these hardliners were not recognized by the state. But they started to grow under the clear auspicious of the king and his state machinery. Obviously the king no way had the intention to establish a communist system in the country.
He simply aimed to dilute the influence of the democratic force Nepali Congress.
King Mahendra, on the other front, extended a very warm hand to the communist regime of China. From his point of view, probably he was ‘using’ China.
He very cleverly projected mighty China as a viable alternative to India for Nepal. In the background was the India-China war of 1962.
The then defeated and weak India did not or could not aggressively intervene. The other players present in Nepal, principally U.S.A. was almost very silent spectators! Except for a clandestine attempt to fuel pro-Tibet Khampa rebels based in Nepal, U.S.A. was happy with few hundred peace cop volunteers and few Christian missionaries operating in the nook and corners of the kingdom.
The U.S.A. and the rest of the western world did not take it seriously or thought that it was strategically not important.
China grabbed the opportunity. Visibly, she extended assistance for few development projects such as highways and a couple of manufacturing units.
However, China was very much engaged in the ideological expansion of China’s brand communism in Nepal. The Chinese political literature, the Red Book, was freely distributed in Nepal.
Chinese government publicity material, China Pictorial, was the most popular magazine among the general population of Nepal.
The insignias with the head of Mao were distributed in government schools. I too, as a kid, had the ‘honor’ of wearing the badge!
One could see the mushroom growth of ‘libraries’ and ‘clubs’ in all the localities of towns and villages! Those so-called ‘local social organizations’ were used as platforms for training institutions of Maoism.
One should not forget that this was the time when the seizure of a simple photograph of the forcefully ousted Prime Minister B. P. Koirala would mean imprisonment of two years under the ‘anti-national’ charge! Could all these have happened without the consent and approval of the then absolute monarch?
The two players, monarchy and communist China were actively collaborating. The king was obviously playing the so-called ‘China card’ to neutralize India on one hand and stimulating the communists to reduce the influence of the Nepali Congress in the domestic arena.
China had a bigger plan! From the very beginning, even when she was fragile, China was expanding its ideological base! It had a very clear objective in mind – the establishment of an ideological colony called Nepal!
This seemingly odd collision between two opposite polls may not be easily digested by western scholars and analysts. But this has happened in Nepal!
What is the ultimate result of this ‘grand alliance’? What do we see today? The monarchy is ousted! Today Nepal is a country with a very strong pro-China communist ideological base.
Is Nepal going to witness yet another round of turbulent transition? Especially in the light of Nepal’s very important strategic location, how would external forces react? The answers are not easy, simple, and predictable.
For monarchy, this strategy has been like riding the back of a wild tigress after taming her. The rider used the tigress to kill all his enemies.
But the day when he had to get down the back of a tigress, the rider himself was the victim! On the part of China, initially, she aimed to just spread her ideological base.
But recently with the unbelievable economic progress, she has achieved and after the crystallization of an ambitious leader Shi Ji Ping, China obviously is dreaming of becoming the world superpower, superior to the U.S.A!
Now China and president Shi think that Nepal should be brought under the ‘strategic control’ of China. They probably believe that Nepal already is under their strategic control.
I have no doubts in my mind that the majority of communists and few ‘intellectuals’ in Nepal are the direct operatives of MSS (Ministry of Security Services) of China. The general population is simply being brainwashed and allured to the charm of communist China.
How long this scenario would prevail? There is no finite answer. Disinfection of this deep-rooted contamination of Nepalese minds is not easy.
But disinfection is a must. How and when? Who would take the responsibility of belling the cat? How would the external and internal stakeholders react?
Is Nepal going to witness yet another round of turbulent transition? Especially in the light of Nepal’s very important strategic location, how would external forces react? The answers are not easy, simple, and predictable.
The actions and reactions might result in a very unpleasant scenario. I would like to be a non-curable optimist and say that let us hope for the best!
Comment