Justice will come sooner or later

One is not sure about what a helpless nation Nepal has turned out to be with setbacks in good governance, security matters and also the complicated rules and regulations which allow only the corrupt officials to play with even if it means the country is burdened with more problems, but, surely, the people who are enjoying the benefits of such a condition will know better about such things rather than the common man on the streets. Again, more than just Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba alone, the same blame should also be put on the major political parties in the country and also the Western nations who have contributed more to bringing instability in many countries rather than uplifting the life of the impoverished citizens who live in such unfortunate conditions. Just a few days back the prices of petroleum products were raised by the government for the ninth time with prices being raised a whopping four times within about a month.

This scribe has written in many publications about the direct impact of such a decision, on the market prices of essential goods. And this will be felt more by the people with a fixed income and more so by the daily wage earners. Of course, one can forget to say the same thing about the corrupt politicians, their near and dear ones, the corrupt government officials and equally corrupt police personnel while talking about the less fortunate people. The privileged ones live a life which is a far cry from the daily struggle of an impoverished family. The chasm between the rich and poor is getting wider each day and anyone can say that this is a dangerous situation for a country like Nepal, which otherwise was stable and the people were living a harmonious life.

But No, the Maoist leaders headed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Babu Ram Bhattrai wanted an armed revolution which virtually brought the nation to its knees with armed Maoists killing innocent people and destroying infrastructures that were taking Nepal steadily ahead. The ‘words of wisdom’ they gave was that all problems will be solved if they could throw out the Kingship and start the nation from scratch to rebuild it. In other ways, they were saying that the kings were the enemies of the people and thus all things would be solved if the monarchy is thrown out. This was the bottom line of their real leaders hiding in a neighbouring country and also the wish of certain Western powers led by the United States which guided them!

After King Gyanendra was ousted, and also quit the Narayanhity Palace, the people expected their dreams will become true, but look at the sorry situation of the country as it is now. There is a feeling of helplessness in all sectors, in the private sector and the government sector as well. Again, of course, the few who are enjoying themselves like new kings of a ‘new Nepal’, don’t seem to care about the people who brought them to power.

Here, it would not be wrong to publish the activities of the then IGP of the Nepal Police, Achyut Krishna Kharel and the then Home Secretary Padam Prasad Pokhrel, who played instrumental parts in increasing the hold of the then terrorist-tagged Maoists, by not only encouraging officers to kill innocent villagers and tagging them as being Maoists but also in earning millions of rupees by giving false papers about the ‘helicopter journeys’ they made to trouble hit areas. Such steps further increased the support of the poor but sturdy people to side with the Maoists, like those in Rolpa and Rukum for instance, but it also provided more energy and environment in installing the seeds of hatred in such remote areas towards the police which exists even now. Actually, these are the persons who should have been penalized for their wrongdoings and thus fanning communal violence in the country. But this did not happen. Many other highranking government officials should also be tried for their role in humanitarian violence and they should be punished if found guilty. Again here, the courts simply refuse to punish anyone, even if they were involved in heinous crimes against simple people. They have given a clean chit, whether they are Kharel and Pokhrel and also some Maoist rebels who killed innocent men and women for personal vendetta. It may also not be out of place to say that the same international powers, like the United States for example, in hiding their own faults in allowing racial hatred and killing of innocent people, are very active in showing the faults of others. For example, would any of the media which are under their grip even mention a line if he or she makes a pro-Russian remark in the war between Ukraine and Russia?

Of course not! But the same media outlets would not hesitate a little bit in praising some individual who takes side with the West right now. The Americans call it ‘collateral damage’, exactly like when sometimes they have to kill their own officials or innocent people flying on a commercial jetliner, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time! We know of how innocent American soldiers are being killed through ‘friendly fire, but we also know about none less than American envoys being killed through the conspiracy of their own government in places like the then US-supported Pakistan and also the ‘liberated Libya’.

Meanwhile, it should not be forgotten that very attractive slogans like a free media, human rights for all and gender equality among other such things which America slowly accepted after decades of political freedom, the same values have been ‘telescoped’ into smaller and more vulnerable countries like Nepal for instance. And there are Nepali ‘middle men’ who are satisfied to spread such foolish schemes if they are paid handsomely. So that is why we said PM Deuba alone cannot be blamed for the shameful state in which Nepal is in, despite many years of democracy and even the terrorists tagged Maoists being in the government. If there will be no one who will punish them for their role in making the life of a Nepali miserable, then the good Lord will punish them when the time will come. That is why the Nepali people are still siding with the political ‘villains’ because they believe that justice will be done sooner than later.