Dialogue  July-September  2009, Volume 11 No.1

Nepal- In Search of a Viable Political Order

Dr. S. Chandrasekharan

Nepal Passing through a Critical Period

While the Press and analysts give a very grim picture of the current developments in Nepal, it was heartening to see that the US based think tank- Foreign Policy has placed Nepal in the 25th spot much ahead of Sri Lanka 22, Bangladesh 19 and Pakistan 10 in the “Failed State Index.”1 The study is based on points given under various parameters that include, demographic pressure, refugees and IDPs, group grievances, human rights, uneven developments, economic decline, public service, security apparatus, external interference etc.

     Though some of the comments (given below) show the indignation and the frustration of the people, the situation by no means is a desperate one.  Such comments include-

     “We desperately need a clean, efficient, and an iron fisted leader whose only agenda should be should be to put the country back in the right track.”2

     “A cynical Maoist government, disarrayed parties, rival armies, a racked economy, a drifting peace process- ethnic and cast divisions.  Nepalese are being failed by their leaders” (when the Maoists were in power till recently)3

     “The nation is in search of an identity.  The 1991 constitution failed and add now the complete collapse of law and order”4

     “With each passing day, Nepal is increasingly becoming ungovernable and what will it take and who will bring back normalcy?”5

     There is no doubt that Nepal is going through a critical period, with the Maoists having chosen to withdraw from the government.  At the same time they seem to be determined not to let the new government under Madhav Nepal function.

    The Constituent Assembly whose sole task is to forge a new constitution was forced to be closed by the obstructive tactics of Maoists. Only a week ago, they allowed the assembly to resume its proceedings only for the limited purpose of authorising the expenditure bill and are again poised to disrupt normal life in their demand for “civilian supremacy.”  The Maoists have the muscle power, number and money and have shown again and again that they could hold the country to ransom until their demands are conceded.

      In a sense, the 12 point agreement known as the “Delhi Pact “of 2005 is unravelling.6 Political process for want of a consensus is rudderless now and the peace process is crumbling. The most thorny issue of integration/rehabilitation of the PLA fighters of the Maoists is getting messy and to add to all this, there appears to be no sense of urgency  to expedite the new constitution.

     Yet there is hope and much would depend upon the Maoists who have the largest number of representatives in the Constituent Assembly who can still reconsider and realise their folly of bringing the country to civil war conditions and still go back for consensus politics.  It is up to them to reach a face saving compromise and go ahead with the two major tasks necessary for Nepal- Nation building and Stability.  Will they?

Historical Perspective          

      From 1951 onwards Nepal has continued to be in search of a viable political order.  After the elimination of the oligarchical Rana rule, there were many permutations and combinations, and for a brief period the nation had a whiff of fresh air in having democracy. But it was soon snuffed out by King Mahendra who ruled directly and then indirectly through the so called Partyless Panchayat system.

      Every paradigm change in Nepal’s polity has been a cataclysmic change.  It should be surprise that the Partyless Panchayat system was replaced by the 1991 Constitution after a year-long struggle which ended in the King finally climbing down and allowing the three main stakeholders- the Nepali Congress, the Communists led by the UML and the groups led by the Royalist groups to draft a constitution.

The 1991 Constitution: Constitutional Monarchy and Multi Party Democracy

      Those who witnessed the events in 1990 and 1991 would recall that it was the Royalists- Nepali Congress combine that brought about a constitutional monarchy with all the residual powers vested with the King.  In the final analysis it was Article 127 of the Constitution that gave wide powers to the King to intervene and this proved not only the undoing of the monarchy but also the multi party democracy.

     The 1991 Constitution which was supposed to be based on two pillars of monarchy and the multiparty democracy had many failings. But two important ones were

     *The constitution was not a representative one and not chosen by the people.  This was the main grievance of the Maoists who from the beginning had demanded that the constitution should be from the people and not the other way around.  The 1991 Constitution was not drafted by a representative body but by a body of royalists and political leaders who were in a hurry to get whatever they could get at that point of time and the final draft was approved by the King after many informal interventions.

      * The new dispensation ignored the aspirations and welfare of the marginalised societies of a country like Nepal that is multi racial, multi cultural and multi ethnic.

      Added to these were the failings of political leaders of all hues who could not rise above their selfish interests for the cause of the nation. Corruption was rampant and infighting among the party leaders left no room for good governance. The administration was Kathmandu centred and the peripheral areas were neglected.7

      Two other factors undermined the Constitution in due course- these were-

      First, was the assault on the 1991 constitution by the Maoists who started a People’s war on 13th February 1996. What started as a sporadic and unconnected killing of government officials and ruling party workers and attacks on isolated police posts soon developed into a regular insurgency in a matter of three years.  The hilly terrain, backwardness of the people outside the main valleys, lack of communication facilities, ethnic rivalries, neglect of the peripheries -all contributed to the success of the Maoists whose dominance in the countryside developed like a “Prairie fire” that soon engulfed the whole country.8

     The absence of a stable government with prime ministers occupying the seats like in musical chairs and lack of rapport between the King and the political parties, all  led to a dysfunctional government and indirectly contributed to the growth of Maoists.  The army was never used in the initial stages and too late in the day the army intervened when their own posts in Dang and Solokhumbu were attacked on 23rd and 26th November 2001.9

     The second factor was the rise of King Gyanendra who ascended the throne after the Palace massacre of June 1, 2001. King Gyanendra unlike his brother was more aggressive, assertive and perhaps more impulsive and intrusive.10 

     When the Maoist attacks became bolder and more effective, King Gyanendra countered it by declaring an emergency and besides curbing the fundamental rights, declared the Maoists as a terrorist outfit. 

      What followed subsequently was another attack on democracy and the 1991 Constitution. On October 4, 2002 the King sacked the lawfully elected Prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba under article 127 and article 27(3) of the constitution and took over executive powers.  This was a fatal mistake made by the King which ultimately swallowed up the monarchy itself.  The movement that began as an agitation against “recession of democracy” by G.P.Koirala ultimately developed into Jana Andolan II (People’s Movement II).

The Delhi Pact - 12 point Agreement and the Rise of the Maoists

     In what could be termed as the final act of monarchy, the King took over governance directly on 1st February 2004.  This act only intensified the agitation of major democratic parties resulting in the formation of a seven party alliance on May 5, 1995. Then followed the 12 point agreement between the seven party alliance and the Maoists facilitated by the Indian government ( also known as Delhi Pact”) when both sides decided to work together for the elimination of monarchy.  The confrontation between the King and the agitating political parties reached a final and decisive stage with the Maoists openly supporting the movement. The King finally gave in on 24th April 2006 when power was handed over to the veteran leader G.P.Koirala.11

     If there was one group that benefitted most from the 12 point agreement, it was the Maoist.  The agreement ended the triangular balance that existed till then with the King, the political parties and the Maoist and thus paved the way for the emergence of the Maoists.  A paradigm shift was thus achieved.  It was also a personal triumph for Prachanda and his Prachanda path where mass mobilisation in the last stages of the People’s war worked.12

    The 12 point agreement could be termed as a major change in Nepalese polity quite similar to what was achieved in 1951 that saw the back of the autocratic Rana rule. This change once again was brought at the initiative of India though this time India did not come out openly as was done in 1951.  Yet the document was drafted in Delhi.  The leaders were brought to Delhi for discussions and finally announced in Kathmandu on 22nd November 2005.13

    The preamble to the 12 point agreement, assessed that the struggle between monarchy and democracy had reached a very grave and a new turn and the need had come for implementing the concept for full democracy through forward-looking restructuring of the state to” resolve the problems related to class, gender, region and so on of all sectors including the political, economic, social and cultural by bringing the autocratic monarchy to an end and establishing full democracy.” 

    Two important aspects of the twelve point agreement worth noting were- First, was a commitment from the Maoists to multi party system, fundamental rights of the people, human rights, rule of law democratic principles and values. Second, was the decision to mutually support the people’s movement.           

     This agreement suited the Maoists eminently.  In the people’s war, the Maoists had by then moved from a strategic defensive to a strategic stalemate and were poised to move onto the phase of strategic offensive.  It was then realised that the PLA (the army of the Maoists) will not be able to march onto Kathmandu valley for two reasons- one the valley was well defended and second was the fear of intervention of India.  The plenum meeting at Chunbang in middle 2005 decided that the best way would be to join the mainstream and work from within.  This more or less coincided with the theory of Prachanda Path which talked about simultaneous mass uprising in the cities with the advance of the PLA. It was also in conformity with the Maoist theory of “United Front” where the prime enemy here the monarchy was identified and then to join with all others to topple the enemy-, here the monarchy.14

     For the agitating political parties, the help of the Maoists was needed to pursue the Jana Andolan to its logical end.  In the final stages of the movement, it was the muscle, organisational ability and the numbers of the Maoists that helped in an unprecedented mobilisation of all parties, civic bodies and the people that finally forced the King to cave in with his announcement of handing over power to G.P. Koirala on the night of 24th April 2006.

Strategic Shift in Indian Policy on Nepal

    For India, it was a strategic shift in its policy towards Nepal. Though India is not mentioned in the actual document, the Indian role in bringing about a coalition against the monarchy cannot be minimised. It is not clear whether enough thought was given to the possibility of a Maoist Nepal in the near future and its consequences for Indian security.  

     But it looks to me that the Indian government’s coalition partner the CPI (M) had a large role in bringing about an understanding among India, the Maoists and the seven party alliance. The initiative contrary to the claims of the Maoists, came from the Maoists themselves.  Prachanda in one of his speeches admitted of such a meeting taking place when he said that  the “objective of the meeting was to gauge India’s stand if the Maoists were to accept a multi party system as a political solution and its willingness to work with other parties.”15

Agreements Galore between the Maoists and the Interim Government

    What followed were a series of agreements between the Maoists and the newly formed government under G.P. Koirala to bring the people’s war to a formal end and taking s series of steps to form a constituent assembly which would finalise a new constitution.  These steps included

     * An agreement for cease fire and code of conduct between the Government and the Maoists of 26th May 2006.

     * An eight point agreement between the seven political parties and the Maoists on 16 June 2006, that included a decision to jointly approach the United Nations for the management of armies and arms, more importantly to frame an interim constitution and to dissolve the people’s government formed by the Maoists in the interior as also a constituent assembly for the restructuring of the state.

    * A comprehensive peace accord between the government of Nepal and the Maoists on 21 November, 2006 formally bringing to an end to the people’s war and giving permanency to the cease-fire reached between the government and the Maoists of 21st November 2006.

High Level Decisions between the Maoists and other Political Parties

    Perhaps the most important decisions on the future of Nepal were taken by the “High Level Leaders of the political parties” on behalf of the government and the Maoists on 8 November 2006.16

    The last one was a very comprehensive document that laid the road map for future polity of Nepal.  Besides reiterating the previous agreements, it reflected the Maoist agenda of ‘restructuring of the State by resolving existing problems related to class, ethnicity, region and gender.”  Specific points of understanding were

     * A high level commission to investigate the whereabouts of missing persons- (has made very little progress so far!)

    * The process of returning the houses, land and properties occupied in the past by the Maoists shall be accelerated. (It never started and the Maoists are holding on to most of the properties till date.)

      * The Maoist combatants will be confined to temporary cantonments and all the arms and ammunition would be securely stored. A special committee to be formed to carry out monitoring and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants.  (This has become the most ticklish and difficult issue in post cease fire period.  Rehabilitation is yet to start!)

     * The Army will be confined to the barracks and an equivalent quantity of arms given to the UN monitoring mission by the Maoists will also be stored separately and monitored by the UN mission. (This was certainly a humiliation for the army.  In the people’s war, contrary to what is made out, the army was not defeated.  To keep a portion of its arms under UN supervision in a war between the state and a non state actor is unheard of!)

     * An interim constitution will be promulgated and matters like whether the institution of monarchy shall be continued or not shall be decided by the first meeting of the constituent assembly.  (The first meeting of the CA constituted after the elections on May 28 promptly declared Nepal with near total unanimity as a federal republic and all special, legal, cultural, social and traditional privileges of the King were automatically scrapped!)

      * A mixed electoral system partly by first past the post and partly by proportional representation was to be used for elections to the constitutional assembly.  (Finally after many ups and downs a mixed proportion of 42 and 58 percent for a total membership of 601 was accepted and the elections had to be postponed thrice and finally held on April 10, 2008.)

      The problems Nepal is facing these days emanate from these agreements where the non Maoist political parties in their eagerness to get the Maoists into the mainstream and to get the monarchy out, gave in too much to the Maoists.  They did not realise then or even now of their own limited capabilities to stem the Maoist tide which was soon to engulf the country.

      The United Nations Mission was also given the task of verifying the eligibility of Maoist combatants. Of the 32350 combatants of the Maoists registered in 28 camps, only 19692 of them were found to be eligible to be treated as combatants. Over 5000 arms were also stored on behalf of the Maoists.  It has now transpired by Prachanda’s own admission in one of his rallies of his party cadres, that only about 5000 cadres were genuine ones.  It is also known that the Maoists did not surrender all the arms they possessed. Some of the arms held by them were said to have been washed away in floods!

Constitutional Assembly Elections and Declaration of Nepal as a Republic

      After many false starts, elections to the constituent assembly were held on April 10, 2008. The Maoists who had prevented the holding of elections, finally relented when they were ready to face the electorate.  On the other hand, none of the other political parties were seen to be ready for the elections.  Most of their leaders were still moving around in the cities without going to the electorates and many of them had not visited their constituencies ever since the people’s war.  Yet the parties agreed to go ahead with the elections for two reasons. First was the threat of the Maoists who declared to carry on the war once again.  Second was the quiet pressure of India and the then Indian Ambassador.

      At that point of time the worry was not  whether the elections could be conducted at all, but whether the Maoists  will  accept the results if they were unfavourable to them or much below their expectations. These fears arose out of a meeting Prachanda the Maoist leader had in a closed meeting with his cadres in Chitwan where he said that the Maoists will capture the government if the elections did not bring favourable results. 

      In the final results, the Maoists got a clean sweep in the first past the post system, but in the proportional system their representation came down considerably due to the votes obtained by other minor parties.  The final results were-

      Total seats- 601 minus 25 to be selected after the ministry formation.

      Maoists - 120 in the first past the post and 100 in the proportional  

      system- Total 220

      Nepali Congress- 37 in FPP and 73 in Prop. System- Total 110

      UML : 33 in FPP and 70 in Prop. System- Total 103

      MJF ( Terai Outfit) 30 in FPP and 22 in Prop. System- Total 52

      TMDP ( another Terai outfit) 9 and 11 in Prop. Sysem- Total 20

      Sadhbhavana (Terai outfit) 4 in FPP and 5 in Prop. System- Total 9.

      (Other parties- minimal)

     While almost all the Maoist leaders who stood for elections won, senior members of both the NC and the UML lost their seats. Those who lost included UML General Secretary Madhav Nepal in two constituencies, B.M.Adhikari, Bam Dev Gautam, all from UML, K.P. Sitaula Sushil Koirala and Sujatha Koirala ( daughter of G.P. Koirala)- all from the Nepali Congress.

     The sweeping victory of the Maoists took everyone by surprise including India.  One may question the methods of intimidation, threats and fear the Maoists induced among the electorate but there was no doubt that the election was a mandate for the Maoists to run the government. The people showed their disgust for the political parties which made a mess of the 1991 Constitution and thought they could give a chance to a new group and hope for the best.  In fact many of the Maoist cadres in Kathmandu told the people- “Give us a chance as others have failed!”

Declaration of Republic

     It was a historic day that on May 28 (Jyestha 15) the newly formed constituent assembly passed a resolution with near unanimity to declare Nepal as a “sovereign democratic republic” The actual resolution said “The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly declares that Nepal is officially converted into a federal democratic republic from today.  Nepal shall remain sovereign, independent and integrated, secular and inclusive.” The resolution was passed by 560 of 564 members present.  Only four representatives of the RPP voted against the resolution.

     Thus after 239 years, eight months and three days, the Shah dynasty from Gorkha that ruled Nepal from Kathmandu valley came to an end.  From a legal point of view the resolution was irregular as the constitutional assembly was incomplete.  But these nuances did not matter as the act has been done and the King accepted the resolution. The King in voluntarily cooperating with the government to abdicate, may have lost his crown but not his dignity.17

Maoists lead the Government

       It took more than four months for the Maoist leader Prachanda to be elected as the first Prime Minister. Within these four months, the non Maoist parties formed a “left democratic alliance” to elect a President and a Vice President to prevent the Maoist candidates from being elected. The alliance collapsed when the Maoist leader Prachanda got elected as prime minister, leaving the Nepali Congress isolated and relegated to the position of “opposition.” The Nepali Congress insisted on getting the defence portfolio which they considered as essential as they feared rightly that the institution of the army would collapse through heavy infiltration of politically indoctrinated Maoist cadres into the army. 

     The question of PLA integration into the army is still hanging fire and the fear of subversion of the army by PLA cadres continues even now.18

    The Maoists were aware that the constituent assembly election was not the mission but only the means to collectively write a new constitution. They were also aware that the people’s mandate did not give a majority to any single party and that all parties and the civil society will have to work together to write the constitution.

     But the problem was in the interim constitution itself which had two major flaws.

     First - every decision and action will have to be based on a consensus and if it fails by a two third majority of the members. Therefore for any decision, of the four major parties the UCPN (M) Maoists, the Nepali Congress, the UML and the MJF (Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum), three parties will have to combine to make the two third.

Second, that it was not an inclusive one. 

      What is more, all the political parties including the Maoists had not realised that the interim constitution was meant only to be a transitional one meant to carry on with day to day governance until the new constitution is drafted and a government formed under the new dispensation.  Equally important was the failure to recognise that the peace process will have to be seen to its logical end before the constitution is completed.  For this the integration of the PLA must precede the finalisation of the constitution.  The new constitution will have to be completed before April 10, 2010.

    The integration/ rehabilitation of the PLA cadres of the Maoists appears to be the most complicated and ticklish one. While the Maoists are keen to ensure “bulk entry” of its cadres, the army chief as well as other political parties want to ensure that only candidates who meet the standards of entry of a regular army should be taken in.  A special committee formed to oversee the integration/rehabilitation is yet to make progress. 

Differences between the Ruling party (Maoists) and the Nepalese Army

      Nepal was again thrown into confusion and instability in the latter half of April this year over the differences that arose between the government and the Chief of Army Staff that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Prachanda. The issue was over the failure of the Chief of Army Staff to provide proper explanation for filling up of vacancies of 3010 army personnel, the reinstatement of 8 Brigadier Generals on the orders of the Court and the boycott of the 5th National Games by the Army.  Prachanda precipitated the issue by issuing the sacking order of the Army Chief without consensus of his coalition partners and the President knowing the serious consequences countermanded the order.19

      Prachanda had to resign on 4th of August and from then on, the Maoists began a very intensive agitation to establish “civilian supremacy” and to the President to withdraw his orders.  This agitation has of late degenerated into violence and vandalism and has also been directed towards India. The Maoists proved once again of their ability to mobilise their cadres across the length and breadth of Nepal and choose to bring life to a standstill any time of their choosing.

Madhav Nepal of UML takes over

      Madhav Nepal with the support of 360 parliamentarians of 22 parties was elected unopposed as Prime Minister (the Maoists walked out) on 24th May.  The indications are that the recent government made up of disparate parties with different agenda and ideologies are unlikely to last long and the Maoists are already claiming that they would form a national government under their leadership within six weeks.  Their politburo meeting which met in early July 2009 also endorsed this move.  It is not yet clear how they could form a government with both Koirala of Nepali Congress and the UML strongly opposing any move to disrupt the present government 

What kind of a new constitution?

      It is difficult to say right now what kind of a constitution will be drafted and whether the new constitution will be accepted by all.  While the Maoists and the MJF are for complete break from the past with a restructuring of the administrative divisions, the Nepali Congress would prefer the present structure with certain modifications.  In other words, the Maoists and the MJF would pitch in for a President with executive powers and sub states (provinces) with the right for self determination, the Nepali Congress would go for a Prime minister with executive powers and minimal redistribution of the existing districts/ regions.

     The Maoists in their election manifesto called for a three-tier administration. The first tier would be the central federal one with responsibility over the army,  international relations, monetary matters and large industries. The second will be the autonomous state governments and the number has increased to ten and could be more with addition of separate states for Sherpas, Mithila, Avadh and Bhojpuri States for the benefit of oppressed nationalities, classes and gender. A third one will be for local governments responsible for security and development. (This could exceed 800 or more)

    The demands for more states will inevitably rise with adverse consequences and greater expectations on the already weak law and order administration.

     Historically, the Maoist ideology takes into account only one identity and the present suggestions are therefore considered as interim measures to compensate for historical wrongs to the marginal communities.

     There are a few questions many of the analysts have been asking on the present proposal of the Maoists. 1.  Is not Nepal too small a country to have the luxury of federalism? It need not be. We have smaller states that are practising federalism like Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Holland and Austria.  But these are well-developed countries where there are well established practises. 2. Will not autonomy lead to secession?  It need not necessarily be.

     Nepal is in the throes of a structural change.  It is too early to say how the changes are going to affect the stability of Nepal. 

    Some points need to reiterated. 1, the Maoists are there to stay.  2.  Any future dispensation will have to have the consent and cooperation of the Maoists. 3. The other political parties do not yet have the organisation or the capability to stem the Maoist tide. 4. It is not clear whether the Maoists are serious about joining the mainstream- If they have done so, it could only be to subvert democracy from within.  Are they the sheep in Wolf’s clothing?  It could be.

    What one can say now  is that Nepal is still in search of a viable political order and one can only hope  that the people would ultimately choose the right one that would suit Nepal with its multi cultural, multi lingual, multi racial back ground in an inhospitable terrain and poor communication facilities. The journey towards a stable democracy is going to be long and tortuous.

    For India too it is going to be a tough time. Their complacency that a Maoist government in Nepal will have no impact on the ever increasing and ever intensifying naxalite movement in India will also have to be reviewed.

References:   

1. Foreign Policy - July Issue-July 3, 2009.  Failed State Index -

2. Comment by Ram Karki in e kantipur.com

3.  Manjushree Thapa in Nepal.research.com

4.  Comment by Daulat Jha in myrepublika.com

5.  By Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal in myrepublika.com

6.  The Maoists are already claiming that the 12 point agreement is getting obsolete and that a fresh agreement should be arrived at by all the concerned political parties.  It is not that the 12 point agreement is bad, but the Maoists feel that since it is Indian sponsored, they need to get a fresh one outside the influence of India.

7. At that point of time the 1991 constitution is the best that could have been achieved on the understanding that no one despite the powers, none of the stake holders would change the “name of the game.”  But King Gyanendra thought that he had come to the throne by a divine opportunity and that he should use any means retain the monarchy. 

8.  The reference is to the Maoist article on his revolution spreading into a “wild prairie fire.”

9.  It is not clear why King Birendra refused to get the army involved despite repeated pleas from the government seeking help from the army.  Since the army came directly under the King even in the 1991 constitutional monarchy, the parties running the government were helpless though it was known to everyone that the Maoists had all along intended to get the army involved.  One explanation I strongly believe in is that King Birendra did not want the democratic government to succeed and saw a chance for a reversal to Panchayati Raj.

10.  The political parties did not realise that King Gyanendra was a different person and underestimated him.  King Gyanendra took a great risk in taking over the administration and promising that he would solve the Maoist issue in three years which nobody could have done.  That was Gyanendra and not his late brother King Birendra.

11.  It is not clear why King Gyanendra took the final decision of handing over power.  It does not appear to be true as is made out that the Army refused to deal with the agitation anymore.  In all probability and I believe it to be true that King Gyanendra himself realised that he cannot go on with the suppression of the agitation which was taking a heavy toll of his people.

12.  Had it not been for the Maoists who provided the numbers and the tactics, the agitation would not have succeeded at all. The army further exacerbated the situation by using excessive and unnecessary force.

13.  India’s move to facilitate the agreement was a strategic decision and no doubt due to the inspiration of the Marxists and the JNU types.  The basic idea was that the Maoists were genuinely considering entry into the political mainstream.  At that time the security establishments in India were not convinced of the reasons given by the Maoists.

14.  Those watching the political scene feel that the next target of the Maoists will be the democratic parties like Nepali Congress who cannot match with the discipline and focussed agenda of the Maoists.

15.  See note of South Asia Analysis Group Note no. 263 in www.saag.org

16.  It was felt at that time that G.P.Koirala in his eagerness to get the Maoists on board and his Home minister K.P. Situala gave in too much to the Maoists without any quid pro quo.

17.  The King was insulted and humiliated and these were unnecessary when he did not resist any time to any of the decisions taken by the Koirala government.  When the King moved to Nagarjuna to the little palace on top of the hill, people were sent to Nagarjuna to ascertain whether the King has taken away the bigger and the luxury cars along with him.  It was found that he did not!

18.  These fears appear to be justified as Prachanda in one of his closed door meetings at Chitwan had said that even a few of his cadres could brainwash the ordinary soldiers of the Nepalese army who know only to drill!

19.  Prachanda’s action was a very hasty one.  He did not realise that the Nepalese army has a reputation of a disciplined army and cannot be trifled with.  He did not have an exit policy-  What would be the position if the Army Chief had refused to hand over? The President on the other hand had thought about this.