After reading the recent article by a general in the Nepali Times ( latest issue --see below), I have quickly jotted down my thoughts below within the inverted comma.


Not the people?s war

Nepalis will not forsake democratic norms to compromise with the Maoists out of fear
The Maoists are neither benevolent enough to liberate the downtrodden, nor do they seem to want a truly democratic environment.

"You are right, Jarshap. You should also know and respect the views of the people outside of the barrack mentality. One could say the same thing for those who have been running the government, with or without veil."

The revolution is full of contradictions, and it is being undermined by their shortsightedness and lack of a sustainable long-term political agenda.

"Again, you could say the same thing for the administration of the successive governments in the last 12 years and more."

Essentially, the Maoist ideal is a shortcut to power through violence against a democratic state.

"When the government cannot win the hearts and minds of the people, take the Maoists as aberration."

Their ultimate aim is to establish a totalitarian communist regime. Accommodation and compromise are not a part of the plan.

"People have seen the worse of the successive regimes. How much worse the Maoists could be. From what I have read, both Prachanda and Baburam seem flexible in the position of monarchy or in creation of a republican state, provided other demands are met."

Even if demands for major constitutional changes are met, the Maoists will continue to subvert the system to achieve their ultimate goal.

"Such supposition and condition will only hinder an environment for a peaceful negotiation and prolong a status quo."

Addressing the economic and political grievances of the people is therefore an absolute necessity, but not sufficient to defeat or resolve the insurgency.

"Agreed. A continuous lack of strong commitment and actions, not just words, towards these from successive governments has already making us walk through a wiggly johlunge pool being unsure of reaching the other side."

The Maoists have built the ability to concentrate human and material resources tactically in support of operational goals through use of coercion. But the terror tactics have created a backlash. The Maoists have realised the erosion of their popularity, they fear the emergence of splinter cells and their acts smack of desperation.

"This seems like usual moral boosting exercise of words from both parties involved. Remember, in this war, there are no winners, only losers. The losers being the Nepali janata, not the RNA nor the people in high places."

to be continued...

Let?s not forget that the Maoists are waging a war to reverse the democratic process initiated 14 years ago.

"Didn?t successive governments of Koirala, Deuba, Thapa and Chand already reverse this? We did not need the Maoists to reverse it. In the first place, the Maoists would not have existed in their current form and shape had the governments worked to look after the needs of the people, just the way they looked after the needs of RNA top brass."

Democratic governments are vulnerable to this form of warfare. Infused with the ideology of individual and political liberty, the state may be unaware of the threat, reluctant to acknowledge it and restrained from adopting prompt and effective measures to counter it.

"The state being unaware is no excuse. How long can the state live in the state of denial at the cost of common people? The killing and making people disappear should not be the prompt and effective measure the government should take. Any student of policy science will tell you that it is going to be counter productive in the long run."

The decisive factor in any insurgency is the support of the people.

"You are absolutely right. I am afraid the government has lost the confidence of the people; it only has the wrath of the people. The people gave government after government ample chances and they hopelessly failed. How can one expect the support from the people when there is rampant corruption going on in high places and nothing being done to bring them to the justice?"

The Royal Nepali Army firmly believes that resolving the Maoist problem through negotiations and socio-economic development rather than application of military force, is a more sensible way of resolving differences.

"I agree cent percent with you, Jarsap. However, the credibility is no longer there. There is a big difference in the words and actual action. Prove it by action, not by mere words. Believing is one thing and doing is another. In the last several months, even those fence sitters have started taking the side of the Maoists after seeing the atrocities committed by the RNA."

War usually means that other humane alternatives to resolve differences have failed.


"In our case, I do not think we have yet exhausted the alternatives. What we have exhausted is the will to find alternatives and gracefully accept those alternatives. What is needed is a will to sit across the table is necessary to resolve the difference, and it is incumbent on the government to pursue this will, both in letter and spirit, in the interest of all Nepalis."

A war requires the mobilisation of a moral consensus to legitimise the use to military force. That consensus should be part of a national strategy in political and military terms, and if it fails, the war is lost.

"True. Let us not loose this war. Remember I said the losers are all Nepalis. When you talk of national strategy, it should not be created in the barracks or at the Narayanhity. It should involve the real and earnest desire of the people. Only by knowing the pulse of the people the real strategy can be created."

It is clear that the government and the people must either give full support to the security forces, or find an alternative method to pressurise the insurgents to adopt a path of negotiations. Half-hearted support will only prolong the nation?s agony.


"Wrong. Wrong. You cannot ask the people to support killings by the government. The dangerous alternative method the government is using to pressurize the people will only turn them against the government. The government must understand why the people are not with the government."

The Royal Nepali Army and the Unified Command are improving coordination and are performing more professionally. There may be incidents committed intentionally or otherwise that violate human rights, but such incidents are likely to occur in any insurgency.

"The word LIKELY has no meaning from what we have seen. If this is the attitude of a general, one can see why the support from the people cannot be expected."


Individuals commit the acts while the parent institution remains accountable and must investigate the violations and take due disciplinary action and disseminate that information to the public. At the same time, the media and human rights organisations must also pressure the Maoists to abide by the same principles lest they be accused of bias.

"Yes, the RNA and police must take the responsibility first. It is an insurgency and the government has the responsibility to create an environment for a talk."

to be continued....

The primary questions now are: will the Nepali people forsake their democratic norms and values and compromise with the Maoists out of fear of violence? Would such compromise set precedence for violence as an agent of political change in future?

"No, sir. I am no Maoist supporter by any yardstick but I must say you have got the wrong primary questions. We were told over and over again for 30 years daily that the Panchayat was the most soil suited democratic system. Twelve years ago it proved that it was NOT. Now we are referring the current system as democratic. May be so but our handlers hopelessly failed in the last 12 years to keep it up as a democratic system. The issue is NOT either the current OR the Maoists systems. We must what are the ills of the current system holistically and strive to improve it to satisfy the needs of the majority of the people if not for all people. Are we prepared to do that? May be many are afraid that they might have to loose their comfortable lives but that is the sacrifice we should be ready to make. Without that sacrifice, the peace is impossible."

The Civil-Military National Campaign Plan (CMNCP) is the government?s strategy to counter the insurgency and promote security and development nationwide with long-term peace under a multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy.

"I don?t know about it. One thing that is sure is that our military does not have any credibility in the public eye. It is a top heavy, it is still based on oligarchy and exploits the foot soldiers. You need to bring more transparency in the military in order to work with the public. People do not have any confidence in the army. There is such a wide gap in the perception of the common people about what the army is for and what they actually do."

Should the government decide to hold elections, the security forces are capable of making them happen even if the Maoists decide to carry on with the insurgency.

"Such statement coming from a military top brass does not help in creating a conducing environment not just for the election but also for a peace talk with anyone."

Phasing the elections is a very critical criterion. Should the initial phases succeed, the confidence of the people, political parties and international donors will grow. There are pre-requisites: providing border surveillance by neighbouring countries while Nepali forces systematically sanitise designated areas, augmentation of security manpower and air assets.

"My view is that the army should not interfere with the civilian policies. Let the administration handle it. If the army cannot speak for injustice, then you cannot expect fairness and justice out of them."

Should the government decide to declare a ceasefire, too, the Royal Nepali Army is fully trained to function accordingly due to its peacekeeping experience.

"May be so, but peacekeeping duty in a far away country and in our own country will differ greatly. There is a need for lot of restraints and a good understanding. Lack of it could be more dangerous as it has proven time and again in the past."

The insurgency is stalemated, and it demands more seriousness from the Maoists for a credible ceasefire and a peaceful resolution.

"Yes, certainly. Agree with you, sir. It is incumbent upon the government to initiate it following all the norms."

The current conflict must be seen as a part of the process of democratisation and the country?s transformation into a liberal democracy.

"I am beginning to agree with you more and more. I share the same view as you have expressed in the line above which should be the guiding principle for solving the entire problem we are facing today with regard to the Maoistis movement and other demands."

The nature of the policy determines the nature of war. Should the Maoists opt to continue imposing violence, it would be within the ambit of the government to escalate the application of force to bring them to the negotiating table.

"I hope this is not a sentence borrowed from an academician?s paper. It is shown that we have not adopted the right policy so far. What you say here, do make this happen in true sense of the letter and spirit?"

If absolute superiority is not possible, relative strength at a decisive moment with help from India to neutralise the allies of the opposing side would clinch the issue.

"My God, Jaharsap, what a disastrous end you are proposing. I have a problem with the use of your word absolute superiority --- don?t know what you really mean by this. No body is superior to the Nepali janata that should be the bottomline. Getting help from a neighbour to combat our own internal conflict has far reaching consequences. We must take the consensus of the people into account for it."

"Anyway, I appreciated the Nepali Times publishing the general views and thank the general for sharing his views, which I am sure has been cleared officially by the army."

Excerpted from paper presented by Lt General (Retd) Sadip Bahadur Shah at a India-Nepal Track II conference in New Delhi last month.

I hope you can read Nepali unicode font from your machine

स्वर्णिमजी,

तपाईको आयु लामो छ; मैले भक्खर तपाईको नाम लिएँ उता, यता तपाई टुप्लुक्क आईपुग्नु भो, शाह जर्साबको बोली हो कि गोलीको जवाफ बोलीले दिदै ।

तपाईलाई साझाका समस्त पुराना प्रशंसकहरुको behalf मा स्वागत छ ।

अलिक दिन बस्नोस् है ? कि जागिरमा तु फर्किनु पर्छ ?

Swarnim dajju ra nepe dajju jadau gare hai,
Dajju haru ko thread ma maile pani dui char kura lekhne thulo ichha thiyo. Tara maile dajju haru ko lekh padne samaya nai napaayera sarai garo bho. Aba chai chadai nai dajju haru ko thread ma pani aafnu bichar pokhne saahas garnu parla bhanne sochi raako chu.

Coming soooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.

Jai Nepal

Timiharu ganatantra lyawundai gara keta ho
ma timiharu lai papa lyai dimla
-by Jira

I borrowed the above verse from some other thread in Sajha itself.