The Chief Justice of our Supreme Court decreed that the house which was no longer in existence should be revived within the next thirteen days. Why this particular injunction? To re-cap it was on Poush 5th (Nov. 2020) that our PM quoted the parliamentary practise of England, which incidentally does not have a constitution, as an example of his right. The parliamentary procedures, quoted by our PM KP Oli when he claimed the right to dissolve parliament however are no longer permitted in the UK!

It is surprising that our PM Oli called for the reinstatement of our House of Representatives on the 13th day instead choosing the 3rd. Was this because of cultural roots or was he, for some reason or the other bidding for time? It seems surprising, for the thirteenth day is the final day of ritual for the deceased. A closing chapter in one’s life! Choice of 3rd would have been more appropriate, like the resurrection of Christ, after he was crucified and buried! The first meeting of our House of Representatives, like a phoenix rejuvenated, was called for on 7th March 2021 but the session was short and rather rowdy! Was this inauspicious? Is this an indication of a bleak future for the Nepali populace whilst being a horse-trading bonanza for the politicians of our land? For whom are the heavenly stars in appropriate alignment for success? The future for us Nepalis seems very blurred and hazy.

As birds of the same feather flock together, and as there are neither permanent friends nor foes in politics, it is likely that the politicians will come to a political deal that suits them rather than what is best for the country. How we the people are currently leading our lives, not only in Nepal but elsewhere in the world too, is bizarre as one becomes aware of happenings elsewhere also. Can we in Nepal forget about Ram Rajya? Is it Kaliyug that we are on the threshold of? Can the Westerners forget about the Apocalypse?

What are some of the happenings in Nepal? On 7th March 2021, Suki Baduwal, a mother of 3 girls and a boy went out from their home at Aatibas Municipality of Dailekh District and jumped into the Karnali River. Whilst the bodies of the mother and 3 children were retrieved soon, that of the youngest girl was found downstream at Asarghat in Achham district a week later. Why did the mother take this drastic heart rending step on the eve of the International Nari Divas on 8th March that we are celebrating in Nepal? Cannot such tragedies be lessened if not stopped?

Previously at the time of Gai Jatra, more specifically during the afternoon when the Baowla Jatra was in progress, it had become customary to hold a Gay Parade too. This year’s parade by the Nepal Queer Group on Nari Divas in Kathmandu has apparently been done for the third time to draw attention to the rights of the LGBTQ as a whole, is a second entity to hold such an event on an annual basis.

Nikolas Lobel, a CDU party representative from Mannheim, and Georg Nusslein a CSU representative were both charged for having received kickbacks in the ordering of masks for the Covid-19 epidemic and resigned from their posts. Even the German President Steinmeier has called for transparency in this matter! Another CDU parliamentarian, Mark Hauptmann has had to resign too for taking foreign tourist advertisements in a newspaper that he runs. One has only to recall the incident of Corona Testing Kits and Ventilators that were hastily imported into the country by a certain favoured firm in Nepal. Investigation of this misdeed has not been announced, so no results can be expected. Another news is that a group of 18 Chinese nationals were arrested by the authorities in Shanghai for having sold and dispatched abroad, vials filled with water but labelled as protective vaccines for the Corona pandemic. Such is the world status!

We are a poor country and cannot do what President Biden has done for the American citizens. There 1.3 Trillion Dollars will be used as handouts to improvised and unemployed citizens, buying and giving vaccines for Corona protection, helping schools and aid to small businesses, all for getting the country back on its feet. This action of his has been described as the greatest welfare deed in US history since the New Deal of Franklin D Roosevelt at the time of the great depression, ninety years ago. Opponents to these measures say that it will cause inflation but this creditable monetary input by the government is the requirement at these troubled times. President Biden has been praised for telling the truth to his countrymen. Will our politicians ever do that? May God grant them wisdom to strive for their communities rather than for themselves.

We in Nepal are at a watershed, on the threshold of great changes. Instead of the Nepali Janata being the Janardan, it is the current politicians who are taking decisions for personal benefit. Most of them, irrespective of which party they are in, are all turncoats, always prepared to throw their professed beliefs to the wind for the sake of personal benefits. The resurrected house after four sittings has still to start normal functioning. Possibilities of disturbances are very high. What will be the direction of our politics in future? Will there be a government for the people rather than a government that lives on its people? Will our current 7th Constitution have more amendments? Will major concerns of the Nepali people be decided on the basis of referendums rather than by the whims of some individuals prompted by foreigners in foreign countries? With all these important queries as background thoughts, the refrain from many simple Nepalis is: ‘May Lord Pashupatinath look after our welfare (kalyan)’.

The author is a retired medical doctor and writes fiction under the pen name of Mani Dixit also. Website: www.hdixit.org.np. Twitter: @manidixithd