The April 25 earthquake left Nepal in shambles but its political class seems to be least bothered about re-building the country. For the poor Nepalese, a new and aggravated round of exploitation is possibly just around the corner
The natural disaster of April 25 in Nepal, that shattered the lives in and edifices of the Himalayan nation on an unprecedented scale, left everything in shambles. The country’s democracy-in-making appeared jittery and international aid came before the national disaster management could respond.
India’s response was sensible and generous at the same time. It is known to cater to the needs of disaster-hit terrains across the world. But in the past, India’s response to the most devastating floods and landslides in its own State (in Uttarakhand, for example) met with inordinate delays.
But in Nepal, even the generous and genuine goodwill gesture shown by its next door neighbour, was not taken in a positive spirit. The cacophony of the Indian television channels and local reactionaries played a vital role in channelising a trashy trend on social media. All of this happened at a time when the people were in dire trouble and needed to be rescued and moved to safer places.
Now, these issues can only be seen in retrospect — to finally bring back the focus on the country’s languishing governance system. Nepalese politicians rarely appeared at the quake-hit sites as they feared public wrath. They were expected to do some relief work at the party level but barring a few, the bearers of Nepal’s half-baked democracy proved to be good for nothing.
Habituated to ignoring their duties and shattering people’s expectations, Nepal’s new political class is at war with its own larger interest. Otherwise a country aspiring for a stable democracy, Nepal does not have a qualified political back-up that can restructure the existing system, which is crumbling without a Constitution.
The earthquake has caused immense infrastructural damage and personal loss. But the politicians are least bothered and still looking for publicity. The people of Nepal, however, have displayed a rare unity to cope with disaster — this has helped rescue people from the rubble and bring them back to life.
Also, journalists inside and outside the country have played a significant role in highlighting the magnanimity of losses. They have also shown how a corrupt bureaucracy and the lack of effective political command has made relief work incredibly difficult. But the ground realities are even more pathetic.
The country is moving towards a makeover. The structures will be built again but they will lack the antiquity and connect with the history — and certainly, lost lives will never be recovered. The after-effects of the tragedy will scar the lives of ordinary Nepalis, who never received the benefits they were supposed to get in a democracy.
The monarchy moved out a long time ago but the moderates and radicals remained in the fray. The Maoist leaders of Nepal proved to be better with their borrowed ideology on paper (and with swords) than with running the national Government. They got partial success in their activism after long years of bloodshed, when they indeed rose to power.
Their version of state welfare is certainly undefined today — or else, they might have some concern for the scores of their countrymen who are being exported outside, like cheap commodities, to serve the rich and mighty in far flung and often inhospitable places. A new and aggravated round of exploitation is just around the corner for the poor Nepali.
As someone closely linked to Nepal, this writer has both a personal and a collective stake in the grief that, at this moment, is still not on the wane. This writer was supposed to be in Janakpur a day before dooms day — but due to a change in plan, he was traveling somewhere in north Bihar (not far from the Nepal border), when he came to know that he would now be faced with an even more damaged Nepal than ever before.
Since the earthquake was almost equally strong in this author’s hometown of Madhubani, where he was visiting, the initial messages about the earthquake that he received were from Nepal, a country as dear as his own.
Now after a month, this writer is recollecting old memories and the places he visited or could not visit in Nepal that are no longer in the same state now. This is the time to help Nepal rebuild itself — not leave it without repair. The people of Nepal are full of life, they will be back to a certain level of normalcy soon.
India has its own sorrows for the damaged neighbour and it should remain pro-active in working with Nepal at this testing time. Irrespective of China’s moves, India should involve itself in rebuilding Nepal. It will get many other chances to play geo-strategic politics with China. But for now, Nepal needs the assistance of all its friends and neighbours.