Dear Chairman Dahal

Dear Chairman,

Karl Marx once said ‘Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.” As you know the verses of Marx very well, Mr. Chairman, I just want to remind you of the common Nepali’s necessities which have been embroiled in party politics. That necessity for Nepalese is peace, prosperity, and a competitive democracy with accountable leaders. Over the last decade, Nepal has made progress in none of these areas rather it is moving towards an abyss. Stability has been compromised for power lust and corruption. Nepal is in such a precarious situation that much of our youth have lost their faith in the economy of this country.

It is time that citizens and CA look into each other’s eyes and understand the deep sentiments embedded in their sights, and begin to respect and listen to each other. Nevertheless, Comrade, for that to happen, for us to look with trust and confidence in your eye, we need a constitution that ensures peace and a stable democracy. We need to create an environment where Nepalese can accommodate and tolerate each other with respect and dignity. You are the one who can facilitate that process at this point of time. Enough of division has taken place in this society. We judge people based on their caste, creed, ethnicity, or even in terms of commodity use such as what cigarettes they smoke and what vehicle they drive. Mr. Chairman, if you drive a private car, there is very little chance of you being harassed or even stopped by a traffic police? When will Nepali commuters get a just treatment in the street?

Almost 55% of Nepalese live below $1.25 a day. Our per capita income of $490 is the lowest in South Asia. Only 59% of our adults are literate. Only 51% of people living in urban areas have access to proper sanitation. We rank 116 out of all the countries on the ease of doing business index. Freedom house, an international organization promoting free institutions worldwide, ranks us low or political rights and civil liberties. Infant mortality rates are among the highest in the region. Life expectancy at birth has gone up to 63 years, but it is still lower than in neighboring South Asian countries. Mr. Chairman, the more we digress from peace and constitution, the longer we will not attend to these issues to improve everyone’s standard of life. Mr. Chairman, we all know that you can change these facts and the first step would be to take concrete positive steps in the areas of peace and constitution.

The talk of the town is power. It seems people are convinced that for the Maoists, power is not a means, it is an end. They began the revolution in order to establish another dictatorship. We humbly request you to prove the town otherwise. Chairman, we have been told about the existence of a left- and right-wing party in Nepal. But it sounds as if there is just an “up” and a “down party”. “Up” which yearns for prosperity, freedom, democracy and “down” to the ant heap of totalitarianism. The latter has been practiced for many years on this soil. So perhaps the only way to look is to roll our eyes upward to make us believe that for Maoists power is a means to promote pluralistic democracy, economic growth, equality, security, and happiness of the citizens of all Nepal and not only their cadres. Time has called you to evolve beyond party politics and act as a statesman. This way you may not only win over Nepalese hearts and minds but you may just win over history. So please unknot the environment of mistrust, the lust for power, the hunger for foreign banquets and business class seats and start acting in the interest of Nepalese. We understand that this is a difficult path to take at this juncture of politics, but we are sure, for a successful revolutionary nothing is as enticing as challenge.

Wishing you the willpower to do what is right,

The People of Nepal