THANK YOU

***This article was published in REPUBLICA, a daily national news paper on June 09, 2012***

Our country is in a state where everyone is eager to see the direction it takes. Nepalis are outraged by the acts of political leaders, lawmakers and security personnel. Nothing seems to be going right. The saying “Nepalko Kanun Daibale Janun” (Nepal’s laws only God knows!) seems to be true. At a time when people are expressing their feelings in the form of hatred and disgust, I would like to take a different approach instead, and thank everyone.

We’ve heard and seen the police taking bribes and know it’s wrong, but still I would like to thank them for not taking more than they do. If they wish, they can ask for more. I’ve seen Traffic Police personnel instead of booking the violator for breaking a traffic rule, ask for money. I’ve seen them taking Rs. 50 and 100 when the fine is Rs. 200. I thank them for just sticking around 50 and 100. I’m pretty sure those lawbreakers would have easily paid up to Rs 199 instead of giving away their license.

According to INSEC, 13,236 people lost their lives in the decade-long insurgency. I thank people like the late King Birendra, GP Koirala, king Gyanendra, Prachanda and Rukmangad Katwal for taking action to bring peace. If they hadn’t supported the process, more lives would’ve been lost.

I thank the then king Gyanendra. He gave up as an absolute monarch on the 19^th day of the People’s Movement II. The mass of people wasn’t small, and those 19 days were as difficult for him as for the general public, too. What would people have done for a living if that had continued for a few more days and everything would've been shut down? So I thank Gyanendra for not stretching it. I thank him and the public for not making it bloodier.

Recently, the Constituent Assemble (CA) was dissolved owing to refusal of extension of its tenure. If the Supreme Court had not given a verdict on May 28, 2012 as the last date for the CA’s tenure, lawmakers could have easily added some more time. Viewing the effort of our honorable lawmakers to drafting the new Constitution, I would like to thank the Right Honorable Supreme Court for not allowing them to add extra time for the drafting of the Constitution.

Personally, I have no problems even if lawmakers need eight years to write a new and balanced Constitution provided that they just focus on its writing.

Let’s forget about this and come to reality. At present, no one is certain about the Constitution’s fate. Let’s not talk about the public; the lawmakers themselves aren't certain. Whatever the outcome, I would still like to thank our lawmakers for doing as least a little work. With order from Supreme Court, some significant works have been done. It’s they who did it. We are just bystanders.

No one has any idea on how the Constitution may look like. There are a number of questions being raised. How many states will we have? What would be the basis of the division of these states? Would it be based on castes, ethnicities, geography, or something else? Will equal rights be ensured to all Nepalis? Whatever may the results be, I would like to thank them. If everything is good, of course everyone will surely thank them. And if it isn’t. I‘ll still thank them for not making it as bad as it would've been.