Go west, young man and grow up with the country” – John Soule, 1851

During the late 18th century, the United States fought for independence from Britain, a few skirmishes with France, and in the late 19th century, fought a bloody civil war. After these turbulences, the United States was finally seeing growth and was transforming into an economic and military powerhouse. Many people travelled west trying to discover their luck. The United States slowly transformed into a superpower, and change had come.

Nepal is now in the same stage the United States was during the early 19th century. We have witnessed the end of a 10 year long armed insurgency, the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic. After the historic Constituent Assembly election, politicians are now writing a new constitution. In such transformation phase, our leaders are going south to bring about change. (Well, not west, but does direction matter?)

Every change in Nepal has occurred after intervention from the South and it seems that even our leaders believe that without the South’s hand steadying them, nothing can be changed in Nepal. Now many Nepali leaders are on the Delhi-run. Former prime minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, deputy prime minister and UML leader Bamdev Gautam, former PM and Rastriya Janashakti Party chief Surya Bahadur Thapa all recently visited Delhi under various pretexts. Even former king Gyanendra Shah made an India tour. If rumors are to be believed, all met in Delhi to discuss strategies to overthrow the Maoist government and apparently also to find ways to reinstate the monarchy in Nepal with Gyanendra’s grandson Hridayendra as a baby king. Apparently India is unhappy with the Maoists performance and their increasing closeness to China. The leaders’ Delhi-run might have various pretexts but it’s crystal clear that they are there to vent out their frustrations against the Maoists.

What is not understood is why our leaders have to run to the South for everything. Rumors are rife that without the South’s support nothing can be done in Nepal. If these things are true then why say we are a free, independent and sovereign country.

Whenever the politicians have to get an edge against each other, they use the terms “patriotism” and “nationalism”. Haven’t you heard the Maoists’ slogans of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism or the Nepali Congress’ call to save national integrity or pro-monarchy’s call of monarchy as the institution that upholds national unity? But in reality do they care? Seeing their regular Delhi-run it doesn’t seem so.

We need real change in Nepal’s politics, one which is transparent and based on mutual understanding. We can’t save our democracy, national integrity and sovereignty just by making our voices loud; to save it, we should act rather than talk. We should all be united and only then can we safeguard our interests. We all have different ideologies and beliefs but we should remember that “a house divided cannot stand.”

By asking foreigners to solve our internal problems, we are giving them space to play around in our internal affairs, which could be disastrous in the future. Our leaders should stop visiting Delhi to ask for small petty favors which might be beneficial for them in the short-term but could be dangerous for the country in the long run. Foreign powers including Delhi, Beijing or Washington all are surely powerful. Being aggressive can’t be a way to save our sovereignty but seriously engaging in discussion to find mutual dialogue and understanding with our neighbor countries is the only way out. But for that the house needs to be strong and powerful from within.

Our political leaders should soul search in themselves and their ideologies, and have a discussion to find a common understanding that could usher in an era of mutual trust. The transitional time Nepal is currently passing through could be really dangerous if we don’t become serious about our actions and it’s repercussions on the future. But this is also an opportunity. All those ethnicities and groups that were suppressed for so long are now trying to make their voices heard. In such a turbulent period, if genuine causes are not addressed properly, the consequences could be fatal. But for this, all the political actors need to come together, build trust for each other, have mutual discussion and be ready for the compromises and concessions that are required. Only then can we pass through this transition to a prosperous Nepal with real democracy.