KATHMANDU: The Gen Z movement brought an upheaval, but the confusion persists. The Constitution has reached a coma. There is no assurance how long the transitional period will be extended. Due to the weapons looted from the police and the prisoners who escaped from jail, the general public has not been able to catch a break.

It is crystal clear that the shortsighted and stubborn leaders of the political parties are responsible for the country reaching such a state. The country was trapped in a whirlpool due to the ambition of the leaders who clung to unchallenged power without leaving their posts even in old age.

The multi-party system was brought in, saying that the party-less Panchayat system could not provide justice to the people. The growing ambition of King Gyanendra, who ascended the throne after the lineage annihilation of the then King Birendra, and the Maoists who entered the jungle carrying weapons to stage a revolution. Ultimately, even after the Maoists and political parties united and the monarchy was abolished, the parties were unable to open the door to the country’s prosperity. Peace and prosperity became a mirage for citizens.

As the main political parties, caught in internal strife, directed the country towards a daily downward trajectory with mutual conflict, tug-of-war, conspiracy, trickery, grabbing, snatching, and the game of power, extreme despair and dissatisfaction escalated among the people.

At such a time, not only the rise of royalists but also the success achieved by Rabi Lamichhane in a short time in politics was not unnatural. On the other hand, the unexpected arrival of Balen Shah, Harka Sampang, and Gopal Hamal was also a result of the revulsion towards the parties. Despite keeping this in mind, Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal should have felt their utility was over and transferred leadership, but the result is the movement of September 8 and 9, the outcome of these figures making the country a prisoner of further indecision and engaging in personal interest and lust for power.

Clever Dahal immediately went underground to save his life, because having appeared after being underground for a long time, he was already adept at this art. Deuba had not even imagined that he would be beaten by the protestors, bloodying him and his wife, in the later part of his life while awaiting his sixth time ascension to power. The most pathetic situation was seen with the incumbent Prime Minister Oli.

The incident of Oli, who was stubbornly refusing to resign until the last moment, having to sign a slip of paper hastily relinquishing power and fleeing to save his life by boarding an army helicopter was unimaginable for him. This time his trickery and proverbs did not work.

Clever Dahal immediately went underground to save his life, because having appeared after being underground for a long time, he was already adept at this art.

Those who pay no heed to our history

Let alone the incidents in other countries, the end of the dictators in our own country has not been pleasant. To understand the fact that Bhimsen Thapa’s rule was autocratic and familial, apart from his bravely fighting the British army and modernizing the Nepal army, one only needs to look back at history. He did institute the ranks of general and colonel in the army, but this post was not given to anyone except his father and brothers/nephews.

Historian Baburam Acharya argues that Thapa, who remained in power for a long time by removing his opponents through a blood-stained path, cannot be considered a good ruler under any circumstances. Bhimsen Thapa did not find peace just by being cut off in captivity; he eventually became food for jackals and vultures while gasping for life on the bank of the Bishnumati. Historian Gyanmani Nepal has even mentioned that Jang Bahadur, the grandson from his brother’s side, became an autocratic dictator by emulating him.

Thapa’s own nephew, Mathwar Singh Thapa, immediately slaughtered the opposing Pandes lineage as soon as he came to power. He did not even spare their young sons and grandsons. In the end, Sin cried out from the ridge; he became the target of his own nephew Jang Bahadur’s bullet.

Jang Bahadur, who had held the country under his control for a long time and arranged for only his sons and grandsons to become rulers, also lived under constant threat. His own brother, Badrinar Singh, attempted to assassinate him. Lakhan Thapa Magar even blew the bugle of rebellion in Gorkha, claiming he had been ordered by Manakamana Mata for Jang Bahadur’s destruction. Sukhdev and Supati Gurung also rose up in rebellion against his rule.

After three decades of rule, he died mysteriously during a hunting trip. Investigator Janaklal Sharma has even mentioned that a single Aathpahariya Bogati Chhetri, pretending to shoot a tiger, shot Jang Bahadur directly in the chest, and that his own brothers’ conspiracy was at play.

The mistake the leaders made in considering power supreme, despite knowing that the end of autocratic rulers in Nepali history has not been happy, is the result of this. Forgetting the greater good of the country and the people, they relied only on a limited number of flatterers, companions, and middlemen. Now it is difficult for them to return to power. That is, they are unacceptable.

Jang Bahadur, who had held the country under his control for a long time and arranged for only his sons and grandsons to become rulers, also lived under constant threat. His own brother, Badrinar Singh, attempted to assassinate him.

Instead of remembering history to foresee the future while assessing the present, the entire UML party today is badly submerged by the torrential downpour of the Gen Z movement, solely because of Oli, who walked while letting the Ganges of knowledge flow backward, and the factional workers who danced saying, ‘We Love Oli Ba.’ Even honest fisherman-like workers who would save this party from the inundation are now in a situation where they cannot show their faces outside.

All this is the result of not learning any lessons from history.

History is not some faded matter of the past; it is the basis of the present. What happened yesterday? We are facing the consequence of that today. Instead of learning lessons from Bhimsen Thapa’s autocracy and tragedy and engaging in public welfare towards achieving liberation, the leaders headed towards the ambition of becoming autocratic dictators.

If there was any bad incident yesterday, one must know well about that incident to prevent it from happening again. If something good happened yesterday, one must follow and publicize such work. Therefore, forgetting or ignoring past history is to make the journey of the future chaotic. No one but a fool can look for the future by forgetting the backbone that is history. In this sense, we were condemned to suffer the rules of fools for a long time.

An arrow must be drawn back as far as it is intended to be shot or struck. The deeper one goes into history to learn lessons, the happier the future will be. But our leaders never paid attention to learning lessons from history. Because of them, the Constitution has reached a coma at this time, and the country is devastated.