The state of the country would never improve until the politicians are made to understand that there is a purpose why they have been sent to power by us the people- and that purpose is to serve us the people. It is the never changing ‘ruler-attitude’ of our politicians that ensures that our democracy does not yield result no matter how many times we change the government and vote a new party in. H
aven't we given almost all major political parties a chance to run the government? Why is that we never feel like an empowered citizen no matter who is in the government? Why does their attitude towards people never change? Why do they think they are there to RULE and not SERVE? The main reason is the way politicians have forced us the people to treat them. They make us treat them as ‘rulers’. We must challenge them and change our behavior towards them. They are our servants. We the people are the masters of our country. We must protest and stop the use of the terms like ‘Mananiya’ and ‘Sammaniya’ in relation to the politicians. The biggest example of how the politicians have made themselves into kings and emperors is the way they lock themselves up inside Singhdarabar just after winning the elections- and keep us the people who voted them in- out of it. By some estimate 90% citizens of Kathmandu and some 99% of citizens of Nepal have not entered Singhdarbar ever. Is it acceptable? Our kids have not seen our Parliament that is inside Singhdarbar. We have not even seen our Prime Ministers’ office- most of the other ministries- let alone visiting these offices. An earthquake victim who has been waiting for the support of their elected government for a year cannot visit the National Reconstruction Authority that sits inside Singhdarabar? Is that fair? In a democracy including ours people are the masters of the country- sovereignty lies with the people. We simply use our sovereignty through a government we elect. In relation to the sovereignty, at all times, we remain the principals and the government our agent. How can an agent, a servant be more privileged than the principal, the master? Why should a master take the permission of his/her servants to visit the working space of the servant? It is totally absurd. Is Kathmandu such an insecure place that the politicians and bureaucrats need such a protected, walled and gated compound to work inside? Why do the politicians need to hide in a place where an average citizen cannot approach them? No democratic government in the world- none at all- keeps themselves off-access to the common people, the voters. They just cannot. Their people would be outraged. You can walk by the White House while the President of USA is working/sleeping in the building. You can drive by the Westminster Alley– the British Parliament freely. Indeed these places are huge tourism attractions. Even in neighboring India- hit by several terrorist attacks- people can walk by, drive by, take pictures of all their significant government buildings, parliament. Why then the Nepali Politicians need this special security? This is rubbish. It is not about security- not at all. It is about feeling powerful. It is about feeling like kings and emperors. Should not we feel surprised that even Marxist and Maoist governments- those who claim to fight for the poorest and the weakest in the society did not open Singhdarbar for open access- for a poor person to enter freely? This says a lot about the commonality of authoritarian character of Nepal’s politicians- irrespective of the party and philosophy they belong to. And until that is changed no matter how many governments we change, we would not find a responsive government. Even a natural disaster like a deadly earthquake killing thousands would not change it. We know opening the doors and breaking the walls of Singhdarbar will not solve all our problems- but it would make a beginning of making our politicians understand they are not above the people- they are not different from the people. The success of our movement would give a significant mental jolt to the ruler and elitist mindset of the politicians- paving way of many other positive changes. The Singhdarbar Attitude is the symbol of almost all political ills of the country. It symbolizes:
a.Exclusion- It precludes the poor, the marginalized from entering the seat of their government- to meet the people that are supposed to serve them- who get paid by them
b.Elitism- It makes political elite and their cronies enjoy a free pass into an area that is off-limit to the general people
c.Colonialism- It makes foreigners (in blue plated cars) enter the central place of government freely while the country’s taxpayers need permission- giving us a feeling that we still live in a colonized country- foreigners are superior to us
d.Lack of Transparency- The exclusion creates a mindset among the politicians and bureaucrats that they are superior than the average people, and the average people can be denied access and information
e.Corruption with impunity- The safety and security of the walls and closed gates around them give the politicians a feeling of indulging in corrupt deals without any worry of public outrage and scrutiny
f.Sanitized atmosphere from political protests- As all the ministries and the parliament is inside the closed door and walls of Singhdarbar, most of the social and political protests happen outside it, disturbing the entire city (common people) while the people against who the protests are targeted (the politicians and bureaucrats) sit safely and cozily inside a secure environment. To support the movement you may like this page, participate in the meetings, come for demonstrations, and the easiest of all use the following hashtag with your opinion on the subject.
Singhdarbar
#सिंहदरबारको ढोका खोल
The movement is organised by Swabhiman Manch- Dignity Front Nepal. https://www.facebook.com/Swabhiman-Manch-Dignity-Front-Nepal-1171191796259742/?fref=ts
