There’s a Dangerous Vacuum in Nepal and It’s of Great Concern to India: Ex Ambassador to Nepal

There's a dangerous vacuum in Nepal and it's of great concern to India: Rakesh Sood, former Ambassador to Nepal, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.

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India’s former Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood, says a dangerous vacuum has developed in Nepal with the collapse of the previous K. P. Sharma Oli government and with violent protests – perhaps better described as a rebellion – sweeping through the country but seemingly leaderless. There is no clear cut personality or figure in a position to take over or even assert authority. The politicians of the past are discredited and Gen Z has not thrown up any new leader although Balendra Shah, the Mayor of Kathmandu, and Rabi Lamichhane, a former Deputy Prime Minister, are being spoken about. This dangerous vacuum should be of great concern to India. We just don’t know what will happen next and in what direction Nepal will turn and move.



This is an extremely topical interview on a subject that is fast moving and changing almost by the hour.



I will, therefore, stop at this point. I will encourage you to see the interview for yourself.



To help you, I will give you the list of the main questions put to Mr. Sood. Here they are:-



1) How would you explain the widespread violent protests – may be the word rebellion is better – that swept through Nepal in the last few days? Was it really provoked by the arbitrary decision to block 26 social media apps or are there deeper more fundamental causes we need to focus on?



2) The media is calling it a Gen Z revolt. What are economic conditions like for young Nepalis? The World Bank says youth unemployment is over 20% and newspapers say that somewhere between 4 and 8 lakh young Nepalis leave the country each year looking for jobs.



3) The other critical factor seems to be the corruption of the political elite and, perhaps in particular, the luxurious lifestyle of their children who are called nepo kids. Can you tell me more about this?



4) How much of the responsibility lies with former Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli? Yubaraj Ghimire says he was increasingly unpopular but refused to acknowledge the fact. The Economic Times calls him authoritarian and out of touch with reality. (10/9).



On the 6th of September an official jeep carrying a regional minister hit a 11-year old girl tossing her on to the pavement and then prime minister Sharma Oli described it as a “normal accident”. This seems to have infuriated Nepal. Is it a sign of how arrogant and insensitive Sharma Oli had become?



5) Do these developments suggest that the Constitution of 2015 has effectively collapsed? In other words, is there a need to recreate democracy from the foundations upwards?



6) Let’s focus on the tens of thousands of young Nepalis who’ve risen in revolt across the country. “Next Gen Nepal’, one of the organizations behind the protests posted on social media the following: “Our generation is now ready to take on the responsibility for the future.” They are demanding the dissolution of Parliament. Is a distinct generation shift taking place in Nepal?



7) On Tuesday night the Army Chief, Gen. Ashok Raj Sigdel, imposed curfew and asserted the army’s control. How effective has that been? And do you see the army staying in control for a while?



8) There’s already speculation about the political succession. There’s speculation about the young Mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra Shah, as well as a former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, who was released from jail, Rabi Lamichhane. What can you tell me about these people?



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