A separate peace

In terms of both substance and procedure, the unfolding national reconciliation in Nepal that brings a brutal civil war to an end is an extraordinary one. The people of Nepal are celebrating Tuesday’s comprehensive peace accord between the government led by the seven-party alliance and the Maoist rebels. They can also take justifiable pride in the exemplary wisdom that has informed the peace process since they compelled King Gyanendra to hand power back to political parties last April. But the toughest bit may have just begun. Initiating a peace process is just a first step. The real challenge lies in sustaining it. Experience provides dispiriting examples of ceasefires between the state and insurgents falling apart. Power sharing is like that. Throw in the nitty-gritty of decommissioning insur-gents’ weapons during the transition to a new political order, and the task can seem daunting.

Yet, hope floats. In barely seven months since the April revolution, we have had a near political miracle in Nepal. Considerable credit for the peace process goes to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and his much younger interlocutor and Maoist leader, Prachanda, for the decisive steps in negotiating the difficult framework for Nepal’s political rejuvenation. Koirala and Prachanda have repeatedly surprised their well-wishers and detractors by striking bold political compromises. The real credit, however, goes to the people of Nepal, who have kept up relentless pressure first on the monarchy and then on the political parties and Maoists to enter uncharted waters of democracy and peace.

Now, the Maoists will have to demonstrate that the verbal change in their ideological positions is

matched by actions on the ground. Koirala must make sure Kathmandu does not lose political nerve in the next few months and return to the old comforts of intrigue. India, which has the highest stakes in Nepal’s successful political evolution, must learn to be a little less condescending towards that country. New Delhi’s myopic security establishment had come close to choosing the wrong side last April when people were filling the streets of Kathmandu with their protests against Gyanendra. That alone should remind New Delhi of the importance of respecting the popular will in Nepal and avoiding imposition of its own anxieties on the Himalayan nation. The rest of the subcontinent, with its many intractable conflicts, may have a thing or two to learn from Nepal’s peace process.