Bishnu Puri

Timely Demise of GP Koirala:

Media kept on screaming an electronic mourning on the common topic of the day; an untimely Demise of GP Koirala. Right after the official declaration of death of NC’s President, people had started assuming on the pros & cons on that departed soul. “Girija Prasad Koirala had an education of higher secondary school level” a fresher-sounding news reader was pronouncing the statement with almost four breaks in a sentence. “And respected leader of the country had become the prime minister of Nepal for five times”. The news reader sounded more confident now. The mobile beeped with a sound of a sms that wrote the same information of GP’s death and capitalized font of “Come home soon” by my wife. As I started wearing the shoes in a room of my photo journalist friend, the thirteen-to-be-hundred leader’s recorded interview regarding the subject of parliament dismissal by then king was also given on the TV screen and he was proudly going through the nostalgia of his life in prison for three decades. ‘I am already in my eighties now and I have spent more than 30 years in jail. So there is nothing I have to be scared with the King or any of his monarchial steps.” The Asian level leader spoke freely (Probably the interview was recorded after the declaration of Republic Nepal). And on a way home to Kalanki in the evening I braked my bike to buy some vegetables where I heard a local butcher speaking without regression upon the same Man’s death nearby the shop, “The first hijacker of the Country died today.” Chopping the goat’s neck into pieces as per customer’s demand he added, ‘Who is going to hijack next?’ Someone answered from the mass, ‘India’. Butcher stopped his weapon from the goat’s neck and encountered as if his ego was hurt, ‘No. That’s not possible anymore.’

As per the schedules went electricity off at 6 pm for another 6 hours. I had no option than getting into the kitchen and start cooking since it was Saturday and my wife had already declared my off-days’ cooking turn. It hit 9:00 pm while rested in the bed however I couldn’t want to sleep right away. Or may be my mind was not letting my heart to rest the same way I daily used to! I knew it why were I being sleepless when those strange sentences I heard, watched and listened in the whole day stroke my mind again.

Most of us, those who know Nepali politics, generally know about the family background of Girija Prasad Koirala. He was the youngest out of three sons of his parents. Most of the leaders for the whole day kept on commenting upon the bygone days of the leader, their relation with him, their first meeting and the contribution made to the country on different audible and visible Medias. The whole country went into the shock and I was not still able to sleep. Was I shocked too? Well, I am really not sure. What shows that you are grieved or what shows you are not ? Is it a time to grieve or remember his good deeds and wish the same respected-demise ?Anyway, it depends upon an individual. I was born Congress because when I heard the words like ‘Nridaliya’ & ‘Bahudaliya’ in 2046, I was playing ‘Guchchaa’ (the small balls!) in a temple of the village along with my other friends. The only thing I still remember is that ‘I am a son of a Congress father so I have to run to save myself from the police since they are searching only congress”, according to the Communist friends of mine. Then after few days I heard about the declaration of democracy in the Country. After that whatever I have heard has always been a less important than what I have faced & seen and what I have experienced & felt. That was, may be, because I had started understanding the effect of politics in my life as a student, as a people, as a voter, as a consumer and as a watcher after Fifties. In the whole phases of those experiences, unfortunately, I could never feel like a citizen.

Sometimes other politicians might feel immensely jealous with him and whisper within, "How can one become a prime minister for five times?" What should be the time span (tenure??) as an elected primer minister of a country? None of my business however, in the USA it is four years at a time and a qualified president can nominate himself twice in his life time as I read in the course study of my B.A. politics. But, our Great Leader had become a prime minister of the country for five times. Not less than Amazing!!! And that fresh news reader was repeating the ready-made news upon his qualification? 'He was educated up to the higher secondary level in India". Does it really match in a natural term? Question may arise ! 'Well, the sequence would have, of course, matched if the series of developmental activities or examples were standing on the same row", one may easily raise a doubt from that point of view. But, how to find that natural nexus in between whatever he was and whatever he had become? Was he a politician or a leader? Why was that news reader sounding so confident while stating those sentences ?Whatever he did for the country has been clear like a day, however if anyone would not feel deeply grieved upon him then we should not comment much on that subject! Not everyone gets same opportunity in the same way the history of country had laid a great responsibility in his feet. As a qualified leader he could have done more than just becoming a prime minister for five times. OK, let him be so for ten times or even more but what have those people felt or how have they relieved from his ruling would always be more important than his ruling times. Were all the rulers after 2046 along with king responsible in Creating a situation where Maoists were born against the people’s will, creating a situation where Maoists were fought against the people’s will and creating a situation where Maoists were brought for the people’s will? Maoists were born, fought and brought in the country!! Unfortunately these happenings have whispered thorough the same breeze. And if so, what kind of contribution was that? Well, CPN UML is also equally important for whatever went wrong since then till now as an anti-ruling party. But, let’s not talk about an existence of an existence less and shameless naked party at the moment since the moment is on Mourning. So, Mr. GP Koirala, thinking deeply, was a leader or just a politician ? His brother BP Koirala had once mocked him as a 'Habaldaar' without much knowledge of diplomacy. He was severely criticized and even thrown the stones & brick upon for the statement of his speech, ‘this is the victory of all the people, king and even his followers’ after the rise of democracy in 2046 in Tundhikhel, Kathmandu. But, his contribution in the national politics has always played a role in culmination. No worry if anybody would say, 'He was a politician acting like a leader by the grace of his brother BP Koirala.' But it is also truth that the entire political life of Girija Prasad koirala could have been written by the golden scripts in history, in his party and in the Country forever if he had used his opportunity of a political ground for the good of different parties rather than his own party, for brothers rather than a brother, for the daughters rather than a daughter and for the people rather than his pupil. So, his political career remained not much different than a doctor’s son or brother selling drugs in his own pharmacy...uuufffs..Why am I not being able to sleep!! I turned my side and found my student-turned-wife sleeping that made me think of trying once again to sleep but couldn’t do so after couple of minutes’ try.

Then another sentence of the day stroke my mind, “The first Hijacker of the Country”. I am not sure the if the butcher was being sarcastic enough with his sentence in a metaphoric term (who knows!) or he was referring the plane hijack by GP Koirala may be. His contribution in the defeat of Rana Regime from the country has also been appreciated by the people who know him. It was, surely, a gut of a Man to fight as a frontier with the trained armies of Rana that time. He has mentioned in one of his TV interviews that he has shot the gun for twice in his life time himself. That was really a matter of bravery in the rise of Monarchy and the set of Rana regime.

But, why did that butcher surmising with his answer that ‘India is no more going to be the next hijacker?’ Did he know that India was directly playing the role in the Nepalese politics? Or was he one of a stone thrower in the Assembly Speech of 2046 by GP Koirala? I sensed a smile in my lips on the butcher’s resemblance of my imagination. Well, a 76 years’ old grand father from Myagdi District after being beaten to death by Nepal armies without reason in 2057 had said that, ‘All the politicians are butchers but not all the butchers are politicians.’ I had a sense of doubt on that butcher and thought, may be he was also an active politician of his time. Or if not, at least he must have been a frontier of 2046 rebel. May be in the same way we were almost shot to death in a room of Kirtipur while being an active rebel in 2062/63. Anyway, I may not be able to think more about who is going to be the ‘Second Hijacker of the Country’ or why ‘India is not going to be so anymore’ because it is something called ‘Internal’ according to the analyst of politics and we are merely the 'people’. But, I’ll surely love another co-incidence with the same butcher again and ask why does he think so confidently upon the days to come !! Hence, it is a humanly truth and a mystery that there remains no way than accepting after a human born or after a human dies. Without a definite reason born a human being and because of many reasons dies a same human being. Out of many physical reasons, his habit of chain smoking was an important reason according to the doctor. So, may be it was a ‘Timely Demise’ after whatever contribution he was doomed to offer for the country. Lastly but Heartily, “May the departed Soul of GP Koirala rest Peace in Heaven.”

Bishnu Puri