A CALL FOR PEACE
The streets of Kathmandu already looked kind of deserted on April 30 in the run up to the nationwide closure that had been declared from May 2 onwards. The street vendors could be seen selling their goods in sky-rocketing prices but the consumers were not complaining because there was no alternative than to buy what was available. The faces of almost all the people I met that day wore an aura of doubt and dismay. "'For how long will the nationwide strike bring the nation to a standstill?’ was voiced by all.
The initial days of the bandh were quite an excuse for catching up with things I had lost touch with – relatives, books and stand-up comedies in the television. However, a couple more days of staying home and I started getting bored. Not just bored but frustrated and disturbed. I had been losing out on my studies and my work at the office was piling up, which of course would be a burden for me at a later date.
On the fifth day of the nationwide closure a friend texted me about a peace rally being organized to call on the concerned party to call off the closure. So, at eight in the morning of May 7, my friend and myself took to the streets of Kathmandu to get an idea of what was going around and what the youths were possibly thinking about regarding this.
As we were walking towards the venue we came across a friend who hails from Biratnagar. As we were causally talking to him, he displayed his profound irritation towards bandh. He said "I am a final year student and we need to complete our theses in three months. We have yet to take our final semester examinations and most of our friends who had gone out of Kathmandu during the preparation leave have not been able to return because of the bandh. If our course is not completed before October, we will have to lose a year. "
Bidding good-bye to him, we moved further. On the way, we came across a sit-in protest program by the group that had called the nationwide bandh. We managed to talk to a couple of young protestors who were participating in the sit-in who candidly gave us their views on the bandh and also provided us with justification of why they had called for the nationwide closure.
One of them said, "We have called for the closure to ensure long-lasting peace in the nation. We feel that the common people- the landless and the poor should be able to enjoy their rights." He also requested others not to take the bandh on a negative note. He mentioned he felt that until the nation was brought to a halt, the leaders in power would never listen and therefore the bandh was justified.
Another youth who had come all the way from Sindhupalchowk said that the closure was a way of coercion to ensure the timely formulation of the Constitution "The revolution is for the people. It might mean some difficulty, but we must not get tired until the revolution is a success."
Similarly, another supporter of the Bandh stated that he supported the on going closure as it was surely for the betterment of the country. He said, "It's not just the college that has been closed, the whole of the nation has been closed. Calling for a strike in this situation is justified. The political scenario of the country is divided into fractions. The bandh will help forge a national consensus for the betterment of the country.”
We were already getting late for the Peace Rally in Basantapur. So we hurried towards it. When we reached Basantapur, the rally had already started and we took the opportunity to talk to a lot of youths who had come from all over Kathmandu to join the peace rally.
Different people had different views but peace was their sole emphasis.
We met a Human Rights activist, who was there to monitor the Peace Assembly. He opined that the bandh had a direct effect on the lives of young people as schools and colleges had been closed. "To sum it up, the fundamental rights of the people are being hindered," he remarked.
Many young people had joined the rally with the national flag in their hands. We talked to one youth carrying a huge Nepali flag who said, "My examinations have been postponed for an uncertain period. While we were taking the exams, some people entered the examination hall and tore our answer sheets and threw them away. It is really sad to see my country in such a situation."
Another participant of the rally, who seemed to share my sentiments regarding such strikes, said, "We have had enough of strikes. Industries have been shut down; day-to-day life is far from normal; so I came to lend my voice in the voice against the strike. The responsibility rests on the major political parties. All I can suggest is that the parties forge a consensus and move ahead. Youths can play a crucial role in getting rid of such strikes by working as an influential pressure group at the national level," she said emphasizing on the role of youths to help ease the situation.
We then meta student who like me, had heard from a friend about the peace rally. He was really worried about his examinations and work- "My examinations were going on but they have been postponed without any further notification. My office has remained closed throughout the week. Moreover, there are people who make their living on daily wages – life is becoming really tough for them.”
He added, “I am not prejudiced against calling for strikes. If you have to express your dissent, you can call for strikes; however, you must not forget that if you exercise your right to freedom of expression by calling a bandh, you must respect other’s right to freedom of movement and not hinder free movement of people and vehicles. Bandh has to be voluntary and not imposed."
When I got back home and recalled the events of the day and the ideas shared, I was assured that none of us wanted to compromise on peace and that is one important thing that binds all Nepalis together in spirit. There can be no alternative to peace. We must find an alternative for all obstacles to peace.
- Sumit Poudyal
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