Nepali Blogs and Political Unrest

Nepali Bloggers Debate Volatile Situation in the Country

Feb 27, 2008

Political unrest in Nepal is getting worse by the day. Bloggers are now debating the volatile situation in the country.

Political unrest in Nepal is getting worse by the day. After the April 2006 revolution, which resulted in King Gyanendra losing most of his power under the constitution, Nepalese had hoped for a stable democracy where people form different ethnic, religious and social background could peacefully co-exist. Unfortunately, ethnic tension in the “Terai” (Southern Nepal bordering India) region is casting a large shadow over the nation and people are beginning to question whether Nepal can actually survive this turmoil.

Bloggers React

The debate over Nepal’s future as a nation has spilled over to the blogosphere. Blogdai, critical of the current government lead by Prime Minister Girija Koirala and the Maoists, sees the present national turmoil a direct result of the government’s incompetence. They do not discuss much about the terai issue specifically but place it as a part of wider national crises.

Mailabaje presents a more balanced look into Nepal’s political scene. The blog is in depth, discussing an issue not in isolation but explaining the wider national and region scene in the process.

MeroSansar, which is in Nepali, presents a hard line approach in addressing the ethnic tension in the terai region. Openly challenging, in some occasions, the leadership of terai centric political parties to come clean about their agenda. In case of wider national issues, MeroSansar is sympathetic towards the Maoists and their leadership.

While there are numerous blogs on Nepal and Nepalese concerns, Blogdai, Mailabaje and MeroSanar are representative to some extent of the three very different directions the online debate on Nepal is taking.

One faction believes that the problems Nepal is facing is as a result of mismanagement by the current government, discounting Nepal’s long of history incompetent rulers and administrators who sought to line their own pockets before thinking about the country.

There is a group that prefers to slice and dice every issue as if it were a thesis topic. They talk in length about theories and ideals, but have no idea what a common man in rural Nepal hopes for.

Then there are the young rebels, adoring the strong man with hopes that iron fist tactics are the only way to solve the nation’s problems.

On Wednesday February 27th, BBC reported that talks between the Nepalese government and the Madhesi Front representing terai based political parties to come up with a solution to the troubles in the Terai region has failed.

In light of the new development, the debate on Nepal in the blogosphere will likely take a more aggressive tone.

The copyright of the article Nepali Blogs and Political Unrest in Nepal is owned by Bhumika Ghimire. Permission to republish Nepali Blogs and Political Unrest in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.