"The Problem is Instability" - B. P. Koirala (Interview) (Sunday, December 20, 1981)
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In a series of interviews with Bhola Chatterjee (BC) from 14 through 17 September and 29 November, B.P. Koirala answered some questions that are of more than passing interest.

BC: if I asked you to do a little crystal-gazing, what do you think would be the likely political scenario in the near future?

BP: It will be somewhat difficult for me to do that. Well, perhaps this is wishful thinking on my part to say that the entire Constitutional exercise beginning from the national referendum to the general election was initiated by the King, if it was a sincere exercise, to induce elements like us, genuine nationalist democrats, who had remained outside the political system to participate in the system. The King gave real concessions to the people, universal adult franchise, direct election, the cabinet's answerability to Parliament in fact, most of the basic democratic rights, although he retained certain emergency powers. All this was done to get our support, not necessarily that of the Nepali Congress alone but democratic support in general. When we decided to boycott the May 1981 general election the King's purpose was not served and he had to call upon the same man, Surya Bahadur Thapa, to from the government. So far as we, the opposition, are concerned there has been no change. My reading is that the King will soon feel the need to consult us or see his way to further amend the Constitution, which will satisfy our minimum demands, hold a midterm election and thereby ensure stability in the political system. The biggest problem before the nation is instability. If it were only manageable instability it would not have mattered much. But if the instability is of a nature that the government cannot manage it would endanger the very existence of the state, particularly in view of the pressure that is being put on the country. Naturally, the King would be interested in stability? But stability cannot be achieved without active cooperation of the democrats with any arrangement that he may have in mind. That is why I say that the King will be obliged to turn to us.

BC: What is the other alternative that the King might opt for?

BP: That King might feel all the exercises so far undertaken have been in vain; the democratic elements are not responsive to whatever gestures he has made. So, (he will have) no more of these experiments and he will rule directly. The international situation will also induce him to think along that line, because the international forces are more interested in stability than progress. This is what I have been hearing of late in diplomatic circles and political parlors here. Their question is: progress my answer is: progress and stability. This may cause dislocation, but it would be manageable dislocation. But there are elements which feel that any further concession will only invite dislocation that would not be management or democratic management. If he is confronted with the alternative of stability and no progress or of instability and progress, he will perhaps choose stability. And there will be no more democratic experiments and innovations.

BC: That is taking a rather grim view of the situation.

BP: Yes, in a way. Because I think some of our neighbors will not like too much instability in our country.

BC: Could you name those neighbors?

BP: Why, I do not think it will help India if a situation of unmanageable instability is created in Nepal; I do not think it will help China either. In that case, it may be asked what would be their choice? Some of the countries, I do not want to name them, may like to stabiles the palace and give full support to the King. Their argument could be that the King provides the element of stability in the country.

BC: What is your attitude towards suicide and euthanasia?

BP: Man has a right to commit suicide, particularly when he is suffering from an incurable disease and he is a burden to his family and also to himself. I support suicide but not when one commits it out of sheer frustration. I am also an advocate of euthanasia. When one is suffering from terminal cancer or from any aliment that has no cure one has a right to euthanasia. As a matter of fact, I have told my people that if I get a paralytic stroke or if I am down with terminal cancer, I should be administered some injection to put me to eternal rest.

BC: Do you have any regrets when you look back on the past?

BP: I have no regrets. I have lived a full life, exciting, deeply engrossing and satisfying. If I am given a new life to begin, my course, my development, will not be different from the role I have followed in the present life. In the context of the situation in which I lived, in the environment of misery, unhappiness, oppression and tyranny, ignorance and exploitation, I couldn't have been other than what I am. My life is a series of reactions to these facts of existence. In the worldly terms in the eyes of the people I have undergone great hardship in life a life of deprivation, hunger, imprisonment sometimes in inhuman conditions, serious illnesses; I have no sense of suffering. Any other kind of life would have been not only boring but coarse also. Moreover, the tremendous love, affection, respect that I have received from my people, my friends and family members is a gift worthy of the gods.

BC: Have you been true to yourself all along?

BP: I think I have been true to myself; I have been honest to myself. Man has limitless capacity for self-deception. Knowing this I have tried my best to analyses myself, and refrained from giving myself "the benefit of doubt." Honesty begins at home.

BC: Nepalese politics is at the crossroads, it appears. What is your assessment?

BP: I am optimistic about Nepal's bright future. Our policy of national reconciliation is producing positive response and a healthy trend is discernible in Nepalese politics.

Citation: B. P. Koirala, "Koirala: The Problem is Instability", (Interview) in Sushil Koirala (ed.), Democracy Indispensable for Development 104-107, (Varanasi: Sandaju Publications, 1982)

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