Girija Prasad Koirala - Man of the Moment 

Once again revival of the concept of "dual sovereignty" is imminent in Nepal. It is a system which has never worked in other countries but for some reasons it has in Nepal. Girija Prasad Koirala, the octogenarian of Nepal politics is all poised to play the role of Amsuvarman of the seventh century. He has a right to do so as only he could have made the Maoists give up their arms before joining government!

Arabinda Ghose  

In most countries, wedded to Parliamentary democracy, certain functions of the State are assigned to the head of the State. For example, the Government elected by the people is sworn in by the head of the State, the armed forces have the head of the State as its supreme Commander, and heads of various Constitutional bodies such as the Supreme Court, the Comptroller and Auditor General (in case of India) etc are sworn in by the head of the State.  

Nepal, which has opted for Parliamentary Democracy after the Jana Andolan (People's agitation) II ending on April 24, 2006, should normally have the reigning King of the Shah dynasty, in this case King Gyanendra, as the head of the State as was the case in the 1990 Constitution, has however, decided to dump the monarchy according to the Interim Constitution adopted on January 15 late evening. Although not specifically mentioning that the Prime Minister is the head of the State at present, the Interim Constitution has accepted the present incumbent, Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala, as the virtual head of the State.  

This position of Mr. Koirala was buttressed by the fact that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal, Mr. Dilip Kumar Poudel, had agreed to be sworn in by Mr. Koirala afresh although originally, before the interim Constitution had come into force, he was sworn in by King Gyanendra. This single incident can be treated as the recognition by the people that Mr. Koirala is now the effective head of the State. The provision in the November 8 agreement between the Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance that the status of the monarchy will be decided at the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly (to be elected by the first week of June), now becomes a mere formality.  

Thus Girija Prasad, whose elder brother the Late Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was the virtual leader of the people's revolt against the Ranas in the late nineteen forties, and against the monarchical autocracy since December 15,1960 till his death in 1982, has achieved the present status by relentlessly continuing his struggle against absolute monarchy between 1982 and 1990 after the death of his elder brother, and then again since 2002 when it was the turn of King Gyanendra to introduce a newer form of absolute monarchy,  

History has cast Girija Babu, now in his mid-eighties, to become the people's choice to preside over their destinies, till a new Government takes office after two general elections- the May-June election of 2007, which will elect a Constituent Assembly and the election that will follow the drafting of the new Constitution which will replace the present interim Statute. That election may take place after about a year, sometime during the year 2008 (corresponding to the Vikram era (solar) 2064.   Till then, it appears Mr. Koirala will continue to head the Government. 

This means that from now till the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly- which will decide the fate of the monarchy- there will virtually be two heads of the State, the de facto head Mr. Koirala and the dejure head King Gyanendra since the latter has not yet been divested of this status constitutionally. It is another matter that events have overtaken the King's status since April 2006.  

This situation, a de jure head of the State and a de facto one wielding all powers of the State existing together is something Nepal has experienced on many occasions in this country's recorded history of more than 2000 years. This is known as "dual sovereignty", Nepal had such a system during the seventh century A.D when "Mahasamanta (high feudatory)" Amsuvarman had guided the destiny of Nepal even though he had a king over him, Shivadeva I of the Lichchavi dynasty. He had, ultimately, become the King and his dynasty had ruled for two more generations before the Lichhaavis had regained power. But then, Nepal of those days had meant only the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas, not the present-day "Mechi to Mahakali" Nepal of the 19^th to the 21^st century. 

Noted historian of ancient India, Dr. K.P. Jayaswal in his "Chronology and History of Nepal (600 B.C. to 880 A.D.)" has described the peculiarity of Nepal's polity in this respect in these words:…". The ruling dynasties, though mostly Hindus from the plains of India –the Mauryas, the Lichchavis, the Karnatakas, the Gorkhas – have a tendency to establish a system of divided sovereignty which works happily in that Valley of Pasupati. There is much less cause for jealousy in that system on the soil of Nepal than anywhere else. Joint rules and regencies are a familiar problem in the Lichchavi times, in the Thakuri times (Amsuvarman dynasty), in the Malla times and in the Gorkha times- two Kings occupying the same towns or contiguous towns afford a picture of a Mitakshara family…These divided sovereignty would baffle theorists of political science but has been a familiar, good working system in Nepal."  

(One may add here that the Rana rule of 104 years between 1846 to 1950 while still maintaining the sovereignty of the Shah dynasty till the last, had wielded absolute power and can be cited as one of the modern examples of dual sovereignty in Nepal).  

Dr. Jayaswal adds that this dual sovereignty might have weakened Nepal internally but to the outside world, Nepal has always shown strength. Throughout her history, there has been no case of traitorous betrayal. Internally weak, but externally strong, is again a political problem explainable by its republican origin…" (the Lichchavis ruled from about 205 to 880 A.D. excepting during the Thakuri dynasty introduced by Amsuvarman) and were known for their republic system at Vaishali in modern-day Bihar).                  

He adds: "Nepal has been in Hindu times mostly a member of the Indian empire. But for centuries- being situated between two large empires- China and India – Nepal has evolved a wise international policy wherein she has hardly ever taken a false step. Owing to that wise policy her international position today is such as it has been never before. She enjoys and rightly, the complete confidence of her powerful neighbours".   (This book was published in 1937 from Patna. Yet how true the statement made then appears even today!) 

History has made Girija Prasad Koirala another Amsuvarman. One does not know which party will win the elections after the new Constitution is implemented sometime in 2008.   But then, even in the near future, Nepal may continue to experience the system of dual sovereignty of another form. Whatever be the results of the general elections of 2007 or 2008, for some period of time the democratic political parties on the one hand, and the Maoists on the other, would constitute two near-sovereign status. The Maoists, a strong disciplined force, is unlikely to be disbanded and would therefore constitute one pole in Nepal's future polity. It is reasonable to suspect that they would not hand over all the arms under United Nations care However, even if they gain power through the democratic process of elections, the democratic political parties would continue to remain another pole.  For some period, such a situation is likely to continue till political stability of the type we have in India is achieved. Thus, a sort of "dual sovereignty" would still continue in Nepal with not much detriment to its polity. 

Mr. Koirala has proved his worth. He has made the Maoists give up arms first before they join the Government Probably no other party than the Nepali Congress and no other leader than Girija Prasad Koirala, could have achieved this feat. For future historians, he will be treated as the second Amsuvarman of Nepal!