Barun Roy: Great expectations

ASIA FILE

As we wait for the birth of a new economy in Nepal, we hope its lesson will spread to other parts of Asia that remain areas of darkness.

Let us salute Nepal and its people! Who would have thought that such a momentous change, re-writing its history altogether, would come about in such a short period of time and in such a peaceful way? Almost suddenly, a nation that's 90 per cent Hindu has become a secular democracy and a monarchy that ruled it for centuries has no place in it anymore. A new feeling of pride and purpose has come to sweep the tiny, landlocked country, known to the world for its mountain peaks, Gurkha soldiers, and sherpa guides, and unite its diverse races and tribes.

Now Nepal can hold its head high among nations for its courage of conviction. If long years of poverty and underdevelopment, and the psychological drag of being squeezed between two gigantic neighbours, had led to a feeling of helplessness and inferiority in its dealings with the rest of the world, the latest developments have given the country back its dignity and self-respect. And it has earned the support of the world. The stage, thus, is well set for Nepal to start rebuilding itself as a nation and take its economy forward.

But even as we offer our salute, we must sound a note of warning, too, for revolutions have a tendency to go astray, pride could degenerate into narrow nationalism, and politics could be blind enough to supersede practical economic interests. We have seen all this happen in another country right here in south Asia, where a great beginning has ended up as an equally great disappointment.

When Bangladesh was born in 1971 of a people's war of independence, it had everything going for it "" a world ready to extend all the help it needed, a neighbour overflowing with sympathy, understanding, and friendship, and an inspired population ready to make sacrifices, rise above narrow political considerations, and uphold the ideals of secularism and tolerance. But somewhere along the way, the euphoria wore off, inspiration flickered, politicians began to fight for spoils, and Bangladesh strayed off the course the world had expected it to follow.

A country that's 83 per cent Muslim has little warmth for its religious minorities and looks on as Hindus are attacked, abused, and killed by Islamic fundamentalists. Politicians tamper with the Constitution at will. Relations with India have been allowed to worsen. Poverty remains acute and pervasive. Malnutrition and maternal mortality are still among the highest in the world. Efforts to improve the economy, even if backed by international donors, are stalled by political infighting and corruption. The government neither has the commitment nor the will to change things. Nobody has any expectations of Bangladesh anymore. It's just another poor country that exists only by pecking on the generosity of the world.

Nepal has startled the world with a huge bang, and we admire it for its courage, but we don't want it to end up as another Bangladesh, with a whimper. Having fulfilled its democratic ambitions, it should have no illusions now about the road ahead. Outside sympathy alone can't build a nation's future. After the elections are held and a new Constitution is written, solid actions will be required to fix the economy quickly and in the best possible way. There are many more things besides tourism that could give Nepal a better economic standing. Information technology is certainly a promising area. Contract manufacturing could be another. Processed foods and horticulture could be a third major field of activity. The main focus now should be on charting out a credible economic blueprint and following it through, without "" and this is very important "" depending too much on donor agencies. Nepal must cease to be an NGO economy and start being an FDI one.

As we wait for the birth of a new economy in Nepal, we hope its lesson will spread to other parts of Asia that remain areas of darkness. One such dark area also happens to be a next-door neighbour, Myanmar, where the military rulers are playing hide and seek with the international community. Observers come and go, uttering platitudes and expressing hope, but the junta remains in saddle as it has, in one form or another, since 1962. Democracy flickered for a brief while in 1990, only to be quickly smothered. The National League of Democracy's landslide general election win was sideswiped and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was put under house arrest. Soon after UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Qambari's recent visit and remarks that Suu Kyi's health was okay, the junta extended her jail term once again.

"Slowly, slowly we'll catch the monkey," opposition leaders hope. But this monkey is a clever one. As diplomats keep "exploring" ways to trap it, the monkey keeps merrily eating bananas. Only the Myanmarese themselves can put an end to this ongoing farce.