Can the world lone super-power, United States, afford another failed state in South Asia? Perhaps not!
With war torn Afghanistan already a failed state, Pakistan zeroing in the failed state status and, continued political instability already pushing Nepal to imminent economic collapse, should the US revise its Nepal policy?
The Nepali Patra Weekly, October 29, 2010, claims that the US has all of a sudden acquired an active posture in Nepali politics. The US is entirely convinced that the Nepali political actors and political parties were an incompetent lot and to expect positive results from them would be a self defeating exercise, writes the weekly referring to various sources in Kathmandu.
"The US is overly concerned over the increasing hobnobbing between leaders of the largest party in the Constituent Assembly, Unified Maoists and Communist China. The current state of Nepali politics is not appropriate for institutionalizing democracy in the country. And, the continuation of political deadlock could lead to the state capture by the Maoists with the support of the Chinese", the US has also comprehended.
The US basically fears that Nepal could become ultimately another North Korea in Asia, the weekly reveals.
Sources have told the weekly newspaper that the US is in favor of "reviving monarchy in Nepal".
Interestingly, the report reveals that the US is not in favor of reinstating Gyanendra Shah as just as a Constitutional Monarch but it wants to see the former sovereign as an "active monarch". Sudden twist in Nepali politics?
Whether the US ambassador Scott H. DeLisi upon meeting Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Unified Maoists' party at his residence recently floated this idea or not is not known?
In the meantime, report further claims that Dr. Karan Singh-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Cell of the Congress Party in India who is also a trusted friend of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, had recently sneaked into Kathmandu and met with the former king of Nepal, Gyanendra Shah. Why Singh landed in Nepal and whom he met in Kathmandu yet remains a mystery. But he met his close relative-Gyanendra Shah.
In April 2006 Dr. Singh was sent to Kathmandu as a Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of India and had met with the opposition leaders and King Gyanendra that finally led to the abolishment of the only Hindu Monarchy.
Interestingly, the US lobbying for the restoration of Nepali monarchy and the sudden dash of Dr. Karan Singh to Kathmandu in some way or the other could be linked
