The Tao of Nepal's Revolution

Note: Gratitude to the friend in Nepal who penned this text during curfew hours to help friends understand what is happening behind the barricades of burning tyres......
"What's a revolution?" asked Piglet excitedly, although he didn't know whether he should be.

"It's when the people over throw their Government," Rabbit replied knowingly.
"Sounds like a lot of change to me, and change is bother," Eeyore sighed, dropping his head cynically.

"But why would they do that in Nepal?" Piglet enquired.

"Boredom probably," muttered Eeyore, chewing a thistle out of one side of his mouth.

"No." Rabbit responded sharply, "it's because of a number of complicated reasons. Firstly the country has been engaged in a civil war for over ten years, as a result of Maoist insurgency..." "Taoist philosophy?" Pooh interrupted, lifting his head from a jar of honey, licking his lips and now taking an interest. "Didn't we write a book about that once?"

"Not Taoist philosophy, Pooh, Maoist insurgency," Rabbit said abruptly.

"Oh," said Pooh "hmm, are they related?"
"Well, eer… sort of…. they come from…. the same place," Rabbit stuttered uncertainly, when Owl, much to Rabbit's relief, proclaimed, "Philosophy is engaged in by academics, whereas insurgency is conducted by people with guns…" Pooh had now put down the pot of honey and once again interrupted. "Well, if I remember rightly Taoism is about following the Way. Hmm… I am sure I sang a song about it once," and he started humming and drifted off into his own thoughts again.
"So is revolution about finding your way?" Piglet once again enquired; although he was still not sure he knew exactly what a revolution was and therefore was no closer to the answer to his original question.

At that moment Christopher Robin appeared and everyone turned to him, as he generally new about things like this. Rabbit looked quietly relieved that he didn't have to continue explaining about a situation in a far away country, which he knew little about, had never been to and had no intention of visiting. "Nepal is a beautiful and magical country, with some of the most spectacular mountains and hospitable people in the world," Christopher Robin started, "but it has many complicated political and economic problems at the moment and the current crisis is a culmination of these."

"An accumulation of bees!?!" Pooh gasped in a startled voice, and immediately stopped humming and trying to remember the words to his song about the Way, and started looking around nervously, shielding his pot of honey.

"Let me make it simple for you. The root of the problem is that those people living in the remote mountainous areas are very poor and have very little, whereas those who have governed them have always lived comfortably in the cities, with plentiful food and security. Despite people in rural areas having the least access to basic provisions and services, and therefore needing most help, traditionally the ruling urban elites have not provided them with the support they need to improve the quality of their lives."

"So who's ruling the country?" Piglet asked, hoping this might bring him closer to understanding what a revolution was.

"Good question, Piglet, and arguable currently no one is."

"See, I told you. Boredom. No one is even ruling," Eeyore huffed.

"Prior to 1990 the country was ruled by the King but a democratic government replaced the monarchy following a revolution at that time." Piglet sighed to himself, there had now been two revolutions and he still didn't know what one was. "However the government that replaced the King," Christopher Robin continued "still did not represent the rural poor or increase their access of basic services despite it being the poor who sacrificed the most in the 1990 revolution. As a result those people within the country, who believed in the political thought of Mao, started a quest…"

"Like ours one to find the North Pole or catch a Heffalump?" Pooh inserted.

"Sort of…. a quest to capitalise on the disillusionment among the rural poor," Christopher Robin continued "and encourage them to take up an armed struggle against the government for their rights. The fighting has spread across the country and led to many people being killed, the erosion of human rights and the crimpling of the rural economy."

"It doesn't sound like it is helping the rural poor very much," Piglet said in a concerned voice.

"Civil wars mostly have the greatest negative impact on those that they claim to be trying to bring justice to," Rabbit said confidently, pleased he was able to engage in the discussion again.

"Certainly in the short term, Rabbit. Then in February 2005 after over a decade of fighting between the Government and the Maoists a dramatic event happened, the King seized power back from the government claiming they were not doing enough to tackle the Maoist insurgency and in doing so become an authoritarian ruler…"

"An author? With a tartan ruler?" Pooh interrupted in a confused tone, once again removing his head from now even deeper inside the honey pot.

"An authoritarian ruler is one that takes control without the will of the people and governs without checks on his power, normally resulting in abuse of their position," Christopher Robin explained. "As a consequence of this, during the last year a strange pact has formed between the Maoists, representing the rural poor, and disposed government, made up of the urban elite, as both desire the removal of the King, with the former wanting a Republic and the later a return to democracy." Christopher Robin paused for breath, by now even Rabbit and Owl looked a little lost. "In recent months both the Maoist and the democratic parties have been carrying out an increasing number of activities to disrupt daily life and unsettle the current regime, in the form of strikes, protests, road blockades and in the case of the Maoist more brutal and concentrated violence. This has culminated in the mass protests, violence and disruption of the last few weeks, which has seen both groups join together and mobilise a significant number of people onto the streets, bring the country to a stand still and demanding a change of regime and a new constitution in Nepal – the start of a revolution."

"But how will people know when the revolution is over," asked Piglet, who now was a little clearer on what a revolution was, but was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing as yet.

"Well if successful, the demands of the revolutionaries have to been met, i.e. the King must steps aside and a new leader has to be identified to bring stability back to the country through a new constitution," Christopher Robin stated.

"But the revolutionaries are only united over the removal of the King. With the King now saying he is willing to pass power to the people, won't their conflicting demands and ideologies and the fact there is no obvious leader among the revolutionary movement, or at least no one everyone will agree on, mean that Nepal will drift into anarchy." Pooh suddenly interjected.

"I told you, bother, a whole lot of bother!" Eeyore groaned.

"Sounds like revolutions are more about getting lost, than finding the Way – I think we should stick to Taoism," Piglet concluded, picking up his bunch of violets, "come on Pooh, let's go and play Pooh Sticks, which at least has a clear objective and a winner."