A Disheartening Day

As people still lie buried in a massive landslide in Sindhupalchowk and Sunkoshi river swells up behind the massive dam created by the blockade threatening countless lives, "The D-day has arrived," declares an editorial of a Nepali newspaper. Of course they are talking about Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi's arrival in Kathmandu. The landslide is a done story for Nepali newspapers, after just 1 day of coverage, because the mighty Modi is here.

With the Panchayati era's zeal of King's Sawari streets are being washed with water, potholes closed, hoarding boards removed, road signs placed, street lights placed, citizens asked not to take the VVIP route. For whom? An Indian guy who has yet to prove anything but does carry the stains of bloody religious violence.

The sycophancy is disheartening but also disgusting. Shamelessly they are begging India and China as the first response to a disaster which is perfectly manageable if they just believed in their own people and resources but put the zeal they so blatantly displayed in placating this guy whose country's social indicators trail behind Sub-Saharan Africa's. While the injured victims are being shifted among hospitals because that would suit the government's needs, those injured, those destitute from the disaster, those who lost their beloved ones, weep and cry in desperation, these sycophants will celebrate Modi's visit, closing down the schools for children during the visit, in a temporarily created glitter.

It is a sad day, it is a day to be disheartened for what we have thought of as democracy in this society.