A Benevolent Dictator, is that what Nepal needs?

Image depicting Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, whose authoritarian style helped him stay in power while his policies helped Singapore develop into a prosperous state.(Click to enlarge image)

As Nepal's political transition is shamelessly lengthened and the presence of state is nearly imperceivable; we often hear some remarks, now more than ever : "Nepal laai  khasma chaiyeko euta Dictator ho k! " and/ or : "Nepal laai banauna aba Jungabahadur(or even Hitler) nai chainchha! ". 

These opinions arise from the same sentiment of having a powerful, efficient and incorruptible head of state who can accelerate our economy and prepare grounds for lasting peace.

Nepal today: an Everest of ills

Although democracy was established in Nepal more than 6 decades ago, frequent power struggles between political parties and within political parties has led Nepal to the verge of a failed state.

Such is the condition that although nearly everyone we know in our country has a family-man who is involved in agriculture and still large parts of our country face chronic food shortages. Nepal is ranked 83rd out of 107 listed countries with regards to food security.

Nepal is one of the most corrupt nations on the globe.

Even now, though Akhtiyaar seems to be active, the major goons are still free: Political Parties are the most corrupt institutions in our country.

Crimes go unheard.
In Nepal, again, Might is Right. Justice is virtually non-existent and legal battles yield nothing but more suffering to the victims. Women's safety is on its all time low. Yet strangely, Political parties or leaders measure their strength by the number of high profile goons in their outfits. Those who are supposed to make laws or protect laws are often themselves the perpetrators.

The process of development is moving at a snail's pace.
An entire generation has grown old since the paperworks of Melamchi Drinking Water Project were first drafted in late 1980s. There are no proper hotels or trained guides in Lumbini, which has the potential to be the Mecca of the East. Students don't even get books to read and perennial load shedding slows general lives and halts industries. Nepal is ranked 157th out of 187 listed countries in Human Development Index(composite indicator of Education, Health and Income).

The situation is a fertile ground for the rise of Benevolent Dictators. Isn't it?

And when we hear examples of Park Chung-hee, the military dictator of South Korea, who propelled his nation from abject poverty of the 1950s to the enviable prosperity of today, the wish for a benevolent dictator only increases. 

Similarly sound economic policies of Deng Xiao Ping was successful in lifting over 500 million Chinese from the clutches of poverty and has established China as 2nd largest economy and a global superpower.

Fiedel Castro of Cuba was able to guarantee quality health care to all its citizens.

So, what determined their successes?

On a closer look at the success stories of these dictators we see certain key factors:

1. Sound Economic Policies, tailored according to their societies.

2. Swifter Processing through bureaucracy and rapid response in case of emergencies.

3. Maintenance of Law and Order.

4. Bold experimentation.

5. Easy curbing of hurdles created by the opposition, if any.

Given this scenario we reach to a logical conclusion why dictatorship might be useful for rapid development of Economy, Law and Order.

And what about the Directors of Disasters?

'Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts' A still from Charlie Chaplin's 1940 Superhit 'The Great Dictator' which is inspired in part by the life of Adolf Hitler.  

Some dictators were not as good though, we should remember. Bloody repression of the opposition coupled with economic failures lead to creation of vicious cycle of chaos and conflicts. Mao Zedong, may have had all the good intentions (that is what his writings say!) but, was responsible for the catastrophic famine due to his failed economic experiments. Idi Amin, president of Uganda, was an erratic bipolar who used his powers to make a clown out of himself, a murderous clown. And then not long before, there was Hitler whose geographical ambitions are understandable but his ethnicidal lunacy was horrendous.

So, some common denominators of the failed dictatorships are:

1. Economic fantasies

2. Utter disrespect and hatred for opposing views

3. Sheer Insanity

Thus, we realize that while dictatorships have been successful in some cases, there are instances where they have been outright failures. 

What Then?

Necessity is the mother of all innovations. We can create a political system where the head of the state can draw from the benefits of dictatorship without there being chances of him/her running into the risks of aforementioned classic failures. Subtle adaptations to the classical democratic methods can yield just that. For example we can have a powerful president or a prime-minister who can not be ousted till term after gaining a popular majority. To make sure that s/he is not going too far, or to make sure that his/her policies are not unduly protested; rapid regular referendums may be helpful. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was democratically elected but nearly dictatorial in style in ensuring economic rise of the City State form a third world nation to a first world nation.

In our context, where rapid development and disciplined society both can not be traded for, as we draft our new laws, we should fine-tune the rights and  reservations of the head of the state to such a balance that s/he enjoys a near dictatorial command over affairs of the state while also making sure that no privileges are used for petty personal or partisan whims. Our systems can be participatory in form and still  not slack in the process,  and our leaders can be unwavering in character and still not be unreasonable in conduct.

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First Image curtsey www.feelguide.com.
Second Image curtsey www.wikipedia.com.
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