bleh

"koi koi shaam bhi aaisi maajh hoti hai ki koi lamha de kar nahi jati hai"

Gulzar, in Urdu. Talking about how din and raat are such beautiful words, and beautiful ideas, whereas dusk and dawn are bastards of their union that nobody but the poet cares for. But, sometimes, even a dusk or a dawn acts selfish and stingy, and leaves nothing for the poet.

Wah, wah!

I had thought there would be a lot to write about as May 28th approaches, but there is nothing in my mind. Newspaper headlines have been hijacked by the Unity Life pyramid scheme busting, and all negotiations are taking place behind closed doors. The division in civic life that the Maoist protests had provoked--on one side placing Maoist sympathizers who thought the party's resolve to make a final push was worth supporting, and putting across the aisle those who disagreed for various reasons, including a fundamental disagreement about the method--that division is no longer as distinct, as the pitch of confrontation isn't as sharp.

There have been very few interactions/debates/op-eds about the ins and outs of the constitution regarding the life of the CA and provisions in the Interim Constitution under which the term of the CA may be increased. I think the reason behind it is that the language being used by politicians: it is, as if, the constitution to them is basically a formal document with no real world relevance, and everything can be based upon informal negotiations between the top leaders of a few political parties.

The most ridiculous of the bunch--predictably--is Prachanda of UCPN-M: he finds it okay to suggest that the CA will merely be "inactive" after May 28, until a political consensus is reached to "activate" it. No need to pursue any legal recourse as provided by the Interim Constitution.

That is the problem: the political class--regardless of how well washed their shirts or well-shod their feet--seem to imagine that political activism is always superior to the law of the land. From this attitude stems the willingness to not only protect but also foster armed criminal groups with petty political ambitions. They become adept at defending their views no matter how incongruous to another set of accepted rules, or no matter how contradictory to something they might have fought for at an earlier date, because they forget that it is important to keep a semblance of respect for some unbendable rules. Constitutional norms, for instance. Or any other set of rules that regulates civilized dialog.