--By Madan Lamsal

 

I  have no intention of passing any derogatory remark on this faithful, trustworthy, friendly and beautiful animal called dog. With due apology to it, allow me to uncover some of present day Nepal's great eco-political mysteries with the help of this metaphor. You may have noticed, one of the greatest secrets of Nepal's perennial perils has just been revealed: it was because this country for so long was ruled by dogs. Watchdogs, barking dogs, biting dogs, wagging dogs, walking dogs, stray dogs, guarding dogs and running dogs. (Readers are welcome to add some or many more to this list depending on their own observations). How can you expect our human development indices to go up where everything is 'of the dogs, by the dogs and for the dogs?' 

 

Our parliament has a big bunch of vigilante dogs who keep good watch on some of hydropower projects of their interest. Many members of parliament are the 'jhola ma khola' agents. Therefore, if anybody sniffs in their project they bark back loudly as a dutiful guarding dog. These honourable members of this genre of canine community were quick to warn the CIAA chief Lokman Karki just not to cross the limits of a watchdog.  Karki, who is the size of a Tibetan Mastiff declared himself just as a ‘barking dog’, thus would not accept the label of a ‘biting dog’.

 

Questions have been raised about the hunting abilities and choice of prey by this barking dog. People outside the political circle allege that he is running behind the small fries leaving big sharks unscathed.  The wagging dogs who are often seen at the gates of big political leaders, heave a sigh of relief that Karki's canine teeth were blunted at the very moment of appointment, rendering him truly a mere barking dog, only capable to chase away the stray dogs in the bureaucracy, leaving alone big hounds. Karki can bark really very loudly as seen recently during the acrimonious dogfight between several parliamentary committees and the CIAA. Parliamentarians like Gagan Thapa who considers himself as a very skilled barker, anywhere everywhere, has been silenced by the just snarls of Karki. 

 

But, crucial question here is, why these wagging dogs are having problem with this barking dog? They should instead bark at their bosses who appointed him with an unprecedented consensus in the history of Nepal. Karki's appointment as the CIAA chief had taken onboard every possible power centre that is otherwise guarded by Polar Alsatians, German Mastiffs, Chinese Chow Chow and Indian Rajapalayams, among others. So, Karki's metamorphosis was obvious from a mere barking to a biting dog, given he finds some feebler flocks. 

 

And Karki has every reason to bark on these new bunch of stray dogs who dared to protest against the erection of his father's statue at Duhabi thoroughfare, which ultimately had to be demolished and a part of the ruin still pierces his heart. He knows this new barking license for him has come at a very dear financial cost and a very high degree of coalesces between red communists and pink ex-Panchas. For all these reasons, he is not deterred by any amount of barking by these new breed of dogs. Moreover, these naive and novas do not recognize the supernatural sniffing ability of Karki. That is exactly the reason he chose to avoid the successive summons by the parliamentary committees. He has the ability to tame these raucous packs by using supersensitive remote controls.

 

It is also not surprising that Karki has chosen to scare some of the hydropower promoting jackals. He knows they are fleshy and if caught, the feast would be more than plentiful. This is what the bone of contention is. The stray dogs sense that this flesh may be taken away from them by this gradually becoming English Hunter from a Tibetan barking dog.