Nepal’s constitution has been promulgated after overcoming several obstacles, internal and external, after the death of Girija Prasad Koirala, former premier and the lead architect of the republic. It has come with the rigour and conviction of Pushpa Lal Shrestha and BP Koirala during the 1960s and 1980s, and the CPN-UML leader Madan Bhandari and former premier Man Mohan Adhikari during the 1990s. Nepalis, together with the world community, salute the architects of this manifesto such as Prachanda, KP Oli and Sushil Koirala. These people are likely to go down the history books as heroes of their times.

Influential leaders

In South Africa, Nelson Mandela reconciled the blacks and the whites during his presidency. In return, the peacemaker not only made FW de Klerk, a white, a deputy president but also hosted Rugby World Cup 1995. The first black president used rugby, a sport popular among whites, to integrate whites and non-whites against deep-rooted apartheid. Likewise, in the US, Martin Luther King paved the way for Barack Obama to become the first African-American President in 2008. In India, Mahatma Gandhi proposed Jawaharlal Nehru as the first prime minister of newly independent India in 1947, who would ultimately become an icon of non-violence and compassion.

In 1965, Lee Kuan Yew used the top post of prime minister to bring unparalleled prosperity to Singapore in two decades. In Nepal, Ganesh Man Singh offered Krishna Prasad Bhattarai the coveted post of prime minister in 1990. Ganesh Man, Lee, King and Mandela, modern embodiments of integrity, sacrifice and selflessness, rising above party interests and personal obligations, became the most influential leaders of the 20th century.

Heroes and icons

The hero becomes an icon more through action than word, and reality than rhetoric. Retracing the story of the hero’s journey and transformation, Joseph Campbell illustrates the hero’s role as a lover, saviour, redeemer, warrior or saint in ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’. In Campbell’s analogy, every individual with the potential to perform heroic deeds is one archetypal hero.

Similarly, Northrop Frye writes of five representations of the hero in ‘Anatomy of Criticism’. First, the hero is a god, demigod or god’s man in a mode of myth. Second, the hero is a god’s man or a legend with the potential to move to the stature of the divine figure in a mode of romance. Third, the hero is higher than ordinary people in a high mimetic mode. Fourth, the hero is like an ordinary man engaging in everyday routine life in a low mimetic mode. Lastly, the hero is below ordinary man lowering his or her stature with performances in an ironic mode. The Fryian hero of the high mimetic mode, including Gandhi and Mandela, often appear in narratives, fictional and cinematic, and champion a greater purpose of humanity with love and compassion.

March ahead

Our constitution has become an exemplary  homegrown conflict-resolution model for world peace. Now Nepal has to focus on harnessing its resources and trained manpower to reconstruction and accelerate progress and prosperity. Our lands, rivers, jungles, hills and plains are resources for economic progress and cultural transformation. Post the promulgation of the constitution we can no longer resort to excuses such as the peace process still being a work in progress, a constitution yet to be drafted, or inadequate resources. We just need technologies and investments from within and outside the country. We need unity and determination of the kind we showed while writing the constitution and distributing relief materials after the April earthquake.

The 1990 Constitution was praised as being one of the best legal documents that transformed Nepal from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. The 2007 Interim Constitution transformed Nepal into a people’s federal republic. Now the 2015 Constitution has not only endowed hope in the people but also consolidated significant accomplishments made over decades of movements, such as inclusiveness, federal republic and citizenship from mother’s name. Every new constitution is better than the previous one, and a new revolution assures new rights.  As the dream of the Nepalis to write a constitution through an elected body has now been fulfilled, we must focus on strengthening  democratic institutions to serve the people, accelerate progress and maintain peace and order.

Karki is an associate professor in English TU