Remembering Girija

Reading through some obits of late Girija Prasad Koirala (1925 - 2010) in the Nepalese media, it seems that in the eye of some commentators, Koirala managed to redeem himself somewhat in the final decade of his life. To begin with, he is praised for standing up to the then Nepalese King Gyanendra, who assumed absolute power in a short-sighted royal coup in 2002 that spelled the end of monarchy in Nepal. Koirala is also credited with persuading parliamentary parties to sign a 12-point agreement with Maoists in Delhi in 2005 that paved the way for the peace process that halted a decade-long armed Maoist insurgency.

The vast majority of the Nepalese people remained hostile to Koirala until the very end, however. Many were unmoved by the news of his death, openly expressing glee and hope that his death would herald a new dawn for Nepal. Others pointed out that even his practical rapproachment with the Maoists was motivated by what many consider to be the most serious blemish on his legacy: nepotism and self-aggrandizement. According to this interpretation, Koirala wanted to resurrect his political fortunes and dynastic ambitions by aligning himself with his erstwhile sworn foes, the Maoists.

Whatever one's opinions about Koirala, he was indisputably one of the most divisive, controversial and dominant political players in the post-1990 Nepal. His early political apprenticeship itself reads like that of a Mafioso enforcer. Living in the shadows of his illustrious older brother BP, who surely was the toughest act to follow in the Nepalese politics, Koirala did the dirty work for his party, the Nepalese Congress. Organizing Biratnanar Jute Mill workers to agitate against the autocratic Rana regime, smuggling weapons across the Nepal-India border to arm anti-Rana forces, hijacking a currency-laden Royal Nepal Airlines plane, printing counterfeit Indian Rupees and eliminating party rivals were all in the day's work for a young Koirala.

In his autobiography, BP, whose literary legacy might yet outshine and outlive his considerable political legacy, famously dismissed his younger brother GP as a party hawaldar or foot soldier, anointing his niece Sailaja as his political heir.

In the wake of the 1990 People's Movement that restored multi-party democracy in Nepal, Koirala emerged as an influential member of the powerful Nepalese Congress triumvirate along with Ganeshman Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. In the political chaos that followed, Koirala managed to sideline his two key party rivals amidst bitter public feuds, and did his best to undermine a short-lived government of Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist). In the end, he surpassed his older brother BP's wildest dreams by becoming Prime Minister for five times on the back of his undoubted skills at mobilizing the party faithful.

As a reporter for The Kathmandu Post, I had occasion to cover many tedious ceremonies and functions in which Koirala cut ribbons and/or starred as the chief guest. One such occasion left an indelible mark on my mind.

The function was held at the Blue Star Hotel. Koirla was not holding any official position at the time - of course, nothing less than the Prime Minister's Office would have suited his ego - even though his party had formed the government. One of the senior ministers in the government, Bal Bahadur Rai, was also invited to the function.

Rai committed the unpardonable sin of arriving at the function after his party overlord Koirala, whose career was far from over despite appearances. As if to prove this point, a sanctimonious Koirala went on to give a very public dressing down to the embarrassed senior minister, scolding him like a mischievous school boy for arriving late at the "people's function". All that Minister Rai, who looked more like a dreamy, self-satisfied Abbot of a Buddhist monastery than a senior Nepali Congress leader and cabinet minister that he was, could do to counter the hypocritical and self-righteous tirade from his boss was to grin sheepishly and fold his hands together in a gesture of feigned humility and remorse.