Basil Fernando

The months of May and June saw events of great magnitude in South Asia that will profoundly alter the already poor record of human rights in the subregion.

In Pakistan, a military general declared himself president and became the supreme ruler without any restriction to his power. With neighbouring Afghanistan in total collapse, now there are doubts as to what might happen in Pakistan. With the military's assumption of power, the country has lost whatever was gained by the fight against the earlier military regimes. What is worse this time is that the previous civilian rulers have lost credibility because of scandals of corruption. The judiciary too has lost whatever credibility that was previously left. The prospects for elections in these circumstances do not create much hope for the return of democracy any time soon. Some form of democratic facade to entrenched military rule and an anarchic situation may be all that will be possible in the near future. Under these circumstances, the rule of law has degenerated even further. Crime has increased in astounding proportions. Religious fundamentalism has increased so much that the public perception is that the military, which initially after taking power in October 1999 spoke against fundamentalism, has now given in to fundamentalist influences. The future of human rights and democracy now depends entirely on civilian movements. How this might take shape though is difficult to predict.

Nepal saw the massacre of their royal family and entered a period of political instability without any warning . The moral blow to the monarchy is so complete that it may now be said that Nepal has begun a new period of history. The immediate period is dangerous as the ruling groups are trying to curb civil liberties in order to consolidate their position again. The arrest of journalists and others during the past few weeks has made many people apprehensive. The new situation, however, opens up great potential for the democratisation and modernisation of the legal and political institutions of the country. Much will depend though on how the democratic movements develop their positions to consolidate democracy. Much will also depend on people's movements for the democratisation of all aspects of life. The movements for social equality and for the eradication of caste will have a special place in this new context.

Under these circumstances, India could have played a significant role for peace and democracy. However, India is showing very clearly that maintaining Brahmin domination is a far deeper consideration for India than anything else. It has taken a very hard position against the elimination of caste and the uplifting of its minorities. It is really India's inability to extricate itself from Brahmin control that is putting the whole subcontinent in a position of instability.