Ousted crown prince Paras leaves Nepal

Thirty-three days after his father Gyanendra was stripped of his once revered position as the king of Nepal - and he himself lost the right to succeed to the 239-year-old throne, Nepal's controversial former crown prince Paras Tuesday left the country for Singapore, triggering speculation about his return.The 37-year-old was ... ...by two body guards and his brother-in-law Raj Bahadur Singh.This is his first exit from Nepal since being confined to the country for nearly two years following the fall of his father's absolute reign in April 2006.Unable to attend the birthday celebration of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok due to the restrictions on foreign travel imposed on him and his family by the new government, the former crown prince enjoyed the first advantage of becoming a commoner as his flight to Singapore abroad Silk Air was not opposed by anyone.Reports said Paras' wife, the former crown princess Himani, would join him within a week with their three small children.As the former royals remained silent on the departure, there was speculation that Paras could be looking for fresh pastures, unwilling to remain in a land that had inflicted such severe punishment on him and his family.A local daily, however, reported Tuesday that the former prince was not fleeing his country. He was merely going to Singapore to find a good school for his children, the Himalayan Times daily said.Eight-year-old Purnika, her six-year-old brother Hridayendra, who had once been the second in line to the throne, and their younger sister Krittikka had stopped going to school since May 28, when Nepal's newly elected lawmakers formally proclaimed the country a republic and abolished the throne enjoyed by the Shah dynasty of hereditary kings.Besides being concerned about the children's safety following growing anti-monarch sentiments in Nepal, their parents were also concerned about the effect their changed status would have on them.To shelter them from the ugly fallouts, their parents deemed it best to send them abroad to be educated there.If the children are put in school in Singapore, it would end the tradition of Nepal's royal family sending their children to schools in India.The former crown prince made a low-key departure from his residence Nirmal Niwas to the airport. He was not seen off there by his parents, who have been leading an equally low-key life in a hunting lodge on the outskirts of the capital since Gyanendra's final exit from the Narayanhity royal palace.Ousted crown prince Paras leaves NepalEven after abolition of monarchy, why media is so centred around it? Lets leave them in peace as any other citizen they have equal rights to be concerned about their children. Their other burning issues in “New Nepal”. Why dont media highlight those issues?Nepalese have a unique tradition of always oscillating between two extremes.If they like somebody, they don't mind even prostrating and crawling. But if they dislike, they will be prepared to go to any extent of brutality. Ex-royals of Nepal have of late been the victim of this weird predisposition. There was a time when majority of the Nepalese would vie for licking not only the sole of royals but also their distant relations. But now, expecially after the recent political change that has turned Nepal into a secular federal republic, Nepalese seem to have been callous towards ex-royals. Given such a situation fraught with devastative imponderables, it is natural for Paras, ex-crown prince, to migrate to Singapore also with an eye on better education and security for his three children. I don't think that Nepalese should bother about all these things. Interestingly, Paras is said to have blamed his father, ex-king Gyanendra, for the downfall of 240-year old institution of monarchy. According to Nepalese media, he believes that he could have rescued the throne from popular wrath had his father abdicated in his favor, a la Bhutanese king Jigme. Given the brutal track record of wayward Paras, this is nothing but a complete nonsense. How could he have appeased the Nepalese who had been completely fed up with the king for whom 28 million people of Nepal were nothing more than wretched worms and insects? How could he have extinguished the conflagration of Nepalese wrath constantly inflammed by the king's stony indifference to ever increasing murder, terror and intimidation of a murderous outfit called NCP (Maoist)? How could he have addressed the growing Nepalese discontent over the king's soaring kleptomania that did not spare even the riches and wealth of his own deceased brothers? Paras should understand that it is easier said than done. He might be expert at killing innocent Nepalese. He might be smart in opening fires at luxurious discotheques of Kathmandu. He, along with his alter ego Siddartha Shah, might be strong enough to digest a bizarre cocktail of drugs and alcohols. Above all these things, he might be capable of escaping entire charges with complete impunity just on account of being a member of royal family. But statecraft is something different, beyond his comprehension. Had Gyanendra abdicated in his favor, Nepal would have experienced unprecedented bloodbath of which he himself could have been a victim. Therefore, Paras should stop thinking about all these things. It is better that he start minding his own business. Nepalese don't have even an iota of remorse for his and his family's devastation.

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