"Once democracy is restored, the elite will be at the helm of the party, and the true cadres will have to fight against them once more". - BP Koirala
t first sight, he looks like a street vendor of Indian origin, selling tea and pakoras in a tiny cart in and around New Baneshwar crossroads. A pail of water, a frying pan and a stove can be seen in his cart, which he prefers to call "For Sustenance of Life: Mobile Shop of Shiva Kangal, Warrior of Democracy". It is only the writing on the façade of his mobile shop that tells who the modest vendor is. The true outcome of his career proves that the late BP Koirala was right in his observation.
Following the restoration of democracy, this untiring freedom fighter has been neglected and has been rebelling against the elites, who wield power, pulling his cart in front of them.
On the one hand, Girija Prasad Koirala, the commander of the armed rebellion called by Nepali Congress Party for the reinduction of multiparty democracy, has become prime minister for the fourth time, Shiva Kangal, Koirala's once comrade-in-arms, on the other hand, is a pauper, and has been struggling hard just to make both his ends meet. Shiva Kangal was entrusted with the responsibility of supplying weapons during the rebellion in Bagmati and Narayani zones. He endured corporal punishment and was imprisoned for many years on the charge of exploding bombs several times.
The relationship between Koirala and Kangal, as a commander and a soldier respectively, has been severed now. Kangal with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes with spectacles pouring out his grief over the negligence of the Nepali Congress (NC) after the restoration of democracy says, "DB Lama is the one who tried hard to prove Koirala was guilty of attempted murder during the Panchayat regime. And now the ruling NC is placing faith in him. In such a situation, what alternative has been left for Shiva Kangal to keep his dignity intact other than by pushing this cart?"
Born in Kavre 56 years ago, Shiva Prasad Badal, who later migrated to Kapilbastu district, preferred to christen him as Kangal, a 'pauper', being fed up with his deprivation and poverty. "While I was in school, there was a trend of having nicknames. With great care, I chose Kangal. That time too I had difficulty to buy books and copies. Now it has become synonymous with life", he said recalling his bitter childhood.
He entered politics without knowing it. He had some NC activist friends. Just for being in contact with them, he was warranted in 1965 and he fled to India. In Banaras, he met Kashi Nath Gautam, Pradeep Giri and Om Prasad Gautam. In contact with them, he was more actively involved in politics.
When BP called the armed rebellion against the partyless Panchayat system, GP, the then commander, recruited Shiva Kangal as a soldier. GP Koirala ordered him to go to Kathmandu and to hurl a bomb at an incumbent minister in 1976. Shiva Kangal has a bitter experience to speak of when Sher Bahadur Deuba and Tek Bahadur Chokhyal denied him shelter. "However, Chokhyal helped to hide the bomb in a maize field", he says. "I hurled the bomb at the car of Prayag Raj Suwal, the then Transport Minister at Jaisidewal and fled to India", he admits.
His fingers also indicate that he hurled bombs. But he does not want to disclose the fact. "I have a different story behind this. It would be pointless to tell you," he says emotionally staring at his hand.
Within fifteen days of hurling his first bomb, Koirala ordered him to go to Kathmandu and throw another where there was a warrant for his arrest. "Thankfully, Jagannath Acharya reached Banaras and suggested me not to return to Nepal", he relates. Later, I settled at Raxaul but Nepal's government was always after me. I was accused of attempted murder", he says. The Nepal government asked India to either arrest him or keep him at least 60 kilometres away from Nepal's border. Then he returned to Banaras.
Besides supplying arms, Shiva Kangal also contributed to the movement by publishing papers and distributing them. He was the publisher and editor of Nepal Prabha, printed in Nepali, English and Hindi in 1978 and distributed in Nepal secretly.
Though he is good at Nepali, Hindi and English, he does not want to disclose his academic qualification. He simply says, "You can guess my education from my calling."
As per BP's tenet of National Reconciliation, other leaders returned to Nepal in 1978 but Shiva Kangal was arrested when he re-entered Nepal three years later and was released after three months and went to India. Again he was arrested on the charge of making plans to kidnap prince Dipendra, being involved with the Revolutionary Republic Gang of Five. The then Police officer, DB Lama told him that if he named GP Koirala and Rishikesh Shah in the conspiracy, he would release him but he flatly rejected and said that he would give evidence only to the open court.
Unfortunately, Koirala has not made him a parliamentarian. "The leaders have failed so I have stopped visiting them," he said adding, "with the restoration of democracy, perhaps we have become redundant." Though he got Rs 50,000 as an assistance to political sufferers, he is not happy with it in that those who do not deserve have got more than the true sufferers.
"They should not make every sufferer an MP or a minister but they should guarantee their shelter and food," he argues. By pulling a cart, he is doing two things: fighting for his sustenance and raising his voice against the negligence of genuine cadres, he explains. "At least, I can work, but there are others who can't even do that," he says remembering Ram Jeevan, one of his fellow freedom fighters.
His private life is also full of struggle. He and his fiancée had to wait 18 years to tie the nuptial knot. Eight years ago, at the age of 49, Shiva married his fiancée while she was 36 years old
