The Nepal Army is now almost 250 years old. It was through the NA that Prithbi Narayan Shah successfully united Nepal. During those days, the army was useful in establishing a kingdom and protecting it. Then it was also natural for the kings to find it impossible to have a kingdom without an army serving under them.

But today things are different, and we have a debate about whether the army is necessary or not. Some feel that Nepal would be highly insecure in the absence of an army, especially when the Indian and Chinese soldiers have been mobilised along the border. But the important thing to remember is, even if this country came under any military attack, Nepal would never have the military strength to face China or India. It would be ridiculous to assume that a country would lose its sovereignty in the absence of an army.

On the contrary, if we are to remove the army from our country, it will boost the dignity of both our soldiers and the citizens. It would especially help in making the arms management of the Maoists successful. Even now, the process of arms management is still filled with doubts and there is uncertainty about its effectiveness.

However removing the army also means depriving the livelihoods of a large number of personnel. The state has to think of an effective employment programme for around 95,000 from the NA and 35,000 from the PLA. This will directly or indirectly affect the livelihood of around 500,000 people.

The most important factors associated with the army is economy and politics. With an already weak national economy, the country can no longer afford such a modern army. It already costs around Rs 10 billion annually to finance the NA. In addition, it would cost another Rs 830 million if the country is to also look after the PLA soldiers. So instead of spending such colossal funds on our military, the amount if used to invest in their future employment would release them from our age-old imperialistic tradition.

Removing the army would not only avoid any future military coup as in Thailand but would also avert the possibility of future dictators. It is high time that we change our traditional mindset, the belief that a state can only run if we have an army with weapons. There are already 14 countries around the world without armies. We can very well be the 15th.