Nepal, Dec. 17 -- The precipitous fall from the heights of power to the depths of disgrace of Khas-Arya ethnonational chieftain KP Sharma Oli has been dramatic. Just a year ago, he stood at the summit, commanding obedience and adulation. At the time of writing this column, he clings to the edge, seeking acceptance as the third-term chairperson of a party that he had managed as a personal fiefdom.

Named Khadga Prasad after birth, he reportedly got a new citizenship to shorten it to KP-perhaps on the advice of a godman, a numerologist or an astrologer-to improve his lot. He has been prime minister four times since 2015, and always on his own terms.

The then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala was the first to bow down when every wish of Sharma ...