Dr. Chandrakala
February 20, 2007
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=20983
The government is now committed to federalism, the details of which are yet to be worked out. Whether both of these would be in the long term national interest remain to be seen or is anybody's guess. But one supposes that such random acts wouldn't have been possible as long as the King had some say as to how the affairs of the nation should be run. Any nationalist can see now, who would benefit and who would suffer in the future.
In the meantime, it remains to be seen:
(i) how the SPAM would come to an agreement regarding the amendment of the interim constitution within one week, given the competing claims of population, geography, language and ethnicity,
(ii) whether vindictiveness would be obvious in the CIAA dealings towards former ministers recommended to be punished by the government on the basis of the High Level Probe Commission or the usual process followed up to now would be adopted,
(iii) how effective would be the Shivratri celebration and the rumoured demand by Hindus for reestablishing a Hindu Kingdom,
(iv) how are the addresses by Comrade Prachanda all over the country and the preparations and fund raising leading to those events going to be played out, and
(v) how is the Election Commission's warning, that constituent assembly polls can't be held in June if the government and political parties are not going to fall in place, going to be heeded.
After all, Prachanda had nothing new to say, efforts at different rendering of the same. However, the inconvenience of putting up all those who were herded into town and the amount of forced contribution that business organizations and ordinary motorists had to cough up left a bad taste in the mouth.
Despite the agreement made between the government and Maoists three months ago, atrocities by Maoists continue.
They abducted and killed Nava Raj Bhandari of Oat VDC of Rolpa district. They abducted the deceased's father Ashi Ram and his neighbour Mane Khattri who are still in their custody.
They are still holding the property of Chetnath Regmi of Sankhuwasabha district.
Their cadres looted voters' lists and other documents from Kavre VDC of Dolakha and Salyantar VDC of Dhading on February 9 and attacked and injured 18 activists of RPP in Bensisahar in Lamjung district on February 10.
They forcefully took school children to attend their anniversary on February 13.
Their cadres threatened President and Chief Executive Officer of Link Tree Pvt. Ltd. that he and his company will be harmed if he didn't give a voluntary donation to their party.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Federal System In Nepal Call For Caution
Federal System In Nepal Call For Caution [ 2007-2-25 ]
By Madhavji Shrestha
http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=13349
TO the 26 million people of Nepal, a federal polity, if it becomes a reality, will be a new political experience. For about two centuries and a half, the Nepali people have been ruled by a central authority, but never governed in a proper way to provide even minimal services to them. Even the popularly elected governments could not commit themselves to the decentralised political and administrative process to enable various deserving regions and areas to move ahead as self-sustaining units.
Had they carried the decentralisation programmes to their hilt soon after the political change in 1990, certainly, the present boiling question of state restructuring would not have arisen. Their failure to accommodate the demand for a federal system even in the recently framed interim constitution pushed the Terai people to engage in protests and vandalism. As a result, the inherent omission coupled with deliberate negligence is now engaging the leading politicians? energy and time to their own disadvantage and discomfiture. The situation has reached a decisive point of no return.
Irreversible policy
Indications are that if the major demands of the Terai people are not met, the country will once again plunge into a pool of continued violence and vandalism. Political sagacity is highly warranted to save the country from further disruption and disturbance. Can the interim legislative parliament exhibit capability to construct an acceptable federation with appropriate amendments to the interim constitution now in debate?
The demand for a federal polity has now come to stay as a reality. It seems irreversible and, therefore, needs to be addressed with care and caution. Delay and dithering on the part of the leading political actors will prove costly for them and may push the country to the brink of further troubles, to the extent of even threatening the integrity of the country.
While giving serious thought to the making of a federal political system in Nepal, which has been ruled under a unitary structure for a pretty long time, major factors such as geography, economy, ethnicity and societal fabric deserve deep consideration and discussion before any concrete decision is arrived at. Of these, the geography and economy occupy places of prime concern while mapping out a federal system of governance.
Geographically, Nepal is broadly divided into three prominent divisions, i.e., the high mountain range, the broad hill track and the Terai belt. These three east-west running long strips of territory can be divided into several sub-divisions with a variety of bio-diversity and uniqueness present in them. The mountain range and the hill track are endowed with perennial sources of water and natural resources that still remain unexplored and untapped. There is immense prospect for developing Nepal if there is a commitment on the part of the government. The urban areas situated in the midst of the hill track have already become service centres for banking, insurance, IT, education, health and tourism. From the viewpoint of the national economy, the Terai belt has immense potential for agricultural development, manufacturing and service sector growth.
At present, Nepal has some 60 ethnic groups, which are divided into 103 sub-groups, living in all those broadly divided three regions, with languages and dialects of their own. However, no ethnic group has a pre-dominant position barring some districts. Therefore, there are great challenges in demarcating and dividing the country while going for a federal system of governance.
Given the past agitations and likely turn of events in the coming days, the question of social harmony also may not be that easy to handle as various districts, regions and sub-regions are populated by a number of ethnic groups and sub-groups. Managing these problems in a short span of time poses an uphill task for the political actors of all leanings involved in the federation building process.
In addition to those challenging works, the concerns of both division and devolution of state powers are also not simple functions to perform. Of course, national policy matters relating to foreign affairs, defense responsibility, currency and central banking provision and postal management come within the purview of central government activities, in general, with other internal affairs to be divided under the list to be agreed upon. However, the question of residual power of the economy and other important concerns, which may appear controversial, will consume a great deal of debate and deliberation.
Political actors in their quick snap activities can map out a federal structure and chart the lists of power- sharing provisions. But when the implementation phase approaches, several unseen problems and issues may come up. The federal system is a modern pattern of government that executes state affairs in a democratic manner so as to enable the concerned political representatives and authorities to meet the demands of the people of various regions and ethnicities. There is no space to cast doubt over the question of good and efficient governance in the country.
To navigate the centrally long ruled society toward the direction of a federal polity, strongly built political parties with their national bases reaching to the grass root levels are primarily required to work as an unbreakable linkage between the centre and unit and among various units. In the absence of such political parties, the federal system, in actuality, will not work as expected. Instead it may lead to centrifugal activities and create havoc and chaos that may disintegrate the country as there is no strong connectivity to keep the country politically united.
The presence of such widespread bases will also render great services and give an impetus to providing an acceptably functioning government. In such circumstance the complexity of putting in place good governance in a federal system will not be a hard nut to crack, because the political parties with democratically motivated programmes will certainly be a great political asset for the country.
The strength of such political parties would naturally work as a uniting force to bring in social and cultural unity among the numerous socio-ethnic groups, which, in reality, is the basic need of a country that has plunged into political turmoil and social unrest. Nationalistic feelings kept alive with active participation in the national polity and regional administrative and development activities based on the autonomy of units will help maintain national unity. Unity amidst diversity is a great strength for a newly emerging democratic society of Nepal.
Nepali politicians have yet to consolidate the democratic political forces in the democratisation process. At times such as now, external forces try to interfere in the domestic politics of Nepal. Therefore, one more quintessential element is that those at the helm of power should be able to steer the external policy of Nepal along with the highly required consolidation of the democratic forces to repel the interfering tendency of foreign elements from doing any damage to Nepal. The difficult journey of Nepal from a unitary system to a federal polity will be a real test for both the politicians and the people.
National unity
A significant line from the well-known political scientist, Arend Lijphart, should draw the attention of interested politicians and people. He has written that federalism ?is the result of special historical circumstances? in the cases of Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the US. Commonality of interests and needs seen in their historical perspectives has united them in a federation. However, in Nepal, the federal system, if it materialises, will be the outcome of the hard-pressed demands of various ethnic and regional groups. How far the umbilical cord of national unity through a federation can be held together is a grave question to each and every Nepali citizen
By Madhavji Shrestha
http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=13349
TO the 26 million people of Nepal, a federal polity, if it becomes a reality, will be a new political experience. For about two centuries and a half, the Nepali people have been ruled by a central authority, but never governed in a proper way to provide even minimal services to them. Even the popularly elected governments could not commit themselves to the decentralised political and administrative process to enable various deserving regions and areas to move ahead as self-sustaining units.
Had they carried the decentralisation programmes to their hilt soon after the political change in 1990, certainly, the present boiling question of state restructuring would not have arisen. Their failure to accommodate the demand for a federal system even in the recently framed interim constitution pushed the Terai people to engage in protests and vandalism. As a result, the inherent omission coupled with deliberate negligence is now engaging the leading politicians? energy and time to their own disadvantage and discomfiture. The situation has reached a decisive point of no return.
Irreversible policy
Indications are that if the major demands of the Terai people are not met, the country will once again plunge into a pool of continued violence and vandalism. Political sagacity is highly warranted to save the country from further disruption and disturbance. Can the interim legislative parliament exhibit capability to construct an acceptable federation with appropriate amendments to the interim constitution now in debate?
The demand for a federal polity has now come to stay as a reality. It seems irreversible and, therefore, needs to be addressed with care and caution. Delay and dithering on the part of the leading political actors will prove costly for them and may push the country to the brink of further troubles, to the extent of even threatening the integrity of the country.
While giving serious thought to the making of a federal political system in Nepal, which has been ruled under a unitary structure for a pretty long time, major factors such as geography, economy, ethnicity and societal fabric deserve deep consideration and discussion before any concrete decision is arrived at. Of these, the geography and economy occupy places of prime concern while mapping out a federal system of governance.
Geographically, Nepal is broadly divided into three prominent divisions, i.e., the high mountain range, the broad hill track and the Terai belt. These three east-west running long strips of territory can be divided into several sub-divisions with a variety of bio-diversity and uniqueness present in them. The mountain range and the hill track are endowed with perennial sources of water and natural resources that still remain unexplored and untapped. There is immense prospect for developing Nepal if there is a commitment on the part of the government. The urban areas situated in the midst of the hill track have already become service centres for banking, insurance, IT, education, health and tourism. From the viewpoint of the national economy, the Terai belt has immense potential for agricultural development, manufacturing and service sector growth.
At present, Nepal has some 60 ethnic groups, which are divided into 103 sub-groups, living in all those broadly divided three regions, with languages and dialects of their own. However, no ethnic group has a pre-dominant position barring some districts. Therefore, there are great challenges in demarcating and dividing the country while going for a federal system of governance.
Given the past agitations and likely turn of events in the coming days, the question of social harmony also may not be that easy to handle as various districts, regions and sub-regions are populated by a number of ethnic groups and sub-groups. Managing these problems in a short span of time poses an uphill task for the political actors of all leanings involved in the federation building process.
In addition to those challenging works, the concerns of both division and devolution of state powers are also not simple functions to perform. Of course, national policy matters relating to foreign affairs, defense responsibility, currency and central banking provision and postal management come within the purview of central government activities, in general, with other internal affairs to be divided under the list to be agreed upon. However, the question of residual power of the economy and other important concerns, which may appear controversial, will consume a great deal of debate and deliberation.
Political actors in their quick snap activities can map out a federal structure and chart the lists of power- sharing provisions. But when the implementation phase approaches, several unseen problems and issues may come up. The federal system is a modern pattern of government that executes state affairs in a democratic manner so as to enable the concerned political representatives and authorities to meet the demands of the people of various regions and ethnicities. There is no space to cast doubt over the question of good and efficient governance in the country.
To navigate the centrally long ruled society toward the direction of a federal polity, strongly built political parties with their national bases reaching to the grass root levels are primarily required to work as an unbreakable linkage between the centre and unit and among various units. In the absence of such political parties, the federal system, in actuality, will not work as expected. Instead it may lead to centrifugal activities and create havoc and chaos that may disintegrate the country as there is no strong connectivity to keep the country politically united.
The presence of such widespread bases will also render great services and give an impetus to providing an acceptably functioning government. In such circumstance the complexity of putting in place good governance in a federal system will not be a hard nut to crack, because the political parties with democratically motivated programmes will certainly be a great political asset for the country.
The strength of such political parties would naturally work as a uniting force to bring in social and cultural unity among the numerous socio-ethnic groups, which, in reality, is the basic need of a country that has plunged into political turmoil and social unrest. Nationalistic feelings kept alive with active participation in the national polity and regional administrative and development activities based on the autonomy of units will help maintain national unity. Unity amidst diversity is a great strength for a newly emerging democratic society of Nepal.
Nepali politicians have yet to consolidate the democratic political forces in the democratisation process. At times such as now, external forces try to interfere in the domestic politics of Nepal. Therefore, one more quintessential element is that those at the helm of power should be able to steer the external policy of Nepal along with the highly required consolidation of the democratic forces to repel the interfering tendency of foreign elements from doing any damage to Nepal. The difficult journey of Nepal from a unitary system to a federal polity will be a real test for both the politicians and the people.
National unity
A significant line from the well-known political scientist, Arend Lijphart, should draw the attention of interested politicians and people. He has written that federalism ?is the result of special historical circumstances? in the cases of Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the US. Commonality of interests and needs seen in their historical perspectives has united them in a federation. However, in Nepal, the federal system, if it materialises, will be the outcome of the hard-pressed demands of various ethnic and regional groups. How far the umbilical cord of national unity through a federation can be held together is a grave question to each and every Nepali citizen
Nepal: A Rude Awakening For Civil Society
Nepal: A Rude Awakening For Civil Society
By Maila Baje
http://newsblaze.com/story/20070311095530baje.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html
March 11, 2007
Nepal Janatantrik Party (NJP) seems to have it right. Taking responsibility for planting bombs in the residences of human right activists Krishna Pahadi and Dr Devendra Raj Pandey, the party said: "Foreign interference in our internal affairs is increasing. On top of that national puppets of foreigners and several groups are cheating us and are playing the game of dividing the nation in the name of federalism, ethnicity, and right to self-determination."
Describing the duo as among those who are into the game behind the "mask" of human right activists, the NJP certainly went further than Maila Baje's rants. No wonder, the NJP's effect has been stronger. Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula informed the interim legislature last week that Police Headquarters has started investigating the incident by setting up a special team.
The political parties that prevented the Pandey-Pahadi fraternity from claiming that big chunk of seats in the legislature were the first to rise to their defence. Despite all the nastiness for the spoils now, both elites know they would become the first victims should right-wing authoritarianism really raise its head again. Since the implication here would be a military coup, the "historic" House of Representatives Proclamation won't allow them to blame the palace.
And that's what hurts them the most. They just can't understand what really keeps King Gyanendra going. They tried the depression and Internet-gambling story lines in vain. The day after the monarch is denounced as Asia's most humiliated man, he issues a statement enthusiastically welcoming the comprehensive peace accord. Two days after he is pelted with stones at Pashupati, the he comes out with a Democracy Day message defending his takeover. He takes responsibility for the failures as well as the successes of his direct rule.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala concedes he's in favor of a ceremonial monarchy, not out of any shared affinity for dynasties, but to ensure stability by providing space to everyone. Maoist supremo Prachanda acknowledges that a mere vote in the interim legislature establishing a republic won't force King Gyanendra out.
The SPA, Maoists and their civil society collaborators just can't acknowledge that their current resurgence is a direct outcome of the royal takeover. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have been the first to speak about the crystallization of political events in 2005. It was New Delhi's glassiness that really set things in motion.
Without King Gyanendra's northern alliance - cemented at the Dhaka SAARC summit - the SPA and Maoists could never have come together. On the morning of February 1, 2005, the monarch promised to restore peace and democracy in three years. He took less than half as long. And what do we get? An amendment to the interim constitution in less than 100 days of its promulgation. And who knows how many other ones these clusters of grievances will produce.
Yeah, yeah, the NJP didn't have to use bombs to send that message across. Easy to say. Just consider the antecedents of the top three political parties in the interim legislature.
By Maila Baje
http://newsblaze.com/story/20070311095530baje.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html
March 11, 2007
Nepal Janatantrik Party (NJP) seems to have it right. Taking responsibility for planting bombs in the residences of human right activists Krishna Pahadi and Dr Devendra Raj Pandey, the party said: "Foreign interference in our internal affairs is increasing. On top of that national puppets of foreigners and several groups are cheating us and are playing the game of dividing the nation in the name of federalism, ethnicity, and right to self-determination."
Describing the duo as among those who are into the game behind the "mask" of human right activists, the NJP certainly went further than Maila Baje's rants. No wonder, the NJP's effect has been stronger. Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula informed the interim legislature last week that Police Headquarters has started investigating the incident by setting up a special team.
The political parties that prevented the Pandey-Pahadi fraternity from claiming that big chunk of seats in the legislature were the first to rise to their defence. Despite all the nastiness for the spoils now, both elites know they would become the first victims should right-wing authoritarianism really raise its head again. Since the implication here would be a military coup, the "historic" House of Representatives Proclamation won't allow them to blame the palace.
And that's what hurts them the most. They just can't understand what really keeps King Gyanendra going. They tried the depression and Internet-gambling story lines in vain. The day after the monarch is denounced as Asia's most humiliated man, he issues a statement enthusiastically welcoming the comprehensive peace accord. Two days after he is pelted with stones at Pashupati, the he comes out with a Democracy Day message defending his takeover. He takes responsibility for the failures as well as the successes of his direct rule.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala concedes he's in favor of a ceremonial monarchy, not out of any shared affinity for dynasties, but to ensure stability by providing space to everyone. Maoist supremo Prachanda acknowledges that a mere vote in the interim legislature establishing a republic won't force King Gyanendra out.
The SPA, Maoists and their civil society collaborators just can't acknowledge that their current resurgence is a direct outcome of the royal takeover. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have been the first to speak about the crystallization of political events in 2005. It was New Delhi's glassiness that really set things in motion.
Without King Gyanendra's northern alliance - cemented at the Dhaka SAARC summit - the SPA and Maoists could never have come together. On the morning of February 1, 2005, the monarch promised to restore peace and democracy in three years. He took less than half as long. And what do we get? An amendment to the interim constitution in less than 100 days of its promulgation. And who knows how many other ones these clusters of grievances will produce.
Yeah, yeah, the NJP didn't have to use bombs to send that message across. Easy to say. Just consider the antecedents of the top three political parties in the interim legislature.
Ethnic Groups and Race Based Federalism: A Recipe for Disaster for Nepal
By Khagendra Thapa
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0703/S00233.htm
14 March 2007
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." It seems that Nepal has no leader who can speak out the truth and not just repeat like a parrot what the Maoists comrades have been saying ever since the SPA came to power with the blessings from the Comrades as well as our friendly neighbor to the south.
With the untimely death of the 1990 constitution, the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and their comrades the Maoists together code named as SPAM have claimed to represent all the people of Nepal and the interest of the Nepalese people whether the people like it or not. SPAs claim to represent the people because they were elected more than seven years ago. The Maoists comrades claim to represent the people because they have been able to coerce the people to support them by intimidation, extortion, armed kidnapping, and cheap slogans. Together the SPAs and the Maoists, the so called SPAM have become the most powerful political force or so they claim. With the mighty Prime Minister Mr. Girija Koirala in the driving seat and his Comrade Prachanda in the front seat together with all the heroes of Janandolan II and eleven years old insurgency veterans, the bus carrying the Interim Constitution was in motion. Unfortunately, the arrogance of SPAM was challenged by both the Terai residents (Madhesi Group) and the Janajatis. The Interim constitution also made provision to form an interim parliament with the addition of 83 Maoists and 48 other members who are part of SPAM. After all, the scrapping of the old constitution may not have been an excellent idea.
Lack of Patriotic and Visionary Leadership
It is indeed very sad for the people of Nepal that there is not a single national level patriotic and visionary leader with clean image. Right now, Mr. Girija Koirala is the leader of SPAM. However, Mr. Koirala is not accepted by all the people. First of all, he is the leader of the half Congress party. The other half of the Congress party is led by Mr. Deuba. Mr. Koirala's behavior during the Tanakpur Treaty with India and his lack of interest to safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country puts a question mark on his patriotism. In addition, Mr. Koirala as a Head of State and Head of Government failed to express his opposition to the encroachment of Nepalese territory in various border areas by India including in Kalapani, Susta, Illam, Jhapa. Saptari, Banke and Bardia. In fact, even the Ranas who ruled the country for 104 years were more patriotic than any of the SPAM leadership. For example, during the British Rule of India, Nepal maintained all even numbered borders and the Brirish maintained all the odd numbered pillars every year. That kind of border maintenance was abandoned both by multiparty rulers and Panchayati rulers.
Secondly, Mr. Koirala does not have a clean image. His involvement in various scandals during the time he was prime minister for the major part of multiparty government from 1990 to 2001. In fact, Mr. Koirala refused to present himself to the court when he was summoned by the court on corruption charges.
Thirdly, Mr. Koirala does not have any vision or any other plan to develop and help the country and the people. He is a happy camper as long as he is in power.
Fourthly, majority of the leaders of all political parties do not have clean image. Many of them have been involved with corruption, nepotism, favoritism, and influence peddling. Some of them even have criminal records including murder.
How about the Maoists Comrades? What kind of credibility do they have? Well, as we all know 13,000 Nepalese people lost their lives as a direct result of the so called people's war started by the Maoists insurgents. Another 26,000 committed suicide because they could not bear the pain and suffering caused by the war. Over a million people were internally displaced. Many more people left the country in total despair without any hope for themselves and for their children. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Nepalese people working as laborers (often doing the most dangerous and life threatening jobs which nobody else would do) in many Gulf countries as well as in Malaysia and South Korea.
Several millions if not billions of dollars of worth infrastructure including government offices, schools, transmission towers, bridges, roads, etc have been destroyed. All this happened because of the people's war. The comrades must take the responsibility for the injustices done to the people. So these Maoists leaders whose hands are stained with the blood of the people are also intoxicated with the blood of the 13,000 Nepalese people. Therefore, it would be an exercise in futility to expect any thing good from these self proclaimed leaders who got where they are today with the use of guns and bombs and also with a little bit of help from the extremely friendly neighbor in the south.
According to Sobhakar Parajuli (Kathmandu Post, Feb,. 28, 2007) "The Maoists spread a reign of terrorism in villages and urban areas. They have yet to return the property of innocent people seized during their so-called people's war. They continue to extort money and threaten the villagers. Madi ambush is still fresh among the relatives of those killed. Now Prachanda regrets that it was their mistake when he was aware of the fact that traveling in the bus were innocent passengers. Such regretting words do not convince the people. Rather, Prachanda appears cruel and inhumane in the eyes of the common people."
Well then, are there any other leaders in the SPAM or any other political parties who have long term plan to lift the nation out of poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease, and outdated caste system? Do any of them have a way to stop the exploitation of the poor and destitute people from the clutches of feudal landlords and crooked business man? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
All these leaders are chanting the same Mantra as the Maoists Comrades. For example, the comrades have been chanting the mantra of Federalism and Constituency Assembly (CA) elections and every one of the leaders both inside and outside SPAM chant the same mantra without even understanding what does constituency assembly or Federalism mean? What are the long term implications of these activities? Does Federalism lead us to a better future? Or it would lead to the fragmentation of the nation thereby multiplying the interethnic conflicts. Would it help us to provide better education to our children? Would it help us to provide better health care to our people? Would it help us to improve the well being of our people? Would it improve the standard of living our people? Would it help us to maintain the peaceful relationship among our multiethnic and multi linguistic people? If so please tell us exactly how it would happen. Is it magical in nature? Does it mean that as soon as the King is exiled or executed and CA elections held and Federalism established, Nepal will turn into another heaven?
People want to know what your plan for economic development is. What are the SPAM plans for education, healthcare, environmental issues, and exploitation of the poor people? Every dissident group is in a destructive mood right now. The infrastructure that was built by donations or borrowed money has been destroyed by our comrades as well as others who think they deserve a bigger piece of existing pie. No one wants to work to increase the size of the pie so that every one will have enough.
What kind of Leader Do Nepalese People Want?
Unfortunately, Nepal never had a visionary leader who puts personal interests above political party interests and national interests above political party interests. None have shown any vision for the future of the nation. No leader has been acceptable to all ethnic groups and people of different political affiliations. If we are to build our nation strong and prosperous we need to have political leader who has the following characteristics:
1. Since Nepal is a multi-ethnic nation where no group is in majority, we need a leader who is completely unbiased and can get along with people of all regions and ethnic backgrounds irrespective of their culture, language, political affiliations and caste. In other words, the leader must be able to live and work with Kamis, or Sarkis, or Sherpas, or Tharus, or Danuwar, or Satars, or Limbus, etc. This can only happen if the leader has the interests of the people and the nation above his/her personal interests.
2. People need a leader who has high moral and ethical standards and as such s/he has the ability to tell others to follow high ethical and moral values.
3. The leader must also be motivating and charismatic so that s/he can influence the people and motivate them to work hard to improve their own livelihood and neighborhood.
4. The leader must also possess a clear sense of purpose (or mission) - clear goals - focus – commitment.
5. The leader must also be able to work with others and be highly optimistic and results oriented
6. Ability to encourage and nurture others so that s/he can make a difference in the lives of the people.
7. Ability to understand what others say, rather than listening to how they say things. One could partly sum this quality up as "ability to walk in someone else's shoes" Or know where the shoe pinches.
8. The leader must be able to display a passion for, and have a strong conviction of, what they regard as the moral correctness of their vision. They engage in outstanding or extraordinary behavior and make extraordinary self-sacrifices in the interest of their vision and mission.
9. The leader must be inspirational and communicate with people in an understandable way and live by example. S/he must have high self confidence, determination and persistence.
10. The leader must have ability to delegate authority to reliable and competent people.
The question is do we have any leaders who display even five of the above qualities? You be the judge.
Culture of Death, Destruction, and Violence
It is no secret that Maoists got where they are today using ruthless violence, destruction, murder, looting, kidnapping, intimidation, and extortion. They also used cheap and unrealistic slogans to attract people to their line of thinking. For example, Comrade Prachanda when he first showed up in public promised to turn Nepal into another Switzerland. It seems he was repeating the rhetoric of another great leader Mr. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai who proclaimed that he was going to make Nepal as developed as Singapore within five years when he was the prime minister.
Comrade Prachanda even went to the extent of claiming that he can make greater Nepal by declaring the Sugauli Treaty signed with the British in 1816 null and void. This comes from the same leader who wants to give the right to self determination to all those ethnic groups who are demanding for it. Comrade Prachanda! Tell us the truth do you want to break the country into smaller countries or build a greater Nepal? Your statements are conflicting and confusing.
Now the Maoists comrades are in power with the successful use of force, destruction of public and private property, extortion, and intimidation. The success of Maoists is now being copied by other groups. They have learned that it pays to be violent and act of violent crimes can get results. With the lessons learned from the Comrades, other groups whether they are Terai residents, Khambuwans, Tamurats, Magarats and many others are using the time tested Maoists tactics to get what they want. There is a culture of violence, death and destruction in Nepal now. Every one wants to stop the movement of vehicles and burn tires causing great amount of financial loss to the working class.
One of the dangerous promises that the comrades used was to turn Nepal into a Federal Republic where each indigenous group of people will have an autonomous republic. For example, they promised different autonomous regions for such ethnic groups as Gurungs, Magars, Newars, Tamangs, Tharus, and many others.
How Can an Autonomous Regions be Achieved?
According the 2001 Census of Nepal, the population of Nepal consists of the following categories in terms of percentage:
Population of Nepal in Percentage (Source: Central Bureau of
Statistics, Nepal Government)
1 CHHETRI 15.80
2 BRAHMAN - HILL 12.74
3 MAGAR 7.14
4 THARU 6.75
5 TAMANG 5.64
6 NEWAR 5.48
7 MUSLIM 4.27
8 KAMI 3.94
9 YADAV 3.94
10 RAI 2.79
11 GURUNG 2.39
12 DAMAI/DHOLI 1.72
13 LIMBU 1.58
14 THAKURI 1.47
15 SARKI 1.40
16 TELI 1.34
17 CHAMAR, HARIJAN, RAM 1.19
18 KOIRI 1.11
19 KURMI 0.94
20 SANYASI 0.88
21 DHANUK 0.83
22 MUSAHAR 0.76
23 DUSADH/PASWAN/PASI 0.70
24 SHERPA 0.68
25 SONAR 0.64
26 KEWAT 0.60
27 BRAHMAN - TARAI 0.59
28 BANIYA 0.56
29 GHARTI/BHUJEL 0.52
30 MALLAH 0.51
31 KALWAR 0.51
There are 72 other categories of people in Nepal which are not listed in the above table. The criteria used to cut off was any groups which are less than 0.5% of the total population are not quoted as these would not be needed to make the point clear.
Let us say, for example, as promised by Maoists Comrades that we all agree that Limbuwan and Khambuwan are given an autonomous region in the eastern Nepal. From the above table one can see that they constitute a population of 4.37% when both groups are combined. Now, the problem is the region where they want their autonomous region also have many other ethnic groups including Magars, Gurungs, Bahuns, Chhetries, Kamis, Damais, Sarkis, Newars, Tamangs, and the list goes on and on. If they are given autonomy in the area then what are the other people who have been living there for hundreds of years going to do? Do they have to move to somewhere else? If so where would they go? Let us forget about the Bahuns and Chettris who are supposedly the exploiters and let them go to hell. However, what is a poor Kami or a poor Damai is going to do. Where would they go? Kamis and Damais like Newars, Bahuns, Sarkis, and Chettris are spread all over Nepal.
Representation of Ethnic Groups
The recent revolts by the Terai residents and the various ethnic groups from the mountains have been claiming the fair representation in administration, army, police, etc. There is no question that their demands are appropriate and justified. However, these demands cannot be addressed by CA election or the introduction of Federalism.
Empowerment of Local Governments and not Federalism is the Answer
According to the 2001 census of Nepal, there are 103 different ethnic groups in Nepal. They speak at least 90 different languages. Some of the ethnic groups are as small as 164 people. For example, according to the 2001 census of Nepal there are only 164 Kusundas in Nepal and these people are no where else in the world. Different groups of people especially the ones demanding the autonomy are spread out through out the nation. Therefore, introduction of Federalism or declaration of self governing regions based on ethnic groups will spell disaster for the whole country. It would not even benefit the group that is claiming autonomy. The ethnic groups such as Magars, Tharus, Tamangs, Newars, only constitute 7.14%, 6.75%, 5.64%, and 5.48% respectively. Moreover, these groups are not living in a particular locality. They are pretty much spread out through out the country except the Tharus who mainly reside in the Terai belt.
Therefore, the best way to kill the snake without breaking the stick would be to empower the local governments. It will be a true democratic way of resolving the demands of terai residents as well as the various ethnic groups of the hill areas.
What Kind of Power would the Local Government Have?
The ultimate objective should be to give the power to raise tax, be responsible for taking care of school education, primary health care, local self governance including public safety (hiring local police), passing the rules and regulations on the local governance, and judiciary. Well, that gives the local elected bodies complete authority. It will all be democratic because the people will elect not only the local government officials but also the judges and the chief of the police. People must be alert and ask for transparency, accountability, and rule of law. This will be the ultimate democracy which will satisfy the demands of all ethnic groups no matter how small or how large they are.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0703/S00233.htm
14 March 2007
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." It seems that Nepal has no leader who can speak out the truth and not just repeat like a parrot what the Maoists comrades have been saying ever since the SPA came to power with the blessings from the Comrades as well as our friendly neighbor to the south.
With the untimely death of the 1990 constitution, the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and their comrades the Maoists together code named as SPAM have claimed to represent all the people of Nepal and the interest of the Nepalese people whether the people like it or not. SPAs claim to represent the people because they were elected more than seven years ago. The Maoists comrades claim to represent the people because they have been able to coerce the people to support them by intimidation, extortion, armed kidnapping, and cheap slogans. Together the SPAs and the Maoists, the so called SPAM have become the most powerful political force or so they claim. With the mighty Prime Minister Mr. Girija Koirala in the driving seat and his Comrade Prachanda in the front seat together with all the heroes of Janandolan II and eleven years old insurgency veterans, the bus carrying the Interim Constitution was in motion. Unfortunately, the arrogance of SPAM was challenged by both the Terai residents (Madhesi Group) and the Janajatis. The Interim constitution also made provision to form an interim parliament with the addition of 83 Maoists and 48 other members who are part of SPAM. After all, the scrapping of the old constitution may not have been an excellent idea.
Lack of Patriotic and Visionary Leadership
It is indeed very sad for the people of Nepal that there is not a single national level patriotic and visionary leader with clean image. Right now, Mr. Girija Koirala is the leader of SPAM. However, Mr. Koirala is not accepted by all the people. First of all, he is the leader of the half Congress party. The other half of the Congress party is led by Mr. Deuba. Mr. Koirala's behavior during the Tanakpur Treaty with India and his lack of interest to safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country puts a question mark on his patriotism. In addition, Mr. Koirala as a Head of State and Head of Government failed to express his opposition to the encroachment of Nepalese territory in various border areas by India including in Kalapani, Susta, Illam, Jhapa. Saptari, Banke and Bardia. In fact, even the Ranas who ruled the country for 104 years were more patriotic than any of the SPAM leadership. For example, during the British Rule of India, Nepal maintained all even numbered borders and the Brirish maintained all the odd numbered pillars every year. That kind of border maintenance was abandoned both by multiparty rulers and Panchayati rulers.
Secondly, Mr. Koirala does not have a clean image. His involvement in various scandals during the time he was prime minister for the major part of multiparty government from 1990 to 2001. In fact, Mr. Koirala refused to present himself to the court when he was summoned by the court on corruption charges.
Thirdly, Mr. Koirala does not have any vision or any other plan to develop and help the country and the people. He is a happy camper as long as he is in power.
Fourthly, majority of the leaders of all political parties do not have clean image. Many of them have been involved with corruption, nepotism, favoritism, and influence peddling. Some of them even have criminal records including murder.
How about the Maoists Comrades? What kind of credibility do they have? Well, as we all know 13,000 Nepalese people lost their lives as a direct result of the so called people's war started by the Maoists insurgents. Another 26,000 committed suicide because they could not bear the pain and suffering caused by the war. Over a million people were internally displaced. Many more people left the country in total despair without any hope for themselves and for their children. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Nepalese people working as laborers (often doing the most dangerous and life threatening jobs which nobody else would do) in many Gulf countries as well as in Malaysia and South Korea.
Several millions if not billions of dollars of worth infrastructure including government offices, schools, transmission towers, bridges, roads, etc have been destroyed. All this happened because of the people's war. The comrades must take the responsibility for the injustices done to the people. So these Maoists leaders whose hands are stained with the blood of the people are also intoxicated with the blood of the 13,000 Nepalese people. Therefore, it would be an exercise in futility to expect any thing good from these self proclaimed leaders who got where they are today with the use of guns and bombs and also with a little bit of help from the extremely friendly neighbor in the south.
According to Sobhakar Parajuli (Kathmandu Post, Feb,. 28, 2007) "The Maoists spread a reign of terrorism in villages and urban areas. They have yet to return the property of innocent people seized during their so-called people's war. They continue to extort money and threaten the villagers. Madi ambush is still fresh among the relatives of those killed. Now Prachanda regrets that it was their mistake when he was aware of the fact that traveling in the bus were innocent passengers. Such regretting words do not convince the people. Rather, Prachanda appears cruel and inhumane in the eyes of the common people."
Well then, are there any other leaders in the SPAM or any other political parties who have long term plan to lift the nation out of poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease, and outdated caste system? Do any of them have a way to stop the exploitation of the poor and destitute people from the clutches of feudal landlords and crooked business man? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
All these leaders are chanting the same Mantra as the Maoists Comrades. For example, the comrades have been chanting the mantra of Federalism and Constituency Assembly (CA) elections and every one of the leaders both inside and outside SPAM chant the same mantra without even understanding what does constituency assembly or Federalism mean? What are the long term implications of these activities? Does Federalism lead us to a better future? Or it would lead to the fragmentation of the nation thereby multiplying the interethnic conflicts. Would it help us to provide better education to our children? Would it help us to provide better health care to our people? Would it help us to improve the well being of our people? Would it improve the standard of living our people? Would it help us to maintain the peaceful relationship among our multiethnic and multi linguistic people? If so please tell us exactly how it would happen. Is it magical in nature? Does it mean that as soon as the King is exiled or executed and CA elections held and Federalism established, Nepal will turn into another heaven?
People want to know what your plan for economic development is. What are the SPAM plans for education, healthcare, environmental issues, and exploitation of the poor people? Every dissident group is in a destructive mood right now. The infrastructure that was built by donations or borrowed money has been destroyed by our comrades as well as others who think they deserve a bigger piece of existing pie. No one wants to work to increase the size of the pie so that every one will have enough.
What kind of Leader Do Nepalese People Want?
Unfortunately, Nepal never had a visionary leader who puts personal interests above political party interests and national interests above political party interests. None have shown any vision for the future of the nation. No leader has been acceptable to all ethnic groups and people of different political affiliations. If we are to build our nation strong and prosperous we need to have political leader who has the following characteristics:
1. Since Nepal is a multi-ethnic nation where no group is in majority, we need a leader who is completely unbiased and can get along with people of all regions and ethnic backgrounds irrespective of their culture, language, political affiliations and caste. In other words, the leader must be able to live and work with Kamis, or Sarkis, or Sherpas, or Tharus, or Danuwar, or Satars, or Limbus, etc. This can only happen if the leader has the interests of the people and the nation above his/her personal interests.
2. People need a leader who has high moral and ethical standards and as such s/he has the ability to tell others to follow high ethical and moral values.
3. The leader must also be motivating and charismatic so that s/he can influence the people and motivate them to work hard to improve their own livelihood and neighborhood.
4. The leader must also possess a clear sense of purpose (or mission) - clear goals - focus – commitment.
5. The leader must also be able to work with others and be highly optimistic and results oriented
6. Ability to encourage and nurture others so that s/he can make a difference in the lives of the people.
7. Ability to understand what others say, rather than listening to how they say things. One could partly sum this quality up as "ability to walk in someone else's shoes" Or know where the shoe pinches.
8. The leader must be able to display a passion for, and have a strong conviction of, what they regard as the moral correctness of their vision. They engage in outstanding or extraordinary behavior and make extraordinary self-sacrifices in the interest of their vision and mission.
9. The leader must be inspirational and communicate with people in an understandable way and live by example. S/he must have high self confidence, determination and persistence.
10. The leader must have ability to delegate authority to reliable and competent people.
The question is do we have any leaders who display even five of the above qualities? You be the judge.
Culture of Death, Destruction, and Violence
It is no secret that Maoists got where they are today using ruthless violence, destruction, murder, looting, kidnapping, intimidation, and extortion. They also used cheap and unrealistic slogans to attract people to their line of thinking. For example, Comrade Prachanda when he first showed up in public promised to turn Nepal into another Switzerland. It seems he was repeating the rhetoric of another great leader Mr. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai who proclaimed that he was going to make Nepal as developed as Singapore within five years when he was the prime minister.
Comrade Prachanda even went to the extent of claiming that he can make greater Nepal by declaring the Sugauli Treaty signed with the British in 1816 null and void. This comes from the same leader who wants to give the right to self determination to all those ethnic groups who are demanding for it. Comrade Prachanda! Tell us the truth do you want to break the country into smaller countries or build a greater Nepal? Your statements are conflicting and confusing.
Now the Maoists comrades are in power with the successful use of force, destruction of public and private property, extortion, and intimidation. The success of Maoists is now being copied by other groups. They have learned that it pays to be violent and act of violent crimes can get results. With the lessons learned from the Comrades, other groups whether they are Terai residents, Khambuwans, Tamurats, Magarats and many others are using the time tested Maoists tactics to get what they want. There is a culture of violence, death and destruction in Nepal now. Every one wants to stop the movement of vehicles and burn tires causing great amount of financial loss to the working class.
One of the dangerous promises that the comrades used was to turn Nepal into a Federal Republic where each indigenous group of people will have an autonomous republic. For example, they promised different autonomous regions for such ethnic groups as Gurungs, Magars, Newars, Tamangs, Tharus, and many others.
How Can an Autonomous Regions be Achieved?
According the 2001 Census of Nepal, the population of Nepal consists of the following categories in terms of percentage:
Population of Nepal in Percentage (Source: Central Bureau of
Statistics, Nepal Government)
1 CHHETRI 15.80
2 BRAHMAN - HILL 12.74
3 MAGAR 7.14
4 THARU 6.75
5 TAMANG 5.64
6 NEWAR 5.48
7 MUSLIM 4.27
8 KAMI 3.94
9 YADAV 3.94
10 RAI 2.79
11 GURUNG 2.39
12 DAMAI/DHOLI 1.72
13 LIMBU 1.58
14 THAKURI 1.47
15 SARKI 1.40
16 TELI 1.34
17 CHAMAR, HARIJAN, RAM 1.19
18 KOIRI 1.11
19 KURMI 0.94
20 SANYASI 0.88
21 DHANUK 0.83
22 MUSAHAR 0.76
23 DUSADH/PASWAN/PASI 0.70
24 SHERPA 0.68
25 SONAR 0.64
26 KEWAT 0.60
27 BRAHMAN - TARAI 0.59
28 BANIYA 0.56
29 GHARTI/BHUJEL 0.52
30 MALLAH 0.51
31 KALWAR 0.51
There are 72 other categories of people in Nepal which are not listed in the above table. The criteria used to cut off was any groups which are less than 0.5% of the total population are not quoted as these would not be needed to make the point clear.
Let us say, for example, as promised by Maoists Comrades that we all agree that Limbuwan and Khambuwan are given an autonomous region in the eastern Nepal. From the above table one can see that they constitute a population of 4.37% when both groups are combined. Now, the problem is the region where they want their autonomous region also have many other ethnic groups including Magars, Gurungs, Bahuns, Chhetries, Kamis, Damais, Sarkis, Newars, Tamangs, and the list goes on and on. If they are given autonomy in the area then what are the other people who have been living there for hundreds of years going to do? Do they have to move to somewhere else? If so where would they go? Let us forget about the Bahuns and Chettris who are supposedly the exploiters and let them go to hell. However, what is a poor Kami or a poor Damai is going to do. Where would they go? Kamis and Damais like Newars, Bahuns, Sarkis, and Chettris are spread all over Nepal.
Representation of Ethnic Groups
The recent revolts by the Terai residents and the various ethnic groups from the mountains have been claiming the fair representation in administration, army, police, etc. There is no question that their demands are appropriate and justified. However, these demands cannot be addressed by CA election or the introduction of Federalism.
Empowerment of Local Governments and not Federalism is the Answer
According to the 2001 census of Nepal, there are 103 different ethnic groups in Nepal. They speak at least 90 different languages. Some of the ethnic groups are as small as 164 people. For example, according to the 2001 census of Nepal there are only 164 Kusundas in Nepal and these people are no where else in the world. Different groups of people especially the ones demanding the autonomy are spread out through out the nation. Therefore, introduction of Federalism or declaration of self governing regions based on ethnic groups will spell disaster for the whole country. It would not even benefit the group that is claiming autonomy. The ethnic groups such as Magars, Tharus, Tamangs, Newars, only constitute 7.14%, 6.75%, 5.64%, and 5.48% respectively. Moreover, these groups are not living in a particular locality. They are pretty much spread out through out the country except the Tharus who mainly reside in the Terai belt.
Therefore, the best way to kill the snake without breaking the stick would be to empower the local governments. It will be a true democratic way of resolving the demands of terai residents as well as the various ethnic groups of the hill areas.
What Kind of Power would the Local Government Have?
The ultimate objective should be to give the power to raise tax, be responsible for taking care of school education, primary health care, local self governance including public safety (hiring local police), passing the rules and regulations on the local governance, and judiciary. Well, that gives the local elected bodies complete authority. It will all be democratic because the people will elect not only the local government officials but also the judges and the chief of the police. People must be alert and ask for transparency, accountability, and rule of law. This will be the ultimate democracy which will satisfy the demands of all ethnic groups no matter how small or how large they are.
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