Just a minute, honourables
The most difficult issue to be solved in writing the new constitution of Nepal is likely to be restructuring the state. Nepal was declared a federal state in the Interim Constitution when it was amended for the fifth time in 2008 by the Constituent Assembly Although a provision about forming a high-level state restructuring commission to advise the CA had been inserted in the IC in March 2007, this was done only in November 2011.
The spirit and letter of the IC was totally ignored by the three major parties, the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist), which formed successive governments. None of these parties seemed to be interested in drafting the constitution. Meanwhile, the CA's State Restructuring Committee approved creating 14 federal states in the country based on identity and sustainability by a simple majority. It may be remembered that a two-thirds majority is needed for approval by the CA to be inserted in the constitution.
Subsequently, there was a rush in preparing maps and holding discussions by several international aid agencies including the United Nations. The Centre for Constitutional Dialogue affiliated with UNDP prepared maps of the proposed states and provided information about the ethnic groups in each of them as if they had been approved by the CA and not just a committee. Interaction programmes were also held about the states. Among those participating were foreign experts and Nepalis, most of whom were ethnic activists.
This scribe could broaden his knowledge after participating in many of these discussions. Many of the proposed units based on ethnicity showed that the major ethnic group after which these units were named formed less than half of the population. Chhetris and Thakuris made up 57 percent of the population of Jadan, which is supposed to have been formed for a Tibetan speaking population. Palpa was the only district in the proposed Magarat state where Magars formed the nominal majority of the population (51 percent), and the percentage of Bahuns and Chhetris as a whole was more than that of Magars.
According to the 2001 census, more than 90 percent of the Magars have declared their religion to be Hinduism, and more than 50 percent spoke Nepali as their mother tongue. The religious and linguistic identity of most Magars in the proposed Magarat was similar to that of Bahuns, Chhetris and Hill Dalits. A similar conclusion could be drawn after studying many other proposed ethnic states. Most of the people in Nepal have multiple identities: ethnic, religious and linguistic. Is it appropriate to consider only ethnic identity and disregard religious and linguistic identities while talking about state restructuring?
Pakistan was created in 1947 as a state comprising Muslim majority areas in undivided India. West Pakistan consisted of Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi and Pashto speakers. More than half of the population spoke Bengali. However, Urdu, spoken by less than 10 percent of the population, was declared to be the only official language. In other words, only religious identity was taken into account during the creation of Pakistan. Bangladesh was created in 1971 which owed its existence primarily to linguistic identity.
The Maoists should receive credit for their stand in demanding elections to the CA in Nepal which would make the first ever constitution of Nepal drafted by the CA. However, they not only proposed creation of ethnic states but also announced their formation prematurely from the streets bypassing the authority of the elected CA. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is credited with having advanced the formula of "agradhikar" or "priority rights" for the ethnic groups after whom the states have been named, although they might be a minority in such states. This is not only a negation of the concept of democracy but also that of majority rule.
Nepal is a country of minorities. This is true in the case of ethnic and linguistic identities. On the other hand, it is not a country of minorities as far as the religious identity is concerned. More than 80 percent of the people of Nepal follow Hinduism. In the 1990s, Nepali-speaking Hindus were expelled from Bhutan. Kashmiri Hindus living in the Kashmir valley were forced to migrate as their religious identity was different from the majority of the people in Kashmir. The multiple identities of most of the people of Nepal should be taken into account while discussing restructuring of the states formed by the State Restructuring Commission.
Posted on: 2012-01-08 09:35
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All of them discussed the issue. The result was the same...and we have committed to continue discussions on the issue till midnight.
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