Transformation of Nepal into a Stable Nation State through Constituent Assembly

1. Transformation of Nepal into a Stable Nation State through Constituent Assembly Yubaraj Sangroula

2. Overall Impacts of Violent Conflict • A decade long violent conflict has shattered the fabric of the Nepalese society. • Economy has shrunken to a state of 'collapse'. • Human moral sensitivity has lost its gravity. • Social breakdown has become phenomenal, which makes 'brain drain‘. • Politically, enter-ethnic harmony has been sharply deteriorated. • In entirety, the Nepal as a nation has come across to a point where 'perpetual violence’ might be a fate if the way out for smooth transformation is not worked out prudently.

3. Conflicts have Far-reaching Impacts onSocio-Economic and Political Frameworks • Occurrence of conflict in society is not an unusual phenomenon. While its causes might vary the over all impacts is generally the same, i.e. chronic instability in political system, increased poverty and social anarchy and phenomenal violation of human rights. • Conflict in society generally occurs as a 'result of wrong or ill-management of societal relations' ensuing a condition of accumulation of powers and wealth with a smaller groups of people. • This condition in turn gives emergence to a system of exploitation of majority. This thesis provides a ground for belief that all kinds of conflict have ‘breeding space’ in structure of the society itself.

4. Different Dimensions • The conflict may have more than one dimension. • Politically, it is associated with the issue of ‘power sharing’. • Socially, it is a manifestation of anger against the ‘seclusion or exclusion’ of some people by others. • Psychologically, it is an outcome of defense maneuvers designed by one, who perceives threat of its existence, against the other, who is dominant in power structure of the given society. • Conflicts might exist in latent and overt forms. Hidden conflict is often defined as ‘latent conflict’ and it is ‘essentially structural’. Overt or violent conflict is a condition where the silence is broken or the culture of toleration is challenged, and as such it is an expression of quest for change in the status quo

5. Nepalese Society Ignored the Following Dynamics of Conflict • It was an outcome of ‘long standing disparities in power sharing, economic and social positions and distribution resources. • The transformation of the conflict is dependent on mutual agreement of the contesting parties; the suppression of one will necessarily transform one type of conflict to other type. • No party in the socio-political conflict or crisis is fully wrong. • No socio-political problem is addressed in root by ignoring the valid interests of each party. • A harmonious transformation of the conflict is sustainable because it also develops confidence of disputing parties to each other.

6. Causative Factors and Constituent Assembly • The following Causative factors (mediate dynamics) need to be addressed by the CA: • Monopoly of state power by hereditary feudal institutions and subordination of people • Monopoly of Hindu cultural values ‘State’s values’ to the exclusion of faiths and cultures of indigenous groups and minority nationalities, • Imbalance of Power sharing between feudal dominant class and marginalized and economically, socially and culturally subordinated groups, • Imbalance in distribution of national resources, • Lack of preparedness and motivation towards devolution of power at local level:

7. It must also address the following causative factors (immediate dynamics) - Political interference in bureaucracy, establish partisan influences and conduct partisan political activities, • Impunity for corrupt and inefficient bureaucrats, and institutionalization of corruption in all levels of governance • Partisan politicization of education, health and other service sectors, • Horse-trading, breakdown political morality and corruption by political leaders (accountability of political parties)

8. Fundamental Approaches to Transform Nepal from Conflict Torn State to a Stable Nation State. • Restructuring of the State’s policies and institutions (hereinafter restructuring) is the prerequisite to initiate ‘process of rescuing the State from conflict’, • Scheme for restructuring of the state’s policies and institutions is therefore an attempt to ‘redefine’ Nepal’s common value of nationhood or nationalism for integrity. • it is an attempt to ‘transform Nepal from a feudal state to a ‘democratic nation state’.

9. Constituent Assembly is supposed to accomplish this attempt by recognizing the indispensability of the following ‘four cardinal principles’ of the inclusive democracy: - Devolution of Powers: - Secularism: - Pluralism; - Adoption of Economic and Social Rights as Basic Needs and Fundamental Rights of Citizens of Nepal, with clear vision of ‘Development’ and ‘insertion of responsibility of State to comply these rights with Priority’.

10. 1. Devolution of Powers: Federalism • The devolution of power in the form of federalism has three basic characters, i.e. • (1) it localizes the bureaucracy; • (2) introduces the scheme of vertical power sharing between central governing authority federal units; and • (3) grants freedoms to people maintain control in decision making for resources mobilization and development priorities. State's power is shared by different institutions horizontally and vertically. • In Nepal, the diversity composed of geography, population structure or characters as well administrative and service supply needs require vertical distribution of powers is important as well. The concept of 'federalism' is a concept of vertical distribution of powers.

11. Advantages of Federalism • In nutshell, the concept of federal scheme provides the following advantages: - Increased access to ‘decision making processes of the State as it decentralizes the system of representation. • Reduction of dependency on development efforts on central authority, • Direct representation of people in the government, as people can take part in forming of a local government. • People’s welfare scheme and supply and delivery system is decentralized.

12. Precautions • The federalism should not promote communal sentiments among people. The secularism in all aspects of Nation's life should be promoted. The integrity of the nation should not be overlooked. • The creation of federal constituents should be guided with a sense or scheme of bifurcation of State's sovereignty, but the need of strengthening the unity through recognition of diversity. • The creation of federal constituent should not connote a system of rule 'by any group' over others, but a device to promote inclusion. • The creation of federal state should not be viewed as a platform to create an isolation of one part of the country from other.

13. Objectives to Address by Federalism • Establishing a ‘medium institution or authority’ to devolve powers to local level, so that every smaller group of people with separate ethnic, linguistic or geographical identity would be able to participate in the political process and system of governance. • Strengthening secularism as a basis of politics, governance and administration, and • Ensuring economic and social development of people, the marginalized or disenfranchised groups in particular.

14. Models of Federalism • Federalism in essence is an essential component of inclusive democracy. • The concept of federalism can be considered by applying the principle of “Symmetric and Asymmetric power-based models’. • Asymmetrical model is a constitutional structure under which the constituent units (such as states or provinces) within a federal system have more extensive powers than the central authority. In this model, the powers of the federal constituents are not entrenched in the constitution. In Nepal, the people's concerns seem to opt the aysmetrical model. However, an indept analysis of the the ‘feasibility’ of the option nees to be taken. • Symmetrical model, in contrary, entrenches the ‘powers of federal constituent units, and, thus, the powers of the central authority are stronger to that of the foremer. India, for instance, except for Kashmire and Mizarom, has adopted this model.

15. 2. Pluralism and Secularism • Pluralism is an essence of democracy. In every nation, the citizens pay loyalty to nation based on a common ground irrespective of varieties of culture, religion, ethnicity, language, civilization etc. India, a close neighboring country of Nepal, for instance, despite having several civilizations, has been transformed into a 'nation state' on the basis of pluralistic democracy. Indian's struggle to independence provided a basis for integrity. • The democracy established as a consequence of the national movement for independence and the perceived importance of unity provided a basis for the 'nationalism' in India. In Nepal, several elements might be raised to 'emotionally justify’ its nationhood, but none of them may be beyond ‘controversy'. The inclusive democracy with greater local governance system can be the only realistic ground for integrating people' into a nation state'.

16. 3. Recognition and Protection of Socio-Economic Rights • The conventional liberal democracy that excludes ‘rights to economic and special development’ as a core value of the democracy is nothing but a system or theory of ‘political elitism’. • The ‘concept of inclusion’ in democracy therefore intends to ‘transform the political democracy’ into a ‘social structure or organization that allows integration of economic and social development agenda.

17. The liberal democracy without economic and social empowerment of population at large has resulted in: • Disparity in opportunity to, and consumption of, resources, thus giving rise to implausible gap of wealth between a smaller rich elite group and larger marginalized poor population, • Betrayal in legacy of liberty of the majority by imposition of economic subordination of population by a smaller elite group, • Nationalization of local resources.

18. Conclusions • The transformation of conflict into a sustainable peace is dependent on forthcoming CA’s success to ‘meaningfully restructure the State’s policies and institutions’. • Inclusiveness in democracy is thus a ‘strategically designed political mission (restructuring plan) to integrate rights of people to economic and social development against ‘power centric-politics. • Philosophically, the plan for restructuring of State is an attempt to create a’ blend of two historical traditions, the classical democratic values- freedoms of conscience and thoughts- and socialist paradigm of justice-equal distribution of resources.