Sustainability of Federalism in Nepal

Shirish Bhat

Abstract

Ethnic, linguistic, racial and religious conflicts have become the dominant issues facing the world order today. Nepal is not an exception. While many Nepalese politicians look on federalism enthusiastically and involve themselves profoundly on the process, many others are in ferment over the federal idea. Federalism provides no “one size fits all” type of solution. Each Country has to examine and adopt arrangements conducive and suitable for individual needs. Nepal too needs to explore the federal idea intensively and fully before deciding whether to accept or reject it or adopt it with appropriate innovation. We need to explore the federal idea and have an informed debate about its pros and cons and also on deciding whether we adopt or reject it.

Federalism

To date, many countries in the world including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, The federated states of Micronesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Venezuela have federal and/or quasi-federal structures of government. Though federal, none of these countries share exactly the same system. Each country has different administrative arrangements and internal structures. They also vary greatly in size. Russia has republics and many types of regions within; India has states and union territories; Switzerland has cantons while Germany and Austria have landers. Belgium has three regions and three cultural communities while Spain has autonomous regions; the USA has states, unincorporated territories and Native American domestic dependent nations. Canada has provinces, territories and aboriginal organizations. Venezuela has states, territories, federal dependencies.

The proponents of federalism argue that adopting it will strengthen unity and territorial integrity. Switzerland, India, Malaysia, Belgium, Germany, Spain etc are cited as examples. But it cannot be denied that federalism has failed to prevent secession too. The disintegration of Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are well - known examples. The Malaysia - Singapore and Pakistan - Bangladesh splits in the past as well as modern break-ups of Czech and Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro are also lessons. In Canada, separatism flourished in Quebec despite federalism. Britain devolved power to Scotland and Wales but secessionism seems to have gained ground there. Nigerian federalism did not prevent the Biafran civil war. There are, however, many nuances to take into account when analyzing the countries in question.

Current Political Shift in Nepal

Ideas cannot be ‘killed’; these can only be defeated by greater or better ideas. Another truism is no force can stop an idea whose time has come. Nepal can be a perfect example of this truism.
A recent policy shift of a major political party, Nepali Congress, from ‘multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy’ to ‘federal democratic republic’ has created ripples in fluid politics of Nepal. Now, it seems supporters of federalism have increased in Nepal. The main supporters of the federalism are the Maoists and other communist parties. But none of them have started open and meaningful discussions for and against the system they want establish. There are both supporting and opposing arguments to federalism; however, the real issue is the desirability and sustainability of a federal set-up in a small and landlocked country which is diverse both religiously and ethnically. Many people think that in Nepal’s deeply polarized society, federalism can be worse. At one end there are the “unitarists” who are adamant that the unitary structure of the country should not be changed. At the other end are the “federalist” who want the country to make several “autonomous states with right to self-determination.” On this ground, one sees the federalism as a conspiracy to break up the nation while the other views it as a quest for “new Nepal.”

Can Federalism Bring Peace in Nepal?

Many questions raised by opposing to federalism are: can it bring lasting peace? Can it save our territorial integrity? Can it save our “unity in diversity”? Can it save our ages-long tradition of tolerance, harmony and brotherhood? As all the political leaders and interest groups haven’t done enough exercise or enough study on these questions and there has not been proper explanation on the suitability of federalism to the ordinary citizens, the answer is still uncertain. Many proponents of federalism may argue that a utopian devolution mechanism will cause things to happen in favor of bringing peace. But the causal connection is too remote to rely on. The bitter reality is that there can never be any practical devolution unit/mechanism/degree that all stakeholders can agree upon. Suppose a federal structure was put in place; then what? If the Maoist armed forces continue to remain thereafter, many fear a jobless army can be more dangerous. More complex issues exist about the police force. Therefore, federalism may not bring peace. For peace to hold, firstly, unlawful armed groups should be disarmed and lawful armed groups should uphold the law. Above all, rule of law and total end of impunity can secure us from socioeconomic disaster and political instability so deeply rooted in the nation.

Is Federalism a Sustainable Solution for Nepal?

The international communities (it is said) pressurize the political parties and the government to agree to a federal set-up, the question arises how sustainable would it be? Assuming a federal solution is put in place after a lot of haggling, pressurizing, etc. If it cannot bring about economic and political betterment in tangible proportions, the opposing forces will amass votes to bust it and that’s exactly what they will do when elected. Therefore, federal systems will not be able to be sustained unless they can add sizable amount of value to the aspirations of the majority. It is regrettable that most ‘political solutions’ disregard the aspirations of the majority in our country. It is apparent in Nepal that most of the political leaders and their ‘political solutions’ are guided by foreigners, specifically Indians. Moreover, it is very unlikely that the international community suppress the opposing forces forever and they continue to sustain the fragile ‘yes’ vote in favor of it.

Economics of Federalism and Conflicts over Water Resources

Who should benefit from the economic benefits of the natural resources? Should it be the residents in these regions or the nation as a whole? These are the questions that can cripple any federal set-up. Regional leaders and national leaders will have widely opposing views. It is easy to say the whole country will eventually benefit, but practically it is very difficult as evidenced from around the world. Matters will get even worse if foreign parties enter the fray, which is very likely to happen. A classic example on conflict over water resources is the Murray- Darling Basin development program of the Australian federal government. The basin drains roughly three-quarters of New South Wales, half of Victoria, a substantial portion of southern Queensland, and a small part of eastern South Australia The basin development program is not supported by states amidst a severe drought that has hit Australia. Victoria has repeatedly and decisively declined to cooperate as it has enough water resources. Nepal is not too far away in getting into such inter-region conflict once it is federalized. It will be unimaginably chaotic in a federal set-up and the army will have to be called-in to settle the matter given the fact that water is as important as gold in the dry zone. Prolonged and persistent conflicts can take a heavy toll and things will surely escalate when political forces interplay with them.

Diplomacy

Should the regions be allowed to formulate their diplomatic priorities or should they follow the central government? If they do not have such powers, the regions will surely demand it. It is no secret that Nepali Congress wants much closer ties with India, USA, Japan, and UK. Maoists want closer ties with China, North Korea, and Cuba. Other communist parties want to be closer with socialist countries around the world. Hindus want closer link with India, similarly Muslims would want closer link-ups with the Islamic world. These situations would heighten diplomatic importance to the various regions. Apart from obvious conflicting interests, how can Indian interest, for example, be managed by the central government and the regions? These conflicting interests may lead the nation into diplomatic anarchy under federalism. On the other hand, if the regions’ rights to diplomatic interests are curtailed, would federalism achieve its desired targets?

The Risk of Outside Interferers

Another big risk for the country and the regions is the risk of heightened outside interference.

NGOs and even the UN may run their own zones within some regions. In the absence of an acceptable regulator to both the regional and the central governments, these issues are likely to take the centre stage in any federal setting in Nepal. A ‘racial-federalism’ can be considered much more dangerous than federalism itself in Nepal. This doesn’t sound well but that’s exactly what most politicians in favor of federalism demand. A separate Muslim unit within the Hindu territory? Separate ‘Pahaadee’ unit within ‘Madhesi’ area? ‘Rai/Limbu’ area within ‘Newari’ territory? How ridiculously racial? We are likely to fall into a bigger ‘ethnic’ trap if we try to solve the ‘ethnic’ conflict by federalism. We should be moving in a different direction that can integrate the ethnic groups. We don’t differentiate ethnic celebrations, ethnic foodstuff and ethnic attire. We need our fellow citizens who run them to live and thrive in our nation among……

Final Remarks

Ethnic, linguistic, racial and religious conflicts have become the dominant issue facing the world order today. Wars after 1945 have been as much within countries as between them, with disastrous consequences for peace and security. While many Nepalese politicians (not silent majority of Nepalese people) in Nepal look on federalism enthusiastically and involve themselves profoundly on the process, the rest of the world is in ferment over the federal idea. There was a time when federalism was seen as the ideal remedy for many of the world’s political maladies. It was perceived as the universal device to achieve unity in diversity. Experience has shown that this is not necessarily true in all situations.

Federalism provides no “one size fits all” type of solution. Each Country has to examine and adopt arrangements conducive and suitable for individual needs. Nepal too needs to explore the federal idea intensively and fully before deciding whether to accept or reject it or adopt it with appropriate innovation. The federal idea is dynamic and constantly evolving. What we in Nepal need to do is to explore the federal idea and have an informed debate about its pros and cons and also on deciding whether we adopt or reject it.

Federalism will create new and never ending conflicts and confrontations on the issues of:
# Fixation and safeguarding of borders between states.
# Distribution and utilization of natural resources
# Rights to majority and minority in political, racial, religious, cultural issues (we should remember ill-fated Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal); Madhesi and Pahadi; backward and forward etc.
# Unlimited and unbearable economic burden to the nation ( for example, expenditure to one federal govt and ten state govts; one pm and ten chief ministers; one president and ten governors, one federal parliament and ten state parliaments etc …..)
Nepal, small in size and population, can be managed and governed by inclusive, constructive and cooperative system of representation. Let many ideas play. Let different parties contest and compete with a spirit of “rule of the games.” Let the sovereign people decide freely. Decentralization of power to the local governments with zero interference of the center can make a magic change. Living peace, political stability and the rule of law (good governance) are the basic conditions to flourish and strengthen democracy. Socioeconomic development is possible only in an atmosphere of national unity and mutual confidence among all stakeholders.

Source: Spotlight, VOL. 27, NO. 9, October 12, 2007

Federalism : Devolution Of True Levels Of Sovereignty, Power

Ambar Mainali

No nation can remain iso-lated from adopting a system of governance that ensures transparency, social justice and devolution of power. Nepal, too, is seriously skimming the options of what best form of governance would be appropriate to address the imbalances of development and inclusiveness. The debate on moving ahead for a federal system has gathered momentum among the political parties and the citizenry at large.

People's participation

History reveals that Nepal has been making steady progress in bracing ahead for a governance system, which would allow maximum people's participation in the overall state machinery. The journey from the Rana oligarchy to the eight-party coalition has come through years of debate and struggle. The nation at the moment is deeply engrossed in what model of federalism would augur well for its democratic development.

Except for the educated political elite, not many really understand what federalism stands for, its philosophies and modalities. The concept of federalism revolves around the sharing of power between the central government and the constituent federal states. The different disgruntled groups must be very clear about the fact that power sharing with the centre is not equal.The centre normally has comparatively more power than the constituent states in such a set up. The whole idea is not to confine the powers at the centre but to distribute them to the states. This is agreed upon by the states at the time of promulgating the Constitution and the successive years whenever amendments are proposed to what extent power should be devolved to the states.Today, around 45-50 per cent of the world's population lives in federal states. The essence of federalism is to devolve the true level of power and true level of sovereignty. How should the country be structured at the sub-national level? What electoral system will be used to elect national officials? These are some of the pertinent issues that need to be dealt with.Besides, intergovernmental organs must be developed over a course of time, which are not necessarily provisioned in the Constitution. Infrastructure development, media, roads, bridges and the metric system need to be uniform for all the states.As stated earlier, Nepal has had a chequered political history revealing the gradual devolution of state powers to the people. The eastern part of the country is comparatively more developed than the western part. The same holds true for the eastern hills and western hills. The dalits, Madhesis, ethnic and indigenous populations have grudges that they have been sidelined from the political mainstream. Against this backdrop, devolving state power to the federal units would be a sensible way to allow people to have their say in carving their own fates.

Hence, rumours that the state would disintegrate if it were transformed politically in favour of a federal set up is misleading and unrealistic. Power sharing between the centre and the federal units would instead help keep the unity of the people together. The constitution in the making should take note of the fact that the federal states would have a larger stake in linking their identity with the country instead of breaking away from it. Given this assurance, no federal unit would ever want to break away, as doing so would entail huge expenses for them. They would have to have their own army, police and the administrative set-up.With the agreement among the eight parties that Nepal would move for a federal structure already in place, the only issue in need of a thorough soul searching is 'would the nation be comfortable when the federal units are marked on the basis of ethnicity?' Rather efforts to divide the federal states on the basis of geography would be more sensible in the case of Nepal where communal feeling is very intense. This would, in turn, provide opportunities for the people from diverse groups to intermingle with each other and thereby have a feeling of cultural solidarity.Federalism at the moment is being portrayed like a magic wand that could find instant remedy to all social ills. This, however, is not the reality. There are a range of issues that have to be looked into before laying down the federal structure, which is principally based on the unequal division of the state power.

Following the drafting of the constitution by the constituent assembly to be elected on November 22, it is essential to have a rigorous discourse on which powers to retain at the centre and which to relegate to the sub-national or state level.Besides, the political parties must also work out which model of federalism best suits the nation's development realities. The nation's division on the basis of ethnicity and race is believed to be a model that would only serve to bring about division along racial lines, hence it would be wiser to adopt the geographical demarcation while carving out the states.The benefits of federalism are such that it reduces abuse of power and tyranny. Decentralised authority lessens the risk of autocratic rule because disbursed power is harder to consolidate and exploit. It helps to solve basic collective action problems. It helps reconcile the need for both unity and diversity. It allows for ethnic, cultural, demographic, economic differences to flourish sub-nationally and be incorporated nationally. A federal system permits greater flexibility and responsibility. Each sub-national government can tailor policies to the citizenry, and the citizens can hold their sub-national as well national officials to account.Last but not the least, federalism encourages innovation, competition and efficiency. Sub-national governments are policy laboratories that innovate and learn from each other, and in mobile societies competition among governments may yield better policies.

Risks

However, there are risks in federalism. It creates collective action problems. Public bads may proliferate, such as cross-jurisdictional pollution. There could be accountability problems in a federal system owing to multiple elected officials. Next, local biases cannot be ruled out. Sub-national politicians will tend to favour the interests of their own constituents, which can come at the expense of national interest. And finally, the issue of inequality could surface as some sub-national units will have greater demands and problems than others, creating either inequities or animosities arising from redistribution by the national government of sub-national resources.

Source: The Rising Nepal, August 4, 2007

Unspoken Voices

Narayan Prasad Wagle

The silent majority does not come to the streets, does not chant slogans or take up arms to have their demands fulfilled. They just remain silent though they are in the majority. Political groups, hooligans and warlords claim to represent them, but the silent majority is usually unheard of, exploited and misrepresented. This is what is happening in the ever-complicated political scene of Nepal. There is a visible difference between what the people actually want and what the various political groups are demanding and the strategies they are applying to get their demands met.

FederalismAlmost all the political parties have projected federalism as the chief demand of the people, and this was the agenda that fuelled the aggressive protests in the terai. But if we look at the other side of the coin, the reality is completely different. A study carried out by the Asia Foundation some months ago demonstrated that only a small portion of the population had any knowledge about what the constituent assembly stood for. From this, we can infer that an even smaller portion of the population understands what federalism stands for. Then how are we to believe that the people have blindly supported the demand for federalism without understanding it? Even if they did, is it meaningful? Similarly, republicanism or the retention of monarchy has been projected as the major issue of the people in the CA polls and is placed atop all other agenda. However, the silent majority has little interest on the hackneyed issue since they see no direct link between the issue of retaining or abolishing the monarchy and the serious concerns of their daily lives. Their inability to see a link between the issue of monarchy and the their daily lives is sometimes described by clever political leaders as lack of political consciousness and ignorance and, hence, they emphasise the need for an awareness campaign. But the silent majority does not accept this notion that underestimates them. Though they do not know much about republicanism, they do understand that republicanism per se will not ensure that they will not have to die for lack of food, housing or health care facilities. Also that it will not ensure an education that is free for their sons and daughters.

They also understand that republicanism per se will not put a stop to the exodus of cheap Nepalese labour into the global market. For them, the right to life, education and basic health care facilities is more important than republicanism, federalism and the like. Probably, the silent majority will be happier with the inclusion of the right to life, right to education, right to attainable standards of health and right to work. Both armed groups and agitators are using strategies and tactics that go against the will of the silent majority while claiming that they represent the people. As we have seen in the past, general strikes and shutdowns of schools and transportation have been common weapons of both the agitators and terrorists. It is as clear as broad daylight that the public is spiteful about the general strikes and shutdowns of schools and transportation. In fact, these coercive methods in the name of pressing the government to fulfil their demands are attacks against the lives and liberties of the people. Then, why do they cling to such methods like a leech and shamelessly speak a sheer lie that their cause enjoys great public support? The motive is clear: their interest contradicts with that of the general public, and they want to fulfil it by taking undue advantage of the silent nature of the general public. Nobody has the right to misrepresent the silent majority, frequently referred to as the people. Only in a peaceful process of democracy can the silent majority have their say in national politics, especially through the exercise of their franchise. It is by the votes of this section of the population that unexpected outcomes beyond the arithmetic of renowned analysts are brought about. Otherwise, whether it is in so-called fake democracy of the elite or armed politics, the needs and demands of the silent majority will be ignored, and, as a result, the whole society becomes unstable.

Understanding the peopleAs it is the silent majority that strongly adheres to the norms and values of the society, disregard for this common lot results in lawlessness, and justice of the jungle. But will our political leaders, who turn a deaf ear to the loudest cries, listen and understand the minds of the silent majority? The date for the Constituent Assembly polls has just been set. It is time they went to the hinterlands to interact with the people rather than be bogged down by the demands of the elite.

Source: The Rising Nepal, July 5, 2007

Balancing act

Presentation of the national budget (2007-08), the first by the eight-party interim government, is only two weeks away. This budget will also mark the end of the 10th Five-Year Plan and commencement of the Three-Year Interim Plan. The upcoming budget is bound to be a tough balancing act, not only because of the fast-growing demands coming from the myriad groups, but also because of the different priorities of the various constituents of the government. Added to this will be the heavy burden of reconstruction and rehabilitation, plus the constituent assembly polls. Therefore, the upcoming budget will have to be substantially larger than the previous budget — it is expected to hover at around Rs.160 billion. As the average economic growth rate during the past several years (including this year’s estimated rate of 2.5 per cent) has barely kept pace with the population increase, the country has hardly grown in net terms.

This implies that the foreign aid component of the budget will have to swell. As issues of uplift of the disadvantaged communities and development of backward regions have come into sharp focus, these are likely to force the eight parties’, and therefore the government’s, special attention. There is also a pressing need to make bigger allocations for the social sector, particularly health and education, to make these services accessible to the under-privileged. The government is also under heavy pressure from other sectors such as industry and agriculture for more money, and even from its employees for pay hike. It may have to consider substantial grants for the local bodies where the elective vacancies may shortly be filled by nomination. Because, over the years, almost every sector of the national economy has suffered from huge problems emanating from the conflict and its effects, such special push for greater government attention is not unnatural.

To stimulate the sluggish economy should constitute a principal task of the government. Finance minister Dr Ram Sharan will also have to give the budget something of an “inclusive” character at a time of inclusive politics. The interim government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP) could provide some common ground. Inclusiveness also means that the constituent parties should be widely consulted and the outcome should reflect their consensus. In view of the too many competing needs, much more than in the past years, and the limited resources, there is also a danger that the resources could be thinly scattered. Finance ministers in Nepal have not had to deliver on their promises, and their emphasis has been on making the budget sound impressive at the time of presentation. Just look at the development budget of every year and at the wide gap between promise and performance. Even the quantum of estimated foreign aid and actual disbursement may well differ. Besides, failure to cut down on wasteful expenditure and to crack down on financial corruption can send the best-laid plans haywire. This has been one of the weakest points of successive governments.

Source: The Himalayan Times, June 25, 2007

Upcoming Interim Plan Achieving Human Prosperity

Lok Nath Bhusal

Amid the ongoing political transition, the National Planning Commission (NPC), the apex planning authority, is trying its best to craft an Interim Plan (IP) for the next three years rather than go ahead with the 11th Five-Year Plan. The Interim Plan is expected to bridge the gap between the current 10th Plan and upcoming 11th Plan. Indeed, it is assumed that the election to the constituent assembly, parliamentary polls and the formation of a new government will take place in the next three years so that the new government is better placed to bring about the 11th Plan. The unique feature of this plan has been its participatory process of formulation as the major political parties are represented in the government and Planning Commission.

ExpectationsNo doubt, given the incompatible ideologies among the different political parties, it will not be easy for the NPC to formulate a quality Interim Plan by synchronising the differences. However, the NPC, with its inclusive formation, expertise and 50 years of planning experience, has been trying hard to bring about a consensus Interim Plan. Essentially, the Interim Plan would be an instrument towards making a modern, prosperous and just Nepal at a time when the country is undergoing a profound political and economic transition.Looking back, Nepal has implemented nine successive development plans, and the current 10th Plan is in its final year. Despite some achievements in the areas of infrastructure and human development, and poverty reduction, this has not been commensurate with the expectations. The Living Standards Survey 2003/04 concludes that absolute poverty has declined by 11 percentage points from 42 per cent to 31 per cent in the last 10 years due to increased agricultural and non-agricultural wages, urbanisation, increase in the active population, and the massive inflow of remittances. However, income inequality, as measured by the Gini Coefficient, has increased from 0.34 to 0.41. In addition, according to the Human Development Report 2006, Nepal has dropped to 138th position from its earlier 136th. However, the Demographic and Health Survey 2006 has revealed that the birth rate, infant and child mortality rate have improved significantly.

One of the most crucial issues has been the inequitable distribution of the fruits of development in the past. The socio-economic status of the dalits, Janajatis, women and people from the remote areas have not improved, and reforms have not been sufficient to address the aspirations of those marginalised groups. Despite the reduction in the overall level of poverty, there are mounting disparities across various ethnic groups. A study ?Unequal Citizens: Gender, Caste and Ethnic Exclusion in Nepal (GESA)?, carried out by the World Bank and DFID, has demonstrated that 47 per cent of the dalits, 44 per cent of various ethnic communities in the hilly region, and 41 per cent of Muslim households live below the poverty line. Obviously, these figures significantly surpass the national average of 31 per cent, 14 per cent for the Newars and 19 per cent for the Bahuns. As a result, majority of the people lacked the feeling that there exists a state favouring them. The major responsibility of the state is to institutionalise the achievements of the historic Jana Andolan II. The upcoming Interim Plan should be based on the people?s spirit expressed during the Jana Andolan, the declaration of the House of Representatives, various agreements signed on the political fronts, and the directive principles and the policies in the proposed constitution. However, according to a study jointly conducted by the National Planning Commission and UNDP, all MDGs are likely to be achieved by 2015 except the ones concerning Universal Primary Education and HIV/AIDS.

The recent political development has provided numerous opportunities for a brighter future. The settlement of the decade-long conflict has brought the political actors closer, opening the doors towards creating an inclusive political landscape. Moreover, a peaceful political environment, commitment to human rights, good governance and the establishment of a loktantric system of government have been very conducive to attracting foreign assistance both in the form of grants and direct investment. The friendly relationships with the giant economies of India and China, with their historic economic growth rates, can be good marketplaces for Nepalese exports, and, thus, ways to earn foreign currency. Indeed, this has created ample opportunities for Nepal?s rapid economic development and to creating an affluent society. Also, the existing cultural, linguistic and regional diversity, and hardworking people would be Nepal?s true human capital towards making a New Nepal.

Furthermore, the mounting tourism potential, if fully exploited, would be instrumental in earning foreign exchange and creating lots of employment opportunities. Likewise, the physical and social infrastructure, efforts and experiences towards good governance and decentralised system of governance made in the last 50 years have provided a solid basis for rapid development. Now the time has come to proceed with these achievements along with innovative ideas and new dynamics. The upcoming Interim Plan should come up with a long-term vision for creating a prosperous, modern and just Nepal. Indeed, prosperity would offset absolute poverty and ensure social empowerment and easy access to quality services. Similarly, a modern Nepal would bring improvements on the thinking of the people about the social, economic and financial status, ensuring the adoption of appropriate technologies and lifestyles. A just Nepal would bridge the gap between the affluent and poor people, and end the legal, social, economic, ethnic and geographical discrimination. Indeed, this would ensure inclusive development, social justice and good governance.

Human prosperityIn order to realise this long-term vision, the major goal of the Interim Plan should be to reducing poverty and attaining economic and human prosperity through good governance, social justice and inclusive development approaches. Essentially, the major goal of the Interim Plan should be to reduce absolute poverty through the creation of employment opportunities, inclusive growth, reconstruction, rehabilitation and reintegration. The major strategies should touch upon employment-oriented, broad-based and inclusive economic growth; good governance in development works and service delivery; emphasis on rural and urban infrastructure development; and adoption of a socially inclusive development approach. The upcoming meeting of the National Development Council will try to address these issues, and formally recommend the government of the approval of the Interim Plan.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 25, 2007

Bottoms up

The units of local self-governance — the 75 district development committees, some 4, 000 village development committees and 58 municipalities — have been without the people’s representatives for the past five years, including one year of the post-Jana Andolan 2 period. They have mostly been run by employees, except sporadically, in some of them, by people nominated to the elective posts by successive governments after the term of the elected bodies was allowed to lapse in 2002 by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government despite the legal provision for extension by a year. This was because Deuba did not want the CPN-UML, the then main Opposition, to continue to hold sway in about two-thirds of them. The failure to fill all the vacancies was due to the Maoist insurgency at that time. Now, at long last, the elective vacancies may soon be filled as the eight parties are reported to have reached an understanding on the matter, including a formula for the distribution of all the posts among them. The three major parties — the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist — are to be treated as equals, the NC-D is to get half of any of the Big Three, and the remaining tiny constituents of the alliance will not have to draw a blank.

According to a report, all the local bodies are likely to be constituted in three phases, starting with the coming fiscal year. The government has prepared a set of directives for operating the local bodies in line with Article 139 of the Interim Constitution, which provides for the formation of the units of local government “to create a congenial atmosphere for the practice of the people’s sovereignty from the local level upwards ... to provide services to the people locally and to promote institutional development of democracy right from the local level up...” Decentralisation and devolution of powers have been emphasised. As there has been a national understanding on the question of providing greater autonomy to the local units, the practice of local governance in the interim period should reflect this consensus.

The eight-party look of the local units will inject optimism into the local people, giving the impression that democracy and peace are returning to the villages. The filling of all the elective posts through consensus-based nomination will activate service delivery, disrupted so often in so many places, to its full capacity, and is likely to make it efficient and transparent. In the past, after the elected bodies were allowed to die, most donors, particularly Scandinavian governments, were not pleased and had expressed their serious reservations about continuing aid aimed at strengthening local self-governance on the ground that the shape of the local bodies under active royal rule did not reflect a representative political arrangement. This had severely hampered work. The eight-party arrangements are expected to enhance accountability and credibility of local units, and greater willingness on the part of donors to help with expertise, money and material to promote democracy and decision-making at the grassroots.

Source: The Himalayan Times, June 10, 2007

Reforms In Education

MINISTER for Education and Sports Pradeep Nepal has underlined the need for keeping universities and academic institutions free from political influence so that they can genuinely engage in academic activities. Speaking at an interaction programme organised by Pokhara University Teachers' Association in Pokhara on Monday, Minister Nepal called upon all, including the political parties, their sister organisations and others, not to carry out activities that exert unnecessary pressure and disturb the teaching and learning activities. The remarks and request of the minister are very significant, coming as it does at a time when the universities and academic institutions have become a victim of political pressure. The universities were without heads and responsible authorities for almost one year due to political reasons as the political parties wanted their appointees as heads and other office bearers of the universities. Thus, the universities and other such institutions were severely affected. This practice must end as a new culture must evolve in order to develop academic institutions as truly independent institutions. Against this background, there is need for change in the mentality of the political parties. At the same time, total reform in the education system is also the need of the hour - right from the pre-primary level to higher education.

Considering this need, the Ministry of Education is mulling change in the organisational structure of the entire education system. At present there are four tires of school education - pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher secondary. The government is planning to have just three tiers in school education. Besides, the government has also taken some other important decisions, which are likely to have a far-reaching impact on the education sector, if they are to be strictly implemented in accordance with the inherent spirit of the change. So far decisions in the education sector have been taken on an ad hoc basis. With the change of government, the policies in the education sector have also changed. As a result, the quality of Nepal's education has been under serious scrutiny. The education system in Nepal has so far produced more certificate holders than qualitative and skilled human resource. Thus, our education sector requires serious reforms and changes in order to enhance the quality. First and foremost, we must free our education sector from politics. The politicians and parties need to strop interfering in the education and academic institutions for their partisan interests. If education were to be freed from politics and political interference, half the problems in the education sector would be solved automatically.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 30, 2007

People’s War in Nepal: Genesis and Development

ANAND SWAROOP VERMA, GAUTAM NAVLAKHA

In Maoist understanding, People’s War (PW) is 80 per cent politics and 20 per cent warfare. The decisive factor in a war o f this genre is not guns but the mobilisation of people for seizing power through protracted war. This is not to underplaythe significance of armed struggle in Maoist politics or to delink one from the other, but to stress that the mark of Maoist success lies in their emergence as the dominant political and ideological force in Nepal. The remarkable political consistency and dexterity displayed by them in sticking to their strategic goals and making their agenda (a democratic republic through an elected constituent assembly, interim government, under an interim constitution, etc) the basis, if not the rallying point, for ending the civil war, and attempting to win the mandate to constitutionally transform the state, are its articulation. In this paper we confine ourselves to the period 1990 onwards, leading up to PW – the period from February 1996 to the “12-point agreement” of November 2005. We highlight the elements of continuity in the salient features of the strategy of PW implemented by the Maoists.

Degenerate Parliamentary Politics

It is worth recalling that the armed struggle of the Nepalese people against feudal monarchy is as old as the kingdom itself. Thus struggle persisted even after the 1950 overthrow of Rana autocracy, which had wielded state power until then. The 1950 Indian intervention, which restored the king’s power, was soon followed by several anti-feudal struggles in 1952-53, primarily in western Nepal. In these struggles, government officials were removed, feudal landlords were eliminated and foodgrains looted and redistributed. Failing to subdue this rebellion, the king sought the help of Indian troops. In 1959 when the Nepali Congress, then led by B P Koirala, signed Gandak agreement with India it triggered off violent protests against it. The Nepali Congress which was thrown out by the king on December 16, 1960, then initiated in 1962 and again in 1971 an armed uprising. In 1972-73, inspired by Naxalbari, an armed struggle broke out in Jhapa. The introduction of the multiparty system in 1991, as a sequel to the protracted struggle against partyless Panchayat regime, spurred the people’s aspirations at various levels. In these 30 years, 1960-1990, the democratic forces went through lot of trials and tribulations. Since the Nepali Congress had at one time held the reins of power and had developed cordial foreignrelations, particularly with the ruling classes of India, it did not bear the bruntof repression. Despite the fact that it took to arms in 1962 and 1971, its movement against the monarchical system remained qualitatively different from that launched by the left forces. Many communist formations were active during this time, the most powerful among them being the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (CPN(ML)). The party, inspired by the Naxalbari movement in India, had carried out a peasant led anti-feudal movement in

Jhapa in easternNepal

Without going into the strategy and tactics adopted by the Jhapa peasant movement, Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1840 it can certainly be said that the movement laid the traditions of communist struggle and sacrifice. Several activists of the CPN(ML) were killed, many more were put behind the bars, while the land and the properties of many others were attached by the state. In spite of repression, many young people left their home and hearth and dedicated their lives to the establishment of a genuinely democratic order. The CPN(ML), in its First National Convention (held between December 26, 1978 and January 1, 1979) had resolved that “(t)he party…shall unite and lead through a protracted peoples’ struggle all such progressive forces who are committed towards the victory of the ‘New Democratic Revolution’ in Nepal as a prerequisite for the eventual establishment of a socialist and communist society.”1 The resolution identified the agrarian revolution as the kernel of the new democratic revolution and committed itself to uproot “the power of big landlords through armed struggle”.2 After the declaration of a multiparty system, the CPN(ML) which had so far been functioning underground started working as an open political party. They tried to unite other left formations and were successful to a considerable extent. The party in association with Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist), led by Manmohan Adhikari, formed the Unified Marxist-Leninist Party,which was christened CPN(UML). The CPN(UML) participated in the first democratic elections held on May 12, 1991 after the establishment of the multiparty system. Although the party was a newcomer in the electoral arena, it scored major victories in various places as compared to the Nepali Congress, well steeped in the rituals of parliamentary democracy. In this election, the Nepali Congress won 110 seats, whereas CPN(UML) captured 69 seats. Undoubtedly, against all odds, it was a great achievement for the CPN(UML).In subsequent elections, the party forged ahead of the Nepali Congress and, for the first time in south Asia, a communistgovernment took over the reins of power at the national level. Yet, once the party entered the realm of parliamentary politics, it jettisoned its historical legacy to bring about social transformation, beginning withradical land reforms. Instead, in order to remain in power it took recourse to the same means adopted by the Nepali Congress. Thus if the Nepali Congress took the support of the pro-monarchy Rashtriya Prajatantrik Party (RPP), then the same means were adopted by the CPN(UML).

The RPP was then led by Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Surya Bahadur Thapa who had earlier been prime ministers in the panchayat system. In fact, Lokendra Bahadur Chand was the prime minister at a time when a massive and unprecedented protest movement was taking place outside the Royal Palace in 1990. In September 1995, the Nepali Congress government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had secured the support of RPP. In March 1997, CPN(UML) helped install RPP’s Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the PM in spite of the fact that the CPN(UML) had 90 members of Parliament (MPs), whereas RPP could boast of only 10. This was done to prevent Nepali Congress from forming the government. Again in October 1997, the Nepali Congress helped in installing the RPP’s Surya Bahadur Thapa as PM. At that time, the RPP had only 17 MPs, whereas Nepali Congress could boast of a strength of 85 MPs. The Nepali Congress resorted to this ploy to prevent the communists from forming the government. In March 1998, there was a split in the CPN (UML) and 40 MPs walked out of the party to form CPN(ML).The same story was repeated when the new party also indulged in playing the same power brokering games as its predecessor. In August 1998, the new party, in collaboration with the Nepali Congress formed the government. In this descent towards degeneration, CPN(UML) could not be expected to be an exception. In December 1998, the coalition government of the Nepali Congress and the splinter group CPN(ML) collapsed. Immediately afterwards, as on cue, the CPN(UML) formed the government in alliance with the Nepali Congress.

Locating People’s War

It would not be far-fetched to say that to remain in power at any cost, the political parties betrayed the trust of the people. It is against this background and resultant disenchantment of people with parliamentary brokering, in particular with the tacticsof the parliamentary communist parties, that one can locate PW. First the 1990 transfer of power from the palace to the political parties gave wind to people’s expectations. Whereas in the Terai region, the people’s expectations were for endingfeudal landlordism which was rampant, in the far-flung areas in the east as well as west, the popular demand was to end the neglect of these regions. On both counts, the political parties failed. Moreover, the shenanigans of the communists hastened the process of disenchantment. Also, while the international situation was unfavourable for the launch of social transformatory projects, conditions nationally were just the opposite. Nepal’s economy was in a crisis by 1994-95. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stipulates that any country whose foreign debt is 200-250 per cent of the value of exports and debtservicing ratio is 20 per cent of the same is in a “critical stage”. Nepal’s foreign debt jumped to 600 per cent of the total export trade and debt servicing to exports reached 35 per cent. Profligacy and scarcity, typical of a nascent capitalist country with strong feudal roots, not only contributed to low capital formation but also made it dependent on foreign donors for up to 70 per cent of its revenue needs. The migration of people in search of jobs had pickedup in the 1970s and began to surge towards the end of the 1980s. The economic embargo imposed by India in 1989 brought home rather painfully the dependent nature of the relationship with India. In initiating the PW, the Maoists werenot simply engaging in combat; the very act of fighting was political. Acquisition of weapons by looting the armouries toarm themselves was as much a mark of their independence as of their awareness that any challenge to undermine the statusquo would invite military suppression. It was increasingly realised that radical land reform, women’s liberation, the right ofself-determination of nationalities and social justice could not be brought about through parliament under the 1990 constitution.

Even the actual conduct of the Maoists was pregnant with revolutionarytactic s. Their secret parleys with Birendra (king of Nepal from 1972 until 2001), playing on his patriotism and Sihanouk like role, achieved its aim, even as they were able to maintain a line of communication with the political parties. Thereby the Maoists delayed the deployment of the army against them until they were prepared. They won this time by exploiting the contradictions between the palace and the political parties on the one hand, especially over the control exercised by the king over the army, and between thevarious political parties on the other. When the PW began on February 13, 1996, it was dismissed as being of no major consequence.And, as in the past, a “police action” was felt to be capable of quelling this problem.4 However, by 2000 India and the US began pressurising the Nepal government to bring in the army. It was Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1841the attack on Dunai which was the headquarters of Dolpa district, on September 24, 2000, which brought home what it meant to keep the army out of the fighting. The army unit, based in the district headquarter watched while the Maoists destroyed the police station; it did not intervene. It was after this incident that the tussle between the king and the political parties for control and deployment of the army began in earnest. Although king Birendra gave into international and national pressure by the end of April 2001 and agreed to anIntegrated Security and Development Programme which was meant to bring in the army to the frontline in the fight against the Maoists. Nevertheless, following the assassination of king Birendra and his family on June 1, 2001, the situation changed dramatically.

Advantage of Hindsight

With the advantage of hind sight, it is worth a pause to consider how the Maoists expanded and consolidated their positionduring the PW. The People’s War did not emerge in a vacuum or out of simply exploiting opportunities that came the way of the Maoists. It emerged after long years of political work amongst the people, debating the failings of earlier struggles, including Jhapa. There was intense debate and differences over tactics and strategy amongst their top leadership as well as the rank and file, and above all, about creating the opportunities. The most endearing quality of the Maoists has been their willingness to learn from every crisis, of which they were witness to several. A crisis was turned into an opportunity. It is this which enabled them to overcome the near split in the party in 2004-05 and bounce back strongly so as to be able to reach an agreement with the seven political parties by November 2005. In the process the question of “democracy” withinthe party got a boost.

But, in 1995-96, the world was different. On December 13, 1995 in an interview given to The Independent, Baburam Bhattarai, a senior leader of the CPN(M) said that “every revolution appears as a dream before it is made…(and) appears like a nightmare for the reactionary classes before and after it is made”. And certainly, two months before the PW actually commenced this did appear to be a foolhardy enterprise. But commitment, perseverance and critical reflection pay. The Maoists leaders and leading cadres had been working underground long before the PW began. Some such as Kiran and Gaurav, from the 1960s, although most of the others began their journey from 1970s onwards. Prachanda and most of his other comrades began their political life in 1970s. When the first elections took place after the jan andolan of 1990 on May 12, 1991,the Samyukta Jan Morcha (United Peoples Front), headed by Baburam Bhattarai, won nine seats. The UPF was the open front of the communist group called Ekta Kendra (Unity Centre), which believed in armed struggle and was working underground. Though their seats were fewer than the seats won by the Nepali Congress or CPN(UML), the UPF secured the third position. Even as the UPF was taking part in the elections, the leaders of Ekta Kendra publicly campaigned that the Nepali people will not benefit from this parliament.

Meanwhile in December 1991, the Communist Party of Nepal (Ekta Kendra) which was reconstituted in 1986, changed its name to Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and after long deliberations and discussions, and some parting of ways, evolved the present line. Within this ideological context, the party came to the conclusion that PW is the only path for the successful completion of the New Democratic Revolution which would entail the encirclement of the cities from it villages, and, in this process, guerrilla warfare would play a strategic role. Following this the party carried out a large-scale survey in 1992 covering 18 districts. The objective of the survey was to identify the ways and means for initiating and carrying out PW. Several districts such as Rolpa, Rukum, Gorkha, Sindhuli, Dhanusha and Kavrepalanchowk were chosen for carrying out the preparatory work. In January 1994, when the CPN(UML) was in power, the Maoists had submitted a 38-point charter of demands concerning “nationalism, people’s democracy and people’s livelihood”. Thus between 1990 and 1994, through public meetings, posters and pamphlets, the UPF leaders had been emphasising that the parliamentary system serves those who have been exploiting and tyrannising the common people. In 1994, mid-term elections took place in Nepal and the UPFboycotted it. The boycott of elections by them and the movement launched by Maoists against the local landlords andmoneylenders was seen by the government as discarding parliamentary politics. As a result, large-scale repression was unleashed on the supporters of UPF and the Front had no other option but to go underground.On February 4, 1996 the CPN(Maoist) submitted, through UPF a 40-point charter of demands to the then government headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba, giving that government a two-week ultimatum. But, a few days before the ultimatum was to expire, on February 13, they declared protracted People’s War against the state. The charter of demands were no different than what UPF had been demanding since April 1992, related to nationalism, democracy and livelihood issues. Thus, the first demand under “Concerning Nationality” was for abrogating “(a)ll discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty”. Under “Concerning People’s Democracy” the first demand was for drafting a new “constitution… by representatives elected for the establishment of a people’s democracy”. And finally, the first item under “Concerning Livelihood” demanded that “(l)and should belong to ‘tenants’. Land under the control of the feudal system should be confiscated and distributed to the landless and the homeless.” Besides, the 40-point demand focused on women and dalits as the two most discriminated groups, even amongst the exploited classes/ strata. And, they did so by mobilising them in the first instance. In other words, the 40-point demands were not a mere rhetorical device but were meant to be takenseriously, since these demands encapsulated their politics. That the charter of demands was dismissed in the first instance by the political parties had much to do with their bloated self-image, borne of being “mainstream” parties, either in power or as contenders for acquiring power.

In an atmosphere of repression and resistance, the Central Committee of the Party held its Fourth Extended Meeting in mid-1998. A “New Plan for New Stage” was chalked out in the meeting. Based on the experience of the past two and a halfyears, the party drew some important conclusions regarding this particular issue. At the ideological level, the party made an attempt to develop a clear perspective regarding the distinction between a guerrilla zone and a base area. Accordingto the party, in a protracted PW, without a base area, there cannot be any surroundingof the cities by the countryside. Thus,whereas PW had established itself as a parallel power centre via-a-vis the state, the party’s assessment was that it was quite weak in terms of military strength. Therefore, augmentation of people’s military might was identified as the main task.Based on its own experience, the Party Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1842underscored the point that if people do notpossess military strength then it would not be possible to protect and uphold their achievements. Besides, due to lack of military might, people tend to lose their initiative. Thus the speedy formation of the new state necessitated the augmentation of military strength.5

Development of People’s War

In order to augment their military capabilities, many qualitative changes were carried out in the third year of PW. Andbigger armed actions had been initiated by the party. But the interesting thing to note is that simultaneously while the war was being waged between 1998 and 2003, the ongoing process of formation of the new state was sought to be based on democratic principles. And the party was engaged in discussing the strategic importance of democracy for the new Nepal in the making, as well as the question of dissent, discipline and centralisation during the war within the party. People’s rule was organised at the village, region and base area levels; the principle of democratic centralism was followed. In areas where people’s local governments were in operation, the entire population were broughtunder the fold of various organisations and the right to recall their elected representatives encouraged. Above all, the new political setup was expected to harness human resources for economic resuscitation while fulfilling essential economic, social and cultural needs of the people. In 10 years what the Maoists achieved appears modest, but looked at from wherethey began, it is a novel people-oriented development, a story yet to be written. Within three months of king Birendra’sassassinat ion, negotiations took place in August 2001 between the government and the Maoists. Arguably, both sides needed a breathing space and used the period to consolidate themselves. However, the difference lay in their stated position at the negotiations.

The Maoists stuck to their stance in terms of their demand for a round-table conference, an interim government andformation of an elected constituent assembly (CA), whereas the government appeared to have no clear idea other than wanting the Maoists to capitulate. And, once the September 11, 2001 attack took place in the US and the “war on terror” began, the prospects of talks dimmed perceptibly. When the talks broke down in November 2001, a few days later, theMaoists overran a big army garrison in western Nepal. The message sent out was clear while they favoured a democratic closure of the civil war, they were prepared to engage in war. By 2002, the tussle between king Gyanendra and the politicalparties had reached a new crisis point with the king declaring a state of emergency, dissolving local government bodies anddismissing the Deuba government because it had failed to hold general elections. The demand for an elected CA, however, was gaining supporters, with elements within the political parties discovering that the CA was a means to undercut the monarchy.Thus the PW entered a new phase, in which debate over an elected CA was gaining adherents. This was carried on until January 29, 2003 when a ceasefire was reached once again, and negotiations were attempted for the second time. However, while the government of Lokendra Bahadur Chand appeared keen, it failed to live up to ist commitments in releasing imprisoned Maoist leaders and non-implementation of the agreement to limit the army to within a five kilometre radius of the barracks. The last straw was the deliberate massacre of 19 unarmed Maoist cadres in Doramba by the RNA in August 2003. This compelled the Maoists to withdraw from the talks. While the talks derailed, by early 2005 it had become clear the king’s army couldnot deal a fatal blow to PW. This brought about a “tectonic shift”; by November 2005 the Indian authorities saw an advantage in encouraging the seven political parties to reach an understanding with the Maoists.

The remarkable thing, despite all the ups and downs, is that the two rounds of negotiations show the continuity in the Maoists’ position. In 2001 they had publicly proposed that if an elected CA was accepted by the government, then they were prepared to be part of the interim government and therefore favoured a roundtable conference. This remained their position as well in 2003. Indeed by 2005 and 2006 those very same demands became the common rallying point for the democratic movement in its entirety. Graduating from being a rag-tag band ofrevolutionaries to becoming the centre of people’s struggle was no mean achievement. This was the result of their creating as well as seizing opportunities. When they claim that they combine strategic firmness with tactical flexibility their politics testifies to that. It is this that catapulted them to become the leading political force in Nepal.Their success lies not only in gaining legitimacy for their transformatory project within Nepal, but also in their boldness to address failures of other socialist experiments in order to learn from the mistakes committed. In concrete terms, the Nepali Maoists have put the question of democracy within the party as well as in the new state in the making at the centre stage.

In an interview to The Worker (No10, May 2006) Prachanda had said that “(w)e know…that in today’s world the usefulness of the tactics to use parliament has come to an end. But continuous boycotting of a system without considering the situation of a country and its people is not Marxism”. Instead his party “believes that within the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist constitutional framework, only through multiparty competition…can counterrevolution be prevented”. Multiparty competition can also help realise people’s control, monitoring and intervention in governance. In another interview given in July 2006 Prachanda pointed out that if one looks at the “essence of that which we are calling democratic republic then… within that we’ve raised the class question, nationality question, gender question andthe regional question. If all these four issues are solved then it amounts to having a new democratic republic…but since weare also talking about peaceful competition with the bourgeoisie, its form looks like bourgeois democracy, whereas it isnew democratic in essence”.6 Whether they will succeed, how exactly this democracy would function and what contradictions will this generate remain to be seen. But this cannot detract from acknowledging their advancement of revolutionary politics. No sooner Maoists joined the interim government, they declared that they wanted Nepal, even in the interim period, to become a democratic federal republic. This is not a sign of their impetuosity or irresponsibility.

In fact therein lies their relentless pursuit of their objective through mass struggle. If Nepal becomes a democratic federal republic, then each and every party, currently espousing the republican agenda, will have to spell out its vision of what in essence this means to them. This would provide a distinct advantage to the Maoists since they have a radical programme, some experience of running their own government, and suffer least from a popular trust deficit, which afflicts the seven political parties. For instance, since they had already begun introducing major reforms in their base areas, including land re-distribution, they are disinclined to roll them back. Apart from the immediate gain for them, this will restore democracy and boost the struggle for real democracy, which is right at the centre of the revolutionary project. The Maoists are seeking to gain legitimacy for their project by winning the mandate of the people through elections to restructure the state in such a way that real inequalities do not negate formal equality under law. This struggle for “real democracy” inspires hope ecause theyhave brought more than 20 million crore people in Nepal a historic opportunity to take a big leap forward in their fight for justice. It is this journey, or “transitional democracy” as Maoists characterise it, which rekindles hope that the revolutionary left in south Asia in general, and the Maoists in Nepal in particular, are capable of fusing armed and mass struggles as well as conceptualising a democratic egalitarian state and society. What remains to be seen is whether they realise what had appearedto them to be a “dream” in 1995.

Email: gautamnavlakha@ hotmail.com

Notes

1 Political resolution of CPN(ML), party’s underground publication, 1979, p 20.2 Ibid, p 27.3 The sixth Congress of the Communist Party ofNepal (UML) was held in January 1998 andit is apparent, if we look into the statements of party general secretary Madhav Nepal, politburo member C P Mainali and others on the eve of the Congress, that CPN(UML) was grappling with regression within the party. General secretary Madhav Nepal had said in an interview, “Bourgeois deviations are growing within the party. Corruption, misuse of office and charm for a luxurious lifestyle is on the rise. Petty bourgeois individualism and lust for power are acquiring deeper roots and a very large number of opportunists and self-seekers have become active in the party…anarchism, indiscipline and lumpenism are ever on the rise. There is no importance of party decisions and discipline. If a decision is favourable or to one’s liking, it is implemented, and if it is not, then there is an increasing tendency to defy it – either collectively or in a group mentality” (Interview of Madhav Nepal Mansir 2054, Mulyankan (Kathmandu), pp 5-7). A senior leader and ideologue of the party, C P Manali, was also of a similar view, that various deviations regarding the character of the party, its functional style and disciplinary matters have surfaced. He attributed it largely to the compulsions to contest elections. He said “the party has been, at many places, reduced to a front of the communists and communist sympathisers, giving rise to the dangers of the weakening of the party character” (op cit, pp 8-9).4 Until 1999-2000, India’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the ministry of defence (MoD) in their annual reports, did not once refer to the presence of Maoists in Nepal. Their main concern then was Pakistan’s support for “anti- India activities from Nepal” and “growth of religious fundamentalist organisations” along the Indo-Nepal border. It was in 2000-01 that the reports begin to refer to Maoists. MoD annual report of 2000-01 spoke of a “development of concern… increasing intensity and spread of Maoist violence within Nepal”.After that there was no turning back. When MHA wrote in its annual report of 2001-02 of “the decision of the MCC [Maoist Communist Centre] and the CPIML-PW [Communist Party of India (Marxists Leninist) (People’s War)] to tie up with the CPN(M) to carve out a ‘CompactRevolutionar y Zone’.” The MoD annual report of the same year claimed that “India has also offered such assistance as is desired by Nepal” to address Maoist extremism.5 Report of the general secretary, CPN(Maoist), The Worker, No 4, 1998. Also see‘ThirdTurbulant Year of People’s War: A General Review’, article by CPN (Maoist) general secretary Prachanda, February 1999. Also see,‘Experiences of the People’s War and SomeImportant Questions’, Document of the Fourth Extended Meeting, August, 1998.6 Interview of Prachanda by A S Verma, July 29,2006. at www.insn.org

Source: Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), May 19, 2007

IDP still facing threat

Integrated Regional Information Networks

May 23, 2007

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes during the decade-long war between Maoist rebels and the government are having difficulty returning to their homes, despite the conflict ending in November 2006, aid workers say. Last year, the Nepalese government estimated that there were more than 200,000 internally displaced people (I.D.P.'s) in the country but there is no accurate information on whether that number has reduced after peace was achieved five months ago. The lack of an I.D.P. registration system has made it difficult to determine who has actually returned home, aid groups say. Most of the displaced are scattered in major towns and cities or have migrated to India.

But we can easily gauge that very few have returned because the Maoists still rule the villages and are selective about who can return to their homes safely," said Dilliram Dhakal from the Community Study and Welfare Center (C.S.W.C.), a local N.G.O. that has been advocating for the rights of the displaced. Dhakal added that despite commitments pledged by Maoist leaders in the capital to ensure the safe return of displaced families, their local Maoist cadres in the villages have not been fully cooperative. "There are issues of local Maoists not adhering to commitments made in the peace agreement," Paul Handley, humanitarian affairs officer with the United Nation's Office of the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nepal, told IRIN in the capital, Kathmandu.

So far, only those I.D.P.'s who support or have close affiliation with the Communist Party of Nepal, Maoists (C.P.N.M.) have been able to return to their properties, said Dhakal. But a large number of other I.D.P.'s are still unable to retrieve their farms, livestock and houses that were seized by the Maoists, he added. "What's the use of returning home when they have no property and land to live on for their livelihood?" asked rights activist Bhola Mahat from N.G.O. Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), which has been actively helping the displaced return home.

Land Issue Is Major Problem for I.D.P.'s

It is no longer the threat of physical security but more of food and land security that has been impeding returns, said aid workers. "I have nothing to eat or survive on. So how can I return home? Just to starve myself?" asked Ramesh Biswakarma in Kathmandu, where he is living in poverty after he fled from his remote village in the northwestern Jajarkot district. A large group of displaced people from Jajarkot is still living at an I.D.P. camp in the Rajhena area of Nepalgunj city, 600 kilometers west of the capital. Camp residents are desperately seeking help from aid agencies to ensure their protection, safety, and the return of their properties. "Land continues to be a problem in rural areas with I.D.P.'s not being able to access their lands," Aidan Goldsmith, director of International Rescue Committee (I.R.C.) in Nepal, told IRIN.

He said that major challenges for resolving the displaced persons issue were the return of their farmlands and generating livelihoods from whatever remains of their resources in their villages.
I.R.C. has been working in the country for the past two years with a focus on I.D.P.'s, other conflict-resolution issues, and health projects. "There is a prime need for assisting the I.D.P.'s to restart their lives and help them to become functioning members of the community," said Goldsmith.

New I.D.P. Policy and Legal Assistance

A new policy for assisting the displaced, formulated and passed by the Nepalese parliament three weeks ago, is seen as key to resolving the displaced persons issue. "It's a good policy and critical toward assisting the I.D.P.'s," Alexander Jones, Nepal's country director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (N.R.C.), said. In addition to OCHA, other key U.N. agencies and I.R.C., the N.R.C. was also part of the task force to help the government develop the new I.D.P. policy. Jones said that according to the new policy, citizens forced to leave their homes will have the right to protection from the state. The policy also helps to clearly define the status of an I.D.P., which was not the case before.

N.R.C., which provides legal assistance to the displaced in more than 10 countries, also launched an Information Counseling and legal Assistance project a month ago in Nepal. Since then, many displaced families have been able to get advice on their legal rights and access to justice as well as guidance on legal documents which would give them access to their properties. However, Jones said that many I.D.P. families lost their land and property legal documents after they were forced to leave their homes. At present, many of them lack enough documentation to even get any compensation from the government for their lost properties. © IRIN

Source: Worldpress.org, May 24, 2007

Unwanted action

It is unfortunate that Industry and Commerce Ministry took a departmental action against the Director General of Department of Industry just because he attempted to stick to legal proceedings and refused to comply with the minister's order. It is a shameful act, which could leave a deeper impact on the business world. For, the case has emerged over issuance of trade mark not registered here to a Nepali company. The minister ordered the department to cancel it for Indian companies, while the chief of the department refused on legal grounds. If the DG is proved wrong, none of the companies that have registered trade marks and designs would feel secure that their intellectual property will be protected.

Intellectual property right is protected through complex legal terms. Like every other cases, its battle has to be backed by a solid investigation. Cases related to counterfeiting of the property require proper investigation, and cannot be decided through minister's direct order. In the case that surfaced here, Sun brand of pipe fittings and Rajanigandha brand of pan masala were registered by the Nepali companies, whereas the companies that originally produced it bothered not to register here. So, the department's ruling that Nepali product is authentic and should be protected goes with the law. Now once the case was brought to the notice that the Nepali companies had counterfeited the Indian brands, the process should have been to conduct thorough investigation and deal with those legally. However, all that spirit of legal protection was flouted in the case.

However, Post's support for the legality of the case is not to undermine the ethics businessmen and companies must follow. Given that Nepal and India are not signatory of Madrid Convention that ensure global protection of marks once registered there, it is the responsibility of Indian companies to register their trade marks here. And it was also equally desired that Nepali companies stick to business ethics. Copying the trade marks of popular Indian and overseas brands just because those are not registered here is against business ethics. It is also cheating the consumers. Hence, the government must beef up the inspection process while granting trade marks to the companies. Strong mechanism should be developed to ensure that companies do not get hold of trade marks and designs of other companies. There must be hearing cells at the Department of Industry to facilitate original trademark holders to fight for their rights. Also the decades old Trade Mark, Patent and Design Act must be amended. Above all, the government must allow cases related to intellectual property rights to be addressed through due legal and administrative course rather than through discretionary decisions.

Source: The Kathmandu Post, May 25, 2007

Participatory Approach In Motivation

Kedar Prasad Bhandari

In human resource management, the participatory approach has been considered an important tool in motivating employees. The participatory approach, also known as participative management, is a process in which the subordinates involve in the decision-making function with their immediate superior. Complex jobsIn the recent decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the management of human resource. In Nepal, participatory approach can be said to have begun with the financial sector reforms in the mid-1980s. Propelled by liberalisation and globalisation, the participatory approach received more prominence in an institutional manner after 1990.

The Local Self-Governance Act can also be taken as an initiative for promoting participatory management at the government level. Today, jobs have become extremely complex. So it is difficult for managers to know everything what their employees do. In fact, participative management empowers the subordinates who know the actual problem and can contribute to make better decisions. Decision-making is not an easy job for managers. They have to win the confidence of all the employees working in their organisations. It is necessary to consult the employees of different inter-dependent departments to bring uniformity in their performance.

This helps develop the concept of team, committee and group meetings to resolve complex problems. Employees do not undermine a decision during implementation as they have been involved in making that decision. Participation provides intrinsic rewards for the employees, and it makes their jobs more interesting and meaningful. Broadly, there are two means of motivating employees through their participation: Quality of Work Life and Self-managed Work Team. Quality of work life is defined as an attempt to develop a formal programme to integrate the employees' needs and well-being with the intention of improving productivity, greater worker empowerment and higher level of job satisfaction. It supports a highly democratic treatment of employees at all levels and encourages them in the decision-making process. Its emphasis is on maintaining a quality working environment for the employees. A quality working environment includes financial incentives, opportunity to develop personal skills and ability, safety working conditions, and the opportunity to participate in problem solving and decision-making.

In essence, there are three means through which Quality of Work Life (QWL) can be improved. The Quality Circle (QC) is a concept first started in Japan in the early 1960s to improve the quality of products. Quality circles consist of work teams composed of 8-10 employees from the same work area who meet regularly to define, analyse and solve quality and work-related problems in their specific area of operation. The membership is strictly voluntary, and meetings are usually held once a week, normally for an hour before or after the job is over.

An organisation may have several Quality Circles operating at a time to deal with different people in different areas. The members are given some form of training in problem solving to work effectively. The Quality Circle is designed to improve the working conditions and enable self-development of the employees. The focus of the Quality Circle is to encourage the employees to accept responsibility for improving quality. The Quality Circle is effective in bringing about a short-term improvement in the quality of work life, but it is less effective in creating more permanent changes. Sharing of ownership by the employees is another emerging concept in participatory management. It is a plan in which the employees are offered ownership of the organisation as a benefit package. This may be done by stimulating them to buy equity shares.

It has become an important tool in motivating the employees.It is believed that if the employees own the shares of an organisation, they would be motivated to work effectively to increase the value of their shares. Similarly, as both owner and employees can participate in meetings, they can put forward their views, ideas, and opinions while making decisions. Business organisations in Nepal are also adopting the concept of employee ownership. Most of the joint stock companies offer 5 per cent of their public issued shares to the employees. Moreover, the concept of a flexible work schedule has developed in the recent years. In this plan, employees are allowed to choose their own arrival and departure times within specified limits fixed by the organisation.

Basically, the work time is divided into two groups: 'core time' and 'flexitime'. During the core time, all the employees must be present in the office, but in flexitime, the employees are free to select their own starting and departure time based on their convenience. Flexitime is popular in the USA. In flexitime, employees may involve in personal works like payment of utility bills, visiting children's schools and banks. This system is helpful in reducing absenteeism, overtime payment, employees' turnover and provides convenience to the employees. Another concept that has emerged in the recent years is Self-managed Work Team. It is also known as self-directed autonomous work groups consisting of 5-15 members. It is a formal group of employees that operates without a manager and is responsible for a complete work process.

All the members of the team are skilled in their own area of profession. The team members are jointly responsible for performing the task. They are responsible for planning and scheduling works, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, making operating decisions and taking action on problems.Team members perform their work independently through mutual participation so it provides a higher level of job satisfaction. In such team work, the role of the supervisor decreases and may even be eliminated. It allows sufficient time to the manager to involve in creative managerial functions. Today the Self-managed Work Team concept is popular in most of the business organisations.Participatory approach in new context In fact, participatory approach is based on democratic norms. Given the changed context, Nepalese entrepreneurs and managers should try to include all the employees working in an organisation. The participatory approach should be given focus in the changed context in order to democratise the entire organisational system and accelerate productivity for faster economic development through wider participation.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 23, 2007

Focus On Local Bodies

Minister of Local Development Dev Prasad Gurung has emphasised on the need to empower local government institutions to make service delivery stronger and effective. At a programme organised in the capital this week, Minister Gurung pointed out the fact that the government was serious about strengthening the capacity of the local governments to serve the people and address their aspirations. Outlining the context of the absence of elected representatives in the local bodies for a considerable length of time, Minister Gurung stressed that the duty of the government bureaucracy has become very onerous and seminal as they have to carry out several responsibilities to ensure that the people got the services according to their expectation. He made special mention of the role and responsibility of the local government institutions, including the DDCs and VDCs, to plan and implement local development activities so that popular expectations and aspirations are fulfilled without any obstructions.

Referring to the evolving context of the country, Minister Gurung remarked that the country had attained peace and normalcy and that the political parties were working to settle several issues through dialogue and negotiation. As the people are heaving a sigh of relief due to the evolving peace in the country, the local bodies should take special note of the incomplete development projects which occurred due to different reasons in the past, and these should be completed without incurring any delays. However, it is worrying to note that the VDC secretaries have not been able to operate in some parts of the Terai as armed groups have intimidated and presented obstacles in their functioning. The government should be serious enough to ensure that the law and order situation is maintained and local bodies are allowed to operate without any disturbances. Moreover, as per a provision in the interim constitution, all the political mechanisms should be established in the local bodies to ensure that local democracy starts functioning smoothly. Unless the local bodies are based on democratic values and deliver services appropriately, it will be difficult to satisfy the aspirations of the people.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 21, 2007

State of the nation: Where are we headed for?

Ajit N S Thapa

It has been over a year since Jana Andolan II forced King Gyanendra to hand power back to the seven-party alliance (SPA) through the restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives. People had great expectation that the nation would have permanent peace, they could live with a sense of security and that full democracy would prevail through holding of free and fair
Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. However, these hopes have been dashed.

The nation is bleeding with a rise in the level of violence and vandalism committed both by the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM), who have raised arms demanding self-rule and better deal for the Tarai people. Furthermore, diverse groups such as Janajatis, Chure-Bhawar and others are demanding proper representation and autonomy and have launched protest programmes such as bandhs and strikes, which have crippled the economy. Though the Maoists are now in both the interim parliament and the government as per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the SPA and the Maoists, they are unable to stop YCL cadres from taking law in their own hands.

The Maoist affiliated Tarai Mukti Morcha is also creating havoc in Far Western Nepal, attacking CDO offices in Dhangadi and Mahendranagar and seriously injuring the assistant CDO in Dhangadi. The JTMM (both Goit and Jwala Singh factions) attack each other regularly and recently. The Goit faction murdered Nava Raj Bista, an engineer working in Siraha and kidnapped and subsequently released another senior engineer, Murali Ranjitkar. These actions are meant to send a strong signal that the Tarai is only for the Tarai people. The nation is going through a rapid process of disintegration with the government standing by as a silent spectator. The Home Ministry seems to be content with giving condolences to the families of the deceased instead of taking measures to control criminal activities.

The Election Commission has expressed its inability to conduct the CA polls on the stipulated date of June 20. The government has not been able to announce a fresh election date but its constituents are busy blaming each other, as well as regressive elements and foreign intervention, for the delay. The Maoists have announced that since the CA polls will not be held on time, they will launch a nationwide movement from the streets and the parliament to declare Nepal a republic. This is totally against the CPA wherein it was clearly agreed that the first meeting of the elected CA would decide on the monarchy’s fate. The Maoists have not only started street agitation but have also registered a motion in the parliament with the apparent backing of 15 lakh pro-republic signatures demanding that the House declare Nepal a Republic.
In the case of a referendum, people might opt for a republic, especially as the King squandered the legitimacy of monarchy in an ill-advised and unwarranted act of brinkmanship by taking on direct control of state power against the spirit of the Constitution. In a democracy, the process of decision-making is more important than even obtaining correct results. The Maoists might be right in judging the predilection of the people but they must exercise due process to achieve the end result. If they are not happy with the CPA regarding the process to decide on the fate of monarchy, they could re-negotiate with the SPA to hold a referendum, a stand consistently taken by the CPN-UML. It is also regrettable that the Maoists have not yet returned the land and properties of the displaced people.

Decision-making process within the EPA is not holistic, but fragmented and piecemeal. Such an ad hoc approach has resulted in hurried amendments to the interim constitution. The demands for proportional representation, autonomy within a federal system and a fair deal to the Tarai people demanded by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, JTMM and strongly backed by all Tarai MPs across party lines have not been adequately addressed. Similar demands have been made by the Janajatis who have called for a national political conference.

The government has appealed for calm among the agitating parties and has announced that it will resolve outstanding grievances through dialogue and towards this end has formed a peace committee under the leadership of the minister for peace and reconstruction. However, no meaningful negotiations have commenced so far as both the Tarai people and Janajatis feel that the government has not yet created a conducive environment for meaningful dialogue. In this light, it is clear that the nation is going through a harrowing period. There is a need for national understanding and cooperation to extricate the nation from the present quagmire. Towards this end, the eight parties would do well to take stock of the situation and seek cooperation of other parties, civil society, religious and professional bodies to build a New Nepal.

Source: The Himalayan Times, May 21, 2007

Rise of a party

MALLIKA ARYAL

In 1997, a group of madhesi intellectuals and students banded together to discuss their concerns and issues. There was no formal membership in this Biratnagar-based group and participants included leftists and members of other mainstream parties. The common denominator was their disenchantment with the big parties and the sense that their debates were largely ignored. The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum soon emerged as the most-respected, representative platform for madhesi issues.

In the same year, the Maoists celebrated their first anniversary underground by intensifying their struggle in the mid-west, Nepal had three unstable coalition governments, and the human rights situation deteriorated as scores were detained by the state. Ten years later, the Maoists have entered into the peace process, and the MJF has turned relatively violent. Both, however, are now registered as parties with the Election Commission and much of the fight for influence in the madhes is between these two fronts.

Insiders tell us that the Maoist leadership was sympathetic to the Forum at the start, and even instrumental in organising it. Around 1999 Upendra Yadav, then a regular member of UML, started becoming closer to the Maoists. In February 2004, Upendra Yadav, Maoist leaders Matrika Yadav and Mohan Baidya were arrested in Delhi. Upendra Yadav was let go after a couple of months, while Matrika Yadav and Mohan Baidya were handed over to Nepali authorities and were released in 2006. Those close to Upendra Yadav say that during the time of his arrest he was already trying to distance himself from the Maoists because of discrimination he felt in the ranks within the Maoist hierarchy and because he did not agree with the Maoist plan to divide madhes into ‘Madhes Autonomous Region’ and ‘Tharuwan Autonomous Region’. Vijay Kant Karna, chairperson of Jaghrit Nepal says, “No one was happy in the tarai with the Maoists because they called it Madhes Government but high ranks in their party were given to pahadis.”

After the 1 February 2005 royal takeover Upendra Yadav and Jaya Prakash Gupta, former general secretary of the MJF and present Nepali Congress MP started travelling back and forth between India and Nepal to prepare for a movement in Nepal. After last year’s April Uprising Upendra Yadav returned to Nepal and in the eight months after Jana Andolan II, the MJF had successfully held meetings in almost all the districts of Nepal. Since then, the forum and Yadav have been accused of both flip-flopping and forming alliances with Hindu fundamentalist groups in India, such as the Rastiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In December Yadav attended a meeting of rightwing Hindu groups in Gorakhpur and spoke out publicly about making Nepal a Hindu nation again. A month later he was leading the movement for a secular federal republic.

He can be highly influenced by others,” says Nepali Congress MP Amresh Kumar Singh, adding, “If you try to play with all the powers, you forget the cause you were fighting for.” Like most madhesi leaders who do not actively profess membership in the MJF, Singh too is said to have had a falling out with Yadav. Jaya Prakash Gupta, who is close to Yadav, says the accusations of alliances with the palace and Indian fundamentalist groups are misguided. “If mainstream political parties meet with big Indian leaders, no one calls that an ‘unholy alliance’,” Gupta told us from Biratnagar. Gupta said that since Gaur, Yadav has not been allowed to move freely or explain “his side of the story”.

That Gupta and other moderate madhesi leaders took a careful line on Gaur while speaking to us is an indication of the pan-madhesi appeal that the forum still has. On the one hand, they argued, Gaur was ‘retaliation’ for months of harassment and disruption of MJF meetings by the Maoists Tarai Mukti Morcha. On the other, most admit it was a tactical mistake. “If the MFJ had been willing to sit for talks right after the Madhes Uprising, they could have bargained their way into more madhesi representation and investigations of Lahan and Nepalganj, and pressured the prime minister to implement the promises made during his second address,” says Chandra Kishore, editor of Terai News Magazine in Birganj. “Now, after Gaur, everyone fears the forum as a criminal organisation.” Sarita Giri of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party-Anandi Devi, says the MJF is not in the least militant. “They are not armed, Gaur was retaliation against the Maoists because they had disrupted their activities in Bhairahawa and Nepalganj,” she argues.

Meantime, there is said to be a few faultlines showing in the forum, one between the more left-wing members and Yadav, and the other between Yadav’s supporters who believe this was the right time to register a party and Gupta’s group, which argues that fundamental issues need to be settled before deciding to contest elections. There are signs of a split in the ranks—an insider tells us that of the 25 members in the working committee, only 13 members’ names were on the list given to the Election Commission during registration. Gupta pooh-poohs this and says that though his proposal lost out, he will support the MJF as a party. Yadav gets the most publicity, but there are other prominent figures in the forum, such as veteran leftist leader Sitananda Raya, and MJF secretary general Ram Kumar Sharma. There are two vice chairmen Bhagyanath Gupta, a professor at Birganj’s Thakur Ram Bahumukhi Campus, and Kishore Biswas Tharu, a former member of Nepal Sadbhawana Party. “As a political party our agenda is pretty clear—we want democratic system of governance, autonomous federal structure, proportional elections, and we want Nepal to be a republic” says Jitendra Sonal, MJF’s secretariat member. Analysts say that given the lack of commitment seen on the part of the government to resolving madhesi issues, the MJF as a political party could take off stronger than those who call the forum irresponsible might imagine.

Source: Nepali Times, May 18, 2007