MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN analyses Nepal’s gradual march from the only Hindu Rashtra to a plural state.
The transition and dramatic shift from a Hindu Rashtra to Monarchy and then to a Secular State is indeed historic. It reflects people’s maturity and openness towards a tolerant and plural society. In Nepal, democracy gaining roots over the years and strengthening gradually is laudable and should be welcomed by one and all.
Almost after a decade of political uncertainty and turmoil, Nepal on 20 September adopted the new Constitution. Nepalese Constituent Assembly rejected overwhelmingly to revert to a Hindu state and chose to keep its secular system brought in after the abolishment of the monarchy in 2008. The new text of the constitution was approved by overwhelming 85 per cent of the 601-member Constituent Assembly. The new constitution will formally take the country towards a federal structure from the existing unitary one. A federal and secular Nepal will have seven provinces, each with its own legislature.
In 2013, The Citizen Survey reasonably reflected the mood of the nation. It was jointly undertaken by the State of Democracy in South Asia/Nepal Chapter (SDSA/N) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) as part of an ongoing assessment of the state of democracy in Nepal. The highlight of the finding was that even when 56 per cent of respondents were not satisfied with the way democracy was working in Nepal, approval of a system ruled by people’s elected representatives was very high at 94 per cent. And although 47 per cent of respondents perceived the present state of affairs in the country as ‘undemocratic’, 64 per cent of them believed that the state of affairs in Nepal will be democratic after 10 years.
It is by this belief that Nepal will move forward in the days to be followed and likely to get transformed into a mature democracy. This survey was more than enough to gauge the mood and minds of the people of Nepal that craved for a plural society with equality and tolerance. Slowly and steadily democracy has been gaining roots in Nepal vertically and horizontally down the ages. Prof. Sanjay Kumar, Director CSDS, while talking to Radiance said, “If you look at the kind of protest and the involvement of the people, it can be said that democracy is gaining deep roots in Nepal and it is taking place much faster than what people might have expected. The longer the time taken by the people to establish deep roots, the stronger it will be. In Nepal, or for that matter in any other country, democracy gaining roots is a healthy sign and it is good for the people and the country.
Some salient features of the new constitution included building an equitable society on the basis of the principle of proportional inclusion and participation, by ensuring economic equality, prosperity and social justice. It also aims to protect the age-old religions and cultures, secularism with freedom to adopt any religion. The preamble of the constitution also mentions people’s competitive multi-party democratic system, civic freedom, fundamental rights, human rights, periodic election, voting rights, full press freedom, independent, fair and competent judiciary.
Prof. Ram Puniyani, a renowned social and human rights activist, told Radiance that the Nepal’s constituent assembly move to reject the provision of Hindu Rashtra in the Constitution is very welcome. Nepal had been the sole Hindu Rashtra till a few years ago when a democratic revolution overthrew the Monarch and started the changes leading to the present welcome development.
“Under Hindu Rashtra provisions, the condition of Dalits, Muslims and Christians was very bad. They were treated very badly. Nepal lawmakers are facing a lot of pressure from the Hindutva forces in India to bring back the Hindu Rashtra provision. The dominated castes and religious minorities have a ray of hope for better treatment with the new Constitution. They will have to be part of democratic processes to ensure that the Hindutva elements don’t come to dominate and subjugate their citizens’ rights.”
India’s Foreign Secretary, S. Jaishankar was sent to Kathmandu just a couple of days before the constitution was formally adopted as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Special Envoy. He met with Nepal’s top leadership in a bid to put pressure on them to delay the adoption of the constitution and bring the dissenting parties into the fold. The two groups Madhesis and Tharus make up nearly 40 per cent of Nepal’s population and the Madhesis share close ethnic ties with people in India. Nepal turned a blind eye to and the people and the media there rejected New Delhi gesture as ‘interference’.
Ravi Nair, Director South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, while talking to Radiance, said that the news that Nepal has declared itself a secular Republic is heartening. Hindutva elements there, close to the discredited former king, have failed in their nefarious designs. More importantly, these creepy crawlies were emboldened in their campaign by the covert support from Hindutva elements in India. While Nepalese citizens living in the Terai have some real concerns, the big brother attitude of the Indian establishment and the strident jingoism of the Indian electronic media do not go down well with the average Nepalese citizen.
“Nepal is an Independent and sovereign country, not an Indian protectorate, as the overwhelming Nepalese population will tell you. Diplomatic concerns are expressed best in private through long established channels. The present Indian ruling establishment should realise that 2015 is not 1989 when Rajiv Gandhi closed the border crossings with Nepal.”
New Delhi has also asked Nepal to make some amendments which include: Under Article 63 (3) of the Interim Constitution, Madhesis, with more than 50 per cent of the population, were entitled for 50 per cent of seats in parliament. This has been deleted in Article 84 of the new constitution. It should be amended so that Madhesis continue to have electoral constituencies in proportion to their population.
India has also sought amendments in Article 283 of the constitution which states that only citizens by descent will be entitled to hold the posts of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament, Chairperson of National Assembly, Head of Province, Chief Minister, Speaker of Provincial Assembly and Chief of Security Bodies. India feels this is discriminatory for the large number of Madhesis who have acquired citizenship by birth or naturalisation. Professor Yogendra Yadav, a political scientist, has rightly tweeted: how would we react if the US asks us to amend our Constitution? Why is India asking Nepal to amend its constitution any different?
The biggest challenge before Nepal from now onward would be to implement the new constitution and maintain law and order in the state. Plying of more 1000 trucks loaded with essential items including food and other material is first of its kind. And above all efforts should be made to improve its Human Development Index which was 145th of 187 countries in 2014. Another important aspect remains to maintain social and communal harmony and to scale up the pace of inclusive development in order to move shoulder to shoulder with other developing countries and becoming equal partner in progress.