Ensuring Ethnic And Gender Representation In The Constituent Assembly

(Article sent to Kathmandu Post)

What happened for 19 days during the April Revolution and for 21 days during the Maghe Kranti is about to happen all over again. Is this necessary? Is there a better way out? I for one try to lead the emotionally charged issues of Madhesi and Janajati rights to political logic. The first question I ask people is, are you for democracy? People say yes. Then I ask, are you for federalism? People say yes. And then I lose them.

It is understandable that the country has not agreed to any map for federalism yet, and I do think it is for the constituent assembly to make a final decision. But if we are for democracy and federalism, we should produce our respective maps and go to the people, and let the people decide. The Bahun establishment's refusal to produce maps has made the Madhesi and the Janajati very suspicious, and rightly so.

I myself used to think in terms of geographic federalism. My federalism had three states, Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali. The Madhesi Movement helped me ditch that. Now I am firmly for ethnic federalism. As a Madhesi, I want a Madhesh state from the Rapti river to the Mechi river. I now speak in terms of a Madhesh, a Tharuwan, a Kirat, a Tamang, a Newa, a Tamuwan, a Magarat, and a Khasan, for a total of eight states.

The Maghe Kranti produced substantially more martyrs than the April Revolution. And it got demonized as an act of the royalists and the Hindu supremacists. The facts did not matter. It did not matter that the Madhesi Movement has asked for an immediate declaration of a republic, that it has produced a disproportionate number of Muslim martyrs, and that there never was a slogan for the monarchy or a Hindu state anywhere during those 21 glory days.

My map has a Madhesh state in it. But as a democrat, I can see how someone else might have some other map. In that case we should both take our maps to the people and let the people decide. It is my reading of the ground situation that any political party that does not go into the Madhesh with the agenda of a Madhesh state is going to get wiped out. The sentiment is so strong.

The Home Minister not resigning has gone against all grains of democratic logic. In a democracy, when there is a major train accident, the railway minister resigns. That is so basic. But the Girija Koirala, Krishna Sitaula duo have defied that basic democratic gravity, and have shamelessly stayed on. Unless Sitaula resigns, there will be no constituent assembly elections. If not for the 38 martyrs of the Madhesi Movement, will Sitaula resign for the sake of the constituent assembly? That is what it boils down to.

Sitaula has to resign, and the state terror unleashed upon the Maghe Kranti has to be investigated. And then all parties have to agree to hold proportional representation elections to the constituent assembly, the benchmark demand of the Janajati Movement. If these three things can happen right away, it is possible the elections can still be held in June. Otherwise November is going to crop up as a possibility. And the Madhesi Janajati Movement might go on to ask for a new interim parliament, a new interim government, a new interim constitution, and an interim president who perhaps is Upendra Yadav, as in, bye bye Girija. How would you like Om Gurung for interim Vice President?

Girija Koirala's political style is one of inflexibility. That leads to political paralysis. Right now the country perhaps deserves a leadership that holds extensive, regular consultations with a wide range of individuals and organizaitons, travels much, and is visible.

Even if we can agree to a map for federalism, we still will have to decide on the power distribution between the various layers of governemnt. I have come up with a formula that has a mathematical elegance to it.

The central government keeps 50% of the federal budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the states in direct proportion to their population. The state government keeps 50% of the state budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the districts in direct proportion to their population. The district government keeps 50% of the district budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the towns/villages in direct proportion to their population. The state government is the only that gets to collect the sales tax. This will make sure all states compete to create the best possible environment for business. For the national lower house, states get seats in direct proportion to their population, 300 seats total. For the national upper house, there are 100 seats through proportional representation. Any party that gets at least 1% of the votes qualifies. A political party may not be armed. Other than that there will not be any disqualifiers. It is called the basic human right to peaceful assembly.

Once we can settle all this and secure a healthy, vibrant federal republic, the national agenda shifts to the idea of an economic revolution to last decades. Focus on human capital, more than on physical capital, and financial capital. Focus on the service sector like a laser beam without ignoring the agriculture and industrial sectors. Focus on the information/telecommunications infrastructure more than on the physical infrastructure. BOOT. Build, own, operate, transfer. Think of ambitious infrastructure projects. FDI. Foreign Direct Investment. China, India. Nepal is lucky to be between the two Asian giants. This is the Asian Century.

The most painful aspect of the Home Minister not resigning, and the eight parties not agreeing to proportional elections to the constituent assembly, the mechanism best suited to making sure the constituent assembly ends up looking like Nepal in its ethnic and gender composition, is the prospect of rapid economic growth gets pushed away further.

(Paramendra Bhagat is Convenor, Coordination Committee, Nepali Organizations In New York City and blogs at Madhesi.net)

Madhesi Janajati Kranti: Confusion, Clarity
Madhesi Janajati Kranti: A Few Scenarios
Mantra For An Economic Revolution In Nepal
Elections In November

7 February 2007, Wednesday	1256
	8 February 2007, Thursday	850
	9 February 2007, Friday	391
	10 February 2007, Saturday	213
	11 February 2007, Sunday	412
	12 February 2007, Monday	327
	13 February 2007, Tuesday	386
	14 February 2007, Wednesday	661
	15 February 2007, Thursday	890
	16 February 2007, Friday	373
	17 February 2007, Saturday	312
	18 February 2007, Sunday	434
	19 February 2007, Monday	348
	20 February 2007, Tuesday	340
	21 February 2007, Wednesday	368
	22 February 2007, Thursday	333
	23 February 2007, Friday	415
	24 February 2007, Saturday	281
	25 February 2007, Sunday	313
	26 February 2007, Monday	214
	27 February 2007, Tuesday	436
	28 February 2007, Wednesday	414
	1 March 2007, Thursday	750
	2 March 2007, Friday	385
	3 March 2007, Saturday	252
	4 March 2007, Sunday	252

Dinesh Tripathi's Petition: Nepali Diaspora's Right To Vote: Please Sign

Dear Paramendra ji,

The right to vote is a fundamental right that should be given to all Nepali citizens, regardless of where they live. The upcoming constituent assembly election is extremely important. Nepali people all over the world should allow to vote in the upcoming assembly election. In order to assert our sovereign right to vote in the upcoming constituent assembly election please sign the petition. In order to build pressure for right to vote Our target is to submit at least 50,000 signature. We demand that the electoral regulations be re-drafted, and ask all Nepalis everywhere to sign this petition, with their name and address, as a matter of urgency. The names of all petitioners will be sent to the government of Nepal and the Election Commission on March 31. So Could you please send a global mass email and post in your popular website so large number of people have opportunity to sign it. I will highly appreciate your help in this regard. Thank you so much. Please feel free to contact me.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/323504904

Kind regards
Advocate Dinesh Tripathi

Nepal: Ensuring Ethnic And Gender Representation In The Constituent Assembly

March 5, 2007

Lessons From The Madhesi Movement In Nepal

February 16, 2007