Is Federalism Necessary?

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The idea of federalism in the Nepali context has been part of the social justice agenda. Federalism was that tool that would be finally bring the Khas domination in the country to an end. But it can be argued federalism is not the only or the best way to bring that about. And that federalism does not address the social justice agenda of other marginalized groups like women and the Dalits, especially the Dalits.

In my last post I have been open to the idea of not having a directly elected president or prime minister for Nepal. (Why Not To Fear The Maoists?) In this post I am going to be open to the idea of not going for federalism in Nepal and instead having three layers of government: national, district, and local.

This is not me now being opposed to the idea of federalism. This is me saying I am open to other ideas that might achieve the same goals. This is me open to the thought that maybe there is no other idea that will achieve the goals that federalism would.

What could be the alternative to federalism? The 45% reservation for the DaMaJaMa in all new job openings in the government services already in place has to be further strengthened. That has to stay in place with or without federalism. That would apply to the army, to the police, and to all the government ministries.

The alternative to federalism would be to have 75 district governments in the 75 districts of the country, and have those as the 75 constituencies for elections to the national parliament using the most popular form of elections in the world.

Meeting Ground Between Congress And Maoists: 75 Multi Member Constituencies
Compromise Formula: 75 Multi Member Constituencies

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