September 03, 2007, Houston, Texas, USA: “The mandate of the current government of Nepal is derived from Janaandolan-II whose core demands were abolition of monarchy and the establishment of democracy. Until a fresh mandate is obtained from the people, the government has no authority to deviate from the spirit of the Andolan-II.” These were the words of Dr Durga D. Poudel, who was speaking at a workshop in Houston, USA on September 3, 2007 titled “New Nepal in the Making” organized by NANDRON, an organization of Nepalese Diasporas in North America dedicated to the causes of the republic and democracy in Nepal. He stressed, “Nepal’s political parties should not attempt to treat Constituent Assembly (CA) Election in the same light as a regular Parliamentary Election. A CA Election should seek consensus and accommodation of all views and concerns of the whole society, whereas a regular Parliamentary Election can be divisive at times.” He also emphasized, “Unity among the political parties in the government, as well as all other democratic forces in the nation, is crucial in the making of new Nepal.”
Another speaker, Dr Pramod Dhakal, Executive Director of Canada Foundation for Nepal, presented his model of “distributed federalism” which, he says, is the most viable option for Nepal’s unity and progress. He asserted, “A society fractured by conflict, oppression and deprivation cannot develop institutions of democracy without massively devolving the central power. If remained a unitary state, Nepal is in a danger of giving rise to authoritarian rule, perennially divided society, and recurring conflicts.” Giving example of post 1987 Sri Lanka, he opined against the idea of creating small number of provinces as a means of bringing the government closer to the people. “The political and economic corruptions are curtailing the process of institutional development today and only way to mitigate them is to devolve the power into numerous small governments, which could be managed by common people. And, the smaller the size of a government, the easier it is to make it responsive, accountable, and self-healing”, said Dr Dhakal. He further emphasized, “A democratic state can become stronger only by institutionalizing justice, freedom, empowerment, and inclusion but not by mere carving of geographical boundaries.”
Sambhu Katel, Alabama, USA, presented a paper on Nepal’s Interim Constitution 2063, emphasizing that the political power of people resides in the rights enshrined in the constitution. He quoted Rousseau: “The strongest is never strong enough to be the master, unless he transforms his might to right.” And, he substantiated this argument saying, “An improperly made constitution cannot keep the rulers in perspective. For example, the 1990 constitution had given rights to MPs to increase their own salaries.” However, weaknesses in the interim constitution in the issues like monarchy, representation and inclusion surfaced due to inaptitude of leaders. They hacked a deal to keep monarchy at a time when the people had risen to overthrow it in April 2006 (Janaandolan II).
Bhim Karki, Texas, USA, spoke on the issues of restructuring of the state. Citing the flaws of restructurings done from the time of Rana regime to 1990, he said, “All past restructurings of Nepal focused on geographical and political allotment with a primary intention of centralizing the power and maintaining the control over the population.” According to Mr Karki, “The new state must be restructured on the basis of federalism and inclusive democracy thereby permitting people to be empowered to advance their own aspirations.” He cited that the strikes called by various groups in a daily basis are clear indications that many people do not feel represented in the affairs of the nation.
Dr Dilip Panthee, Tennessee, USA, spoke on the issues of border and trade in Nepal. He said, “More than 60,000 hectares of Nepal’s land has been unilaterally appropriated by India and Nepal’s attempts to return that land has been futile and deteriorated the relationship with India.” He believed that the open border with India has not worked in Nepal’s favor and research must be done on how to manage the flow of people and border trade.
Speaking on the issues of women and children, Mrs. Kiran Rana, Houston, USA, said, “It is tragic that a country of unique resources, magnificent beauty, and splendor like Nepal has massive poverty. A country that once produced great figures like Buddha, Sita and Bhrikuti, is still under the grip of cultural discrimination and neglect of women. Women are victims of discrimination in their own households. However, Nepal cannot prosper socially and economically unless women are treated fairly and equally.“ She stressed that the CA and subsequent constitution of Nepal must ensure that the rights of the women and children are protected.
Sudeep Acharya, a businessman in Texas, USA delivered the opening remarks. He said, “Everyone should help in the development of Nepal in his/her respective area of expertise.” The floor discussion was moderated by Sajan Gautam a young intellectual from Houston.
In the event, Hari Paudel, an engineer and IT professional in Texas USA, welcomed the participants. He said, “Because Nepal is in transition and a successful mitigation of its many contemporary issues is complex, it is important that Nepalese Diasporas advance the understanding of these issues and help Nepal in every way possible.” He said that NANDRON, a non-partition and non-profit organization, has provided a forum for discussion on important issues of Nepal and hoped that the workshop would be informative, stimulating, and educational.
The floor discussion, which followed the presentation session, covered various issues of Nepal ranging from Tarai, Dalit, law-and-order, and governance. The floor unanimously agreed that NANDRON should evolve with a new name and a broader mandate to advance endeavors of knowledge and education. The participants also exchanged their views on the issues of dual citizenship and the voting rights of NRN in the upcoming CA election. This session was moderated by Sajan Gautam of Texas, USA.
