Nepal : Transition to Transformation
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Nepal : Transition to Transformation Editors: Kailash Nath Pyakuryal, Ph.D. Bishnu Raj Upreti, Ph.D. Sagar Raj Sharma, Ph.D. Copyright © 2008 by individual authors for the respective chapters and the publishers (Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre of Kathmandu University and South Asia Regional Coordination Office of NCCR North-South) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, copied or stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilised in any means- electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to the publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The opinions expressed by authors of individual papers in this book are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers of this book, and vice versa. Published by: Human and Natural Resources Studies Center, Kathmandu University South Asia Regional Coordination Office of NCCR North- South First Edition: June 2008 ISBN: 978-9937-2-0602-0 Cover and layout: Jagadish Acharya Photograph: Siddhi Manandhar, Books and Internet Printed at: Heidel Press P. Ltd. Dillibazar, Ktm, Nepal Tel: 4439812 Foreword Liberating the Nepalese society from feudal dominated culture, building the consensus on major national issues among the political forces, and adopting an economic policy which encompasses the broader interest and participation of the community at large, could probably form the major agendas for the new political order determined to make a new Nepal in true sense. We could disagree on many issues, but at the end, results of the disagreements should be eventually leading to agreements after thorough discussion and deliberations. The past one decade made us excessively occupied on conflict resolutions, inclusion of the so far less attended but very deserving sets of people in the main stream governance and politics, social security benefits, distribution of wealth and properties etc. The struggle the whole society was restlessly fighting for, is now heading towards a happier ending, particularly after the recently concluded Constitutional Assembly election. This has brought us to a point from where determined efforts can be made to come forward to build a new Nepal in true sense. The deliberations made at last year’s meeting happened to address most of the major issues bothering our minds at large and their views were concluded to be very significant for determining the path to build new Nepal. The Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre, in collaboration with the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, took a serious note of the proceedings and decided to bring out the ideas expressed there in the form of a collection; and this publication ‘Nepal: Transition to Transformation ’ is an ultimate outcome of that desire. The editors i of this book, Professor Kailash Nath Pyakuryal, Dr. Bishnu Raj Upreti, and Dr. Sagar Raj Sharma deserve special appreciation for formulating the concept behind this work and painstakingly editing the chapters. This publication cannot be or should not be considered a complete set of document, but can be taken as a starting point to move in this direction, which was to a great extent left out agenda in the democratization themes of the political development process of Nepal. Similar subsequent deliberations would help in finalizing or fine tuning of the views of the experts that were made valuable inputs in the last year’s efforts. Suresh Raj Sharma Vice Chancellor Kathmandu University May 2008 ii Acknowledgments The articles in this book were authored by a team of experts, who presented their respective papers in the National Seminar titled Transformation, Inclusion and National Integration, jointly organized by the Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre (HNRSC) and the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North South that was held in Kathmandu in June 2007. Although it has already been almost a year since the conference was held, the issues that have been raised and the discussions in all of these articles are still very relevant and significant, and will be so for a foreseeable future. Nepal has come to yet another turning point in her history, and the issues related to transformation, inclusion and integration, we believe, will be at the centre of the debates in the days to come. We are very thankful to all the paper contributors, chairs, and panelists of that seminar, without whose contribution, this book would not have been possible. Special gratitude is extended to the panel members of the inaugural session whose thought provoking ideas and deliberations kicked off the seminar in a very lively manner. We are particularly grateful to Prof. Man Bahadur Bishwakarma for his touching and realistic deliberations on Dalits and Inclusion, to Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University for his comprehensive and thought provoking key note speech on the aspects of development and transformation, and to Prof. Hom Nath Bhattarai, Vice Chancellor of NAST for his encouraging comments and observations. In particular, we are grateful to Mr. Joerg Frieden, then Director of SDC Nepal, for his comments and insightful observations on the role of Foreign Aid in Nepal’s Development. Although their deliberations have not been featured in this book, they have certainly enriched us. We especially wish to thank the Masters level students of HNRSC, who willingly and voluntarily provided their support not only in organizing the seminar but also in rapporteuring and compilation of various documents. Special appreciation goes to Ms. Sangya iii Adhikari for skillfully overseeing the overall seminar. We would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to Professor Prayag Raj Sharma for very meticulously editing the language and bringing it to its current standard. Last but not the least, we also express our heartfelt thanks to Ms. Lalita Pandey and Ms. Nikita Agrawal for their very detailed hard work in editing and indexing of the chapters. We ask the readers of this book to share the information herein broadly in the hope that the articles presented will promote further debates and discussions and play a constructive role in the transformation of this country. The Editors Kathmandu, May 2008 iv Abbreviations BRCCM : Berghof Research Centre for Constructive Conflict Management CAS : Country Assistance Strategy CBS : Central Bureau of Statistics CEDAW : Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women CPA : Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPN-M : Communist Party Nepal – Maoists CPN-UML : Communist Party Nepal United Marxist – Leninist CSRC : Community Self Reliance Centre DDR : Disarming, Demobilizing and Re-integration DFID : Department for International Development ESP : Enabling State Programme EU : European Union FDI : Foreign Direct Investment GoN : Government of Nepal GPID : Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement HDI : Human Development Index’ HDR : Human Development Report HMGN : His Majesty Government Nepal ICESCR : International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICIMOD : International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ICRC : International Committee of Redcross and redcresent IDD : Internal Displacement Division IDMC : Internal Displacement Monitoring Center IDPs : Internally Displaced Persons ILO : International Labour Organization IMF : International Monetary Fund IOM : International Organization for Migration IPDPs : Indigenous Peoples’ Development Plans LDCs : Least Developed Countries M&As : Mergers and Acquisitions v MNCs : Multinational Companies NBS : Nepal Biodiversity Strategies NCCR : Nepal Centre for Creative Research NCP : Nepal Congress Party NESAC : Nepal South Asian Center NGO : Non- Governmental Organization NRC : Norwegian Refugee Council NSSD : National Strategy for Sustainable Development ODA : Official Development Assistance OHCHR : Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights of UN OSCE : Organization for Co-ordination and Security in Europe PLA : Peoples Liberation Army PRSP : Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper RNA : Royal Nepalese Army SAARC : South Asian Associate for Regional Cooperation SDAN : Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal SPA : Seven Party Alliance SSR : Security Sector Reform TADO : Terrorist and Destructive Activities Control Ordinance UN : United Nation UNDP : United Nation Development Programme UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNHCR : United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNIFEM : United Nations Fund for Women’s Development USAID : United States Agency for International Development WFP : World Food Programme of UN WHRDs : Women Human Rights Defenders vi Table of Contents Foreword i Acknowledgements iii Abbreviations v CHAPTER 1 1 Inclusion and Transformatiom An Introductory Remark Kailash N. Pyakuryal CHAPTER 2 15 Resistance Movements in Conflict Transformation and Social Change Bishnu Raj Upreti CHAPTER 3 49 Role of Foreign Aid in Transformation Sagar Raj Sharma CHAPTER 4 77 Transformative Politics and Women in Nepal Renu Rajbhandari CHAPTER 5 101 Conflict Induced Displacement: An Emerging Phenomenon of Internal Migration in Nepal Anita Bhattarai-Ghimire Bishnu Raj Upreti CHAPTER 6 141 Land Reform and Exclusion of Poor People Jagat Basnet CHAPTER 7 163 Access to Land Resource: Dalits and their Livelihood Insecurity Purna B. Nepali CHAPTER 8 185 Pluralism, Diversity and National Integration Kailash