博士学位論文（東京外国語大学） Doctoral Thesis (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 氏名 Purna Bahadur Kark

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博士学位論文（東京外国語大学） Doctoral Thesis (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

氏名 Purna Bahadur Karki 学位の種類博士（学術）学位記番号博甲第 227 号学位授与の日付 2017 年 5 月 24 日学位授与大学東京外国語大学博士学位論文題目 Post-war instability and Human Security in Nepal

Name Purna Bahadur Karki Name of Degree Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) Degree Number Ko-no. 227 Date May 24, 2017 Grantor Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, JAPAN Title of Doctoral Post-war instability and Human Security in Nepal Thesis

POST-WAR INSTABILITY AND HUMAN

SECURITY IN NEPAL

KARKI, Purna Bahadur

Supervisor: Prof. FUJII, Takeshi

An Academic Dissertation Submitted to the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Doctoral Program of Graduate School of Global Studies Tokyo University of Foreign Studies December 2016

Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...... 3 List of Abbreviations...... 5 Glossary of Nepali Terms ...... 8 Introduction ...... 9 0.1 Background of the Study ...... 9 0.2 Academic Significance of the Study ...... 13 0.3 Overview of the Methodology ...... 15 0.4 Theoretical Frameworks of Peace Building ...... 17 0.5 Outline of the Forthcoming Chapters ...... 20 Chapter 1: Country Profile of Nepal ...... 23 1.1 Geographical and Administrative Divisions of Nepal ...... 23 1.2 Historical Overview of Nepal and Its Conflicts ...... 24 1.3 Land Ownership and People ...... 30 1.4 Economic Overview of Nepal During the Insurgency ...... 31 1.5 Political Development of the Post Conflict ...... 35 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...... 39 2.1 Introduction ...... 39 2.2 Post-Conflict Situation of Nepal ...... 41 2.3 Root Causes of the Conflict ...... 43 2.4 Background of Nepali Political Parties ...... 53 2.4.1 Political Behavior and Leadership ...... 57 2.4.2 Democratization in Nepal ...... 60 2.4.3 Political Parties and People ...... 66 2.4.4 Development of Political Parties ...... 72 2.4.5 Prospects for Nepali Politics ...... 76 2.4.6 Social Structure ...... 82 2.5 Conclusion ...... 86 Chapter3: The Maoist Insurgency and Conflict Resolution ...... 94 3.1 History of the Maoist Party ...... 94 3.2 Preparation for the Maoist People’s War ...... 95 3.3 The Maoist Insurgency ...... 99 3.4 Stakeholder Analysis ...... 110 3.5 Ongoing Conflicts in Nepal ...... 118 3.6 Management of the Ongoing Conflicts in Nepal ...... 122 3.7 Armed Conflict and the Peace Process in Nepal ...... 125 3.8 Uniqueness of Nepal’s Peace Process ...... 133 3.9 Prospective Solution for the Peace-Building Process ...... 136 3.10 The Recent Political Situation (2006-2016) ...... 138 3.11 Conclusion ...... 143 Chapter 4: Peace Building in Nepal and Data Analysis ...... 147 4.1 Peace Building in Nepal ...... 147 4.2 Analysis ...... 151 4.2.1 Peace Building Assistance Needs ...... 151 4.2.2 Capacity Building ...... 155 4.2.3 Do Ethnicity and Caste Cause Problems for Peace Building? ...... 160 4.2.4 Is Nepal Trapped in Contentious Politics? ...... 167 4.2.4.1 The Maoist Movement and its Relation with Indigenous Ethnic People ...... 168 4.2.4.2 Identity Politics ...... 172 4.2.4.3 Findings ...... 176 4.3 Conclusion ...... 177

4.4 Data Analysis ...... 180 4.4.1 Introduction ...... 180 4.4.2 Peace-Building Process: Need, Progress and Problems ...... 180 4.4.3 Connecting Freedom With Peace Building and Human Security ...... 188 4.4.4 Political Leadership Saving Democracy ...... 193 4.4.5 Findings ...... 196 4.4.6 Recommendations: Minimization of Conflicts and Successful Implementation of Peace Building Process ...... 206 4.4.2 Conclusion ...... 211 Chapter 5: Human Security in Nepal ...... 212 5.1 Human Security ...... 212 5.2 Human Security and Peace Building ...... 217 5.3. Impacts of the Armed Conflict in Nepal ...... 222 5.4 Analysis ...... 226 5.5 Conclusion ...... 229 Chapter 6: Conclusion of this Study ...... 234 Bibliography ...... 244 Appendix 1: Questionnaire ...... 279 Appendix 2: Questionnaire ...... 281 Appendix 3. Chronological events related to the monarchy and politics of Nepal ...... 282 Appendix 4: Timeline of political instability after the massacre of the royal family ...... 284 Appendix 5: Interviews with stakeholders of Nepal ...... 288 Appendix 6: Maoists’40-point demands ...... 378 Appendix 7: 12-point understanding reached between the Seven Political Parties and Nepal Communist Party (Maoists) ...... 382 Appendix 8:No.of people killed from 1996 to August 2004 (classification by district) ...... 385 Appendix 9: Number of people killed during the six years after the CPA ...... 386 Appendix 10: Nepal Poverty Map ...... 387

Table Table 1 Country Profile and Economic Overview of Nepal During the Insurgency in 2001...... 33 Table 2 Results of the 1991 General Election for 205 Seats ...... 55 Table 3 Results of the 1994 Mid-Term Poll for 205 Seats ...... 56 Table 4 Ethnic and Caste Proportions in the Nepali Population ...... 84 Table 5 Internal Conflicts in Nepal ...... 119 Table 6 Participants and Supporters ...... 125 Table 7 Peace Building Assistance Needs ...... 152 Table 8 Gini Coefficients of Income Distribution Patterns ...... 158 Table 9 Ethnicity, Language, and Religion of Nepal’s Population in the 2011 Census ...... 163 Table 10 Non-Maoist Violent Conflicts (Riots and Insurgencies) in Nepal, 1990-2006 ...... 175 Table 11Contentious Activities of Dalits after 1990 ...... 175 Table 12 Sources of Human Insecurity ...... 218 Table 13 Armed Conflict Intensity Stages ...... 222 Table 14 IDPs Figures Since 2003 ...... 223

Figure 1 Country Map of Nepal ...... 32

Acknowledgments

During my research and writing the present dissertation, I received a great deal of support from a number of people. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who provided me with valuable comments and suggestions to help lay the foundation of this study.

Throughout the research, I received useful guidelines from, and had active debates with, my supervisor, Professor FUJII Takeshi. Above all, he provided me with the insight to seize the sociopolitical dynamics of the topic. Without his prompt guidance, it would have been impossible for me to achieve this study. His teaching allowed me to gain a method of social scientific analysis, to apply it to my thesis “Post-War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and then to conceptualize this study successfully.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Professor HACHIOSHI Makoto, Professor

ISHII Hiroshi and Professor Leigh Faulkner, who provided me with sufficient guidelines to complete this work. I have profited from their valuable comments and suggestions to improve my research.

I am deeply grateful to the International Training Program (ITP-AA) for providing me with the opportunity to carry out field studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies

(SOAS), University of London, where I was able to adopt a theoretical and analytical approach to this research. During my stay at SOAS, I received valuable comments and regular guidance from, and had intellectual debates with, my mentor, Dr. Lawrence Saze. His contribution has been invaluable to my research. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who assisted me in carrying out interviews during my field research, provided valuable information for this study, and participated actively in discussion during my visit. I must thank Mr. Sanjya Dhoj Bhandari, who continuously assisted me in holding interviews during my stay in the UK.

I have been very fortunate to access first-hand information from the Prime Minister and senior leaders of political parties who have played a vital role in the Nepal peace process and national political discourse. I have had a great opportunity to carry out this research by using a qualitative approach. I thank Bhim Nath Regmi, Arjun Parajuli, Nilam Tiwari, Tara Bhusal,

Tek Raj Prarsai, and Sanjoy Thapa for their contribution to my field studies in Nepal.

I have also benefited from my friends and the staff at TUFS who either provided active comments for my research or were supportive in other ways, and gave me necessary advice. I am deeply grateful to UMEDA Yumiko, ISHIDA Rie, Mac James, and ADACHI Kyosuke.

I would also like to thank the Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation for providing me with a scholarship that gave me the opportunity to concentrate on my study without any financial hardships. Without their contribution, I could not have accomplished this study.

I appreciate the Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd Setsutaro Kobayashi Memorial Fund for providing me with the grant and generous support to this research.

Last but not least, I am grateful to my family members who have constantly supported me and encouraged me to complete my research, especially my loving sons, Anmol Bahadur

Karki and Aavash Bahadur Karki, my daughter Ashima Kumari Karki, my caring wife, my sisters Sita and Rita, and my mother. Without their understanding and support, I could not have achieved this.

KARKI Purna Bahadur

December 1, 2016

List of Abbreviations ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

ADB Agricultural Development Bank

ADB Asian Development Bank

BIPPA Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement

CA Constituent Assembly

CBS Central Bureau of Statistics

CHR Commission on Human Rights

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

CPA Comprehensive Peace Accord

CPN Communist Party of Nepal

CPN (M) Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

CPN (UC) Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre)

CPNUML Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist and Leninist

CSWC Community Study and Welfare Centre

CWB Child Welfare Board

CWNCC Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center

EC European Commission

FPP First -past-the-post

GDO German Development Organization

(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit)

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GNIPC Gross National Income Per Capita

GNP Gross National Product

HDI Human Development Index

HDR Human Development Report

HMG His Majesty’s Government

HR House of Representatives

ICG International Crisis Group

IDMC Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

IDPs Internally Displaced Persons

IIDEA The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

ILO International Labour Organization

INF International Nepal Fellowship

INGO International Non-Governmental Organization

ISSC Informal Sector Service Centre

JTMM Janatantric Tarai Mukti Morcha

KNF Khambhuwan National Front

ML Marxist-Leninist

MNO Mongol National Organisation

MPs Members of Parliament

MPRF Madeshi People’s Rights Forum

MRD Movement for Restoring Democracy

NA Nepalese Army

NC Nepali Congress

NDO Netherlands Development Organization

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NMVA Nepal Maoists Victims’ Association

NRN Non-Resident Nepali

NSP Nepal Sadbhavana Party

OHCHRUN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations

PLA People’s Liberation Army

PM Prime Minster

PWG People’s War Group

RPPN Rashtriya Prajatantra Party Nepal

RRN Rural Reconstruction Nepal

RUPP Rural Urban Partnership Program

SC Supreme Court

SCA Save the Children Alliance

SE State of Emergency

SPA Seven Party Alliance

TMDP Terai Madhes Democratic Party

TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission

ULF United Left Front

UMLP United Marxist and Leninist Party

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

UNPFN United Nations Population Fund Nepal

UNP MN United Nations Political Mission in Nepal

UPFN United People’s Front of Nepal

VDC Village Development Committee

Glossary of Nepali Terms banda shutdown

Bidhaika Samsad Legislative Parliament chaka jam blockade of vehicles/buses, etc. during strikes

Jana Andolan, 1990s People’s Movement, 1990s

Jana Andolan II Popular Mass Movement II jaljala shrine

Nepali Nepalese

Nepalko Jatiya Prashna Ethnic Question of Nepal

Pratinidhi Sabha House of Representatives

Samsad Parliament

Rashtriya Sabha Upper House

Sija Sisne Peak

Introduction 0.1 Background of the Study The conflict in Nepal started in 1996, when the Maoists proclaimed the so-called People’s

War and launched an armed insurgency against the monarchy. The United People’s Front of

Nepal F(UP N) launched a people’s war in 1996. This war was responsible for violence in the

50 districts of Nepal. The revolt by the civilians witnessed atrocities, such as mass killing, bloodshed, bombing in the country and extortion. The Maoists also attacked the Nepali

Government, and many strikes were carried out nation-wide. This insurgency was ignited by such leaders as Pushpa Kamal Dahal (a.k.a. "Prachanda") and Baburam Bhattarai, and is also considered as "People's War", i.e., a self-declared Maoist insurgency.1 On February 13, the

CPN (M) attacked four districts in the country and declared an armed uprising against the feudal government of Nepal, with the aim of establishing a People’s Republic of Nepal, based on Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism. Thapa and Sijapati state,

[A]t about 3.45 pm a group of people, both men and women, took possession, almost

without any resistance, of the office of Small Farmer’s Development, Development

Bank in Chyangli, in Gorkha district in Central Nepal… The same day in the evening

three police outposts, one each in Rolpa and Rukum in western Nepal and one in

Sindhuli in eastern Nepal, were seized by armed youths shouting Marxist-Leninist and

Maoist slogans.2

Since its inception, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) CPN (M) had vowed to aid the long-ignored and deprived people of Nepal. Therefore, the Maoist insurgency was therefore deeply rooted in the rural areas that constituted the major parts of the country. The

1 Pike, J. "Nepal Insurgency- 1996." Globalsecurity.org. 2015. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nepal_insurgency-1996.htm. Accessed September 15, 2015. 2 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege: Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, 1996 to 2003, 49.

CPN (M) forced women and children to join the party and united the isolated youth of the rural mid-western region. By November, 2001, it had captured 30 districts, and, after the breakdown of the ceasefire on 23 November, 2001, the insurgency affected the entire country.

After the declaration of a state of emergency in 2001, the military were mobilized to control the rebellion. Later, the Maoists started looting, destroying public property and killing political figures. The increasing acts of violence greatly affected the daily lives of the general populace. In the next year, 2002, the Maoists increased their level of attack on the civilians.

Their atrocities increased, culminating in the killing of 170 police and army troops, and they shut down the country when they called a two-day strike on February, 2002. This violence took the form of full warfare and, as such, invited the government's immediate attention.

Thereafter, the Maoists put forward the following three demands: (1) Nepal should be freed from the monarchy; (2) a newly formed Constituent Assembly (CA) should write a new constitution for Nepal; (3) the current government should resign so that an all-party interim government could manage the CA elections. As was expected, the government rejected all of these demands and told the Maoists to end the violence that they had practiced in Nepal. The

Maoists, however, got exasperated at this demand of the government and broke the ceasefire by resuming their attacks.3 This could be observed directly in frequent boycotts of economy- driving activities. The so-called People’s War claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people

(including women and children) and created thousands of casualties.4 The destruction of vital infrastructure has pushed back the development process of the country by more than a decade, and only recently has it shown signs of recovery.5 Nepal reported increasing cases of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide which were supposed to be wholly due

3 Pike, J. "Nepal Insurgency- 1996." Globalsecurity.org. 2015. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nepal_insurgency-1996.htm. Accessed September 15, 2015. 4 The Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), 2010, victim report. http://www.insec.org.np/victim/reports/total.pdf. Accessed on September 20, 2011. 5 The conflict ended with the signing of the CPA on November 21, 2006, between the government and the rebels.

10 to the war. The health experts estimated an upsurge of 30% in mental health problems of

Nepali people.6

Furthermore, the Nepali Government’s response to the victims was seriously inadequate.

Offenders continued to enjoy immunity from prosecution for violations of human rights. It was almost impossible for victims to seek justice. In light of the foregoing, the present research examines the human security7 inputs into Nepal that may enhance freedom through capability building. Furthermore, education, health, economic income, and social inclusion are among the other necessary aspects in the peace-building process. However, there have been few attempts to look on these aspects as factors enhancing the freedom of the people, which has been greatly hampered by the insurgency. Under such conditions, I would like to clarify the following three questions:

 Why does Nepal need peace building?

(N.B. The first question will be addressed in great detail in Chapter 3.)

 Who are the main actors involved in delineating the potential connection between

freedom and peace building?

(N.B. The second question will be discussed extensively in Chapter 4.)

 What are possible inputs from the discipline of human security that might enhance

freedom?

(N.B. The third question will be dealt with in Chapter 5.)

My hypothesis is that post-war8 political instability affects human security. An analysis of the existing literature and scholarly discussions reveals that scholars believe that the political

6 "Mental Health in Nepal; A Psychiatric’s Views,." Health, Science, and Technology in Nepal. February 1, 2008. Accessed September 17, 2015. 7 Human Security: freedom from fear and freedom from wants. It includes human rights, human needs, human development, as well as security, and it should be of the individual rather than the state. Further, the essential components of human security are economic security, food security, health security, political security and community security. 8 The Nepal Maoist decade war between the Nepali Government and CPN (M) formally ended with a peace agreement in November, 2006. Thereafter, the postwar period started.

11 discourse and the democratization process in Nepal since 1991, and even post-1990s, have resulted in different outcomes for the Nepali people and for the country’s political system.

According to Dev Raj Dahal,

Nepal’s political institutions had rested on the commitment to popular sovereignty,

parliamentary supremacy, and political openness. But the political process of Nepal

revolves around powerful personalities rather than institutions. The familial and

dynastic succession of leadership has bred a patrimonial culture.9

Poor political institutionalization has blurred the boundaries between institutions.

According to Robert A. Scalapino,

Political institutionalization is the process whereby a political structure is made

operational in accordance with stipulated rules and procedures, enabling more

regularized, hence predictable, patterns of political behavior, minimum trauma in

power transfer, and a foundation for the effective development of policies as well as

the application of justice.10

Dahal mentions, furthermore, that the government gave up policy making in favor of market forces. The withdrawal of the state from society created a vacuum of security and authority and the onset of the People's War.11 In the middle of April, 2006, mass movements against the king led to the curtailment of the power of monarchy, and Nepal became a federal democratic republic. Despite the change of regimes, however, the behavior of political parties and the functioning of the state were largely unchanged. Thus, to rebuild the state, Nepali political parties and the government needed to address the post-conflict issues and cope with

9 Dahal, National Security, Security Sector Reforms and Civil-Security Relations in Nepal, 2. http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/civic_education/Civil-Military%20relations.pdf. Accessed on September 20, 2011. 10 Scalapino, “Legitimacy and Institutionalization,” 59. 11 Dahal, National Security, Security Sector Reforms and Civil-Security Relations in Nepal, 3. http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/civic_education/Civil-Military%20relations.pdf Accessed on September 20, 2011.

12 the problems of society by raising the quality of leadership and curbing the irresponsibility of constitutional actors. To date, Nepal has attempted to establish a democratic system, but the concept has yet to be put into practice on account of a lack of political will. Therefore, to stabilize Nepali politics and to safeguard its economic prospects, the root causes of the country’s instability should be addressed through a holistic approach and from the angle of human security so that the nation can realize a definite change.

0.2 Academic Significance of the Study In this dissertation, I would like to provide a practical model for peace building to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Nepal. One basic reason for the insurgency was the inadequate development of Nepal. D ue to the complex geography, Nepal needed to spend a huge amount of money on the development of infrastructure so as to develop the country equally, but in fact it failed to achieve that national goal. Similarly, the caste hierarchy has been a problem.

Except for the higher caste people, the others felt dominated and the government could not address the public concern effectively. These two principal issues led the people to experience political marginalization and created economic inequality and ideological differences that were fundamentally linked to the roles played by different actors. These factors have led me to adopt a rights-based approach. Indeed, there are different models for mediating conflicts throughout the world. However, the Nepali peace process follows its own unique path, which may be applied to conflicts elsewhere in the world in the future for similar types of conflict.

Only in this respect do the findings of this study have a potential application beyond Nepal.

The focus of this approach is the management or resolution of the conflict for the transformation of the state apparatus to achieve a comprehensive political system. Jhala Nath

Khanal, President of CPNUML, has informed me that we are in the last stage of the peace process, that I am doing my thesis on this very issue, and that as long as the peace process of

Nepal gets to a logical end, my thesis will definitely get completed. If my document becomes

a part of this peace process, it would be more logical and convincing in this regard.12

Furthermore, a well-established theory of human security can contribute to understanding the merit of linkage between human freedom and peace building. In this research, I intend to explore the relationship between peace building and the broader concept of freedom by examining the roles and actors toward Nepalese determination. There are several reports which have claimed that peace building is necessary not only in post-conflict countries but also in countries in active conflict. No systematic study has yet been undertaken to find a linkage between peace building and the perspectives of human security paradigms, especially with regard to Nepal. The present research intends to test the idea that peace building is not a final target for the Nepalese, but rather a necessary mechanism toward enhancing their freedom. Further, this research intends to shift our current understanding of peace building from a theoretical to a practical one.

This study analyzes the concrete situation of Nepal and Nepali society from a

developmental and human security perspective. Nepali society could be considered to be still

in the stage of the pre-twenty-first century in its development, with people lacking the most

fundamental necessities and comforts. Baburam Bhattarai accepts that

Most of the Nepali people living in rural areas practice very primitive and subsistence

farming and the majority of the populace are poor, unemployed, and socially excluded.

People continue to face gender, caste, and regional discrimination.13

Without a drastic shift of Nepalese society from its old hierarchy to a new sociopolitical

structure, no sustainable peace would be possible. Therefore, this study focuses on finding the

root causes of past violence in Nepal and identifies a solution definitively.

In the Nepalese context, this may be the first research into establishing a relation between

peace building and enhancing freedom. Herein, freedom refers to the manner in which human

12 Jhal Nath Khanal, answer to a question. See Appendix 5, 315. 13 Baburam Bhattarai, answer to a question. See Appendix 5, 317.

14 security enhances the capacity of people to develop their potential and live in dignity, free from poverty and despair. In other words, the fundamentals of human life are freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom to live in dignity.

Geographically, Nepal lies between two large Asian countries i.e. China and India, and we must consider their own vested interests in this Himalayan country in addition to the interests of Nepali politicians and the common people. The volatile situation in Nepal will have a direct impact on the two adjoining countries. Sustainable peace in Nepal will be possible only when there is a peaceful power balance between the neighboring countries. The findings in these areas will be a great stimulus for further research. Another innovative aspect of this study is that it attempts to establish an analytical link between the people’s determination and the role played by different actors.

0.3 Overview of the Methodology In this research, a number of methods were used to access data and information. However, more emphasis was given to qualitative aspects, such as field surveys and deskwork, for which two major research tools – questionnaires and interviews – were used. In addition, secondary data was collected through an extensive literature review and a systematic comparison. In order to understand Nepal’s contemporary discourse and politico-economic and societal contexts, the social components were examined and then oral history was recorded. Further, discussions were held with the relevant political actors, leaders of political parties, and leaders of civil society so as to comprehend societal views and ideas.

The questionnaires in Appendices 1 and 2 were analyzed in detail to evaluate Nepal’s peace process and political development during and after the conflict. Interviews were conducted about the current political discourse with Nepali political actors, including leaders of political parties, the Nepali Prime Minister, rebellion leaders, experts on the current conflict, the people directly involved in the peace process at the decision-making level, and

15 those more or less involved in the decade of insurgency. These interviews provided me with both a comprehensive understanding of the political situation and the tools to analyze future scenarios in political science as well as to evaluate the process of cause and effect in particular.

Similarly, Appendices 3 and 4 evaluate the chronological events that have a strong correlation with the current political development of Nepal. The political instability of Nepal has been evaluated by looking at the timeline from the massacre of the royal family on June 1,

2001, until the present day. Appendix 5 provides interviews with different stakeholders in

Nepal, such as the Prime Minister and the other ministers and political leaders, with the aim of understanding the central policy and government views on the Maoist insurgency and the resulting political situation.

In the course of writing this dissertation, I have presented the following research papers to international academic conferences; these are also included in this dissertation.

1) “Enhancing Freedom Through Peace Building: Finding Roles, Actors, and Theories

towards Nepalese Determination,”14 at Post-Conflict Peace-Building and Reconstruction

in Societies Emerging from Conflict, June 17–18, 2011, Desmond Tutu Centre for War and

Peace Studies, Liverpool Hope University, UK.

2) “Nepal Armed Conflict and Peace Process in the Human Rights Perspective,”15

14 This conference was devoted to post-conflict reconstruction of society and focused on peace, conflict, and peace-building issues. My paper was about the Maoist insurgency and its effect on the human and social development of Nepal, and it evaluated the stakeholders of Nepalese polity. Further, this research paper was intended to explore the relationship between peace building and the wide concept of freedoms by examining the roles and actors involved in Nepalese determination. Reports have claimed the prevalence of peace building as a necessary condition in post-conflict countries, or even countries in active conflict, but there appears to be no field study done on Nepal in this respect. The research intends to test the idea that peace building, rather than being the ultimate target for the Nepali people, is a necessary mechanism for enhancing their freedom. 15 This paper highlighted key issues such as human rights, reconciliation, justice, public policy, conflict, and enforcement. The symposium focused on conflict as a broad category, especially in the context of political conflicts, territory, identity, etc. The participants were mostly professors, lecturers, and prominent scholars. I had ample opportunity to engage in discussions with them and get their opinions. The paper illustrates the Maoist armed conflict in Nepal that began in February, 1996. It also explores negotiation and peace talks and the conflict’s development until the date of the CA election, during which the people’s rights were undermined by both parties – the state and the rebels. Furthermore, the paper discusses two factors of the Maoist insurgency. One is the civil history and origin of

at Human Rights in the Aftermath Graduate Symposium, March 8, 2012, University of

California, Davis, California, USA.

3) “Kingship in Nepal: Envisioning Contemporary Perspective,”16 Third Asian

Conference on Arts & Humanities (ACAH) 2012, April 5–8, 2012, Ramada Osaka Hotel,

Osaka, Japan.

4) “The Challenge and Prospect of Nepal CA,”17 South Asian Studies Association’s

(SASA) Sixth Annual Conference, April 12–23, 2012, Claremont Graduate University,

Claremont, California, USA.

The invaluable suggestions, comments, and remarks of many scholars and professors in my field of study, and of political scientists working in related areas, have helped make this research more academic and fruitful and have provided the cutting edge in completing this research.

0.4 Theoretical Frameworks of Peace Building Wendy Lamoure defines peace building as “strategies designed to promote a secure and

the insurgency and the other is the possible tools for negotiating an ongoing peace process. Aside from this, the paper highlights the human rights issue during the conflict itself as well as the subsequent peace process. It goes on to propose traditional and indigenous approaches for conflict resolution strategies. Through conceptual analysis, its rights-based approach will be more suitable than others for reconciliation in a post-conflict nation, such as Nepal. Finally, this paper finds the reason for the Communist Movement’s success under the conditions of the twentieth-century Himalayan nation: inequality of the state of the rural economy and the people’s normative understanding of democracy. The state actors failed to address the development activities involved in changing political discourse during the 1990s. Therefore, states should consider the human security perspective for the empowerment of its people. 16This was an interdisciplinary conference featuring scholars from different countries and fields. I presented a paper about the Nepali contemporary political discourse and its long-term effects. This paper is published in Sociology Study Journal, September 2012, vol. 2, no. 9, Serial no. 16, David Publishing Company, USA. 17 This conference was attended by South Asian scholars and researchers, who provided a fascinating sociopolitical perspective. I received good comments from them and was able to build up a worldwide network of scholars studying South Asia. My paper highlights the challenges and prospects of the Nepal CA. It evaluates the members’ activities in the peace process, in which Maoist guerrillas moved “from bullet to ballot.” Immediately after its election on April 10, 2008, the Assembly was tasked with writing a new constitution within two years, but failed to meet this deadline despite it being extended several times. Under these circumstances, people are losing patience. Given such a dilemma, informed by intra-party conflict, is the reconstruction of the state possible? Can a new constitution bring peace to Nepal? These two central questions are addressed in this paper. I also analyze the nature and actions of the Assembly itself from both legal and social perspectives. Finally, this research suggests that the CA has lost the people’s mandate, but it is still functioning due to special circumstances. The larger contexts of the 1990 constitution and the recent development activities of the Assembly members indicate the possibility of a severe conflict in Nepal in the near future.

17 stable lasting peace in which the basic human needs of the population are met and violent conflicts do not recur.”18 Earl Conteh-Morgan proposes a constructive approach of peace building as society building.19 Rebecca Spence argues that post-conflict peace building requires an understanding of the root causes of conflicts. Conflict management and transformation literature reveal that most approaches dealing with conflict are not based on any explicit theoretical concept. In Theories and Alternative Dispute Resolution Scimecca mentions a contradiction that “there is…no real theoretical justification for when and why to use conflict intervention techniques.”20

Since World War II, there have been 228 conflicts in 148 locations around the globe. Of these, 30 to 42 were estimated to have been armed conflicts until 2004.21 Moreover, according to Peace Women22, in 2006, 193 countries and 46 nations were experiencing some form of conflict either internally or with the neighboring countries. About 33 percent, or 15, of these countries are in Africa.23 By the turn of the twenty-first century, any event in the world had the potential to pose a threat at local, regional, and global levels and to ultimately affect the political and economic aspects of these countries and regions.

Most of the existing literature has been based on experiences at international and national levels and is focused on conflicts over either natural resources or ethnic issues. The conflict in Nepal was driven by political and social inequality, with neglect of institutions undermining human rights and human security. The system of highly centralized wealth and

18 Lambourne, “Post Conflict Peace Building”, 3. 19 Conteh-Morgan, “Peace Building and Human Security,” 75–6. “The task of peace building should, first and foremost, be to eliminate the mind-set that compelled people to distrust and question their socio-political and psychological environment. The emphasis should be on combating the structural and cultural sources of insecurity—harmful actions and results linked to new modes of thinking and cognition on society at large. This means engaging in resocialization in order to strengthen commonly held traditional ideas and understanding of political an[d] social life.” 20 Scimecca, “Theory and Alternative Dispute Resolution”, 211. 21 Paffenholz and Spurk, “Civil Society, Civic Engagement,” 13–4. 22 Peace Women.org is a space for peacemaker to engage, learn and be part of a global movement to advance a holistic Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Source: http://www.peacewomen.org/. Accessed on April 12, 2013. 23 Kang, McDonald, and Bae, eds., Conflict Resolution and Peace Building, 201.

18 power, initiated by the monarchy, remains a fundamental cause of discontent and potential conflict in Nepal today. Nepal is moving gradually towards a post-conflict environment, but it does so from a structural, cultural and social foundation of deep inequities.

John Paul Lederach, one of the leading scholars in peace building, states that human capacities envision new and dynamic patterns of relationships and engagement pertaining to the concretization of that vision in the world.24 In the pursuit of wide range of social change, peace building draws primarily upon human creativity to transform the unfamiliar, entrenched patterns of peace into the norm. Thus, peace building is a tool to prevent, reduce, transform, and help people recover from, violence in all forms, even structural violence that has not led to massive civil unrest, according to Lisa Schirch25. It has also been argued that in order to maintain long-lasting peace, the reemergence of violence should be prevented. Peace building is important and it consists of three dimensions. The first dimension addresses the social issues that create the conflict and works on building social, political and economic foundations to achieve stable peace. The second dimension of peace building focuses on relationship building, where the effects of hostility during war and conflict are reduced.

Finally, the third dimension of peace building focuses on the individual level. In the post- conflict situation in Nepal, the eminent fear of violence has subsided; however, the issues still remain unaddressed.26

To stabilize society, it is important to achieve a negotiated settlement of any violent conflict. Thus, to understand the discourse of peace, it is imperative that a conceptual framework should be employed to analyze conflict and peace building in Nepal. There are several different approaches, such as conflict management, dispute settlement, conflict resolution, conflict transformation, conflict transmutation and conflict prevention, that are widely used in peace building. In order to curtail violence and give humanitarian assistance to

24 Lederach, John Paul. The moral imagination: the art and soul of building peace, 29. 25 Schirch, L., The little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding: A vision and framework for peace with justice, 12. 26 Lederach, John Paul. Building peace: sustainable reconciliation in divided societies, 101.

19 victims, it is necessary to hold a political dialogue between the government and the rebel forces. P rotection of human rights, ensuring the security of civilians, generating a congenial environment for addressing conflicts, and coordination of internal and external parties to transform the conflict into sustainable peace building are all necessary in conflict-affected regions. Conflict management seeks to prevent the escalation of conflict and reduce the negative effects of conflict in society. Conflict resolution resolves political conflict through a constructive dealing with the problems of conflict. The transformation of the socio-economic foundation of a political society into a new socio-political structure helps in preventing further conflict.

Root causes that need to be addressed can be identified by carrying out an extensive research into the subject of Nepali conflict. This will prevent further violent outbreaks and help achieve a sustainable transformation from armed conflict to peace. By examining different schools of thought on peace building and their different conceptual understandings, it is possible to identify and propose the following approaches:

 To minimize further conflicts, a rights-based approach is desirable.

 Empower people and civil society through capability building27.

 Transform society through the building of infrastructure.

 Human security approaches are best for third-world countries like Nepal, because

developing countries are vulnerable in terms of social security28. States often fail to

provide basic facilities to their people.

0.5 Outline of the Forthcoming Chapters In addition to this introduction, the present dissertation comprises six more chapters, in

27 Herein, Capability Building means “the empowerment which encompasses the ability, will and skills to initiate, plan, manage, undertake, organize, monitor/supervise and evaluate project activities”. Further, at the individual level, it is "activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behavior of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way.” 28 Herein, social security means social insurance like medical care, unemployment relief, and so on.

20 which the last chapter presents the conclusion of the whole study.

Chapter 1 explains about the country profile of Nepal. It includes the geographical and administrative division s of Nepal, the historical overview of Nepal and its conflicts, and the economic and political development.

Chapter 2 focuses on the literature review concerning the main theme of the study. It includes a literature review of the post-conflict situation of Nepal, the root causes of the conflict and its features, and it also discusses the dynamics of state building and the prospects of political behavior, leadership, and democratization of the political parties and people.

Further, it elaborates on the prospects for Nepali politics, the impact of the social structure, and other issues of Nepali politics beyond nationalism.

Chapter 3 covers the Maoist revolution and conflict resolution, and provides an overview of the economy during the insurgency. In addition, it emphasizes the opinions of the stakeholders and primary actors, and evaluates the approach of the political parties towards the problem. It also covers ongoing conflicts in Nepal and their management for sustainable peace, constitutional development, and aspects of conflict resolution. The role of UNMIN,29 which played a crucial part in Nepal’s peace process, is described.

Chapter 4 includes the peace building in Nepal and the data analysis of field researches. It analyzes the peace building in Nepal and its components, evaluating the problem and providing the findings. Furthermore, the present study undertakes interviews as a method of qualitative research. These interviews focus on identifying the current state of people in

Nepal. The present researcher has employed a thematic analysis in the study to gain a deeper understanding of the issues that are in line with the responses provided by the participants of field researches. The present study analyzes the transcripts critically in order to provide a

29 The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is a special political mission in support of the peace process in the country. It was established in response to a letter sent to the UN Secretary-General on August 9, 2006, in which the then SPA, Government and the CPN (M) requested UN assistance in creating a free and fair atmosphere for the election of the CA and the entire peace process. Source:http://un.org.np/unmin- archive/?d=about&p=mandate. Accessed on April 12, 2013.

21 conclusion.

Chapter 5 elaborates on human security in Nepal in connection with capability building and empowerment issues to create prevailing peace, and it also analyzes the social and political impacts of the armed conflict.

Chapter 6 concludes the study, focusing on post -war instability and human security in

Nepal.

Chapter 1: Country Profile of Nepal

1.1 Geographical and Administrative Divisions of Nepal Nepal is an Asian country and is located between India and China. It has an area of

147,181 sq. km, with an average length from east to west of 885 km and an average width from south to north of 193 km, with a rectangular shape. In comparison to its neighbors, it is

22 times smaller than India and 75 times smaller than China. Nepal shares its border in the east, west, and south with India. To the north, the country is locked by the Tibetan Plateau region, and this makes it more complex due to the mountainous terrain. The nearest access to the sea lies in Indian Territory and is approximately 1,127 km away30.

The altitude of the geographical features of Nepal extend from about 100 m in the southern

Terai to 8,848 m in the Himalayas in the north. Thus, Nepal’s physical landscape is sub- divided into Terai, Inner Terai, Hills, and Mountains.31 Terai is a narrow strip that extends from 15 to 40 km in a north-south direction. Terrai is also known as Nepal’s breadbasket.

Nepal has a very fertile landscape in the south, and the south of Nepal shares its border with

India, which has helped them strengthen politico -economic relation and strategic links.

In addition to the above details, it is important to note the features of geographical locations of Nepal. In average, Nepal lies between 600 and 3000 m above the sea level. The

Hills of Nepal is the prevailing region of the country where the main administrative center of the country is located in Kathmandu, the capital. Also, from an administrative point of view,

Nepal has 75 districts, which are further sub-divided into municipalities and village development committees. In addition to this, there are 14 zones, within which there are four

30 Richard Hodder-Williams, Sarah J. Lloyd, and Keith McLachlan, eds. Land-locked States of Africa and Asia.177. 31 Bhattarai, B. The Nature of Underdevelopment, 28.

23 to five districts; and five more development regions range from north to west, comprising two to three zones each.32 Thus, there are separate headquarters of all the districts, zones, and development regions in Nepal. There is a unique historical and political identity to the capital in that it controls every affair of Nepal and is also considered as the political center of the country.

1.2 Historical Overview of Nepal and Its Conflicts This study intends to follow the historic conflict analysis of Nepal and its link with enhancing freedoms through peace building – finding roles, actors, and theories toward

Nepalese determination. It is pertinent here to briefly review the history and political development of Nepal.

Baburam Bhattarai33 dates the formation of the Nepalese states to the eleventh century AD.

He points out,

[A]fter the 11thcentury, large numbers of Hindu people migrated to Nepal from Indian

plains in the wake of Moslem invasions there. Their introduction of superior production

technology with the attendant social division of labor long stereotyped into hierarchical

class and establishment of petty kingdoms through gradual assimilation of indigenous

tribal communities in most of the central and western hill regions by the fourteenth and

fifteenth centuries marked a qualitative change in class society and emergence of state

structure in the larger parts of the territory of Nepal.34

This process increased the detribalization of the traditional state-communities as new states were formed one after another in the different parts of Nepal. From the mid-eighteenth century, Prithvi Narayan Shah began to extend the small territorial state of Gorkha, located in

32 This is according to 1991 Constitution of Nepal but recent political changed draft new Constitution, 2015. It has federal set up and now it under reconstruction and new administration division will be established. 33 Bhattarai, B. The Nature of Underdevelopment, 36. 34 Ibid.

24 the Gandaki region. His unification campaign annexed about 60 petty principalities to form the state of Nepal. The small states of Chaubise Rajya (24 in number) in the Gandaki region,

Baise Rajya (22 in number) in the Karnali region, and other states in the Kathmandu Valley and eastern Nepal all lost their independent identities and their peoples became citizens of a unified Nepal. Thapa and Sijapati state that the first stage in the formation of the Nepali nation-state was complete by 1768, when Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the Kathmandu

Valley and shifted his capital there from Gorkha.35

Over a 40-year time span following the death of Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1775, the territory of Nepal extended all along the fo othills of the Himalayas from the “Teesta in east to the Sutlej in the west,”36 an area “nearly twice the size of today’s Nepal.”37

In a two-year war with the British East India Company in 1814–1816, Nepal lost vast areas, including Teesta and Sutlej. The Sugauli Treaty signed between Nepal and the East

India Company in 1816 resulted in the present boundaries, from the Mechi River in the east to the Mahakali River in the west. With the presence of a powerful colonial ruler in India,

Prithvi Narayan Shah’s descendants were unable to retain firm political control, and high- ranking officials became involved in palace conspiracies that resulted in the assassination of

Bahadur Shah, the youngest son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, and the suicide of Bhimsen Thapa, a Nepalese nationalist political reformer.38

In 1846, Prime Minister Fateh Jung Chautaria and General Mathabar Singh Thapa orchestrated a coup that overthrew the political system and made the latter’s nephew, Jung

Bahadur Rana, the effective ruler of Nepal, and all prominent officials who opposed him were eliminated in the Kot massacre that same year. In 1847, Jung Bahadur Rana dethroned

35 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 13. 36 Bhattarai, Baburam, The Nature of Underdevelopment, 36. 37 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 13. 38 After his father's death, Bahadur Shah went into self-imposed exile in Bettia, India. After the death of his brother Pratap Singh Shah, he returned to Kathmandu and was killed in jail in 1794. Bhimsen Thapa committed suicide in jail in 1839.

King Rajendra and elevated Rajendra’s son Surendra Bikram Shah to the throne.39 Within three years, he had eliminated all his rivals and appointed his brothers and cronies to all the highest positions. Though his rule was effectively a dictatorship, he introduced innovations in the bureaucracy and the judiciary, along with other efforts to modernize Nepal. The Rana dynasty that he initiated in Nepal in 1846 remained in power until 1951.

During the Rana period, the Nepali people attempted to establish political rights and assert their sociopolitical-economic identity. The first political party, Praja Parishad, began its struggle against the Rana regime in 1936, followed by the Nepali Congress (NC) ( established on January 25, 1947), the Nepal Democratic Congress (established on August 4,1948), and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Founded on September 15,1949). By 1951, the last

Rana Prime Minister, Mohan Shamsher, f aced revolution and entered a coalition with NC.

The revolt of the peasant leader Bhim Da tta Panta in western Nepal that year, however, reflected the incomplete nature of this democratic transition. In a very short time, the regime collapsed and a new government was declared, under the premiership of Matrika Koirala.

Nepal then entered a decade-long transitional phase of chronic instability. King Tribhuvan40 had already promised the people an election for the CA. His son Mahendra, who came in power in 1955, declared the king to be the source of all power in the Constitution of the

Kingdom of Nepal 1959. Even then, the political parties failed to wage a successful struggle and took part in the general election of 1959. A power struggle between the palace and the cabinet ensued until, finally, in 1961, King Mahendra established the Panchayat system, a party-less form of government that continued until 1990.

39 The Kot massacre took place on September 14, 1846, when Jung Bahadur and his brothers killed about 40 members of the palace armory (the kot) at Kathmandu; they killed other opponents in the Bhandarkhal garden in 1846; and finally in 1847 Jung Bahadur wrested all political power from the king and established a family system that lasted a century. See more: History in dates http://historyindates.com/14-september-1846/. Accessed on March 10, 2016. 40 King Tribhuvan; (June 23, 1903-March 13, 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his death. He exile November7, 1950 to February18, 1951) to India.

The political stalemate worsened Nepal’s economic situation, and poverty spread across

Nepal, planting the seeds of conflict that emerged in 1996 as an ideological struggle initiated by the CPN (M) and affected the country for a decade. In the post-Rana period, the CPN adopted an anti-Congress position, and in the decade-long political transition, no Communist leader got an opportunity to be part of the government. The Communist leaders stated that they were progressive forces and that the leaders of the NC were stooges of the Indian government; they therefore called upon the people to form a “people’s front to fight against the NC.”41 The alliance of the CPN with anti-Congress parties emphasized its intention to prevent Indian influence in Nepal and built friendly relations with China. When the

Communists divided into pro-Moscow and pro-Peking factions, which ultimately led to a split within the party.42 In 1974, the supporters of the Peking faction formed a new party, the

CPN (Fourth Convention), under the leadership of Mohan Bikram Singh. In 1979, its new

Secretary General, Nirmal Lama, started providing guerilla training, “proletarianizing” the party cadre, and initiating an agrarian uprising. Later, in the early 1990s, the CPN (UC) began to adopt the same policies. It changed its name to the CPN (M) in 1995 and declared a people’s war to establish its own political system in 1996.

Nepal had entered a new political era, and efforts were made to improve the political system of the country after Janaandolan– I (People's Movement Phase I) in 1990, with a new constitution being promulgated as a document of negotiation between the royal palace, NC and ULF . However, the United National People's movement – a political forum of ultra-left groups –opposed this process. In a short period of time, Nepalese politics plunged into political instability. The major ruling party, NC, dissolved the government and declared a mid-term general election in 1994, followed by further problems , as no political party achieved a majority in the election.

41 Gupta, Politics in Nepal: 1950–60, 201. 42 Baral, Oppositional Politics in Nepal, 83.

The 'pseudo' democratic power failed to solve the political crisis and, in 1996, Maoists initiated their political movement in order to shatter bourgeoisie democracy. In 1996, the third general election was held and Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattrai formed a High-Level-

Committee under former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to offer suggestions to solve the Maoist problem. On February 25, 2001, Maoists announced new political doctrine –

‘Prachanda Path' and, on 1 June of the same year, King Birendra and his entire family members were assassinated.

Sher Bahadur Deuba replace Girija Prasad Koirala on July 22, 2001, and held three rounds of political dialogue with the Maoists, but it failed to fulfill the demands of Maoists – for example, a republican set up and holding the election of CA. After their attack on army post for the first time in Dang, western Nepal, and Solusalleri, eastern Nepal on November 23,

2001, the government proclaimed a 'State-of-Emergency' across the country and the Maoists were designated as terrorists on November 26, 2001. The political crisis deepened, and Deuba dissolved the parliament and called an election on May 22, 2002; however, it was not possible to hold the general election. A new political crisis resulted, and on May 23, 2002, the party suspended Deuba from the party. The king acted on February 1, 2005, as a political coup polarized political groups, and in November, 2005, political dialogue between SPA and

Maoists resulted in a 12-point agreement. Both sides had agreed to form a common front, with the aim of ending the king's dictatorship, holding a CA election and reinstating the dissolved parliament.

Janaandolan–II (People's Movement Phase II) began in 2006 and the people ratified the political understanding of the SPA-and-Maoists. The king was forced to hand over the political power to the political parties and restore the parliament. The political dialogue between the SPA – now the part of the government of Nepal – and the Maoists resulted in an agreement to sign a CPA in the presence UNMIN, thus ending the conflict formally. The

28 election of the CA in 2008 offered significant political spaces to women, indigenous groups,

Madhesi,43 marginal class and backward class. Politically, for the first time, 33 percent women, 34 percent indigenous groups, 35 percent Madhesi and 9 percent Dalit44(untouchable community) succeeded in enter ing the CA in order to draft a new constitution for Nepal. In the CA election, Puspa Kamal Dahal, a rebel leader, was appointed the new Prime Minister in

2008, but the political rifts among the political parties intensified for nominating the

President. Similarly, different political problems were observed in the course of drafting the constitution, such as declaring the number of federal states and their rights, right to self- determination, electoral system, land and property rights, judiciary system, army integration and form of government.

Nepalese political parties failed to institutionalize the political achievement and end the political crisis. As in the earlier time, no government that was formed after the election of the

CA in 2008 ruled for a long period. Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalnath Khanal and Baburam

Bharttrai – another rebel leader – replaced the government one after another, which indicated the real political conflict in Nepal. During that time, the issue of the Army General, appointment of new Nepali priests in Pashupati Nath, an intra -party rift in CPN (UML), and the UCPN (Maoist) were major problems. However, the issue of army integration, rehabilitation of Maoist combatants and the return of seized land-property were politically addressed. The first CA, moreover, failed to promulgate a constitution by 2013, as there were contentious interests separating Nepalese political parties, regional stakeholders, such as

India and China, international communities and within government. As Manmohan Bhattrai pointed out in an interview, "Mahakali Treaty was a part of conflict inside Nepal which has connection with India," and it was a conflict over seizing the resources of the country.45 After failing to fully draft and promulgate a constitution in order to settle the political crisis and

43 The Madeshi are the people of Nepal living in the plains region of Nepal, also called the Terai or Madesh. 44 Pyakurel, "Political Transition in Nepal: an Overview," 15. 45 See, Bhattrai, Manmohan, Appendix, 5,291-92.

29 guarantee human security for peace building to make the people free from fear, hunger and disease, the CA was dissolved in 2013.

1.3 Land O wnership and People Significant events influenced the people's quest for land rights and political power. The

Rana regime was dethroned in 1951, the rule of democratic government was established in

1990, the people’s war gained momentum by the CPN (M) from 1996 to 2006. SPA supporters found democratic movement in the parliamentary political system, and finally the

CPN (M) rebelled. Hence, all the above-mentioned aspects worked to curtail the feudal powers of the king, ultimately suspending the monarchy. The people of Nepal wanted to come to power and had a deep desire to gain sufficient land rights and political power, but this was not possible, as political parties in Nepal marginalized them.

It is also a well-known fact that high-caste Nepalese, particularly the Brahmins and

Kshatriyas, had a considerable proportion of the land under them. Due to this, they were also able to gain political dominance to rule the people of Nepal.46 Hence, in Nepal, land is one of the key factors responsible for the current conflict. Land has widened the gap of inequalities among sects of people and the political landscape of the nation.

The modern pattern of land distribution in Nepal exhibits a miserable status of the nation, wherein numerous people have no land of their own. According to Bishnu Raj Upreti, Nepal’s land conflict is mainly related to access and control as hundreds of thousands of people are landless and even larger majorities are cultivating the land owned by other people`s land.47

In Upreti’s words, “[H]istorically, in Nepal, land was always used as a means to showcase the rising power of people. In order to maintain and expand their position, power, and social relations, Rulers, regents, state functionaries acquired large areas of land.”48

46 Upreti, BR. “Political Economy of Conflict,” 235. 47 Ibid., 7. 48 Ibid., 3.

The Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist (CPNUML) – also supports eliminating the feudal land ownership to protect the rights of the Kamaiyas, Haliya, Haruwa, and Charuwa. Similarly, during the decade-long conflict, CPN (M) also captured land, which accounts for its interest in the CA manifesto to redistribute land to the tillers, imposing the land ceilings, and abolition the feudal structure of land ownership.49 Thus, the Nepali people have witnessed grave issues related to the unequal distribution of land. These issues have also deteriorated the living conditions of poor in Nepal, especially the ones who belong to ethnic and other minorities, backward groups, and women. In a study, Wily, Chapagain, and Sharma state that the issue pertaining to land ownership is an ongoing political agenda that is a cause of concern for the political parties of Nepal. Contrastingly, the land ownership and the cultivation carried out on the land have benefited certain groups who are inhabitants of Nepal, and on the contrary, the people who do not have any access to their own land are subjected to social injustice.50

1.4 Economic Overview of Nepal During the Insurgency Nepal is traditionally known as “a yam between two stones.” It is ironically also referred to as “the dynamite between two rocks51.” Geographically, it is divided into three regions:

Mountains, Hills, and Terai. There are five development regions and 75 administrative districts in Nepal. Districts are further sub-divided into smaller units, called Village

Development Committee (VDC) and municipalities (towns). When there was insurgency in

Nepal, according to the June 2001 census, its population was 23,151,423. The annual average growth rate of the population during the preceding decade, that is, 1991–2001, was 2.25 percent Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) 2002. The population census of 2011 shows

49 Ibid., 247. 50 Wily, Chapagain, and Sharma, Land Reform in Nepal, 7. 51 Nepali Times,” A dynamite between two rocks” http://nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2011/08/01/a-dynamite-between-two-rocks/. Accessed on March 10, 2016.

26,494,504 people (12,849,041 males and 13,645,463 females) living in Nepal. At this time,

17 percent of the people dwell in urban areas and 83 percent of the people live in rural areas of Terai, Hills and Mountains.52

Ten years of Maoist insurgency left Nepal the poorest country in the world. The GDP of

Nepal, based on the purchasing power parity, was $2,516.94 in the year 2015. Recent United

Nations data (from 2011) show the Nepali population to be 30.5 million, with life expectancy at 68 years for men and 70 years for women. According to the World Bank (2011), the GNI per capita was US $540.53

Figure 1 Country Map of Nepal Source: CIA World Fact Book. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/np.html. Accessed on April 20, 2013.

52 In Nepal, new demographic census is taken every ten years, source District and VDC profile of Nepal- 2013, 5. 53 World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/country/nepal. Accessed on 21 April2013.

Table 1 Country Profile and Economic Overview of Nepal During the Insurgency in 2001.

Components Indicators

Location South Asia

Area 147,181 sq km

Land boundaries 2,926 km

Bordering countries China, India

Traditional caste Brahman, Chhetri, Vaishya, Sudra (28 sub-castes) categories

Ethnic groups Chhetri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Islam 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8% (2001 Census)

Religions Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 Census)

Languages According 2001Census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal. Nepali is the official, national language and served as lingua franca among Nepalese of different ethno linguistic groups.

Literacy Definition: age 6 years and above to the total population in the same group. Male: 65.5%, female: 42.8% . Total Population literacy percentage: 48.6%, (definition: the ability to read and write at specified age.) (2001 Census)

Administrative 14 zones (Anchal) , 75 Districts (Jillā). divisions

Purchasing power $35.6 bn (2001 ) parity

Real growth rate 2.6% (2001 )

GDP per Capita $249.03, India $ 471, China $ 1053.108, Siri Lanka 837.69954

Gross National Savings 23.962% (%of GDP) Current Account $0.451Billion Balance Current Account 7.648% Balance (%GDP) Sources: Central Bureau of Statistics 2001, Nepal.

Table 1 provides the overview of Nepal's econo my during the Maoist insurgency in

2001.During the most intense period of the Maoist insurgency, the economic and social

development of Nepal was at the lowest level compared to that of other conflict-prone nations,

such as Sri Lanka. According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the

Pacific, Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 138 out of 177 in the human

development index55.

Similarly, the United Nations Development Programme Nepal, Human Development Report

2009 states that Nepal has the lowest per capita income of all South Asian countries.56

During the Maoist insurgency, people were displaced and migrated within and beyond the

country. People with few economic resources chose to dwell in other parts of the country

such as Pokhara, Nepalgunj, and Kathmandu, while those with sufficient means went abroad

in order to continue their education and find better jobs. At present, foreign remittance is one

of the country’s major economic resources.

Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80 percent

of the population and accounting for 40 percent of the GDP. Nepali people live below the

poverty line57. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce,

54 The Word Bank, GDP Per Capita (Current US $) http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=LK. Accessed on April 12, 2013. 55 United Nations Development Programme, The Human Development Index 2006. http://akgul.bilkent.edu.tr/hdr/2006/statistics/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_NPL.html. Accessed on April 20,2013. 56 United Nations Development Programme, Nepal Human Development Report, 2009.State Transformation and Human Development, 32. http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/nepal_nhdr_2009.pdf. Accessed on April 20, 2013. 57 David R. The geography site, Country Introduction Nepal

34 including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Security concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict have led to a decrease in tourism, a key source of foreign currency. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, which could attract foreign investors. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors, however, remain poor because of the small size of Nepal’s economy, its technological backwardness, remoteness, landlocked geographic location, civil strife, and susceptibility to natural disasters.

The Maoist insurgency affected the economic activities of Nepal, and economic indicators show that the growth during this period was nominal and not sufficient to address the people’s problems. From a different perspective, Chuda Bahadur Shrestha argues that the most important cost of civil conflict is the loss of the human life, as a humanitarian tragedy and an obstacle to reconstruction. Other costs include the destruction of physical, human, and social capital and the disruption of markets and other forms of social and economic investment in development and productive work, resulting in increased poverty and conflict.58.

1.5 Political Development of the Post Conflict The CPA, in 2006, ended the decade-long guerrilla struggle and brought the Maoist political agenda from the battlefield to the political mainstream. In 2008, an election was held for the CA. Since King Mahendra had refused to hold a CA election in the 1950s, this had been an important item on the political agenda of the CPN (M). The results confirmed the

CPN (M) to be the largest political party in Nepal, and its leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, formed a new coalition government. In 2009, political instability arose from a disagreement between the CPN (M) and the other political parties concerning the fate of the

19,000 ex-Maoist fighters of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), who had spent the

http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/countries/atlas/nepal.html. Accessed on 21 April 2013. 58 Shrestha and Uprety, eds., Critical Barriers to Negotiation, 180–1.

35 previous three years in UN-monitored camps. The CPN (M) wanted to integrate the former rebel fighters into the Nepalese Army (NA), but the NA resisted the move, arguing that they had a policy not to recruit people with known political leanings and that the army was already large enough.

On January 15, 2009, a special committee comprising members of the CPN (M), the

CPNUML, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF)59, and the NC created a space to deal with the unresolved issue of integration of Maoist combatants into security forces. It is widely considered that Nepal’s peace process will not be completed until the NA is democratized and the fighters of the PLA have been reintegrated into society in some capacity.

Uncooperative actions by both the Maoist government and the NA led to increased tensions between the government, the army, and opposition parties. These ultimately resulted in the resignation of Prachanda from the post of Prime Minister on May 4, 2009, after a power struggle with President Ram Baran Yadav of the NCP concerning the firing of the NA chief. On May 25, Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of CPNUML, took over as the Prime

Minister and leader of Nepal’s 22-party coalition.

The CPN (M) and the UN signed an action plan for the discharge of Maoist child rebels who had been kept in UN-monitored camps since 2006. At the same time, however, to regain power, the Maoists were aiming to set up a parallel government in Nepal with plans to declare 13 autonomous states. The hardening of positions by parties on both sides as a result of ongoing mistrust and frustration had made reaching an agreement on vital aspects of the peace accord even more difficult. Not surprisingly, the United Nations Mission in Nepal

(UNMIN), which renewed its term in January and June 2009, had extended its term for another four months and was thus in the country during this crucial period leading up to the intended declaration of Nepal’s new constitution on May 28, 2010. However, again, the

59 Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) in English (Madhesi People’s Rights Forum, Nepal) is a political party in Nepal.

36 government failed to draw up a new constitution by the deadline, which was once again extended and once again missed. In January 2011, UNMIN left the country at the request of the government of Nepal, despite not having fulfilled its responsibility. The CA still failed to draft a constitution, and the government in May 2012, dissolved it.

Even after the dissolution of the first CA and departure of UNMIN from Nepal, the peace building of Nepal was moving ahead in its own way to end the political conflict, to transform the country to a new way through the completion of the peace process, and finally to declare a constitution for making a new Nepal by adopting basic principles of peace building. For this, the major political parties had signed a 12- point agreement60 and CPA by working together.

The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007, provisions of the 12 -point agreement and the CPA were taken as political guidelines to end the remaining tasks of the peace process and drafting a new constitution of Nepal.

When the peace process in Nepal is analyzed, it demonstrates that Nepal has experienced transformation in recent years, with the ending of the Maoist insurgency, the abolition of the monarchy, and the establishment of a multi-party democratic republic on May 28, 2008.

However, the country faces chal lenges that are more political and remains in a state of political instability, which has been prolonged since the dissolution of the CA. However, a recent development is trying to deal with all these issues. The major Nepal political parties –

NC, CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik – have taken the initiative and produced a '16- point deal' that primarily acknowledges the issue of federalism, highlighting the probability of ensuring a new constitution61.

The underlying principle of this deal is that it establishes that the country will be divided

60 Shrestha, Anil. "From Conflict to Peace in Nepal: Peace Agreements 2005-10." http://www.indianembassy.org.np/downloads/Peace Agreements Final English ASPECT.pdf. January 30, 2011. Accessed September 16, 2015. 61 Bhattarai, Kamal Dev, “Way paved for constitution as four parties reach 16-pt deal.” http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/06/09/editors-pick/way-paved-for-constitution-as-four-parties-reach-16-pt- deal/406314.html. Accessed on June12, 2015.

37 into eight provinces of a federation, depending on their economic viability and identity. To make this possible, the deal will appoint a commission with a six-month mandate to finalize the proposed needs. After the commission examines and make recommendations, the

Parliament will approve the matter. The deal also proposes a bicameral system, with a federal parliament and an Upper House (with 45 members elected and nominated), with the provinces functioning under a unicameral system62. There will be a mixed electoral system:

275 members in Parliament, 165 constituencies based on geography and population, 165 lower house members, based on first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, and 110 members based on proportional representation system63.

To make all this democratic system possible, a multiparty system of governance will be adopted with the right to rule given to the majority party. The majority party will then appoint

President, Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker, and others, as required.

62 Ibid. 63 Ibid.

Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Scholars, political scientists, and Nepali political leaders have identified phases and time periods as responsible for hindering of the country’s development and prosperity. When the

Rana regime was overthrown in 1951, people were promised that development would prevail throughout the country. Political instability, which lasted for ten years—from 1951 to 1961— prevented the country from achieving prosperity and sustainable economic development.

Even the first elected government of Nepal could not settle the dynamics of Nepali society, and King Mahendra acquired all political power on 1961.

After 1990, political leaders have blamed the 30 years of the Panchayat system as responsible for hindering democracy and development. In 1990, the Communists started blaming parliamentary democracy and the constitutional monarchy for being unaccountable for economic development in the country. The leaders entirely blamed the political system of

Nepal for not working toward economic growth and maintaining peace in the society, when it was actually their duty to lead the country in the right direction, a task they failed to accomplish.

In this recent development, Maoists and other parties have entered the main political arena and expressed their views on how to accelerate political and economic development in the country. However, there have yet been no significant political changes or democratization that could create a political link between development and strengthening of human security.

This chapter focuses on this issue in order to properly analyze the political system and democratization of the country. As in the past, the incomplete process of democratization is leading the country toward political instability and uncertainty.

An in-depth analysis of the conflict and its impact on human security and Nepalese

39 determinations64 is needed. Among the very few studies on the subject, Deepak Thapa and

Bandita Sijapati65 narrate the evolution and provide the historical background of the Maoist movement in Nepal. While their work highlighted the political incidents in the country and their impact during the time of the insurgency, and debated whether the Maoists were terrorists or not, it did not draw any rational conclusion beyond providing descriptive information and charting the impact of the conflict.

Arjun Karki and David Seddon studied the left politics of the party before the initiation of the armed rebellion. In their 2003 work, they discuss the 40-point demands66 and claim

Nepal’s Maoist insurgency to be inclined toward the leftist perspective. The literature is historically informative and descriptive in nature. They document the background of the conflict from the Maoist perspective and translate Maoist statements, particularly the extensive document tabled to the government of Nepal in 1996 of their political demands67 that changed when the CPN (M) led the government in Nepal.

In the literature on the insurgency, Maoist Nepali scholars such as Bandita,68 Arjun

Karki,69 Deepak, Thapa70 and Dev Raj Upreti71 have shared similar concepts and observations about the political developments in Nepal. These studies have the same theoretical and academic approaches to the insurgency, lack solid and rational information and analysis, and do not fit the present political scenario, as there has been a fundamental change in the nature of the political parties in Nepal. The present study aims to be more realistic and tries to find a prospective solution for the conflict-prone nation.

Unlike previous studies, the present research includes political, social, economic, and

64 Encompasses everything that is constitutes freedom from fear and freedom from want. 65 Thapa and Sijapati, 43-74. 66 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 183. 67 For details of the 40-point demands, see Appendix 6,378. 68 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege: Nepal’s Maoist Insurgency, 1996 to 2003. 69 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 3-48. 70 Thapa, Understanding the Maoist Movement of Nepal. 71 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 19-51.

40 security components of the post-conflict nation. The conflict was deep-rooted on the issue of political marginalization, lack of economic opportunity, and people living in rural areas got no sense of security from the state. Maoist leader Ram Karki, therefore, highlights his views.

He says that "[for] sustainable peace, we have to bridge a gap between one strata of life to other strata of people. Otherwise there will be the possibility occurring new violence in the society."72 Only understanding the nature of violence seems to be ineffective to solve the political crisis of conflict-prone nation; now we have to find the solution from the security perspective, along with addressing the problem politically and economically. Therefore, peace building will require a holistic approach from a rights and development perspective.

Finding the appropriate solution to this conflict calls for national and international cooperation.

This literature review section discusses ther post-wa situation in Nepal and the root causes of the conflict, as well as the roles of political parties and their organizations in the promotion of sustainable peace. It consists of five secti ons: the post-conflict situation in Nepal, the root causes of the conflict, political behavior and leadership, democratization and political parties,

Nepali politics beyond nationalism, and a summary, concluding with the progress of the peace process and the contentious nature of leadership in the political parties.

2.2 Post-Conflict Situation of Nepal The signing of a peace agreement or the victory of one party’s army does not guarantee sustainable peace. The period after the end of violence or armed activities is called “post- conflict” and is considered an opportunity to rebuild society and the country. The focus of the post-conflict situation is how peace agreements can successfully be implemented in the immediate aftermath of wars and sustained for a long time. Wendy Lambourne argues that justice and order are important aspects of peace building in a post-conflict situation where

72 Ram Karki, answer to a question. See appendix 5, 323.

41 there is a need to end violence, disarm combatants, restore the rule of law, and deal with the perpetrators of war crime and other human rights abuses.73 According to Tutu,74

UNESCO,75 and Aditya et al.,76 a post-conflict situation requires an appropriate management process that deals with the past and envisions a better future by generating hope and aspiration. The main consideration in ending the violence is to maintain law and order in society. Similarly, the peacemakers should identify the real problems behind the conflict and be prepared to address those issues both theoretically and practically. From a monitoring perspective, Mishra has observed that “... the peace process, especially after the signing of the

CPA, has hardly been monitored.”77

Albert Einstein maintained, “Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order in short, of government78.” In the context of the Nepalese peace process, Bishnu Upreti has stated that peace cannot be built and maintained without creating and promoting a social infrastructure of peace, developing people’s ownership of the peace process, and abolishing obstacles. With regard to Nepal signing a peace agreement, moreover, he has observed, “A widely held misperception in Nepal is that peace will be achieved when the Maoists and the government negotiate and sign a peace agreement.”79

Within the reviewed literature, very few scholars have highlighted the justice and reconciliation aspects of the Nepal peace process and agreement.

Upreti opines that, so far, the “process” aspect of Nepal’s peace process is relatively weak.

It is even said that Nepal’s peace process is “without processes.”80 He believes that Nepal’s post-conflict transformation process can be even more successful by making the “process

73 Lambourne, “Post Conflict Peace Building,” 4. 74 Tutu, No Future without Forgiveness, 55. 75 UNESCO, Women and Peace in Africa, 128-29. 76 Aditya, Upreti, and Adhikari, Countries in Conflict, 112-115. 77 Mishra, The Nepalese Peace Process, 77–9. 78 Einstein, A. Einstein on Peace. Nathan and Norden, ed., 371. 79 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 116–54. 80 Upreti, Framework for Management of Post Conflict, 8.

42 right,” which means including all the main stakeholders at the decision-making level,81 balancing confidentiality and transparency, getting approval for decisions that have far- reaching consequences from the people (e.g., through a referendum), properly documenting decisions, and being accountable for implementing decisions. The International Crisis

Group82 reports that the experiences of other conflict-ridden countries show that the right process facilitates quality decision making and implementation.83

Some of the literature on Nepal’s post-conflict situation emphasizes the security issues.

Dev Raj Dahal highlights the importance of human security in connection with the transformation of the conflict. He states that a sound civil security relationship is a central point for the enhancement of national security in Nepal. Peace can be achieved after completing three national tasks: building a modern state, implementing inclusive democracy based on a new social contract, and achieving sustainable peace rooted in the realization of human security. However, he says, “[T]his requires the political leadership to remove the five defects of democracy, such as skewed access of public to power, denial of opponent groups’ claim to power, erosion of the legitimate state monopoly on power, narrow power base restricting pluralistic politics in opinion, and democratic will formation and the mode of rule violating basic democratic values.”84

2.3 Root Causes of the Conflict From the literature, it can be seen that the main factors behind the Maoist violence was dissatisfaction with the slow pace of the democratization process during the 1990s and people’s growing anger with the monarchy that had ruled Nepal since 1768. Much of what

81 Ibid., 12. 82 The International Crisis Group is an independent organization working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world. It was founded in 1995 as an international nongovernmental organization by a group of prominent statesmen who despaired at the international community’s failure to anticipate and respond effectively to the tragedies of Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia Source; https://www.crisisgroup.org/who-we-are/history. Accessed on April 12, 2013. 83 International Crisis Group, “Beyond Victimhood,”1-25. 84 Dahal, D.R., National Security; Sector Reforms and Civil-Security Relations in Nepal, 5.

43 has been discussed so far in the literature is a broad analysis of the development of the Maoist movements and their strategy to capture state power. While informative, such analysis has lacked in-depth examination of social and political factors. Earl Conteh- Morgan has observed that in conflicts and disputes around the world, their intensity, and the level of participation by groups or states can be explained in terms of how the identities, ideas, and goals of the actors are affected.85 The socially constructed understanding, perception, or interpretations of the actors shape how both conflict and cooperation unfold.

Rebecca N. Mbuh states that conflict and wars result from causes and can spread from a small part of a nation to neighboring regions and countries, as has been the case in African conflicts.86 Upreti87 points out that the influences of the international community – either regionally or globally – should play a constructive role in the Nepali conflict. Upreti says that the failure of successive governments to address structural problems of poverty, inequality, political oppression, and social discrimination against certain groups such as Kamaiya,88 women, and Dalits89 is also the root cause of the conflict in Nepal.

There are different schools of thought contributed by human rights workers, researchers, and journalists about the Maoist movement in Nepal, with regard to its beginnings, its history, and the uprising. With regard to democratization and the growth of communism in Nepal, R.

Andrew Nickson has highlighted the fact that Nepal presents a rare exception in the

85 Conteh-Morgan, “Peace Building and Human Security,” 72–3. 86 For example, the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has involved eight countries. Africa is a vast and heterogeneous continent that renders the causes of conflicts equally complex. Some of these include poverty, decline in community ethics, lack of appropriate education, governments’ inability to settle conflicts quickly, disintegration of societies, lack of trust, individualism, self-interest, and politics and power. See Juma 2005; Shawa 2003; and Kang, McDonald, and Mbuh, eds., Conflict Resolution and Peace Building, 119–201. 87 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 42-7. 88 Landless people working the fields of landlords for very nominal wages. 89 Dalits have been called by several names. Some terms, such as paninachalne (“water polluting”), acchoot (“untouchables”), doom, pariganit, and tallo jat (“low caste”), used in Nepali society are derogatory, while others, such as uppechhit (“ignored”), utpidit (“oppressed”), sosit (“exploited”), pacchadipareka (“lagging behind”), bipanna (“downtrodden”), garib (“poor”), nimukha (“helpless”), simantakrit (“marginalized”), subidhabata banchit (“disadvantaged”), alpasankhyak (“minorities”), banchitikaranma pareka (“excluded”), and Harijan (“god’s people”), are not, though some may be considered condescending. After initial hesitation and controversy among Dalits and non-Dalits alike, the use of the term “Dalit” has gained general acceptance, and has been widely used at national and international levels. See Bhattachan, A Resource on Situation of Dalits.

44 contemporary world, in which the decline of communism generally leads to the ascendance of neo-liberalism. Maoism, virtually extinct in the rest of the world except Peru, is a potent political force in Nepal,90 and while the CPN (M) Nepal has had political and training support from the Indian Communist Party of India (Maoist), Indian rebels have not had a significant influence on Nepal CPN (M).

Nickson presents the intra-party division during the monarchy and democracy movement as the main cause of the escalation of the Maoist uprising. He compares Peru’s Sendero

Luminoso and the CPN (Masal), noting that both parties appear in both countries in similar situations, and are similar in structure. He analyzes the situations in Peru and Nepal and argues that the future prospect of the Nepalese Maoists will depend largely on the extent to which Nepali political parties, such as NC and the government, address the historic neglect and discrimination suffered by the rural communities.

Furthermore, Nickson91discusses some issues that have contributed to the growth of the

Maoist movement in Nepal, such as the conservative nature of the public administration, the armed forces, and the monarchy, as well the inability to effect structural reform through the parliamentary system and the continued deterioration of the economic activities that contributed to the well-being of the youth and the rural poor. Bishnu Raj Upreti92 asserts that the causes and consequences of the Maoist armed conflicts in Nepal were failure of governance, the slow pace of developmental activities, and the failure of the royal takeover and constitutional limitation to address the people’s demands. In addition to these factors, the catalysts of the conflict were the royal massacre of June 1, 2001, the terrorist attack on the

United States on September 11, 2001 –– which led to international efforts against terrorists, with the government taking strong action against Maoists as part of this initiative ––as well as the role of the media and the unlawful activities of the election commission for holding local

90 Nickson, Democratization and Growth of Communism in Nepal: A Peruvian Scenario in the Making? 358. 91 Ibid., 372. 92 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 19.

45 elections after the coup by King Gyanendra.93

Anne de Sales94 highlights the core of Maoist identity politics as resting with ethnic minorities. When the Maoists started their insurgency, they vowed to bring autonomy to the marginalized ethnic and caste groups and assured the youth of some positive changes in order to recruit them to the movement. The Maoist party established itself in the ethnic communities, such as in the Kham-Magar95 in the countryside of Rolpa. There, the Maoists became somewhat popular due to their reciprocal relation with the rural people and local populations (mostly Magars), who endured very poor economic conditions. The Maoists were successful in inculcating a sense of nation state and autonomy in these communities.

To understand the root causes of the Maoist uprising, one must therefore look to the party’s political and institutional strength in these ethnic communities.

An in-depth analysis of the literature and evidence shows that factors in the Nepali political situation, and the unexpected royal massacre, also played a vital role in the success of the

Maoist movement in Nepal. In the book Critical Barriers to Negotiation of Armed Conflict in

Nepal,96 Ananda P. Shrestha and Hari Uprety propose two factors: one to do with the history and origin of the Maoist insurgency, and the other with the possible tools for negotiating the ongoing conflict.

Josse offers a linear account of the CPN in general and highlights the establishment and structure of the party in particular. He notes that September 15, 1949, marked the publication of a Nepali translation of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.97

This coincided with Mao Zedong’s proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

The CPN (M) derived the name of their party from the success of the Chinese leader and

93 Ibid., 41-7. 94 De Sales, “The Kham Magar Country,”65. 95 The group of ethnic people in Nepal those Speak the Kham language. Kham-Magar is one of the indigenous ethnic nationalities of Nepal. 96 Shrestha and Uprety (eds.), Critical Barriers to Negotiation, 51-64. 97 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety, 2-17.

46 practiced his theories in the Nepali context as a means to grasp power.98

Josse focuses on what are generally considered the key factors for the growth and escalation of the Maoist insurgency. They are as follows:

 Mohan Bikram Singh99

 Slow government reaction

 Caste and ethnicity

 The Magars100

 The Tharus101

 Exclusion from civil service

 Abuse of electoral practices

 Post-election persecution

 SIJA Campaign102

 Operation Romeo103

 Disillusionment with multi-party democracy

 Failure to extend the tenure of local officials

Furthermore, an evaluation of the existing literature shows that Nepal’s Maoist conflict was heightened through the empathy of political actors. There are factors behind the Maoist problem, including political, geographic, economic, and ethical issues. For a long time, Nepal was subject to the undemocratic Panchayat system, based on a feudal economy and culture,

98 Ibid., 2. 99 A communist politician. From the very beginning, he vowed to hold a CA election and led a democratic uprising. For more details, see: http://cailmail.free.fr/Documents/Mohan%20Bikram%20Singh%20and%20the%20History%20of%20Nepale se%20Maoism.pdf. Accessed on April 21, 2013. 100 The Magar is one of the indigenous ethnic nationalities of Nepal. 101 The Tharus are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai, the Southern foothills of the Nepal. 102 SIJA is an acronym of Sisne (name of a peak) and Jaljala (Shrine), familiar Kham-Magar symbols. 103 In November 1995, the government of Nepal, a coalition of Congress and royalists, launched a police invasion of Rolpa, code-named “Operation Romeo,” to control Maoist activities. Atrocities committed by the police in “Operation Romeo” brought the villages of Rolpa to a fever pitch. See http://monthlyreview.org/commentary/the-nepali-revolution-and-international-relations. Accessed on April 21, 2013.

47 under which people could not enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms.

The rule of law, separation of powers, and an independent judiciary were not recognized institutionally in Nepal, and people became the victims of lapses that were ignored by the political system. People were in favor of making the necessary changes to the political system and socioeconomic sectors needed to improve their quality of life and enjoy complete social security. The common and marginal people felt insecurity in education, health service, employment, involvement in decision-making level, feeling that societal justice and the political leaders were far behind the aspirations of the public and that the political superstructure was meaningless.

The Mid-western Development Region, which was most affected by the Maoist insurgency, had no basic infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, schools and hospitals. The average living standard was low104 and the majority of the people living in Nepal did not have even the basic facilities. In this regard, according to Bhattarai, “[The Maoists] fought against feudal autocracy, and foreign domination for supporting the socially backward groups, women, Madeshi, Dalit, and the poor classes.”105

Nepalese governments had ignored the locals living there rather than bringing them into the national mainstream.106 There was little representation at the policy-making level, and, even in political parties, their presence was quite nominal. The Maoists addressed their problems politically and promised to build a multi-ethnic society, a policy that earned them great popularity among minority communities in the country. Manmohan Bhattarai agrees that, only after 2006, “due to the direct proportional electoral system, different ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups had the opportunity in the legislature parliament…”107

Uncompleted laws, a lack of law enforcement, and a perceived bias of law enforcement

104 Irini Maltsoglous, and Kiyoshi Taniguchi, Poverty, livestock and Household typologies in Nepal, 18-19. 105 See Appendix 5, 316. 106 Ibid. 107 Ibid.

48 agencies also added to the People’s War.108 The laws were not sufficient to address problems such as women’s rights to property, to eradicate the problems of the Dalits, and to ensure equal treatment of all ethnicities.109 The Constitution of 1990 ensured freedom of expression and thought and the right to assembly, but its practical implementation was very weak.110 From 1994 to 1996, when people close to the Maoists tried to exercise their political freedoms, the police suppressed them and they were ultimately forced to join the underground activities of the Maoists.111 The government ignored the Maoists’ 40-point demands and launched operations against them, leading to the deaths of civilians before the party initiated an armed insurgency in 1996. The police disrupted peaceful demonstrations, arrested political activists and local people, raped women, and killed with impunity.112 The police banned their organizations and even intervened by arresting and killing people engaged in cultural programs carried under SIJA auspices.113 These actions undermined faith in law enforcement agencies, especially the police, and drove the locals into the arms of the

Maoist movement. Several scholars114 have identified the causes of the conflict as monolithic, feudalistic, autocratic, authoritarian, and centralized government.

In an empirical study, Shrestha finds that the Maoist insurgency in Nepal was caused by the ideological base, international circumstances, and the political development of the country, and lists the following factors as being responsible for the insurgency:115

 Political and ideological influences from both the right and the left

 Lack of popular participation in political parties under the Panchayat system

 Imitation of international political systems, such as the communist and democratic

108 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 26-27. 109 Ibid., 27. 110 Ibid., 39. 111 Ibid.,42. 112 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety,12. 113 Ibid., 11-12. 114 Thapa, Understanding the Maoist Movement of Nepal; Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal; Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, Misra 2004. 115 Shrestha, Chuda, B., Nepal: Coping with Maoist Insurgency Conflict, 89–91.

systems

 Lack of good governance

 Ethnicity, caste and cultural factors

 Lack of equal opportunities

 Chronic corruption at all levels and sectors

 Lack of freedom and fear of investigation, persecution and trial

Shrestha presents similar causes of the Nepali Maoist insurgency to those identified by the

Centre of Human Rights and Global Justice in the Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Caste

Discrimination and the Conflict in Nepal. This study, carried out in 2005, highlights issues such as caste-based discrimination, economic marginalization, impediments to education, lack of access to food, water, and health care, and lack of political representation. The study states that, with regard to the Maoist insurgency, the civil war in Nepal was marked by widespread insecurity, overt forms of violence and repression, and a systematic curtailment of fundamental liberties. The Centre of Human Rights and Global Justice Report mentions that global causes of conflicts, such as the global war on terror declared in 2001, also contributed to the escalation of conflict in Nepal, and that the declaration of a state of emergency and the deployment of the Royal NA on November 26, 2001, by the government, escalated the conflict, which rapidly affected the entire country.

Studies have found that the 9/11 terrorist attack on the USA affected global security, which had an effect on the Maoist insurgency of Nepal.116 The army was deployed throughout the country and had begun to characterize its intensified struggle against the Maoist insurgency as part of the “global war on terror.” Neighboring countries provided assistance to Nepal’s army and supported it with sophisticated weapons acquired through military aid from India, the USA, the UK, and other European countries. Equipped with new antiterrorism legislation

116 Harjeet Singh, South Asian Defense and Strategic Year book- 2013, 37.

50 that gave them extraordinary powers of arrest and detention, security forces began operating under an unofficial policy of killing all individuals suspected of taking part in the Maoist insurgency.117 According to Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission, government security forces have engineered more than 2,000 extra-judicial killings since 2001. Similarly, according to the UN, Nepal had the highest number of reported new “disappearances” in the world in both 2003 and 2004.118

Anjana Shakya and Centre of Human Rights and Global Justice writers Rajeev Goyal, Puja

Dhawan, and Smita Narula have said that the “militarization of the conflict has exacerbated caste dynamics and the resulting abuses against Dalits in Nepal.119” This resulted in the involvement of the Dalit community in the insurgency, and there was growing resentment against the security forces deployed by the government.

There is some literature that seems to share the view of Burton’s human needs theory,120 which is based on the norms, customs and beliefs associated with particular social communities and interests. In the context of Nepal, Maoists had taken part in parliamentary general and local elections held in 1991 and 1992 under their open political forum UPF led by Baburam Bhattarai. During that time they demanded that the government fulfill their 40- point political agenda and concluded that there was no way for the further involvement of the party within the parliamentary political system. In a very short period, they convinced the people that the existing political system would not fulfill their needs. In short, the expectations of the Nepali people were the same even after 1990 and the failed promises of the political system. The conversation of Maoist leaders to common people emphasized the

117 Centre of Human Rights and Global Justice, Missing Piece of the Puzzle, 4. 118 United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Sixtieth session, Item 11 (b) of the provisional agenda: Civil and Political Rights, Including the Questions of: Disappearances and Summary Executions, Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances, Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, January 21, 2004,43. 119 Centre of Human Rights and Global Justice, Missing Piece of the Puzzle, 4. 120 Conflict stems from unsatisfied human needs. In conflict, people represent their interests, but not their underlying needs; however, they will use power and coercion to meet those needs.

51 political differences between the government of Nepal and Maoist ideology.

Quite the contrary, Manmohan Bhattarai categorically disagrees with the conflict of ideological differences and states that the reason behind the conflict in Nepal was the

“politics of resources and they [Indians] were all behind to grab the resources whatever was within the country.”121 He clearly indicates his views that the rich natural resource of Nepal like water resources, medicinal herbs in Himalayan ranges, fertile land, good climate for living in Nepal are the pushing factors for conflict. For this, India and other international stakeholders have an interest in power politics in Nepal, as Nepal lies between India and

China and its strategic location is important for power politics. In his opinion, it was a part of power conflict, as the Royal Palace of Nepal and Delhi were not satisfied with the

Constitution of 1990. The political change of 1991 was reflected in the Constitution of the

Kingdom of Nepal, and a faction of Royal palace was not ready to be a constitutional royal entity and wanted to plot against it.122

If we analyze the political document of CPN (M), the conflict had a political goal to get power and change the socio-economic structure of Nepal through political transformation.

Manmohan Bhattarai denies all these issues and holds the view that it had a link with the political ambition of Maoists and the power interest of royal palace and India, which had an interest in grasping resources of Nepal for India.123 This suggests that the seed of Nepalese conflict was sown in the hilly area of Nepal and gradually affected the whole country. There was the involvement of larger institutions in the conflict, and India wanted to convert a unitary political system into a federal system. Some people suggest that India has the interest of using Nepal’s water resources,124 but there were other factors too.125 Bihar is now building 10,000-km six-lane roads and 10,000-km railway tracks to build up the

121 See Appendix 5, 316-17. 122 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 54. 123 Ibid. 124 Ibid. 125 Ibid.

52 infrastructure within three to five years. For this, Bihar does not have stone, sand, wood, and other materials, which will be easily available from Nepal. Bihar does not have these materials and Jharkhand had a little, but now it is a separate state.126

India had different interests behind creating the conflict of Nepal, and they became the part of the conflict. For this, India helped Maoists supply arms and ammunition from India to

Nepal. According to Manmohan Bhattarai, “The combatants were trained in India and armed basic supplies also came from India, which has been established.”127

In India: Development and Participation, Drèze and Sen examine how public action and opinion can act as a force for initiating economic, political and economic development in

India128. The authors note that although economic reforms were initiated in the nineties, the

Indian society never underwent real changes. In short, the authors believe there can be more equality through more active democratic practice and people's participation.129

2.4 Background of Nepali Political Parties Nepali political parties came into existence in 1936130 in protest against the Rana regime.

In 1947, the Nepali National Congress was established in Varanasi, an Indian holy city for

Hindus, by a group of Nepali exiles, and the Nepal Democratic Congress was established in

India the following year. In 1950, the leaders of the Nepali National Congress and the Nepal

Democratic Congress united to form the NC and “decided to launch an armed movement against the Ranas.”131 Similarly, the CPN was established on April 22, 1949, in Kolkata,

India.132 Puspha Lal Shrestha says that the “CPN accepted the agrarian revolution as the main policy for the revolution in Nepal. The leaders espoused the rural agrarian struggle as

126 Ibid. 127 Ibid. 128 Dreze & Sen, India: Development and Participation, 29. 129 Ibid. 130 Nepal Praja Parishad was the first political party to establish a democratic system in Nepal. 131 Ibid., 15. 132 Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 15. Dipak Sapkota mentions Pushpa Lal Shrestha, Nar Bahadur Karmacharya, Niranjan Govinda Baidhya, and Narayan Bilas Joshi as the founding members of the party.

53 the basic program of the party.”133

Tribhuvan made a historic declaration on February 17, 1951, announcing the election of the CA. He declared, “The government of our people will henceforth be carried out according to a democratic constitution prepared by a CA elected by them.”134 He then declared a ten- member cabinet under the premiership of the ousted ruler Mohan Shamsher J. B. R., but this cabinet did not provide any political space to the CPN.135

The Rana regime had ended and a democratic regime had been established, but the communist leaders found no change in the living conditions of poor Nepali peasants. Sapkota writes that “the sparks of armed struggle were seen immediately after the 1950s. In 1951, a peasant leader, Bhim Datta Panta of Dadeldhura district, initiated an armed agrarian struggle in the far west of Nepal.”136

The NC believed in democracy and a liberal economy, and a section of the middle class favored its political ideology. In contrast, the Communist Party brought to the fore the voices of the poor, the landless, and the oppressed, and espoused rural agrarian reform.137 Under this political unsymmetrical circumstance, the political condition of Nepal from 1951 to 1960 remained unstable and could not fulfill the demands of the people. Then, on December 15,

1960, King Mahendra dissolved the elected parliament and banned all existing political parties.138 During that period, more than a dozen governments were formed, hwhic illustrated the political fluidity of Nepal.

In 1990, NC and ULF139 worked together to establish a democratic system in Nepal.

Similarly, the United National People’s Movement was established under the direction of Dr.

133 Quoted in Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 15. 134 Gyawali, Jeevan ra Kanoon, 88. 135 Ibid. 136 Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 16. 137 Ibid. 138 King Mahendra introduced a party-less Panchayat system and declared a new constitution to reinforce it in 1962. The system remained in force until 1990. 139 Dozens of leftist parties existed in Nepal. The CPN (M), CPN (ML), and CPN (Fourth Congress) formed a left forum called the United Left Front under the leadership of Shana Pradhan.

Baburam Bhattarai and included only ultra-left political parties, such as the CPN (Mashal),

led by Prachanda, and the CPN (Masal), led by Mohan Bikram Singh. It rejected the political

understanding reached between King Birendra, the NC, and the ULF. Both the NC and the

ULF made a clear stand on the shape of the new constitution, and their leaders declared that

“the new constitution must be fully democratic; the king must become a constitutional

monarch and must act only on the advice of the council ministers.”140 The sovereignty of the

people was incorporated in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal that was declared on

November 9, 1990. The NC and ULF had agreed on it, whereas the United National People’s

Movement demanded the election of a CA to draft a constitution.141

After 1990, political parties were formed. Out of 74 parties, 47 registered their

organizations with the Election Commission of Nepal and 44 were approved by it.142 The

Commission held a general election in 1991 for the 205 seats, and only eight political parties

won the seats.

Table 2 Results of the 1991 General Election for 205 Seats143 Parties Seats contested Seats won % of votes

NC 204 110 38

Communist Party of Nepal (UML)144 177 69 28

United People’s Front Nepal145 69 9 4

Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) 75 6 4

140 Hutt, ed., Drafting the 1990 Constitution, 32. 141 The CPN (Mashal) led by Prachanda, the CPN (Masal) led by Mohan Bikram Singh, and the CPN (Fourth Convention) led by Nirmal Lama were all Maoist parties. The first two parties formed United National People's Movement in 1990, whereas the last one joined the ULF and cooperated with the NC. 142 Data from the Election Commission of Nepal. http://www.election.gov.np/election/np/registered-political-parties-updated-list-90.html. Accessed on September 21, 2011. 143 This is the literature review but here, I have to use data for better understanding the history and situation of Nepali political parties where current Maoist group was also participated in election. 144 CPN (M) and CPN (ML) formed the CPNUML and became the second-largest party in the parliament. 145 Dr. Baburam Bhattarai led the UPF, Nepal, which was an election forum of the CPN (Unity Center) led by Prachanda. Later on, the CPN (Unity Center) became the CPN (Maoist) and initiated the People’s War in Nepal.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Chand) 154 3 7

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Thapa) 162 1 5

Communist Party of Nepal (Democratic) 75 2 2

Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party 30 2 1

Independents 291 3 4

Compiled by the author. Source: Hoftun and Raeper (1999).

Even after the election, the majority government formed under the leadership of the NC

was unable to complete its five-year term. An intra-party rift within the NC caused the

dissolution of parliament and the holding of a mid-term poll.

Table 3 Results of the 1994 Mid-Term Poll for 205 Seats146 Parties Seats contested Seats won % of votes

CPN (UML) 196 88 31

NC 205 83 33

Rastriya Prajatantra Party 202 20 18

Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party 27 4 1

NSP 86 3 3

Independents 385 7 6

Compiled by the author. Source: Hoftun and Raeper (1999).

The NC was a party that wanted to strengthen the parliamentary system by holding

periodic elections. In 1990, the UML stood as the main opposition party in parliament,

becoming the largest party in 1994.147 The Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party and the

Communist Party of Nepal (Democratic) took part in both elections. The UPFN performed

146 UPF led by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai boycotted the mid-term poll of 1994 and prepared for a protracted people’s war. It also boycotted the general election of 1999. 147 House of representative member`s election-1994: Final results.

56 well in 1991 and became the third-largest party in the parliament.148 Its basic strategy of taking part in the election was to use the parliament as a tool to prepare for a protracted people’s war, and it subsequently boycotted the second general election in 1994.149

2.4.1 Political Behavior and Leadership The literature on the political culture of the Nepali parties finds that most of the political parties and their sister organizations share the same general characteristics.150 In the past decade, their journey to democracy and development has been characterized by unnatural alliances formed with other parties with the intention of grasping power.151 To achieve this, the leaders have appealed to the people to resist the government’s activities and encouraged agitations, street demonstrations, and violations of the rule of law. The poor political practices of the parties have proved the failure of the system, evident in the downfall of the ruling party.152

After more than five decades (1960-2013) of efforts to establish democracy, Nepalese politicians are yet to cultivate the core characteristics of democracy: tolerance, patience, and respect for the rules of political game. Amid Nepal's geopolitical vulnerability, the lack of commitment to the political process has frequently disturbed the country’s democratic transition. In Manmohan Bhattarai’s view, “[P]olitical parties did not get the role of making decisions as larger parties had enough numbers to pass legislation and to amend the constitution.”153

The literature reviewed for this study shows that the country has shifted from family rule to a multiparty polity, to a party-less system, and finally back to multiparty governance.

In the current political realm, there is more participation in Nepal’s democratic process.

148 Thapa, Understanding the Maoist Movement of Nepal, 25. 149 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 24. 150 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 121-65. 151 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,”24. 152 Ibid., 26-27. 153 See Appendix 5,295.

However, if political protests and activities seem to be continuing, these are definitely fostered by the involvement of (party-affiliated) student organizations. In the past, especially in the Panchayat era, when political parties were banned, involvement in political movements was a practical means of having political voices heard and performing political activities among Nepali people. After the restoration of Democracy in 1990, political organizations were free to launch political activities, and, even in that changing paradigm of political situation, when political parties are now able to raise their voices openly, they continue to use the power of student organizations to mobilize their forces in order to achieve their political goals. P olitical parties like CPN (M), that had opposed the three parties understanding between palace, NC and United Left Wing in 1990 and openly called on their student leaders to be against the voices of the government, have continued the practice.

King Gyanendra got complete state power in 2005, dissolving the government of Sher

Bahadur Deuba, a leader of NC, including UML, RPP and NSP, and once again, Nepalese political parties urged the student leaders to protest the king’s coup. Few other organizations based in civil society, or non-politically affiliated group activities, participated in the political struggle. In Nepal, the trend of political parties is to use students' muscle to get power, and, if there will be any problem in politics, the students will protest against the government.

After 2006, such movements have been primarily urban, and people from other parts of the country have lacked participation in the opposition movement. Political parties were still spreading propaganda and telling people that they were still fighting for full democracy.

Because of this propaganda, people continued to lack political awareness and did not know what was transpiring.

In most of the political and business sectors in Nepal, leaders are inherited or appointed.154

The NC – the oldest political party among the SPA – is dominated by the Koirala family. The

154 Thapaliya, Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, 4.

58 lineage of Koirala family in party politics of NC is still strong and the members of that family are leading the party. In Nepal, leadership positions gained through nepotism, or economic deals are prevalent, and this has affected the democratization process of Nepal. This type of undemocratic practice prevents leadership positions from moving beyond a narrow family circle in order to democratize the systems within and beyond the political parties; ultimately, it makes the leaders less creative and dynamic. According to Thapaliya, Nepal lacks a culture for, and the practice of, the type of leadership needed for managing a democratic form of government.155 Thapaliya further argues that the key obstacle to solving the national crisis is the unconstructive ideas of political parties, as well as the family-rooted leadership who lack the capacity to formulate a national vision for the country.156 The lack of visionary leadership is illustrated by Nepali leaders' lack of a sustainable plan to develop and help the country and the people. Krishna Hachhethu states that “it is widely acknowledged and empirically confirmed that most party leaders all over the world are drawn disproportionately from people of a higher socioeconomic background.”157 Nepali society has been dominated by the higher castes and the Newar people.158 This also has influenced the functioning of the political and social leadership.

Unfortunately, at the time that democracy was introduced in Nepal, political parties failed to articulate, implement, and protect the type of participatory governance for which the political parties had fought. Leadership culture cannot be developed as civil culture because, when political leaders are selected in Nepal, a supporting factor has always been their social and familial power base. Thapaliya points out, “It has been the most important aspect for their emergence as party leaders but political parties should consider only political background rather than his/her social status, which is a must for the attainment of leadership

155 Ibid.,1–26. 156 Ibid., 2–3. 157 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 76. 158 The Newars is the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley and Surroundings in Nepal.

59 position.”159 Through analysis, it can be seen that the major Nepali political leadership and political positions have been occupied by elderly leaders who were often in poor health. It affects the function and efficiency of leadership, which directly affects the national economy and development. Major political parties' leadership and most of the prime ministers of Nepal have spent huge amounts of money on health when they were in a post.160

2.4.2 Democratization in Nepal According to Sandifer, Scheman, and Mora, democracy is a complex interaction of forces, all of which must be enabled to operate with reasonable freedom from arbitrary restraint. A government should provide the rights to life, liberty, and security, including freedom of movement. According to Mahendra Lawoti, since the restoration of democracy in Nepal, the country has faced several types of contentious activities, both violent and non-violent161. He questions whether this provides a positive or negative environment in which to promote democratization. In his opinion, democracy should provide people a space for action. He also emphasizes that, while contentious activities could be defined as democratization of a polity, it also entails extending political rights and civil liberties to all citizens.162

McAdam and other scholars state that democratization “means any net shift towards citizenship, breadth of citizenship, equality of citizenship, binding consultation, and protection.”163 Ekanga expresses the idea that democracy means that power belongs to the people; further, in a democracy, power is only legitimate if it comes from the people – if it is a product of people’s will. Democracy requires a free society that cannot be governed by an

159 Ibid. 160 "NC, UML Brass Get Huge Sums from Govt as Medical Expenses - See More At: Http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=88967#sthash.Fe9PyRMz.d puf." Republica RSS. December 22, 2014. Accessed on September 18, 2015. 161 Lawoti, Mahendra, "Contentious politics in democratizing Nepal." Contentious politics in democratization Nepal, 17. 162 Ibid. 163 McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly, Dynamics of Contention, 221.

60 arbitrary and uncontrolled political power.164 Sandifer, Scheman and Mora observe that the fundamental principle of a democratic system is an underlying mechanism that facilitates its effective functioning by giving expression to society. Further, they highlight the importance of democracy at the operational level – establishing the supremacy of the laws over the individual will of men, incorporating in the system a process of altering the law according to the needs of time and people, and establishing full protection so that no small portion of society may distort the authority of the law to their own ends.165

In Nepal, the democratic system has not been on that track since its establishment in 1951 or its restoration in 1990. Samuel P. Huntington says, “Democratization is primarily a product of political leaders who have the will and skill to bring it about.”166 He emphasizes that democratization has some systematic processes whose functions can be determined by political and economic developments that are fundamental to the political development of a country. Political scientists mention that, in Nepal, democratic processes have not been successful in terms of the development of a political culture. Hachhethu has discussed how, in the institutionalization of the democrat process, institutions, political parties, and political leaders play a vital role.167 In Nepal, political parties failed to understand the universal provision to democratize them and strengthen the system.

According to Bruce Vaughn, Nepal has been isolated from outside influence on the issues of democracy and development. Vaughan, as well as Arjun Karki and David Seddon, emphasizes that a transition from strict rule by the king to a constitutional monarchy began in

1959, when King Mahendra issued a new constitution and the country held its first democratic election.168 Santwana Tewari Chaube points out that the state-building process started in Nepal with the unification campaign initiated by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1770,

164 Ekanga, Social Justice and Democracy, 210–1. 165 Sandifer, Scheman, and Mora, eds., The Foundation of Freedom, 20–3. 166 Huntington, “Democracy for the Long Haul,” 31. 167 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 25 –8. 168 Vaughn, Political Developments and Bilateral Relation, 4.

61 which gave birth to Nepal. Mikesell and other scholars describe the present nation state as the product of the genius of one man, King Prithvi Narayan Shah (1720–75).169 Chaube goes on to say that, the Nepali political movement in the 1950s arose through the influence of India.

He says, “Nepal’s proximity to India was largely responsible not only for its sociocultural awakening but also for political consciousness. Furthermore, Nepal’s modern political phase was directly impacted by the atmosphere in Bengal from 1905”.170 The nationalism of the

Bengali revolutionaries inspired Nepali youths, who brought back home a political awareness and began to campaign against the Rana regime.171 Praja Parishad, the oldest political party of Nepal (1935), started a pamphlet war within the country, getting the leaflets printed in

Varanasi, India. A civil rights movement under the name of Nagarik Adhikar Samiti

(Committee for Civil Rights) was launched in Nepal to spread awareness among the people and political parties in order to establish a democratic system.172 In the two years from 1938 to 1940, political movements in Nepal brought about a crisis within the Rana regime. These movements were launched by Praja Parishad, Mahavir School, and the Committee for Civil

Rights.173

Nepali political discourse was also directly influenced by Indian political events, such as the Quit India Movement of 1942, in which Nepali students studying in India participated.

The reason behind their participation was the sentiment that the British Raj was responsible not only for the political oppression of India but also for the Rana regime in Nepal.174 More

Nepali political movements were launched from 1946 through the formation of the Akhil

Bharatiya Nepali Rashtriya Congress (All -India Nepali National Congress),175 a broad

169 Mikesell, Class, State, and Struggle in Nepal, 89. 170 Chaube, Democratic Movement in Nepal and the Indian left, 5. 171 Ibid., 6-7. 172 Ibid., 36–7. 173 Ibid., 38. 174 Ibid., 52–3. 175 Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Rastriya Congress was formed on October 31, 1994. Its main aim was to fight the Ranas. It was the first broad-based Nepalese political organization.

62 political organization opposed to the Rana regime. According to Chaube, the support of

Indian rulers turned out to be pivotal in Nepal’s political movement in that both countries shared a cultural similarity, geographical accessibility, and economic interdependence176.

Chaube states that democratic movements in Nepal were catalyzed by the Indian left, citing the example of the NC, which grew in association with the Socialist Party of India, although it remained a centrist party.

Mikesell points out the importance of February 18, 1990, in the political development in

Nepal. This day is known as the Democracy Day and marks the completion of the political movement initiated in 1951 and the overthrow of the 30-year-old Panchayat system of non- party, absolutist monarchical government.177

According to Vaughn and Thapa, the Nepal Movement for the Restoration of Democracy started in February 1990 when student groups and the major political parties launched a campaign against the Panchayat system. The NC led the movement, getting support from the

ULF to hold peaceful demonstrations in urban areas. In April, more than 50 demonstrators were killed178 and King Birendra handed power to an interim government. This government drafted the constitution in November 1990, which established Nepal as a parliamentary democratic country with a constitutional monarch.

Since 1990, when democracy was reestablished in Nepal, two political parties, the NC and the UML, dominated the country’s politics. Thapaliya says that “parties had different ideologies; NC has liberal democratic ideology but with a socialist trademark and the

CPNUML is a communist party that allies with multiparty.”179 Hachhethu argues that during this period of ten years (1991-2001), political parties and their leadership spent a large amount of time building their parties but did so without adhering to proper democratic

176 Ibid.,129. 177 Mikesell, Class, State, and Struggle in Nepal, 87. 178 Vaughn, Political Developments and Bilateral Relation, 5. 179 Ibid., 25.

63 processes, nor did they place the national interest above their own parties’ interests.180

However, the 1990 movement to restore democracy was successful. Narayan Khadka attributes its success to “factors like the economic situation, urban unemployment, prices, growing inequalities, and increasing poverty.”181 The negative aspect of that general election was the defeat of Interim (PM) and the Acting President of NC, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and he got the same result in a midterm poll in 1993.

Manmohan Adhikary led a minority government in 1994 and his government collapsed on

September 11, 1995, when NC appealed to call for a special session in the parliament to vote on a non-confidence motion against the minority government. Before facing the non- confidence motion in the parliament, he “recommended dissolution of the parliament and holding of the fresh polls.”182 In 1995 Supreme Court decided the move of Adhikary was unconstitutional and NC formed a coalition government, after which Nepal plunged into political instability and made no visible progress.183

Both MacGinty and Paris take the view that peace between states and within states is based on market democracy and that constructing democratic political structure is the key component to sustainable peace.184 In Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen concludes that developing and strengthening a democratic system is an essential component of development.185 According to Sen, the significance of democracy lies in three distinct virtues, specifically, its intrinsic importance, its instrumental contributions, and its constructive role in the creation of values and norms. He maintains that no evaluation of the democratic form of governance can be complete without considering each of these virtues.186 Sen's ideas can be applied to evaluate Nepal's democratization process, which has often been in difficulty from

180 Ibid., 73. 181 Khadka, “Democracy and Development in Nepal,” 45–7. 182 Ibid., 40. 183 Ibid. 184 See MacGinty, No War, No Peace; Paris, At War’s End. 185 Sen, Development as Freedom, 147–59. 186 Ibid.

64 the beginning.

Hachhethu states that Nepali politics are in a state of transitional flux. The initial transition phase was backed by the spirit of the 1990 popular movements and restoration of a multiparty system in April, 1990. After the promulgation of a new constitution in November 1990, general elections in 1991, and local elections in 1992, the government acted smoothly to demolish the party-less Panchayat structures and set up democratic institutions. Hachhethu points out that, as a sign of democratic stability, the Constitution of 1990 enshrined rights, such as popular sovereignty, constitutional monarchy, multiparty parliamentary system, and unalterable fundamental rights of citizens and was practically and theoretically opposed by the revolutionary communist parties of Nepal.

The existing literature has discussed the Nepal democratization process in three stages: early 1992 to 1994,187 1994 to 2001,188 and 2002 to the present.189 The last is still in a transitional phase toward consolidation of democracy. However, Ganga Thapa observes that the democratic process of Nepal has come a long way in political and social terms in the past

60 years and had three waves of democratic systems – in 1951, 1990, and 2006. Despite significant advances as far as democracy is concerned, its transition toward becoming a viable democratic polity remains fragile190.

187 In 1994, the ruling NC announced a mid-term parliamentary election due to intra-party conflict, in which it was defeated. 188 From 1994 to 1999, Nepal had eight governments of different natures: i) The CPNUML minority government (November 1994–September 1995), ii) the NC-led center-right coalition government with RPP and (NSP) (September 1995–March 1997), iii) the RPP-led right-left government with UML and NSP (March 1997–October 1997), iv) the RPP-led right-center government with the NC and NSP (October 1997–April 1998), v) the NC minority government (April–August 1998), vi) the NC-led center-left government with the CPN (ML), a new splinter party out of the UML, and NSP (August–December 1998), vii) the NC minority government (December 1998), and viii) the NC led center-left government with UML and NSP (December 1998–May 1999). Frequent changes in government affected the stability and peace in the country, resulting in the Maoist insurgency in 1996. 189 The massacre of the Nepali royal family took place in June 2001. On account of the growing Maoist insurgency, the government of Nepal was unable to function properly, and King Gyanendra dissolved the parliament and declared a state of emergency; then, in February 2005, the King directly seized power. After the democratic uprising of April 2006, the King handed over the power to the SPA. A coalition government was formed the same year, and the Maoists reached a peace agreement, ending the decade-long insurgency. 190 Thapa Ganga. “Reading Nepal’s Democratization Process.” Nepal News, 2012. http://www.nepalnews.com/home/index.php/guest-column/21992-reading-nepals-democratization-

Sorensen evaluates the current prospects for democratization in the concept of variability from “transition to democracy” as at a standstill191. He argues that nations have faced hurdles in promoting democracy because of internal difficulties and the involvement of outsiders. He characterizes democracy as having negative characteristics and outcomes in addition to positive ones, such as economic growth, human rights, and peace. He further theorizes that the democratization process helps in socioeconomic development within developing countries. With regard to democracy, he agrees that it is ruled by the people, but claims that its precise definition is difficult because democracy is a dynamic entity based on different meanings acquired over time. The meaning of democracy is, or should be, the subject of debate because, in accordance with Sorensen, dynamism within political parties stems from a society that is changeable and is developed in different ways throughout the world. However, he emphasizes three dimensions of political democracy that can indicate the status of democracy specific to a country: competition, participation, and civil and political liberties.

2.4.3 Political Parties and People Political parties are the main actors in establishing a stable political system in a country.

Dahal observes that the innovation of the universal franchise has provided citizens with the means to express their political preferences through political parties.192 With the transformation of a democracy from bourgeois and representative to a participatory one, the functions of political parties in building and sustaining the interests of citizens in politics have gone through a substantive transformation. According to Dahal, “Political parties are vital arms of the state, intrinsic components of legislative process, and shapers of public opinion and democratic will-formation. They put together issues, ideologies, and interests and

process.pdf. Accessed on November 1, 2012. 191 Sorensen, ed., Democracy and Democratization: Process and Prospects in a Changing World, 71-7. 192 Dahal, Democracy Building and Party System in Nepal, 1.

66 make them intelligible for citizens.193” They offer alternative programs, provide a mechanism by which citizens can aggregate, articulate, and communicate their interests and opinions, and build the civic competence of citizens through political socialization and social mobilization.

Political parties equally inform the citizens about political priorities in certain areas of public interest, such as foreign policy, security, federalism, economy, environmental protection, and nation-building, while maintaining differences on other issues, such as education, irrigation, marriage, decentralization, and so on.

Dahal highlights that a political party is a part of society, not the whole society. In this sense, a modern political party is defined as a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power through constitutional means and defend popular sovereignty and commonly agreed-upon national interests. In all multicultural societies, political parties play key roles in the political integration of citizens of diverse social origins and provide them access to the services of the governing institutions. Huntington says, “The function of the party is to organize participation, to bring together separate interests, to serve as the link between social forces and government.”194 Politics is the periodic alteration of political parties in power through elections, ensuring the circulation of elites and a peaceful change in society. Multiparty systems have become successful in those societies where property and power-sharing arrangements have been settled and parties have developed a stable consensus on the rules of governance.

With regard to the political parties of Nepal, Mikesell mentions that a major factor is the lack of internal democracy in the parties; candidates are selected by party bosses,195 bureaucrats, businesspersons, and other powerful national and international agencies, and they become instruments in their hands and are ultimately rewarded by the leaders in the future. The candidate who wins the election, therefore, feels no accountability to the

193 Ibid., 1. 194 Huntington, 67. 195 Chairmen, general secretaries, supreme leaders, etc.

67 people.196

Mikesell makes clear that during the transition to democracy in the 1990s, the misgivings of the opposition about the undemocratic nature of the election process were not unfounded, because the leaders of the interim government did not show particular confidence in the people, while at the same time appearing to take the people’s support for granted. At first, the people were asked to participate in the movement; once this participation gained momentum, became spontaneous, and finally brought down the government, they were asked to demobilize and not participate. Instead, they placed their faith in the leaders of the People’s

Movement and the “martyrs” who legitimized their decisions and actions.197

Shyam Shrestha, a member of the Citizen’s Movement for Development and Peace, points out that, in Nepal, everything has changed except “the status-quo mentality and attitude of our political leadership.”198 His criticism is that political leaders are against the change for which the Nepali people have struggled in every aspect of social and political life.199

Suri K.C. provides a comparative analysis of South Asian countries, including Nepal, India,

Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. He uses a systematic approach to understand the functioning of political parties, elections, and governments in different South Asian nations.

The critique of political development in Nepal has its own characteristics and gives a comprehensive picture of Nepali politics. Suri says, “In 1990, a multiparty democracy was established within a constitutional monarchy framework. However, this multiparty democracy was threatened by Maoist insurgency launched in 1996. In 2001, the Prince killed the royal family members, including the King and Queen, before he eventually committed suicide. As a result of this incident, in October 2002, the new King Gyanendra dissolved the

196 Mikesell, Class, State, and Struggle in Nepal, 142–3. 197 Ibid., 126-27. 198 Shrestha, Shyam,” Nepal at the Crossroads of Great Prospects and Great political Crisis.” In Democracy and Development in Nepal, ed., Karvinen, Anu, 5. 199 Ibid.

68 cabinet and held power in his own hands.”200

Baral narrates the extraordinary events of October 4, 2002, when King Gyanendra dismissed the elected PM, Sher Bahadur Deuba, for “incompetence,” seized power himself, and derailed the constitutional process.201 This drastic change in the political equation brought about political uncertainty and a division between political parties and the monarch that resulted in new alliances within parties and protests against the monarch.202

According to political scientist Baral, the parliament, as the representative institution of the people, has not demonstrated its effectiveness in resolving the problems of the country.203 In the parliament, political parties are the actors that make government institutions effective; unfortunately, in Nepal, they have failed to do so because of internal conflict. Baral believes that the parliamentary democracy has reached a dead end owing to three trends. First, the constitutional monarchy visualized under the present constitution has not existed since King

Gyanendra’s coup of October 2002. Second, before the April 2006 movement,204 the parliamentary parties were in a dilemma over whether to change their position on the monarchy.205 Finally, the Maoists were demanding a CA to frame a new constitution. Since the April 2006 movement resulted in the reinstatement of the parliament, the formation of the

SPA,206 and CA elections, the above argument has been proved.

K. C. has presented his empirical findings on candidate selection and party organization in political parties of different countries.207 This is very useful because the author analyzes

200 K. C., Suri, “Political Parties in South Asia,” 26. 201 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,” 9. 202 Ibid., 33. 203 Ibid., 8. 204 The April 2006 mass protests known as Jana Andolan II, in which at least three to four million Nepal is participated, marked the beginning of the journey towards a new Nepali democratic state. For more information, see IDEA, A Study on the State of Democracy, 19–43. 205 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,” 8–36. 206 The formation of the SPA saw the transformation of the CPN (Maoist) from an armed insurgency group into a political party that had become an integral part of the anti-monarchy movement of April 2006. The seven parties were NC Party, the CPN (UML), the CPN (M), the People Front, Nepal, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, the Nepal Sadhvawana Party, and Samyukata Bammorcha (United Leftist Front). 207 K.C., “Political Parties in South Asia,” 131–5.

69 the social structure of the parties, and this approach can be applied in Nepal’s case. K. C.’s recommendations for reforming the system are also very useful. He suggests that the party chiefs, the office-bearers, and members of the top executive body should be directly elected by delegates, and that this will help South Asian political parties facing internal disputes and unhealthy alliances of power. In the context of Nepal, Suri’s recommendation about party reforms is very important, where political parties have always proved undemocratic.

According to K.C.,

[H]ow the parties become more stable, enduring, and democratic, so that they

discharge their function well in democracy. However, a desired outcome is not

possible when the agencies that are responsible for operation of a system are deformed,

weak, and unstable. This is the truth of government; Parties are the operational

agencies of government in any modern representative democracy.208

In light of K. C.’s views, it is true that Nepali political parties have not established a fair and transparent system for selecting their leadership through democratic elections. In most of the parties, decisions are taken by leaders who are bound by family and kinship.

There should be a new democratic provision that allows a contest for any position, and the election process should be transparent.209

Baral asserts, “Political parties and the parliament are inseparable in a parliamentary democracy. Without parties, a parliament cannot be formed and without a parliament the parties’ relevance, power, and political process cannot exist.”210 His discussion of Nepali political parties and their role in parliament makes clear that political parties have failed to develop a common political culture, and neither the role of parliament nor the government’s agenda is clear. The Mahakali Treaty211 was an example of the inability of the government to

208 Ibid., 125–7. 209 Ibid., 130–6. 210 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,” 1. 211 The Mahakali Treaty was a treaty between Nepal and the government of India concerning the integrated

70 implement policy even after its endorsement by a two-thirds majority in parliament.212 On this issue, Manmohan Bhattarai states, “The Mahakali Treaty was not out and out wrong that occurred between Nepal and India.”213

Baral compares the Nepali parliamentary system with that of Britain, and concludes that, in fact, it could not function properly in Nepal. He visualizes the Nepali general election, and how the political leadership acts unfairly during parliamentary elections. He notes that whenever the government changes and a new administration is formed, it has had a negative impact on the general public as well as the bureaucracy. He states,

Corrupt political practices have been encouraged to gain power. The race of power has

considerably weakened the prospects of stable government as well as its capability to

implement policies in sustainable manner. There have been frequent shifts in the

policy rhetoric from one government to another rather than having substantive and

sustainable policy measure.214

In recent literature, Indra Adhikari, in Military and democracy in Nepal, mentions that

Nepalese army, military, government and democracy are all interrelated215. The author further notes that, in the Nepal democratization process, all these elements have a direct impact on the sustainability of political process. Further, he elaborates on the need for establishing civilian supremacy over the military. Nepal military is the only institution that is not effected by politics and maintains a neutral position, aligned with national interests.

As noted by Adhikari, “Post-1990 politics show that the main problems before the elected government were: (a) the king`s negative attitude towards deploying the army against the

development of the Mahakali River including the Sarada barrage, the Tanakpur barrage, and Pancheshwar project, which was signed in 1996. As the treaty was being signed, the nation was facing a political crisis over the issue of sovereignty. The parliament was divided, and the political parties had internal conflicts on the issue. 212 Ibid., 34. 213 Appendix 5, 291- 92. 214 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,”36. 215 Adhikari, Indra, Military and Democracy in Nepal, 1.

Maoists; (b) the non-cooperation of the army in the field after its mobilization; and (c) the army pressurizing the government to fulfill its own preconditions before entering combat operations in Maoist affected areas.”216

2.4.4 Development of Political Parties Hachhethu discusses the three major stages in the development of political parties in Nepal over the last seven decades of party formation, party survival, and party building. Edmund

Burke defines a party as “a body of men, united for promoting by joint endeavors the national interest, upon the some particular principle in which they are all agreed.” A party democracy approach suggests that party building depends mainly on two aspects – the ability of the party to pursue its own ideological goal and its efforts to maximize intra-party democracy in its own affairs. A transformation approach suggests that party building is an ongoing process, like the development of a biological organism.217

Scholars such as Baral and Rishikesh Shaha218 have examined Nepalese political parties within the wider perspective of Nepali politics and have evaluated their functionality in the

Nepali political system. Existing data and literature show that while the Panchayat system banned the activities of political parties, two major parties – the NC and the CPNUML – preserved national networks at the grassroots level. There were some other political parties in action, as well. The NC had made a political agreement with ULF, and there were some revolutionary communist parties fighting against the Panchayat system under the banner of

National People’s Movements.

The Election Commission in 1999 registered and gave election symbols to 100 parties. The

NC, CPN-UML, RPP, United People’s Forum, and NSP were recognized as national parties, as they had won more than three percent of the votes in the general election. The following

216 Ibid., 39. 217 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 4–9. 218 Ibid., 3–4.

72 were the key political parties in Nepal that contested the CA election in 2008.219

 CPN (M)

 NC

 CPNUML

 MPRF

 The Terai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP)

 The Sadhbavana Party

 The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)

A transformation approach220 analysis shows that Nepali political parties have theoretically and practically changed their general behavior – for example, adopting ethnic and minority issues in their programs – but it does not show the process of this transformation.

In terms of party building, existed literature shows that the process of party expansion lacked the aspect of democracy. As compared to developed countries, in Nepal, the means of attracting people were not formulated through policies and programs. Nepali political parties seemed to rely more on maximization of party members and supporters, and called it organizational development. This type of party-building process had appeal from 1991 to

2000, but now the situation has changed and several methods such as affiliation and association that appeared in the immediate aftermath of the successful people’s movement have given way to apathy towards and disillusionment with the parties and their leaders.221

A review of the literature on parties’ programs finds similarities in each party, where leaders remain willing to adhere to rules and regulations as long as it suits their interests.

Once the party or leader feels that the rule of law cannot fulfill their aspirations, they immediately adopt such undemocratic means as general strikes and street protests. Leaders of

219 Election Commission, of Nepal, CA Election 2008, list of Wining Candidates http://www.election.gov.np/reports/CAResults/reportBody.php. Accessed on June 10, 2012. 220 A transformation approach here is to understand the institution like political parties, institutional patterns, organizational structure of their membership, and change in party systems. 221 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 3–4.

73 smaller political parties have been leading undemocratic political processes by organizing periodic agitations that disrupt normal life. This culture of politics first appeared in Nepali political parties when a multiparty democracy was initiated.

Hachhethu states that, in the post 1990s Jana Andolan period, the NC and CPN-UML had already passed through the stages of party formation and party survival before entering the new stage of party building.222 Since the restoration of democracy in 1990, political parties – the NC and the CPN (UML), in particular – have undergone a number of distinct transformations, i.e., from illegal organizations to legitimate contenders for political power; from underground organizations to open competitive parties; from cadre-based to mass-based parties; from a small group of people sharing common interests to heterogeneous organizations consisting of people with diverse interests; and from ideology-oriented organizations to power-seeking parties.223 From 1991 to 1996, the political parties entered into several unnatural collusions within and beyond their ranks that directly and indirectly affected the activities and formation of governments. Ultimately, this became the major factor in the political instability in the country.224

From 1991 to 2006, when the elections for the CA were held, Nepal was being ruled by several political parties, which were in favor of participatory democracy, but in practice, a handful of lead er of political parties held power. The Election Commission of Nepal registered that in 2012, there were 74 political parties.225 This shows that the political development of the parties was increasing significantly.

The structure of Nepali political parties is more or less similar—the heads of the parties are elected by all the members and the other remaining members are elected or nominated by the president of the parties. Besides this, some seats in the party are filled on a caste/ethnic basis.

222 Ibid., 23. 223 Ibid., 21. 224 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 38-40. 225 Election Commission, of Nepal, Registered Political Parties.2012 http://www.election.gov.np/election/en/political-parties-86.html. Accessed on July 10, 2012.

Almost all parties create their network organization from a local to a central level. In addition to this, national parties select candidates for parliament and local elections. In some cases, a strong and popular candidate gets the opportunity to stand for elections, while, in others, nepotism plays a role and kinship gets the highest priority.226

With regard to the political development of parties in the CA, the leadership has been captured by teachers, professors, social workers, and members of middle- and high-class families; religious and ethnic community leaders reap the benefits. After the 2008 elections for the CA, the political situation in Nepal changed slightly, such that women, and, in some cases, people from the underprivileged and minor communities, occupied positions in the CA for the first time.227

When analyzing the financial background of political parties, research shows that local businesses, party member fees, donations, for example, are the main financial resources of political parties. However, the CPN (Maoist) has been undertaking mass agriculture, poultry farming, and other productive works throughout the country to provide a sustainable livelihood for its cadres.228

Nepali media began playing a central role in society after the political changes of 1990.

During the time of insurgency, and especially after 1996, the media contributed in the political development. The Maoists, too, used their own party activists as media people to ensure that major hidden issues did not become known. Nepal’s media played an important role in covering up the political issues during the mass movements of 2006 by controlling what was disseminated to the general public. With the inclusion of the dispensation of pluralistic polity, the inclusion of the press, and publication rights as well as the right to

226 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 121–65. 227 The Carter Center, Observing the 2008 Nepal CA Election, April 2008, 11, 65. https://www.ciaonet.org/attachments/17945/uploads. Accessed on July 10, 2012. 228 Dahal, Dev Raj, “Elections and Conflict in Nepal Country Analysis,”12. http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/07722.pdf. Accessed on June 10, 2012.

75 information in the 1990 constitution, the Nepalese media have had a favorable environment to flourish and have had sufficient space to highlight the issues of the common people.

To some extent, the Nepali media have played a neutral role, but, in some cases, they have been the mouthpiece of political parties and have spread propaganda against the regime in power.

2.4.5 Prospects for Nepali Politics Political culture has been rooted in Nepali society for a long time, and sociocultural loyalties always move around the power holders; this is one of the obstacles of the formal institutionalization of the democratic system. If we make a broad study on the formation and power center of political parties, we will find a connection running between past and present traditions. The history of modern Nepal, since the beginning of the Gorkha kingdom, has moved on a zigzag path, as the country experienced a devastating war between Nepal and the

East India Company, the political coup of Jang Bahadur Rana, the political coup of King

Mahendra in 1961, and finally, King Gyanendra’s coup. Baral views these issues thusly:

The history of Nepal and its ups and downs, fault lines, and challenges would naturally

cover aspects of culture, religion, society, political economy, administration, and elites.

But democracy becomes difficult to comprehend with contextualizing it to emerging trends

that encompass social, economic, regional, and international dynamics. 229

Nepali political history can be divided into five major phases: (1) the Shaha-Rana period, post-1950 to 1960; (2) Panchayat political era, between 1960 and 1990; (3) post-1990 to 1996, after the restoration of democracy; (4) 1996 to 2006, when the country faced a decade-long armed conflict; and (5) 2006 to the present, where Nepal has held elections for the CA twice, in 2008 and 2013, to draft the most democratic and inclusive constitution. The coup of Jang

Bahadur Rana was the first political juncture in the history of Nepal. In 1960, five years after

229 Baral, Nation-State in the Wilderness, 2.

76 ascending to the throne, King Mahendra suspended the elected government and banned all political parties, and this next juncture of Nepali politics gave unlimited political power to the king, which was a great setback in the development of Nepali politics. The revolt of CPN

(Maoist) in 1996 was another crucial juncture that affected the entire country for a decade and resulted in the establishment of a republic and inclusive democracy.230

Nepal’s multiparty parliamentary democracy faced Maoist armed conflict in 1996 and, after the signing of the CPA in 2006, Nepal became a federal democratic republic. Einsiedel et al. assert that endemic poverty and group inequality caused the structural violence that fueled the outbreak of civil war.231 Up to the present time, political change in Nepal has been within a specific time framework and leaders have failed to institutionalize democratic values within that time. After the post-democratic period of 1950, Nepali intellectuals probed political newness. Malla notes,

The post-1950 decade in Nepal is characterized, in the first place, by a sense of release and

emancipation of the intellect from a century-old and priestly yoke, and in its place, by an

unprecedented expansion of intellectual and cultural opportunities. The decade can aptly

be called a decade of extroversion. For it was a decade of explosion of all manner of ideas,

activities and organized efforts. … It thoroughly exposed the social attitude and political

immaturity of the Nepalese intelligentsia, and the fluctuation—till the end of the decade—

seemed to be more and more to the left.232

Even after the popular People’s Movement of 1990, the country’s leaders could not address the sociopolitical agenda of the populace, driving the country towards further instability. The leaders lacked a vision for Nepal, and the country experienced one type of conflict after another in a very short period. According to Baral, “Nepali politicians have, in

230 The Constitution of Nepal-2015, 8. http://www.nepalembassy-germany.com/pdfs/Constitution_full_english.pdf. Accessed on August 6, 2016. 231 Einsiedel, Malone, and Pradhan, “Introduction,” 8. 232 Malla, “The Intellectual in Nepalese Society,” 277.

77 comparison with other countries’ leaders, failed to build institutions commensurate with their roles of waging movements for change.”233

Analyzing the political incidents shows that Nepal’s mainstream parties were autocratically structured with all major decisions being made by a small circle of largely male party leaders.234 From 1950 to 2006, the traditional elite mindset dominated Nepali politics under different names, like parliamentary democracy and absolute power of king, for example.

Baral agrees with this and writes that “[the] mixture of the old and new values had perennially played an obstructionist role in the post-1950 politics of Nepal.”235 Traditional values in terms of socioeconomic structure and use of power were under the invisible or visible hands, to some extent, of Nepal’s political elites, and this marginalized the majority of the people. Political parties introduced programs with short-term solutions to gain political power, while the people were deprived of individual rights, such as identity, well-being, and the capacity to exercise their own interests. Hangen states that transformation was a goal of the 1990 people’s uprising, but, unfortunately, the country never achieved political stability,236 and no government completed tenure successfully. Between 1990 and 2006, three parliamentary elections were held – in 1991, 1994 (a mid-term poll), and 1999. From 1990 to

2006, the Nepali people were ruled by 15 different governments.237 There were only two times King Gyanendra ruled the country and exercised absolute power in Nepal. Even after the successful people’s uprising in 2006, six different governments were formed until

2013.238

Socio-politico-economic transformation was the main agenda of every political change.

Political leaders attempted to grasp the people’s agenda and sought temporary fixes, instead

233 Baral, Nation-State in the Wilderness, 8. 234 Einsiedel, Malone, and Pradhan, “Introduction,” 17. 235 Baral, Nation-State in the Wilderness, Managing State, Democracy and Geopolitics, 10. 236 Hangen, Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal, 23. 237 Ibid. 238 Maps of World, Name list of Prime Ministers of Nepal. http://www.mapsofworld.com/list-of/prime-ministers-nepal/. Accessed on 21 April 2013.

78 of finding a sustainable solution for political issues, which is why, within short time, the country faced frequent strikes and shutdowns.239 The political and economic agendas of political parties were not implemented, or they were not ready to make a change in the society.

After 2006, all political parties in Nepal, either democratic or leftist, began to give priority to the programs that would put them in power and failed to provide a stable government. Despite fundamental ideological differences, which should have resulted in the formulation of different policies, parties have entered into non-ideological alliances in the interest of gaining – or remaining in – power.

Further, scholars have highlighted the fact that Nepal’s mass movement remained successful and have argued that it was necessary for the Maoists to gain power through armed struggle. According to Muni, “[T]he Maoists were obviously the principal ‘game changers’.”240 This point has been raised by several scholars in connection with Maoist activities, as long as they came to open politics. Critics have argued that in a country like

Nepal, if we talk about the Maoist movement, frequent political programs like bandhs and chaka-jams are more significant issues to deal with, rather than the revolutionary path.

From 1996, when they started the political movement, following their own party doctrine to the recent political juncture, the Maoists have posed a continuous threat to the new democratic republic. In the past, Maoist leaders categorically made political demands such as establishing a “people’s democracy” a minimum political agenda of their party. Unlike this, in 2003, it demanded, “to restructure the state in a progressive manner.”241 This shows that they set the agenda of political transition as a “people’s republic through an elected CA,

239 The guardian, In Nepal,$ 1 bn impact of Strikes over constitution` worse than earthquakes` https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/05/nepal-1bn-dollars-impact-economy-strikes- over-constitution-worse-than-earthquakes. Accessed on April, 2016. 240 Muni, “Bringing the Maoist Down from the Hills,” 313–4. 241 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 219.

79 through their decade-long armed struggle, the People’s War.”242

In addition to this, the new political system was once again set up in 2006 after the signing of the CPA between the SPA and the Maoists, and the CA elections in 2008. The common people had some hope that this would establish sustainable peace in the country, as the

Maoist leaders “had sought to forge an alliance with the other parties”243 and had achieved a significant position in the CA, securing more than one-third of the majority. However,

CA2008 was dissolved without promulgating a new constitution.

In Self Determination & Constitution Making in Nepal, CA, Inclusion, & Ethnic

Federalism, Bhandari Surendra provides insight into constitution-making in Nepal. He provides a historical overview of the Nepal’s six decades of constitutional history, during which the country experienced six constitutions. Among these, the 1959 Constitution, known as the democratic constitution, is one of the shortest-lived constitutions in Nepal, having had a life span of less than one year.244 In his work, the author highlights both positive and negative factors of all constitutions and provides some recommendations for a new constitution. In order to transform uncertainty into political stability, he proposes instating the directly elected prime minster with full executive authority, along with a president as the head of state, elected by the parliament, with nominal executive authority, among other recommendations.245 However, at the time this article was reviewed as a part of this study,

Nepal CA already passed the New Constitution, which will allow us to see how much of

Bhandari’s recommendations were adopted after the promulgation of this constitution in 2015.

Nonetheless, this work is still highly relevant, as the author discusses issues, such as political interest versus system building, which will provide Nepal stability and peace in the long term.

Prashant Jha, in Battles of the New Republic, a Contemporary History of Nepal, illustrates

242 Muni, “Bringing the Maoist Down from the Hills,” 314. 243 Ibid. 244 Bhandari, Surendra, Self Determination & Constitution Making in Nepal, CA, Inclusion, & Ethnic Federalism, 1-2. 245 Bhandari, Self Determination, 26.

80 the Nepal Maoist conflicts and how monarchy was abolished, through a work that is a diary of daily political incidents of contemporary Nepal. Jha’s work is particularly valuable for those unfamiliar with Nepalese political history. However, there is no significant theory or idea that can be utilized for developing the country in the future.

In Rightward Drift in Nepal, C. K. Lal comments on the November 2013 CA 2nd election in Nepal, in which the winning party was given a fractured mandate but one that made the traditional upper caste and upper class groups dominant again.246 In comparison, in the first

CA election, major rebellion parties, such as Maoist, gained prominence relative to regional parties, yet were sidelined during the 2013 second CA election. In regards to this political commentator and civil society activity, Shyam Shrestha asks, if Maoist political achievements were so remarkable, why did Maoists face such an embarrassing defeat in the second CA election? He says that Nepali Maoists could not properly explain their achievements and their remarkable and revolutionary nature.247 Further, he pointed out that, while the Maoists managed to lead the transformation of the Nepalese political system, they failed to bring about similar transformation in the economic, social and cultural spheres while they were in government during the first CA.248

In his work, M. Govinda Rao comments on Nepali federalism, highlighting the socioeconomic interests and political motives and contrasting them to the key drivers in other economically developed nations or intra-state federations. According to the author, in some cases, different countries come together to form a confederation for a common interest to reap the gains from security and common market. In the case of Nepal, the motivation for adopting a federal system of governance comes from the relatively slowly growing economy,

246 C. K. Lal, “Rightward Drift in Nepal,” Economic & Political Weekly, vol.49, no. 4 (2014): 10. 247 Shrestha, Shyam, “Maoist Defeat in Nepal; The Price of Missed opportunity,” Economic & Political Weekly, vol.49, no. 4 (2014): 13. 248 Shrestha, “Maoist Defeat in Nepal”, 14.

81 where opportunities do not expand fast enough and groups experience exclusion.249

Therefore, he recommends that the political, economic and development aspects be considered during the creation of federalism.

2.4.6 Social Structure Andra Matles Savada states, “In the mid-twentieth century, Nepal remained gripped in an old socioeconomic structure despite the influence of Western popular culture, growing commercialization, and some penetration of capitalism.”250 The first challenge to this feudalistic power structure came in 1950–1951, when the Rana autocracy was overthrown by the popular democratic movement that restored the authority of the monarchy. With regard to

Nepal’s caste and class relations, Mikesell notes that the 1990 uprising that brought down the

Panchayat system “may be understood as a maturation of contradictions in a long process of social development and struggle.”251 Nepal’s political movement brought down the autocratic system of the Ranas and guided democracy under King Mahendra. The purpose of a democratic government in Nepal was, as Arendt indicates, “to accommodate the great plurality of human beings, so they can live in peaceful coexistence and share the earth and mutually guaranteed freedom.”252

Savada and other scholars, such as Mikesell, highlight social classes and stratification of

Nepali society. According to them, Nepali society is divided into different sub-sectors in terms of access to power: a small ruling elite class; a growing, intermediate-sized group of government officials, large landholders, and merchants; and the vast majority of the population, consisting of a peasant base. Savada sys,

These divisions are descriptive, functional class categories rather than social class

249 Rao, M. Govinda, “Fiscal Federalism Opportunities and Challenges for Nepal,” Economic & Political Weekly, no. 10 (2015): 35. 250 Savada, ed., Nepal: A Country Study, 1991. 251 Mikesell, Class, State, and Struggle in Nepal, 191–3. 252 Arendt, The Promise of Politics, 202.

entities based on the Marxian concept of the social relations of production. In a way,

all three classes were a long continuum in Nepal’s social structure because most of the

members of the ruling elite and government functionaries had their direct roots in the

rural landlord, which was one stratum of the farming population. Even though the

agricultural sector as a whole faced similar economic and technological circumstances,

it was diverse and contained several strata in land holding, relative economic

dependence, and independence253.

According to Paffenholz and Spurk, the participation of citizens in political decision- making is the core of functioning democracies.254 Public participation is an emerging issue of democracies, and the present Nepali society wants to enjoy “the right to development as a right of all individuals in a country exercised collectively.”255 Therefore, civil society has a tremendously important role to play in democracies, not only domestically but also in international cooperation. In Nepal, armed conflict has directly influenced civil society and has dramatically changed the life of people at all levels, affecting economic and social change and the shift of power relations within communities.

Diversity in language and religion has played a central role in political discourse. Vaughn highlights that, in the historical context, religion has long been an important factor in Nepal, where, out of a populace of 29.3 million, 81 percent of the population follow the Hindu faith and 11 percent are Buddhist. Nepali is the official language, though there are over 100 regional and indigenous linguistic groups who speak more than 100 languages.256

Moreover, in the early 1990s, Nepalese society was ethnically diverse and complex, ranging in phenotype (physical characteristics) and culture from the Indian to the Tibetan.

Except for the sizable population of those of Indian birth or ancestry concentrated in the Terai,

253 Savada, ed., Nepal: A Country Study. 254 Paffenholz and Spurk, “Civil Society, Civic Engagement.” 1. 255 Bleie, The Adivasis of Bangladesh, 65. 256 Vaughn, Political Developments and Bilateral Relation, 3–4.

which borders India, the varied ethnic groups have evolved into distinct patterns over time.257

According to Dilli Dahal, before 1950, the Rana government wanted to show Nepal as

homogenous country in terms of language, religion and ethnic/caste based structure.258 The

government advocated the single language and religion policy within the framework of Hindu

nationalism. Further, he mentions that the unstable government after 1950, frequent changes

in the government structure, and then the short life of these governments, could not provide

enough space for people to grow. The removal of the Panchayat regime in 1990 did provide a

participatory political culture of people, considering their language, religion, and culture. In

1990, the government started to collect information on caste and ethnicity in Nepal. The

following data recorded by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) show the percentage of

different ethnicities.

Table 4 Ethnic and Caste Proportions in the Nepali Population Ethnic group/Caste Percentage %

Chhetri 15.5

Brahman-Hill 12.5

Magar 7

Tharu 6.6

Tamang 5.5

Newar 5.4

Muslim 4.2

Kami 3.9

Yadav 3.9

Other 32.7

257 Dahal, Social Composition of the Population, 111-12. 258 Ibid., 87.

Unspecified 2.8

Compiled by the author. Source: Central Bureau of Statistics 2001, Nepal.

When there was a democratic effort in Nepal in 1950, which overthrew the Rana regime, it

motivated the country to take up different perspectives in measuring the census of the

country.259 Earlier, a general human census was normally conducted (starting from 1911)

until the onset of this democratic revolution, which was later followed by the institution of a

constitution in 1990. The outcome of the revolution and setting up of a constitution caused

the censuses to be conducted in terms of social components, based on language, religion, and

ethnic and castes groups.260 It is without a doubt that the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)

was skeptical in taking a census with social components in mind, but taking considerations

into perspectives, such types of census taking is practiced in Nepal. The main reason was to

make the people to be more inclusive or to partake in politics on larger scale261. But although

the CBS took major steps, politicians, planners and academics feel that such a census in terms

of social composition might contribute towards possible disintegration, instead of integrating

the Nepal society262. The system of CBS has, however , helped planners, teachers, students

and NGOs/INGOs to get distinct views of the socio-economic conditions of the people and to

help draw policies accordingly. Furthermore, commentators have argued that detailed

information on groups of people could lead towards the integration of country in terms of

political and administrative angles, rather than following a non-inclusive developmental

model, which might lead the country towards disintegration.

The Hindu caste system is strong in Nepal, and the sociocultural formation of the society

has some specific influences on the day-to-day activities of the Nepali people and affects the

259 Ibid. 260 Ibid. 261 Ibid. 262 Ibid.

85 structural formation of political organizations and politics. The Hindu caste system has a hierarchical structure, ordered from top to bottom on the basis of heredity, membership, endogamy (marrying within one’s own culture group), purity and pollution, and these cultural norms influence the political and social development of Nepal’s democratic movements.263

2.5 Conclusion Nepal has experienced a variety of political movements. As long as the Gorkhali king,

Prithivi Narayan Shah, unified a great nation, Nepali nationality was codified with language, culture and religion. Khasa, a language of the ruling class, Hinduism, as a part of religion,

Sanskrirtization, as a part of national culture, were deeply rooted in Nepalese politics. The rise of Rana rulers followed the same footsteps and denied the rights of people. The political movement of 1951 and 1990 were sufficiently unsuccessful in makg in the people fully participate in politics, or in providing civic rights, as even political parties imposed their hegemony within parties and country due to the lack of political culture.

For consolidating a democratic system, the political actors tried to achieve the national goals in order to get the full support and confidence of common people. An inclusive and participatory democratic system can develop in a country that mostly can reduce violence and unnecessary political intervention of any national and non-national political forces. In Nepal, the state power undermined the civic rights, cultural tradition, and social values of marginal class and indigenous communities, and discriminated against women and Madeshi people, and economically exploited rural and backward community people, which ultimately encouraged Maoists to push the country towards an armed political conflict.

Nepal’s post-conflict situation lacked the management process for conflicts, such as maintaining law and order. It hardly gave priority to assuring justice for the victims. The understanding between the political parties on different issues, such as the political transformation of the society and working with the truth and reconciliation committee set up

263 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 77-78.

86 between the government and the CPN (Maoist) during the CPA signed in 2006, have not been completed yet. As a result, the rule of law is not effectively implemented, legal mechanisms are weak, and the inability to ensure transitional justice has created impunity in the country.

There was a state of anarchy in the country when criminals went unpunished and foreign aid was misused as corruption increased. Social and political contradictions, controversies, and conflicts have been growing over the years to a higher intensity and dynamics. The current literature shows that there is gap in the facilitation of disarming, demobilizing, reintegration, and restructuring of the security sector. This has raised some challenges to the peace process in Nepal.

The gap between the general public and political parties is widening. Nepali political leadership lacks the civic culture needed to build an advanced system to govern the people.

This creates a gap between people living in different regions and communities, such as ethnic groups, women, and Dalits. Even in urban areas, the gap is clearly seen. Ultimately, it will be visible in Nepal’s ongoing peace process. The political parties only reach out to the people to appeal for their votes during the election period. In building a democracy in a post-conflict society like Nepal, passion, tolerance, social learning, reconciliation, and change in the attitude of leadership are incredibly important. Timely and periodic change through elections provides institutional resources to new groups for social mobility, and political participation at the local level makes conflict unnecessary to some extent. The de-politicization of the people in decision-making creates a gap between the leaders and public, whereas active political engagement of citizens in fields to promotes civic culture in society. This means that citizens should take initiatives and actions to play a role in determining policy and political decisions.

In addition, the complete lack of political freedom has made people turn their attention to other systems, ideologies, and possibilities. Nepali political parties and leadership failed to

87 promote democratic processes within parties and the government itself. During the democratic experimentation of the political parties, the struggle for power provided the basic principle for leadership. This paralyzed the country, and no law or order could be restored due to rising corruption. The case of insurgency also points to incompetent leadership of the then head of state, along with the fragmentation of the political parties in resolving the issue.

The Maoist Party, an isolated faction of the CPN, vowed to hand power to the long-ignored and deprived people of Nepal. The Maoist insurgency was especially deeply rooted in the rural areas that constitutes the major part of the country, and dismantled the traditional political system, allowing the party to create a new power balance. The diverse population and geographical features of Nepal provided a conducive atmosphere for initiating violence and producing counter-violence across the country. The social exclusion of the greater number of people living in the rural areas, the regional discrimination of the Terai and

Karnali areas, and the Far Western and Mid-western development regions,264 abject poverty, especially in hilly and mountainous regions, and political marginalization, were serious internal challenges to Nepal after 1990. From the politico-economic perspective, these were the common problems of the country, and the post-1990 political movement failed to address the problems of the Nepali people. In this unfair political situation, the CPN (Maoist) identified the hidden problems that fueled the conflict in a short period. After 1990, the marginalized groups of people got a new space to take part in political functions, but a lack of formal representation in the political structure of the country meant that there were no changes in their day-to-day life.

Throughout Nepal’s political history, the ruling elites, from the Shah dynasty to the political parties active in the democratic system that began in 1990, have acted in their own self-interest and ignored the interests of the common people. This is the root of all social,

264 Administratively the Karnali area falls under the Mid-western development region, a poor area within a backward development region of Nepal, and thus the Far-western development region is underdeveloped compared to others region in Nepal.

88 economic, and political problems in a caste-based social structure and hegemonic state. The domination of one group over another became a key point for the Maoist rebels. The CPN

(Unity Center) had sent a 40-point demand to PM Girija Prasad Koirala in 1992.265 These are some of those demands:

 End government terror, killing, firing, suppression, and hooliganism.

 Abrogate unequal treaties, agreements, and understandings, including the 1950 Treaty

with India, and cancel the understanding that hands over rivers to India.

 Provide settlement to squatters and stop displacing them without providing alternate

areas of settlement.

 Determine the wages of industrial and agricultural laborers.

 End injustice and exploitation of farmers.

 End discrimination against women, including their sale in the market. End

discrimination in the distribution of citizenship papers. Ensure that daughters have

equal rights to property.

 End discrimination towards people living in Terai and remote areas.

Another 40-point demand submitted to the government of Nepal on February 4, 1996266 contained these further demands:

 All discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty, should be

abrogated.

 The so-called integrated Mahakali Treaty concluded on January 29, 1996, should be

repealed immediately, as it is designed to conceal the disastrous Tanakpur Treaty and

allows Indian imperialist monopoly over Nepal’s water resources.

 Regional discrimination of the Terai by the hill-caste elite should be eliminated.

Backward areas should be given regional autonomy. Rural and urban areas should be

265 A 14-point charter was tabled by Nirmal Lama to the government of Nepal on behalf of CPN (Unity Center); its leader was Prachanda. Maharjan1993. More, Thapa and Sijapati, 2003: 210. 266 The United People’s Front headed by Dr Baburam Bhattari submitted this 40-point demand in 1996.

treated equally.

 All racial exploitation and suppression should be stopped. Where ethnic communities

are in majority, they should be allowed to form their own autonomous government.

 Discrimination against downtrodden and backward people should be stopped. The

system of untouchability should be eliminated.

 All languages and dialects should be given equal opportunities to prosper. The right to

education in the mother tongue up to higher levels should be guaranteed.

 Poor farmers should be exempt from loan repayments. Loans taken by small farmers

from the Agricultural Development Bank should be written off. Appropriate

provisions should be made to provide for small farmers.

The CPN (Maoist) party started the People’s War by uniting the isolated youths of the rural mid-western region of the nation and gradually captured most of the country. After the announcement of a state of emergency, military forces were mobilized to control the rebellion.

The political crisis became worse in 2001 and triggered stakeholders, such as the Maoists and political parties, to pay attention. The clash between parliamentary political parties and the royal palace worsened, and the rift between the political parties and the Maoists increased day by day. The clashes between the insurgents and the Royal NA took the lives of innocent civilians. The counter-attack proved provocative to the insurgents, who escalated the insurgency to new heights. This compelled the parliamentary parties and rebel forces to come together, and they ultimately reached an understanding to end the age-long monarchical system in Nepal.

Nepal has experimented with several forms of political systems at different times.

Different democratic constitutions were practiced, including, most recently, a democratic republic after 2006, when a new Interim Constitution 2007 was declared and implemented. In

1990, the Nepali people had an Multi -party democracy and constitutional monarchy were

90 implemented in 1990, with political parties using their constitutional rights to lead the government. Counter to this expectation, the democratic system became notorious in a few years, as the political leaders failed to meet public aspirations. The dynamic leadership of

CPN (Maoist) grasped the sentiment of common people as the ruling parties undermined their political, cultural, social and economic rights. The political rift within and beyond the major political parties like NC and CPN (UML) hampered the ruling of the country smoothly, and ultimately a fragile state political power of ruling parties and security system failed to analyze the political situation before 1996. In this crucial point, the ethnic and regional sentiments of the common populace proved to be responsible for garnering the political support to the

Maoist, which helped to escalate the conflict alarmingly across the country in a very short time. In the twenty-first century, therefore, it is interesting to study Maoist movements in

Nepal that lasted for ten years – from 1996 to 2006. Maoist leaders believed the peace agreement signed in 2006 to be a rupture in continuity and a sort of turning point towards completing their political goals. It provides different schools of thought that not only contribute to the study of social movements but also provide an opportunity to understand the societal influence in politics.

Since 1990, the democratization process has failed to yield political stability. From 1991 to

2006, the country underwent different struggles for peace and security. Thus, Nepal could be an example of a case in which multiparty parliamentary democracy failed to address the problems of the people. The differences of political culture to develop political consensus within and beyond political parties in order to solve the political crisis in different period became major problem in Nepali politics and the system proved inept repeatedly. If we study the political period from 1951 to 1960, the political conflict between royal palace and political parties became unproductive during a decade long transition phase, and from 1990 to

2006, political parties showed no responsibility towards the people and the country saw a

91 decade long armed conflict. In both periods, democratic constitutions were endorsed in the country, but different governments failed to lead the country successfully. Until now in Nepal, no democratic government has completed its full tenure. It has automatically showed the way of the country towards political instability. Democracy in the twenty-first century demands people's participation, irrespective of class, caste, religion, culture, gender, region, and so on, which allows the people to play a role at the decision-making level. In the absence of these aspects, Nepali people felt no political security from the government. In Nepal, no political mechanism was accountable for resolving the issues of participatory democracy and empowering, among others, women, the marginal class, indigenous communities, backward groups, or the untouchable caste.

There are still some rays of hope that the peace process has achieved a glorious height.

Maoist combatants are integrated in the NA and rehabilitated in society, which has increased a level of political trust among the political parties. A strong political resolution is now needed to solve difficult issues, such as drafting and promulgating a new constitution for a new Nepal. To some extent, these issues are already being addressed, except that political parties have still a rift over the electoral system, declaring the number of federal states, forms of government, and so on, which are the necessary parts of the promulgation of a constitution in time.

However, issues like missing people and the formation of TRC were completed, but its political and legal mandates to reaching work for a logical conclusion of peace process have not been final yet. The major point is that the promulgation of the new constitution, for which the Nepali people have been fighting for a long time, was promulgated on 20 September 2015.

Nepal's main problem for ending the peace process – development and enhancing security of the people – is associated with political ideology, forms of governance, good and transparent governance, inclusive political system, and proportional development. Finally, external

92 political stakeholders who generally played positive roles in different times ought not to show their political interest and their preferences to political parties and political leaders.

Chapter3: The Maoist Insurgency and Conflict Resolution 3.1 History of the Maoist Party The political party that initiated a decade-long people’s war in 1996 emerged in that form after experiencing ups and downs in the political history of Nepal. The Communist Party of

Nepal was formed in 1949 in Kolkata, India, and aimed to establish its own political system based on ideological doctrine. The party opposed the Delhi agreement267 reached between the Rana rulers, the NC, and India in 1951, which formally ended the 104-year Rana regime, as it had no political role in that agreement. The influence of pro-Peking and pro-Moscow factions gradually resulted in revolutionary and royalist communists in Nepal. Similarly, after the end of the democratic system in 1961, at a plenum held in Darbhanga, India, the CPN tabled three proposals as to the nature of the party, that is, that they be, either, supporters of the royal takeover of 1961, supporters of a democratic system that needed a working alliance with the NC, or radical leftists who demanded the election of the CA for drafting the

Constitution of Nepal.268 In fact, in 1961, the third proposal tabled by Mohan Bikram

Singh269 got an overwhelming majority, but the central leaders accepted the first proposal of

Keshar Jung Rayamajhi. The designer of the second proposal was Puspa Lal Shrestha270, who aimed to make a political alliance with NC for establishing a democratic system, but this proposal got no political support. By late 1974, the supporters of the third proposal formed a new political party, the CPN (Fourth Convention), under the leadership of Mohan Bikram

Singh, and, in 1979, Nirmal Lama271 led the party, with a clear stand on the question of armed revolution for establishing a new political system.272

267 Delhi Agreements: is the role of Jawahar Lal Neharu the Indian prime minister who played the role to bring all the traditional and modern forces together and brokered an agreement in February 1951 in Delhi, it popularly known as the Delhi Agreement, among the three forces- the king, the Ranas, and the NC. The Agreement paved the way for democratization in Nepal, allowed the King to resume his traditional powerful role, and advised the Ranas and the NC leaders to work together in coalition government. See more on Parajulee, Ramjee, P. The Democratic Transition in Nepal, 179. 268 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 23–4. 269 He is the politician and leader of CPN. 270 Pushpa Lal Shrestha was the founding general secretary of the CPN as well as the leader of the CPN. 271 He was Nepalese communist leader, leader of CPN (UC) and popular politician. 272 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 25.

The CPN (Fourth Convention) split in 1983 and two separate political parties were formed

– the CPN (Mashal) led by Mohan Bikram Singh, and the CPN (Fourth Convention) led by

Nirmal Lama.273 After one year, CPN (Mashal) further split into two parties and CPN

(Mashal), led by Mohan Baidya, and CPN (Masal), led by the same leader Mohan Bikram

Singh, came into political existence as revolutionary political parties and continued to sharpen the minds of their activists for conducting the necessary class struggle.274 In 1989,

Prachanda became a chief leader of CPN (Mashal) and, after two years, succeeded in uniting four political parties and led the revolutionary movement in 1991 under the political banner of CPN (Unity Center).275

In the post-1990 elections, the CPN (UC) took part in the general election and got nine out of 120 seats in the Lower House, whereas the CPN (Masal), led by Mohan Bikram Singh, boycotted the election and demanded the election of a CA.276 In the next mid-term election, the political forum of CPN (UC) boycotted the election for the preparation of a People’s War, but the CPN (Masal), led by Mohan Bikram, took part in the elections.277 Finally, in 1995,

CPN (Maoist) developed from CPN (UC) and initiated the People’s War in 1996, which lasted for ten years.278

3.2 Preparation for the Maoist People’s War CPN (UC) had passed a political resolution to initiate a “People’s War” to bring about a new political system in Nepal. CPN (Fourth Convention) was the root of the then -CPN (UC) that had just been united with the alliance of CPN (Mashal), CPN (Fourth Convention), and

273 Thapa, Understanding the Maoist Movement of Nepal, XI. 274 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety, 4. 275 Ibid. 276 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 182. 277 Ibid.,45. 278 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 23.

CPN (Masal).279 The unity of these Communist parties had accepted Prachanda’s political guidelines in the light of Marxist, Leninist, and Maoist doctrines.280 In a very short time, the party felt a clear-cut political rift and the group of Nirmal Lama, which aimed to start an armed uprising in the urban region, disagreed with the political line of Prachanda, who was in favor of a protracted people’s war.281

In September 1995, CPN (UC) passed a theoretical premise for the historic initiation of the

People’s War. Some of its points state,

[T]he initiation of people’s war would be based on completing the new democratic

revolution after the destruction of feudalism and imperialism... our struggle will be

totally free from all sorts of petty bourgeois, narrow nationalist, religion-communal,

and casteist illusions. This plan of ours would be based on the great spirit of

proletarian internationalism. Nepalese revolution is an integral part of the world

proletarian revolution and this will serve the world revolution. This plan would be

based on the theoretical premises of building a revolutionary united front and a

revolutionary army under the leadership of the party in the phase of new democratic

revolution...This plan would be formulated on the principle of the right to self-

determination of the party of the proletariat. ...The war will develop according to its

own laws, not in a straight line but in a complex zigzag path. The people’s war will

triumph after going through cycles of victory and defeat and gain and loss. We shall

be able to lead the people’s war only by correctly grasping the law of contradiction of

transformation of wrong into right.282

This formulation of party guidelines for the continuation of class struggle on the premises of party ideology was part of an intense preparation for initiating the people’s war.

279 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 12. 280 Ibid., 16. 281 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety, 3. 282 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 46.

The CPN (M) held a series of mass campaigns across the country, and part of its hectic preparations was to mobilize party members to propagate the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-

Maoism.283 On February 4, 1996, Baburam Bhattarai presented a 40-point demand to the government of Nepal, asking for all demands to be fulfilled by February 17. The government of Nepal did not give priority to those demands, and on February 11, Prime Minister Sher

Bahadur Deuba left for a state visit to India, at which time the cadres of CPN (M) carried out attacks in four districts of Nepal.284 In the beginning, the government of Nepal, including all political parties, undermined the political move of CPN (M) and searched for a solution through the police forces. It moved continuously ahead even as the party declared that it

“would lead the people’s war only by correctly grasping the law of contradiction of transformation of wrong into right.”285

Before the initiation of the insurgency, the Maoist leaders claimed that the “semi-feudal and semi-colonial” nature of the socio-politico-economic structure of the country would not solve the problems of the Nepali people and would thwart all efforts at development.286 The economic poverty caused a gap between haves and have-nots, unequal sociopolitical rights among males and females, and discrimination among different casts and social communities, all of which prepared the political grounds for the Maoists in time to initiate the insurgency.287 The leaders of the CPN (UC) had no hope of solving the issues of Nepal and they were gradually becoming an unseen power by 1991, as the political parties failed to understand their ideological political link with the common people of the hilly region.288

For a long time, Nepali politicians tried to see the connection between the Maoist and rightist political forces such as, for example, RPP and SP. It created confusion among the

283 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 20. 284 Ibid., 48. 285 Ibid., 47. 286 Ibid., 22. 287 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 55. 288 Ibid.

97 political parties and the insurgency had an excellent opportunity to flourish.289 Even after the initiation of the insurgency, the Maoist leaders used those political differences rooted in the minds of other political leaders and used the same for the benefit of their people’s war.

Thapa and Sijapati, quoting Narahari Acharya, state,

[T]he seed of the CPN (Maoist)’s ideology can be found in the extremists that have

not accepted the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 that was established as

one of the gains of the 1990 people’s movement. That is why Maoist’s activities have

found sustenance in the activities of extreme leftists and extreme rightists that do not

want a democratic system for Nepal and of forces that do not want political stability in

Nepal.290

Nepali politicians have counter views on the initiation of a conflict that affected the country for a decade. Pro-Maoist leaders and intellectuals opine that it was a matter of timing, and some other critics view it as a political game to weaken the parliamentary political system. The leader of CPN (M), Baburam Bhattarai, claims that the insurgency in Nepal was aimed at ending “rampant poverty, unemployment, discrimination manifested in spheres of society” and that the CPN (Maoist) “started an armed struggle for a decade, calling it a people's war, [they fought] against feudal autocracy, foreign domination, for supporting the socially backward groups, women, Madeshi, Dalit, and poor class.”291 Contrary to Baburam Bhattarai, Manmohan Bhattarai states that “Maoist leaders had a tacit understanding with the king and India…For this they trained the armies and easily recruited in remote areas, paying between Rs. 500–1000, and the

Marxist slogan was taught by the leaders, saying that every individual from deprived communities, poor, or marginalized people would get benefits from the people’s war.”292

289 Ibid., 72-73. 290 Ibid., 73. 291 See Appendix 5,292. 292 Ibid.

CPN (M) launched the People’s War in early 1996, and its armed movement became a major problem in 2001, as the Party announced a new political doctrine, the “Prachanda

Path”293 from the party’s second national conference. The massacre of the royal family, including then-King Birendra, and the attack on the Holeri police post, created a rift between the parliamentary political parties and the royal palace, especially the Royal NA, as it failed to deploy in the Holeri case.294 The resignation of Girija Prasad Koirala from the premiership and the election of Sher Bahadur Deuba caused a huge political crisis in

Nepal.295 The Deuba government spread rays of hope after holding a three-round talk on the table with the Maoists.296 On November 21, 2001, the Maoists claimed dissatisfaction with the peace talks and, on November 23, the CPN (M) attacked army barracks, including in Dang, and continued its regular attacks in different places.297 The government’s decision at that point to label the party as a terrorist organization clearly divided the whole nation into two opposite blocks.298

3.3 The Maoist Insurgency An insurgency is an organized political movement aimed at overthrowing a constituted government through the use of rebellion or armed conflict.299 Insurgencies – based either on ideological, regional, ethnic, or linguistic grounds – tend to be protracted conflicts where the insurgents fight against a weak government’s legitimate or illegitimate power, and where state combatants fight to destroy the opponents and remain in power. Insurgency is defined as an extra-constitutional struggle against the incumbent authority, generally by a small group of

293 “Parchanda Path” is the ideological line of the UCPN (M). It is considered a development of Marxism- Leninism-Maoism and named after the leader of the UCPN (M), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, commonly known as ‘Prachanda’. “Parchanda Path” was proclaimed in 2001. 294 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 23-35. 295 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,” 19-20. 296 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 120. 297 Ibid., 122. 298 Ibid., 123. 299 Shrestha, Chuda, B., Nepal: Coping with Maoist Insurgency Conflict, 5.

99 indigenous masses with the purpose of capturing state power or achieving emancipation.300

It uses political organization and irregular military forces to hold power, and aims to fundamentally weaken the government and ultimately control the legitimacy of the government.301

Political commentators and political thinkers have questioned why the CPN (M) decided to initiate an armed struggle, as there was already a democratic constitution in Nepal, promulgated in 1990. Even the national and international scenario was not favorable for them to wage a people’s war.302 The beginning of armed conflict in the Himalayan kingdom surprised the neighboring regional powers, international communities and powerful countries.

They initiated a revolt in a grim situation, and, according to their political document, it was a right time as people wanted to be free from elite political power and enjoy their own political space. The main objective of the rebels was to get complete freedom from capitalistic state power and to establish their own system. As Puspalal states, “[T]he struggle of the Nepali people is to attain civil liberties through a revolutionary struggle.”303 In addition, to understand this common question, we may consider these lines from Karl Marx, as cited by

Dipak Sapkota,

At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into

conflict with the existing relations of production or – this merely expresses the same thing

in legal terms – with the property relations within the framework of which they have

operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces, these relations turn

into their fetters. Then there begins an era of social revolution. The changes in economic

foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense

300 Ibid. 301 Ibid., 6. 302 Ibid. 303 Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 23.

100

superstructures.304

The political insurgency used political guidelines developed by the party to mobilize its political activists as an irregular military force to achieve its goals. In this sense, it is a protracted political-military activity directed toward completely or partially controlling the resources of a country through the use of irregular military forces and illegal political organizations.305

Arjun Karki and David Seddon write that the rise of Maoism in Nepal has a connection with the successful political revolution of Mao Zedong in China and the experience of Charu

Mazumdar, the architect of the Naxalite uprising in India. In Nepal in 1971, some youths started violent political activities in Jhapa, in eastern Terai, and formed a Koshi Regional

Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal, later known as the All Nepal Revolutionary

Coordination Committee (ML). Nepali revolutionary youth got political inspiration from the

Indian peasants’ movement that started in 1967 in the Naxalbari area of West Bengal. The All

Nepal Revolutionary Coordination Committee’s underground guerrilla war306 was the first political uprising waged by a leftist group in line with concept of “the protracted People’s

War.” The Jhapa Uprising was the first attempt by Nepali Communists to undertake armed struggle.307 In a very short time, that extra-political activity came under the control of

Nepal’s government. The CPN (Fourth Convention) studied it closely and analyzed the sociopolitical situation of Nepal.308 Later, in 1995, the same CPN (Fourth Convention) became the CPN (Maoist) and undertook effective armed struggle to bring changes in the political power balance.

Studies have found that, in 1990, CPN (UC) opposed the Constitution of the Kingdom of

Nepal 1990, citing it as an inadequate basis for genuine democracy, and continued to demand

304 Ibid., 33–34. 305 Shrestha, Nepal Coping with Maoist Insurgency; Conflict, 49. 306 Also known as the Jhapa Uprising. 307 Ibid., 10. 308 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 10-11.

101 a CA and the setting up of a People’s Republic in Nepal. However, the CPN (Unity Center) participated in the general election of 1991, under the name United People’s Front of Nepal

(UPFN), led by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai as coordinator, and won nine seats out of 205 in the parliament. It stood as the third largest political party in the parliament. In the election, CPN-

UML emerged as the second-largest political party in parliament, and the NC got the majority and formed the government. The NC government began to demonstrate its hostility towards the more radical leftist parties, which created a rift between the ruling party and the ultra- leftist political parties.309

The Communist P arty of Nepal (Unity Centre) -- CPN (UC) -- held its first Congress in

December, 1991, and decided to adopt “Marxism-Leninism-Maoism” as its ideological direction and the Path of Protracted People’s War, through the initiation of open class struggle in rural areas of the country after the Chinese model, rather than a mass uprising.310 In 1992,

Nickson pointed out that “the future prospect of Maoism in Nepal will depend largely on the extent to which the newly elected Congress Government addresses the historic neglect and discrimination of the small rural communities which still make up the overwhelming bulk of the population of the country.”311 Until 1996, the Maoist movement in Nepal was in a latent state. In the southern part of Nepal, and especially in the central-eastern Indian state of Bihar, there had been a strong Leftist political movement since the 1930s.312

Until the surge of global democratization in the early 1990s, Nepal was widely regarded a quiet Himalayan Hindu kingdom with a docile citizenry and exotic tourist spots. Bihar, on the other hand, has seen ups and downs in its democratic experience since 1947, including the politics of revolutionary (Marxist-Maoist) violence.313 The comparison of the Maoist

309 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety, 11. 310 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 16. 311 Nickson,”Democratization and Growth of Communism in Nepal: A Peruvian Scenario the Making,” 14. 312 Chaube, Democratic Movement in Nepal and the Indian left, 47-55. 313 Prasad, “Caste, Regionalism, and Political Violence.”2.

102 movement in Nepal and India presents very interesting and typical pictures. The movement flourished in a larger country, such as India, and a smaller country, like Nepal, at different times. However, the political parties in Nepal and India adopted the same ideology, that is,

Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism or Maoist thought, to capture political power.

Pardip Nepal has argued that the people could not ignore the historical context and background of the country and the Maoist launched violent movements314. The violent struggle did not come into existence only on the basis of Maoism’s theoretical concepts; its development is due to the ideological consciousness of the people. He further mentions that the Nepalese tendency to extend opposition at its highest level, where violence and war are extensions of politics. That is why one cannot find a pure political consciousness even in the struggle launched by the Maoist Party.

Chuda Bahadur Shrestha states that the Maoist People’s War was based on a long-term strategy. As their strategy in the beginning, the CPN (M) had established public awareness programmers in remote areas and trained villagers, who were mainly living below the poverty line, the unemployed, underemployed, and under-privileged youth, to rise against the multiparty system.315 Nepali people had endured miserable living conditions during the

Panchayat regime. In 1989, the World Development Report ranked Nepal 115th out of 120 countries in the world in terms of its per capita income. Nepal`s per capita income was US

$ 220.316 Before 1990, Nepal was ruled by Panchayat system317 where all political parties were constitutionally banned. Political movements, participation, and organization were illegal. In 1990, through the people’s movement, the democratic system was restored and a

314 Karki and Seddon, eds., The People’s War in Nepal, 405. 315 Shrestha, Nepal: Coping with Maoist Insurgency Conflict, 44. 316 The World Bank, World Development Report 1989. http://ina.bnu.edu.cn/docs/20140606092044230772.pdf. Accessed on June12, 2012. 317 In ancient time, Panchayat means an assembly of five wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the community. Panchayat System is the political system of Nepal in effect from 1962 until 1990. It was based on the Panchayat system of self-governance historically prevalent in South Asia. It was formulated by King Mahendra after overthrowing the democratically elected government and dissolving the parliament in 1960.

103 new interim government was formed under the leadership of NCP leader Krishna Prasad

Bhattarai. The cabinet members of the government, drawn from the NCP, the CPN, royal appointees, and independents, formulated a constitutional form in November, 1990, based on fundamental human rights and parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

The middle of 1994 saw the dissolution of the parliament due to disagreements within the political parties of parliament, and the government declared a fresh election of the parliament to be held in November, 1994. The election did not give any party a majority, but it did result in a massive defeat for the NCP, and a hung parliament produced political instability.318 A minority government led by the UML could not last more than nine months, and the formation of a coalition government failed to address the issues of the populace. The next five years saw five successive unstable coalition governments. The King dissolved the HOR, but later the Supreme Court (SC) decided against it and reinstated the HOR. The SC said that a minority government could not recommend the dissolution of HOR until all alternatives of forming coalition governments had been exhausted. A coalition government was formed under Sher Bahadur Deuba in September, 1995. His government faced a vote of no confidence twice from the opposition, but won with a favorable vote. His government increased the privileges for MPs, pensions, and tax exemptions to import vehicles without any opposition from the political parties, despite strong criticism from the public.319

In this situation, the “People’s War” was declared by the CPN (Maoist) against the

Nepalese government, with the goal of establishing a republican state. Nepal then experienced deadly armed conflict for a decade, from February 13, 1996, to November 21,

2006. The armed conflict started as a small rebellion in the four western Hill districts of

Nepal and quickly expanded all over the country, posing a severe threat to human security.320

318 Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,” 20-21. 319 Institute for Integrated Development Studies, The Fourth Parliamentary Election: A Study of the Evolving Democratic Process in Nepal, 9. 320 Josse, M.R. “History and Genesis of Nepal`s Maoist Insurgency: Tools for Negotiating Conflict.” In Critical

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Upretiand Pyakuryal maintains that poverty321 was the root cause of this development and of the strength of the Maoist insurgency.322 Otherwise, the Maoists would have been just a political party, instead of armed rebels.

In 2000, the government of Nepal set a high-level committee to solve the political crisis related to the Maoists and on July 25, 2001, the government declared the first cease-fire to hold a dialogue between the rebels and the government.323 The dialogue ended with the attack on a rmy barracks by Maoists in 2001, and immediately the government declared state of emergency and curtailed constitutional rights. In addition, after two years, in 2003, the next political dialogue began, but the reservation remained over holding a round table dialogue, CA election and formation of a new government. Finally, SPA and the Maoists came to agreement on a 12-point agreement and ended the deadlock of political crisis, after the people’s movement 2006.

Causes of the Nepal conflict are a complex web of interacting factors. These include uneven development within the country, and such factors as endemic corruption, the politics of the royal palace, and their relationship with the army, ethnic and caste inequalities, intense politicization human rights abuses, social exclusion and deprivation, and inadequate infrastructure development.324 Other internal and external factors are also paved the way to conflict.

The studies of the third world countries including Nepal show that the inability to access political, social, ethnic and tribal power leads to conflict among the society.325 Since this leads to denial of rights and identities of minority groups, and since such processes are mostly characterize by mismanagement, it leads to repression of the people. In addition to these

Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal, eds., Shrestha, and Uprety, 6. 321 Upreti, The Price of Neglect; Pyakuryal, Upreti, and Sharma, eds., Nepal: Transition to Transformation. 322 Ibid. 323 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 120-21. 324 Ibid., 26-7. 325 Khanal, Committed Insurgents, a Divided State and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,75-94.

105 problems, in Nepal, there are issues like inequality in income and regional development and caste differences that allow more privileged people to repress the other unprivileged people.326 Studies show that the stronger the democratic ideal is, the more effective the state and country can be in protecting its people against social and political repression. Nepal's weak democracy led to the strengthening of insurgency inside the Maoist camp.327

Owing to political and social repression, the Human Rights Organization and it activists have not been treated well in Nepal. During the 1980s, human rights activists, journalists and students were repeatedly arrested, among which were people like Rishikesh Shaha, the chairman of Nepal's Human Rights Organization.328 Violation of human rights in terms of arrest of those who raise their voices against the government in Nepal has thus become an ordeal of repression, which receives no help from international bodies, except few exceptions like the Asia Watch Committee.329 This Committee has helped in monitoring human rights in

Nepal by helping Nepali attorneys, activists and others. The human rights violation and abuses in Nepal became more rampant with the onset of the Maoists insurgency. From the initial introduction of the Maoist Movement in Nepal, there has been a rise in human rights violations in the country330. The Maoist government machinery and the Maoist insurgents were equally responsible for the violations and repression of the Nepalese. In 2001, the problem of the human rights violation reaches its height with the royal murder, later followed by the royal coup in 2005.331

As stated, one of the major causes for repression and violence is the ethnic, tribal and caste

326 Ibid. 327 Khanal, Committed Insurgents, a Divided State and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal, and Lawoti eds., Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal,75. 328 Asia Watch Committee (U.S.), Human Rights Violations in Nepal. 1989. https://books.google.com/books?id=CnTFLXce3toC&pgis=1. Accessed on June 12, 2015. 329 Ibid. 330 Dahal Singh, S., K., & Mills, E., “Nepal’s War on Human Rights: A summit higher than Everest.” International Journal for Equity in Health, (2005): 4-9. http://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-4-9. Accessed on June 12, 2012. 331 Ibid.

106 conflict in Nepal332. Since the governmental authorities do little to help the discrimination and domination against the minorities, violence continues to rise in Nepal.333 The continued exclusion of the ethnic and tribal minorities, along with the lower caste, has alienated significant populations of the people living in the country. In the beginning, it was the class exclusion and inequality that made the Maoist insurgency arise in Nepal. Among political parties, Mongol National Organisation (MNO) and Khambuwan National Front (KNF), remain as the ethnic minorities that continue to challenge the discrimination issues.334 The

KNF went to the extent of initiating ethnic insurgency in Nepal, owing to extreme caste and ethnic discrimination in the country.335 The fact that ethnic minorities and lower caste groups support the Maoists suggests that extreme alienation of these groups attracted them towards using violence to fight against discrimination. The present political discourse largely revolves around these issues.336 The lower Hindu Castes, Dalits, which constitutes 14.99% of the population, continues to face discrimination on a large scale, along with other minor linguistic, religion and ethnic groups like the Madhesi.337

Poverty and corruption are deep -rooted in Nepal, and it is estimated that more than 42% live below the nutrition-based poverty line in Nepal.338 Such a poverty issue has been traced back to income inequality and disparities rampant in the country. Income inequality ranges across different regions, and political instability in the country continues to add to these issues, instead of solving them.339

Nepal also suffers from regional differences, starting with education, where those in the rural areas are deterred from getting the required education due to distance, early marriage,

332 See the details Table 5, 119 and Table 10-11, 175. 333 Lawoti, Contentious politics in democratizing Nepal, 17-47. 334 Ibid. 335 Ibid. 336 Ibid. 337 Bhattachan, Krishna B., Indigenous Nationalities & Minorities of Nepal, 49. 338 International Monetary Fund, Nepal - Staff Report for the 1999 Article IV Consultation.12. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2000/cr0039.pdf. Accessed on April 20, 2012. 339 Ibid.

107 agricultural production, alienation from urban areas and lack of transport facilities.340

In 2001 Crown prince Dipendra murdered the ten members of the royal family, including his father and mother (the King and the Queen). Surendra Bhandari, in his studies, shows how the murders eventually overwhelmed the country with political instability.341 The murdered King Birendra no doubt was undermining the 1990 Constitution of the country, and his successor became successful in dismantling the rights and principles of the constitution.

Political parties challenged the unconstitutional act, and it was this issue that caused the

Nepalese Maoist insurgency from 1996-2006.342 The civil war was mainly staged between the government machineries and the Maoists insurgencies, ending with the abolition of the monarchy, setting up of democratic government, and a peace agreement in 2006.

Within a short time, the factors responsible for the initiation of the People's War in Nepal affected political, economic, cultural and social structures.343 In 1996, they had begun their movement from four major districts like Rolpa, Rukum, Gorkha and Sindhuli. By 2000, they attacked the district headquarters of Dolpa and proved their political existence for the first time with their own military force. The political insurgence turned to a military insurgency when they attacked in Dang, Syangja and Solu – three district headquarters – and challenged

Nepalese security forces. For this, as Man Mohan Bhattarai opines in his interview, they had military training and armaments from India. The government of Nepal aimed to control it in time, and from the inception of this violent conflict, the Nepal police force was used to dismantle the plans of Maoists. Finally, the government deployed the NA along with Nepal

Police and Armed Police force collectively. The government endorsed the ‘Terrorist

Ordinance’ in 1998,344 providing management of Unified Command of security forces in

340 Grover, V. ed., Nepal: Government and Politics. 341 Bhandari, S. Self-Determination & Constitution Making in Nepal: Constituent Assembly, Inclusion, & Ethnic Federalism.11. 342 Ibid., 2-3. 343 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 53-55. 344 Sapkota, Ten Years Upheavel, 125.

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2001, the cordon and search operation, and aerial attacks against the Maoist movement.

Nepali political parties and the government of Nepal failed to address the structural cause of conflict and assure the common populace on the developmental policy of government.

CPN (Maoist) had opposed some constitutional provisions and demanded the election of CA, but political parties and the palace were not ready to address such a demand.345 Maoists had different professional organizations like students’ union, trade union, women’s union, peasants’ association, teachers’ organization, cultural organization, intellectuals’ organization, and youth organization346 that were active after 1996. Also, the party had opened twelve national liberation organizations – D alit, Magar, Tharu, Newar, Tamang, Tamu, Madeshi,

Limbuan, Kirat, Majhi, Thami and Rai-Danuwar National Liberation Fronts.347

Maoists' political strategy moved from strategic defense, and as Sapkota notes, their

“armed movement was on the defensive stage and the armed force was weaker than government’s security force.”348 They reached strategic equilibrium after their second national conference in 2001 and their attack on a military post. In 2004, they declared they were in strategic offence. During this time, they developed the people’s army and formed seven divisions of People`s Liberation Army (PLA),349 declared a people’s court, district government and central government.350 By 2006, Maoist had proposed eleven different states and practiced federalism within party politics. Among them, Sapkota writes, Limbuwan,

Kochila, Kirat, Madeshi, Tamsilang, Newa, Tamuwan, Magarat, Tharuwan were proposed on the ground of nationality, and two other states, Bheri-Karnali and Seti -Mahakali were formed on the ground of geographical identity.351

Coming to the end of 2015, the course of Nepali politics was changing day by day.

345 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 191. 346 Ibid., 147-151. 347 Ibid., 141-143. 348 Ibid., 72. 349 Ibid., 82-83. 350 Ibid., 106-113. 351 Ibid., 144-145.

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Whatever promise was made by the CPN (M) during the insurgency, it was left without a fulfilment of their own agenda. This not only gives a different direction on Nepali politics, but it gave rise to the strikes and movement against the government and constitution from some part of the country, in the name of federalism.

3.4 Stakeholder Analysis352

The Nepalese Civil War between Maoists forces and the government took more than

13,000 lives, displaced peoples,353 and physically and psychologically disturbed others, or maimed people for life.354 There were stakeholders and parties who were involved in the

Nepal Civil war with their own interests. Stakeholders include d a) Maoist Rebels (Both

Political and Military Elements), b) District Government and Line Agencies, c) Political

Parties, d) Police, e) National and International NGOs and Donor Representatives, f) Media, and g) Business Community. These are discussed in the following sections.

a) Maoist Rebels (Both Political and M ilitary Elements)

Although a constitution was instituted in 1990, the elite continued to rule in Nepal, failing to address the issues of inequality in the country. It was this condition that led the Maoists to launch the Civil War in 1996 that lasted for ten years. The Maoists called this the People's

War, and their main stake was to bring equality by overthrowing the constitutional monarchy

352 In regards to the stakeholder analysis and actor in Nepal peace process, in Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association (APPRA) with the endorsement by the International Peace Research Association (IPRA)- Conference hold in Kathmandu, Nepal on October 9-11, 2015. In this conference prominent scholars, professor on Peace and Conflict Studies and who were in peace negotiation committee and Maoist army management team member in Nepal and police chief of Nepal arm force and army discussed on this topics. Australian researchers on same topic agree on the point, which highlighted in this section. Most of the researcher has similar point and arguments. 353 For displaced people. See table 14.IDPs figures, 249. 354 Sert D, Property Rights in Return and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): A Quantitative and Comparative Case Study, Pettigrew, J. and Gellner D.N., Maoists at the Hearth: Everyday Life in Nepal’s Civil War, Ahmed ZS, Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia: The Role of SAARC,are same opinions.

110 established by the royalty and the elitist group.355 The rise of the Maoists was received with shock among Nepalese politicians and scholars alike. Added to this, it seemed to come from nowhere and spread rapidly across the country.

CPUML was one of the main political parties that existed in Nepal since the 1980s, but this political party, however, has not been blamed for giving rise to Maoists insurgency.

Instead, the Maoist insurgency has been traced to the Maoist faction that broke out from the

Nepal Communist Party (NCP), known as the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist

Communist Center (MCC).356 Both PWG and MCC were highly militant and they were responsible for launching an aggressive terrorism campaign against civilians and governmental machinery that lasted for a period of ten years.357 Through the instigation of these two groups the, CPNM formally launched the war by attacking a police post in Rolpa district of Western Nepal.358

Amidst calamities (discussed later), by the end of the Civil War, and by the time, the CA was held in 2008, the insurgencies signed a peace accord, and the Maoist-led parties won the biggest share of votes, getting as much half of the 240 seats, while the NC, which came in second, won only 37 seats.359 Scholars, politicians and observers continue with the questions in minds as to what this Nepalese Maoist constituted, whether it was influenced by the

Chinese, whether it was really Maoists, and so on. One thing is clear, however –it became rather successful in Nepal and sought to bring down inequality in the country, with successful candidates occupying the prime ministerial post. The Maoists reached its climax of success by ending the monarchical rule King Gyanendra in 2008, thereby eliminating the institution

355 Sert, Property Rights in Return and Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): A Quantitative and Comparative Case Study,257-58. 356 Cox et al., Terrorism, Instability, and Democracy in Asia and Africa.131. 357 Ibid. 358 Do, Q. and Iyer, L, Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal,3. 359 Election Commission, of Nepal, CA Election 2008, list of Wining Candidates. http://www.election.gov.np/reports/CAResults/reportBody.php. Accessed on June 10, 2012.

111 of monarchy in Nepal completely. But Maoist insurgency without a doubt caused damages and sufferings against the Nepalese.360 During the insurgency, there were political parties and loyal people who supported the Maoist insurgence by providing the shelter and logistic support against the revival groups and political cardes. Meanwhile, deployment of arm forces and military caused a negative impression on the community where police deployed for operation. This also contributed the raise of supporter to Maoist movement.

b) District Government and Line Agencies

As repeatedly stated, inequality and a wide variation in income distribution, unequal ownership of property, economic mismanagement, corrupt governments, among others, were the source of grievances behind the Maoist insurgency. The ideology of the class embedded in Marxist ideology is also found among the Nepal-Maoist, but the conflict also has ethnic and caste overtones.361 Hinduism divides society into four main caste groups: Brahmins,

Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras (and other Dalits or untouchables), with the first two constituting the upper caste group. Since a large proportion of Nepalese follow Hinduism, their society is also divided into castes. However, the upper caste takes different names, such as Bahun, Chetri and the Newari.362 The lower caste and the less privileged mostly belong to the untouchables or the Dalits caste groups. All the life and work in Nepal is dominated by the Bahun-Chetri-Newari, and the Maoists used the less privileged ethnic groups to fight against them.363 Thus, these ethnic division struggles are also closely associated with the element of class struggle, where political, economic and daily lives are dominated by the

360 Ahmed, Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia: The Role of SAARC. 361 S.Mansoob Murshed and Scoot Gates, Spatial-Horizontal Inequality and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,121-124. 362 Sherman, Jake and Karen Ballentine, eds., The political Economy of Armed Conflict: Beyond Greed and Grievance, 6. 363 S.Mansoob Murshed and Scoot Gates, Spatial-Horizontal Inequality and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,124.

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Bahun-Chetri-Newari.364 The Maoists therefore aimed to solve the grievances of the people.

In the war that ensued, members of the district development committee were known to cooperate with the Maoists to end caste and ethnic differences. Some heads of line agencies acted as effective mediators between Maoists and communities during the war. This played a double role in the society, sometime minimizing the casualties, but most of time fueling

Maoist movement toward success.

c) Political Parties Until 1956, Nepal was under the absolute power of the feudal elite, ruled by the Ranas and later by the Kings, and, until the 1980s, the two main Nepali political leaders of the time – the

National Congress Party (NCP) and the CPNUML – were not even allowed to establish offices across the country.365 Given such a situation, the rise of Maoist insurgency was in a way to work out in the interest of the political parties to overthrow the constitutional monarchical system.

In Nepal, a form of democracy was not established until the institution of the 1990 constitution. When the first parliament election was held in 1991, the NC won a simple majority, and the CPNUML constituted the minority position.366 Although there have been cited references that the Maoists insurgency has been instigated by the UML, the party remains generally blameless for the insurgency terrorism in Nepal. In fact, the participation of

UML in the election, and its willingness to accept positions in parliament caused a major rift with the Maoist insurgents. Instead, the Maoist insurgency largely emanates from the Maoist faction that broke out from the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), known as the People's War

364 Mushed & Gates, Spatial–Horizontal Inequality and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,124.

365 Sd Crane Obe, The Maoist insurgency in Nepal: 1996-2001, 3. 366 Ibid.

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Group (PWG), and the Maoist Communist Center (MCC).367 Both PWG and MCC were highly militant and were responsible for launching an aggressive terrorism campaign against civilians and governmental machinery that started the civil war in 1996, ending in 2006.368

The war formally started with the attack on a police post in Rolpa district of Western Nepal by the CPN (M)369.

While the government and the royalties viewed the Maoist insurgents as thirsty for terrorist activities, the Maoists viewed the former as oppressing the lower caste and class groups. The

UML in this scenario was seen as mediator between the government and the terrorist to resolve and avoid conflicts in the country.370 There was a tradition of cross-party consensus and co-operation in the district, which was UML-dominated. This was always used to resolve and avoid conflicts with the Maoists. Through the party's help and other factors combined, the Maoists signed the peace accord in 2006 and royalty handed over its traditional power to the SPA.371

d) Police In the events leading up to the civil war and the political, social and economic struggles that followed, the police played their own role. Following the institution of the 1990 constitution, parties like the ULF, along with the NCP, launched the Jana Andolan, where constant rallies were held bef ore the start of the civil war. During this time, police were the main intermediaries by trying to break up the demonstrations, arresting protestors and even resorting to using firearms against the protestors.372 Thus, the events leading up to civil war

367 Cox et al., Terrorism, Instability, and Democracy in Asia and Africa.131.

368 Ibid. 369 Helge Holtermann, “Relative Capacity and the Spread of Rebellion: Insights from Nepal.” Journal of Conflict Resolution Vol.60 (3), 2014, 508-12. 370 Cox et al., 2010; Zuchora-Walske, 2008; Wennmann, 2010. 371 Vaughn, Bruce. Nepal: Political Developments and Bilateral Relation with the United States, 7. 372 Zuchora-Walske, Nepal in Pictures Twenty-First Century Books, 5-36.

114 were met with constant fighting between the police and demonstrators. Shiffman and Khadka gave an interesting insight that the failure of the police force or their inability or ineffectiveness in protecting civilians against Maoist violence can be traced back to the government agency under the royalty, and the launching of the police's 'Operation Romeo'

(1995) and 'Operation Kilo Sera II' (1998), which failed miserably.373 The inability of the police had a negative impact on the locals, and the Maoist leaders saw this as an opportunity to mobilize themselves against the police during the war.

When the civil war was finally launched in 1996 by the CPNM, it started with the attack on a police post in Rolpa district of Western Nepal.374 Over the period, policemen, along with civilians and officials, were tortured by the party, and police outposts were given up during this war period to the Maoist group.375 By the time the war entered the millennium, the death toll of the police had risen to 500, and the strength of the police force at 50,000 at the start of the war had come down to a mere 5,000 by the end of 2000.376 The Maoists thus launched an attack on government officials, police officers, army depots and banks, and aimed to establish a people's republic with an elected CA. The end result was the signing of the peace accord, with total inability of the police force to protect civilians during the war.377 The above police operations left bad images in the minds of local society, and people who had suffered turned against the police and gave their support to the Maoists. This gave greater opportunities to

Maoist to conduct their activities without any fear of police and vigilantes.

e) National and International NGOs and Donor Representatives

373 Shiffman, G.M. & Khadka, P.B.The Onset Versus the Continuation of Insurgency -Nepal. In R. Caruso, ed., Ethnic Conflict, Civil War and Cost of Conflict. 103. 374 Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal,3., Zuchora-Walske, Nepal in Pictures Twenty-First Century Books, 30-36. 375 Zuchora-Walske, Nepal in Pictures Twenty-First Century Books, 30-36. 376 Shiffman, G.M. & Khadka, P.B.The Onset Versus the Continuation of Insurgency -Nepal. In R. Caruso, ed. Ethnic Conflict, Civil War and Cost of Conflict, 103-5. 377 Do & Iyer, Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal, 3.

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During the war period, there were only a few international organizations working in the district, but local NGOs. The United Nations, European Union, Amnesty international and others were the major international actors who worked for peaceful resolution of the armed conflict. International aide contributed in helping the Nepalese during and after the war to bring development and bridge inequality. The organizations mainly worked for the children's rights, a number of whom were recruited by the Maoist.378 Along with international organizations, Nepal's nongovernmental organizations worked along with them, including the

Advocacy Forum, Child Worker's in Nepal (CWIN), National Coalition for Children as Zones of Peace, INSEC, among others. Calamities of the NGOs and international workers were also common during the war. Human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and other members were captured, tortured and executed.379 However, the so-called rights group and international NGOS displayed a double standard by supporting the Maoists through providing the logistics and advocating in favor on them and criticizing the government. This made

Nepal Maoist insurgency stronger and demoralized the government law agency through the negative propaganda of so-called rights groups and NGOS.

f) Media

Nepal's civil war has been described by media as "the deadliest conflict in Asia” and the country as "the single most dangerous place on earth."380 But having said that, the Nepali media played a very small role in acting as an instrument for communication, peace and resolving conflict.381 Normally, in times of conflict, mass communication or media have always been instrumental in bringing information, playing a vital role in conflict resolution

378 Human Rights Watch Organization, Nepal, Children in the Ranks,2007. https://books.google.com/books?id=0fVFzXs5klEC&pgis=1 Accessed on June 13, 2015. 379 Singh, S., Dahal, K., & Mills, E., Nepal’s War on Human Rights: A summit higher than Everest.1-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1183233/pdf/1475-9276-4-9.pdf. Accessed on June 13, 2015. 380 Perry, Alex, Falling off the edge: Travels through the Dark Heart of Globalization, 151. 381 Tekwani, S., Media and Conflict Reporting in Asia,107-26.

116 and the peace-building process.382 No doubt, there were few young journalists who started regional and national newspapers and TV and radio broadcasting to bring to the society an update of the war, and activities carried on by NGOs, International NGOs and other bodies, but more of the masses did not have access to such sources of information. The rural areas in

Nepal remain overwhelmingly illiterate, and 80% do not have access to electricity, while 30% of the population are too poor to afford batteries to access radio or television.383 Being a highly patriarchal society, women also had issues in accessing media facilities.384 Some media that were set up in the process were also interested in covering activities of only the

INGOs, instead of being interested in an playing important part in conflict resolution and the peace-building process.385 However, during the Maoist insurgency, those associated with the

Maoist media threatened the general public and raised the fear of people disappearing from their hometown. By this, the Maoist were able to utilize the press as their instrument to threaten people and spread propaganda.

g) Business Community Like the NGOs and international bodies aiding the civilians in Nepal, the business communities suffered during the war period. Some of the businesses suffered from extortion by the insurgency group. In addition to this, their trade cycle was also adversely affected, since there were constant strikes and protests that did not allow the functioning of business properly.386 The productivity within the region also decreased during the war period, and exports drastically fell by 8% in 1996, 14% in 1998, and 19% in 2002, having adverse effects on the trade import-export exchange.387 Business persons were strong peace stakeholder in war, and engaged in helping the civilians and building the country, despite hardships. But

382 Ibid. 383 Ibid. 384 Ibid. 386 Pradhan, G., Nepal’s Civil War and Its Economic Costs, 115-117. 387 Ibid.

117 there were business persons who forcefully and willingly supported the Maoists in return for their safety. This way Maoists were able to fund their movements.

3.5 Ongoing Conflicts in Nepal The Maoist insurgency was principally a reflection of an ideological conflict based on

Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism. The end of the armed Maoist campaign changed the path of the conflict, and it has been seen in a new form. Previous conflicting elements were replaced by new factors, especially after 2006 – conflicting constituents, like social, economic, and demographic; natural resources, including the relationship with allies and external powers; strong leadership; cohesive identity; or perceived legitimacy.

Even after signing on CPA, Nepali common populaces were not getting a fundamental economic benefit from the changing paradigm of Nepalese politics. The problems of unequal economic development, regional differences and huge economic gap persisted among the people.388

When we analyze the ongoing situation from the perspective of social, economic, and political activities, we can observe that a new conflict is going on in Nepali society. Social scientists highlight that in Nepali society the possibilities of future conflict can be linked to caste/ethnic conflicts, linguistic conflicts, religious conflicts, regional conflicts, and gender conflicts.

The following table identifies actual and potential conflicts in Nepal at the time of writing.

It can be seen that the conflicts are numerous and complicated and that their solution will be challenging. The information presented in the table provides background for the discussion that follows.

388 ADB, Overview of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Nepal. http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/32237/cga-nep-2010.pdf. Accessed on September 25, 2011.

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Table 5 Internal Conflicts in Nepal

S Status of Prospective . Conflicts Actors of Conflict Demands Conflict Solution N

1 Class-based Ongoing Government, political State reform, Compromise/ politics parties, minority and reservation, consequence religious groups, NGOS representation 2 Ethnic/ Ongoing, Local people, Janajati, Ethnically Multiethnic Language silent, Maoists, Government, autonomous states, Federalism and low- Bahun Chhetri ethnicity-based paced federalism 3 Caste Possible Dalit/indigenous people Reservation, Federalism/ proportional empowerment at representation the grassroots level 4 Region Ongoing Hill, Madeshi, Tharu Special measures Decentralize/ for development/ prioritize representation

5 Develop- Ongoing Far and Mid-western Special Use local ment and measures/political resources/special economic priorities measures on aspects economic activities

Compiled by the author. Source: Shrestha and Uprety 2003; Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

The historical information shows that Nepalese people experienced cultural and religious violence and the state supported only Hindu people. In this political background, common people felt socio-cultural injustice, and gender discrimination and economic inequality, and constitutionally the people got no support from the government. Maoists demanded, “The patriarchal operation on the women must be ended.”389 Lack of committed leadership or a strengthening of democratic institutions led to failed leadership, and the palace aimed to use the advantage of deceitfulness of political leaders and got political power to control the situation. In the absence of fair election system, democratic institution cannot run smoothly and it leads to fragmentation of political parties and failure of government services to the

389 Ibid., 95.

119 people. Some other causative factors that led to internal conflicts in Nepal were class-based discrimination, such as religious, language, and castes, politicization in education, international influence in domestic politics, the role of NGOs and ineffective law enforcement.

In his current analysis of a violence -free, post-conflict peace process, Mehta mentions that the government is muddling through in an effort to integrate Maoist combatants into the security forces and draw up a new constitution. The term of the newly elected CA ended without the promulgation of a new constitution and the CA was dissolved. Further, Mehta highlights the political development of Nepal and mentions that the internal conflict in Nepal has changed not just the political and socioeconomic landscape but also removed the monarchical moorings of the army. It is on the threshold of a transformation, moving towards democratic political control from being, proverbially, the King’s Army. This change will not be easy, given the unequal political balance between the Maoists and the democratic political parties.390

Literature on political movements indicate that Nepal is in transition but that it still plunges into different conflicts in the name of nationalism, ethnicity, linguistic identity, and indigenous nationality that are against the Bahunism391, Hinduization, or Nepalization.392

Dalits are against Brahmanism, untouchability, and other sociocultural discrimination.

Similarly, there is a struggle between Hindu and non-Hindu identities, and some registered political parties like Sh ivsena393 – youths who are strong supporters of the king’s system

390 Mehta, “Effect of Internal Conflict,”http://internalconflict.csa-chennai.org/2011/06/effect-of-internalconflict-in-nepal-on.html. Accessed on September 25, 2011. 391 The term Bahunsim (Brahmanism) has been used frequently to mean the syndrome of cultural configurations along with the principles of caste system introduced by the Brahmans. 392 Gllner, David N., Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, and John Whelpton, Nationalism and Ethnicity in a Hindu Kingdom. 393 Shivsena Nepal is a political party in Nepal. It was founded in 1990 by Arun Subedi in order to preserve Hinduism as the state religion of the country. By the name party is close to that of Indian state of Maharashtra although the founder denies the link between Indian Shivsena. However, again in 1999 another Nepal Shivsena was founded headed by Kiran Singh Budhathoki, claims ties with its Indian counterpart.

120 under Hinduism – are not satisfied with the declaration of a non-Hindu country. In addition to this, Madhesis are against the hill people’s domination, and the Khasa-Brahmans are demanding their own autonomous state and mandatory national uniform (Daura-Suruwal,

Gunyou Cholo).394

Nepali women are against all forms of gender-based discrimination, violence against girls/women, and the patriarchal system that made them marginal.395 After the initiation of

People’s War, Nepalese women, especially from low economic background, uneducated communities, and backward groups joined the Maoist movement as the Maoist leaders had fought against “alcoholism, polygamy and other social [ill] practices that had direct bearing on women.”396 They had heavy workloads and physical vulnerability, compared to their male counterparts within family and society, respectively. The socio-political provision had delimited the women to casting votes, and very few women had gotten the right of being representative in local and general election. Ideologically Maoists opposed that apolitical system and fought to prevent “child marriage and polygamy as social evils.”397 The people of far-western and mid-western regions have been in conflicts with people of other regions.

They are excluded from the national development agencies, and political leaders and development activists have benefited from the development work.

Through the empirical study of Nepali political and social development, it can be seen that

Nepal’s geopolitical situation and the chronic poverty in the countryside contributed to the intensity of the conflict. Thapa and Bandita observe that Nepal’s development is based on urban- base development modality. In 2000, the Human Development Index (HDI) hereafter

HDI of urban areas was 0.616, compared to 0.446 of rural areas. Similarly, the central development region had 0.493, followed by 0.483 in the eastern development region. The

394 Bhattahan, Krishna, B. “Expected Model & Process of Inclusive Democracy in Nepal, 5. http://nepalresearch.org/publications/bhattachan_inclusive_democracy.pdf. Accessed on September 25, 2011. 395 Ibid. 396 Gautam, Shova, Women and Children in the Periphery of People’s War, 39. 397 Thapa & Sijapati, A Kingdom Under Siege, 159.

121

HDIs of western, mid-western and far-western development regions in 2000 were 0.473,

0.402 and 0.385, respectively.398 It shows that the people living in poor areas had conflict with the people of other regions, which could reflect regional variation in developmental activities.

As countries have experienced conflict and political crisis, Nepalese society, too, has faced different forms of political crisis and mass movements for endorsing political changes in the country. Political conflict erupts due to the lack of political commitment and, in some cases, underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, injustice and lack of education and health facility have fueled it.399 From the developmental perspective, Nepal’s poor infrastructure and neglected remote areas are the major contributing factors to the birth of new conflict.

3.6 Management of the Ongoing Conflicts in Nepal Political ideology constructs the conflict and governs its variables. In this sense, the ongoing process of conflict management requires the management of ideological issues politically. It is necessary to stop further violence. Management of conflict includes different aspects such as social, political, economic, security, military, diplomatic, and at local levels in accordance with the causes and factors. To manage the conflict, social components should be analyzed holistically to identify the root causes and consequences of the conflict. Through management of conflict, it would be easier to convert conflict into peace and change conflicting forces into constructive powers. The understanding of the main actors in the

Nepali ongoing conflict is necessary to the management and resolution of the conflict.

In the field of conflict resolution at an individual level, systemic approaches to conceptualizing the conflict process and intervening in tense conflicts have been gaining

398 Ibid, 62-63. 399 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 26-27.

122 increasing attention.400 Christie, Wagner and Winter emphasize that intervention on the conflicts parties and recognized their problem and communicating them can minimize the tensions. Christie, Wagner and Winter's approaches can apply in the Nepal peace process.

Now, TRC is collecting the data of victims of conflict. When completed, the data collection will have documented the conflict hearing of both victims by Maoist and Government. It can provide the realization of justice and sense of registering cases in local conflicts. Then it will give both parties a road to resolution. This approach will be best for Nepal in the current situation to reconcile the disputes when TRC functioning.

From 1991 to 2012, Nepal has been in a conflict and frequent mass movements have either changed the government or made the country unstable. Nepal was unable to attain the proper development it needs in the twenty-first century. At present Nepali people need managing the conflicts and getting a durable resolution of present political conflicts. For this, a reduction of poverty and improvement of people’s lives through a concrete plan for resolving the conflicts and making holistic development of the country can sustain peace and drive the society forward.

Managing insurgency is a complex and difficult task, and yet it is not impossible to achieve.

The political stability after managing the political crisis becomes an appropriate political target that guarantees the accomplishment of the national goal of conflict management.

Moreover, the current Nepali political discourse has ongoing conflicts that have mainly been caused by social discrimination, poverty, and lack of education, incompetent leaders for resolving the crisis, and the fantasy of people who believe that their every demand can be met through violence or strikes.

This study has stated that Nepali political leaders are using unnecessary activities to gain their political ends rather than realistic and fruitful ones for the nation. Such tactics include

400 Christie, Wagner, and Winter, Peace, Conflict and Violence, 225.

123 ethnicity-based demands, exacerbating class divisions in society, strikes in the educational sector, and political influence in the education sector and productive sectors, such as industries. If leaders were to abandon this kind of political behavior, more than 50 percent of the ongoing conflicts would be reduced.

At present, studies of insurgency and counterinsurgency examine conflicts around the world, and they examine military, paramilitary, political, economic, and psychological strategies to manage insurgency. In the case of Nepal’s current ongoing conflict, it could take different strategies to settle the issues of ideological conflicts associated with nationalistic discourse of Nepal. These strategies need to include the participatory movement of women,

Madeshi, untouchable caste, indigenous people. If the leaders want to resolve the Nepali conflict politically, they have to change themselves and stop misusing the power of local people for achieving their short-term benefit, rather than understanding the consequences of conflict. In Nepal, a huge percentage of people are uneducated and the change in the attitude of leadership could minimize the conflict in society. Further, analyses of Nepali political movements, rights activists, and general strikes reveal the very common phenomenon of political and other organization leaders demanding their own rights while hardly respecting those of others. Eradicating such trends at the political and grassroots level is necessary. For this, there is one medium that is giving need-based education to all the people and offering human security. The state government has the responsibility of providing basic things for meeting people’s needs.

Nepal is now a post-conflict nation, with so-called peace, but it is politically very fragile.

In such a situation, the political parties should decide their further steps wisely, and the current conflict solution should take its mandate from the people.

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3.7 Armed Conflict and the Peace Process in Nepal In 1996, the UPF submitted its 40-point demands401 to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba

of NC and gave a 15-day deadline to the government to fulfill their demands. The

government of Nepal did not take it seriously, and the Prime Minister went to visit India.

Because of the lack of government policy and vision to address the UPF’s demands in time,

the CPN (M) launched the People’s War on February 13, 1996, three days before the deadline,

attacking police posts at Holeri (Rolpa) and Thisbiskot (Rukum).402 The attacks on police

posts, government offices, and Agricultural Banks was the formal initiation of the People’s

War that pushed Nepal into a decade-long armed conflict.

Table 2 illustrates the Nepal conflicts actors who were responsible for the escalated

insurgency. In the board perspective through analyzing the conflicts parties and their interests

authored complied table. Maoist is the main actor which had political and party interest.

Royal NA which is fighting against armed Maoist to maintains law order and peace. From the

neighboring countries Maoist got support for the shelter and logistic supports by government

and rebel groups which tiger conflict. The bilateral countries donor nation including USA,

UK support to control armed conflict beside that willing to help for mediation for both parties.

Table 6 Participants and Supporters Concerned Supporting Countries and Objectives of Support Parties Organizations Maoists India and its rebel groups Encouragement of Maoists’ demands Royal NA UK, USA To stop the conflict and maintain democracy Bilateral Switzerland, Norway, Finland, To see the conflict settled countries and Germany in a peaceful manner

Compiled by the author. Source: Upreti, Bishnu Raj. Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal: The

Maoist Insurgency Past Negotiations, and Opportunities for Conflict Transformation. 2006. p.35-36., and

401 See Appendix 6, 378. 402 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 23.

125

Shrestha, Ananda. P., and Hari Uprety, eds. Critical Barriers to the Negotiation of Armed Conflict in Nepal.

2004. p.82-83.

Some commentators propose that Maoist insurgency was an expression of frustration against the Nepal democratic government’s activities. Birendra Prasad Mishra points out that the decade-old Maoist conflict caused the militarization of the nation. Further, he mentions that the CPA, signed by the Maoists and the government, was an end of a political deadlock and formally paved a new way for solving the political crisis. It mainly covers the period from November 22, 2005, to January 14, 2009, and elaborates on and discusses the peace initiatives taken during this period. He also mentions that the political actors during that period, such as the two major political forces – the SPA and the CPN (M) – played major roles in solving the crisis. The traditional political power – the feudal king – that had ruled

Nepal for centuries was already politically sidelined after the signing of the 12-point understanding with India in 2005.

B.P. Mishra categorizes the armed conflict in different forms. According to him, armed conflict can have different forms such as political, social, cultural, ethnic, and religious.

According to him, the peace process is the only mechanism for resolving this conflict. In connection with this, he quotes ideas from Galtung to explain the procedure of Nepal’s peace process. He says,

This is a ceasefire process, not a peace process. A casual chain from unresolved

conflicts – polarization/dehumanization to violence – trauma calls for a peace process

with four components: mediation for conflict resolution, peace building, violence

control, and conciliation for healing and closure.403

The peace process of Nepal can be divided according to the stages of the peace process.

Mishra states that the first stage of the peace process commenced with the constitution of an

Interim Legislature. The second stage commenced with the adoption of an Interim

403 Mishra,B.P.,The Nepalese Peace Process, 1–3.

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Constitution. The third stage began with the formation of the Interim Constitution.404 The

Nepali peace process substantially changed the political equation between the political parties and former rebel forces as they joined mainstream politics. It ultimately ended the monarchical system that had ruled the country for a long time, and it declared the country a federal republic in the Interim Constitution in 2007. The peace process, despite some weaknesses such as the failure to address the issues of women, accepted the identity politics of the Dalits, Madeshis, indigenous community, minority people, and backward groups; ultimately, it addressed the issues of nationality and national security (the issue of national security was part of the agenda of peace process of CPA 2006).

Mishra emphasizes the point of view that the progress of the peace process during 2008 was due to the understanding reached between political parties to strengthen the peace process and to facilitate the process of amending the constitution based on a simple majority with respect to the election of the president, vice president, prime minister, chairperson, and vice chairperson. Further, the Nepal peace process is ongoing and conflicting issues are yet to be solved. The integration of the Maoist army and the issue of arms are major ongoing issues.

Surendra Pandey opines, in connection with this, that “the government of Nepal would decide to establish one Special Directorate under NA which would comprise 35 percent from existing NA, 35 percent from Maoist Combatants, 15 percent from Nepal police and 15 percent from Armed Police.”405

Writing the new constitution is the main agenda of the peace process. The entire peace process focuses on the monitoring of weapons, combatants, and the NA. The entire political situation around the peace process had some positive as well as negative aspects. The positive aspect is that the political parties have a positive intent. According to leaders interviewed, “ [I] t sounds a note of caution to stakeholders to be prompt in taking suitable action for building a

404 Ibid., 45–8. 405 See Appendix 5,305-6.

127 new Nepal in accordance with their vision and in line with the public spirit and demands of the time.”406 The negative part of the peace process is that some of the issues remain unmonitored, like the issues of justice, human rights’ abuse, and involvement of women in peace talks.

Further, the role of the UNMIN (United Nations Mission in Nepal) in the peace process has been vital. The government and the Maoist party requested help from the Secretary

General of the UN on August 9, 2006, by writing separate letters. The Security Council responded positively to the request for assistance from Nepali parties and approved the advance deployment of 35 arms monitors and 25 electoral advisers.407 In January, 2007, in

Resolution 1740, the Security Council unanimously supported the establishment of the

United Nations Mission in Nepal. UNMIN was to have an initial mandate of 12 months. Ian

Martin, who was then Chief of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR) in Nepal, was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIN. This was the first UN involvement in Nepal’s peace process.

The involvement of UNMIN in Nepalese peace process was to engage in shaping a new political process and monitoring human rights. It had certain limitations in monitoring human rights and was to monitor both security forces of Nepal and Maoist, work for holding peace dialogue to bring the warring parties into consensus, and provide election observation for the election of CA.

UNMIN’s mandate provides that it shall monitor the compliance of the NA and the Maoist army with the Agreement on Monitoring the Management of Arms and Armies and the provisions of the CPA. Regarding arms monitoring, UNMIN formed a team of 71 arms monitors from 18 contributing countries. UNMIN is based around-the-clock at seven Maoist

406 See Appendix 5,305-8. 407 United Nations, Security Council Established United Nations Political Mission in Nepal, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1740(2007). http://www.un.org/press/en/2007/sc8942.doc.htm. Accessed on April 20, 2012.

128 army sites where weapons were stored, as well as at the Chhauni barracks, the NA’s weapons storage site. Arms monitors also pay regular visits to the Maoist army satellite camps.

However, the overall monitoring of the peace process and arms and armies is illustrated by the following remarks on Nepal peace process and role of UNMIN.

Martin writes, “UNMIN’s main focus was now to maintain its arms monitoring, while encouraging the progress regarding the future of the combatants through providing assistance to the technical committee that the special committee had appointed to advise it.”408 The government of Nepal had requested to Security Council to extend the tenure of UNMIN in

July, 2009, January, 2010 and May, 2010, and finally the Security Council decided to withdraw UNMIN from Nepal in January, 2011. UN’s Thepolitical and technical support to

Nepal’s peace process was a positive force in building trust among the political parties and it mainly focused on the issues of peace, which is still the goal of the Nepali peace process.

According to Feyzi Ismail, Nepal’s CPA – signed in November 2006 between the government and other major political parties and the UCP (Maoist) – formally declared the end of the decade-long civil war. According to Ismail, this peace accord was the response to mass movements that were held in April of that year (Jana andolan). In his view, the peace accord made significant promises by the political parties to the people for a political and social economic transformation that would minimize inequality and exclusion, and which would aid in the progress of the country. He emphasizes that during the peace process, there were several groups of people demanding representation and there was much talk on inclusion and the reform of the state. He points out the need to continue to emphasize economic equity and the end of poverty.

During the qualitative stakeholder interviews with prominent Nepali leaders and scholars,

Manmohan Bhattarai indicated that he saw the invisible hand of India and the Royal palace in

408 Martin, “The United Nations and Support to Nepal’s Peace Process”, 228.

129 the creation of conflict in Nepal. He says that the entire peace process will not end easily and would take a long time to reach a logical end. Surendra Pandey also believes that the entire peace process is connected to the integration of Maoist combatants. The immaturity of political leaders will not remain in the long run and they will be influenced by the procedures of the entire peace process.

The Prime Minister and President of CPN (UML), Jhala Nath Khanal, opines that Nepal had already drafted a federal interim constitution in 2007 and the country cannot go back from this historical reality. Going through with the decision made by the first meeting of the

CA is mandatory, but he believes his party cannot accept the federal division on the grounds of ethnicity. In his view, Nepal is the country of ethnic groups; therefore, the federal component should address the needs of everyone living in Nepal. People living in a multiethnic country will not be comfortable in a mono-ethnic state. According to Khanal,

We ought to move ahead accepting this principle and the federal states will be

declared on this historical decision. It is not possible to declare states on an ethnic

base. It is a country of diverse peoples and ethnic groups. Therefore, the federal unit

should fulfill the needs of everyone rather than some handful of castes and groups.

Even at present, the administrative divisions of Nepal into zones and districts are

pluralistic. The entire country is multiethnic and so are all the village units. Therefore,

all federal units will be multiethnic; otherwise, it will lead the country towards

territorial breakup. Truly speaking, no one needs such type of federal division. In

order to build a New Nepal we should develop a new structure, which truly settles the

demands of people of different ethnic groups, genders, and backward regions.409

The views of Vice Chairman of the Maoist Party Baburam Bhattarai are different from others. He says that Nepal’s peace process differs from those of other countries. The outcome

409 Appendix 5, 307-8.

130 of an armed struggle against feudal autocracy, monarchy, and foreign domination became the political agenda of the dialogue table that supported the socially backward groups, women,

Madeshi, Dalits, and the poor classes. He believes that unless there is a complete transformation of the society, durable peace is not possible. An abstract form of peace would not solve the problems of the country. His views on nationality and ethnicity are different from those of others and are quite debatable among the political parties. According to

Bhattarai,

We want to do away with the existing unitary state and restructure the state into a

federal set up which is the general principle of federalism… Our proposal is on the

national basis of federalism but not on ethnic basis of federalism. We should not have

any confusion on this issue. People have wrong concepts of nationality and ethnicity.

We Marxists believe in nationality-based federalism. Here, nationality means a group

of people who have common territory, common language, common economic base,

and psychological make-up, who come together to form a nationality or they are the

basic understanding of nationalism. We want to restructure the country on these

certain grounds but not on the grounds of ethnicity. If you go by ethnic federalism,

they will have fissiparous tendency and separatist tendency. However, we want to

strengthen the unity of the country. We want to devolve much power to the federal

units so they become fully able to run and develop the federal territory. In this regard,

in a real sense, we want the unity of the country, which will be based on nationality

and nationalism – common territory, language, economic principle, and psychological

makeup but not on the principle of ethnicity.410

The leader of the Maoist Party, Ram Karki, sees the democratization of politics and parties as the solution to the entire peace process. Kul Acharya categorically opposes the prospects

410 Appendix 5, 320.

131 of ethnic federalism. Indra Gurung opines that strong political determination helps to minimize conflict in a country; the way leaders use conflict to gain power is a hindrance in the solution of political crises. Dolendra Khadka sees the problem in the vested interests of political parties and leaders; he sees ethnically based federalism as the seed of the ethnic conflict in Nepal.

Remarks

Pragmatically, the peace process in Nepal officially began with signing of a 12 point understanding between SPA and the rebel group and moved ahead with the signing of CPA and promulgation of Interim Constitution 2007. The political leaders agreed to sending the

Maoist combatants into cantonments, holding the election of CA in 2008, integrating the combatants in security forces, rehabilitating them in societies, and building political consensus among the political parties for drafting the new constitution in the first CA.

However, some issues of the peace process are incomplete, as it failed to promulgate the constitution in time.

From the monitoring perspective, Birendra Prasad Mishra remarks that “it can be said that the peace process, especially after the signing of the CPA, has hardly been monitored.”411

When the handling of the peace process in Nepal is examined three negative characteristics of the process stand out, specifically, only unfulfilled agreements and understandings were reached; no significant facilitation was provided; and no specific monitoring team was established. The peace process of Nepal has covered up several issues. However, to date, neither the political parties nor the international community has addressed human rights issues. During the decade of armed conflict, state and Maoist forces committed crimes and violated human rights (rapes, mass killings, and kidnappings, for example). There is also a

411 Mishra, B.P., The Nepalese Peace Process, 77–9.

132 culture of impunity in the current discourse. Manmohan Bhattarai states,

[H]uman rights abuse issues have been lopsidedly sidelined by the political parties. Gross

violation of human rights abuse has been committed by Maoists, in fact, rather than by the

government. The state has a certain responsibility when the insurgency was on, but most of

the blame has been put upon the state. The disappearance of the people, killing of civilians

etc. was initially committed by the Maoist as the teachers and civilians were their targets.

Only after the ceasefire, there was acute fighting between Maoist force, police, and army.

But before that time almost for seven years the war was against the civilians.412

The Maoist party, government, and political parties granted blanket amnesty to those responsible for human rights violations and for disrespecting the rule of law. In returning to the causes of current armed conflict and its dynamics, it arises from repression, human rights violations, ethnicity, social exclusion, and deprivation. In such conditions, Nepali stakeholders should think towards a more inclusive vision for a New Nepal in the future, and not only mere peace under the current situation.

3.8 Uniqueness of Nepal’s Peace Process Nepal’s peace process began in 2005413, after the signing of the 12-point understanding414 in India, and it was a “turning point in the history of Nepali politics.”415 It was managed by internal actors – members of civil society and human rights’ workers – and the decision of the political parties (the seven political parties as well as the rebel Maoist party) shaped the peace process. The peace process moved ahead after 2005, and the seven political parties and

Maoists called for the new people’s movement to bring to a logical end Nepal’s peace process.

In a press statement, the leaders announced,

[T]he country, today, demands the establishment of a permanent peace along with a

412 Appendix 5, 294. 413 The peace process began in end of November 2005 but the insurgency spoils till 2006. 414 See Appendix7, 382-384. 415 Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 234.

133

positive resolution of the armed conflict. We are, therefore, firmly committed to

establish a permanent peace by bringing the existing armed conflict to an end through

a progressive political outlet with the establishment of the full-fledged democracy, by

ending the autocratic monarchy and holding an election to the CA.416

Martin417 says, “Nepal’s peace process has been exceptional in the extent to which it was a truly national achievement.”418 There was very little involvement from external actors.

According to Martin, “[UNMIN had] low-profile political engagement, followed by a shorter period of high-profile human rights monitoring.”419 In a letter written by the political leaders of Nepal to the Secretary General of the UN on November 27, 2006, they agreed to “continue human rights monitoring,” to “assist the monitoring of the codes and conduct during ceasefire,” to manage the “arms and arms personnel of both sides, and deploy qualified civilians to monitor the confinement of Maoist combatants, monitor the NA to ensure [they are within barracks],” and monitor the election of CA.420

Nepal did not have the services of a meditator421 while conducting CPA and bringing

Maoists into the mainstream of politics and providing the basis of an interim constitution. It followed a unique process, whereas, in Africa or Afghanistan, there were several meditators and UN as well. The extremists or many rebels groups like Rajan Mukti Morcha, Terai Tiger and so on could not carry out dreadful activities like earlier. They were active in Terai Region, however, they were avoided by the people and it was also a positive effect of the peace process.

The interim constitution has tried to include more or less everything for everybody, which

416 Ibid., 234–5. 417 Ian Martin was a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Nepal and headed UNMIN from 2007 to 2009. 418 Martin, “United Nations Support,” 201–31. 419 Ibid., 201. 420 Ibid., 204. 421 Mentioned in table 6, they did not play any mediator role during CPA.

134 made it a widely accepted, power sharing Interim Constitution, which seems to be leading to democracy.

The most interesting part of the peace process is the consequence of the fight between the political parties and the insurgency against the monarchy. At first, the seven political parties had a political relationship with the monarchy, but this tie was broken with the political coup of King Gyanendra in 2005, which then resulted in a political alliance between the seven political parties and the rebel forces, and aimed to establish a federal republic country. This force resulted in a huge mass movement. The people’s power was reflected then, and Jana

Andolan II was a success. Further, it got popular support from the international community.

Martin says, “The 12-point understanding had included the commitment to international supervision of the two armies during the election.”422

The validity of the 12-point understanding was reflected in the Jana Andolan and at the ballot box. Martin disagrees with the comment made by the non-Maoist parties, and says,

[T]hey argue that it was a mistake to proceed to the CA election while the Maoist

army was still in existence. It lacks realism: the state had proved unable to defeat the

Maoist Army, and the terms the CPN-M agreed, in the 12-point understanding, to end

the war was that their army would remain in existence, under international supervision,

until after the election.423

He adds,

[E]ven without a strong mandate to mediate or facilitate, a UN political presence was

able to provide encouragement to political actors, notwithstanding their divisions, to

maintain a focus on the peace process, and some felt it to be a deterrent to greater

confrontation and return to conflict. It also helped sustain the hope of the people of

422 Martin, “United Nations Support,” 205. 423 Ibid., 229.

135

Nepal that their political leaders would raise to their demand for peace and change.424

The election of the CA was held with its third declaration and people thought the rebel group would not win the election. Interestingly, it got the majority of votes in the direct elections and the rebellion force became the largest party in the CA. The CA abolished the monarchy and Nepal became a democratic republic.

3.9 Prospective Solution for the Peace-Building Process The solution to this conflict is neither a single “law and order problem” nor a single

“security problem.” It is a problem with complex social, political, and ethnic dimensions intermingled into one huge dilemma. Baburam Bhattarai views the peace process as

“revolutionary changes in the society.”425 The purpose of this research is to find a solution to peace building in the country – to create a win-win solution for every party involved by paying attention to the protection of human rights. In the context of Nepal, the electoral victory of the CPN (Maoist) in 2008 prepared a positive foundation for a reliable process.

This has reduced the possibility of the then-rebel group to adopt a new armed rebellion. A positive sign of the Nepali peace process is that the Maoist leaders have, from time to time, expressed their commitment to reaching a logical end for the peace process. The integration of the combatants into the NA and their inclusion in Nepali society has prepared a matured ground for reducing the possible threat of further conflict. In this connection, the words of

Prachanda are quite positive. He says,

[T]he fundamental issues of peace process have been completed. In this sense, we are

successful to make a logical end of the peace process. PLAs have already been

integrated in NA, and the issues of arms and weapons are already completed under

the leadership of our party. If you talk about other things like the case of

424 Ibid., 231. 425 See Appendix 5,316-17.

136

disappearance, and Truth and Reconciliation Committee are yet to be completed. We

think all the cases that occurred during the time of a decade-long people’s war has to

be solved by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.426

Some ideas of how to establish peace building in the country are as follows. The points are elaborated below.

 To bring pressure on peace building from civil society

 To have an open political space for all factions and let the civilians decide which they

want to rule their country

 To intensify international attention to help solving the issue

 To take the path of negotiated settlement, and not military action

 To concentrate on equal distribution of facilitating civilians all over the country, fair

law enforcement, and fair civil sector services distribution.

 Make active to TRC and Commission to Investigate Enforced Disappearances. By

these commissions, reconcile society and restoring justice.

First, in the case such as Nepal's armed conflict, when violence is over, civil society can play the vital role to peace building through the protection of society from violence, monitoring of human rights, and pressuring the stakeholders to implementation of peace agreements, then the advocacy and facilitation of dialogue on communities. In Nepal civil society can play the constructive role in peace building.

Second, from analysis of the conflict in Nepal, it is clear that Nepal had democracy, but that the practice of systems have deficiencies that make gaps between the political parties and between local communities and raise the kind of distance in governing the country to minority and people, and this caused conflict. To minimizing further conflict and for the sake of peace, an open political space for all factions is needed, which will let the civilians decide

426 See Appendix 5, 347.

137 how they want democratic process institutionalized.

Third, understanding of conflict root causes is important because sometimes conflict is local, even though, because of lack of resources, government cannot address them. In this situation, the attention of international communities can help to minimize human casualties.

International communities can provide mediation and provide a helping hand and advocate for human rights, so conflicting parties will feel pressure for peace. This will provide an environment for peace building.

Fourth, government must use soft power for peace settlement because the conflict is based on political motives and poverty, which need to be addressed through dialogue rather than military force . Meanwhile, governments must reform the state apparatus for functioning properly for accountability on the basis of the rule of law, so that people will not feel discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, region and association.

Fifth, in relation to development issues, Nepal's comple x geography and under development also contribute to conflict. During the peace building process and onward, the policies and programs must attend to civilian needs and concentrate on equal distribution all over the country.

Sixth, during the armed conflict there were victims and the disappearance of people. For a sustainable peace, those issues must be addressed through the TRC and Commission to

Investigate Enforced Disappearances. For this to be effective, both commissions must hear the voices of victims and find the truth. Through the work of these commissions, factions within society can be reconciled and justice restored, which can provide for peace in Nepal.

By paying attention to the points above during peace-building negotiations and actions, it is hoped that peace can be sustained in the country.

3.10 The Recent Political Situation (2006 -2016) In April, 2006, thousands of people in Nepal thronged the street, rallying for the restoration

138 of democracy. The 19 days movement marked a political watershed in the country. It ensured a new political discourse of the democratic set up in the country.427 Monarchy was abolished, multi-party system in politics became fully functional, Nepal was declared a secular state and a CA was initiated to draft new constitution for 'New Nepal'.428 Unlike the Maoist insurgencies, the new system did not meet with violence; rather it works toward a peaceful way to achieve equality in the country. However, the Nepali contemporary political discourse continues to experience difficulties, even though the Maoist people’s war is over and monarchy has been abolished. Even after holding CA elections, different governments were formed, and people lost their lives in different parts of the country.429 The government and political parties have not maintained law and order; consequently, although people were optimistic that positive change would be forthcoming, such has not been the case. Even after the CA elections in 2008, four different prime ministers were elected by the legislative parliament, but no government worked successfully in coping with the changing dynamics of

Nepalese politics. In the past, the Nepali political process and the democratization process have both suffered significant disruption. Even after 2006, and especially after the first CA election in 2008, political parties repeated the same mistakes they had been committing since

1950, with the resulting political instability prolonging Nepal’s political transition. In short, groups were able to continue acting as they had during the insurgency.

However, since 2008, the Nepali people have been hopeful that a new constitution will be declared through the new political process. The first ruling political party after 2008 was the

CPN (Maoist), which failed to make any institutional changes in the state mechanism. Baral comments that “although the UCPN (M) has not done better than other parties either in projecting its image or in governance, its actual organizational strength will be judged after

427 Hangen, S. I., The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal: Democracy in the Margins.1. 428 Ibid. 429 See Appendix 8, 385.

139 the next election.”430 The CA failed to declare a new constitution, and was subsequently dissolved. In fact, the political parties had some seen and unseen misunderstandings on the issues of federalism, political system, and form of government. Ultimately, the government announced fresh elections for the CA to be held on November 23, 2012. Due to the lack of political consensus, CA election could not be held on its first schedule and it happened on a rescheduled date on November 19, 2013. In the fresh election, only 30 political parties succeeded in sending their representatives to the CA, and the largest political parties – NC,

UML and UCPN (M) – received 105, 91 and 26 seats out of 240 seats of first-past-the-post

(FPTP), respectively. Other small political parties got 18 seats in FPTP. Ten political parties secured their position in the second CA election of 2013, whereas 30 political parties won their seats in the proportional electoral system.431 The result of the CA election held in 2008 was different, and 25 parties were able to be elected to the CA. Three largest political parties

– UCPN (M), NC and UML – received 120, 37 and 33 seats in FPTP electoral system out of

240 seats. Seven other small political parties received 50 seats in FPTP.432

A holistic approach to analyzing Maoist involvement in the mainstream political process displays the failure of the CA, and people express their doubt that the tactical approach of the

Maoists is to capture state power through CA. However, according to the Maoist leaders, this is the only option left, and they want to go ahead through the democratic process of fresh elections. This act can be termed a bloodless coup because, currently, if the CA is dissolved, there would be no legal body to run the state and Nepali politics would face a new crisis for some time. To avoid this, a new political understanding among the political parties will be required to develop and move ahead.

People also believe that the President, Army Chief, or the Chief Justice of the Supreme

430 Baral, Nation-State in the Wilderness, 143. 431 See the report of Election Commission Nepal, 2013. 432 See the report of Election Commission Nepal, 2008.

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Court might act and take control to curb the lawlessness in the country.433 In such a situation, the future of the country looks darker by the day. Identity politics has become a central contentious issue leading to dissolution of the CA; this is a major setback for the nation.

Political shortsightedness in politics drove the country to uncertainty. Thus, the current political condition of Nepal is volatile and its economic condition is fragile. Even the

UNMIN, which was responsible to drive the peace process, failed to collect the arms from the combatants, as the number of arms was fewer than the number of Maoist combatants, who were allowed to dwell in UN-registered cantonments. At present, CPN (M) has money, guns, and an army.

In this grim condition, political leaders and scholars had opined that if an election of the

CA were to be held, the rebel party might go through the process of ballot instead of bullet. If it happens at the present time, a free and fair election in a peaceful way seems impossible.

When CA was dissolved, dark clouds were seen in Nepalese politics. Therefore, several unusual options have been discussed recently, such as the restoration of the current CA and giving political power to the president. The government was, however, planning to hold a new election of the CA even as the political parties opposed this move. Finally, a new election of CA was held and the peace process took a new track.

Further, there is a contrast both within and between political parties. Nepal is now moving to a new type of conflict – ethnic or religious in nature. There are several sociopolitical issues such as poverty, energy crisis, and security. The political parties, however, seem to have

433 “The UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on June10, 2012 claimed that NA is in grip of Maoists and that it will abide by the party's orders. Speaking at a program organized by Maoist aligned Tamsaling Rastriya Mukti Morcha in the capital; Dahal claimed that the Maoists have taken complete control of the national army. ‘The NA is in grip of Maoists;’ Dahal said He also said that the Army supports his party because ‘it agrees with the Maoist agenda’. Dahal's did not elaborate. The Maoist strongman further added that if anyone thinks that they will keep Maoists in check with the help of NA, then they are just ‘daydreaming’. Saying that the disbanded People's Liberation Army of the Maoist party only submitted its old and obsolete weapons to the government, he said it would be wrong to think that the Maoists have been completely ‘disarmed’.” nepalnews.com http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2012/jun/jun10/news02.php. Accessed on June 10, 2012.

141 accepted Nepal as being in a transitional phase, thereby enabling them to ignore law and order.434 If this continues for a long time, or if the government fails to hold new CA elections,

Nepal will be nearer to being a failed state.

The rebel party that led an armed conflict for a decade and led the government of Nepal twice, finally split in June 2012, citing differences in the policies of the party. This shows that a part of the Maoist political party is not committed to the peace process and that they are still in favor of establishing their own political system under Maoist political doctrine. The newly formed CPM (Maoist) again submitted 70 demands435 to the Maoist-led government, of which 40 demands were the same as those before the launch of the People’s War in 1996. At present, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai (who was also the previous leader), has commented that the demands were put forward for political popularity, and this indicates that it is not difficult to understand the nature of Nepali politics and the poor fate of

Nepali people. The ultimate goal of the party is to remain in power through whatever policy or ideology necessary.

After the dissolution of the CA in 2012, it was assumed that Nepal’s current political crisis would not show any improvement and would create further confusion in the future. However, a new election of CA was held once again in 2013, and the political situation of Nepal was in the track of the post-2008 period, in which political parties had struggled for making a new understanding among themselves. It shows that new political trust has been built and the

434 See Appendix 5,321. 435 The CPN (M) split on 19 June 2012 and was founded the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) .It is currently led by Chairman Mohan Baidya.The faction was said to compelled to form a new party as the UCPN- M Chairman “Parchanda” and Vice –chairman and Prime Minister “Baburam Bhattarai” deviated from the party line. Here to note and interesting was UCPN-M Baburam Bhattarai is leading government as Prime Minister. After 17 years down the line, history has repeated once again. The CPN-Maoist handed over 70-point demand to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai that includes the 40-point demands of Bhattarai to the then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Most demands are related to India, while others are concerned with the “livelihood” of ordinary people. See more: Bhattarai, Kamal Dev, “Maoist tactics wheel comes Full circle: Like Bahattarai in 1996, Baidya Party hands over 70-point charter of demands to prime minister.” http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2012-09-10/maoist-tactics-wheel-comes-full-circle.html. Accessed on December 20, 2012.

142 stakeholders of Nepalese peace process are willing to go ahead to complete the path of conflict resolution. The government is giving priority to draft a constitution, which can institutionalize the political changes of violent conflict and the people’s movement of 2006.

The process of writing the constitution was competed on September 20, 2015. However, since the promulgation of the constitution, India initiated a blockade and the Madeshi movement was started, so that still there will be more unrest ahead.

3.11 Conclusion The Maoist Party, an isolated faction of the CPN, has since its origination vowed to stand up for the rights of the long-ignored and deprived people of Nepal. The Maoist insurgency first established deep roots in the rural areas of the mid-western and western Nepal, and gradually expanded across the country. Though there were political movements and changes in Nepal, the common people felt they had received no justice from the state; their voices were either ignored politically or suppressed by the state mechanism. When the peace process began in 2006, it moved at its own pace, and now looks like a unique system, as it has initiated its own fate.

There was a state of anarchy in the country during the time of the peace process, when criminals went unpunished and foreign aid was misused. The poor developmental policy of the government failed to address the common agenda of the Nepali people. Political instability failed to control corruption. Due to the lack of solid leadership, the peace process was in political deadlock, even after 2006, when the first CA was formed through elections in

2008. However, Nepal failed to declare a new constitution, and the election of new CA was conducted in 2013 and now it is working to promulgate a new constitution for a new Nepal, which is assumed to be a completion of the peace process. Even at present, the root of the social, economic, and political problems is largely the caste-based social structure and a hegemonic state and remains politically unsolved. The CA took its first decision on the issue

143 of declaring the republican setup of the country in 2008 and had already settled the issues of federalism, supremacy of the Nepali people, and Nepal as an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive and fully democratic State (Article 4),436 but it failed to institutionalize those achievements in a new constitution. Now, the new CA is committed to working to achieve these political goals.

As a political movement, strike is becoming a permanent phenomenon in Nepal, and the root cause of the conflict is the social and economic inequality among the people that remained unsolved by the political changes of 1951 and 1990. The unsystematic social and economic structure was the by-product of armed conflict, yet the political parties showed no interest in solving such major issues, further fueling armed rebellion. The common populace of urban areas, backward regions, women, minority groups, Madeshi, Dalits, and indigenous communities were marginalized, and the state never heard their voices or demands. The CPN

(Maoist) politically addressed the demands of these marginalized and minority groups and got the political support of these neglected communities.

The Maoists, therefore, tried to unite the Nepali people ideologically and politically and convinced them that the party would launch a program to address the demands of the common people. Though some people argue that this conflict has a connection with India or the then-royal palace, it was definitely a part of the ideological conflict between the CPN

(Maoist) and the government of Nepal. The CPN (Maoist) had initiated a people’s war in the true sense to establish their own political system under the guidelines of their own party

436 The CA forms interim Constitution in order to institutionalize the achievements of the revolution and movements prior 1951 to till 2007. The Constitution, which was promulgated on 2007. Article 4: State of Nepal: (1) Nepal is an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive and federal, democratic republican state. (2) The territory of Nepal shall comprise of: (a) The territory existing at the commencement of this constitution; and (b) Such other territory as may be acquired after the commencement of this Constitution. See; The Interim Constitution of Nepal -2007. http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/46badd3b2.pdf. Accessed on December 20, 2012

144 doctrine. The essence of the conflict was to attain political liberty through a revolutionary movement.

The clashes between the Maoist insurgents and the Nepali army took the lives of innocent civilians. This war proved provocative to the insurgents, and they took the insurgency to new heights. Furthermore, upon analyzing the origins of the conflict and its solution, prospective conflict resolution tactics, such as traditional and indigenous conflict approaches, can be proposed. Nepali people have the tradition of solving their problems by themselves. Unity, harmony and sense of brotherhood are the common values in society. Time to time they have fought to institutionalize the political change in the political superstructure. Now it is a time to follow the principles of people's participation in every sector of people's lives, since some

Nepali indigenous community tend to empower women, and work to fulfill the socio-cultural and civic needs of normal people.

Efficient and effective management of conflicts is fundamental to the development of any society. The traditional way of conflict resolution techniques like competing or forcing may provide a quick resolution to a conflict, increase self-esteem and draw respect when firm resistance or actions were a response to an aggression or hostility. Nonetheless, it may affect the relationship with the opponent, who in the long run, cannot take advantage of the strong sides of the other side’s position. Taking this approach may require a lot of energy and be exhausting to some individuals.

As in many traditional societies, elders were respected for their tremendous functions and balanced, fair and critical decisions in the society. They are of such a prestigious status that their deeds and decisions are not easily and simply refutable. Elders play an important role in the society to properly administer and harmonize the people and that is also a conflict resolution tactic. In Nepal traditional conflict resolution approaches are localized, caste and ethnicity-specific and shaped and guided by traditional norms, values, customs and religions.

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For example, Magar –samaj (Magar Community) and Thakali Samaj (Thakali

Community),(Jimmual/Mukhiya) and Raja system in upper Mustang are common arrangements of local conflict resolution. As a traditional approach, it explains strategic intentions that could be organized around the assertiveness and cooperativeness, which jointly produce conflict management styles like avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise and collaboration.

The prospective indigenous conflict approaches to conflict resolution are grass-root approaches to solve conflicts by the society. The most important elements involved in this mechanism include the tradition of forgiveness and compromises, because of the symbolic authority to enforce decisions, and transfer of resources as compensation. Indigenous conflict resolution typically incorporates consensus-building based on open discussions to exchange information and clarify issues. Conflicting parties are more likely to accept guidance from these mediators than from other sources because an elder’s decision does not entail any loss of face and is backed by social pressure. The end result is, ideally, a sense of unity, shared involvement and responsibility, and dialogue among groups. Accommodation is high on cooperativeness and low on assertiveness, which is appropriate for situations where you need to show reasonableness, keeps the peace, or maintains perspective. If we overuse the accommodating mode, we can find ourselves being taken advantage of, having our influence limited, and feeling resentful because we are always the one making concessions to resolve conflict.

These approaches are useful in minimizing further conflicts that can occur in the future.

Through a conceptual analysis, I have come to the conclusion that a rights-based approach that really empowers the people will be more suitable and sustainable for reconciliation in a p ost-conflict nation like Nepal.

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Chapter 4: Peace Building in Nepal and Data Analysis 4.1 Peace Building in Nepal Peace building in Nepal began at the end of the twentieth century and has seen the development of international institutions and international law to bring about a logical end to conflict to make war less likely among the conflicting parties. With the end of the Cold War and the 1992 UN Agenda for Peace, peace building gained significant international momentum, and the focus shifted away from intra-state conflicts to the management and resolution of armed conflict within states.

Paffenholz and Spurk view peace building as an overarching term to describe a long-term process covering all activities with the overall objective of preventing violent outbreak of conflict or sustainably transforming armed conflict into constructive, peaceful ways of managing conflict.437 Galtung 438 distinguishes two forms of peace, negative and positive.

Upreti mentiones that Ackerman, Barenes, and Bailey439 state that peace building is the process of rebuilding normal relations between warring parties and people in conflict with each other. It plays a role in rebuilding trust and cooperation in order to join in society. Peace building does not always proceed as planned and should be adapted to unforeseen conditions; it needs to be a goal-oriented process. Designing an approach to peace building relies on a conscious process of developing priorities and strategies. To be effective in reducing conflict, development activities need to go beyond disarmament to include, for example, infrastructure development and renewal and the building of schools. The peace -building actors should conduct mapping according to the context of local circumstances on the basis of importance.

On the other hand, they should identify the means to achieve and assess their effect on the

437 Paffenholz, Thania and Christoph Spurk.”Civil society, Civic Engagement and Peace Building.” Social Development Papers, Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction, no. 36, 15. 438 Galtung, “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research.” Journal of Peace Research, Oslo, 6 no.3, 167-91. 439 See Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 148.

147 overall process.

To address the Nepali peace process and to bring it to its logical end, the stakeholders who contribute to the peace process must be addressed. The peace process or peace-building

“transformation” is the establishment of formal democratic processes combined with the promotion of economic activities. It has been accepted as a basic norm for strategies.

According to a liberal democratic theory, it is proper to stress formal institutions and the direction of democratic institution building, and focus mostly on creating a fair process for political competition. Unfortunately, Nepal’s political parties so far have not strived to achieve this. Ho-Won Jeong440 states that democracy can be consolidated with mature political conditions, promoting both external and internal legitimacy. In this broader view, the peace-building process begins with the introduction of an inclusive democracy, with democratic values being followed by all political parties and political changes – hwhic surfaced in 2006 – having a direct connection with people’s aspirations. Rapid and massive political changes, the addressing of people’s views by the political leaders, the implementation of a people-based democratic policy, and the use of existing natural resources for the people – all of these will play a role in peace building in post-conflict Nepal. The rise of the Maoist rebellion, which escalated in a very short time, proves there is a possibility of an eruption of conflict, but in order to minimize all possibilities of violent conflict that might erupt in the future, sociopolitical and cultural changes are necessary in Nepali society. For this, both the interim constitution and, later, the new constitution committed to implementing a federal structure for the government, equal rights to people and a just society, and the practice of inclusive democracy. These are all good steps to recognizing minorities and backward groups, which will minimize the possibility of conflicts in the future.

A stable political order does not necessarily emerge from a new constitutional framework.

440 Jeong, Peace Building in Post Conflict Societies, 11.

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The success or failure of any peace process depends upon the social and psychological aspects of the actors. Moreover, in Nepal specifically, implementation strategies have to be based on the identification of actors and the coordination of activities in sectors within a given time frame, according to priorities. The different needs of a society recovering from violent political conflicts must be incorporated into the peace-building design.

The peace process in Nepal was somehow able to move forward a few steps, but failed to address the human rights abuse issues and the internal displacement of people. During the insurgency, the people with abundant resources went abroad and returned home only after the initiation of the peace process. Those people who failed to go abroad or flee their homes either supported the government move or took part in the movement. The common people became the victims from both sides. To the detriment of the institutionalization of peace, there was a lack of response to immediate needs and local capacity building, both of which are necessary for successful peace building. Thus, for sustainable peace that will help the population to overcome extreme vulnerability and move towards self-sufficiency, integrative social development geared towards meeting human needs should be the ultimate focus.

For a country like Nepal to address peace building, the human security approach offers the best chance for a long-term recovery and for reconciliation and the emergence of sustainable institutions. Rather than establishing “just peace,” Nepal should focus on creating a lasting peace that will be sustainable. All actors should carefully fulfill their duties to build the political and economic capacity of the Nepali people. Political parties should work to empower the people by adopting nationalistic, rather than party-centric, thinking and action and by giving their support to the development of human rights for all. Political and non- political actors in Nepal will have to focus on developing a plan that incorporates both peace and development.

In Nepal, empowering people and increasing their capacity in different sectors like politics,

149 production and the economy, and cultural awareness can act as a fruitful and long-lasting solution for durable peace and the promotion of democracy. Simply completing the political process will not bring any long-lasting solution, as there are multiple dynamics to the conflict in Nepal. So far, Nepal had successful political movements in the history of politics, but all failed to strengthen the national identity of the country and the sovereignty of Nepali people.

The sociopolitical culture of the Nepali leadership will have to be transformed to address the political crisis of the country.

Nepal’s peace process so far has been widely praised for its progress, but has also been highly criticized for its failure to implement its promises. The peace process becomes shaky when several groups and ethnic communities demand inclusion and participation at central positions. In this situation, the post-conflict transition has been hampered by lack of trust within and among communities in dealing with the adverse impacts of the conflict and in creating opportunities for peace building.

CPN (Maoist) followed the path of peace process after signing the 12-point agreement reached between political stakeholders. Political analysts agree that despite problems, the

Nepali peace process is moving, and no major political incident has taken place yet to lead to its failure. The success and failure of the peace process lies in the conscience of Nepalese political actors. It ended the rule of the royal palace forever, declared a federal republican

Nepal, and brought changes in the political equations in Nepal. The UN accepted the procedures of Nepalese peace process following the country’s mandate and the UNMIN began to monitor the arms and armies of Nepal’s government and the Maoists. During the conflict, the Maoists had established identity politics of different nationalistic groups, women, and other minority groups. They had declared different states based on nationality, empowered the women in politics, the voices of marginal class were heard and, e ven at present, the rebel party has remained attached to these matters and wants to endorse them in

150 the constitution.

4.2 Analysis 4.2.1 Peace Building Assistance Needs  NGOs

Since the advent of democracy in 1990, there has been an explosion in the number of local

NGOs in Nepal. It is important to distinguish between genuine NGOs that have human rights concerns and the capacity for fostering development in Nepal and so-called briefcase NGOs that were established to make money or for hidden interests. Most NGOs, even if well intentioned and effective in other areas, have little experience of dealing with violent conflict situations.

In Nepal, NGOs can be found in almost all sectors, from education, human rights, social development, women’s rights, health, and social infrastructure, to development, psychology, and sanitation. More recently, an increasing number of organizations are also focusing on

“conflict resolution,” “conflict management,” and “conflict transformation/peace building.”

For this focus has come about either as a result of (i) a commitment to bringing the war to an end and the devastation it is causing to people and communities in Nepal, and addressing the root causes/structures that gave rise to it, and/or (ii) a response to donor focus on conflict transformation and peace-related activities. With this, an increasing number of foreign trainers and foreign-based organizations are coming into Nepal, holding training programs, conferences, workshops, and different activities aimed at addressing the conflict.

In addition to being engaged in human rights and people to empowerment for peace building, a few civil society organizations have also started to work in humanitarian areas, such as financially supporting conflict victims, psychological treatment and trauma healing, educating orphans of the conflict, engaging victims in income-generating activities,

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reconciliation, rehabilitation, and providing physical support to conflict-affected schools.441

Table 7 Peace Building Assistance Needs Reconciliation It involves both apology and forgiveness, together with truth, justice, empathy, and mourning, including the space and time which may be necessary for these to take place, and active support for them, from civil society organizations, communities, and the government and parties to the conflict. Governance Government should have predictability, transparency, and accountability. Security improvement Empowering individuals and communities. Human security, etc. Rehabilitation of Restoring, mending, repairing, and regenerating after the infrastructure destruction, moving from violence and its impact towards restoration of health, e.g., physical, psychological, social, cultural, and political. Rebuilding schools, buildings, homes, bridges, roads, etc. Economic recovery Transformation of economic structures from highly exploitative, unjust, centralized, with unequal distribution and control of assets and resources to a people-centered participatory development that is pluralistic, decentralized, and with fairer distribution of land and resources and participation in decision-making. Assistance for socially Providing economic and other reparations to victims of the war and vulnerable population those affected, including those tortured, raped, beaten, abused, and crippled, those whose homes were destroyed and/or fields damaged, people unfairly targeted/dismissed from work, as well as men and women, single parents, children and orphans, and the families of those killed. Humanitarian Water and sanitation, medicine, food, and shelter. emergency assistance Compiled by the author. Source: Literature related to peace building and conflict management.

Points to consider when implementing assistance

 Needs-based

 Organizations should work with religious and local leaders

 Neutrality

 Knowledge of community problems

441 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 160-3.

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While working in Nepal, NGO’s should make sure that, their organizations are needs-based, like working with children during the Maoists insurgency. As stated earlier, there were NGOs, which were helping the Nepali children during the civil war, like the Advocacy Forum,

CWIN, National Coalition for Children as Zones of Peace, INSEC, among others.442.

Organizations should also work with religious and local leaders in order to achieve more results in terms of peace and conflict resolution, as well as to bring development. In case political instability or communal or castes/ethnic issues arise, the organization should learn to work in neutrality and avoid violence, to get to the result of bringing development to the

Nepali community, and making all social and political actors to work together.

After 1990, Nepal experienced a widening economic gap between the poor and rich. The expectations of the Nepali people were very high after the political change of 1990, but there was no improvement in bridging the gap between urban and rural areas. The per capita income of Rolpa – the area from which the Maoists declared their rebellion – was less than

US$100, and a UN Human Development report of 2001 verified that 38 percent of Nepali people were living in extremely poor conditions and could not meet even their basic needs.443

This includes actors at all levels that are involved in, affected by, and have contributed to the conflict. The economic growth rate of the agricultural sector in 1991–1995 was 2 percent, whereas the growth rate of the non-agriculture sector in the same period was 8 percent.444

 Mapping all issues, goals, and interests

The issues are goals and interests of each party, including how observers see them, and how they see them themselves. All political parties have their vested interests and the leaders want to concentrate all powers within their parties.

 Mapping the relationship(s) between them

442 Human Rights Watch Organization, Nepal, Children in the Ranks,2007. https://books.google.com/books?id=0fVFzXs5klEC&pgis=1. Accessed on June 13, 2015. 443 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 58–9. 444 Source: Ministry of Finance, economic survey of several years.

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Including the relationships between (i) the different actors, (ii) the issues, and (iii) the actors and the different issues.

 Needs-based

Conflict management is an entire political process of every community. Political parties, different social groups who actively participated in the conflicts or were affected by the conflicts, marginal community, indigenous groups, women, and different marginal group are the first-part stakeholders of peace process. Regional and international communities are the second-part stakeholders of a viable peace process. The ideological conflict that lasted in

Nepal for a decade had prospered in Nepal endemic poverty, economic inequality and a structural gap that caused the eruption of conflicts. The Maoist insurgency was the most serious political threat the Nepalese state has ever faced. Finally, it became an instrumental tool in bringing structural change in political paradigm.

The political movement of 2006 formally institutionalized a political change in the political structure, which was one of the demands of CPN (M) through the ratification of Interim

Constitution by legislature-parliament in 2007. The changes in the power equation need to address the issues of women, Dalits, indigenous communities, and marginalized groups. The political transformation of previous political structure into a new political system can resolve the conflict dealing with the challenges of post-war Nepal, based upon the real needs of the country. For this, the government and political leaders have political accountability to attend to the voices of local people as put forth by the people, themselves.

Prescriptions or “solutions” imposed by external forces often create problems and fail to address the issues adequately, and the top-down peace processes will exclude certain actors –

social, national, cultural and other groups. Ian Martin says that “the achievements of Nepal’s peace process are extraordinary,” but that “Madhesis, Janjatis, Dalits, and other marginalized

154 groups were nonetheless excluded from almost all stages of peace process negotiations….”445

An important element of the peace process is to ascertain the real needs and issues that need to be addressed. The constructive participation of all social groups in the political process itself through local forums can solve the problem properly.

During the time of conflict, the warring group effectively forwards a number of political issues like transformation of socio-political structure of the country in the legislation and other demands like rights of women, right of backward communities and indigenous communities, for example. For this, civil society organizations, NGOs, and the people themselves – in villages, towns, the capital, and areas across the country – can play a vital role in raising their voices, participating actively, transforming conflicts, stopping the violence, building cooperation and confidence at the local and national level, and working to ensure that their needs and concerns are addressed. At present, Nepal needs to make sweeping political changes to address the problems of structural inequity, economic discrimination and to offer all civil rights to the people to integrate with welfare politics. A good process will be one in which the participation of, and the commitment to addressing the needs of, the communities and people of Nepal is seen as central to the overall transformation of the conflict and peace building, including both the final outcome as well as the way it is carried out. The success of peace process will indicate how Nepali political leaders can transform the traditional state mechanism into a new mechanism that can make efforts to prompt economic growth and development.

4.2.2 Capacity Building In contemporary Nepal, there are several mass movements and people participate in political gatherings in all corners of the country , even in the streets and teashops. People believe that in Nepal it is difficult to find neutral people – politically unattached people – who

445 Martin, “United Nations Support,” 228–9.

155 are not inclined toward any political party. Political movements that took place in different periods caused people to be the part of different political parties. However, people obtained less opportunity to get education and other basic needs, which became the causes of people’s suffering. The neglect of basic humanitarian needs such as education, health, and access to drinking water increases frustration among the youth, and they are drawn toward violent activities or seek to create conflict at the grassroots, as well as the national level. Nepal’s peace process, capacity building of marginalized people, institutionalizing of the democratic process, and inclusion of different nationals living in the country all remain at risk if the socioeconomic prospects do not improve.

Capacity building, a catchphrase in development field, is used in all economic planning of the country all over the world.446 Capacity building through education, cultural awareness, involvement of local people in the political structure, empowerment of marginal groups through economic production, and the participation of common people in local and national decision-making could bring a new stability to the nation. Capacity building of a country requires charismatic and knowledgeable people, which mean that there is a need to develop the educational system. A country like Nepal should aim for less expensive approaches to make education available to all its citizens. Strengthening collaborations with international actors in developing their educational institutions can also help the Nepalese towards capacity building. It is a fact that only capable, competent, and knowledgeable individuals can provide useful inputs in any productive field. Further, if people are capable, they can identify the situation, maintain neutrality, and retain the ability to work, even in conflict-ridden zones, and contribute to the nation. Ensuring a significant improvement in the quality of people’s lives is one of the major tasks in the capacity development of people, and it even helps in strengthening political parties’ leadership.

446 Gurung, G, “Capacity building is not an event but a process: lesson from health sector decentralization of Nepal.” Nepal Medical College journal : NMCJ, 11(3), (2009): 205–206.

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In practice, effective conflict prevention is derived from a variety of activities that address all aspects of society and all relevant actors.447 Merely defusing socioeconomic tensions and filling the ethnic gaps that exist in Nepalese society is not enough. By analyzing Nepal’s past and present conditions, it can be said that empowerment is an essential component of peace building. Peace building and conflict transformation are vital components in a post -conflict nation and can change society’s attitude towards the war. The empowerment of people at the individual, organizational, and governmental levels is fundamental to peace building.

For this, the need of addressing the problems of people is necessary and political parties have no political option except promulgating the constitution in time in order to end the peace process politically. In a new constitution, there ought to be the people’s provisions, so they can feel their ownership of the constitution. Women’s empowerment, education for the empowerment for all, quality health service, social and legal justice, end of economic disparity, consensus of foreign policy, political consent on national security, mobilization of natural resources for the development of the country, and so on, can work jointly for developing the capacity building of people. Right now people do not want to live in fear and threat, and now it is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order in the society in order to institutionalize all political achievements of people’s movement and armed political conflict for which people were fighting.

Table 8 shows, when applying the Gini coefficient, that inequality has increased. When looking at the living standard, the surveys indicate that inequality has grown over the years.

Also, although rural inequality appears to be slightly lower than urban inequality, in fact, inequality in income distribution in rural areas has increased faster than in urban areas from

1996 to 2004.

447 Galama and Van Tongeren, Towards Better Peace Building, 134–5.

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Table 8 Gini Coefficients of Income Distribution Patterns Survey Rural Nepal Urban Nepal Nepal

Multipurpose Household 0.23 0.26 0.24 Budget Survey 1988/85

Nepal Living Standard 0.31 0.43 0.34 Survey1995/96

Nepal Living Standard 0.35 0.44 0.41 Survey2003/4

Compiled by author, Source; Nepal Human development Report, Nepal South Asia Center, Kathmandu, 1998, and CBS 2004.

Some measures have been taken by the United Nations, Nepal Government and Other

Machineries. Although the country is filled with income inequality448, there has been no systematic approach towards capacity building for poverty and inequality eradication in

Nepal. The country itself has taken few initiatives to bring change in the country. The United

Nations, however, ha s encouraged the country to take up capacity building by focusing on devolution of central government, improving its functions and strengthening District

Development Committees.449 The organizations also encouraged Nepal to concentrate on decentralizing planning and implementation and to develop systems for bringing development through Village Development Committee.450 Thus, the aim here is to bring changes in the political ideologies that will ultimately initiate new changes in other areas, such as, for example, education, empowerment, economic production.

The UN system is also influencing Nepal on gender equality and empowerment. In fact,

Nepal is now a signatory to the UN 'Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of

Discrimination against Women' (CEDAW).451 The UN has even influenced Nepal to work on the health of women to curb maternity death and to take care of pre-natal and post-natal

448 See Appendix 9, Nepal Poverty Map, 387. It provides the poverty level at the sub district for whole Nepal. 449 Maconick, Capacity-building for Poverty Eradication: Analysis Of, and Lessons From, Evaluations of UN System Support to Countries’ Efforts , 879. 450 Ibid. 451 Ibid.

158 health. The government of Nepal, along with UN and other agencies, continues to work towards development and sustainability.

Poverty has become a perennial issue for developing countries like Nepal. The government should take measures in tackling these problems by eradicating hunger and malnutrition in the country. Developmental efforts in terms of improving production through scientific methods can be initiated by the government to improve the living condition, general health and life expectancy of the people. Geographically, Nepal is also in a region where flood, earthquake and glaciers are common. The vulnerability of the population to these natural disasters has made the Nepali government come up with solutions to deal with the environment issues and which will bring development and lower the issue of inequality in environmental institution capacity at the national level, in capacity building in river catchment planning, in capacity planning in urban land use policies, in disaster management programs, and in clinical waste management, and so on.452

Beginning with the 1990 constitution, Nepal has been trying to rebuild society. Part of the structure to support development has been the national planning commission that formulates plans and submits them to the government for consideration and possible action. Despite this, however, there has been little success in developing and implementing market-oriented and liberal economic policies. As part of the liberalized economic policies, the country is now inviting foreign investment to industrialists and entrepreneurs, which is a tool for improvement. In the line of globalization and liberalization in contemporary days, the country pursues capacity building in industrial and trade policies through dynamic policies by encouraging the local entrepreneurs to use foreign capital and technology and to improve their system453.

452 International Business Publication,Nepal Mining Laws and Regulations Handbook, 2008, 37. https://books.google.com/books?id=AIqzhau2Ua4C&pgis=1. Accessed on June 13, 2015. 453 Ibid.

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Developed countries have shown how capacity building of a country can be realized through building industries, improving education and improving the economic condition of the country. Such improvements need constant changes and innovations that require the commitment of the government for its people. The government of Nepal should therefore resort to working with private sectors and with its citizens in bringing development in the country. If the governments resort to such activities as improving the investment procedure of the public and private sector, there are more chances of improving the development of the country.

4.2.3 Do Ethnicity and Caste Cause Problems for Peace Building? The term “ethnicity” has rather pessimistic connotations in Nepali politics. The most favorable issue of it is the formation of and the protection of “community," and, after 1990 and especially after 1996, it has been widely respected in Nepali political discourse. Right now, it is linked with the sustainability of peace building process. Even in ideological violence, the political parties tend to mobilize the indigenous community people to garner political power. For this, Maoist had formed different liberation fronts under the tags of ethnic names. The political thinkers blame that the Maoist initiated the ethnic politics in

Nepal; whereas the Maoist opine that the issue of indigenous community is a part of national liberation movement, so they were positive towards the issues of such communities. Outside

Nepal, there are also other opinions on how ethnicity and caste divisions are responsible for exclusion policies that led to the formation of different political parties. Major international actors and agencies share this opinion.454 The political system, as seen before, remains highly feudalistic in nature, with the higher caste and ethnic groups – the Bahun-Chetri-

Newari – dominating the politics of Nepal. To solve this issue, the Maoists therefore resorted to using the less privileged ethnic groups to form their own political parties.

The national identities of Nepal are connected at present with two universal aspects,

454 Paffenholz ,The Nepali Maoists: Successful Transformation or Compliance with a Strategic Plan, 176-77.

160 namely, the sense of international solidarity with other human beings and the seeking of political power and respecting the nationality of different ethnic groups. In this sense, Nepal urgently requires a political process and transformation of its political dynamics. The historical links between the Mithila and Kathmandu-Newar cultures of the Terai and the

Kirati and Tharu cultures in other geographical locations give an important glimpse of mosaic culture.The political ties among different ethnic groups have connection with the success of the peace process, and if they get political identity through political dialogue or in the legislation of Nepalese constitution, Nepal would certainly be a glorious nation. In addition, the drafting of new constitution and establishing of new government through inclusion policies would allow the Nepalese to work towards democracy and peace building process455.

After signing the CPA, Nepali political parties and international stakeholders assumed that no groups could dismantle the current peace process. On the contrary, the peace agreement resulted in unexpected problems in the southern part of the country, and it actually deepened an existing conflict among the people living in Terai region. In addition to this, the people living in that region rose up against the existing authorities and political forces of Nepal.

Regarding the new conflict that erupted in Terai, Jason Miklion456 states,

After government of Nepal signed a peace agreement with the CPN (M) in 2006 to end a 10- year civil war, local and international observers were surprised to see new fighting erupt in the Terai region of southern Nepal. The violence, however, was initiated not by either party but by groups targeting both the state and the Maoists, polarizing citizens along ethnic issues largely unaddressed during the civil war. In the course of repeated changes in the political structure, culminating in the overthrow of the monarchy in 2006, political parties raised several issues that required constitutional amendment. The resulting changes in political strata did not help to address the country’s deep-rooted sociopolitical problems, however,

455 Singh,K .`Armed Conflict in Nepal: From Parliament to Seige of Kathmandu’, 152-173. 456 Miklion, Nepal’s Terai, 2.

161 which sowed the seeds of ideological conflict.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal (1990) had declared the country to be a multiethnic, multilingual, democratic, independent, indivisible, sovereign, Hindu, and constitutional monarchical kingdom. Despite the promulgation of the constitution, in 1996 the Maoists began their insurgency against such constitutional provisions as the status of the monarchy and the role of government. The decade-long conflict that followed ultimately shifted the power balance, and the unity between parliamentary parties and the rebel CPN

(Maoist) constitutionally ended the traditional monarchy at the first meeting of the Nepalese

CA on May 28, 2008.

In the past, Nepali political leaders had blamed the absolute power or the constitutional role of the king for hindering prosperity and development. From time to time, the Nepali monarchy had crossed the limitations of the constitution, and ideologically the Maoist leaders stood completely opposed to the king’s role in politics. Political parties used ethnic, caste, and class issues and fitted them into a political framework, promising to establish autonomous states on the bases of caste, ethnicity, and language. As a result, ethnic minorities and some castes demanded their own separate states within the federal setup, which became one of the causes of the failure of the Nepali CA. The State Restructuring Commission457 also had differences on the issue of ethnic states and the number of states.458 During this transitional phase, Nepal developed a complex problem regarding nationalism and identity.

This study began by raising the key elements of ethnicity and caste, and their negative impact on the future of peace and development in Nepal. The political mass movements that have arisen at different times (1991-2006) are characterized by the involvement of an elite

457 State Restructuring Commission (SRC) is provisioned the commission in the Interim Constitution 2007 to recommend on state restructuring, one of the most contentious issues in the process of drafting the new constitution. Its job is to recommend the CA a best model to federate the country. 458 Dhungel, Bidushi, “Same old differences.” http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2012-01-31/same-old-differences.html. Accessed on December 20, 2012.

162 group rather than the participation of the common people. By addressing dominant class rather than the suppressed classes, they threaten a more severe conflict than that caused by the Maoist insurgency and a move toward political instability, developing discord between people in terms of language, ethnicity, caste, and culture, and inciting new clashes in this beautiful Himalayan country.

The vested interests of the elite, incompetent political leadership and a focus on individual party interests have brought political parties to the situation where they are raising their voices only for ethnically based rights and autonomy. The social structure may vary a great deal in form, but it will always be the key to understanding those societies. At the most basic level, this affects the most fundamental of social factors – the size of the population. If it is distinguished according to ethnicity and caste, any form of state reform will divide the nation.

So far, since the success of the Maoist insurgency and the declaration of the republic, the

Nepali people are facing an identity crisis. At present, people are searching for their identities in the form of ethnic, religious, and caste- based communities. This has also affected the national identity.

Table 9 Ethnicity, Language, and Religion of Nepal’s Population in the 2011 Census Table 9a. Ethnicity/Caste Ethnicity/Caste Percent (There are 125 of the Total caste/ethnic groups Population reported in the census 2011.) Chhetri 16.6 Brahman-Hill 12.2 Magar 7.1 Tharu 6.6 Tamang 5.1, Newar 3.2 Kami 4.8 Musalman 4.4 Yadav 4.0 Rai 2.3

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Table 9b. Language Spoken as Mother Tongue Language Percent of the Spoken as Total Population Mother Tongue

Nepali 44.6 Maithili 11.7 Bhojpuri 6.0 Tharu 5.8 Tamang 5.1 Newar 3.2 Bajjika 3.0 Magar 3.0 Dotel 3.0 Urdu 2.6

Table 9c. Religion Religion Percentage of the total population

Hinduism 81.3 Buddhism 9.0 Islam 4.4 Kirat 3.1 Christianity 1.4 Prakriti459 0.5 Others (Bon, 0.3 Jainism Bahai and Sikhism) Compiled by the author. Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, 2012.

Table 9 also shows the diversity within the Nepali people in respect to their ethnicity, language, and religion. According to Nancy Levine, ethnic relations in Nepal today can be seen as the outcome of long-term processes of accommodation between local groups and a centralizing state. In the northwest of the country, national economic and political policies

459 The Chepangs who practiced Prakriti (nature).They worship many deities including Bhumi (land), etc.

164 that discriminated among groups on the basis of caste and ethnicity have contributed to the perpetuation of small and insular communities divided by persisting ethnic distinctions.

Despite this, there is considerable mobility; individuals and the entire memberships of villages rapidly transfer both their ethnic affiliation and position in the local caste system.

The motivation for this seems less an issue of status and caste rank than of change in economic specialization. Changes in the way a group makes its living in turn affects the socio-cultural system and are accompanied by a renegotiation of affinity relationships in the wider region.460

In regards to Levine’s view, I argue that the current political development of Nepali society reflects group-based interests. According to the developmental view, Nepal’s ethnic issues would be solved through social programs such as increasing welfare provisions and decreasing inequality. It should have a particular and positive impact on groups such as children, the aged and indigenous communities. Taking into account all the stakeholders in

Nepali communities, a development-based approach should be used for reform in Nepal. The development-based approach is suitable to lead to increased possibilities of education and opening up of a greater variety of economic and social opportunities.

After signing on CPA, Nepal is now in the process of drafting a new constitution and building a new Nepal. There are still several issues of linguistic rights, rights of indigenous people, cultural and religious rights of minority group, and socio -economic security of common people that remained unaddressed for years and which have come to the political forefront. After declaring a secular republic state from a longstanding unitary Hindu kingdom,

Nepal plunged into a religious, nationalistic and ethnic debate. Women, backward group, untouchable community, Janajati, Madheshi, and others who felt marginalized in Nepalese political history for centuries wanted to be empowered constitutionally.

460 Levine, “Caste, State, and Ethnic,” 71–88.

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Nepal is a diverse community in which ethnic separation or empowerment through the promotion of ethnic interests is destructive to the nation’s social harmony and state development. Further, it can lead to religious conflict in the future. The problem of ethnic and linguistic federal territories already existed, and there are also inter-ethnic conflicts. The

Madheshi movement is demanding a single Madhesh province running from east to west, covering all Terai districts, whereas the Tharu community wants to divide it into two provinces. But now Madhesis have agreed to two provinces, like the Tharus.

Some NGOs and ethnic organizations are applying pressure, and indigenous nationalities and Madheshi communities have been demanding autonomous provinces. Meanwhile, language presents another problem. In addition, religion has been another issue confronting the state and communities. After the popular movement of 2006, the Maoists promoted the agendas of backward communities, ethnic groups, and minority peoples, creating high expectations among these people. Unless the political leaders succeed in settling these issues by legal means, Nepal could face further conflict.

Surendra Pandey believes that “if we develop the country and we go ahead economically and everyone benefits, it becomes easier to address ethnic demands.”461 If we take a developmental view, however, the problem is not so easily addressed. Kul Acharya says that

“federal division on the basis of ethnicity will do no good for the Nepali people. It will be difficult to sustain different federal states, which will lead the country towards ethnic disintegration. The best thing is not to go down the road.”462 Finally, if they want to build a stable Nepal through a new constitution and federal set-up, political parties should consider an inclusive state, not in the context of ethnicity, but from a socioeconomic and developmental perspective that can provide sustainable peace and development. In this connection, Prachanda, the Chairman of the UCPN (M) –– speaking prior to the

461 Surendra Pandey, in answer to a question. See Appendix 5, 308. 462 Kul Acharya, in answer to a question. See Appendix 5, 330-31.

166 promulgation of the new constitution –– agreed with the aforementioned views and predicted that for a new Nepal based on socioeconomic and cultural rights of the people, they [the people] would not be involved in any type of conflict, and all sorts of political movements of small groups would disappear. After the promulgation of a new constitution, he believed, once the young people had employment and the country moved ahead in the course of economic development, automatically all issues would be solved.463

4.2.4 Is Nepal Trapped in Contentious Politics? Since 1991, the NC Party led the government time to time, but could not fulfill the expectations of the Nepali people. Nickson quotes the views of Amik Sherchan, who was a leader of United People’s Front in 1990 and is now a Maoist leader as saying, “If it hadn’t been for Girija Prasad Koirala and Khum Bahadur Khadka, there would perhaps be no Maoist war.”464 This clearly indicates the contentious politics of the NC – on the one hand, the party talks about democracy, while on the other it fails to understand the problems of the common people. In the Nepali democratization process, there were ups and downs, which were not conducive to the development of real democracy. Throughout, Nepali politicians expressed their commitment to political stability, human security, health services, justice, and human rights, but whenever the political movement was concluded, those issues were forgotten. The

Nepali political discourse saw the appearance of political parties and their associate organizations, but, in practice, the real development of a sense of democracy has been limited.

This section covers the nature of Nepali political parties and the development of politics from 1996 to the 2013. When the monarchy was abolished in 2008, Maoists accepted the need to get support from some small regional political parties in order to form the government. Once the Maoists changed course and got involved in open politics, they became preoccupied with identity politics, whereas earlier they had been mostly concerned

463 Prachanda, Appendix 5, 350. 464 Nickson, “Democratization and Growth of Communism in Nepal,” 376.

167 with ideological issues. CA was formed to draft and promulgate a constitution; however, the political parties spent their time to form the new government, which became a problem for resolving the ongoing crisis. Finally, the government was compelled to declare the date of new CA election to be held in 2012. But it was postponed again and finally was held on

November 19, 2013. This CA was able to promulgated the New Constitution on September

20, 2015, but since then Madheshi Communities of Nepal's Terai region started to protest for amendments to the Constitution.

Other social movements also promoted contentious activities and programs that weakened the democratic system and affected national politics. The contentious nature of Nepali party politics not only disturbed social harmony, but also brought ethnic and religious conflict to a nation that had just overcome a decade of armed Maoist conflict.

4.2.4.1 The Maoist Movement and its Relation with Indigenous Ethnic People

The political goal of ideological politics is to establish a new ruling system by demolishing the existing political system. In fact, the Maoist movement was based on the class struggle and they had a single goal of fulfilling the political interests of the working class. From this point of view, it is not difficult to understand that indigenous ethnic people have no interest in this conflict. However, Dipak Sapkota opines that “in such a class struggle, issues of ethnic or national and regional liberation are also attached.”465 In some cases, the ethnic problem or politics becomes a major political agenda in order to liberate the people from the feudalistic political culture. As long as the Maoists accepted the political programs of different nationalities, ethnic groups or backward communities, minority communities, including women, Dalits, and Muslim, were politically associated with the CPN (Maoist). Sapkota states that “ [people] came under the influence of the announcement of the right to autonomy

465 Sapkota, Ten Years of Upheaval, 223.

168 and self-determination for oppressed nationality and region.”466

During the period between 1991 and 1996, parliamentary politics fell short in making any difference in the lives of common people, and the regional economic imbalance and insecurity among the people were acute. Baral says, “Nepali politicians [forgot] this mutuality of values and norms of institutions building.”467 People's sense of dissatisfaction grew, due to poverty, injustice, exclusion from the decision-making process. Under these conditions, the Maoists emerged as the voice of Nepal’s poor and marginalized, indigenous ethnic people, lower castes, and others. Through mass propaganda, handling of developmental activities at the local level, and guerilla action against the symbols of rural oppression, such as in Agriculture Bank and local tyrants, the Maoist movement spread across the country.

Further, during the insurgency period, the Maoists were able to use propaganda and form ethnic and caste-based party wings, and they promised those communities that when a Maoist government was formed, or when the Peoples’ War was successfully carried out, they could get their own state, depending on their participation in the insurgency. This made for a complex political climate.

Scholars point out that the Maoist movement also had a link with international politics, and its leader Prachanda has acknowledged his interaction with the Revolutionary

International Movement (RIM) committee.468 The RIM’s support of the Maoist movement in

Nepal is reflected in its paper “The Great Leap Forward: An Inevitable Need of History,” which argues for the creation of a new communist international organization.469 Nepali communism is also linked to that of neighboring country, India. As can be seen from the following, the leaders of the Jhapali communist movement that began in eastern Nepal in

466 Ibid. 467 Baral, Nepal-Nation-State in the Wilderness, 8. 468 The Worker.no.7, 2002. 469 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 29.

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1971 were influenced by the Indian Naxalite party. The former serving with the Nepali

Naxalites for a long time.”470 Like the Indian Naxalite movement, Nepali communists had accepted an agrarian revolution as the main policy for the revolution in Nepal. Prachanda had stated in the document of his 1995 plenum that “the target of armed struggle will be confiscating the lands of feudals and landlords and distributing them amongst the landless and poor peasants on the basis of land-to-the-tiller theory.”471 The Naxal Challenge: Causes,

Linkages, and Policy Options472 provides insights into the Naxalite movement and finds the contributing factors to increased violence as beg in continuing economic and social backwardness and injustice and poor governance, as well as external linkages with neighboring countries’ politics and conflicts, which are similar to the Nepali Maoist movement.

Hachhethu mentions that the plan to initiate the People’s War was based on the principle that everything is an illusion, except state power. While remaining firm on the principal aim of armed struggle as a means to capture political power for the people, the party expressed its firm commitment to relentless struggle against all forms of deviationist thoughts and trends, including economic reformism and anarchism.473

Further, Hachhethu highlights the reasons for the rapid progress of the insurgency and the factors contributing to the escalation of the conflict, including the geographical location of

Nepal and that it is favorable to run guerilla warfare either as ideological violence or ethnic violence and to wage a struggle against the central government. Nepalese people working in foreign countries, mainly in India, were mobilized in line with the political guideline of the

Maoists and conducted different political programs to supply logistics for the armed struggle in Nepal. In addition, Hachhethu also identifies several factors such as social injustice,

470 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 70. 471 The Worker, no. 3. 1997. 472 Ramana, ed., The Naxal Challenge, 110-157. 473 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 70.

170 unemployment, and underdevelopment, the problem of exclusion, and the lack of good governance, all of which contributed to the escalation of Maoist armed activities.

Furthermore, Hachhethu includes different views and analyses from divergent perspectives.

According to development analysts, the Maoist movement is basically a social and economic struggle produced and sustained by failed development. Sociologists and ethnologists argue that the Maoist insurgency is also an ethnic struggle. Lawoti argues that class-based insurgencies like Maoist political conflict of Nepal, based on Marxist political doctrine, is escalated by ethnic and nationalistic aspiration.474 They argue for the support of ethnic minorities and marginalized groups. Meanwhile, political scientists regard the failure of governance as the main reason behind the constant weakening of the Nepali state and the strengthening of the Maoists. Hachhethu argues that the Maoists were successful in mobilizing ethnic groups and giving the ethnic demands a political framework, and that th ese internal conflicts and contradictions among the state actors have given an advantageous position to the Maoists.

Much scholarship concerning Nepali politics highlights the formal development of the state, state and political leadership, mainstream political parties and their development.475

Further, there has been discussion of the Nepali conflict in terms of mainstream political actors and parties acting for the attainment of state power.

During the course of this study, a wide range of scholarly discussions have been put forward that highlight the variables that appeared during the Maoist insurgency, such as inequality, political exclusion, ethnic dimension, state repression, a weak state, the lack of development, and environmental degradation.

In addition, some works have discussed the consequences of the insurgency, as well its

474 Lawoti, “Ethnic Dimension of Maoist Insurgencies,” 135. 475 Hachhethu Party Building in Nepal: Organization, Leadership and People, A Comparative Study of the NC and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), 25-74, and Baral, “Nepal Political Parties and Parliament,”10-35.

171 negative impact on the economy and development, the increase in the militarization of society, and the increase in the restrictions on human rights. Some of them discussed the ethnic grievances and the Maoist mobilization of the ethnic groups.476 Moreover, some political scientists link the rise of the Maoist insurgency to the failure of the parliamentary democracy and to the failure of the political parties to work properly within the political system.

4.2.4.2 Identity Politics The unification of the Gorkha kingdom and the formation of Nepal after unification of

Nepal demanded a new possible national identity of Nepal. Before the unification of Nepal,

Kathmandu Newars, and Gorkhali Gurungs and Magars had political access in their respective states. During that time, they enjoyed cultural right. After the completion of the expansion of Nepal, and especially after the signing of the Sugauli treaty, a new issue was created in the identity discourse of Nepali politics. Immediately after the shift of the capital of the Gorkha kingdom to the Kathmandu valley, the influence of a new political elite was seen and there was gradual marginalization in the political field. Similarly, different ethnic communities in their respective geographical regions faced the same problems; however, it remained latent for a long time. “Manka Khalah,” – the first Newar organization in

Kathmandu – came into existence in 1979 in line with the sign of identity politics which pressed both for the restoration of radio broadcasts in the Newari language and for its use as the medium of instruction in schools.”477 Finally, the linguistic influence of “Manka Khalah” became a symbol of identity politics to others after 1990 and it became a national issue and other ethnic groups followed the same path. Ultimately, the Maoists promised the different nationalistic groups to fulfill their demands after making political change through ideological conflicts.

476 Upreti, The Price of Neglect; Mishra, Locating the “Causes” of the Maoist Struggle, 257-304. 477 Whelpton, John, A History of Nepal, 182.

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The political movement of 1990 led to different national and regional movements, and the people at both the local and national level demanded to get their inalienable rights to speak and read or write in their mother tongue, and staked their claim over the country’s natural resources. After 1990, with the beginning of party politics, problems of people, like Tamang,

Limbu, Madheshi, and Tharu, related to identity politics increased at local levels, as well as nationally, to form a wider communal identity in terms of religion, language, and so on. As a result, the Himalayan country has seen the development of several kinds of movements, which can be described as social movements, identity movements, the Maoist insurgency, for example.478 The CPN (UML) government formed in 1994 started to air news in Sanskrit language on Radio Nepal, and the Supreme Court banned to use Nepal Bhasa – language of

Newari people – as an official language along with Nepali in the offices of Kathmandu

Metropolitan city. The government of NC took a decision in 1993 to make Sanskrit a compulsory language in school education.479 Early in 1990, Nepal was described as a peaceful country in popular discourse and in academia. Hangen and Lawoti hold the view that the ethnic movement and identity politics moved ahead after 1990 and became more violent after the turn of the century.480 The indigenous nationalities movement began to work more actively to promote social, linguistic, cultural, economic and political rights of marginal people. Similarly, due to Madeshi, Dalit movements, Muslim activities, and women's consciousness, Maoists responded and recruited indigenous community members –

Madeshis, Dalits, and women – after 1996, and the voices of those people became the political agenda of Nepalese conflict.

However, there have been different type of conflicts and rebellions in Nepal's history.

After 1990, the collective mobilization that occurred in Nepal was varied in nature and, hence, its effects have differed as well. The contemporary contentious activities emerged from the

478 Upreti, Political Awakening in Nepal. 479 Gellener, Pfaff-Czarnecka & Whepton, Nationalism and Ethnicity in Hindu Kingdom. 480 Susan Hangen and Mahendra Lawoti, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nepal, 5.

173 historical backdrop of exclusion, neglect, and changing social and political conditions. After

1990 identity politics became a major part of Nepalese politics, and, in the general election of

1991, NSP – a Madesh based political party – captured six seats out of 205 in parliament and three seats in midterm poll of 1994.481 After 2006, the growth of ethnic political parties has resulted in ethnic association, forwarding ethnic demands, and fighting for protecting their rights. The report of INSEC 2011 – a human rights organization in Nepal – shows that, from

2005 to 2010, a huge number of Madeshi people were the victims of the eruption of new conflict. In 2007 more than 100 Madhesi were killed by the state or non-state organizations and this number was 79, even in 2010. The record shows that, in these six years, 97 per cent

Terai based Madeshi people were killed and arounde thre per cent pahadi Hindu people, with one per cent of indigenous people killed in the same period.482

Furthermore, the groups were mobilized towards identity politics by the Communist Party of Nepal, t heir student movement organizations, and their revolts and protests. There were also the collective struggles of trade unions, teachers, and socio-religious groups.483 National ethnic conflict has occurred in Nepal throughout its history, but after 1990, it seemed to become more visible than in the past.

The associations of different ethnic and caste groups are fighting for equal recognition of their language, religion, and culture, as well as for equal opportunities in politics, economy, and society. Until now, these movements (except for the Khambhuwan National Front

(KNF)484 and Janatantric Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM)) have not launched violent rebellions.

There have also been several conflicts and riots targeting religious sects. The following table shows the non-Maoist violent conflicts and contentious activities after 1990.

The tables below show the activities that have occurred thus far in the name of social and

481 Thapa & Sijapati, A Kingdom Under Siege, 38-40. 482 INSEC, 2011. 483 Neupane,Govinda, Nepali Samajko Rupantaran [Transformation in Nepali Society],2-39. 484 The KNF joined the Maoists (it split and joined again a couple of times) and JTMM split from the Maoists.

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ethnocentric movements. Since 1996, the tactics of such movements have been changing

from nonviolence to violent activities, and are becoming increasingly visible in the Nepali

political discourse.

Table 10 Non-Maoist Violent Conflicts (Riots and Insurgencies) in Nepal, 1990- 2006 Date Events/actors Location October, 1992 Hindu-Muslim riots during Nepalgunj Deepawali 3-4 November, 1994 Hindu-Muslim riots during Nepalgunj parliamentary election 3-9 December, 1994 Hindu-Muslim riots during Nepalgunj well renovation at a temple 25-28 October, 1995 Hindu-Muslim riots during Nepalgunj Deepawali May, 1997 Hindu-Muslim riots during Nepalgunj local elections 26-27 December, 2000 Parbate-Madheshi (Hrithik) Kathmandu and Terai riots Since 1999, increased in 02, Khambuwan Insurgency Khotang, Bhojpur, 2001 Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga 1 September, 2004 Riots against Muslims (Iraq Kathmandu killing reactions) January, 2005, April, July Madheshi insurgency Rautahat, Saptari, Siraha, 2006 Sunsari Compiled by the author. Source: Lawoti: Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal.

Table 11Contentious Activities of Dalits after 1990 Year Event Location 1991 Mobilization to sell milk to dairies Udiyachaour, Syangja 1991 Temple entry movement Nawalparasi 1994 Mobilization to sell milk to dairies Chitwan 1994 Gorkhali temple entry movement Gorkha 1994 Right to water from public source Sipapokhari, Sindhupalchowk March, 2000 Anti-carcass disposal campaign Lahan, Siraha 12June, 2000 Mobilization to sell milk to dairies Gaindakot, Nawalparasi Compiled by the author. Source: Lawoti, Contentious Politics and Democratization in Nepal.

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4.2.4.3 Findings Research for this study has shown that the Nepalese political system has undergone a variety of changes and has been subject to the influence of different movements, for example, those of 1950 and 1990, the decade long conflict from 1996- 2006, and the Madeshi movement in 2006. Yet, despite all the influences, fundamental sociopolitical transformation has not been institutionalized. Indeed, at present, even after the Jana Andolan II on May 28,

2008, which declared a republican federal state, there are, in fact, no federal states, and the country is being ruled under a unitary political system. The constitution of 2015 has already accepted the principle of federalism, and the political parties have agreed to accept it in their election manifestos. The problem is that no detailed work has been done for the restructuring of the state in terms of geographical location, distribution of natural resources, and administrative procedures. Local elections have not been held for more than fifteen years, and the political parties are still debating whether to conduct the local election before the promulgation of the constitution or after.

Several strong social movements threaten to bring ethnic and religious conflicts back to the forefront in the name of identity politics. Scholarly articles highlight the political parties’ inability to control the collective movements that have significantly caused much violence and framed the discourse on ethnic autonomy. The Maoist movement can be taken as an example of contentious politics in Nepal, as it has taken the route of violence to gain political power. So far, the literature shows that Nepal is enduring rapid and massive social and cultural changes and that identities are becoming both inclusive and exclusive. The Nepali political parties have changed since the abolishment of the monarchy. Some of the parties represent, for example, socialismb , li eralism, democracy. However, it now seems that ethnicity, caste, region, religion, along with others, have become the focus of politics. The contentious behavior of Nepali political parties and social organizations may be a hindrance to further peace building.

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4.3 Conclusion In constructing a sustainable and long-lasting peace, all the actors, such as humanitarian, political, and local and international forces, should play a central role in transforming the post-conflict nation to a peaceful country. Nepal’s peace-building process is an opportunity to rebuild the nation. Though the Nepali people participated in different political movements, the country hardly experienced any substantial structural changes in politics to end the violence before 1996. Periodic political movements may have increased the people’s aspirations, but the leaders failed to address the people’s bonafide issues and people received no political security from the state political forces. Maoist took advantage of that structural gap in politics and raised weapons against political system from 1996.

The complete peace process of any country refers to the development of infrastructure, development of human potential, the empowerment of the people and their involvement at the decision-making level, and ultimately it is reflected in the level of human security. For fulfilling all these political goals, trust among the political parties is required to get the support of the people and convince the international community of its commitment to democracy. Only in such conditions can international donor countries and INGOs become instruments of economic development and poverty alleviation. In the past, Nepal either remained undeveloped due to the poor political vision of political parties or the political conflict slowed down the development process. During the ongoing peace process, Nepal needs international support to offer justice and establish infrastructure.

Different regional and ethnic conflicts emerged in different parts of the country after the signing of the CPA. The Madh esi and Janajati movements appeared which might be a threat to the peace process if the dynamics of these conflicts are not addressed in time. Ethnic politics in Nepal have gone through several changes in the last two decades and are now part of political agenda. Before 1990, ethic issues were in low profile, but turned to high profile

177 gradually after 1996 and became violent after signing of CA in 2006. It could become more violent if the government fails to address the demands of ethnic communities.

Further, existing literature and research conclude that Nepal’s political parties and people are still in need of sociopolitical empowerment. The peace-building process offers an opportunity to enhance people’s lives and develop their abilities to their satisfaction.

Nepal’s political parties and organizations are becoming more active in social movements, a significant symptom of the state of Nepali politics. In recent times, political parties have begun to turn to ethnic and identity movements, which have brought about differentiation among the central political parties. This has given rise to contentious activities both within and outside the organizations and political cadres. Rather than referring to themselves as

“Nepali,” people have begun to sub-divide and call themselves Newaraj, Tamang, and so on.

The nature of political parties and social and cultural ties is becoming narrower as identity- based issues and groups bring politics to a highly contentious juncture. It is visible in almost all aspects of life in Nepal. The politics of identity have divided the Nepali people, and communal harmony and national unity have been put at risk. The political parties have been unable to make good on their promises, and have even in some cases transformed themselves to keep pace with developments. Both internally and externally, they are still contesting issues of identity in an unstable, prolonged state of transition.

This study seeks to highlight the triggers and catalysts of the Maoist insurgency, which also gave a political framework to ethnic and indigenous group demands, and to examine how this became a problem for Nepal’s contemporary political discourse. On the other hand, political parties, such as the Maoists, small regional parties (especially those based in the Madhesh area), and NGOs declared that everyone living in Nepal has a right to take part in politics and convinced the common people that they had fought to dismantle the undemocratic political system which had denied the civil rights of marginal communities. In a true sense, it was

178 responsible for mak ing a rift in the previous unitary political system by fighting for those rights through different conflicts within communities.

Nepal’s political parties have been a hindrance to the further development of political stability in the country. Since the beginning of the democratization process in 1990, political leaders have failed to institutionalize democracy, and in the political vacuum Maoists attacked security posts, like the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Army barracks. Finally, the uncompromising fighting between the state and rebel force led to a state of emergency on

November 26, 2001. The widened rift between the political parties and the royal palace concluded in a coup in 2005. Meanwhile, after the change in political regime in 2006, the parties largely turned to identity politics to fulfill short-term goals rather than find a long- lasting solution to the conflict.

From 2006 to the present, Nepali politics and parties have been caught in the politics of contention. The distrust and widening gap within the political parties in the cases of making logical end of peace process, restructuring the state, and integrating the combatants in security forces in time became the causes of the failure of CA. The political crisis deepening within political parties is mainly related to political ideology and identity politics and, for resolving all those issues, Nepal lacked solid leadership in political level. The distrust among the political parties in line with ideological differences for resolving identity politics could affect the transitional politics and lead to fresh outbreaks of violence in the future.

Maoist leaders thought they would be stronger in the forthcoming CA election, and then other political parties like NC and UML would support the agenda of Maoist. Similarly, parliamentary parties believed that if a new election were held, Maoist would be in weaker position that definitely would compel them to make a political consensus for drafting a constitution. The rift among the political parties affects national security and the peace process. Finally, it hinders the reconstruction of the country, divides the nation, and threatens

179 renewed violence in this war-torn country.

4.4 Data Analysis 4.4.1 Introduction In this section, the responses of the research participants regarding the peace building process in Nepal and the factors playing a role in its success or failure have been interpreted and their opinions were analyzed for meaning485. The selection of research participants is done such that the interviewer is able to cover diverse aspects of the vast topic under study.

This is done by including the main actors, like the policy makers, political parties, government, Maoists and other related people who were more responsible in insurgency, and in-depth knowledge has been obtained from them.

The need of the peace building process in Nepal has been identified and its progress has also been analyzed from perspectives of different officials. In addition, the problems faced in its implementation are also identified. Further, the connections between freedom and peace building and between freedom and human security have been established. Thereafter, the role of political leaders in ensuring democracy in the state has been investigated, if any. Lastly, recommendations have been made which may be used to ensure minimization of conflicts in the future in the state of Nepal and to ensure effective and successful implementation of the peace-building process in the state.

4.4.2 Peace-Building Process: Need, Progress and Problems The major reasons due to which Nepal needs peace building a re identified by Manmohan

Bhattarai486 as politics of resources within Nepal as well as with India, coupled with the inter-party and intra-party conflicts. According to him, the Marxists motivated the deprived communities to indulge in wars due to which the peace-building process becomes even more

485 In this section interview data of Appendix 5; is analysis. For more interview details, see Appendix 5, 288- 377. 486 For details of Manmohan Bhattarai. See Appendix 5, 291.

180 important. He also states that the Maoists were responsible for gross violation of human rights when civilians and teachers were targeted by them and killed brutally for almost seven years, and the government had to intervene after the cease-fire and was not responsible for these human security issues. Further, he notes that researchers have noted that Nepalese were against such division among them, evident from the findings that 78% of people from Terai region and 85% from hilly regions indicated that they were against ethnic and religious types of federalism.487 Despite this, after the political changes of 2006, when Nepal became republican, political parties tried to divide the country on the basis of ethnicity and religion for their political motives. Yet another reason identified by him is that the results of the elections were driven by force rather than by will of the voters, leading to final election of the wrong parties.

Ram Karki488 states, in this regard, that the current situation of Nepal is such that there is peace for a handful of people, which is encircled by deprivation and poverty for the remaining people. Such discrimination is a source of violence in the society. Thus, there is a dire need to build peace in the nation through peace-building initiatives, and the gap between the sections of the society must be duly filled. Dolendra Khadka489 gives a rather ironical opinion by saying that Maoists and the NA are not enemies of each other and thus the country does not need peace building at all. Puspa Kamal Dahal490 states t hat Nepal has been ruled by an autocratic regime for a very long time and democracy has never been followed. There is a need to change the feudal structural pattern and institutionalize things like a federalism republican state, inclusion and participatory democracy, which can be done through a new constitution. This new constitution can be in place only after peace building is completed.

487 Manmohan Bhattarai. See Appendix 5,291. 488 For details of Ram Karki. See Appendix 5, 323. 489 For details of Dolendra Khadka. See Appendix 5, 338. 490 For details of Puspa Kamal Dahal. See Appendix 5, 347.

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Sanjaya Kumar Mishra491 states in this regard, that the issue of political agenda raised by

Maoists in the past called for the peace-building process. Thus, it may be said that Nepal needs peace building, since there is huge discrimination among sections of society. Such discrimination is capable of creating disruptions in the peaceful environment, thus this issue must be addressed. However, there is no public violence in the country now, as stressed by some of the respondents. Further, the citizens of Nepal are not in favor of any religious or ethnic federalism. Thus, the only factor due to which peace-building process becomes necessary is to eradicate inequality among the sections of the society.

According to Surendra Pandey492, the peace-building process comprises multiple aspects, like army integration, dual security systems and handing over the weapons of Maoists to the government (80% weapons handed over)493. While the latter two have been almost completed, the process of army integration is yet to be completed. The composition of the army would be

35% each from NA and Maoists and 15% each from Nepal Police and Armed Nepal Police, and their standard norms for fitness and education are also being worked upon494. Another important part of the peace building process is the package of rehabilitation, wherein Maoists are demanding huge amount of money for providing senior level combatants, which exceeds the budget of the Nepal government. The remaining 20% of weapons will be handed over after this issue is resolved by them mutually. Apart from these, issues like political rights, right to freedom of speech, issues relating to ethnicity, religion, class and gender, and even more basic issues, like food, shelter and livelihood, are being looked into more deeply across the nation. The peace process needs to resolve these at the earliest if the nation is to gain political stability and democracy.

491 For details of Sanjaya Kumar Mishra. See Appendix 5, 351. 492 For details of Surendra Pandey. See Appendix 5, 305. 493 Ibid. 494 Ibid.

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According to Jhalnath Khanal495, the peace-building process is moving in the right direction now and a special committee designed for it is successful in managing the human resources and handling other responsibilities, like monitoring and supervising the activities of cantonments and combatants. He indicates that the dual security system has also been well handled and the trust of stakeholders has been obtained. The process is also providing proper security to Maoist leaders. Baburam Bhattarai496 also believes that the peace-building process is on track, though he states that the process is very slow. While there has been success in controlling the violation of CPA and armed conflicts, some issues like army integration are yet to be solved. He further states that the country is in a transformational stage right now towards a more modern society, and it will take some time before it reaches the stage of mature leadership. He further elaborates that the process will be said to be completed when there has been a holistic change in the nation, comprising changes in the field of political system, economic system, social change, and change in cultural issues.

While earlier the focus was only on changing the political system, currently the focus is on rejecting monarchy and the feudal system and establishing a fully democratic setup; however, the process will take more time.

Kul Acharya497 acknowledges the role of NRN-UK in the peace-building process and states that they helped in developing a friendly environment in Nepal before the CPA 2006 was signed. However, currently they play no role in policies of the state. He further states that, though there are about 200 different organizations of Nepalese in UK, none of them is trying to divide people on the basis of ethnicity or other factors, and all of them are working towards uniting them for their good, and also they are all working under the umbrella organization

NRN-UK.

495 For details of Jhalnath Khanal. See Appendix 5, 310. 496 For details of Baburam Bhattarai. See Appendix 5, 317. 497 For details of Kul Acharya. See Appendix 5, 330.

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According to Puspa Kamal Dahal, the peace process is almost complete and only things like the case of disappearance, and truth and reconciliation commission are yet to be completed. However, it may be noted that TRC was only formed in February, 2015.

According to Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, the process of peace building is smooth in Nepal and there are no probable issues if the constitution is promulgated in the right time. He further adds that people of Terai are quite happy with the signing of the CPA in 2006, since some of them had no identity prior to this. Shreehari Subedi498 states that the process can be concluded successfully if the interests of political leaders are common.

Though the respondents mention integration and rehabilitation issues, it was found that these issues have now been duly resolved, meaning that the peace-building process is progressing fast. Further, the major issues that the country is yet to deal with are related to basic things like food and shelter. which are not yet available to all citizens. Also, issues like political rights, right to freedom of speech, issues relating to ethnicity, religion, class and gender are being increasingly looked into by the authorities.

According to Manmohan Bhattarai, the peace-building process is being hampered because political parties and Maoists established mutual understanding and joined hands against the feudal Nepalese king, since Maoists knew they could not get along with the king.

However, the desired and expected results were not achieved by any of the parties leading to further delay in the peace-building process. Another problem in peace building that he identifies i s that the Maoists were also divided into two groups, out of which, one was more inclined towards sincere and honest peace building by way of writing a proper constitution, while the other was more interested in continuing with the ongoing peace process in which there are multiple complexities. This disagreement obviously trickles down into the implementation of the peace process. Further, he notes that the peace process faces the

498 For details of Shreehari Subedi. See Appendix 5, 353.

184 problem of low level of education of the deprived people from backward regions, due to which they failed to participate in the peace-building initiatives. He identifies the major issues causing such delay as army integration, rehabilitation and issues related to ethnicity and religion.

Similarly, Jhalnath Khanal also indicates the issues of army integration and rehabilitation in the peace building process, which were causing problems in the process. Baburam

Bhattarai indicates that the process of peace building in Nepal started with a focus on armed struggles against the monarchy monarchy and foreign domination and for supporting the socially backward groups, women, Madeshi, Dalit and poor classes. The problem being faced is that the focus needs to be changed to complete restructuring of the state, society and economy, which can lead to durable peace. Ram Karki states that the peace-building process is being hampered by the conflicting interests of the political parties and that most of them are looking to serve their own purpose rather than restructuring the society for good. Kul

Acharya notes that the main problem of the peace-building process of Nepal is the selfish interest of political parties in drafting the contents of the new constitution. According to him, all the parties focus on serving their own members rather than the people of the state. Indra

Gurung499 also states that the main issue hampering the peace -building process is that there are conflicts between parties, and all of them are looking to fill their own pockets and outdo the others. He further adds that NRN plays a big role in the peace-building process and helps in improving economic conditions of people living outside Nepal. Dolendra Khadka states that the problem in the process is the issue of army integration, which can be resolved by political leaders and security people collectively, however, the impacts of such integration must be deeply understood first. He further notes that the leaders of Nepal are following an out-dated approach, of interest to historians, but the approach does not apply in today’s

499 For details of Indra Gurung. See Appendix 5,336.

185 environment, which is hampering the peace-building process.

According to Shreehari Subedi, it is the lack of consciousness of the government, which is causing problems in the progress of peace. However, it may be noted that high portion of respondents indicate issues of integration and rehabilitation, which are now duly resolved by the authorities. The major issues that emerged as the hampering factors for the peace-building process were the self-centered tactics of the parties that ignored the welfare of the public.

Further, there is a very low level of education in the country, due to which people are not able to actively participate in the election process, which leads to election of the parties with vested interests.

Further, in the process of updating information during mid-July 2015, I carried out additional interviews. In regard to the peace process, Som Prasad Gauchan500 mentions that the Nepal peace process is really strange and unique. He highlights that the reason Maoists came to the peace process is because of an Indian factor, and another factor is that, if the conflict lasts for years, there will be unnecessary interference of international countries in the country and political power will be used by Nepalese army. These are the reasons Maoists came to peace process. According to him, it is mainly the international factors that push

Maoists into the peace process. Sangita Khadha501, highlights that the success of peace process will be the ending of peace process and getting rights for victims of Nepal's Maoist insurgency.

Bikash Lamsal502, says that although we have done agreements in parliament – like 12 point agreements – we are still having inequality in society, based on gender, as well as economic disparities. Not only that, he says, but also there are issues like Dalit, Janajati, and including all rights in a new constitution will mark the success of peace process. Amrit

500 For details of Som Prasad Gauchan. See Appendix 5, 357. 501 For details of Sangita Khadha. See Appendix 5, 360-61. 502 For details of Bikash Lamsal. See Appendix 5, 363.

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Devkota503, youth leader, argues that Maoist insurgency started with 40 point demands and that the Maoists are already in the political process, so, they cannot go back from the political process. Therefore, it will be successful, with the TRC already formed.

Chandra Kant Gyawali504 says that the peace process of Nepal is related to the promulgation of constitution, so it will end after that. Chairman of CA of Nepal, Subash

Chandra Nembang505, says of Nepal's peace process, “It is taking pretty long time to come into the normal line; however, if you go through the overall political developments, it is really encouraging.” PM K.P. Oli (Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli)506, Chairman of CPN (UML), has a different perspective on the peace process. He says, “ It almost is in last phase. Integration of army is completed and now we are on the process of completing remaining portion, which are going to manage soon. TRC is formed. It has started its regular work. Mainly the peace process is completed.” The problem is that of the peace process was delayed for the formation of the TRC and constitution writing.

Through the overall evaluation oft the da a and literature, it is found that there is indeed a major need for a mechanism and commitment within the political parties. There should not be any distinction on what they deliver and commit. There is a loophole in any agreement or commitment, that is, the authority should have the capability to acquire it. There should be a non-political committee as a watchdog to see the overall development of peace process. The committee will be responsible for taking all the issues that has been raised, highlighted and side-lined, as well. There should not be any infiltration, at any cost. There is a positive gesture that the government has put forth for the peace building. It has given a message in the international arena that the peace process is not merely utopia. This should be taken into consideration and can be taken as an achievement. The problems are that they have a lack of

503 For details of Amrit Devkota. See Appendix 5, 367. 504 For details of Chandra Kant Gyawali. See Appendix 5, 370. 505 For details of Subash Chandra Nembang. See Appendix 5, 372-73. 506 For details of PM. K.P. Oli. See Appendix 5, 375.

187 professionals involved, making it more political with more extrinsic perspectives than intrinsic perspectives on issues, with a lack of deliberation and discussion of the themes, and addressing the task at the last minute.

4.4.3 Connecting Freedom With Peace Building and Human Security According to Manmohan Bhattarai, the leaders are the major actors in delineating the connection between freedom and peace building. The major focus of these leaders is on grabbing resources. The leaders of minor parties, as well as ruling parties, are equally involved in this politics of resources. The ruling parties continuously collect and exploit the resources by handling the civil servants, police and military as per their will, making it all a vicious circle. On the other hand, new minor political parties are on the lookout for opportunities for reaching out to resources and exploiting them. Further, Maoists were identified as another group of actors who played a role in disconnecting freedom from peace building, since they tried to stop young children and students from getting educated and wanted them instead to join their armies. However, he also notes that this problem is decreasing its impact in rural regions and that people are getting more and more aware about the value of education in their lives.

Surendra Pandey notes that political parties, themselves, lead to delineation of the connection between freedom and peace building, since the political culture of Nepal is very immature and weak, which is evident from the fact that all parties oppose each other’s decisions and there is no consensus on anything. The parties do not follow democratic norms, protest the government without any valid reason, and make undue pressure on them to provide reasons for their decisions. Ram Karki indicates that the budget is focused only on benefiting the few elite classes, while it should work towards betterment of the poor. The current budget is only causing more problems for the backward classes or unemployed people by raising prices of basic commodities. He identifies another issue, wherein the leaders are

188 not able to deliver their promises on time, specifically, the writing of constitution, which was to be completed much earlier, but is still pending. The people of the nation do not feel free to act as per their will, since the constitution directing their mindset is not ready yet. These issues also build gaps between peace and financial freedom in the country. Kul Acharya identifies NRN -UK as another actor playing a role in delineating the connection between freedom and peace building. According to him, a major technical problem being faced by

NRN currently is the issue of dual citizenship, which is being refused by the government of

Nepal. On the other hand, NRN-UK insists that it would provide economic benefits to the country if it were accepted. Indra Gurung also notes that NRN plays a vital role in helping

Nepalese living in other countries, especially financially, and thus it helps in connecting peace with their economic freedom. He also stated that dual citizenship must be allowed for

Nepalese, since they should be allowed to visit their own country whenever they wish to.

Puspa Kamal Dahal notes that efforts are being made actively to free Nepalese from the feudal political system through a democratic system in which the workers, laborers, peasants, women, minority group, Madhesi, indigenous community, untouchable caste, Muslim, backward community, and others would be politically and economically empowered. Such an economic system would be based on a mixed economic system, and the people would benefit from economic development and would feel economically free.

With respect to human security, Manmohan Bhattarai states that the judiciary system of

Nepal is far more dependable than the executive and legislative parliament systems. While the executive system is corrupt, the legislative system is quite weak, due to repeatedly changing interim constitution drafts. According to him, the situation of Nepal is such that crime has been politicized by these failed systems. This situation needs to be corrected by the leaders to enhance freedom and peace. Further, human security was also threatened by big parties at the time of elections that used the infamous 3Gs of gold, guns and gundas to get

189 people to vote for them. He also notes that the abolition of monarchy has been a good decision for human security, since Maoists unnecessarily indulged in violent practices which served no purpose for even themselves. Surendra Pandey claims, in this regard, that the incidents of threatened human security, like killing and kidnapping, are very much in control now. However, with regards to organized events, like banda and strikes, which pose threats to human security, they are being encouraged by the forces, including both political parties, as well as foreign NGO agencies. This is because the NGOs mostly tend to spend money more on creation of awareness than on infrastructure building and, therefore, such money is usually used to organize the rallies that threaten human security.

According to Jhalnath Khanal, the issue of human security must be re-addressed in a new light, with a focus on three things – National sovereignty, national integrity and national unity.

He further states that the people of Nepal are absolutely secure and law and order are in place in the country. Further, the government of Nepal is maintaining a continuous interaction with the stakeholders, so as to ensure that they are winners in the situation and there are no conflicts to threaten human security. UPCN (Maoist) Leader Baburam Bhattarai states, in this regard, that the issue of education is being handled much better than earlier and the government is trying to provide modern high class education to all classes and regions of the society. According to him, the issue of human security relates to good education, economic freedom and empowerment of backward sections of the society and the government is making efforts to ensure these aspects. Thus, these aspects of human security can ultimately lead to freedom for the people.

Ram Karki is of the opinion that, since Nepal shares its border with two giant emerging countries, a volatile environment in Nepal is likely to negatively impact its neighbours.Thus,

Nepal needs to attain balanced diplomacy to be able to reap the benefits of its location, rather than face problems in human security.

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NRN-UK Kul Acharya states that the condition of Nepalese in UK is not very satisfactory, since they are the first-generation in the country and things may take some time to get on the right track. He points to disintegration caused by a particular community entering UK, students’ jobs lost due to change in government policies and problems for professionals like doctors and businessmen. However, he indicates that things are likely to get better with time.

Indra Gurung indicates that dual citizenship should be allowed for Nepalese living in other countries. He stated that NRN helps such Nepalese people settled abroad financially, thus providing them with economic security. The NRN asserts that it is the right of these people to be able to visit their country as and when desired.

Dolendra Khadka states that peoples go and live in foreign countries for security reasons.

He indicates towards poor infrastructural facilities in Nepal, due to which ambulances and police services cannot reach people in time and thus they turn to other advanced countries for their security and find freedom in these countries. Shreehari Subedi states that the people of

Nepal are quite secure now, however, focus needs to be on basic things, like water supply, electricity, fuel and others like industries, employment and foreign investment.

PM K.P. Oli, in regards to security and peace, mentiones that the Nepali people are peace loving and that they are living in social harmony. They would not like any conflict in the future. Even though we had conflict, we have managed that. Now, anyone who tries to make conflict will not be successful. He rules out further conflict in Nepal. Moreover, on the federalism issue, he says,

Nepalese people never demand the federalism. Exactly Nepalese people have expressed

the desire for rights of good governance, human rights, economic prosperity and

development. In this aspects, Nepal is very small such as in terms of geography, and it is

different in terms of culture – cultural groups are here and the economic condition is not

strong and the country is underdeveloped. In such situation, federalism is whether it

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suitable or not is experimental issue.507

Subash Chandra Nembang points out that the TRC will be able to address the issues of

Maoist insurgency crime and human rights. He mentions that reconstruction of states will transform the power. It will empower the ethnic communities and backward people. Chandra

Kant Gyawali says that the amnesty by TRC is not acceptable and it will not give rights of victims, so, in this regard, government should flow the Supreme Court verdicts. Moreover, on the issue of federalism he has a similar view with the author in that he mentions that development based federalism is a must for the termination of all the discrepancies in society, to permit participation of all the creeds and casts for the development of the society and the nation and also to exploit the natural resources of a certain state. The interviewed people and politicians agree that the federalism issues came to Nepal suddenly. This is not necessary good, since Nepali political parties are under pressure and move suddenly to agreement on an issue.

From analysis of data, it can be said that when there is political hegemony or only limited authority in the procedure of implementation, freedom cannot be accessed at all. Hence, there should be freedom while going about any kind of tasks. When people have their freedom for judgment, finalizing and working towards it, the outcome will be non-biased. Peace building is almost not possible when there is lack of freedom and independence. When people realize these provisions, they will be able to appraise each issue and reach a reasonable conclusion.

Freedom doesn’t help to undermine any questions, rather, it reinforce one's power when the fact and figures are presented. When there is freedom, there is an optimum chance of human security to be monitored. Freedom is its own justification, since it is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved and it means there is already a platform or space for being secure from threat. Hence, freedom gives all political and civil rights, such as right to life, social and

507 See Appendix 5, 376.

192 cultural rights and social security and, of course, human security. It is strongly believed that, without freedom, no other factor will help in the peace building process and there will be no human security.

4.4.4 Political Leadership Saving Democracy With respect to the role of political leadership in saving democracy within the country,

Manmohan Bhattarai notes that bigger parties usually are able to have their way in the parliament and made all major decisions. This is because small ethnic, religious or linguistic groups had fewer members and cannot pass legislation through majority. However, he notes that it is not practically possible to consult all parties and have a unanimous decision democratically. At the same time, he states that there are multiple groups based on language, ethnicity, religion and minority, and all of them need to duly adhere to the democratic norms in order to save democracy in the nation. He leans towards an ideological demarcation among political parties, making, it possible to draft a new constitution for ensuring democracy.

Surendra Pandey proposes, in this regard, that rather than dividing the country on an ethnic basis, it is important that the political leaders take care of the interests of these minority groups formed on the basis of religion, ethnicity and class and empower them politically, like the rest of the citizens of the nation. In this way, it will be possible to create a more democratic environment and include the voices of all sections of the society. Such a political leadership can greatly help in saving democracy in the nation. In this regard, Jhalnath Khanal notes that the nation cannot be divided on the basis of ethnicity or religion and there is a need to stick to the previous decision of creating a federal state that has the potential of settling the demands of all people from all ethnic groups, genders and backward regions. This will go a long way in ensuring democracy in the nation.

Baburam Bhattarai states that there are continuous efforts to encourage nationality-based federalism rather than ethnicity-based federalism. This will lead to betterment of all the

193 people and equality in the nation and, thus, by ensuring such an environment, political parties can help in saving democracy in the nation. He further states that the political leaders are trying to draft the constitution along with the elected CA, and it is highly likely that the leaders will ensure that the new constitution has a sharp democratic focus. Ram Karki states that, in order to achieve democracy, the support of oppressed communities is a must, and they should be empowered accordingly. He also stated that the focus is on federalism rather than grouping on the basis of ethnicity or religion.

Kul Acharya makes a similar observation and is of the same view that having a federal state is the right step in the direction of achieving democracy and that political leaders must include such clauses in the constitution. Dolendra Khadka states that, if political leaders make federalism in terms of an ethnic base or a linguistic base, there is the possibility of ethnic conflict in Nepal, which is going to hinder the goal of democracy in the nation. Thus, political leaders should not try to divide the nation on the basis of these factors and see them as one, whether it is about their rights or any other thing. In this way, democracy in the nation may be saved by the leaders. Further, he adds that political leaders should not try to replace kings and enjoy luxuries like them. The death of the king culture is a must to ensure democracy in the nation. Puspa Kamal Dahal also notes, like most respondents, that there must be federalism, which would be free from caste-based domination. He states that no one should be threatened by any other groups or even from the political power of the state, which would enhance democracy in the nation.

In regards to democratization process, Som Prasad Gauchan mentions that the 1990 political scenarios were main reasons that Nepal democratization faced problems. He says,

“Due to political instable situation, economical gap between the haves and haves not was increasing, which made the people disappointed.” This caused the conflict. Bikash Lamsal, concerning the democratization process problem, says that he “saw that the problem in

194 leadership – they are incomplete to follow the rule regulation and lack certain moral characteristics. Since long single and autocratic system ruled, the country and we have the effects of that system. From this view our leadership is not able to face the problem of our democracy.”

The lack of solid leadership of Nepali democratization is an idea that faces challenges.

Amrit Devkota, emphasizes Nepal political history and movements that were held during the course of Nepal politics and which did not provide change in people’s lives, which is why they suffered from time to time. Chandra Kant Gyawali points out that the problems of democratization process in Nepal lie in the inability to hold elections for the formation of parliament, as well as the formation of the local bodies. PM. K.P. Oli says, “Nepal feudal, autocratic, family base autocratic role made gap among the Nepali people. By this reason

Nepal was behind the economic development.” This brought social awareness to people late and the lack of progressive and popular parties makes for a short time of practices of popular democracy in Nepal democracy, leading to unstable democracy. His observ ation is that compared to the cases of other countries, Nepal's democratic practice failed often, which is our bitter history. Those are the obstacles for the further institutionalization of democracy in

Nepal.

There is indeed a great political achievement in the country with the overwhelming support of political leaders. The leaders are the ones who become an example in the community at first. He or she has a great responsibity towards society. They perform duties for the welfare of society, keeping in the mind that they get positive indications from the people. Once they are addressed unanimously in the society and community, they will be more responsible. Eventually, they have the capability to be a political leader when they are supported and when democracy has been institutionalized and adopted by the country. We cannot deny the hardships of political leaders, in light of the ground reality. There is no doubt

195 that democracy is always in favor of raising voices for the safeguard and promotion of civil rights. These awareness campaigns have been carried out by the political leaders. In democracy, there is proper use of the power of state, which is ensured already. Political leaders try to guarantee will and aspirations of the citizens through democracy. Hence, political leaders save democracy by applying their optimum performance. There is political consensus and consciousness within most of the eligible citizens. It means the political leaders have played the vital role.

4.4.5 Findings This section presents the findings from the interviews, which were conduct in several phases. They related to the research questions composed for this study. It highlights the findings, which are major issues for Nepal peace building and sustainable peace. In relation to the issues, I established a number of findings.

In the response of the problems of Nepalese democratization process, I found that political parties of Nepal are not so democratic. They have a power -centric attitude, and the leaders want to control central power. They do not believe in the capacity of cadres, the capacity of people, but they concentrate most of power in themselves, and that kind of culture and attitude is an obstacle for democratic process. Democracy of centralized power is necessary, and the freedom of people is necessary in a democratic process. The main essence of democracy is to empower people, and the Nepalese leaders do not trust it. They believe in controlling the people's power and want to use it for themselves only. It appears that they are still in the process of party formation and party building, since the leaders violate the minimum norms of democratic process. A single leader holds the power of the party – even a central committee cannot control him or her and the entire party personnel cannot control him or her – which is fully autocratic and does not fit with democratic culture and attitude.

Monarchy has gone in Nepal; however, the monarchical culture is still prevalent in the

196 activities of leadership.

In my interviews and discussions, with Nepali political leaders and policy makers, I found that they also accepted that point of view. In the CA, also, I observed the same culture, which exactly is consistent with autocratic monarchy. I found that the CA remained a rubber stamp for dozens of leaders of four or five political parties, though it was a representative assembly of Nepalese people. The CA agreed on the issues, regardless of the decision they needed to take for making a logical end of entire peace process, and this is one of the biggest challenges of the democratic process in Nepal. Even in the absence of monarchy, the political parties have practised the feudal culture, which is very much rampant in Nepali politics.

The second challenge is that Nepalese democratic institutions, themselves, are weak.

Every leader believes that the Nepalese political system is not free from transitional phase.

Parliamentary political parties are in the process of democratic transformation. It is in a transitional development process.

Whenever I discussed with politicians and experts on Nepali issues every time, they said that Nepal is in transition. When will it end practically? It is a major issue in the Nepalese context. If we compare Nepal's political system with other parts of the world, the first political party in Nepal, Parja Parisad, was created some 80 years ago. Nepal's political tradition is not very long – we had our first democratic government in 1958 AD, only 58 year ago. In Nepal, the single government elected for the parliament at different times has not completed its constitutional tenure of five years. Most of the governments have been dissolved in two or three years, and even in the case of majority governments, it frequently happened. The Westminister parliamentary system in Nepal has not been effective. Nepalese are practising a petty bourgeoisie culture, without the patience to wait for five years. For a parliamentary system, every opposition has to wait for five year. Unlike this, the opposition parties want to be the government or displays destructive behavior in the street and legislature.

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Political strikes (Nepal bandha) are common, and, if the system cannot be effective to stabilize the country, a different type of parliamentary democracy will be necessary in the case of Nepal. A consensus type of parliamentary government, where political parties have above a certain threshold number of seats, could function in Nepal. In Switzerland, political parties having three or four per cent votes will be above the threshold, and any party securing above that percentage will be in government. If that kind of system were practised in Nepal, everyone would be positive and the system would work. In such a condition, the government could function well and the national would be strong. As indicated above, a Westminster type of government, in which party building is so powerful, has not been effective in Nepal. Since the majority government fails to rule the country for a full tenure, one can conclude that this system has been unproductive time and again. The first democratic government holding absolute majority in 1959 was ultimately dissolved in two years. It again came to power in

1991 and failed in 2002 within ten years. The practice has proved that a British type of parliamentary system is not apparently suitable for Nepali culture and does not address the psychological aspects of Nepali leadership. This is now a public issue. However, the New

Constitution was promulgated. It includes some of the features of a parliamentary system.

The history reflects that our political leaders cannot wait for five years and they immediately want to have power.

Further, on the point of empowerment, whenever I found an economist or researcher speaking about empowering the people, I thought we should empower the leaders (educate them), because sometimes it seems they do not understand what democracy and a parliamentary system are. It has been messy. In one way, we have to empower the people who vote for the parties. The next way is that when everyone comes to the policy-making level and are busy decision making, the leader lacks a system and never follows the rule and law.

This kind of situation is prevailing in Nepal. Throughout my interaction with political

198 stakeholder and researchers, I felt that the leaders of Nepali political parties are fond of empowering themselves. They never try to understand that democracy always seeks to empower the common people. Only the people in a democratic system can defend or oust the government. If the government is effective and performs well for the people and country, they can defend the government. Contrary to this, if the government is corrupt, they can control the government through the process of voting. Demonstration in the street will not be meaningful. The effective implementation of self-government at local level or the exercise of direct democracy at the local level empowers the local people, and strong local units in a democratic system assist running the democracy at the national level. Empowering the people, developing critical capacity of people and making constructive criticism of government are the three pillars of democratic norms. In the absence of the supremacy of public opinion, democratic institutions cannot function well. If public opinion gets under the shadow of political authority, there will be the control of leaders, and such a political system cannot run well in the twenty-first century. In the case of Nepal, a directly elected president or prime minister can comprehend the problems of the people and the country, and, in a real sense, it will be a strong public opinion in Nepal. Though time and again the parliamentary system turned out to be less effective, Nepalese leaders could not realise this fact and frequently crushed the voices of common people. Nepalese people are still in favour of a directly elected head of the state who could exercise the executive power of the country. This shows very clearly that our leader does not hold up public opinion. General public opinion is political stability in Nepal and is not possible if there is a parliamentary type of Westminister government, and around 95 percent have the same opinion, favouring a directly elected government. Contrary to this, the top leaders whip their parliament members not to cross the party line, and the lawmaker has to vote according to leaders. Political leaders have very little hope of becoming the leader and ruler from the direct vote of the people. In Nepal, it is the

199 appropriate way to empower the people. A provision of the Interim Constitution was to get public opinion on a referendum in case the government intended to take a major decision, as in the case of a treaty and political agreements. On the basis of legal practice the leaders failed to accept this provision though it is a democratic process. In the case of Europe, if the government is making a fundamental decision on any issues, the government gets ready to get approval through a referendum. It is quite natural in a democratic system. Unfortunately,

Nepalese political parties disagree with this democratic process in practice and make decisions in their own ways. There is provision in the Interim Constitution that if a political party cannot decide in any case, then that will be put to a referendum. They are that if there is a referendum, people will overwhelmingly decide in favour of a directly elected government.

From that, I can assume that our leaders do not respect the public opinion; the minimum criteria of democracy are to accept the people's will and that it is the people's will that is supreme.

Criticizing the government and the leader is the right of the people, particularly if the government is autocratic and the leaders ignore people's sincere voices. Again and again, the editors of magazines are confined to prison as long as they raise critical matters. Even the writers get the same fate. In word and constitution, democracy exists in Nepal, but does not have any function at all. In democracy, human rights and press freedom are important factors, but freedom in Nepal is under the control of legal authority. The situation of press and human freedom will be very tough in the new constitution; in fact, the Interim Constitution is more liberal in such cases. This is sufficient to prove that Nepalese political leaders have a strong autocratic attitude and feudal practice, which are the main challenges of the democratic process.

In relation to Nepal peace process, I asked the question and evaluated the CPA. I discussed the Nepalese peace process earlier. Overall, I found that the Nepali peace process is a very

200 new kind of experience in the world and a new kind of experiment in peace building and peace-making process, as well. In the rest of the world, the ideological conflict that was initiated following the dogma of Maoist principles intending to establish a communist system has not entered the peace process. The violent conflict of Peru was crushed by power and the same situation happened in the cases of Latin American conflicts. The prolonged conflict in

Nepal came to an end through frequent dialogues, negotiation, forming an interim legislative body, promulgation of an Interim Constitution, holding the election of CA, integrating the combatants into the NA , finally ending with the process of following promulgation steps of the new Constitution. The Nepalese peace process adopted these provisions and now it has been a landmark for establishing peace anywhere in the world. Even India – a neighbouring country which has been experiencing the same conflict for a long time – can follow the same path to address the situation. In the twenty-first century, it is a new experience of the Maoist to achieve peace and to establish the political achievements through a legal process.

A second thing is that the Nepal peace process is not only a peace process, it is a kind of revolutionary process, and within the peace process of Nepal some salient revolutionary processes have occurred. Through the peace process, the feudal monarchy that ruled in Nepal for 240 years has been abolished. New features in parliamentary democracy have been added, such as, for example, a proportional election system, inclusion of minority groups, and federal provision in the constitution. These are the achievements of Nepalese peace. The 240 year-old unitary centralized political system was legally abolished and the federal political system has been widely accepted. For a long time Nepal was only a Hindu state in the world, but now it has become a secular country.

Armed insurgency, which controlled two-thirds of the country, finally agreed to initiate the peace process and a certain section of their red army has been successfully integrated into the

NA. This integration has already been successfully completed. A kind of socio-political

201 transformation has taken place in Nepal and it will bring a positive impact in the socio- cultural aspect of Nepalese life. If we analyze the CPA, there is a provision of land reform, a condition for democratization of the NA and terms for changing the administrative system of

Nepal. By practice, these transformations could not happen in Nepal, but will happen gradually in the future, as the major changes in political sectors have already taken place in

Nepalese political system. It has not happened, but provision is there. If we analyze this point,

Nepal's peace process can have reversal effects. It is a reverse process, as the Nepalese peace process is the shortest in the world, though it took long time to make necessary implementation and every issue to be resolved in CPA.

If we minutely observe the outcomes of the CPA, only about six thousands combatants are integrated into the security sector, the majority of combatants are unaccounted for, the cases of wounded people and disappeared members are still unknown, and the majority of people are ignorant about the result of the peace process. The CA is drafting the constitution.

Restructure of the state is a part of CA that i s fully ignored by the political parties. However, these issues are temporarily resolved and at present obstacles of the peace process have been cleared; now, it would be better to address such things for making a sustainable peace.

Writing a constitution is a fundamental part of the peace process, and if the promulgation of the constitution is successful, the peace process should be finished. If it brings a positive result, the whole peace process becomes victorious. On the negative side, although Nepal's constitution writing was completed, the Madeshi movements started.

In the case of security, after signing onto CPA, minor political groups and arms groups were seen in the political arena of Nepal. I found that their activities and their prospects for initiating new conflict in the future are still concerning. There were arms groups in Nepal after CPM (M) that agreed to tread the path of peace. At first as long as the Maoists adopted a political line in the peace process, people thought the crisis of conflict was finished. However,

202 gradually, with the passage of time, new groups emerged in Nepal and initiated violent conflict, especially in the southern parts of Nepal. The motives of these groups are to destabilize the political scene in Nepal. If the constitutional provisions turn out to be more radical or fully democratic, there will be a less chance of new conflicts erupting. Otherwise, the country once again will experience conflict in the future. Some drastic political groups are still waiting to see whether the constitution will adopt the principles of political transformation in Nepal. Some radical Maoists who were part of the Maoists in the past are now in the separate wing and want to initiate new conflicts in the names of revolutionary

Maoist groups. Netra Bahadur Chanda 'Biplav', Mohan Baidhya 'Kiran', and Matrika Yadav all are not happy with the present political process of Nepal were the insurgent leaders are in the Maoist political parties. The biggest insurgent group has adopted the path of peace process and the other four Maoist groups, including Mani Thapa, are outside the CA. In case these four radical groups become united, the democratic process of Nepali politics will be in trouble. In order to soothe their movement, Nepalese government has to agree to transform everything that was accepted in CPA. If political government gets free from corruption, the positive sign of political transformation will be seen in Nepal. The government free from corruption can address the problems of rural areas, make delivery of government services to the people and transform the lives of the poor people. At present, people are frustrated with the unending political process, and people are feeling disillusionment due to the absence of structural reform of Nepalese political system.

As of 2015, the economic status of the country remained weak, and it had been eight years in which the country had not observed any sign of political transformation or progressive change in the state apparatus. The feudal land ownership system was still strong in Nepal and land absenteeism was a genuine problem; big landlords were holding land and landless people who had labour power were in foreign countries to sell their labour. The richest five

203 percent of people occupied more than 37 per cent of fertile land and some 47 percent of people held only 15 percent of the total land in Nepal508. If the foregoing conditions persist, and if the government fails to abolish the feudalism in land, it will not be easy to strengthen the democratic institution in Nepal. Without bringing land reformation policy from the government side, there is less chance of controlling the flow of population from rural areas to urban parts of the country. In Nepal, agriculture is still a main occupation, and, if there is no change in farming side, no change will happen in the overall country. Political stability and disability will also depend on the same case. It is also a crucial part of making political democratization in Nepal. As long as the Nepalese farmers become independent, they play a highly crucial role in making the parties more political, which brings expected results in the political apparatus as well.

In Nepalese markets, the government institutions protect neither the farmers nor the consumers. A farmer sells a kilo of tomatoes for Rs 5 ($0.05) in the market, and immediately a consumer buys the same tomatoes for Rs 40 ($0.4) in market. The margin for selling a kilo of tomatoes is Rs 35 ($0.35) and is grasped by a middleman who plays the role of deinstitutionalizing the political system of Nepal. In this case, both the producer and consumer are exploited highly, and only the middleman is making huge benefit from the markets. This ultimately creates an economic gap in the distribution of resources. This apolitical system is prevailing in Nepal. Some merchants control every type of consumer goods relating to agriculture. Day by day, they are becoming richer and richer and the producer and consumers are being pushing relentlessly backward day by day. If this ill economic system prevails everywhere, it will surely weaken the democratic system, which definitely gives space to the eruption of conflicts in the future. People now in Nepal expect

508 United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Human Development Report: Empowerment and Poverty Reduction 2004, 43. http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/nepal_2004_en.pdf. Accessed on August10, 2015.

204 that the exploitation and corruption will be controlled, leading the country in a positive direction – and only in this situation can people feel security from the state. Otherwise, the aspects of human security will be not bright and it will further weaken the majority of people and empower some handful of leaders and the elite class. The prevalence of frustration, disillusionment, practice of corruption and an uncontrolled market system will definitely give rise to violent conflict. In Nepal, at present, the inflation rate is seven or eight percent and our exports are eight times lower than imports, resulting in a trade deficit. The income through remittance is positive; however, if remittances fall in any way, the Nepalese economic system immediately suffers and might collapse. This problem is the reo rating. Ten years before our trade deficit was 1 to 3. Now, during the democratic process it has worsened and has been 1 to 9.509 If this continues and the government is unsuccessful in gbringin this under control, the economic condition of Nepalese people will worsen, the number of poor people will increase, exploitation will be rampant, and, in such a vulnerable situation, some group will initiate new conflict in Nepal.

On April 25, 2015, a powerful earthquake hit Nepal. In this context, I asked the leaders and Nepali people how it impacted the constitution writing. Most of those interviewed said that it had a positive impact on Nepali politics and some of them said that it was not connected. In reality, however, it made circumstances for consequences that paved the way in

CA for the 16-point agreement among parties. I found that the earthquake in Nepal has brought positive impact in the constitution making process, though it had created huge losses and killed peoples. Prior to the earthquake, the political parties had numerous differences on federalism, forms of government, judiciary system, salient features of constitution, and provisions on citizenship, and, for a long time, these were contentious issues. After the earthquake, political parties agreed to sign a sixteen-point-understanding that proved to be a

509 Ghimire Lal Shanker, Nepal`s Widening Trade Deficit: Some Issues, Challenges and Recommendations, 1. http://www.npc.gov.np/images/download/Nepals_Trade_Deficit.pdf. Accessed on February15, 2016.

205 landmark for resolving the contentious issues. All the leaders got a constructive lesson from the natural disaster, and the leaders resolved the remaining crisis. However, some marginal groups, like Dalit, Madeshi, and Janajati, were happy with the work of the first CA; and in the second CA, they expressed some reservations on some aspects. Women, Dalit, Janajati,

Madeshi and Muslim felt that their voices were neglected in the constitution making process.

The unity among the women, Dalit, Janajati, Madeshi and Muslim would bring problems in the future. Though the shocks it had some positive signs among the political parties, it has also some negative effects, and if these issues are not addressed properly, Nepalese politics will face some challenges. Unity among Madeshi and Dalit and Janjati combine for a huge percentage of Nepalese demography. Now they can raise some issues because of this, and that would be the situation if all of these groups stand together. Therefore, the positive outcome is that major political parties are united and these groups like Madhesi, Muslim, Janjati, Dalit also are parts of these major political parties. If the situation worsens in the future, it can create havoc in the Nepalese political process.

4.4.6 Recommendations: Minimization of Conflicts and Successful Implementation of Peace Building Process Manmohan Bhattarai identifies corruption check as one of the major areas, which need to be worked upon in the nation to reduce future conflicts. He states that ministers and other senior officials with contacts usually enjoy a very luxurious lifestyle, since they are able to exploit national resources for their personal luxury, due to their power and position. He indicates an increasing number of officials being jailed for this and says that if the trend continues, corruption could be controlled to some extent. It is also required that people be allowed to vote as per their own will, rather than by force, so that actual democracy can be achieved. He further notes t hat political leaders need to spend people’s money on public infrastructure and road maintenance, rather than pocketing it for personal use. This can help

206 in improving the situation of people by development of the nation. He specifies that the system of real democracy should be applied rather than Marxism. While, in Marxism, the state rules over individuals and is more powerful, in the case of real democracy, the state is directly responsible and individuals have a stronger backing. In this respect, Surendra Pandey suggests that the political leaders duly address the interests of all groups of society, including the minority groups. By ensuring this, conflicts between these groups can be greatly minimized.

However, for this to happen, it is required that the nation develops economically, which again points towards the need for eradication of corruption and unequal distribution of wealth.

Jhalnath Khanal states that there is a need to transform the political system of the country and to draft the new constitution in order to develop a feeling of confidence among the people and political parties. He also notes that state should aim to become a federal state, which can take care of the needs of all the people from different backgrounds. In such a case, conflicts between these people will be reduced considerably.

Further, he also notes that, though the interim constitution is being amended over and over again, it is necessary to make these amendments since conflict management is an ongoing process, with new and unexpected situations for the leaders to face. Since all issues, arising in this process of conflict management could not be forecast in advance, the constitution draft requires changes from time to time. The process of peace building and conflict resolution are now going hand-in-hand and must be resolved very soon. Leader Ram Karki states that the constitution must be written in full consideration of the political doctrine, as well as of the values of democracy, so that everyone is satisfied and unnecessary conflicts are avoided. He also states that the fundamental rights of all the groups must be fulfilled in order to avoid conflicts between them. He further notes that there should be limited amendments in the constitution, since the situation of Nepal is not good in terms of corruption and poverty and

207 thus, when amendments are made, they are seen as changes made to satisfy leaders’ wishes.

Thus, fewer amendments are likely to keep people satisfied and less likely to indulge in conflicts. Kul Acharya notes, like most other respondents, that it is important that the new constitution consider the interests of all sections of the society, like a federal state, rather than being divided on the basis of ethnicity or any other factor. He further states that the parties within the country have rivalry among themselves, due to which the leadership is weakened.

In addition, other countries are interested in Nepal, mostly for the resources, which is not good for a small country like Nepal. Thus, he suggests that the country should come together as a single entity, with strong leadership. Indra Gurung states, in this regard, that there is a need of political awareness among parties, so that they work towards minimizing conflicts rather than trying to hold power through it. Dolendra Khadka states that the army integration can be very tricky since the ideologies of the two groups are not likely to change, even after integration. Thus, issues may arise within the army at a national level, as well as at the international level, where Nepal's army may not be seen as a very credible one. He suggests that the personnel from the Maoist army be used elsewhere, in some other sectors, by giving them jobs that make them satisfied. In this way, there will be no resentment among them, and the army would be well integrated leading to no conflicts between groups.

Sanjaya Kumar Mishra maintains that, in order to avoid future conflicts, it is important that the policy of the government provides people with freedom for education, health, and property and takes responsibility for the same. The citizens should be able to enjoy peace, empowerment, inclusion, and respect for human rights of all the people, prosperity and employment. This will create no reason for any conflicts.

Surendra Pandey states that, to facilitate the implementation of peace building in Nepal, it is of utmost importance that basic issues like food, shelter and livelihood are addressed effectively. Thereafter, issues like right to free speech, political rights, and issues relating to

208 gender, class, religion and ethnicity need a good amount of attention. These were identified as the basics required for a solid foundation of political stability in the nation. Another major issue identified by him is the package of rehabilitation, which i s preventing the process of army integration to be completed. He indicates the need to resolve this issue as well.

Baburam Bhattarai states that the issues of poverty, unemployment and discrimination based on class, gender, and region must be addressed and resolved and complete equality, freedom and prosperity among people must be ensured in the society in order to implement effective peace building in Nepal. He further notes that all citizens should be able to enjoy complete freedom and should have access to education, health facilities, empowerment, shelter, and food.

Kul Acharya states that there is a need to promulgate the constitution, so as to establish a proper structure which political parties can follow and, at the same time, help in resolving basic issues of providing the people with good quality facilities. He further notes that the issue of the right of becoming NRNs must be resolved soon, so that NRN-UK is able to implement newer projects in the state, which would benefit the state in the long term. With respect to people who live outside Nepal and are born in a different country and having different citizenship, they are still demanding dual citizenship so that they can invest and claim the benefits of being Nepali citizens, as well.

Indra Gurung suggests that the young educated group of Nepalese should try to use political parties and leaders for the betterment of the nation, rather than following them blindly. He states that this can go a long way in creating good leadership and developing the nation. Dolendra Khadka states that political parties should focus on the interests of the nation rather than their personal interests. Since they are more focused on themselves, they are unable to address national issues successfully. Thus, it is suggested that they change their political outlook. In addition, they must not try to reap benefits, which kings enjoyed due to

209 their power; otherwise, the situation of Nepal will never improve. He also states that the political leaders should follow democratic norms and perform democratic practice after the promulgation of new constitution, so that the peace-building process is successful. He suggests that the political leaders should try to create a clean and trustworthy image rather than a selfish and dishonest one, and act towards betterment of the country, so that the peace process can be successful. He also states that the political leaders should adopt a new approach to leadership, rather than outdated ones, and their approach should be applicable in the current environment of Nepal.

A state of disagreement or disharmony exists over ideas, and this is a universal conflict.

From the very beginning, it is recommended that there should deliberations and discussions for any views from the Truth and Reconciliation Committee510 relating to further developments. If it is prolonged, it is hard to achieve any goal that is prescribed by the state.

Keeping the view of democratic norms and values, no one can deny that there should not be conflict at all. However, I recommend that, if the conflicts can be minimized within limits and in reasonable time, it will reinforce the easy implementation of every aspect that is provided. Political parties have been overlooking the implementation part, though they have committed to a lot thing in several cases. There is a maximum chance of implementation of action for the peace-building process when there is minimum conflict and with a common agenda. Most of the political experts have focused on critical conflict that can add value to the implementation in any aspects. Successful implementation of the peace-building process cannot be realized without dialogue and discussion. Nevertheless, less conflict and utmost agreement can be the only successful path to implementation of the peace-process building, which I emphatically recommend.

510 Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Nepal(TRC); The TRC is responsible for finding out truth about incidents of gross violation of human rights in the course of armed conflict and providing recommendation for legal actions. See more TRC, Nepal. http://www.trc.gov.np/organization-chart. Accessed on February 20, 2016.

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4.4.2 Conclusion The historical background, including serious conflicts between Maoists and political parties and even within parties , called for the peace building process. In addition, discrimination, done on the basis of ethnicity or religion or of any other sort, has deeply rooted the seeds of conflicts in the nation, and political parties are enjoying its benefits. The process has been found to be smooth by most respondents with deficiencies in terms of self-centered political parties and low level of education. The leaders of political parties within the country are more concerned about their own welfare rather than about the general public, and they use their powers to gain benefits, resulting in unequal distribution of income and education. In addition, there are international parties that try to help Nepalese people living in other countries.

Respondents indicate the NRN -UK as one such organization, which provides such people with economic help and human security and aims to provide them with dual citizenship, so that they can visit their country without fear.

In terms of connection between peace building and freedom, it was found that there are strong connections, and political leaders, Maoists and NRNs are all playing active roles.

Similarly, there is a connection between human security and freedom, since financial and emotional security achieved by a person infuses a sense of financial and emotional freedom in them. The analysis also found that political leadership has a huge role in saving democracy in the nation. This is because, provided the leaders do not divide the nation on the basis of factors like ethnicity, gender, caste or religion, the people of the state would be united as a federal state and be able to live in a democratic environment.

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Chapter 5: Human Security in Nepal 5.1 Human Security Human security is one of the latest paradigms of global politics.511 Since 1990, it has been a major issue in public forums and academia. Practically as well as theoretically, it is connected with the seven pillars: food security, economic security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security. They are primarily linked with the dignity and well-being of people, human rights, right to identity, and developmental aspects. These human security aspects are context-dependent with regard to, among other things, local circumstance, communal values, socio-cultural norms, personal perception. Even in the twenty-first century, global poverty leads to hunger and disease, malnutrition, bad health, and death due to the unequal distribution of food and other required services. Deepening inequality between elites and non-elites, politically empowered and non- empowered classes, rural and urban areas, and developed and undeveloped geographical locations have created problems in local, national, regional and global politics.

Human security is a general concept covering the entire spectrum of human development, including economic growth and economic development, socio-cultural prospects, political empowerment, and personal and communal protection of the populace. It includes people's wealth and prosperity and the threat to their lives from genocide, mass murder, war, and political turmoil and instability. Human security has been a part of the modern theory of development. If we talk about the conventional theory of development, it gives emphasis to capitalistic structure as the best thing and in which capitalism is an inevitable thing. Its focus on “economic growth over development or [the theorists] see development as economic growth”512 and it accepts the accumulation of economic resources, like land and the means of production. The traditional economic system creates social inequality, injustice and exclusion and creates a favorable situation for further conflict in the society.

511 Paris, Roland, “Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?,” 87-102. 512 Peet & Elaine, Theories of Development: Contentions, Arguments, Alternatives, 21.

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At this time, development and human security are the fundamental factors of most inclusive and fair democratic societies. The existence of human life requires the essential progress of every society. The degree of material development for economic growth is the standard of every country. The ratio of the development of human security fluctuates from one country to another. Peet and Elaine give the example of the United States and Rwanda where “the average US citizen spends some $ 44,000 a year…, while the average Rwandan survives on $230 a year.”513 Here we can agree upon one primary thing – that the aspect of human security is a universal phenomenon and people need particular services for survival.

We can measure the differences by effect on quality life and services. We can, for example, use different tools to find greater human security by quantifying the quality of life of a

Japanese, Nepali and Indian. The national indicators such as years of schooling, life expectancy, GNP per capita, and the number of people killed in internal violence can be selected and compared to those of people living in other countries to help to arrive at a conclusion. Even if nations are consistently high or low on these indicators, they may differ considerably on others, such as income inequality, literacy rate, gender equality, or the level of violence. A measurement of human security must take into account the different aspects of human protection, the different ways of measuring each aspect, and the differences and similarities of nations in these measures.

Since the decade-long conflict, Nepali people have been displaced both within and outside the country. Migration within and beyond borders has become an increasingly prominent theme in domestic and international debates, and is the topic of the 2009 Human

Development Report, which states, “The starting point is that the global distribution of capabilities is extraordinarily unequal and that this is a major driver for movement of

513 Ibid., 5.

213 people.”514 In Nepal, people were displaced by conflict and the threat of armed groups and the violent activities of political parties. According to HDR 2009, migration can expand people’s choices in terms of incomes, access to services, and participation, but the opportunities open to people vary from those who are best endowed to those with limited skills and assets. During the conflict period, the state and non-state sides committed gross human right abuse that compelled the people to support the movement, stand against the movement or leave the birthplace for security reason. The people unwillingly were forced to abandon their homeland to find individual or family security. Manmohan Bhattarai, one of the interviewees for this research, says that Nepalese conflict was for grasping the resource of the country, so it escalated in a very short time. He further says, "Even at present almost more than fifty countries with some kind of conflict has deep connection with the politics of resources. I do not think here in Nepal the conflict was guided by the politics of principles and ideology – it is a fact to keep in mind."515 If it is the fact that, in the Nepali democratization process, Nepali people encountered continuous obstacles from the country, itself, which had the desire for resource exploitation, and obstacles from the political conflict that escalated within the country, especially in a political fragile period, then they were the victims of Nepalese conflict. It definitely raised the question of human security during the time of conflict, which is not fully improved yet – although the peace process of Nepal is moving ahead at its own pace. Since the peace-building initiative began in Nepal, people’s civil and political rights have perhaps increased, but the quality of their lives has not been significantly impacted by positive political changes.

Furthermore, the relationships between conflict, poverty, and development are correlated.

As long as the Maoists initiated armed violence, different parts of the hill and mountain regions, or even the villages of Terai region, were not connected with the center of the

514 Human Development Report -2009, 112. 515 See appendix 5, 291.

214 country’s administration in Kathmandu. The development of the country is, in part, offering education, providing pure drinking water to the people, establishing medical institutions to provide health services, creating jobs for youths, and supplying other services to the people.

In the absence o f government basic services, people cannot be free from fear, hunger and disease. Sustainable developmental activities and involving the common people in politics or in policy-making can reduce the threat of insecurity. Conflicts exacerbate human security issues, and insecurity can lead to disintegration and violence. Conflict affects people in different ways, especially in the field of education, health service, internal and external migration, killing, disappearances, wounded people, and ultimately in increases in the cost of living. During 1996 to 2006, peoples either went to nearby town areas or left the country, including some who went abroad. One report notes that, at the peak of Nepalese conflict, in one particular month, “40,000 people went to India”516 due to security reasons. Migrations like these affect aspects, like internal political stability, development of the country, and destruction of government property. For example, “by September, 2002, 1107 Village

Development Committee offices in Nepal were destroyed, which cost 245.3 million Nepali rupees.”517 This clearly also affects the other countries of the region, thereby leading to border control and further displacement of people. Further, long-term transition processes in

Nepal have had high costs and led to the loss of development-related projects, as well as increasing poverty, income and wealth inequalities, unemployment and corruption.

Even after the initiation of the peace process, the cost for the restructure of developmental projects has been high, and the present political system, which changed in 2006, requires frequent economic assistance. External stakeholders can be a major tool of bringing economic change for mitigating the violence and controlling the further conflict. Otherwise, the political instability presents the threat that Nepal may become a failed state. Since the

516 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 155. 517 The Kathmandu Post, September 27, 2002.

215 extension of the term of the CA, political parties have failed even to elect a prime minister for a long period. At the time of drafting a new constitution, the CA took 17 rounds of elections at the legislature parliament to elect a prime minister, which all resulted in failure. This is the political leaders’ apathetic attitude towards establishing peace and stability in Nepal. In fact, it was not a sound democratic exercise and was definitely reflected in poor human security system. In this situation, people may well lose their trust in the political accountability of leaders and state institutions.

The central message of 2006 people’s movement and the Maoist armed conflict has been the demand to empower the Nepalese people politically, in order to make them free from the system that lasted for more than two centuries, during which people did not feel protection from the state. The voice of the Tamang people of Rasuwa district, and the opening of a communal Newar organization in Kathmandu valley, “Mankha Khala518”, were to enhance their own communities. As long as the Maoists initiated the armed conflict, marginal communities supported their political slogan, as the people were assured for their communal security by the CPN (Maoist). At present, Nepali people are in search of an inclusive democratic system in which the voiceless, uneducated, poor, marginal, minority – women,

Madheshi, the Tharu community, the indigenous community, untouchable caste, Muslims, and the backward community – will have complete political and economic security. For this,

Nepal ought to find a right way of forming a political system in which there would not be a huge gap between poor and rich people, rural and urban people, and one, which completely addresses all the visible and invisible or latent problems of Nepali people. In a broader sense, without guaranteeing a prospect of human security, no political system can operate smoothly in Nepal.

If we talk about the human security system at the micro level, after the end, of conflict it is

518 “Mankha Khala”: is umbrella organization of groups and societies dedicated to the development of Nepal Bhasa and culture in Nepal. It was founded in 1979 by Newar language lovers to fights for the linguistic and cultural rights against the repression of Panchayat regime.

216 gradually improving. At least, people have rights to move inside the country easily, and the extra judicial killing is controlled. In a decade-long political conflict, people observed several atrocious activities committed by both sides, like killings, kidnapping, and torture. The conflict had made the state organizations too weak, and the government was run with the advice of security forces. The rule of law, accountability of the government to people and respect of human rights were totally under the shadow of conflicts. During in-conflict and post-conflict periods, non -state organizations, like INGOs and NGOs, prepared the ground for insecurity, and in this regard, Surendra Pandey opines, "If you talk about the situation of

Nepal, large numbers of people are involved in political activities and security situation is not driven only by the political parties. Different forces are responsible behind it. For example, different NGOs spend money to raise awareness and money comes through foreign agencies,519 and that money could be the tool of challenging the people's security. Every conflict moves on different ups and downs, and different factors are involved in harming the people's lives, but the situation gradually becomes normal again if the state apparatus starts functioning very well.

5.2 Human Security and Peace Building Peace building and human security are interrelated. The goal of peace building is always for safeguarding human security; and human security always ensures the people are not involved in conflicts. Conflict is escalated in the absence of human security. In a conflict prone region or post-conflict state, people may suffer from structural, cultural and direct violence. Structural and cultural violence hamper the people on a small scale, whereas the direct violence can threaten the people o n a large scale. In the case of Nepal, the political conflict that lasted for a decade was an outcome of structural violence and turned to a direct violence from 1996 onwards.

The conceptualization of human security in peace building has three fundamental aspects.

519 See the appendix 5,308-9.

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First, individual sources of insecurity include actions against people or property, such as

banditry and looting. The second aspect includes institutional factors such as neglect of

human rights, welfare, education, or political rights. The third is structural and cultural

tensions between two or more groups in the society, which results in the political instability

of the entire country. From this perspective, Nepalese people left Nepal and went to other

countries due to the threat of conflict in their individual lives. The government could not

assure the safeguarding of their individual rights, they received no good education or health

services, and this compelled them to leave their country. The gross violation of human rights,

killing, abducting and arrests were the primary issues of a decade-long conflict, and raised

serious concerns for human security. These previous two problems were the outcome of

socio-cultural tensions in the political structure, which negatively affected the security of

people. Even at present, the assurance of these three things is fully necessary in order to

conclude the peace process in Nepal. We can study these three things in the following table.

Table 12 Sources of Human Insecurity Personal Sources Institutional Sources Social Structure and Culture Banditry, looting, rioting, Corruption, torture, state Poverty, hunger, inequalities, hates crimes. repression unemployment Compiled by the author. Source: literature and International Journal of Peace Studies, Volume 1, Spring/Summer 2005.

The above table shows the sources of insecurity related to society, government, political

parties, and other concerned groups. To build a sustainable peace, it is necessary to remove

all the societal cleavages and achieve a balance of power between state agencies. To achieve

this, during peace building, all the aspects of society should be addressed promptly. Peace

building is a long process that includes activities that mostly have the objective of preventing

violent outbreaks or creating sustainable transformations of armed conflict into constructive

state building. To avoid human insecurity, leaders should address problems with a bottom-up

218 approach and not a top-down approach, so that the new developmental process will build bonds among people and establish a peaceful society. An Agenda for Peace admits that it is important to “identify and support structures which tend to strengthen and solidify peace to avoid a relapse into conflicts.”520 Similarly, the United Nations World Summit in 2005 agreed to make “a dedicated institutional mechanism to address the special needs of countries emerging from conflicts towards recovery, integration, and reconstruction and to assist them in laying the foundation for sustainable development.”521 For this, there should be a strong partnership and coordination among all international, regional, and national actors to fulfill peace building in conflict-prone or post-conflict countries.

Studies have found that, in conflict transformation, reconciliation, and the restoration of societal relations are all vital to preventing future violence.522 Furthermore, truth seeking and dealing with the past without taking into account the specific social conditions may threaten post-conflict stability and lead to a reemergence of violence. Fragile countries should introduce a responsible government to be transparent in economic revenues, build people’s capacity for collective actions, and cultivate more innovative social reforms to reconcile the inconsistencies. The successful making of the constitution by CA and endorsing democratic norms in the constitution can regulate the human security prospective and, finally, consolidate the democratic system. Human security and peace building in the case of Nepal are the common issues defining the success of the peace process. When the Nepalese people's movements of 1951 and 1991 raised voices for institutionalization of democratic principles in the constitution, the country suffered in a short time. Both democratic norms and human security aspects have been elusive in the country.

People's desire of becoming free from any fear and surviving with using the basic facilities for living determines the quality of life. Any sort of violence, like political, cultural,

520 United Nations, UN Agenda for Peace, paragraph 21. 521 Cedric de Coning. Clarity, Coherence and Context: Three priorities for Sustainable Peacebuilding, 3. 522 Mani; Robert, L. Rothstein, ed. After the Peace, Resistance and Reconciliation, 194.

219 ideological, linguistic, ethnic, or nationality-based challenges democracy and peace. In fact, this issue of human security is linked in Nepal with the success of peace process. Maoist leader Dahal categorically says, "Whenever we were fighting against the feudal regime, we were thinking how we could change the feudal structural pattern of means of production. To some extent, we succeeded in the case of federalism, republican state, inclusion, participatory democracy through the first CA. Right now, it is the time to institutionalize them in a new constitution. As long as they are reflected in the constitution and Nepali people use them in practice,"523 people can survive easily.

A small incident happening within the country can threaten the regular security system, and now it is a process of institutionalizing the democratic values in the constitution, which requires time to make it visible to the people. If we talk of the issues of education and health service, the widening disparities in vertical and horizontal level have created a noticeable gap in the economic sector, which has polarized the people at two opposite poles. The figure indicates that, out of $5.4 billion GDP in 2003/4, 20 percent of the richest people had $2.88 billion, but only 0.286 percent belonged to the poorest 20 percent of peop le.524 If this repeats in the future, the peace process will remain incomplete, and it ultimately affects human security. Huge numbers of people are living in the Terai region, and they have endured economic deprivation, exploitation, exclusion in politics and are part of the peace and security question. Due to an open border with India, people living there are feeling internal and external security threats within their own country. In this connection, Sanjaya Mishra states, "Since [Terai People] are the citizens of this country, they should be treated equally.

They should not feel any sort of discrimination; again, it is equally applicable in the case of all the people living inside Nepal. They should enjoy all sorts of constitutional rights and they

523 See Appendix 5,347-48. 524 Baral, Lok Raj, Nepal - Nation-State in the Wilderness: Managing State, Democracy and Geopolitics,165.

220 should feel proud within their territory."525 The equal provisions of constitutional rights can reduce the linguistic clashes, regional economic and social disparity, gender gap and class conflict in the future to enhance the socio-political and national integration within the country.

The issues of Nepal's human security and peace building are connected parts of the

Maoists' agenda of political ideology and peace process. They started an armed conflict for a decade against the traditional political system and foreign intervention. Baburam Bhattrai opines, “We started an armed struggle for a decade; we call it people’s war, against feudal autocracy, monarchy, and foreign domination; for supporting the socially backward groups, women, Madeshi, Dalit and poor class. Until and unless there is complete restructure of the state, society, and economy, we cannot have durable peace. We never like to talk on peace in an abstract form or way, but in a concrete sense it is related to the development of the country and the progress of the people – which is the agenda of Nepal’s peace process."526 The issues of human security and success of Nepal's peace process are broadly intertwined in his view.

Political stability, a democratic government responsible for security and peace, rule of law, and an accountability mechanism to monitor developmental activities are major components for any peace-building prospects. Equal socioeconomic development across the country, good governance, political transformation for justice, and the security of people are supporting factors for economic recovery of the country. The sustainable use of resources, people’s capacity building for sustainable management of existing natural resources, reintegration of the combatants into the national security force, as in Nepal, and their involvement in developmental activities and management of displaced people in their respective society are the common ways of building peace from human security perspectives.

525 See Appendix 5,351-52. 526 See Appendix 5,316-17.

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5.3. Impacts of the Armed Conflict in Nepal Armed conflict has had a profound impact on the social structure and the lives of the people.

Table 13 shows the different stages of the conflict from 1996 to 2006.

Table 13 Armed Conflict Intensity Stages Circumstance Time period Before the State of Emergency (SOE) 1996 to November 2001 The period between the first ceasefire to November 2001to January 2003 announcement of second ceasefire Second ceasefire period February 2003 to August 2003 After the second ceasefire August 2003 to January 2005 1st February royal takeover February 2005 to February 2006 Compiled by the author. Source: literature data and Upreti, 2006.

As shown above (section 5.2 and table 12) the political system, national security, tradition,

culture, economic development, international relations and daily life have all been affected by

the Maoist conflict, and the effects are ongoing.

The economy can be seen to have contracted sharply when the indicators are compared

with previous figures – for example, the per capita income for 2001/2002 was down by $14

compared with 2000/2001.527 This economic decline caused mass migration in western

Nepal.528 The Ministry of Finance’s Economic Survey 2001/2002 reported that no hospital or

health post was added during the review period.529 In 2002, claims of Rs. 380 million

(approximately $43 million) were made by organizations,530 and an estimated Rs. 245.3

million (approximately $28 million) of losses were sustained in damage to VDCs property.531

Furthermore, people were internally displaced during the insurgency as a result of torture

and threat by both Maoist and government forces. Leaving their homes and jobs, people

migrated to the district headquarters, the capital, and in some cases to a neighboring country.

Thus, the armed conflict has affected human security deeply. According to the internal

527 Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance’s Economic Survey, 2001/2002. 528 Thapa and Sijapati, 142. 529 Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance’s Economic Survey, 2001/2002. 530 New Business Age, May 2002 (Yogi 2002). 531 Thapa and Sijapati, 144.

222 displacement-monitoring center, as of April 2012, around 50,000 people remain displaced in

Nepal. The following table shows the data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) collected by different organizations in different periods.

Table 14 IDPs Figures Since 2003 IDP Figure Source532 Report Comment/limitation publish on 50,000 OCHA July2010 70,425 Government of Nepal Sep,2009 Total displaced 1996–2006 50,000-70,000 IDP Working Group June,2009 Number of people who have not yet found a durable solution 35,000-50,000 OCHA Mar,2008 IDP agencies estimate 25,000 Government of Nepal Jan, 2008 Based on compensation applications only 50,000-70,000 OCHA Jul,2007 IDP Protection Group estimate 38,000 Government of Nepal Aug,2006 Sourced to NHRC, 2006 21,985-27,2600 Caritas Feb,2006 IDPs living in district HQs only 200,000 UNHCR May,2006 350,000 Caritas Jan,2006 At least 100,000 CHR Jan,2006 400,000 UNFPA Nov,2005 18,666 Home Affairs Jul,2005 Only those displaced by Maoists Ministry 17,583 SCA & CCWB Jul,2005 Children migrating to India Jul-Oct 2004 40,000 ILO/CWIN Jun,2005 Children displaced since 1996 300,000-600,000 Ministry of Finance May,2005 50,000 INSEC Apr,2005 Only covers 2001-2004 period 2.4 million ADB Sep,2004 Cumulative figure since 1996 More than 100,000 Government of Nepal Aug,2004 Includes displacement to India More than 60,000 NMVA Aug,2004 IDPs in Kathmandu displaced by Maoists 350,000-400,000 CSWC Jan,2004 Based on the identification of

532 In table 14, there are different figures of IDPS since 2003 to 2010.For your understanding, here is the full form of above mentioned abbreviations of organization. OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Caritas (Caritas Nepal),CHR (Commission on Human Rights),UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), SCA (Save the Children Alliance) & CCWB (Central Child Welfare Board), ILO (The International Labour Organization), CSWC,(Community Study and Welfare Centre), INSEC; (informal Sector Service Center),ADB (The Asian Development Bank), NMVA (Nepal Maoists Victims Association),CSWC (Community Study and Welfare Centre), GTZ (Agency for German Technical Cooperation/GTZ Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), SNV/INF (Netherlands Development Organization /International Nepal Fellowship), EC (European Commission ) & RRN (Rural Reconstruction Nepal), UNDP-RUPP (Rural Urban Partnership Programme).

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160,000 IDPs in 5 districts 100,000-150,000 GTZ, INF, SNV & Mar,2003 CIE 500,000 EC&RRN Apr,2003 Includes forced migration to India 80,000 UNDP/RUPP Jan,2003 Only covers 2001-2003 extra migration to urban areas 7,343 Home Affairs Jan,2003 Only those displaced by Maoists Ministry Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. http://www.internaldisplacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/1949E98C8 1942B55C12571FE004D8821?OpenDocument. Accessed on October 17, 2012.

The table illustrates the human suffering that has resulted from the armed conflict in different periods and its effects on Nepali society. Maoist insurgency had negative impacts, which were political instability, economic degradation, the destruction of infrastructure, and threats to human life. However, the history of human development shows that revolution or conflict is often a dynamic of human civilization.

Furthermore, during the conflict, criminal activities increased, either because they were supported by the parties or were ignored by them. During the time of conflict, the state could not function smoothly and the government failed to provide primary security to the people, so that society became weak and vulnerable, and, ultimately, the violent conflict escalated in the absence of government institutions in rural areas. In the name of opposition, innocent people, other political parties’ supporter and members were killed. The violent and antisocial activities, including forced donation and looting, as well as severe crimes, such as murder, rape, trafficking, and kidnapping, were reported, spreading fear among people.

The conflict affected not only society but also the economy and development of Nepal.

The dramatic increase in migration slowed agricultural growth and reduced per capita income.

In one month from, December 14, 2002, to January 14, 2003, more than 40,000 people left

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Nepal for India,533 and similarly from mid-September 2002, to mid-January 2003, more than

100,000 people crossed into India.534 Indian embassy officials report that roughly 120,000 displaced Nepalese crossed into India during January 2003 alone.535 During a decade of conflict, Nepali state forces killed 8,514 people, while 5,102 were killed by Maoist insurgents.536

Economic infrastructure collapsed and major national development projects were stopped, as foreign investors dropped out because of the threat from armed groups. To increase the military budget, governments cut development and other social projects. This directly affected the Nepali people’s lives. Acharya537 states that the average growth rate of Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) during the 11-year period from 1990 to 2000 was 4.8 percent, whereas it remained at 2.6 percent during 2001–2005.538 This shows that the economy contracted by 2.2 percent of GDP each year after 2001.

Moreover, Nepal’s major income resource, the tourism sector, was negatively impacted by a decade of armed conflict. In 1999, the number of international tourists was 491,504, 6 per cent higher than the previous year’s figure, despite the conflict; however, by 2000, the arrival of international tourists had declined by 5.7 percent to just 361,237. Similarly, in 2001, 2002, and 2005, international tourist arrivals declined by 22.1, 23.7, and 2.6 percent, respectively,539 due to security threats, the frequent blockage of highways and bus strikes. This caused the closure of hotels and restaurants, leading directly to the loss of jobs and foreign currency.

Any time that Nepali people cannot be involved in political affairs, it is the leader’s responsibility to address the common issues of people in a reasonable time.

533 Thapa and Sijapati, 155. 534 Himal Khabar Patrika, January 15 –19, 2003. 535 International Crisis Group, Asia Report 50. 536 Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), Human Rights Year Book 2006. 537 Acharya, K., An Assessment of Economic Cost of the ongoing Armed Conflict in Nepal, 4. 538 Upreti, Armed Conflict and Peace Process in Nepal, 256–7. 539 Government of Nepal, Nepal Tourism Statistics 2012, 6. http://www.tourism.gov.np/uploaded/TourrismStat2012.pdf. Accessed on August 23, 2013.

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During the armed conflict, the Maoists also damaged infrastructure, such as police posts, health posts, government offices and financial institutions, which continued to cause problems even after the armed conflict ended. People are still not fully integrated into society and a legacy of structural violence and economic problems remains. Different studies that have been made by multiple organizations on the negative impacts of Nepalese conflicts show consequences of conflicts. However, the information given in the reports indicates that a fragile country likes Nepal cannot bear this type of conflict in the future. The reports of different state and non-state institutions carried out from 2006 to 2010 show that a huge number of people were killed (around 15,000), masses of internal and external IDPs were documented, the loss of VDC offices worth Rs. 245.3 million540 was shown, effects in developmental activities were observed, problems in the state security system were felt, a declining number of tourist-arrivals in Nepal was reported, and a falling trend of economic growth was seen during the conflict periods, all of which are key factors that emphasize the need for bringing a logical, positive end to the Nepalese peace process.

5.4 Analysis The outbreak of Maoist insurgency and its development in Nepal around the last decade of twentieth and first decade of twenty-first century defined Nepali society and politics. In a short period of time, the conflict caught the attention of national, regional and international stakeholders of Nepalese politics. Finally, the Maoists chose to hold political dialogue with the state force for peaceful settlement of the conflict and changed the political power balance of Nepalese politics. Finally, the Maoists occupied the major position in the post war CA election and lost the previous in the second CA election held in 2013.

According to Krishna Hari Puskhar, occlusion has become the contemporary identity of

Nepal, where bandhs, strikes, and halts are now common phenomena. No one knows when

540 Kathmandu Post, 27 September, 2002.

226 the country will be fully open for business again. The people look uncertain about the fate of peace process, and there is wide spread impunity in the legal system, which causes social insecurity. The revolt of ethnic people against other communities, especially after 2006, is observed as a chronic disease of transitional Nepal. The ongoing peace process and overall state restructuring have been pushed into limbo. The national peace has been destroyed, security is fragile and human and civil rights are held captive by criminals. Impunity is flourishing and security is moribund.

The occlusion syndrome has become the principle tactic of all oppositions, or the actors who differ from the ruling parties and the government. It does not matter who is in opposition, they perform in the same manner and character without considering their basic political ethics and ideology. The occlusion culture is integrated in Nepalese polity on a cyclic basis. Some political parties use brutal violence and others use political pressure to achieve their goals.

As of 2016, Nepal was passing through a critical state of transition, as it had been since

2006. The institutional development of democracy cannot function unless the national political circumstance achieves stability. In spite of the fact that there are some positive prospects in Nepalese politics post 2006, and people have not felt a great crisis regarding the peace process. Political leaders are controlling the situation and holding frequent dialogue to overcome upcoming problems. However, the development of the democratic system has been weaker, as the political parties have been feeble, due to the lack of solid leadership, poor organizational structure, and failure of democratic institutionalization. For these, political leaders are responsible.

Contemporary Nepali political parties are jeopardizing their future through severe political complicity. When the Maoists started their insurgency, for example, they vowed to take care of the ethnic issues and claimed that they would bring autonomy to the ethnic base, and several efforts were made to recruit new members into the political cadres and movements.

227

The Maoist party established itself in ethnic communities such as the Kham Magar in the countryside of Rolpa. There, the Maoists became popular because of poor economic conditions, by raising the issue of a Magar nation-state. The use of identity-politics as a tool, mostly by the insurgency, has become a problem for Nepal. It can lead nations into religious conflicts. To minimize future religious conflicts and to harmonize the political parties, their leaders should act very quickly with regard to identity politics that exist between higher castes, the Dalits, and ethnic groups. However, what is interesting is that Shreehari Subedi mentions that the result of the latest second CA election, which was held on November19,

2013, somehow sidelined the insurgency identity politics and the recent power balance among political parties in the CA reflects the fact that the people are not willing to form federal states on the basis of caste and ethnicity.541

There are some political hindrances at the underlying level of Nepalese politics on the issues of electoral system, federal structure, executive power, and the structural pattern of the political system, making it right time for accomplishing the objectives of the present political process to empower local communities and members of marginalized groups, which is important. The basic questions of the Nepalese peace process were ignored in the past, and this is a good opportunity to address those overall issues and develop the country equally in order to mitigate further conflict. Nations throughout the world are struggling to eradicate inequalities of class, caste, gender, race, and ethnicity. These efforts can be achieved only through the policy initiatives rather than by converting the problem into conflicts. Sanjaya

Kumar Mishra argues that it is not the people who create the conflict, but rather the policy of the government creates it. People need at present the freedom to seek education, health, property and freedom of speech. These are the crucial points for sustainable peace. Peace by meaningful dialogue, political empowerment to needy people, inclusion in politics, and

541 See Appendix 5, 355.

228 respect of human rights, economic prosperity, justice and employment are the tools for controlling the eruption of new conflict. If they incorporate all these provisions and state security into politics, none would resort to fighting at all.542 For this, the government should bear the responsibility and garner parties' confidence at the national level.

At almost every political juncture in Nepal, and especially after the abolition of the monarchy, the nation became more fragile, as the political parties failed to promulgate the required constitution through the CA. The unlawful practice of the political parties is a bad sign for the future of the country. As Sokolowski observes, history is replete with examples of insurgency and acts of terrorism that prove that the behavior of one cannot typify the behavior of a group, and that the loss of leadership can create even greater chaos. If party leaders fail to prove their control over the political parameters, it will either push the country into renewed conflict or bring back the past regime.

In Nepal, post-insurgency politics has become more inclusive. The unidentified people in

Nepalese politics in the past, marginal and minority classes, women, Dalits, Janjatis, and

Madeshi, have had more representatives in the CA elections than in previous parliamentary elections. President, vice-president and chairperson of CA are elected from ignored group of society. The CA elected women as the vice chairpersons, and the formal structure of the

Nepalese democracy process is in flux. The formal structural change in politics necessarily gives a clear way out to the political crisis of Nepal, which needs to make socio-political and economic transformation in the status quo of present politics of Nepal.

5.5 Conclusion Nepal’s decade-long conflict damaged developmental infrastructure and affected the lives of people. Besides this, in a very short time, it weakened the political system and the established political forces. However, it also paved the way for creating a new and inclusive

542 See Appendix 5,352.

229 democracy based on federalism. In the course of the peace-building process, people desired a more sustainable peace rather than a mere truce. During the peace-building process, Nepali people wanted to see change in the political system, which really could empower the public and socio-cultural reconciliation at local, regional and national levels. People were hopeful that the issue of displaced, wounded, disappeared and dead people would be politically addressed. Even the rebel force and common people wanted effective governance, political accountability, economic freedom, and the overall freedom to receive education, health care, social or individual respect and communal protection.

It is the responsibility of the state to guarantee the civil, economic and political rights of its citizens. The Nepali government has to change the culture of occlusion, address the absence of security, and realize that it is directly concerned with the issues of capability and legitimacy. For the proper functioning of the state mechanism, the government should revamp its security and law enforcement organs promptly. In a post-conflict country heavily affected by ideological-based conflict, there is a need to emphasize the proper management all of sources by coordinating with national, regional, and global actors, and the private sectors should get proper space to be the part of human security and the peace-building process. In order to establish a strong relationship between development, governance, and security, the need is to maintain rule of law, respect human rights, empower different socio-cultural communities, and secure local ownership in the peace-building process. At present, Nepal is significantly vulnerable to catastrophe, and the common populace is struggling to get basic services like health services, education, and protection. Abject poverty, social injustice, gender problems, political marginalization, unemployment, impunity, land dispute, and poor economic infrastructures are the major challenges to peace building in Nepal. At present, the country needs a strong economic partnership through a political mechanism with the private sector and civil society in pursuit of development, imparting education, and eradicating

230 poverty.

In the pre-CA election of 2008, political parties were in common on the points of holding the election of CA, making the conclusion of peace process, integration of combatants in security force and drafting the constitution in time. Their voices differed after the election on the ground of ideological and identity politics. As the history of the past political movement and recent political developments shows, party leaders have failed to imagine a future course of politics. The replacement of Shamser rulers in 1951 lengthened the political transition for eight years, and, even at present, the replacement of the monarch in the political superstructure has not ended the political crisis, nor has it given any great social, economic, and political benefits to the people. Politically, it is a great achievement and if the leaders show determination, it can develop the foreseeable path to Nepalese democracy. First, the political leaders have a common understanding that they can rule the people in twenty-first century in a traditional way, and their understanding of a changing paradigm of political system can help to bring reforms in the political system. NC's favor in traditional politics and leftists' attitude to ideology politics can come together if they become flexible in their root understanding of politics. Clashes among the parties and their sister organizations cannot hold the center of politics and can lose their existence. The common expectation of people towards the political leaders is to feel security, use civic rights, envision economic development, and see the democratic culture behavior in political parties.

The 2008 election was part of Nepal's attempt to set up a federal constitution. However, repeatedly the (CA) has faced issues to get a draft for approval to constitute a federal constitution. The underlying reason for such failure is that the country is divided into several castes and ethnic groups, which leads to constant interference, complicating the process in the end. However, it remains without a doubt that setting up federating units will open up

231 opportunities for the Nepalese towards development.543 When there are federating units, there is the possibility of distributing responsibilities to two levels of government, thus ensuring more equitable distribution of services and attention to groups and communities in

Nepal. This will create a system of checks and balances in the country.

The Nepali peace-building process has been, and is, influenced by politics, yet this has been largely ignored. The success of Nepal's peace process largely depends on the incorporation of socio-political and economic agendas of the people. Women's empowerment, addressing Madhesi's demands, acceptance of the demands of the indigenous communitis, reflection of the rights of minority classes, marginal classes, backward groups and the untouchable caste in the constitution are the crosscutting issues of Nepal's peace building.

Peace movement, conflict resolution, fulfillment of basic human needs, establishment of infrastructure of development, good governance are the common guidelines of the peace process, which broadly includes the demands of every sector of the population. Respect of human rights by government and security to oppressed people, education for all, reliable health service, employment, delivery of regular government services to people all assist peace building. Among them, security is a common need of people against any type of threats from other people, state institutions, cultural groups, religious sectors, or other entities.

The involvement of the UN as a mediator in the peace process and electoral victory of

Maoist in post-insurgency CA election have contributed the peace process to drive it in a nonviolent direction. UNMIN’s involvement reduced the possibility of erupting violence from both sides, and the subsequent CA election and its results blocked the way for the

Maoists to return to armed rebellion, so that their six-day political strike across the country and other activities occurring during the time of the peace process can be seen as satisfying their wartime cadres. The present change can rebuild the new Nepal and stop violence if it

543 Rao, M.Govinda, ‘Fiscal Federalism`, 30.

232 fully addresses the people’s demands. However, to achieve this, socio-political movement might be an important tool for pressuring the leaders to make the necessary decisions.

In addition to the intervention by UN and the peace-building process between political parties, setting up federalism along with a sturdy constitution is required in Nepal, since the success of a federal government will depend on the constitution. The institution of a strong constitution will protect the interests of all groups of people and protect their rights and identity. Although such development presents formidable challenges to the Nepalese, the recent "16-point deal" is a start towards constituting a federal government and a strong constitution.544 The motive behind the setting up of a federal government in Nepal is mainly to come up with building her economy and to make all groups and communities living in

Nepal to be included inside the Nation building framework.545 To make this possible, the political parties in Nepal need to take a constructive role in bringing what the people require for economic growth, development and change in the country.

544 Bhattarai, K.D.‘Way Paved for Constitution as Four Parties Reach 16-Pt Deal’ Kantipur.com, 2015. http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/06/09/editors-pick/way-paved-for-constitution-as-four-parties-reach-16-pt- deal/406314.html. Accessed on June 12, 2015. 545 Rao, M.Govinda, ‘Fiscal Federalism,`30.

233

Chapter 6: Conclusion of this Study The history of Nepalese conflict is very long. The political changes of 1951 and 1990 ignored the issues of the common people. In 1951, Nepalese communist leaders had no significant role in politics. After a decade long transition period, the Nepalese communist movement took different paths. One group that opposed the king’s move took a radical political path and demanded election of the CA. The rise of Maoist movement after 1990 in

Nepalese politics was the reflection of denial of politics of ruling elites to radical communist in Nepal. The Maoist had taken part in parliamentary election of 1991 from their open political organization, the United People’s Forum, and focused on people’s day-to-day issues in parliament and public forums in order to lure the people to their politics.

Subsequently, on February 13, 1996 the “People’s War” was declared by the CPN (M) against the Nepalese government, with the main goal of establishing a republican state. It was especially deeply rooted in some parts of western and eastern areas and it affected both the rural and urban areas in a very short period. In less than ten years, it dismantled the traditional political system and forced the country to accept a new political power balance. It made obstacles for economic growth –– it again was not implementing pro-people developmental activities and the widening gap –– and hampered the security system of states and people.

The diverse population of Nepal, including ethnic groups, minorities, and backward groups, and the unparalleled geographical features suitable for guerilla warfare, provided a favorable situation to initiate conflict and extend it across the country. Poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, caste differences, and regional discrimination between

Kathmandu and non-Kathmandu areas were the supporting factors for the rebel forces, but were major challenges to the Kathmandu government. Maoist leaders united youths ideologically and politically and convinced them that the party would launch programs to

234 address the demands of the common people. Though some peoples doubt it had any connection with the power politics of India and Royal palace.] It was, without any doubt, an ideological conflict between the CPN (M) and the government of Nepal, which they had initiated to attain political liberty through a protracted revolutionary movement.

From a politico-economic perspective, the post-1990 political movement was unsuccessful in ad dressing the common problems of Nepali peoples, and marginal people living in absolute poverty felt insecurity under the government. Thapa and Sijapati express the same views that the gap between poor and rich became wider, and “it was as if the 1990 movement, which people expected so much of, had not even happened.”546 Political parties and leaders spent their time in holding onto power, and Nepal saw two general elections in a very short period. NC was in favor of a capitalistic economic policy, yet th e level of people's economic condition was very low and they received no subsidies from the government in agricultural sectors. After 1990, the elite had new political space to take part in functions, but the marginalized people received no political space to make their formal representation secure in the changing political structure of the country. The widening gap between the urban and rural areas and the elite and non-elite people led the country to possible threats of an explosion of violent conflict. In this grim political situation, the CPN (M) identified the problems in the political structure and appealed for support for their armed movement, which fueled the conflict in a short period.

For this, the party had organized mass programs to encourage its cadres to become involved in the movement. The CPN (Maoist) started the people’s war by uniting the isolated youths of the mid-western region and gradually encouraging the youths of other parts of the country. Along with ideological and sociopolitical factors, the root cause of development and strength of the Maoist conflict was the differences between rich and poor and the widening

546 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom Under Siege, 55.

235 poverty of the Nepali people living in different areas. With the announcement of the state of emergency in 2001, the conflict gained new heights as the Maoists were fighting with NA.

The frequent violent attacks taking place in different parts of the country killed and wounded people, and caused disappearances, finally producing obstacles in the delivery of government services to the people so that the state became weaker.

The democratization of Nepal began after 1990, but it was hampered by a new political conflict. From the analysis of political development of Nepal from 1951 to 1960 and 1990 to

2006, the conclusion is that the political parties showed almost no progress in political democratization and party building for strengthening political cultures among the political parties and leaders. The lapses in building democratic institutions that were powerful and reliable in supporting the people fueled the escalation of the conflict. In Hachhethu’s words,

“Since democracy largely failed [1990] to deliver expected services to the people, there was a greater adverse impact on the popularity of leaders.”547 The failed democratic process and the power struggles among the political parties and leaders led towards uncertainty and that proved to be a visible hindrance to the national political interest and security.

The conflict also grew out of a complex web of interacting factors, such as ethnicity and caste discrimination, regional variations, social exclusion, deprivation, and unequal levels of development within the country. In Nepal, regional and ethnic conflicts emerged in Terai and the eastern part of Nepal after signing of the CPA. The Madeshi and Tharu communities clashed in Terai and the Janajati movement got new strength. Different regional and ethnic parties emerged by splitting from the major political forces could become a threat to national politics if the dynamics of new emerging conflicts are not addressed in time. Widespread poverty and social exclusion and a political misunderstanding among the national and regional political leaders regarding the issues of the Terai and ethnic problems have polarized

547 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 261.

236

Nepalese politics. After the change in political superstructure in 2006, Nepali political parties largely turned to identity politics to fulfill short-term goals rather than find a long-lasting solution of the ongoing conflict. The emergence of fervent identity politics could affect the transitional politics and invite new violence in the future.

Nepal’s political organizations are becoming more active in support of ethnicity and identity-based political movements, which gives rise to contentious activities within and outside the organizations and political cadres. It has changed the political nature of the parties, and identity-based issues are at a highly contentious juncture. Identity politics has created a complete rift between different castes and religious communities and brought problems in communal, linguistic, and social harmony. Ultimately, this affects national sovereignty and unity. Both internally and externally, they are still contending over the issues of identity politics in an unstable way that is not good in handling the transition situation. The CPA that was signed in 2006 gave a new twist to ethnic politics, especially Terai politics that had been a threat to both the state political force and the Maoists. This research highlighted some demands of ethnic and indigenous groups and their link to political instability, which became a problem for Nepal’s contemporary political discourse.

Political dishonesty, the conspiratorial involvement of the royal palace in politics, the relationship of the palace with the army, human rights abuses, inadequate infrastructural development, regional economic imbalances, and rampant poverty fueled ideological conflict in Nepal. The rift between the political parties and the royal palace widened, concluding in a political coup in 2005. These factors were exacerbated by the regional and global factors of powerful donor countries using the conflict for their own political interests.

In the past, Nepal remained undeveloped due to political instability or the poor vision of political parties. To correct this grim economic situation, the present ongoing peace process needs to get international support for changing the status quo in all fields, such as economic

237 development. The state government has a responsibility to guarantee the civil and political rights to the people, to address people’s security, and to bring change in the political culture.

Such would convince people that those issues are directly related to the issues of state legitimacy and the resolution of the political crisis. For this, the government should restore its security and law enforcement organs promptly. Recent history shows that the leaders have failed to imagine the future political path of Nepal, and the replacement of the unitary political system with a federal political system has not given any social, economic, and political benefits to the people. Constitutionally, the country accepts a federal system, but, even at present, it is ruled by a unitary administrative political system. This contradiction may cause a severe problem in the future. This shows the immaturity of the political leaders in guiding the country, and if democracy is not practiced, it definitely would be a threat to security, economic development, and the legitimacy of political parties.

The collapse of rule of law from 1996 to 2006 caused the Nepali people to look to their own safety. The democratization process that had started in 1990 had not brought them any involvement in the sociopolitical affairs. Political faithlessness and bad systems were prevalent within government institutions and political parties. Once the CPN (Maoist) joined the political mainstream, it broke with its underground political system, and changed its organizational structure, ideology, and the behavior of the leaders towards its cadres. (At the same time, other political parties also experienced internal problems of leadership and control.) At the national and district levels, the Maoist leadership is no longer in control of its lower cadres. There is a great danger of a split in the Maoist camp, which could result in a new type of political violence within the country. So far, the movement has split into two groups, and further splits are expected. Popular opinion is becoming equally disillusioned with the government and the Maoists, since neither is convincingly fulfilling the fundamental demands for good livelihoods and good governance. Thus, the post-conflict situation has

238 been fragile, and the nation is facing a political vacuum and is close to becoming a failed state.

The second CA election, held in 2013, led to the promulgation of a new constitution on

September 20, 2015, thus completing the peace process. With the success of the peace process, the political leaders stand united for institutionalizing the constitutional provisions.

Socio-political transformation of society, economic empowerment, cultural and religious rights, nationality and gender inclusion in political sectors, and building democratic norms will determine the future course of the Nepali democratization process. The cohesive efforts of political parties, leaders, government institutions, and members of civic society can all play a role in institutionalizing democracy and helping to prevent the further outbreak of conflict. The government and political parties can delineate the potential connection between people’s freedom and peace building.

Every peace settlement process is a positive sign of democratic movement of the country.

Peace building and democratization are the desirable goals of present political dialogue in

Nepal. To date, the ongoing dialogue in Nepal is not aiming to restrict civic rights, freedom, human security, and democratization. The fundamental components of the peace process are recorded in the 12- point-understanding of 2005, CPA 2006, and the Interim Constitution of

2007. At the time of writing, the political parties are in the formal process of institutionalizing the agenda delineated in previous documents. The CPA and the Interim Constitution of 2007 made it clear that the government of Nepal has the responsibility to abide by all provisions and deal with all issues in an appropriate manner. The constitution of 2015 continues the work of the 2007 Interim Constitution by providing for a democratic, inclusive, gender- friendly society that enables different sects to participate fully.

However, a crisis has arisen due to poor governance and an inability to grapple with the challenges of a growing population, widening poverty and deprivation, social exclusion, rapid

239 urbanization, and the slow pace of developmental activity. The lack of democratic participation and its relation to poverty can be seen in terms of ineffective political parties, local governments, national parliaments, civil society, and the civil service. In addition, the lack of dynamic and visionary political leaders, pro-business leadership, and periodic elections are the main hindrances to democratic participation.

Furthermore, the hierarchical Hindu caste system assigns political power, privilege, and influence according to birth and hereditary relationship. The leaders of the main political parties are from the high caste of Hindu society and impose their vested interests within and beyond their parties. After the general election of 1991, Girija Prasad Koirala –– a member from Koirala family –– came to power in NC party politics and in government, defying other leaders, to the extent that he “was accused of cronyism in making government appointments from within his own party. …Ganesh Man Singh [charged] accusing the prime minister of practicing bahunbaad favoring people from the bahun commu nity, to which Koirala belonged in his appointments.”548

Nepal’s decade-long conflict damaged developmental infrastructures and affected the lives of depressed people –– e.g., 1107 VDC offices were damaged, which cost of about 245.3 million NRs549 and affected about fifteen thousand people directly, with others wounded, disappeared, or forced to migrate for survival. As well, the conflict weakened the established political system. The government called for political dialogue to address the conflict, and finally it paved the way for establishing a new and inclusive democratic system after signing on CA in 2006. In the course of peace building, common people have desired to achieve sustainable peace rather than getting temporary peace, and the political dream of people is to see the empowerment of the general public through structural change of political system and to develop reconciliation among the people of all creeds. They are in need of an effective and

548 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom Under Siege, 38-39. 549 Kathmandu Post, 27 September, 2002.

240 accountable government to offer peace that could guarantee freedom, security, human rights, education, health facilities, and complete civil rights.

For the institutionalization of peace, it is necessary to engage with capacity building and other steps required within political parties. More than a decade after Nepal adopted parliamentary democracy, Nepali political leaders still had not strengthened the democratization process needed for sustainable peace to work. Political party leaders must create a culture of peace that will contribute to the process to nation building. The stability of

Nepalese democracy, peace, and development rests largely on the civic culture of leadership accountable to the people it represents.

This research identifies the causes of the violent ideological movement that fought against inequality, socio-cultural discrimination, and the conditions of an exclusive political system prior to the establishment of the new political system. It helps understand the people’s normative understanding of democracy. State actors failed to address developmental activities in the changing political discourse during the 1990s, and this encouraged the populace to embrace the political principles of the Communist Party. With regard to conflict resolution after the Nepali civil war, this study proposes the perspectives of conflict resolution tactics such as traditional and indigenous conflict approaches and the use of other possible tools for negotiating the ongoing conflict. This study identifies that, for controlling further conflict, countries such as Nepal should adopt the capability-building approach. The living standards of the Nepali people are gradually decreasing, and chronic poverty always makes people fearful. Every nation should provide for the basics needs of its people, such as, among others, education, social security, health service, food, transportation.

For a country such as Nepal, using the human security approach to post-conflict peace building offers the best chance of long-term recovery, reconciliation, and the emergence of sustainable institutions. Finally, through this analysis, it is observed that a post-conflict

241 situation that affects human security will cause the birth of a new conflict if it is not improved in time. At present, the analysis of the origin of the conflict and its solution and prospective conflict resolution should address the issues of traditional and indigenous ideas that would be useful in minimizing further conflicts. The rights-based conflict resolution approach would be more practical for social reconciliation and for making the state restructure complete. For this, in building a sustainable peace, all the existing political actors, such as political parties and local and international forces, should play a major role in transforming the post-conflict fragile country to a peaceful, stable, and strong democratic country. The peace-building process of Nepal is an opportunity to rebuild the nation, which was not the case after the political coup of King Guanendra in 2005. From time to time, Nepali people participated in different political movements, yet they hardly experienced any type of political changes, although there were some changes for political elites after the political change of 1950.

Similarly, the political change of 1990 gave no space to marginal people, rural and poor people, or minority people in terms of religion, culture, language, women's rights, and the caste system.

The complete peace process of any post-conflict nation must bring change in the socio- politico- economic status of the people. The establishment of an infrastructure for development, inclusion of neglected people in the political space and their involvement at the decision-making level, an increase in human potentiality through social transformation, empowerment of the people through education, and the assurance of human security are the common, universal issues facing the present political system. The social progress and perfectibility of every human being can contribute for the positive development of the country. The entire progress in political structure, economic system, education system, health service, use of natural resources for the development of the country equally, equal rights of people in using natural resources, all directly meet the needs of common people, and only in

242 such a changing paradigm can possible violence be avoided. Political determination and ideas always become important in molding the shapeless political condition into a concrete political form; for this, all political parties readily agreed to conclude the ongoing peace process by addressing almost all the political issues during the time of conflict and post 2006 period.

The fundamental political system of the state must change or transform to resolve conflict if political disagreements of different political parties develop to a critical point. The progress in human security aspect synthesizes between poor and rich people, rural and urban regions and internal and external stakeholders of the peace process. For fulfilling all these goals through structural change in the culture of all political parties, leaders must accept the ongoing reality, for the success of Nepali peace process relies on the adoption of a new political culture supporting democratic norms and ethics.

243

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Appendix 1: Questionnaire550

Dear Sir,

How do you do? I am Karki Purna Bahadur, a PhD student from Tokyo University of

Foreign Studies Japan. During the period of my PhD research, I would like to do research through conducting interviews with political leaders, policymakers, experts, and influential persons in the Nepali political discourse. This is the part of my doctoral research. My research topic is: “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” In this connection, I would like to request your kind support to conduct my research, which might be useful to future generations and help build our nation-state. The interview will focus on the above topics and some open discussion will be conducted for further understanding. I would like to discuss the following questions during our meeting:

 What are the main causes hindering further democratization in Nepal?

 Do you think the Nepali political parties lack solid leadership?

 As political parties are always voiced, they are fighting for the People but there were

no significant outcome of Nepali people?

 What kind of freedoms would your party ensure?

 How you scale the people security? How people should understand the New Nepal?

 How is the peace process going on?

 What are the main problems for the peace building process? Do you think the ongoing

550Due to Nepal’s complex political situation and to cover the ongoing peace process, the Maoist insurgency, and the often-changing government structure in the questionnaire, different questions were posed to different state actors and leaders.

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peace process will succeed?

 After the change of political doctrine in Nepal, there were several armed groups and

other radical political parties in Nepali politics. Do you have any vision to minimize

future conflict?

 How can we distinguish between the Communist Party of Maoist and former

parliamentary parties? We have seen that the Maoist leaders’ lifestyles seem to have

drastically changed after joining the government?

 Do you think the general people will ever feel that the Maoist leaders will not just

think about their own lifestyles, but also about poor people when formulating their

agenda?

 Don’t you think that political leadership should empower themselves to understand

the democracy rather than simply talking democracy?

 What is security and law in the context of Nepal?

 When we listen to interviews and read the news, the message we get is that political

parties are trying to save criminals and take law and order in their own hands. In such

a situation, can we expect the new constitution to lead the nation to peace?

If you could provide your time then I would be very thankful to you. If you do not have time, your answers will also be a huge help.

Your prompt action will be highly appreciated.

Sincerely Yours

KARKI Purna Bahadur

Phone no; 9849776991

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Appendix 2: Questionnaire 2

Interview questions asked during the United Kingdom research with Nepali Diaspora and expert from (2011.10-2012.3.)

 What do you think about the peace process in Nepal?

 What are the main problems for the peace building? Do you think current ongoing

peace process will succeed?

 After the change of political doctrine in Nepal, there were several armed groups and

other radical political parties in Nepali politics. Do you have any vision to minimize

future conflict?

 Can you tell us about the role of the NRN in the peace process?

 NRN is raising a voice for dual citizenship. Why do you think this is necessary?

 Do you know who/how many were displaced due to the insurgency and government

fear, who then migrated to other countries including the UK?

 Do you have any suggestions or visions for betterment of Nepal?

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Appendix 3. Chronological events related to the monarchy and politics of Nepal

Date Event

1768 Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays

foundations for a unified kingdom

1792 Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at the hands of Chinese in Tibet

1814-16 Anglo-Nepalese war, which establishes Nepal’s current boundaries

1846 Nepal fails under Rana regime

1923 Treaty with Britain affirms Nepal’s sovereignty

1950 Anti-Rana forces formed.

1951 End of Rana rule

1955 King Tribhuwan dies,King Mahendra ascends throne

1959 Multiparty constitution adopted

1960 King Mahendra seizes control and suspends parliament, constitution, and

party politics

1962 New constitution provides for non-party system of councils known as

“Panchayat” under which the king exercises sole power.

1972 King Mahendra dies, succeeded by Birendra

1980 Constitutional referendum follows agitation for reform. Small majority

favors retaining existing Panchayat system.

1986 NC boycotts election.

1989 Trade and transit dispute with India leads to a border blockade by Delhi

1990 Pro-democracy agitation and popular mass movements help bring a

democratic constitution.

1991 NC party wins the election and Girija Prasad Koirala becomes prime

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minister.

1994 Koirala’s government defeated in a no-confidence motion. New elections

lead to formation of a Communist government.

1995 Communist government dissolved.

1995-1996 Radical leftist group, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), begins

“People’sWar.”

1997 Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba loses the no-confidence vote,

ushering in period of increased political instability, with frequently

changing prime ministers.

2000 GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10

years.

Compiled by the author, from newspapers and BBC news country profile.

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Appendix 4: Timeline of political instability after the massacre of the royal family

Date Incidents

1 June,2001 King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and close relatives killed in

shooting.

4 June, 2001 Prince Gyanendra crowned King of Nepal after Dipendra succumbs to

injuries.

26 July, 2001 Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Prime Minister GP

Koirala quits over the violence; succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba.

November, Maoists end four-month old truce with government, declare peace

2001 talks with government a failure.

26 November, State of emergency declared after more than 100 people are killed in

2001 four days of violence

22 May, 2002 Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political

confrontation over extending the state of emergency

4 October, 2002 King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections

set for November. Lokendra Bahadur Chand appointed as PM.

29 January,2003 Rebels and government declare ceasefire.

27 August, 2003 Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month

truce.

3 June, 2004 King Gyanendra reappoints Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister

with the task of holding elections.

1February,2005 King Gyanendra dismisses Prime Minister Deuba and his government,

declares a state of emergency, and assumes direct power, citing the

need to defeat Maoist rebels. Hereafter he becomes the chairman.

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30 April,2005 King lifts the state of emergency amid international pressure.

November, Maoist rebels and the main opposition parties agree on a program

2005 intended to restore democracy.

24 April, 2006 King Gyanendra agrees to reinstate parliament following weeks of

violent strikes and protests against direct royal rule.These protests

were known as Jana Andolan. GP Koirala is appointed as prime

minister. Maoist rebels call a three-month ceasefire.

16 May, 2006 Parliament votes unanimously to curtail the king’s political powers.

The government and Maoist rebels begin peace talks, the first in

nearly three years.

16June,2006 Rebel leader Prachanda and PM Koirala hold talks.

21 November, The government and Maoists sign a peace accord, the Comprehensive

2006 Peace Agreement (CPA), declaring a formal end to the10-year

insurgency.

15January, 2007 Maoist leaders enter parliament under the terms of a temporary

constitution.

1April, 2007 Former Maoist rebels join interim government, a move that takes them

into the political mainstream.

May, 2007 Elections for a CA pushed back to November.

December, 2007 Parliament approves abolition of monarchy as part of peace deal with

Maoists, who agree to re-join government.

January, 2008 Terai plains group demands regional autonomy.

10April, 2008 Former Maoist rebels win the largest bloc of seats in elections to the

new CA, but fail to achieve an outright majority.

28 May, 2008 Nepal becomes a republic.

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23July, 2008 Two months after the departure of King Gyanendra, Ram Baran Yadav

becomes Nepal’s first president

18 August, 2008 Maoist leader Prachanda forms coalition government, with NC going

into opposition.

25 May, 2009 Prime Minister Prachanda resigns in protest against “unconstitutional

and undemocratic” move by President Yadav to block the sacking of

the army chief.

28 May, 2010 Governing coalition and Maoist opposition agree to extend deadline

for drafting of new constitution to May 2011.

6 February,2011 PM Madhav Kumar Nepal resigns, following prolonged pressure on

him from Maoists to step down.

June, 2010– The eight rounds to elect the Prime Minister also result in failure;

30 September, apathetical attitude of political parties.

2010

10January, 2011 UN Peace monitoring mission ends.

6February, 2011 Jhalnath Khanal elected premier, ending a seven-month stalemate

during which Nepal had no effective government.

28 May, 2011 CA fails to meet deadline for drawing new constitution.

29August, 2011 PM Jhalnath Khanal resigns after government fails to reach

compromise on new constitution and issues of integration of Maoist

combatant. That same month, Parliament elects the Maoist Party’s

Baburam Bhattarai as Prime Minister.

14 May, 2012– Prime Minister Bhattarai dissolves parliament, calls elections for

March, 2013 November after politicians miss a final deadline to agree on new

constitution. Currently, Bhattarai remains PM of a caretaker

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government

14 March, 2013 - Khil Raj Regmi becomes the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

11Ferbuary,2014 after aretaker PM leaves office without resignation.

1April 2013 Supreme Court suspends government plan to set up a Truth and

Reconciliation Commission to investigate crimes committed during

the civil war, citing concerns it could allow amnesties for serious

crimes.

Compiled by the author, from newspaper and BBC news country profile.

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Appendix 5: Interviews with stakeholders of Nepal

Name list of the person Interviewed 1) Manmohan Bhattarai, Central Leader of NC and CA member. This interview was conduct on July 14, 2011 in his resident Bhaktapur, Nepal by author. The medium of interview was English. 2) Surendra Pandey, Leader CPN (UML), Ex-Finance Minister (May 25, 2009-February 6,2011). This interview was conducted on July 25, 2011 in Mimire Media Centre Kathmandu; Nepal by the author. The medium of interview was English. 3) Jhalnath Khanal, Prime Minister of Nepal (February 6, 2011–August 29, 2011), Chairman of the CPN (UML) and Leader of the CA Parliamentary Party of the CPN (UML). The interview was conducted during his premiership on July 24, 2011 at Prime Minister Office Baluwatar Kathmandu, Nepal. This interview was conduct by the author and medium of interview was Nepali. The following is a translation by the author. 4) Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Vice Chairman of UCPN (Maoist), prominent leader. During the interview period he was vice chairman of his party, but one month later he became Prime Minister of Nepal (From August 29, 2011 to March 14, 2013). The interview was conducted in the CPN (M) head office Paris Dada, Kathmandu Nepal on July 23, 2011 by the author. The medium of interview was English. 5) Ram Karki, leader UCPN (Maoist) and central committee member.This interview was conducted on July 22, 2011 at his residence in New Baneshwor Kathmandu by the author.The medium of the interview was English. 6) Kul Acharya, President of NRN–United Kingdom and entrepreneur. This interview was conducted on March 17, 2012 at his residence in London. The medium of this interview was Nepali and has been translated by the author. 7) Indra Gurung, London, UK, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).This interview was conducted on March 28, 2012 at his residence at Greenford London by the author. This medium of this interview was English. 8) Dolendra Khadka, living in UK for 20 years; he went there to study and worked as RND chemist and researcher. At present, he is working in a college. The interview was conducted on March 18, 2012 in his residence at Greenford, London by the author. The medium of this interview was English. 9) Interview with Puspa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda,” ex-Prime Minister of Nepal (August 19

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2008- May 25, 2009) and Chairman of CPN(M). This interview was conducted on February17, 2014 at his residence in Lazimpat, Nepal by the author. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author. 10) Interview with Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, Patan Multiple Campus Lalitpur. This interview was conducted on February19, 2014 in Lalitpur, Nepal by the author. The medium of interview was English. 11) Interview with Mr. Shreehari Subedi, Entrepreneur, working at Shangri-La Group of companies (Hotel, Resort, and Travel) as a Manager.This interview was conducted on February18, 2014 in Lainchour, Nepal by the author. The medium of the interview was English. 12) Interview with Prof. Som Prasad Gauchan Political Science, Tribhuwan University, (TU), Kirtipur. Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 17, 2015 in Balkhu, Kirtipur, Nepal. The respondent was interviewed in Nepali and translated in English by the author. 13) Interview with Sangita Khadha Secretary Federation of Nepali Journalists. Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 18 , 2015 in Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author. 14) Interview with Bikash Lamsal, Leader CPN (UML), 2nd CA member. This interview was conducted on July 18, 2015 in Kalopul, Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author. 15) Amrit Devkota, He is the President of Dynamic Youth forum Nepal and Centre committee member of All Nepal National Free Student’s Union (ANNFSU).This interview was conducted on July 19, 2015 in office of dynamic youth form Nepal, Baneshwor, Kathmandu. The medium of interview was English. 16) Interview with Chandra Kant Gyawali. He is the constitutional lawyer and has been working for the Supreme Court since 10 years and teaching Sociology at Patan Multiple Campus, affiliated to Tribhuwan University for 20 years. He is one of the prominent lawyers in drafting Interim Constitution. This interview was conducted on July 17, 2015 in Singhadarbar Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author. 17) Interview with Chairman of CA of Nepal, (2006 to 2015) Subash Chandra Nembang, in his office Singha Durba Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 18, 2015 in Singha Durba Kathmandu. Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author. 18) PM, K.P. Oli, (Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli), Chairman of CPN (UML) and strong leader

289 in Nepal Contemporary politics. He is parliament leader of CPN (UML) in CA. This interview was conducted on 2 August 2015 in Singha Durbar in Parliament office; Kathmandu, Nepal by author. The medium of interview was Nepali and has been translated into English by the researcher. He became the Prime Minister of Nepal on October 12, 2015 now still in office.

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1) Manmohan Bhattarai, Central Leader of NC and CA member. This interview was

conduct on July 14, 2011 in his resident Bhaktapur, Nepal by author. The medium of

interview was English.

 Here are some questions related to my research on“Post War Instability and

Human Security in Nepal “Now, would you explain what are the main causes

hindering further democratization in Nepal?



First of all, we have to enter to the issue, what really was the cause behind the conflict in

Nepal? Then we can relegate into the genesis of what made us get concerned regarding peace in Nepal. There was a distorted regime before 1950 AD; we achieved democracy some 60 years back from today. But, it was snatched by the distorted regime of the king in 1960. Then again, Nepali people struggled to restore it. Ultimately, democracy was restored in 1990 by the popular uprising of Nepali people with a constitutional monarch and multiparty democracy with the basic tenets of the democratic system of 1990. Even after that, there were hindrances and obstacles in Nepal. After 1996 the Maoist group, the Communist Party of

Nepal launched a war, but that conflict did not have any valid reason and could not have yet been established what the reason behind it?. The combatants were trained in India and armed basic supplies also came from India, which has been established. If you ask me what kind of politics, it was I could plainly say that it was a politics of resources and they were all behind to grab whatever resources there were within the country.

The interest of using the resources brought them to this conflict that stands as a question, and the interest of India could not be solved by the constitution of 1990, neither could it solve the interest of the king as the power of the king was curtailed. Similarly, Indian interest over the national resources of Nepal was also not really easily accessible as all treaties regarding

291 between Nepal and India were to be ratified by a two-third of the majority of the parliament.

Actually it was tough, and the first situation confronted by the government led by Girija

Prasad Koirala was the Tanakpur treaty; it was already signed between king’s regime before

1990 and the government of India. In this connection, a few amendments were made between the government of India and the government of Nepal led by Koirala after 1990. Its provisions were brought to parliament and ratified by the two-third majority, which was not simply possible. It resulted in inter-party and intra-party conflicts.

If you ask me about Mahakali treaty between India and Nepal, it was not out-and-out wrong. Actually, it was a part of power conflict inside Nepal, which had a connection with

India; and such type of conflicts cannot be resolved by the interference of foreign powers.

Therefore, India thought that if that constitution of 1990 could be amended or some other constitution can be replaced by some other constitution; actually it was a complicated job to perform the entire process. It means the constitution of 1990, which had to be replaced, for

Indian and royal palace and even the Maoist leaders had admitted that they had a tacit understanding with the king and India on it. For this they trained the armies and easily recruited in remote areas paying Rs. 500-1000 and taught the Marxist slogan, which said the every community or individual of deprived community, poor and marginalized people would get benefit from the people’s war. Unfortunately, in these years, people’s expectation was not fulfilled and it was not possible to achieve all these things overnight. For that reason, the peace process is being delayed.

 When the Maoists raised weapons, the political parties were not in the same

political line. But as long as the king Gyanendra held political power in 2005, the

political parties united with the rebel force. Why do you think the parliamentary

parties agreed to walk together with Maoists as the rebel group was practicing

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an ideology different from the principle of formal democracy?

A group of Maoists thought that this insurgency is not going to finish fighting with national army and establishing a Maoist state is not possible. They were aware of that very fact even before raising the arms before 1996. Only they intended to make the state weak and get political power. In the meantime, the political balance in Nepal changed after the massacre of royal palace. The feudal king and its group had high ambitions. India also thought it was not possible to go ahead with the Nepalese king. The Maoists thought they could not get along with the king and agreed to make their political understanding with parliamentary parties.

Those factors mentioned above brought changes in Nepal’s political scenario and ups and down were seen in the political scene. Therefore, the Maoists had to politically tie up with parliamentary parties and the parties thought it was only the right path to restore democracy in Nepal.

There is one faction within the Maoists that still advocated the hard-liner political doctrine propagated by Marx, Lenin and Mao Zedong. It is one of the hindrances of the success of

Nepal’s peace process. The political alliance among the parties came into effect with the introduction of 12-point agreement, which aimed to establish a new system in Nepal dethroning the king. The Maoists thought that in the initial stages, the peace process would go ahead smoothly; and neither Indian diplomacy nor other political parties would be preventable in Nepal, but unlike their expectation, the entire peace process was delayed.

 Maoist combatants are in cantonments at present along with their weapons but

their weapons are not equivalent, as they had seized during the insurgency

period from the state force what do you think about it and its impact in the peace

process? Do you think there would be a sustainable peace in Nepal in the future?

None of the peace processes in the world happened for the same reasons as Nepal. Even at

293 present almost more than fifty countries with some kind of conflict has deep connection with the politics of resources. I do not think here in Nepal the conflict was guided by the politics of principles and ideology –it is a fact to keep in mind. Every one, either domestic or international force or a close-by country tries to grab resources of the country.

I do not think the whole political process would be conclusively completed in Nepal in a very short span of time. A section of the Maoists is sincerely and honestly walking towards peace process and constitution writing as they have got the reality of time and political power balance of this region. However, another section of the same party is adamant in the ongoing peace process. The peace process of Nepal has different components and stakeholders, for example army integration, rehabilitation package of combatants, and seized property to be returned to the owners by the Maoists, have to be commenced in time as they were agreed by the political leaders while drafting the CPA in 2006.

 What is the situation of human rights abuse in Nepal?

It is also under the surface of peace process. Human rights abuse issues have been lopsidedly sidelined by the political parties. Gross violation of human right abuse has been committed by the Maoists, in fact, rather than the government. The state has certain responsibility when the insurgency was there, but most of the blame is put upon the state. The disappearance of the people, killing of civilians etc. was initially committed by the Maoist as the teachers and civilians were their targets. Only after the ceasefire, there was acute fighting between Maoist force, police, and army. However, before that time almost for seven years the war was against the civilians.

 After the political change of 2006, now that Nepal is a republican country, we can

see some radical political parties and armed groups across the country. Ethnicity

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has been a top priority of the parties and it gives the space to the ethnic and

religious conflict. What do you think on those overall issues of Nepal?

There are issues in Nepalese politics and they were raised by the Maoists in the past to fuel their movement up. They easily recruited the human resources to fight the state and it was common for them to establish federal politics in Nepal. Everything was based on their political interest but I do not think it has any connection with the ideology of politics. The surveys were conducted by the media and independent researchers throughout the country in which Nepali people were not in the mood of dividing the country in terms of ethnicity and linguistic entities. 78 percent of people from Terai region and 85 per cent of people from hilly and mountainous region are against ethnic and religious type of federalism.

 Nepali political leaders always talk about democracy and democratization. If we

see in the CA or legislature parliament, only the leaders of four political parties

make the necessary decisions within a few hours and other leaders of smaller

parties do not get any chance to be involved in the decision-making process.

What do you think about it?

I agree with you and after the people’s movement of 2006, it happened as the people’s aspiration was high and leaders of some political parties practiced it. It was due to the direct and proportional electoral system that different ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups had the opportunity to be in a legislative parliament, but their numbers at the decision-making level was not sufficient. In the beginning, there were 24 political parties and now there are altogether 29 political parties in CA. However, all political parties did not get the role of making decisions as larger parties had enough number to pass legislation and to amend the constitution. It does not sound democratic and again neither it is realistically manageable to consult all political parties nor pragmatic to follow it democratically.

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 Political leaders amend the constitution for their mutual understanding

frequently. What can Nepali people expect from them?

They are doing everything to fulfill their mutual interests. It is very difficult to draft a new constitution as Nepali people have disillusionment or they have come to know the real situation of Nepal. In these four years all groupings that we saw based on language, ethnicity, religion, minority etc. can be addressed democratically if democratic norms are well adhered by political leaders. If political leaders address the problem genuinely, there will not be any problem. Both NC and CPN (UML) believe in Socialist principles and they have very thin ideological differences. CPN (UML) –a Marxist Party which has its connection with liberal economy; and NC which proclaims itself a Socialist Party has the link with liberal market economy. Now people have given up their hard feelings for these two political parties, as there are fewer differences between these two parties.

If you talk of UCPN (Maoist), it stands a little further than other political parties and it is hard-line leftist party. Similarly, other political parties especially in Terai – created in the name of Madesh issues – are regional political parties; they look as if they are like political forum established to achieve certain agendas. Though the Madesh-based parties have been continuously splitting into different political parties or groups, they do not bear ideological differences. I think there is very a thin possibility to unite them and form a single political party in Terai for Madesh ethnicity, as there are couple of linguistic groups, much ethnic variations etc. within them. Political parties would ultimately remain in Nepal as rightist, centrist, and leftist. It means there will be a very ideological demarcation among the political parties, so drafting a new constitution will not be so difficult if democratic values are followed by the political parties.

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 Every time we read in the newspapers that there is no rule of law in the country

and the leaders favor the criminal groups and people. What can we expect from

the situation and what type of security can Nepali people get in such a situation?

This time the judiciary system has been appreciated by Nepali people and it is the only functioning organ in Nepal. It has been taken as more dependable than the executive and legislative-parliament. People believe the executive system is a corrupt and failed organ. We are not abiding by the interim constitution so the legislative system has been weakened. If we amend the interim constitution repeatedly for our interest – it has been amended for eight times in past three years – what we can expect from the politics. At present politics has not been criminalized but crime has been politicized. People think if two organs do not function properly, they corrupt themselves and in any cost that lapses is bound to be corrected by the leaders to drag the situation into the right track. Actually, we are lacking it and if it occurred, things won’t be changed.

 Actually, the election of CA was held to draft the constitution. If we see the

activities of the leaders, they have spent the whole time in changing the

government rather than drafting the constitution. What do you think about it?

It has the link with the resources of politics but no problem with ideology. It is the politics of resources, politics of resources, and politics for resources. Even the small political parties, which are deprived of resources, have the political desire to grab the resources and they intend to be the part of the government. For example, in fourteen years the Maoists exploited the resources in different ways. It is not true only in Nepal; if we see all conflict-ridden countries in Africa; Asia, and South America, political parties have same tendencies to grab the resources. Similarly, the ruling parties also exploit the resources by handling the civil servants, police, military etc. and they continuously collect the resources through the

297 pipelines. They command everything through politics and ultimately the politics of resources enhance their resources. Some new political parties reach onto resources and want to form the government to use or exploit the resources. It is a very complicated situation and definitely, it takes time to make a correction.

 Last time there was a debate that the Minister appointed a person to work in

Nepal Airlines and there was unfriendly situation in the office. Similarly, if we

see the living style of government official is very high whereas people are not

getting anything. Do you think it has the connection with the thing that you

mentioned above? What can we do for controlling such corruption?

As I mentioned earlier that the Minister wants to exploit the resources through that person who was newly appointed to handle the official works and who has already expressed his strong commitment to offer the commission that comes in the government organization to the party and the Minister. The Minister wants to buy a couple of aircrafts and he wants to exploit to enhance his resources. The leaders do not care whether that person does have managerial skill or knowledge about the aircraft.

The people who have the connection with politics have a very luxurious lifestyle, good building, car and property and it is always a problem with the politics of least-developed countries. For this, we have to build up a very strong judiciary system to control the corruption. Now ministers are sent to jail for the corruption cases and top government officials are taken to jail. If it is practiced frequently, certain amount of corruption can be checked.

 What do you think of the education quality of political leaders?

First, we have to impart education to the people and then they can decide everything.

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People have been awakened through media and they have the interest of getting formal education this time. Their level of consciousness is very high as there are around 300 FM stations and 14 television stations and cables services throughout the country and they get different kinds of messages frequently. People have satellite television service and can watch domestic, national and international programs at home. It alerts them what is going to happen in the country and what kind of leaders they are going to elect to rule the country. If the people are educated, they can make necessary decision for the society and country. They know the importance of free and fair election and they can decide which party is going to be elected for the next tenure. Unless they are free to choose their representatives, the democratic system cannot work properly and people can’t expect much from such a system.

 You talked about the importance of election in a democratic system. If we

observe the situation of the CA, Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai got too

much votes in his own constituency of Gorkha district. What do you think of it?

There are certain election codes and conducts that have to be practiced by the parties during the time of election. Otherwise, it invites hooliganism and there will be the sense of fear and terror in the election. Political parties are forming the organizations like Young

Communist League, Youth Force to exercise power in the election. There is one infamous saying e.g. 3Gs –gold, guns, and gundas– are needed to win in the election and they are the determinant factors to make someone’s victory sure in the election. If that malpractice prevails in the election, the voters are helpless to elect right representatives. Last time the election of CA was held under the shadow of terror and people were not free enough to vote in a free and fair way. But now the situation has been changed.

 You have already mentioned the importance of education in people’s life. In the

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past, Rana rulers established schools to impart education to their children. In the

past insurgency, Maoist delivered and convinced the people that they would get

benefit from the movement and recruited the youths from deprived communities.

They raised the issue of ethnicity, language etc. Similarly schools have been shut

down by the political parties even at present to prove their political power but

there is no effect in the education system of leaders’ children. What is your

comment on it?

Every communist regime says the system is going to mitigate the class but in fact, it creates class in the society. The Maoists leveled the education as bourgeois education in people’s war and encouraged hundreds of youths to join their armies. They barred the students to go to schools and that has been problem at present. The uneducated people hardly come to developed areas and ultimately they are backward people in the society. Only the people who get some kind of education or a little education come to cities and get involved in politics. During the insurgency, schoolteachers were the first targets to bar the students to attend the schools. In this way, they indoctrinated the youths, created ruling, and ruled class in the country.

Now people have come to realize the situation through different media and communication, and this has been important as 15 million Nepali people have access of communication through either landline telephone or cell phones out of 30 million people. During insurgency, there was no direct connection between the people and radio or cell phones. Once I was listening to the radio in remote areas and they asked me why I listen to the radio and told me to throw it away –but now things are different. The situation is changed and even in remote areas there is access to laptops, internet etc. Some intelligent people who can afford them talk with their fellows, parents, villagers that help to understand the realities. So people are not in

300 the dark and other political parties should not use schools to prove their political power. It is not a good practice.

 How do you think the situation of development in Nepal? Last time when I was

here the road was not much dirty or the situation was comparatively better than

presently. Even the ministers and other leaders travel by national highways and

local roads, but the situation is not improved at all. Why?

They do not pay attention towards it and too much focusing on state is a problem, especially as it prevails in Marxist society. I believe that state is a facilitator and raises money from people but does not produce anything at all. It has a basket to collect money. If we let the state spend money, a chunk of money will go in people’s pocket; so for that reason everyone believes that the state is corrupt. It does have legislative organ and it can pass law to impose tax upon the people. The majority of the representatives in the legislature can amend the law or introduce new law to bite the people. The state can say, whatever you earn 80 per cent of your income goes to state’s income as it is legal in accordance with the prevailing law of the state. Then we are bound to pay. It is a legitimate tyranny of democracy and it is the problem of democracy. The businessperson can never do that and it does not have any right to perform that work. In this way the state exploit the people and ultimately makes the private sector weak. The strong state does not take the responsibility of people and developing the country. You may find the road is in bad condition. The people who are in upper position of the state their houses are in good condition.

 Once I traveled in the highways, I found many traffic accidents and people were

dying on their way. Here in Nepal we never value people’s lives which is most

valuable for them. Why the situation is happens like that in Nepal?

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When you come here to see me you see certain lane especially side lane is beautiful and blacktopped. But the main road as you came here through is broken and dirty. If you ask me, the reason behind it that the side lane is constructed by the local people and we local dwellers bear 60 per cent of its total expenditure and only the 40 per cent is contributed by the municipality. We are concerned for it and we maintain the side lane properly as we get initiation of it. 60 per cent is collected by us and we get 40 per cent from municipality and even that is our money as we are the taxpayers. But the state is supposed to maintain the main road in which the state is a large government but it never listens to the people. In case of municipality, we elect the local government directly and it pays attention to our voice. It means in a country where the state is directly responsible and individual is made stronger than the state the country is built faster. But in Marxist country, the state is more powerful than individual and directly rules over the people cannot go faster. It is the basic difference between real democracy and Marxism.

 Before the abolition of monarchy, the security situation of Nepal was good and

now security system looks fragile. Do you feel abolition of monarchy was a good

decision in Nepal?

It was a good decision. People have come to know different kind of situation, Maoist insurgency was an unnecessary violence, and it happened without any goal to be met politically. We can talk of 1951 political violence, which aimed to dethrone Ranas’ autocratic system that ruled in Nepal for 104 years. But in ten-year-violence, they looted the property and did unnecessary practices in Nepal. Though some 17,000 people lost their lives and many more got injured and disappeared, Maoists are not going to establish any regime in Nepal.

People suffered from violence for no real cause and politics of Nepal was concentrated on resources only.

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 Maoists raised weapons to establish their system in 1996 as they expressed it in

the past. In the meantime, political leaders delivered their views that they were

communicating with the Maoist and again they had ordered the security agencies

of Nepal to fight the Maoist army. Don’t you think they played a double role

during the time of the insurgency? For it should they get the responsibility or

not?

As I told you earlier there was internal and regional or some kind of international factors responsible behind that conflict. The Maoists had a tacit understanding with royal palace and other power centers. There was the involvement of larger institutions in the conflict and India wanted to convert a unitary political system into a federal system. Some people say that India has the interest of using Nepal’s water resources, but there were other factors too. Bihar is now building 10,000-km six-lane roads and 10,000-km railway tracks to build up the infrastructure within three to five years. For this Bihar does not have stone, sand, wood etc. which will be easily available from Nepal. Bihar does not have these materials and Jharkhand had a little but now it is a separate state.

At present Bihar has been set11 percent economic growth rate and most of the poverty- ridden areas have been converted into developed areas and again it needs resources from

Nepal. It means there was a long design behind it and once Nepal becomes a federal state

Bihar effortlessly can negotiate with the nearest federal state to supply the resources from

Chure to Bihar. For this they had supplied arms and money to the Maoists for fighting. Time to time President of Nepal has been telling to save Chure and once Chure is gone, there would be environmental and ecological imbalance. As long as Chure falls down Mahabharata ranges faces the same destiny and ultimately the Himalayas might fall forever.

The problem is Nepali leaders could not understand the political interests of India. What I

303 mean to say is it was interconnected with national and international interests and Maoists were used for this. Our country is so small and if we develop a railway service, we can travel from Mechi to Mahakali in three hours. It is around 1 thousand kilometer from Mechi to

Mahakali and if we develop a railway service with 350 km speed per hour, we can cover the distance in three hours. Therefore, frankly speaking federalism is not needed in Nepal. People think that Baburam would be a best choice for Prime Minister and actually he is the person trained by India and he would sign the day he’s made the Prime Minister of Nepal that all

Terai be made a single state.

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2) Surendra Pandey, Leader CPN (UML), Ex-Finance Minister (May 25, 2009-

February 6,2011). This interview was conducted on July 25, 2011 in Mimire Media

Centre Kathmandu; Nepal by the author. The medium of interview was English.

I am a Ph D scholar and the title of my research is “Post War Instability and Human

Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

How do you think the peace process is going on in Nepal?

The peace process has the connection with army integration, and it is a pertinent issue of the overall aspect of peace process. If you talk about army integration, there are five major issues –modality of army integration, how many combatants will be integrated in security forces, standard norms of army integration, ranking of integrated army in security forces, and model of rehabilitation package. At present, the political parties of Nepal are discussing those issues formally or informally. Besides this, there are some other issues, which are completed, for example, the dual security system has been theoretically resolved, 80 per cent weapons have been handed over to the government by the UCPN (Maoist) and 20 per cent weapons are still in their possession due to their internal conflict.

The political parties have the same consent that the government of Nepal would decide to establish one Special Directorate under Nepalese Army, which would comprise of 35 per cent from existing NA, 35 per cent from Maoist combatants, 15 per cent from Nepal police and 15 per cent from Armed Nepal Police. However, how many combatants would be integrated in the security forces of Nepal has not been decided yet. Major political parties have the opinion of making 5,000; Madeshi parties have the view of integrating 6,000, while the Maoist leaders are demanding of integrating 8000 in security forces.

 What may be the real number of the combatants to be reintegrated?

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Definitely it might be 7,000 or around it and automatically there will be an agreement on the real numbers. Actually, it is the second issue of Army integration. The third issue is standard norms that will be applied in course of integration process. More or less, we have agreed on the standard norms –height, weight, physical fitness, education for entering certain posts, and age. The age limit of entering in NA is 23 years, and to facilitate the integration process even a combatant of 24 years can be legible. We can relax for one or two years for the integration of the combatants. Unlike it, if a combatant is of 40 years he or she won’t be accepted in the security force.

Similarly, regarding the issue of education we can make certain reassessments. One Nepali citizen can apply for the post of Second Lieutenant after completing Higher Secondary

Education. But, in the case of the combatants, if anyone has passed only School Leaving

Certificate and wants to integrate in the same post; the Special Committee can give him or her two years’ time for study. After completing that education level, he/she will be qualified for the target post. Otherwise, the combatant will be disqualified. In case of training required for the integration, process the institution will provide them the training needed, for three months or six months; and after completing the training, they are legible to be the part of

Nepali security force. Unlike these two provisions education and training, we are not ready to relax in other cases like physical fitness, height, weight and they ought to fulfill the conditions, which had been practiced by the security force of Nepal for years. Yet, there is a debating issue of ranking among the political parties. NC and leaders of other political parties are in favor of resolving this process first before integration, but we are talking side by side.

We want to give that responsibility to the technical committee represented from NA, Nepal

Police, and the Maoists; this committee can be comprised of service people of these organizations. Then it becomes easier to resolve what will be the ranking of the combatants, and number of combatants to be reintegrated in the security forces. Really, it is a time-taking

306 activity and that committee takes the responsibility of training course, duration of training, and ranking of the combatants in the security force.

The next issue of peace process is the package of rehabilitation; it has to be resolved in time. Right now, the Maoist leaders are asking 700,000 for the candidate up to company level,

800,000 for battalion members, and 900,000 for brigade and above them, their demand is 1 million. This is a real debate. The government of Nepal is preparing to provide not more than

500,000. After resolving all those issues regarding the modality and numbers of combatants to be integrated in NA, the combatants will hand over the weapons to the government of

Nepal.

Actually, the whole procedure was previously scheduled to be completed by June 19, and it has crossed more than 1 month. In addition to these issues, we are discussing other things like solving the issue of peace process in broad perspective. In 1990, we were fighting for political rights, the right to organization, right to freedom, and right to free speech. During that time, we were engaged in a formal democratic movement; and the issues like livelihood, shelter, and food were untouched. We had raised those things but NC denied accepting them.

Therefore, we were confined to the formal democratic movement and it could not work in the last 20 years. However, they became the major agenda of the democratic movement of 2006, which had a wider scale in the society and dethroned the feudal king. It formally raised the issue of ethnicity, gender, region, and the agenda of class came in the surface. Right now, we are discussing over those issues throughout the country. Whenever we settle them, politically we can lay the foundation of political stability and that will really strengthen the democratic institution of Nepal.

 This time restructuring the country into a federal system is a new political agenda. The major political party, the Maoists, is in favor of dividing the state in ethnic

307 federalism i.e. Newa Rajya, Tamsaling State etc. If we divide the country on the basis of ethnic federalism definitely, there will be more conflict in the future. How do you analyze it, as you are a leader of one of the largest parties of Nepal?

It may happen if we do so. Unless we settle the issue in a proper way, our country will go in a further conflict. However, one thing is clear that there are certain issues in the fields regarding ethnicity, regional disparity, gender, etc. There are lapses and if we exclude them and undermine the voices of the people, we cannot go forward. This is the demand of the people. We should address all those things but the important thing is the state should be indifferent. We must concentrate on the representation of those ethnic communities, back ward groups and gender. Therefore, the real issue is to empower them politically. At present, the politics has been professional, so everyone is raising his or her voices. If we develop the country and we can go ahead economically, everyone gets benefit, and it becomes easier to address ethnic demand. The people slowly sit in the proper position and main thing is the economic challenge of the country, which has to be met through political change.

 Right now politically Nepalese people are conscious and most of the people are affiliated to certain political parties- it is the real situation of Nepal. How do you see the condition of human security of Nepalese in terms of law and order of the country?

It is gradually improving. We experienced a decade-long serious conflict in Nepal. In the beginning, in post-conflict time, we experience heinous types of crime like killing, kidnapping etc. Some unwanted events happened and had gradually increased like a trend in

Terai and other parts of the country – during that time the state was weak. At present, the state organizations have been strong, comparatively better than before. Therefore, the crime rate has been decreasing alarmingly and the security situation of every society is improving day by day.

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Even in the developed countries, there are different criminal activities. India was also in a difficult situation when there were serial bombings in Bombay. If you talk about the situation of Nepal, large numbers of people are involved in political activities and security situation is not driven only by the political parties. Different forces are responsible behind it. For example, different NGOs spend money to raise awareness and money comes through foreign agencies. I can give you one example: when I was a Finance Minister; a representative came from UNDP headquarter to Nepal to evaluating whether the program is working in Nepal or not. He said Nepal always experienced Banda, hadtal (strike) and everything, which hamper the successful launch the program. Then I clearly said to him “even those things are your gifts as you spend money for awareness. If you spend money for construction of road people get ready for it.” Naturally, the money spent for awareness is used to organize the program and rallies become the output of that program. In order to spend all money given for such things will be used to organize different rallies and programs. Here my point is that there are different forces to create the problems. But things will come in track slowly and in the course of time it will come in proper shape, but definitely, it takes time.

 What do you expect from the political culture of Nepal? If one party forms the government, immediately the opposition party opposes the government program?

It is not a good culture and does not reflect the maturity of the political parties.

 The leaders of political parties express that they are fighting for democratic movement. But they never to follow democratic norms and without any valid reason they protest the government and compel the majority government to reason. What do you think of that? Do you think the leaders should be empowered to strengthen the movement?

I am part of that. What I feel is that it is the immaturity of the leaders and I hope they will be more mature. Otherwise, they will be isolated in right time.

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3) Jhalnath Khanal, Prime Minister of Nepal (February 6, 2011–August 29, 2011),

Chairman of the CPN (UML) and Leader of the CA Parliamentary Party of the

CPN (UML). The interview was conducted during his premiership on July 24, 2011

at Prime Minister Office Baluwatar Kathmandu, Nepal. This interview was conduct

by the author and medium of interview was Nepal. The following is a translation by

the author.

I am doing Ph D and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal ”and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

 How do you think the peace process of Nepal is going ahead?

The peace process of Nepal is definitely moving in its course through different ups and downs. First, it geared up with the official support of UNMIN, which was established to assist in the issue of Nepali peace process. As long as UNMIN left the country, we developed our own institution to carry out the official responsibility of the UNMIN and now it is moving ahead in our own model. Right now, monitoring the peace process is the sole responsibility of Special Committee and it is active in handling different responsibilities like monitoring and supervising the activities of cantonments and combatants. For this, we have managed the human resources and sent them in different cantonments and getting all information from the cantonments. Similarly, this time we have been able to end the situation of dual security system of the Maoist Leaders and they had been under the government security system.

Nepali peace process has achieved the height and at least the trust among the stakeholders has been established and it is a positive thing. We are giving security to the Maoist Leaders.

Even then there are challenges and they are not completely resolved yet. We are thinking of how to complete it and declare the constitution in time. Army integration and rehabilitation

310 are two major issues of our peace process and in order to complete the things we have to address other five issues. As long as we address those five issues, the peace process achieves a new height.

 Everyone is talking about New Nepal. We are reading and listening about New

Nepal many times. Do you think talking and sharing the ideas about New Nepal would make it possible? What is your vision regarding the security system of Nepal, which might be helpful in finding a logical end to the peace process?

Nepal is historically in the new stage and going ahead is, in its way, experiencing a transitional period. We have to rethink all traditional beliefs and values, which do not match with present time. It is the demand of this period. After the people’s movement of

2062/63(2005/2006) we have to rethink on the issue of national security policy of our country.

It should be redeveloped on the basis of changing time and political system. We are working to draft a new policy of national security system. National sovereignty, national integrity, and national unity will be the focal points of our national security system. Similarly, we should think the political change is a most and we are definitely moving to achieve this goal. Prior to it the peace process of Nepal and drafting the constitution ought to move smoothly which helps to build the confidence among the political parties. Right now, my top priority is to address those issues and achieve a complete goal in time.

 Nepal has already decided to be a federal country. The largest political party

Maoist is in favor of ethnic states like Newa Rajya and Tamsaling State, if we make a division of the state on such issue there will be a chance of arising conflict or not.

What do you think?

We have already agreed to draft a federal constitution and the country cannot move back

311 from this historical fact. We ought to move ahead accepting this principle and the federal states will be declared on this historical decision. It is not possible to declare the states on an ethnic base. It is a country of diverse people and ethnic groups. Therefore, the federal unit should fulfill the needs of everyone rather than some handful caste and groups. Even at present, the administrative divisions of Nepal, like zones and districts, are pluralistic. The entire country is multiethnic and so are all the village units. Therefore, all federal units will be multiethnic otherwise; it will lead the countries towards territorial breakup. Truly speaking no one needs such type of federal division. In order to build a New Nepal we should develop a new structure, which really settles the demands of people, ethnic group, gender and backward region.

 Right now, Nepal is a republican state and the political leaders of Nepal have abolished the feudal monarch and drafted a new interim constitution to end Nepal’s peace process. But the interim constitution is amended time and again which shows the immaturity of the leaders. What do you think; will such type of amendment of the constitution affect the country in the future?

Truly speaking we are in transitional phase and definitely, our interim constitution is a transitional constitution. In order to implement the constitution and make a logical end of the peace process we have been facing obstacles and our main goal is to settle the political conflicts so we are in need of frequent amendment. We have made necessary changes to address the political crisis. Every time we have been following democratic norms so the amendment is not only for amendment’s sake. Its sole objective is to address the political challenges of the country, so it is not odd for me.

This time we are ready for conflict management, transforming the conflict for making necessary changes and drafting the constitution. Thus, we have some opportunities and

312 challenges. No one can forecast the nature of conflict, duration of conflict, and wave of conflict. It moves in its own path making its own end. Only we are facilitating to end the conflict that surfaced in Nepal for years. In the past, we said we would be able to do all necessary things in two years and we proposed two-year tenure of CA, but it took longer than we had expected. Actually, we were not able to understand the nature of peace process and conflict as they stand side by side and in the course of drafting the constitution of Nepal the conflict turned to a new shape. For this, we are compelled to extend the tenure of the CA.

Unless we understand the reciprocal relation between peace process and conflict, we won’t be able to address the problems. So we are moving towards this way.

 Every time, especially after the 1990 Nepali leaders are expressing their views that Nepal is still in transitional phase. There is an agreement between the government and the Maoists regarding the withdrawal of weapons that were seized by the Maoists during the war, but they have not returned all weapons. Newer political organizations like Young Communist League and Youth Force, including other armed groups, are being protected by the political parties. In such condition how can the government assure the general people about security of the people who are not directly involved in politics, and how can you maintain law and order in the country?

I am fully confident that law and order is intact in the country. The government is run by following the Interim Constitution 2007. Any group not following the constitution intentionally or by any cause would be liable to get action by the government and we would be compelled to control such situations immediately. Still one thing is clear that we are mitigating the effects of the ongoing conflict and drafting the constitution simultaneously –so there might be some problems in understanding the give-and-take effects of those two components. Similarly, the major thing at present is to maintain law and order, which is the

313 supporting factor of mitigating the effects of conflict and making a conclusive end of the peace process. If we are thinking of promulgating a constitution of new Nepal -we keep it in mind that everyone should feel they are winning rather than losing in their life- we should try to settle the problems of Nepali society. Otherwise, Nepali people would feel complete disintegration which leads the country towards un-ending conflicts. In order to solve the contradictions of Nepali society, continuous dialogue among the different stakeholders is a must and the government of Nepal is following the same principle to achieve the goals.

 The present government restructures the salary of the employed people in government institutions. It is a fact that unemployed people would be the victim of increment of salary. How do you think the unemployed people would get the benefit from the government’s budget?

Nepali society was the direct victim of a decade-long conflict and it affected the economy of Nepal. Unless we boost up the condition of Nepal’s economy, it will be impossible to address the problems of Nepali people. Your question is directly concerned with this very fact.

Therefore, the main issues are linked up with improving the economic condition of Nepal, building a dynamic economy of the country and increasing the production. For these, the present budget has given the highest priority. As you know, we failed to table the yearly budget in right time for the last three years. Unlike this, this year, the present government tabled the budget in the legislature parliament. Mainly it is a pro-people budget and stands upon the three pillars of economic policies. We are thinking of giving priority to the people so that they can increase the production- the present budget aims towards it clearly.

There are so lapses in agricultural sectors, which we can reduce immediately. Only in this condition can Nepali farmers be independent to work more and they can invest money in different sectors like producing fruits, flowers, meat, milk-products. There is no way out to

314 improve the economic field of Nepal without improving those sectors mentioned above. It automatically makes the country independent and decreases trade loss and finally raises the quality of life. For this, I hope the present budget plays a pivotal role. We have 3.5 per cent economic growth rate, we are working day and night to increase the economic growth rate as the present growth rate is not sufficient to meet our demands. If you ask me the same question next year, you will find a change in economic growth rate.

 Finally, what are your suggestions for my research as it is related to the entire issues of peace process and security?

There are different models used to transform the conflict in the world, we want to contribute our own model in this field. It has been moving ahead in its own path and if you focus upon such things, it would be better to convince people around the world about our own effort. Then the people living beyond our country would get the practical knowledge about conflict management and conflict transformation; this should be the main focus of your ample research. Now we are in the last stage of the peace process, and you are doing your thesis on this very issue; as long as the peace process of Nepal gets a logical end your thesis definitely gets completed. If your document becomes the part of this peace process, it would be more logical and convincing in this regard. For this, I appreciate you and express my sincere words about the success of this very research.

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4) Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Vice Chairman of UCPN (Maoist), prominent leader.

During the interview period he was vice chairman of his party, but one month later he became Prime Minister of Nepal (From August 29, 2011 to March 14, 2013). The interview was conducted in the CPN (M) head office Paris Dada, Kathmandu Nepal on

July 23, 2011 by the author. The medium of interview was English.

I am a Ph D scholar and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

 I would like to ask some questions related to my research –peace and security

situation of Nepal. How do you think the peace process of Nepal is moving

ahead?

It is moving in a very slow pace like a snail’s motion for last five years. Though it is slower than we had expected, it is moving successfully as there is no violation of CPA; no armed conflict has been initiated by any warring parties. But there are certain provisions of it on which the parties are still not coming in a common point, such as army integration and other issues. Anyway, I think it is moving positively to achieve the goals but still things are yet to be completed.

 Do you feel any hindrances or problems that created the obstacles for the success

of peace in Nepal?

Nepal’s peace process is slightly different. We started an armed struggle for a decade; we call it people’s war, against feudal autocracy, monarchy, and foreign domination; for supporting the socially backward groups, women, Madeshi, Dalit and poor class. Until and unless there is complete restructure of the state, society, and economy, we cannot have durable peace. We never like to talk on peace in an abstract form or way, but in a concrete

316 sense, it is related to the development of the country and the progress of the people –which is the agenda of Nepal’s peace process. For this, things are moving positively.

 Do you think visions like peace can prevail through developmental tools? In

addition, what are your ideas about sustainable peace?

People of Nepal resorted to armed struggle against the old state because of rampant poverty, unemployment, and discrimination manifested in spheres of society. Until and unless the issue of class, gender, and regional discrimination is done away with and complete equality, freedom and prosperity are ensured in the society we can’t establish durable peace in Nepal.

 As you mentioned class and society were covered thing during the people’s war;

and your student wing ran a movement and tried to close Sanskrit and English

education across the country. Don’t you think it will hamper the new generation

to disconnect them from cultural heritage of the country, and they will lose the

space in the international market due to the lack of English education?

No. Our struggle was for complete restructuring of the politics, economy and society.

Education is one of the major components of change, as you know the prevailing education system of Nepal is not based upon equal access and it empowers only a few people, advantaged and rich people. The fundamental thing is the majority of the people living in the countryside are deprived of getting modern high-level education. Our movement always gave priority to that very community and we think education should be for each and every citizen.

Thus, we were never against education and our struggle is to offer education facilities to all as their right.

 But the situation is different; mostly the public students are suffering. Students

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who were reading in capital or small cities are learning. Don’t you think those

students who were reading in the remote or in village areas were the victims

during insurgency period, as they could not continue their schooling?

No...No, schools were never closed. No school was closed but in fact, we paid attention to run the schools regularly. Due to our movement, teachers were forced to pay more attention in teaching-learning activities. It assured to offer quality education to students. During the insurgency, there was a better education environment in countryside than earlier.

 What kind of freedom do you and your party want to ensure to Nepali people?

Here it is understood in terms of economy, education, and empowerment of the

people.

We want real freedom. If you talk about it in the prevailing old society or in bourgeois democratic society, freedom is understood in a general sense, which is totally abstract. But even at present, a majority of the working people is oppressed and is spending very complex life. Our society has a caste-hierarchy system, which subdivides the people into touchable and untouchable castes. In our democratic setup, we envision or provide real freedom to the majorities of the people. Only then, the working class people and poor people, women and oppressed people get the real sense of freedom and feel complete security.

 At present, everyone including political leaders talk about New Nepal but it is

not clear yet. How do you think Nepali people should understand the sense of

New Nepal?

Definitely, it is a developed and prosperous Nepal. Everyone will enjoy real and complete freedom and everyone will have access to education, health facility, empowerment, shelter, and food. If the people get all those facilities which are needed to have a prosperous life that

318 will be the new Nepal.

 How do you distinguish between the rebel CPN(M) and other parliamentary

parties? In the past, your party raised many issues and people expected many

things from your party. But when this party formed the government or joined

the government, people thought that some of its leaders are not different from

the leaders of other political parties.

People have wrong concepts regarding this issue. We want revolutionary changes in the society. Now it is partially complete and we successfully abolished the feudal monarchy and converted a centralized state into a federal state with secularism. These are definitely positive gains of our movement, and some of them need to be institutionalized through a legitimate CA in a new constitution, which is not completed yet. Apart from that, we have to bring complete socioeconomic changes in the society. Otherwise, the revolution cannot fulfill its goal. Unless these positive changes are established in the society, we cannot say revolution is complete.

What we Maoists are trying to intervene is the exciting state for establishing the changes.

For that reason, we formed the government and participated in the government. At present, we have no full control over the state. Now is the time to control the state. Until and unless we revolutionary forces have the full control over the state, the positive changes cannot be institutionalized and that will not work for the people. In this transitional period where the revolution is partially successful, problems are bound to be there. But our party and we are striving for total change; and only then, you can judge whether we are different from other parties or not.

 Let me ask you one thing related to ethnic-based federalism. CPN(M) is in favor

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of ethnic states like Newa Rajya, Tamsaling State etc. Don’t you think such type

of ethnic-based federalism is dangerous for ethnic conflict that can erupt in the

future? Do you believe it is suitable for restructuring the country?

Let me simplify on this fundamental issue of federalism. What we want to perform is to do away with the existing unitary state and restructure the state into a federal setup, which is the general principal of federalism. There is a debate on the basic principle among the political parties. Our proposal is on the national basis of federalism but not on ethnic basis of federalism. We should not have any confusion on this issue. People have wrong concept on nationality and ethnicity. We Marxists believe in nationality-based federalism. Here nationality means a group of people who have common territory, common language, common economic base, and psychological make-up which come together to form nationality. We want to restructure the country on these certain grounds but not on the grounds of ethnicity. If you go by ethnic federalism, they will have fissiparous tendency and separatist tendency. But we want to strengthen the unity of the country. We want to devolve much power to the federal units so they are fully able to run and develop the federal territory. In this regard, in a real sense, we want the unity of the country, which will be based on nationality and nationalism – common territory, language, economic principle, and psychological makeup – but not on the principle of ethnicity.

 Now I want to ask about the lack of solid political leadership in Nepal’s political

structures. Do you think existing Nepali leadership should be empowered to

understand the democracy rather than only talking about democracy? There is

interparty and intraparty conflict in all political parties of Nepal. What do you

think about these issues?

We cannot talk of leadership in an abstract way. The development of the leadership always

320 depends on the development stage of the society. Even at present, our society is passing through medieval feudalism to modern society. In this transitional stage, naturally political parties and political leadership will undergo changes. If you expect fully developed and completely matured leadership this time it will not be right and here my point is that leadership will not be changed overnight and certainly, it takes time. So it is not the time to be pessimistic and we have to be optimistic. Nepali political parties and leaders have been handling the present change quite successfully.

 Every time, especially after 1990 to till now, Nepali leaders express that Nepal is still in transitional period. When do you think Nepal would be a stable country?

This change means overall change of the country. Change in the field of political system, economic system, social change, and change in cultural issues reflect the sense of overall change. This change indicates a holistic change and after institutionalizing those changes, we will have a new society. But in 1990, there was only political change in superstructure and there was no basic change at all. Monarchy and feudal system was as it was in the past and only certain parliamentary features were introduced in the old autocratic system. That was a hybrid type of political system.

We waged insurgency against that feudal system in 1996 and only after our people’s war, when Nepali people fought for 10 years against the feudal regime, was the old feudal system overthrown and the real bases of democratic changes were created within the country. It took around 60 years to make that change in the country and only at present democratic change is about to complete. We still say we are in the transitional condition and we will be able to pass through transition and move towards fully developed and prosperous society.

 When do Nepali people get a new constitution? We extended the tenure of the

321 constitution and political parties have unity while changing the provisions of Interim

Constitution 2007 in order to extend the tenure of the CA. The CA has spent most of the time to form a government rather than drafting the constitution. Don’t you think such type of practice would create problem in the future?

No. The election of CA takes place once in a hundred years. This is the first CA in the history of Nepal. We should draft the constitution successfully through the CA and only three years have passed. It will certainly take time and there is no reason to be pessimistic. In a very short time, especially in next six months, we will be able to make a new constitution and move towards a democratic society.

 What would you suggest or comment for my research finally?

I offer my good wishes for your success, and you should try to analyze the concrete situation of Nepal and Nepali society. Still we are passing through feudal medieval stage.

Most of the Nepali people living in rural areas practice very primitive and substantive farming and a majority of the populace is poor, unemployed, socially excluded. People are feeling gender, caste, and regional discrimination. Whenever we make a change in those concepts durable peace is possible. All the time there should be the absence of violence in the society and absence of root cause, which gives the space to the violence. If your research provides that approach, surely it will be a great study in this field.

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5) Ram Karki, leader UCPN (Maoist) and central committee member.This interview

was conducted on July 22, 2011 at his residence in New Baneshwor Kathmandu by

the author.The medium of the interview was English.

 I am a Ph D scholar and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

 Here I want to talk about security of people in terms of peace, food, education, economy etc. What do you think of those things in the context of Nepal?

Regarding your title I want to express that peace for handful of people is encircled by deprivation and poverty. If you want to talk about sustainable peace, we have to bridge a gap between one strata of life to other strata of people. Otherwise, there will be the possibility of violence in the society. We should keep in mind that peace for minority, peace for handful of people, privilege for a few people at the cost of imagining of people is a source of violence.

Therefore, we should work to fill the gap to build peace in the society.

 How do you analyze the current peace process of Nepal?

I want to put some points on people’s war; it was not merely initiated by our party in 1996; as there was violence in the society and in fact, there was a monopoly of violence. For hundreds of years some powerful people perpetuated the violence against the majority of oppressed people, so for the first time our party put forward the 40-point-demand for awakening the people, nationalities, oppressed sexes, oppressed regions, deprived people of

Terai region etc. Instead of addressing those demands, the then- government continued the violence, so our violence was just the retaliation of the previous violence perpetuated by the government. Now unless and until we restructure the society by addressing those grievances

323 of the majority of people we can’t build peace or sustain that peace for long term.

Here other political parties have no good agenda to restructure the society. For example,

NC talks on democratic system, which aims to empower only elite people. Similarly, CPN

(UML) had no agenda for republican state, land reform, restructure of education system etc.

Both parties agreed to accept the latest agenda of republican state theoretically after the pressure of people’s agitation across the country. They still are not fair in such things and want to stick on the words but we want to restructure the state indeed or in practice.

Therefore, they look reluctant in this regard and want to maintain status quo. Now we feel that there is a clear contradiction and our sole agenda is to institutionalize the changes for the sake of majority of people whereas those parliamentary parties are hesitant upon the issues of changes and this is the real contradiction between other parties and our party and such things are taking place in Nepal’s peace process.

 What are the main problems of peace building of Nepal? Do you think it will be a success?

One thing is clear that even our party has created some problems. Due to our own confusion, there are some problems. At present, our party is talking about the democratization of the country in order to make a logical end of the peace process. Once we talk about this process in order to change the society, we have to change ourselves. The vehicle of change is the political party and when we proclaim we change the society, the change in the politics is a must. Whenever we appreciate that a movement for democratization of the country or society to empower the people, we have to change our party structure, which is the demand of present time. If you ask me a question – what is the constitution? I think it is the manifestation of power balance in the society. In the past, there were two forces fighting in

Nepal, now the leader of one force is out from the battle but the socioeconomic relation is

324 same and it is not changed at all. If you talk about the outcome of a decade-long people’s war neither we got victory upon the old regime nor did they win against us. Therefore, there was an understanding among the political parties, which should be reflected in the constitution of new Nepal. But some extreme mindset people from NC and UML opine that the constitution should reflect their values of democracy and even at present, they claim that the Maoists should surrender in front of the state and it should be reflected in the new constitution.

Similarly, some leaders from our party demand that the constitution of Nepal should be written in accordance with our own political doctrine. We have to keep in mind that Nepali people don’t want war anymore and if we wage a war this time, it is not possible to sustain.

Therefore, we should come out of that confusion and we should try to draft the constitution addressing both realities. Similarly, at the same time in our party should try to make necessary changes in its own structure. Once we devolve the authority of power to the local committee, there will be sufficient strength to implement same thing in the society. As long as we make a decision of restructuring the state, NC and UML accepted our agenda in words and when we do, so in practice automatically they will follow us and then definitely it will pave a way to draft the constitution and make peace sustainable.

 After signing on CPA in 2006, many armed groups appeared in the country. Even your party has stressed to restructure the country on the basis of ethnic federalism. Do you have any vision to minimize further conflict that may arise in the country in the future?

We as Marxists take everything like nationalism and ethnicity to strengthen the class struggle and to strengthen socialist agenda. Even Marx supported the Irish movement to extend the democratic movement. So even in Nepal, Brahmin, Chhetry, and hill upper caste people have been always in power and they have captured the party organizations. Even in

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Communist parties, they are dominant. Until and unless we get support from oppressed nationalities, women, Dalit, and Madheshi people, we can’t accomplish democratic movement in Nepal. Without their participation in the movement, we cannot ensure their rights practically. It guarantees to determine their destiny, which is the right to self- determination. Now we are talking about nationalities but not ethnicity; nationality is a developed form of ethnicity. We never emphasize the caste system or ethnicity to restructure the country into federalism and in practice; it integrates Nepal and Nepali people. You can talk about the migrated people to Kathmandu valley due to violence from different southern places like Birgunj, Lahan, Rajbiraj, Kalaiya etc who use Maithali and Bhojpuri languages and are dwelling in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. Now you can raise a question why they did not go to Darbhanga –geographically an adjoining part of Terai region. Here we have to understand the aspiration and feeling of Terai people and same rule applies even in the case of Limbu, Gurung, and other people. If we settle the issues of their fundamental demands, there won’t be any violence in the future.

 How do you define the security situation of Nepal at present?

Nepal has shared its borders with two giant emerging future superpower countries, which are economically powerful and geographically big. As long as we have a volatile situation in

Nepal, there will be direct impact in those two neighboring countries. Therefore, if we want to establish peace in this area we should work for that. Now is the time to formulate a balanced diplomacy in Nepal and only in that situation can we get benefit from both countries.

 As long as your party formed a government and participated in the government the lifestyle of the leaders has changed. In the past people had the expectation from this party. How can you differentiate between UCPN (Maoist) and other parliamentary

326 political parties?

This is a major thing and we are losing this field. When we joined the peace process,

Nepali people had positive feelings, hopes, and high aspirations upon us. Our distinct impression slightly disappeared as we formed the government or participated in other’s government; so we have lost moral authority. During the insurgency, we had earned name and fame or moral power and to some extent, people have the right to reserve that feeling over us.

Once we were in the wartime and we were in hardship, our necessity was very limited. After signing the CPA in 2006, some people close to headquarters, who are in high rank-and-file, coveted their lifestyle. As a result, some people engaged in money-earning business and other activities. It is quite notable and we are raising this question –the question of a financial system, which is not systematic until now, and our chairman himself is a cashier or governor and a leader. We feel ultimately it will give a space to the tussle in the party and we hope there will be austerity measure within the party. Every leader and cadre should maintain the financial norms of the party and should be under the committee system; and only then will it lead our party to a correction process.

 Recently the coalition government of CPN (UML) and UCPN (Maoist) tabled a budget in the legislature parliament and it increased salary of civil servants. But the common populaces who are unemployed do not get anything from the budget but lose due to increase in market price. How do you analyze it?

This budget is solely to appease the comprador class. People who claim themselves they are industrialists; actually they are not and they do not generate any employment opportunity.

They never spend money for the construction of roads, building bridges etc. I personally don’t agree with the principles of that budget which aims to appease some handful of people.

It never works for the common people in reality. Only certain people get benefit from the

327 increment of government salary and it creates problem in the market price as the price of day- to-day things for the common people goes up. The poor people have to face the challenges of the budget so it can’t be a pro-people budget. When we will be in chair or in that position, we will continue all the legacies that we claimed in the decade-long people’s war. Every party claim they are working for the betterment of people but in reality, there is a gap between saying and action. Many people in our party are maintaining austerity and they have no relation with businesspersons, share agents, and contractors. At present, our sole aim is politics and you will see what we will do when we stick with our legacy.

 Do you think the constitution of Nepal will be promulgated within a deadline?

It is a very complicated process. Leaders of all political parties were enthusiastic in the initial phase, so they expressed the view that they would do everything within six months – they said that they would finish this thing within two months or that thing within three months, but the time was very short. They could not foresee the future course clearly. In fact, it is a very complicated process to go to federal democratic process from feudal stage. The parties and leaders had to tell the Nepali people beforehand but they did not. The parties failed to estimate the entire process of democratizing the system and drafting a constitution in time. Other hand we have no good governance and Nepali people are restless due to the weak government. Therefore, the framing of the constitution is not taking place properly, which has increased the people’s anger towards political parties.

 At present leaders, get united to amend the interim constitution time to time. How about changing the constitution, as there is frequent amendment of the constitution to fulfill the interest of the leaders? Don’t you think it would create problem for the country in the future?

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Every constitution will have a space for amendment and it should be on behalf of the people but not for fulfilling the interest of the leaders and elite class. Therefore, every review should have the sole intention of giving better chances to the common people. Similarly, if there is good governance and people are getting daily services from the government regularly, people won’t object to the amendment. Unlike this if the prevailing situation of the country is not good and there is corruption, there is lack of commodities, people opine that the amendment will be for satisfying the interest of the leaders and but not for the people- definitely in such condition it is not good.

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6) Kul Acharya, President of NRN–United Kingdom and entrepreneur. This interview

was conducted on March 17, 2012 at his residence in London. The medium of this

interview was Nepali and has been translated by the author.

I am a Ph D scholar and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

 What is the role of NRN–UK in Nepal’s peace process?

NRN–UK has played a role to facilitate the peace process. Before signing on CPA 2006, we invited the political leaders of Nepal to UK and played a role in developing a friendly environment in Nepal. If you are asking a question about the latest role of NRN–UK, at present there is no direct violence among the parties; there is the absence of violence and we have not done anything at policy level in Nepal.

 What is the main problem of Nepal’s peace problem?

The main problem of Nepal’s peace process is the interest of political parties. The leaders think whether the new constitution will please the interest of their own people or not. If you just compare the present situation of Nepal that happened in the past especially in insurgency period, things have changed alarmingly. Now we have to be optimistic that the constitution will be declared on May 28.

 What is your opinion on the issue of ethnicity and linguistic entities reflected in the

Constitution?

We know that Nepal is a common garden of four castes and thirty-six sub-castes. We respected every one falling under any caste and in reality; we had a sense of tolerance. If you ask me a question on federal division on the basis of ethnicity, it will do no good for Nepali

330 people. It will be difficult to sustain for Nepal, so it will lead the country towards ethnic disintegration. The best thing is not to go through that track.

 Nepal became a republic country after 2006 and since then many armed groups have emerged at the regional level. Even some political parties express their views about breaking up the country if their demands are not fulfilled. What sorts of Constitutional provisions can address those problems?

Naturally, many things appear on the surface especially in this transitional time. Different class and people want to fulfill their demands using force and we should take it easily. If the leaders succeed in promulgating the constitution in time it will definitely end many problems of the people. At that time, the political parties will be sincere about the future of the country, which will solve many things. Even at present, we have seen many changes in Nepal and the main thing is to establish it constitutionally. After that, Nepal will enter into a developmental stage and there will be the facilities of education, health service, electricity, good communication system, highway service etc. and every problem will have the right end at that time.

 How do you judge the quality of Nepalese leadership? Do you think the problem of

Nepal is not solved yet due to the weaknesses of the leadership?

Definitely, there are some problems within the parties. Every party has rival contradictions.

There might be international interests in the country, which is not good for a small country like Nepal. Therefore, the main thing is to build up a single interest of the country and move ahead to achieve that goal.

 What is your opinion regarding dual citizenship?

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We talked about dual citizenship since the birth of NRN. But the leaders and bureaucrats took the word “duel” negatively and thought two things at a time in two hands. Then we began to think about it differently and at present we want to put an emphasis upon “once a

Nepali forever Nepali wherever he or she lies.” At present, the seventy-five countries in the world have that the provision to facilitate the developmental works and to lure the investment in the respective country.

Nepali people are in different countries for getting education, employment, business and our understanding is their citizenship should not be terminated as once they were Nepali and still love their country. In this globalized world, there are many advantages for the first country from the new provision of citizenship. If a child is born in United Kingdom and if he or she has two citizenships, he or she will go to celebrate holidays in Nepal and spend money there. It will definitely be the positive part of Nepal that we should understand in time.

Time to time we have been in Nepal in order to talk about the provision of our citizenship issue. I think the political leaders of Nepal have understood about that very problem. The main concern is how to address it in the new constitution and leaders are positive in this issue.

For example if a Chinese is born in UK or in USA, the Chinese government sends a passport to the concerned person, so it is in India. These two countries are not losing anything from it but getting benefit. The government of Nepal should take it positively and ultimately it will do no harm for the country, it is our understanding.

 How can NRN play a pivotal role in the development and the peace process of

Nepal?

Recently we were in Nepal and talked to leaders. Political change is a tool and the major thing is to develop the country economically. In the past global conference of NRN, we declared to generate 100-megawatt electricity and it would be our first project but not the last

332 one. Every founder of NRN is positive and that would be our collective project. Similarly, many people have invested money individually in the social sector too. But there are some technical problems regarding the registration of companies in Nepal. We have been saying that any Nepali living more than three months beyond SAARC countries, for getting education, business, or employment, he or she should have the right of becoming NRN. The government of Nepal is repeating for two years, here is a real debate between the government and NRN. If this issue is settled, we are ready to invest in Nepal and convince other investors to invest in Nepal. Then it will definitely boost up the economic condition of Nepal.

 How do you think Nepali people living abroad are personally helping the country in economic sector?

Many things have been done in this field. Every organization is committed to develop

Nepal and Nepali society. Last time I was in Darbang of Myagdi district to see the activity of

Nepali people living in UK. Nepali people living here handed over three ambulances of 6 million rupees. Similarly, Sahara–UK has sent 10 million rupees to build a stadium in

Pokhara and for supporting the helpless children. People from Gulmi district organized a charity program to help for differently capable people like blind, crippled etc. One organization opened by the people from Parbat district Char Bhanjyang established a school and supplied a telemedicine technology to Falebas hospital of Parbat. Actually, they wanted to hand over to the district hospital but unfortunately, they could not accept it. Similarly, I personally have invested money to build school buildings in my village, and every time they expect from me and I am bound to, say that how much money they will collect in the name of school I will donate the same amount. But we have no exact figure how much money is invested in Nepal. In three months NRN–UK has handed over 17 million rupees that we collected through charity. The main thing the local people should take the initiation and then

333 it becomes easier for us to help them. People are sending money from here but it is not utilized properly in the village areas. You can see the trolley in Kathmandu Airport; I had handed over there as a coordinator of that help; the situation of the trolley now is very much depressing. We Nepali living here are ready to help there in different fields and we hope that should be properly utilized.

 A number of Nepali people came to United Kingdom during the time of insurgency.

Do you have the exact number of Nepali people in this country?

We do not have exact number of Nepali people. It is a very sensitive issue so it is not good to bring it out publicly. Fortunately as a leader of NRN–UK, I got a chance to help many people and got inspiration from them. It encouraged me to go ahead in this field. Some people from Nepal came to UK during the insurgency and some went to other countries too.

People who entered this country until 2002 have got certain privileges, but we have no exact figure of such Nepali people living here.

 We know NRN is a common organization of Nepali people living beyond the SAARC region. There are many ethnic and linguistic entities in this organization as we find in

Nepal and they are involved in many activities like awakening their own community. Do you think it would affect the promulgation of constitution in Nepal?

You are right, as it is a common organization of all Nepali living beyond the SAARC region. Similarly, in United Kingdom there are around 80–85 listed organizations and I know that there are other organizations existed in this country. If we count all including racial or ethnic organizations, it will be definitely 200 only in this country. But they are not trying to break up the situation and their sole intention is to unite Nepali people. We respect each other.

Here we have many problems, as we are the first generation in UK. The number of ex-retired

334 army and their family members is very high in UK. Many organizations are working to establish their rights in UK and we take that positively. The main thing is that every organization is united under the umbrella organization of NRN–UK and is ready to work with it. About such organizations affecting the promulgation of the constitution in Nepal, my simple answer is it would not hamper at all. As far as I know, no organization opened here has spent money for ethnic division in Nepal. Therefore, every organization has positive thinking towards Nepal and Nepali people.

 How is the condition of Nepali people living in this country?

Here the majority of people are Gorkhas and I think after the decision of British government in 1997 most of the Gorkhas came here along with their parents and families. It created the problem of integration in British society. Then, the students are in second majority.

Due to the provision of British government to attract, the foreign students in 2009–10 most of the Nepali students came here with high expectations. Immediately they became the victim of changing policy of the government and they lost jobs. The next problem is many private-run colleges closed down due to government’s policy and ultimately the students suffered. Some of them left this country and chose another country to survive and continue their education.

On the other hand, even the doctors, nurses, and businesspersons are in hardship. Let us hope it is our first generation and everything would be solved in the future.

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7) Indra Gurung, London, UK, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified

Accountants).This interview was conducted on March 28, 2012 at his residence at

Greenford London by the author. This medium of this interview was English.

I am a Ph D scholar and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

Originally, I am from Pokhara and have been living in UK for five years. I am doing my

ACCA in London, UK.

 What do you think of peace process going in Nepal?

I have been here for five years in UK when the peace process was going on smoothly in

Nepal. Even at present, it is not completed yet, so I do not know much about it. But one thing is clear: the conflict among the political parties is going on and they want to fulfill their vested interests.

 What are the main problems of Nepal’s peace process? Do you think it will be a success?

The main problem lies in the interests of political parties. They want to pull each other’s legs. Unless they get rid of such type of thinking, it won’t be a success.

 After the political movement of 2006 many armed, groups appeared in Nepal and they want to push the country towards the long-lasting conflict. Do you have any vision or idea to minimize such conflict in Nepal?

They want to hold power through conflict. I think there is a need of political awareness, which helps to minimize the conflict. If we go ahead with strong determination, we can minimize the conflict.

 What is the role of NRN in the peace process of Nepal?

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NRN involves the people who live outside the country. Directly or indirectly, they are involved in improving their economic conditions. In the meantime, they have the role in the peace process of Nepal.

 NRN is raising the voice for dual citizenship. Do you think it is necessary for NRN people?

I think dual nationality is necessary for NRN people, as they want to go to their country easily. We do have many relationships there, we can meet our people, and ultimately it will guarantee of liberal economy.

 During the insurgency, many displaced people came to UK. Do you know about those people who came here?

They are lucky who got the advantage of going abroad and some of them returned home whenever the peace process initiated in Nepal.

 How is the condition of Nepali people who came here during insurgency time?

Their condition is pretty much good in UK as UK is in better condition than Nepal.

Everyone knows that is a fact and that is why they are here.

 What is your suggestion for the betterment of Nepal?

My suggestion to all the youth who are much more educated, they should not run behind the political parties and leaders. Those people who are running after the political parties I want to suggest they use the leaders for the betterment of the country. They should take initiatives about the politics but they should not run behind the politicians. Only in such condition, there might be the possibility of going ahead and developing the country.

 Do you favor federalism?

I am not quite sure about it now.

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8) Dolendra Khadka, living in UK for 20 years; he went there to study and worked as

RND chemist and researcher. At present, he is working in a college. The interview

was conducted on March 18, 2012 in his residence at Greenford, London by the

author. The medium of this interview was English.

I am a Ph D scholar and my title is “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” and here are some questions on the issues of Nepalese peace process.

 How do you analyze the peace process of Nepal?

The situation of Nepal’s peace process depends on how you define its components.

Anyway, it is going on to establish peace in Nepal. I sometimes find it difficult to talk about it.

In Nepal, the Maoists and the NA are not enemies of each other. It is my perception. If they are not the enemies, I don’t know whether it is a peace process or not.

 What is the main problem?

If you call it is a peace process, the main problem of it is the matter of army integration.

Political leaders and security people should think about the impact of integration in Nepal.

Again, I think if they work hard, it will work.

 The government of Nepal collected the weapons in different cantonments and they are not separated from the Maoist army. In such conditions, what you think about the current integration process. Are you in favor of wholesale integration?

I am not in favor of integration. It might have bad consequences in the future. If the group of people has some kind of ideological connection, there will be less possibility of being neutral in the future. Perhaps they won’t be mentally and psychological fit for the NA to act

338 without taking any sides. It will be the problem inside the country and it can affect NA’s credibility at the international level as well. Even in the international conflict, it might have a bad effect.

 You said integration is not necessary. Do you mean the leaders of Nepal lack leadership quality to make a decision rationally?

I have already mentioned that the leaders should not integrate the Maoist army in NA.

Instead, it would be a good thing if they were given certain jobs in other places. The government should find out any specific way out to use those resources somewhere else inside the country. Otherwise, it might be a problem in the future.

 You have already mentioned army integration is the main problem and again

you said integration should not be done. In order to make a logical end of the peace

process and to draft the constitution, the election of CA is held but still there are

many problems in this case. Who do you think is/responsible for it?

Mainly it is the weakness of political parties. They have their own vested interests so they are inclined towards their own issues. They might have some personal interests along with the interests of the parties to be fulfilled. They are wasting time rather than thinking about the issues of the country. What you see in European countries, the leaders always give priority to the national interests rather than individual business. If they think in such a way, there won’t be any problem. Otherwise, we should say that it would be leaders’ irresponsibility.

 After 2006, many armed groups and radical political parties emerged in regional

levels. Naturally, they can create religious as well as regional conflicts in Nepal.

Do you have any vision to minimize such conflicts?

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UCPN (Maoist) raised weapons for change in Nepal and started armed conflict in the past

against the country. There will be the continuity of such violence even in the future and some

other groups in existence will follow the same path. The past conflict was just the beginning

initiated by the Maoists. They have learned from the Maoists that weapons would be a tool to

do the job and really, it would be a bad tradition in the country.

 Do you see the possibility of ethnic conflict in Nepal in the future?

There is the possibility of ethnic conflict in Nepal and the seed of the ethnic conflict is

planted in Nepal’s soil by the political leaders. The leaders intend to make federalism in terms

of ethnic base, linguistic base etc., which is rubbish. Nepal is a tiny country with mixed castes

and cultures. There was a good diversity of human beings. If we divide the country in the

name of language, religion, caste etc., it will invite a disastrous situation in the future.

 In Nepal, people are conscious in politics and if we go in deep level, there is a problem in

election. Political leaders express what they are doing is to empower the people. How do

you study the security situation of Nepal in line with democratic practice and people’s

empowerment?

The revolution of 1990 brought some changes in Nepali society. Immediately Maoists went

against the state in 1996 and raised weapons. In a very short time, all political leaders went

against king’s power, which had created many problems in Nepal’s politics. The caste system

was not a real problem there and it was a diminishing trend, which is certainly good for the

people. Similarly, empowering the people is good and it helps to strengthen the democratic

culture in the society. As you said Nepalese people are conscious in politics –it is good if they

are involved in politics. I know in Nepal people from disadvantaged group, backwards

society etc. are attached with Maoists or some kind of Communist parties. If they are

340 conscious, they can contribute in the political process of Nepal. It is better if they are concerned with their rights of the people.

 Do you think the political parties give space to the King in the new constitution?

The king is already gone and I have not seen any possibility of the revival of his power.

Some people, perhaps 10 per cent, continue to appreciate him, but that is a very small figure.

He is gone forever, but there lies a problem that the leaders of political parties are trying to occupy his space. They are thinking of abusing the power and collecting money to enjoy luxurious life, which never sounds good at all.

 What will be the situation of Nepal after promulgation of a new constitution?

I am not sure about it. Unless the political leaders follow democratic norms and perform democratic practice, peace won’t prevail in Nepal even after the promulgation of new constitution. This is my perception and the situation is very tough now.

 Many people were displaced in Nepal due to the effect of government activities or

the problem created by the Maoist during a decade-long conflict. Some of the

displaced people might have been this country. What is their condition in UK?

I know people were displaced during a decade-long conflict. People were forced to leave their homeland due to the effect of armed insurgency. The impact of the conflict was felt high in the western part of Nepal like Rolpa, Jumla, Mugu etc. and they moved to Nepaljung or

Dang. Perhaps some of them who had a little bit resources went to Kathmandu or Pokhara. I do not think they went to UK, Japan, Korea, and other European or western countries, as they had no resources and power at all. In my view, they had the easiest access to go to India where they could earn money doing manual work. It was their second choice.

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 How is NRN playing a role in settling the problem and writing a constitution in

Nepal?

I do not think NRN has that expertise to help writing the constitution and settling the issues of Nepal. Actually, they claim to be helping, but no significant contribution has been made.

Even if they have some experts to contribute, who are in that position; here I mean to say who are ready to pay attention NRN’s advice. Nepalese political leader in Nepal has that culture.

 Many Nepali people have been here for many reasons. What is the main pulling

factor to Nepali people to be in UK?

There are many reasons behind it. If you ask me, I came here 20 years ago for my further study. I had a strong desire of becoming a scientist and there was no way out in Nepal.

Similarly, at present many people come here for different intentions. Some people come here to continue their education, get jobs, and for business. For whatever reasons they come here everyone’s sole goal might be to succeed in life. They want to compete in the global level, as there are very limited resources in Nepal for the young generation.

 Do you think the pulling factor of Nepali people to UK might be a security

reason?

It might be true to some extent. When I went to Kathmandu, I saw an ambulance going somewhere without taking any medical equipment. Again, the road was not clear enough for it to be on time. If you want to take an ambulance service in UK, it is fast and reliable service.

We get this service in five to ten minutes. Similarly, we get police service in five to ten minutes. If anyone has the problem of heart attack, he or she will be in hospital in time. But

342 the situation is very tough in Nepal. We will not have any chance to get those services in time and a patient may die while going to hospital. If you have the experience of advanced life in the western countries, you will feel very troubled in Nepal. However, even in UK, here are some people they want to be back their home country to do something for the home country and definitely, it is good.

 Do you have any vision that the political leaders should follow to build up a New

Nepal?

Frankly speaking the leaders are not realistic and always talk about rubbish things. From past to present they have been talking more than they are performing. It means they talk about impossible things. They get involved in the political activities to grab opportunity or hold power. It readily proves that they are dishonest and they want to divert the general people’s mind to somewhere else. They play trick to make the people not free. My suggestion is -the leaders’ image should be clean and pure to improve their behavior so that people will have trust upon them.

 What do you think about the crisis that happened in Terai region and we always

see the problem in broader area?

Everyone talks about it is an issue of nationality. What I think is that India, being a very big and powerful country, does not have any interest as it has its own internal problems and it does not get anything from Nepal. But a federal state of India like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh might have ill intentions towards Nepal. If we divide the country based on ethnic federalism, there will be definitely a problem. The people living in one federal state might have the cultural connection with the people living in Indian Federal state, and a Nepali citizen living in Nepal’s federal unit can feel he or she belongs to the part of India. If it happens, it will be a

343 disastrous for the country and not worth it at all. Indian leaders blame Pakistan and say

Pakistan has the invisible hand to create insecurity in India if there is anything wrong in India.

Similarly, Nepali people blame India for its role in fueling the problem in Nepal, but I never think like that. If our leaders have strong vision and political determination or if they are able to show their political quality, they can stand up against anybody to fight. Our fundamental problems are internal crisis and corruption and if they are controlled or settled, we can really strengthen our nationality. Therefore, there is no meaning of blaming India or western countries.

 Do you think Nepali leaders lack solid leadership quality so that Nepali people

are getting troubled?

Nepali political leaders are influenced by different political ideologies written some centuries ago in different countries. I think it is not good at all and leaders can claim their ideology is good. I think definitely it was good in the time when that ideology was written but time and the situation of the world is drastically changed. If we compare the situation of Mao

Zedong’s long march in Nepal, it never suits with our situation. Lenin started his revolution and encouraged people to fight against the Tsar system, as there was ethnic discrimination worse than in Nepal. He completely controlled power in Russia and made necessary changes.

UCPN (Maoist) encouraged Nepali people to fight against the feudal system of Gyanendra, but Maoist leaders won’t be able to hold complete power in Nepal as the present time is the period of democracy and no party can go against democratic norms. The problem with our leaders is that they read history and try to apply that in Nepal so they are in trouble.

Ultimately, Nepali people have been the victim of that impractical political doctrine.

 Time to time Nepali people fought for democracy. Nepali people reestablished a

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democratic system in 1990 and immediately the Maoists raised weapons in 1996.

What was the main reason that causes the failure of democratic system in Nepal

time to time?

I do not think multiparty democratic system failed in Nepal. There are many factors responsible and the leaders are not used to exercising it practically and all the time the royal palace of Nepal tried to be in power. The power was misused in Nepal, and sometimes the king was not fair and the group of people who enjoyed power in the past in Nepal tried to bring the king in power for their vested interests –actually, it is wrong. The political leaders could not understand the psychology of that gang who never want to establish peace in Nepal.

After 1990, Girija Prasad Koirala and Manmohan Adhikary ruled the country but they always failed to do the right thing in time and showed the trend of biting tongue. They always failed to deliver right information clearly in front of the people. It was their weakness but not the failure of democratic system. On the one side palace played unfair game and on the other side, the Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and some other leaders successfully manipulated the minds of Nepali people. In Nepal, people are fighting but they even do not know why they are fighting and even the Maoist combatants do not know why they joined the Maoist army. It is a reality. People always run after rumor. I think what is happening in Nepal has been good and at least Nepali people got rid of the feudal autocratic regime of Gyanendra and people had been free from the feudal king some decades ago. Now we are in much better condition and place, as the source of discrimination is gone now. Therefore, the thing has not gone wrong and certainly, it takes time to run democratic institutions smoothly.

 What is the problem of Nepal at present as the political leaders are trying to hold

power in Nepal?

As I told you, the position of big king is empty now and some short kings are on the stage,

345 which is not good for Nepal. The problem is the leaders are not ready to understand the problems of Nepali people. Unless they follow the democratic culture and system, there won’t be any chance of driving the country to meet the goal of twenty-first century. The peace process is a bargaining point for the leaders and in such conditions; the peace process definitely won’t be a success. The leaders should not behave like the previous king and their sole intention should not be guided to write their names under the list of Prime Minister’s name. It is always bad for Nepal and Nepali people.

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9) Interview with Puspa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda,” ex-Prime Minister of Nepal

(August 19 2008- May 25, 2009) and Chairman of CPN(M). This interview was

conducted on February17, 2014 at his residence in Lazimpat, Nepal by the author.

The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post War Instability and Human

Security in Nepal” Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

Nepal was ruled by autocratic regime since long, and even the political change of 1990 failed to address the fundamental issues of democracy. It was deep-rooted on feudal structure and its control in the means of production. Whenever we were fighting against the feudal regime, we were thinking how we could change the feudal structural pattern of means of production.

To some extent, we succeeded in the case of federalism republican state, inclusion, participatory democracy through the first CA. Right now is the time to institutionalize them in a new constitution. As long as they are reflected in the constitution, and Nepali people use them in practice this process will be completed.

 What do you think about the peace process of Nepal?

We think the fundamental issues of peace process have been completed. In this sense, we are successful in making a logical end of the peace process. PLAs have already integrated in NA, and the issues of arms and weapons are already completed under the leadership of our party.

If you talk about other things like the case of disappearance, and truth and reconciliation committee are yet to be completed. We think all the cases that occurred during the time of a decade long people’s war has to be solved by the truth and reconciliation committee.

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 What do you think on TRC, and how will it be formed?

I have already told you it is a part of Nepali peace process. Nepalese political parties had already agreed on TRC, and they had sent it to the President for approval. Recently the

Supreme Court has given a final decision, as a case was filed against the provision of TRC.

The Court said to make two different committees on the case of disappearance and TRC.

Now political parties are working for making both commissions.

 What sort of freedom will your party impart to Nepalese people?

Politically Nepalese people ought to be free from feudal political system and we are in search of a democratic system in which the workers, laborers, peasants, women, minority group,

Madhesi, indigenous community, untouchable caste, Muslim, backward community etc would be politically and economically empowered. We are on the way to finding a political system in which there would not be a huge gap between poor and rich people, and that the economic system would be based on mixed economic system and the people would be benefited from economic development. We are planning to offer culturally autonomous system to empower the people.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multiethnic federalism?

Really, it has created a political confusion among Nepali people. We think people failed to understand it politically. We are in favor of federalism, which would be free from caste-based domination. We think no one would be threatened by any other groups or even from the political power of the state. In fact, a political achievement could get capitalistic rights being free from feudalistic political system.

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 The first CA formed in 2008 failed to promulgate a new constitution. The

election of CA, which is held, recently is different in terms of political power

balance. What do you think of the election of new CA and peace process?

Everyone knows the first CA failed to promulgate a constitution for making a new Nepal.

Again, it has done many things regarding the issues of new constitution. Eight per cent of required works for the new constitution have been done and only twenty per cent worked are incomplete. Thus, that was a great achievement. Again, major political parties have agreed to get the ownership of previous works that were completed by the first CA. I am hopeful the present CA would complete the incomplete works for the promulgation of new constitution and complete two major issues of peace process that I have already shared with you.

 If we analyze the structural pattern of Nepalese political parties, the scholars

find Nepal lacks a solid leadership. What is your opinion on it?

Leadership is a historic development of the country. It comes out of a historical process, and in the present leadership of political parties, the reflection of present transitional phase is being reflected. It is true. But it is not a fact if anyone says Nepal lacks a good leadership.

Even at present Nepalese people think, our party UCPN (Maoist) has a potentiality for a grand political change and it has a power for institutionalizing all achievements that we got through a decade-long People’s War, the people’s movement and other movements. For this, I had worked with the late Girija Prasad Koirala. As long as I headed the government after the first election of CA, the entire procedure of peace process began. After the completion of peace process, the country will move ahead in the path of economic development and definitely all those things would be made complete by the existing leadership of Nepal.

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 After signing on CPA, many small political groups and arms groups are seen in

the political arena of Nepal. What do you think about their activities and their

prospects for initiating new conflict in the future?

I do not think so. If we succeeded to draft a new constitution for a new Nepal based on

socioeconomic and cultural rights of the people, they would not be involved in any type

of conflict and all sorts of political movements of small groups will disappear. After the

promulgation of new constitution, whenever the unemployed young people would get

employment and the country moves ahead in the course of economic development,

automatically all issues would be solved.

 What is your advice regarding my Ph D?

I think you would be successful in completing your study in time. The Nepali peace process is moving ahead in its own way and it is too unique. I have talked to the officials at UN and other international organizations that the path and contents of Nepali peace process would be useful in solving local, regional, and global issues of political crisis. There are still many problems in Africa, East Europe, Latin America, South America, and even in Asia; and the achievement of Nepalese peace process would be useful to address the issues of different places that I have mentioned. So, I am hopeful that your dissertation would bring all the light parts of Nepalese peace process and others will learn a lot from it.

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10) Interview with Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, Patan Multiple Campus Lalitpur. This

interview was conducted on February19, 2014 in Lalitpur, Nepal by the author. The

medium of interview was English.

I am a Ph D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post War Instability and Human Security in Nepal” Her e I have some queries on the peace process.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

Right now it is fine and the country is going forward smoothly. In the past, we felt a great

problem. The Maoist had raised the political agenda and in that case, the country handled

it politically. Now everything is over, and if the constitution were promulgated in the right

time, Nepali people certainly would be very happy.

 You are from the Terai region, again you are living in Kathmandu for a long time,

what do the Terai people think of the ongoing peace process?

You are right I am living in Kathmandu and involved in my teaching profession at

Tribhuvan University. Again I have some sort of legacy in the Terai region. Every one

suspects about the activities of Terai people, as they got no political rights in the past. If

you ask me about the prospects of peace process of Nepal they are very much happy.

Even the people who were unidentified felt happiness as long as they got political identity

after signing on CPA in 2006. People from different communities have been represented

in CA. Again, this process has not ended and still the state should respect them very much.

 What sort of freedom do they expect from the country?

Since they are the citizens of this country, they should be treated equally. They should not

351 feel any sort of discrimination; again it is equally applicable in the case of all the people living inside Nepal. They should enjoy all sorts of constitutional rights and they should feel proud within their territory.

 Do you think there is the possibility of emerging conflict in Terai and other parts

of the country?

If you need the answer in one word, it is ‘No’. Again, it is not the people who create the conflict, but it depends on the policy of the government. What the people need at present freedom for education, health, and property. In addition, for this the government should get the responsibility. Nepali people at present are in favor of peace, empowerment, inclusion, respect for human right of all the people, prosperity, and employment. If they get all these provisions and state security in the politics, no one would stand for fighting at all.

 What are your suggestions for my Ph D?

Everyone claims Nepalese peace process has certain unique aspects. We should bring these to the front. I wish your study will be helpful for establishing peace within and beyond the country.

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11) Interview with Mr. Shreehari Subedi, Entrepreneur, working at Shangri-La Group

of companies (Hotel, Resort, and Travel) as a Manager.This interview was conducted

on February18, 2014 in Lainchour, Nepal by the author. The medium of the

interview was English.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph. D on “Enhancing Freedom through Peace

Building: Finding Roles, Actors, and Theories towards Nepalese Determination.” Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What is the main cause of hindrances for further democratization in Nepal?

There is still the lack of consciousness of leaders, which I found from the very beginning.

Now, writing the constitution should not be delayed for long.

 How do you scale the people's security? What should people expect for New Nepal?

As compared to the 10-year Maoist insurgency, now, people are mostly secure. It is really sad to say Nepalese still don’t have basic things: water supply, electricity, fuel. These basic things need to be guaranteed in New Nepal. Industries, employment, foreign investment should be focused on.

 How is the peace process going on? Do you think that it will be concluded soon as it has

being lingering for the long time?

It is good that peace process had started already. We are confident it will be concluded.

Any processes to conclude always take a long time, however, when there will be the common interest to fulfill such mandate, then, it will be concluded. Without vested interest, if all politicians will work then it is not a long way.

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 What are the main obstacles for the peace building? Do you think the current so-

called ongoing peace process would success? I use “so-called,” since people are

almost losing hope. But, it is good that it is not a failed state still.

There is lack of consensus, motivation for the time being. It will definitely be a success when all stakeholders show their positive attitude.

 What is security and law in Nepal's present context? Can you please elaborate as it

is said there is no law and order at all?

As this is the interim or transition phase, it is true that there are several loopholes in law and legislation. But, I don’t agree that there is no law and order. The first thing we have to understand is that our police administration is the no. 1 in south Asia, according to recent surveys. So, they are working day and night to try to give full security. In the meantime there are some hooligans who are protected by leaders that are pathetic, which we hope will not go on much longer?

 What do you think about TRC? It is still a hot issue but still not in a delicate form.

For your information, TRC will definitely form, only the process and some contradictions are there which is delaying it.

 When we listen to interviews and read the news, we get one kind of message, which

is that political parties are trying to save criminals, take law, and order into their

own hands. So in such a situation what we can expect the New Nepal and new

constitution that lead the nation to peace?

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As already told, it is transition phase, we are still drafting constitution, hence, it will take time but definitely once, we have all in black and white form. It will be eagerly hard for any leaders to protect. In the past also, it has happened. We can see the examples of Khum Bdr.

Khadka, Govinda Raj Joshi and so on... their political careers are finished and so the upcoming leaders will be corrected. The new Nepal and the Constitution will emerge.

 First historical CA practically failed to draft and promulgates a New Constitution

for Nepal. Now, the second CA was held on November 19, 2013 and result of the

latest election is different, as reflected a new political power balance after 2008.How

do you interpret New CA election and Peace process?

Frankly speaking, this is what people originally wanted, this recent political balance. The recent political parties in power have real ideology, way to form federal states not by castes and ethnicity, division of natural resources when needed, and state formation.

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12) Interview with Prof. Som Prasad Gauchan Political Science, Tribhuwan University,

(TU), Kirtipur. Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 17, 2015 in

Balkhu, Kirtipur, Nepal. The respondent was interviewed in Nepali and translated in

English by the author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post War Instability and Human

Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

When you ask this question, I understand that you mean why Maoist insurgency occurred in

Nepal. As long as the insurgency started, the democratization processes was disturbed. I think this is what you mean. When we are talking about democratization process, we have to look back on the beginning of Panchayat System; then let me talk on the Constitution of the

Kingdom of Nepal, which was brought through the mass movement of 1990. It is a political movement for restoration of democracy. It came smoothly and there are many factors behind that political change – there was even international influence. It was completed with a compromise between political parties and monarchy. After that, a coalition interim government was formed under the leadership of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. As the government was formed in 1990 under, the multiple democracy people had lots of expectations. However, when the government of NC ruled the country even after holding the general election in 1991 and government adopted liberal economic policy such as free market economy, free economy, privatization, and ultimately it widened internal conflict and brought the political instability. If you look on the economic data you can see the gap between the haves and haves not; and it gave a political space to Maoist to raise the issues of poor people, women, indigenous community, Dalits etc. It made conducive environment to

Maoist for initiating that conflict.

Due to political instable situation, economical gap between the haves and haves not

356 was increasing which made the people disappoint. For democratization, process there should be the stable government, and the political parties should follow rules and regulations of democracy. Respect of Human rights, freedom of judiciary and representation of social groups in the structural level and welfare of people and communities are key frameworks for the democratization, which we really lack in Nepal. Institutional growth, the delivery of goods and rule of law play the roles for democratization; and how political parties guide and play the roles to guarantee these things. In the case of Nepal, political parties do not show such tendency but use much more power, which is a vulnerable point for democratization process.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

Nepal peace process is really strange and unique. The insurgent group Maoist decided to initiate the peace process in Nepal is one part of unique thing. Normally when any group initiates the conflicts, it will not be easy to come in the peace process. If we look on other countries, which were conflicting situation it is not simple thing to come in peace process – you see the hurdles in peace process even in the case of Latin American countries. Now people do not understand this complexity as the situation has been normal at present. If you look on those past days on 2056/57 every day, every second there was bomb blast, killing, kidnapping, and the fierce battle in which ordinary people, police, journalists, business persons were dying. In that time Maoist, influence had covered almost 70/80 percent of rural area. Maoist leaders use to express "hit on the head of enemy leaping on its backbone.

Though Maoists were inspired by the principle of Mao Zedong, they tried to transform his ideas in the context of Nepal. Maoist strategy is to surround the city by villages and to control urban areas through the control of highway. In such terrible situation, as well Maoist used the fear psychosis then attracted people towards Maoist. For example in Kuvende Bhanjyang in

Sidhupalchowk one journalist was killed -Maoist blamed, he was a spy and killed him in the

357 crossroad of the village and left his dead body for more than two or three days. It created fear among the people and they felt insecurity.

Why Maoist concluded that they should come to peace process in Nepal and Maoist conflict suddenly got high intense in Nepal. They were in the road to make it success but it could not get the complete result due to geopolitical situation. India has played a role to make a plausible understanding – different meetings were held in India to make negotiation among the political parties, to succeed the peace process. However, one major factor is that India wanted to control Nepalese politics by making a negotiation and ending monarchy through the Maoist conflict. Another factor is that if the conflict lasts for years there will be unnecessary interference of international countries in the country and political power will be used by NA. Those are the reason Maoist came to peace process.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

After a huge political change, many slogans came in the surface. In the beginning, there was no discussion on federalism. Maoist's demand was holding the election constitution assembly for drafting the constitution –as Maoism and Constituent Assemble are contradictory terms. Constitutionalism is base of political stability. Human rights, independent judiciary system or fundamental rights are not changeable in constitutionalism.

For getting these achievements, constitution is necessary. Maoism believes in an idea, which tries to lead the politics into new direction through power. Their interpretation is different than constitutionalism – as the Maoists are talking on human rights and economic rights of the common people.

In Nepal federalism, every caste and region have their own characteristics. For solving the problems of ethnic groups, they must have certain political rights; and the specific region they should have their own state. Only in that situation, we can solve their problem. The centralized state cannot address the issues of locals in practical way. If you talk about the case

358 of Jumla, it will take long hours to come to Kathmandu for solving the problems and need more money – in that case, the federalism can help solve the problem.

Federalism is very complex issue. What I talked before is about theoretical part but frankly, it is not bad idea for federalism. Regional and community base federalism is not bad.

In other terms, it gives more political power to local state. Further, the setup of federalism is making another new Nepal. Nepal is in very sensitive geographical situation and we should consider future perspective and our national security.

 What do you think about Nepali 22/23 Rajya (state)? Do you not think Nepal is

going back to past history?

Now the condition is different. In the past, there was King in all Rajya – the state was free and sovereign. At present Nepal is only a federal country and the government are elected by people and we are in the process of making powerful central government.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

Powerful earthquake and frequent aftershocks devastated the Nepal. It caused a national disaster. Many youths are helping other people without considering the situation of their home. NA, police played vital role for rescue. It makes positive vibes on all people including political parties as well. More than five lakh houses are damaged and millions of people are homeless and national economy is back for more than 10 years. This time how to overcome with this disaster? In addition, how to support to the victims of earthquake have been national agenda. In such situation, political leaders thought positively and did necessary homework to solve the crisis. In spite of political differences, the leaders came to a conclusion that they should be united for a political consensus. It brought them in one point and 16 point understanding was made for making new political commitment. Therefore, they are on the process of writing Constitution.

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13) Interview with Sangita Khadha Secretary Federation of Nepali Journalists.

Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 18, 2015 in Babarmahal,

Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali and translated by the

author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

When we look on Nepali politics, there were different movements but it could not come in track. Since 2007 to till now the country is in transitional phase – we read the political movement of 1990 and experienced the situation of a decade long insurgency in Nepal.

There was change in political structure, but we felt no change in formal political system.

Though there was change in system, bureaucracy was not changed at all. It was quite rigid and it could not cooperate the government. Further, every time there was problem in implementing the political agendas. This is the main problem of Nepalese democratization process.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

The ending of peace process is to get rights of victim of Nepal's Maoist insurgency. During the conflict time, there were many incidents, which were done by both party government and

Maoist. There are many people who were displaced and number of disappearances in both sides is still unknown. As well during the verification of Maoist combatant, some people who had worked as army were disqualified should make settlement for their normal life. In that case, Nepal peace process will be complete. It means there are some practical problems.

 What do you think on TRC recently it was formed?

At first, it was given very important but when it was formed, it got low priority. The process

360 of formation of TRC is also not adequate. TRC now has been only the branch of Peace and reconciliation Ministry.TRC will be very important if it functions properly and addresses the remaining problems of peace process. In this sense peace, process will be complete.

 After signing on CPA, many small political groups and arms groups are seen in

the political arena of Nepal. What do you think about their activities and their

prospects for initiating new conflict in the future?

When Maoist started people's war for the first time, it was a small party. In fact, issue was genuine and it got popularity among the people. Now the Maoist war and mass movement is somehow complete, still peace has not prevailed. Unless current government and political parties bring the equal economic policy to reduce poverty, give employment and security, people think it will be. Otherwise, there is a chance of occurring the conflict.

 Do you think Nepali leaders lack solid leadership quality so that Nepali people

are getting troubled?

If you study it from the view point of Nepalese people, 90 per cent people will accept that that is real. But I think they have certain ability to lead the people. Certainly, they have some weaknesses, which had to be corrected. Some Nepalese leaders have come through the mass movement. As long as they reach on government position, they never maintain their position and fail to address the problems of people. It is the problem of our leadership.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

For the practical development of the country, we must go to federalism. It will help for development but when it comes to demarcation line we must think carefully.

 What sort of freedom Nepalese people like?

Nepali people are really smart even though government has not fulfilled basic problems. We

361 are lacking government plan and policy, if you announce for voluntary work people are ready for that. Here, we can gather mass and mobilize them for betterment. Nepalese people are really great. Still we are lacking proper development. Political leaders failed to make proper development of the country, which we are missing.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

When the earthquake hit, the very day I thought that earthquake cannot differentiate between people and political leaders. They definitely got certain lesson from it and realized that we should not fight for tiny issue. After few days, we from our office went many places and met the earthquake victims. I found that this disaster gave awareness on political parties that in this critical time we should think collectively and go ahead for the betterment of the country. Political parties reach to a new understanding; it helped for constitution making process.

 What would you suggest or comment for my research finally?

Thank you and best of luck for your research.

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14) Interview with Bikash Lamsal, Leader CPN (UML), 2nd CA member. This interview

was conducted on July 18, 2015 in Kalopul, Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the

interview was Nepali and translated by the author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

For Nepalese democratic process, I saw that the problem in leadership –they are incomplete to follow the rule regulation and lack certain moral characteristics. Since long single and autocratic system ruled, the country and we have the effects of that system. From this view, our leadership is not able to face the problem of our democracy. This is the reason that our democracy time to time repeatedly faced different challenges. Now we had huge change, the

CA is making constitution and this will grantee all the rights of people. From now, onwards

Nepalese political path will go ahead.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

We have done many agreements in parliaments. Like 12- point agreements, we are still having inequality in society base on the gender as well as economic disparities. Not only that but also there are very issues like Dalit, Janajati, etc. In the past we had isolation on the basis of geography. Now we are trying to address all these issues through the CA. We are materializing the agreements between the all parties, interim constitution 2007, and current position in CA and past conflict we are on the process of management of these conflicting issues. When we bring the new constitution all the issues will be settled. We have huge differences inside the country. Poverty, unequal development, disparity are our common problems and now we are also going for federalism and all these issues will be addressed then.

As centralize system focused in Kathmandu, the federal system will focus on local development such as Himali, Pahadi, Tarai, and Kathmandu. Now if the people have any

363 problem, they have to come to Kathmandu and after federal system that will be solved in local level. This will give the proper management of local resource and development of that region.

Further, we are between two big nations, our boarder is open where culture and system are different. It makes one kind of fear that might bring more conflict on that area. Moreover, there might be conflict between states and blockade. So we have opportunities as well as challenges.

 What do you think on TRC recently it was formed?

During the conflict, there were very horrific accidents, which we cannot imagine right now.

Both side Maoist and government committed those events. Many things happened which were inhuman whatever happened during conflict period – many people disappeared, many victims are still waiting to get justice. We expect that TRC will solve these issues. From victims' views they have right to know the exact situation of their family members, the government has to clarify where they are. Very complex situation is here through those incidents like conflict parties are facing psychological difficulty to reconcile the society and government also facing criticism on this. TRC has very critical task and parliament is now making acts. As soon as we address the issues of victims and provide them assistance, they feel the real peace.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

In our constitution we put Nepal as indivisible (Akhanda). Our federalism is not for making division. Any conflict is for the prosperity and development, but it is not for the division of the country. As we know that Nepal is a small country, strategically it is very important. In

Nepal, many developed and powerful nations have interest. They want to do their activities here against the India and China. We understand this and we should understand it. For the naming and demarcation line, we have certain view on that minimizing the number of state

364 and considering geography is main issues. However, if we see the human index there is variation. Other hand, if we minimize we cannot address all this is also another issue. In the case of federal issue the first CA was dissolved. Now we are serious on all contentious issues.

Nepalese unity and sovereignty is our priority. First priority is we want prosperous Nepal.

Our neighbour countries India and China have interest on Nepalese federalism because federalism might bring instability or raise activities against those countries if the case is not handled properly. In the case of federalism, we are sincere and we cannot go against our neighbours.

 After signing on CPA, many small political groups and arms groups are seen in

the political arena of Nepal. What do you think about their activities and their

prospects for initiating new conflict in the future?

Now there will be no conflict in the future it is impossible. Monarchy is already abolished and the constitution will guarantee different rights to people such as political, economic, education, religious etc. Previous king has accepted to be a normal citizen. We raised arms against his political power and now he is gone. Now all citizens should obey the rule and regulation. In such situation, if any group is interested to raise weapons for fulfilling self- interest, new constitution will not give any space to such group. I do not see any further conflict in future. We are in last stage of completing constitution.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

In Nepal, it is the bigest earthquake after 16 January 1934 AD. More than ten thousand people were died and twenty to twenty five thousand people were injured. There are damaged in billion. It is mega disaster to us but we have to manage it within two year and we should take it as an opportunity. In constitution making process, the earthquake makes leaders more serious. When the natural disaster hit this time, our leaders took positively and really it

365 played a role to mitigate the differences. They felt that in such emergency, if the leaders fail to come to a meeting point, people will not support them. Earthquake gave a right message to political leaders. It also opens one door to development our urbanization is not organized so that now we have to build our city with vision learn lesson from this earthquake.

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15) Amrit Devkota, He is the President of Dynamic Youth forum Nepal and Centre

committee member of All Nepal National Free Student’s Union (ANNFSU).This

interview was conducted on July 19, 2015 in office of dynamic youth form Nepal,

Baneshwor, Kathmandu. The medium of interview was English.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

We know that the historic dates like 2007, 2017, 2036, and 2047. We had changes in system, but in real life, people got nothing. Since 2007 to this year Nepal, democratization process faced many changes as well as challenges. The government and political parties did not give priority on economic development, which made people frustration –which is one problem of

Nepalese democratization.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

Maoist insurgency started with 40-point demands. Now it is already in the political process.

So, they cannot go back from the political process .Therefore it will be successful and TRC already formed.

 What do you think on TRC recently it was formed?

Recently it was formed and Surya Krian Gurung is leading it. It formed a bit late and we spent 8 year. This committee only give suggestion and recommendation but it does not have right to implement anything. Here the power of TRC is also important. As you know that one

Army Cornel is arrested in UK, and another one Nanda Ram case is in Nepal –looking on these cases it is controversial. We put signature on many UN conventions so that we are obligatory to flow the international treaty. So it’s very complicated .What is the scope of TRC in case of Colonel Grunge who is in UK. TRC is formed by Nepal government and it is on

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Nepali circumstance however it respects international Human rights etc. In TRC, there are many politically appointed members but I can say that TRC is one point of completing peace process in Nepal.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

I do not want to speak on ethnic base federalism. I do not like this idea. How we can divide state in accordance with caste and ethnic bases. I am against it. Nepal should follow federalism on the basis of resources and geographical variation.

 Do you think Nepali leaders lack solid leadership quality so that Nepali people

are getting troubled?

Yes it is. In some extent these days, we say one time we had one King but now we had many kings. Frankly speaking Nepalese political development came very rapidly like abolishing monarchy, success of Maoist movement, peace process this change came very fast. Political leaders were not prepared for current situation and it shows gap on leadership. Another point, they thought after dethroning the king they can do anything whatever they like. Positive thing is that political leaders who led the movement and brought change in political system; in this case I can say they have quality of leadership but still need to modernize.

 After signing on CPA, many small political groups and arms groups are seen in

the political arena of Nepal. What do you think about their activities and their

prospects for initiating new conflict in the future?

After CPA, election Maoist won the majority. People saw Maoist brutality and they faced them long time. Now Maoist is in political mainstream. I do not see that that regional and small group will be threat for new conflict in Nepal.

 First historical CA practically failed to draft and promulgates a New

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Constitution for Nepal. Now, the second CA was held on 19 November 2013 and

result of the latest election is different it reflected a new political power balance

after 2008. How do you interpret new CA election and Peace process?

This does not affect the peace process. Because Maoist already is in government and current verdict is the people's changing trends. When the Fist CA held people thought let’s see Maoist once so they casted vote for the Maoists. Now it changed they voted their parties which running since long time. Moreover, Maoist vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai is the chairman of constitution draft committee. Political parties do not have other option so this time

Constitute will be promulgated.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

It has the positive effects in Constitution making. Political parties say that they will promulgate Constitution on 25 Sarwan.

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16) Interview with Chandra Kant Gyawali. He is the constitutional lawyer and has been

working for the Supreme Court since 10 years and teaching Sociology at Patan

Multiple Campus, affiliated to Tribhuwan University for 20 years. He is one of the

prominent lawyers in drafting Interim Constitution. This interview was conducted

on July 17, 2015 in Singhadarbar Kathmandu, Nepal. The medium of the interview

was Nepali and translated by the author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

The problems of democratization process in Nepal lies in the inability to hold election for the formation of parliament as well as the formation of the local bodies. Since long especially after 2054 no election is held in local level. And, as such, the people elected for constitutional assembly is unable to be accountable for their promises and even fail to hold election for the nomination of President.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process, never ending process?

Peace process of Nepal is related with promulgation of constitution. The formation of the first constitution assembly worked towards the integration of rebels and management of its arms and ammunitions. Now when the constitution gets promulgated, the peace process comes to an end.

 What do you think on TRC recently it was formed?

After a long debate and discussion in the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court firstly formed

Truth and Reconciliation Committee. But, it didn’t go well amongst the lawmakers so, again the Supreme Court after a long deliberation time and again succeeded to form a committee

370 for the disappearance of the people and also a committee of Truth and Reconciliation. There happened to be serious crimes against the human rights and the government firstly made way for amnesty even for those who did the serious crimes. However, it doesn’t suit and now, the

Supreme Court ruled out any sort of amnesty for the crimes against human rights even during the Maoist insurgency won't be entertained.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

Ethnic based Federalism is inconclusive. Development based federalism is must for the termination of all the discrepancies in the society, whereby, there is a participation of all the creeds and casts for the development of the society and the nation and to exploit the natural resources of a certain state.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

The impact of the earthquake in Nepal is a very serious for the people in general as there was lots of destructions of residential houses as well as historic monuments and religious shrines.

The government succeeded to bring forth funds for the reliefs of the victims of the earthquakes and for the reconstruction of the country. However, the political parties instead of putting all the efforts in nation rebuilding, they feel urgent to promulgate the constitution. In fact, the constitution is promulgated very soon after the earthquakes.

 What would you suggest or comment for my research finally?

Group discussion, deliberation, and collection of data and figures and deliberation about the theorists of a particular write regarding peace and conflict subject matter is necessary.

Congratulations and all the best!

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17) Interview with Chairman of CA of Nepal, (2006 to 2015) Subash Chandra Nembang,

in his office Singha Durba Kathmandu. This interview was conducted on July 18,

2015 in Singha Durba Kathmandu. Nepal. The medium of the interview was Nepali

and translated by the author.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human

Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

The main problems were the monarchy, the constitutional monarchy, the rulers who never thought the people and their demands. People were exploited. The ethnic communities were helpless, no reservations was there for them. Though the so-called democracies in the form of different names were here repeatedly, the rights to the public, communities were never realized. Power was centralized and the resources were handicapped within the handful of rulers and the team. Hence, People's movement was overwhelmingly supported by every conscious citizen and were eventually successful to sack Monarchy and the political development initiated. Hence, if you compare the present context, there are only some issues to be addressed, and the transitional phase is like this always and anywhere in the world. You will see the real change and the establishment of democracy soon.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process? Is it never ending?

Well, people are saying this without judging the ground reality. It is taking long time to come into the normal line; however, if you go through the overall political developments, it is encouraging. If you look into world politics, there were not any drastic changes, however dynamic changes has been taking place here. The CPA signed by earlier rebels and the government are there, it is the main base of peace process. Now we are converting the situation to end process soon without making any derail and we are careful on the issues of sovereignty and people's rights. The world will know peace process will not be a utopia. If

372 you go through political developments, the only issue left is federalism and demarcation.

However, the political dialogues and discussion are going with the all groups and more or less, we will find the mid path to resolve these issues soon. Many things had been done during this course; constitution discussion in the public mass, collecting the suggestions and so on. Hence, it is a positive gesture.

 What do you think on TRC recently it was formed?

There was a serious issue put forward on this commission. However, there is no doubt the

TRC is the best and the task force will do performing without any infiltration. Coming to an agreement, mainstream political parties have already supported. Hence, it is unacceptable if other parties stand against it. Truth and Reconciliation Committee are committed to study each case from the Maoists revolution until now. They will provide amnesty if the case is genuine and have the political influence and cross checking with all data and analysis.

However, if there are any incidents and serious crimes that are personalized, they will use retrospective law and the victims will be relived after the punishment to the criminals. The task team is indebted to the government and not misjudging at all. It is strictly implemented, be assured. The abduction or disappearance cases will be formulated by another team of

Disappearance team and there no one has the rights to instruct or obligation for the team to listen. They will take very clear decision without any prejudice. The Government will strictly go on for the action at any case.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

We have to be proud Nepal being “Unity in diversity”. Therefore, we must admit that multiethnic federalism is the best modality in Nepal. If this happens, all the ethnic communities feel proud of the state, they realize the value of their community, cast and ethnic. In addition, it is a great opportunity to the individuals of marginalized group, back warded society since they were exploited and not emancipated by the country from the establishment itself. They

373 were vulnerable, behaved like second class citizen within the same country for the long time.

We have been hearing that the so-called high class cast like Bhrahmins, Chettris will be dominated by the middle and lower caste like Newar, Gurung, Magar, Damai, and Kami. I doubt why people are thinking or have this perspectives, state to be run only by handful and so called high-class caste, don’t you think that it is the time of power transmission on this

21st century.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

Well, our many MPs were also the victims of the earthquakes. We had tried our level best for the Emergency Relief to all the citizens and had worked and are still working for the

Reconstruction and Rebuilding. For the constitution making, there was not serious disturbance; however, was just little delayed. And, now, I see people are happy with the constitution and had very much supported this big achievement though there were in the pathetic condition. They have full support and confidence aftermath the earthquake. It was a big setback this happen to our lovely country. It’s true that there are some agitation and dissatisfaction towards this promulgation of the constitution. I am sure that this will not prolong and the situation will calm down soonest.

 What would you suggest or comment for my research finally?

Mr. Karki, I am very proud of you to meet you and especially, a Nepali student doing this kind of research and it is rare to know this. I congratulate you for this kind of great initiation and Japanese University providing this golden opportunity.

Thank you for your efforts .Your opinions are very important and will help to me to improve my research and new finding.

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18) PM, K.P. Oli, (Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli), Chairman of CPN (UML) and strong

leader in Nepal Contemporary politics. He is parliament leader of CPN (UML) in

CA. This interview was conducted on 2 August 2015 in Singha Durbar in Parliament

office; Kathmandu, Nepal by author. The medium of interview was Nepali and has

been translated into English by the researcher. He became the Prime Minister of

Nepal on October 12, 2015 now still in office.

I am a Ph. D scholar and I am pursuing my Ph D on “Post war instability and Human Security in Nepal”. Here I have some queries on the peace process.

 What are the problems of Nepalese democratization process?

One is the Nepal feudal, autocratic, family base autocratic role made gap among the Nepali people. By this reason Nepal was behind the economic development. It means the social awareness on people came late. Establishment of progressive and popular parties and theirs active political parties brought the new political scenario in Nepal. It paves the new road map in politics in Nepal but it faced surpassed and many challenges. This makes the short time of practices of popular democracy in Nepal democracy but we are lacking stable democracy. If we observe the cases of other countries, our democratic practice failed many times which we is our bitter history. Those are the reason which is obstacle for the further initialization of democracy in Nepal.

 What do you think of Nepalese peace process?

Nepal peace process, in Nepal violent and conflict was held it should not hold but now we brought them in peace process. It almost is in last phase. Integration of army is completed and now we are on the process of completing remaining portion which are going to manage soon.

TRC is formed. It has started its regular work. Mainly the peace process is completed.

 What is your opinion on ethnic and multi-ethnic federalism?

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In Nepal Nepalese people never demand the federalism. Exactly Nepalese people have expressed the desire for rights of good governess, human rights, economic prosperity and development. In many aspects Nepal is very small such as in terms of geography, and it is different in terms of culture – cultural groups are here and the economic condition is not strong and the country is underdeveloped. In such situation, federalism is whether it suitable or not is experimental issue. But it suddenly has come and we accept it. In Nepal federalism is confirmed. But our concern is that even though it becomes federal country, it should not be useless.

 What is the impact of earthquake in Constitution making?

Earthquake and Constitution making process is not interconnected. Because we are in the process of constitution making, we have got the experience of failure of the first CA.

Nepalese people involved in different political movements which became successful but failed to institutionalize those achievements that they got in the past. Now we are institutionalizing the achievement that we achieved through the peace process. Meanwhile we had disaster called “earthquake” it is the one disaster which Nepali people are facing it. It has very negative effects in Nepali people's lives economic situation is partly damaged. Now we have to tackle this and bring the country in normal situation and now it is very important.

Therefore, we are now in reconstruction work and simultaneously working on constitution making. We are on progress of writing constitution. We have made 16 point agreement among political parties. CA has already sent the draft to the people for collecting people's comments and suggestion. Very soon constitution will be promulgated in Nepal.

 After signing on CPA, many small political groups and arms groups are seen in

the political arena of Nepal. What do you think about their activities and their

prospects for initiating new conflict in the future?

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Nepali people are peace loving; they are living with social harmony. They do not like any conflict in the future. Even though we had conflict, we have managed that one. Now in Nepal who tries to make conflict will not be successful. Significantly, Nepal is birth place of

Gautam Buddha. Nepalese people love for peace, here the circumstance and the interest of people is for peace.

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Appendix 6: Maoists’40-point demands

A. Demands related to nationalism

1) Regarding the 1950 Treaty between India and Nepal, all unequal stipulations and agreements should be removed.

2) HMG should admit that the anti-nationalist Tanakpur agreement was wrong, and the

Mahakali Treaty, incorporating same, should be nullified.

3) The entire Nepal-Indian border should be controlled and systematized. Cars with Indian number plates, which are plying the roads of Nepal, should not be allowed.

4) Gorkha recruiting centers should be closed and decent jobs should be arranged for the recruits.

5) In several areas of Nepal, where foreign technicians are given precedence over Nepali technicians for certain local jobs, a system of work permits should be instituted for the foreigners.

6) The monopoly of foreign capital in Nepal’s industry, trade, and economic sector should be stopped.

7) Sufficient income should be generated from customs duties for the country’s economic development.

8) The cultural pollution of imperialists and expansionists should be stopped. Hindi video, cinema, and all kinds of such newspapers and magazines should be completely stopped.

Inside Nepal, import and distribution of vulgar Hindi films, videocassettes, and magazines should be stopped.

9) Regarding NGOs and INGOs: Bribing by imperialists and expansionists in the name of

NGOs and INGOs should be stopped.

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B. Demands related to the public and its wellbeing

10) A new Constitution has to be drafted by the people’s elected representatives.

11) All the special rights and privileges of the King and his family should be ended.

12) Army, police, and administration should be under the people’s control.

13) The Security Act and all other repressive acts should be abolished.

14) All the false charges against the people of Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Gorkha, Kavre,

Sindhuphachowk, Sindhuli, Dhanusha, and Ramechap should be withdrawn and all the people falsely charged should be released.

15) Armed police operations in the different districts should immediately be stopped.

16) Regarding Dilip Chaudhary, Bhuvan Thapa Magar, Prabhakar Subedi, and other people who disappeared from police custody at different times, the government should constitute a special investigating committee to look into these crimes and the culprits should be punished and appropriate compensation given to their families.

17) People who died during the time of the movement should be declared as martyrs, and their families and those who have been wounded and disabled should be given proper compensation. Strong action should be taken against the killers.

18) Nepal should be declared a secular state.

19) Girls should be given equal property rights to those of their brothers.

20) All kinds of exploitation and prejudice based on caste should be ended. In areas having a majority of one ethnic group, that group should have autonomy over that area.

21) The status of Dalits as untouchables should be ended and the system of untouchability should be ended once and for all.

22) All languages should be given equal status. Up until middle-high school level (uccha- madyamic) arrangements should be made for education to be given in the children’s mother tongue.

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23) There should be guarantee of free speech and free press. The communications media should be completely autonomous.

24) Intellectuals, historians, artists, and academicians engaged in other cultural activities should be guaranteed intellectual freedom.

25) In both the Terai and hilly regions there is prejudice and misunderstanding in backward areas. This should be ended and the backward areas should be assisted. Good relations should be established between the villages and the city.

26) Decentralization in real terms should be applied to local areas, which should have local rights, autonomy, and control over their own resources.

C. Demands related to the people’s living

27) Those who cultivate the land should own it. (The tiller should have right to the soil he/she tills.) The land of rich landlords should be confiscated and distributed to the homeless and others who have no land.

28) Brokers and commission agents should have their property confiscated and that money should be invested in industry.

29) All should be guaranteed work and should be given a stipend until jobs are found for them.

30) HMG should pass strong laws ensuring that people involved in industry and agriculture should receive minimum wages.

31) The homeless should be given suitable accommodation. Until HMG can provide such accommodation they should not be removed from where they are squatting.

32) Poor farmers should be completely freed from debt. Loans from the Agricultural

Development Bank by poor farmers should be completely written off. Small industries should be given loans.

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33) Fertilizer and seeds should be easily and cheaply available, and the farmers should be given a proper market price for their production.

34) Flood and draught victims should be given all necessary help

35) All should be given free and scientific medical service and education and education for profit (private schools) should be completely stopped.

36) Inflation should be controlled and laborers’ salaries should be raised in direct ratio with the rise in prices. Daily essential goods should be made cheap and easily available.

37) Arrangements should be made for drinking water, good roads, and electricity in the villages.

38) Cottage and other small industries should be granted special facilities and protection.

39) Corruption, black marketing, smuggling, bribing, the taking of commissions, etc. should all be stopped.

40) Orphans, the disabled, the elderly, and children should be given help and protection.

We offer a heartfelt request to the present coalition government that they should fulfill the above demands, which are essential for Nepal’s existence and for the people’s daily lives as soon as possible. If the government doesn’t show any interest by Falgun 5, 2052, (February

17, 1996), we will be compelled to launch a movement against the government.

The above demands put forth by the Samukta Jana Morcha, led by Dr. Bhattarai, were handed over to the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Maoists submitted the above demands in February 1996, to the then-Sher Bahadur Deuba Government.

(Source: As translated by Barbara Adams—published in People’s Reviewon 2007-02-17

14:59:10. Nowavailable in several resources and books related to the Maoist movement, insurgency, and so on. Online: http://www.telegraphnepal.com/backup/test/news_det.php?news_id=46. Accessed on April 10,

2013.)

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Appendix 7: 12-point understanding reached between the Seven Political Parties and Nepal Communist Party (Maoists)

The struggle between absolute monarchy and democracy running for a long time in Nepal has now been reached in a very grave and new turn. It has become the need of today to establish peace by resolving the 10-year old armed conflict through a forward - looking political outlet. Therefore, it has become an inevitable need to implement the concept of full democracy through a forward - looking restructuring of the state to resolve the problems related to class, cast, gender, region and so on of all sectors including the political, economic, social and cultural, by bringing the autocratic monarchy to an end and establishing full democracy. We hereby disclose that in the existence of previously mentioned context and reference in the country, the following understanding has been reached between the Seven Political Parties within the parliament and the CPN (Maoists) through holding talks in different manners. 1. The democracy, peace, prosperity, social advancement and an independent, sovereign Nepal is the principal wish of all Nepali people in the country today. We are fully agreed that the autocratic monarchy is the main hurdle for this. We have a clear opinion that the peace, progress and prosperity in the country is not possible until and full democracy is established by bringing the absolute monarchy to an end. Therefore, an understanding has been reached to establish full democracy by bringing the autocratic monarchy to an end through creating a storm of nationwide democratic movement of all the forces against autocratic monarchy by focusing their assault against the autocratic monarchy from their respective positions. 2. The agitating Seven Political Parties are fully committed to the fact that the existing conflict in the country can be resolved and the sovereignty and the state powers can completely be established in people only by establishing full democracy by restoring the parliament through the force of agitation and forming an power full - party Government by its decision, negotiating with the Maoists, and on the basis of agreement, holding the election of constituent assembly. The CPN (Maoists) has the view and commitment that the aforesaid goal can be achieved by holding a national political conference of the agitating democratic forces, and through its decision, forming an Interim Government and holding the election of constituent assembly. On the issue of this procedural agenda, an understanding has been made to continue dialogue and seek for a common agreement between the agitating Seven Political Parties and the CPN (Maoists). It has been agreed

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that the force of people's movement is the only alternative to achieve this goal. 3. The country, today, demands the establishment of a permanent peace along with a positive resolution of the armed conflict. We are, therefore, firmly committed to establish a permanent peace by bringing the existing armed conflict in the country to an end through a forward-looking political outlet of the establishment of the full democracy by ending the autocratic monarchy and holding an election of the constituent assembly that would come on the basis of aforesaid procedure. The CPN (Maoists) expresses its commitment to move foreward in the new peaceful political stream through this process. In this very context, an understanding has been made to keep the Maoists armed force and the Royal Army under the United Nations or a reliable international supervision during the process of the election of constituent assembly after the end of the autocratic monarchy, to accomplish the election in a free and fair manner 3 and to accept the result of the election. We also expect for the involvement of a reliable international community even in the process of negotiation. 4. Making public its commitment, institutional in a clear manner, towards the democratic norms and values like the competitive multiparty system of governance, civil liberties, fundamental rights, human tights, principle of rule of law etc., the CPN (Maoists) has expressed its commitment to move forward its activities accordingly. 5. The CPN (Maoists) has expressed its commitment to create an environment to allow the people and the leaders and workers of the political parties, who are displaced during the course of armed conflict, to return and stay with dignity in their respective places, to return their homes, land and property that was seized in an unjust manner and to allow them to carry out the political activities without any hindrance. 6. Making a self-assessment and a self-criticism of the past mistakes and weaknesses, the CPN (Maoists) has expressed its commitment for not allowing the mistakes and weaknesses to be committed in future. 7. Making a self-assessment towards the mistakes and weaknesses committed while staying in the Government and parliament in the past, the seven political parties have expressed their commitment for not repeating such mistakes and weaknesses now onwards. 8. The commitment has been made to fully respect the norms and values of the human rights and to move forward on the basis of them, and to respect the press freedom in the context of moving the peace process ahead. 9. As the announcement of the election of municipality is pushed forward for an ill-motive of deluding the people and the international community and of giving continuity to the

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autocratic and illegitimate rule of the King, and the rumour of the election of the parliament are a crafty ploy, announcing to boycott it actively in our own respective way, the general public are appealed to make such elections a failure. 10. The people and their representative political parties are the real guardians of nationality. Therefore, we are firmly committed towards the protection of the independence, sovereignty and the geographical integrity and the national unity of the country. It is our common obligation to maintain friendly relations based on the principle of peaceful coexistence with all countries of the world and a good-neighborhood relationship with neighboring countries, especially with India and China. But we request all the patriotic peoples to remain cautious against the false attempt of the King and the monarchists to create confusion in the patriotic people by projecting the illusory the fake ('Mandale') nationalism to prolong the autocratic and illegitimate rule of the King and to raise question mark over the patriotism of the political parties, and we appeal to the international powers and the communities to support the democratic movement against the autocratic monarchy in Nepal in every possible way. 11. We heartily invite the civil society, professional organizations, various wings of parties, people of all communities and regions, the press community, intellectuals all the Nepali people to make the Movement succeed by actively participating in the peaceful People's Movement launched on the basis of these understandings reached by keeping the 5 democracy, peace, prosperity, forward-looking social transformation and the independence, sovereignty, and dignity of the country in center. 12. Regarding the inappropriate conducts that took place among the parties in the past, a common commitment has been expressed to investigate the incidents raised objection and asked for the investigation by any party and take action over the guilty one if found and make informed publicly. An understanding has been made to resolve the problems if emerged among the parties now onwards through the dialogue by discussing in the concerned level or in the leadership level.

22 November 2005 Source: Government of Nepal, Ministry of Pease and Reconstruction http://www.peace.gov.np/uploads/files/1_GoV.pdf. Accessed on September 25, 2011.

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Appendix 8:No.of people killed from 1996 to August 2004 (classification by district)

Source:Thapa, Deepak, and Bandita Sijapati. 2006. A Kingdom Under Siege: Nepal’s Maoist

Insurgency, 1996to 2003. Kathmandu: The Print House.Scanned on April 23, 2013.

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Appendix 9: Number of people killed during the six years after the CPA (By district, January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2012)

Source: Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2013.http://www.insec.org.np/pics/1362455754.pdf.

Accessed on April 24, 2013

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Appendix 10: Nepal Poverty Map

(Source: Adapted from Einsidel, S. V., D. M. Malone, and S. Pradhan, eds. (2012). Nepal in

Transition: From People’s War to Fragile Peace Cambridge University Press. p. 11.

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