NEPAL’S CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS AT CROSSROADS

NEW DELHI: Even as the Indian establishment has been busy with Pakistan, trouble has broken out right across the open border in Nepal.

After the devastating earthquake of April 25, Nepal’s bigger political parties – Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and the Maoists along with a smaller party from the plains – decided Nepal would have eight federal states in the new constitution.

The deal immediately triggered a backlash from two constituencies. The Madhesis – who share close ethnic, kinship, linguistic ties with people across the border in Bihar – and Janjatis – hill ethnic groups – wanted immediate demarcation. Nepal’s Supreme Court said Constituent Assembly should determine boundaries. And India too believed that it was important to take into confidence as many stakeholders as possible.

Nepal’s top leaders then carved out six federal states.

Three far eastern districts of the Tarai were merged with the hills. Madhesi political groups, which had sought a plains-only province, took to the streets. Two far western districts were merged with the hills. Tharus, an ethnic group of the Tarai, too demanded a Tharu plains-only province.

The bigger parties addressed the demands of the people of the western hills, without taking into account Tharu and Madhesi grievances.

There are two possibilities now. Kathmandu can choose to dig their heels in. There is anger over the killings of policemen. The state may use this to unleash retaliation, which can only lead to more violence.

The second possibility is that the state wakes up to the anger in the plains. PM Sushil Koirala must set up a negotiation team; reach out to dissenting groups; and parties must revise federal boundaries. India can help by advising Kathmandu to be restrained and encourage it to tackle the roots of violence.