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Nepal’s Constitution is progressive in many aspects. It mandates proportional and inclusive participation of women, indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesi, Dalits, and marginalized communities in state apparatuses. 

The preamble of the Constitution states, “To build an egalitarian society founded on the proportional inclusive and participatory principles in order to ensure economic equality, prosperity, and social justice, by eliminating discrimination based on class, caste, region, language, religion and gender and all forms of caste-based untouchability.”. 

However, stakeholders say that the lack of effective implementation of the country’s main law is their chief concern. They claim that marginalized classes and communities are still awaiting their adequate involvement in the executive (government), legislature (parliament), and judiciary (courts).

It is said the latest representation of the Dalit community in the government mirrors the implementation status, which is not satisfactory, of the provisions concerning proportional and inclusive representation.

Presently, the Cabinet has the participation of just one Dalit as the minister of state. The situation was the same in the previous government. 

In the current House of Representatives, there are 15 Dalit members towards the proportional representation and one is directly elected, totaling 16 members. This representation makes up just 5.81 percent. In the first election of the House of Representatives held in 2017 following the promulgation of the Constitution, the representation of the Dalit community was 6 percent. 

In the first 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA), the representation of Dalit community was 8.48 percent as they numbered  51, out of 601, and this number dropped to 41 to make up  6.82 percent in the 2013  CA. 

Hiralal Bishwakarma is the first minister to represent the Dalit community. He was appointed Assistant Minister for Education in 1974 and later served as the Minister of State for Education and the Assistant Minister for Supplies. 

The country could get just seven ministers from the Dalit community over a span of three decades. Hiralal Bishwakarma, Prakash Chitrakar, Lal Bahadur Bishwakarma, Hari Shankar Pariyar, Golchhe Sarki, Pratap Ram Lohar, and Man Bahadur Bishwakarma were those serving as either assistant or state minister. There were no full ministers representing the Dalit community till then. 

The interim government led by Girija Prasad Koirala that was formed on 25 April 2006,  following the Jana Andolan-II (People’s Movement-II) in 2006 inducted Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma as Minister for Women, Children, and Social Welfare, and Chhabilal Bishwakarma as the Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives. They were the first full ministers from this community in the country’s history.

Subsequently, Chhabilal Bishwakarma, Mahendra Paswan, Khadka Bahadur Bishwakarma, Bishendra Paswan, Daljit Shripaili, Meen Bahadur Bishwakarma, Jagat Bahadur Sunar Bishwakarma, and Maheshwar Jang Gahatraj became ministers. Similarly, after 2006, Naresh Kumar Bishwakarma, Jeet Bahadur Darji (Gautam), Khadga Bahadur Basyal, Kalawati Paswan, Dal Bahadur Sunar, Gopi Achhami, Ramani Ram, Dhanmaya BK, Karn Bahadur BK, Bimala BK, and Asha BK were appointed as state ministers.

This scenario is sufficient to say that the presence of Dalit community in the state has shrunken. Lawmakers from this community said it is disappointing to see a shrinking presence of their community in the state. 

Nepali Congress deputy general secretary Jeevan Pariyar underlined the need to increase the participation of Dalit community, according to their population ratio, in the executive, parliament and judiciary to ensure the effective implementation of the Constitution.  

Article 40 of the Constitution has guaranteed Dalit rights with the promise of their participation in all state bodies based on the principle of proportional inclusion. 

Similarly, the constitution guarantees a special provision as per the law for the empowerment, representation, and participation of the Dalit community in public service and other employment sectors.

Similarly, Article 41 (1) is about the right of the economically, socially, or educationally backward women, Dalit, Indigenous nationalities, Madhesi, Tharu, Muslims, backward classes, minorities, marginalized communities, persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, farmers, laborers, oppressed or citizens of backward regions and indigent Khas Arya to participate in the State bodies on the basis of the principle of proportional inclusion. 

Article 76 (9) of the Constitution is about the constitution of the Council of Ministers comprising a maximum of twenty five Ministers including the Prime Minister, in accordance with the inclusive principle, from amongst the members of the Federal Parliament, but this has not been followed in the practice. 

Full implementation of Constitutional provisions to promote the presence of Dalit community in each organ is awaited, concludes Pariyar. 

Dalit women activists and General Secretary of the Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO), Renu Sijapati, sees the need to increase the quota for women from the Dalit community in reservations for women.  She argues that Dalit women should have been allotted a more specific quota in the Civil Service.

The Federal Civil Service Bill which is presently under consideration in the parliament reserves 27 percent quota for Khas Arya women, 25 percent for indigenous ethnic groups, 15 percent for Madhesi, 12 percent for Dalits, 6.6 percent for Tharu, four percent for Muslims, four percent for backward regions, and four percent for persons with disabilities. Previously, there were no separate reservations made for women in the Civil Service.

According to the Public Service Commission, the presence of Dalits in the civil service is 2.3 percent, in the police 9.46 percent, and in the army 8.18 percent.

Standing Committee member of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center), Parshuram Ramtel, stresses the need to increase the reservation percentage for Dalits, given that the number is still significant compared to the population. 

It is warranted to implement the principle of proportional inclusion as stated in the Constitution at all levels, but the scenario is contravening, he stressed. “Thus, representation for Dalit communities, which have been marginalized economically, socially, culturally, and politically for centuries, must be increased in all the state bodies.”

I used to focus on tech as a business, but I realized there is a higher calling. It is why I shifted to directing the Dharma Farm, an institution that seeks to preserve culture through education in linguistics, history, and environment. Nepal is blessed with an extraordinary array of cultures, cultures exquisitely worthy of saving. Yet, so many of its inhabitants want to leave.

Commonly referred to as “brain drain,” the concept denotes the departure of a society’s highest educated or most skillful members to other places in search of opportunity. For Nepal, it is a critical problem. In 2022, the government issued certificates allowing as many as 165,000 students to go abroad for education. That represented a rough doubling of the number the year before. Added to that were somewhere around 800,000 Nepalis people who left for employment. These numbers continue to rise year-on-year. According to The Kathmandu Post, “only a handful” of students return upon graduating from foreign universities.

This indicates a core part of the problem. Having spent a great deal of time in Nepal among students, a common theme emerged, one not exclusive to Nepali youth, but especially troublesome nonetheless. Many authors and policy analysts have proposed a number of strategies to mitigate the brain drain problem, most of which have merit and demand serious consideration and implementation. They have suggested ideas such as improving the education system, focusing on economic innovation, and promoting good governance. One resolution strategy, however, has received relatively scant attention. It is this point that I hear youth ignore more than any other, but it is the single most effective answer to the problem.  

In the American business world, we often employ the phrase “pass the buck.” The phrase connotes the shifting of blame for a problem or the responsibility to solve it. After hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations with Nepali youth, passing the buck is the tacit response for how to improve the situation in Nepal. For them, the issues that drive them from their homeland belong to someone else to solve. Heading overseas represents an easier solution to enhancing their own circumstances than tackling the underlying causes for why they leave in the first place.

To justify this reasoning, they will point to obstacles that appear beyond their individual ability to surmount. Indeed, systemic problems do exceed the capabilities of nearly all individuals to fix them. Ignoring them, however, does nothing to diminish any specific obstacle, let alone a system-wide deficiency. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” neither was it built by any one man or woman. So it goes for Nepal.

Over my career, I taught problem-solving strategies in a wide variety of fields. Firefighting, policing, technology, and translation all raise serious challenges that can be quite daunting at first glance. My method always began with reductionism. Any task, no matter its complexity, is eminently less burdensome if broken into its component parts. Whether the duty at hand involves solving a computational bug in a piece of software or battling a forest fire, compartmentalizing the obligations to fulfill, and then completing them one-by-one guarantees a far higher chance of success at resolving the overall dilemma than attempting to undertake the entire thing at once.

There is no question that turning Nepal into a bastion of opportunity will be hard. Leaving the litany of matters in need of attention to someone else is far easier than staying behind and working to address them. Facing the challenge will require numerous sacrifices and an abundance of energy and creativity. But, consider this. If the youth does not do it, who will? They cannot expect their parents, the government, or some nebulous “other” to manage things for them. Despite the good intentions any of them may have, they are simply unequipped to go it alone.

If the youth insist on leaving, then little will change. Nepalese remaining behind will continue to struggle to eke out a living in increasingly empty cities and villages. The beautiful plains of the Tarai and the majestic mountains of the Himalayas will lose the cultures that supplement their magnificence, opening the door for exploitation by outsiders who recognize only their materialistic value. Meanwhile, Nepali youth will move to new lands in pursuit of capitalistic opportunity. In the places in which they settle, however, they will never truly feel at home. At best, their cultural uniqueness will simply blend with countless others, diluting into an austere version of its once splendid self. At worst, it will serve as a constant reminder of its foreignness in this new land they now blandly call “home.” And all the while, the very home they left will slowly cease to exist as they knew it.

I am not writing these words to criticize anyone. Rather, I come from a country whose cultural landscape consists of a vast mix of them, but with little identity of its own. Having been immersed in both mine and Nepal’s, I am unafraid to state that allowing Nepal’s cultural liveliness to degrade into a mere shell of itself would be a tragedy of epic scale. Moreover, once such a catastrophic result is reached, there is no going back. Frittering away such a jewel out of fear of or indifference toward facing problems will summon a specter of regret that will haunt innumerable generations to come.

For the young folks reading this: what I have described is not the inevitable future of Nepal, if you do not want it to be. If that is indeed the case, then the brain drain needs to be plugged. The brilliance I have observed among so many of you needs to be turned inward, to focus on conquering challenges, one small step at a time. It won’t be easy. But your family, children, and country will forever thank you for it. The answers lie within.

The movie ‘Gaun Ayeko Bato’ brought back a flurry of past memories. I remembered the song “Gaun Gaun Bata Utha, Basti Basti Bata Utha…” a revolutionary song sung by Jhapalis during the 1970s when they were fighting against the monarchy. Today we are done with monarchy but our Gaun (villages) are getting empty with no one to sing the song “Gaun Gaun Bata Utha…”!

The movie also reminded me of ‘Shahid Marg (91 km)’, which was built by the Maoists during the People’s War (PW)when I was working there. When I became Minister for Physical Planning and Works (2007) after the PW, I allotted a budget for that road. In the movie, I had seen how building a motorable road had affected the Rai culture and economy adversely. I worry if the Shahid Marg (metaled now) has adversely affected the Magars’ way of life?

Being a Janjati architect, I am aware how careless development can jeopardize indigenous way of life affecting their ‘Gaas Bas Kapas’. I am not against development but it should be inclusive development. 

During PW, some efforts to integrate development with indigenous ways of life were practiced in Thawang village. Magars in Rolpa eat pork heavily, salad was introduced to digest and prevent constipation. Within their homes, they used to raise pigs by feeding human feces directly. The Maoists made the villagers separate pig breeding from their homes. Earlier, the villagers used to sell hemp, the Maoists helped them make rucksacks, which was much in demand during PW.

In the movie, one can see the local brewery being replaced by ‘coca cola culture’, the indigenous rooftop by synthetic building material and indigenous underwear being replaced by flashy synthetic lingerie.

I had seen how the Karnali region was left out of development during the monarchy era. On the positive side of development, I am also aware how that region, after the country became a republic and federal, is now flourishing as a separate province, getting basic amenities such as hospitals, university and road networks. It is also welcoming to see Marshi rice, Kodo (millet), honey and Sishnu from Karnali finding a market in Kathmandu’s malls. Seeing how fast indigenous ‘Gaas Bas Kapas’ was being replaced by consumerism, I am quite worried. What will happen to Karnali if the government does not protect their products?

Coincidentally, 2/3 days after seeing the movie, I got to see a photo exhibition by Rastriya Samachar Samiti on the occasion of the Republic Day displaying major infrastructure development works throughout the country. The first thing that struck me was the economic viability of these projects, secondly the participation and ownership of the projects by the local people and thirdly, whether these works will benefit the local people. If these factors were not considered while undertaking these works, I fear Indian goods will flood our villages. Remember, we share almost two-third of our border with India, a market that is nearly 80 times bigger than Nepal.

The photo exhibition reminded me of my 30-day trip from Chiwa Bhanjyang (Ilam district) adjoining Sikkim, India to Jhulaghat, Baitadi district bordering Uttaranchal, India from Jan 29 to Feb 27 in 2019, covering 28 districts along the Pushpalal Marg, a mid-hill highway. The salient feature of this road was that it covered all the Janjati and Khas communities of the country. 

The road is so strategic that, had the government given it first priority before the construction of Mahendra Rajmarg, migration from hills to Tarai would have been checked. After seeing the movie, I became acutely curious during my recent 10 day trip from Ilam to Kanchanpur (27 June-7 July 2024), covering 18 districts.

While traveling I saw almost no economic activities throughout the highway except seeing children waiting for their school buses to reach private schools in the mornings and evenings. It reminded me how remittance has accelerated the flow of population from villages to small towns, cities near highways. How have private English boarding schools flourished in these cities? I remembered in the movie, ‘Papa’ being called again and again by the little son and how proud the father felt hearing English words from his son!

Lastly, I must say, I was lucky to come back safely to Kathmandu, after 10 days of harrowing trip. I saw trails of destruction of roads, houses and paddy fields due to flooding and landslides killing people, animals and destroying goods while returning. At one point, we got stuck in the middle of the road when we found a huge landslide blocking the road ahead and flooding the road behind us. We had to backtrack on the road after the rain stopped. Once again I was reminded how in Thawang reforestation was taken up and check dams were built to save the village from surrounding rivers during PW.

Unfortunately, the same Maoist force, which has been in the government for the last nine years, has hardly been effective in implementing sustainable development works, instead they have been busy running after power. 

The author is a politician and architect. Views are personal

Top leaders of three major parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, and CPN (Maoist Center)—have pledged to endorse the amendment bill related to the Transitional Justice Act through the current session of the House of Representatives. Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal made this commitment while receiving a report prepared by a cross-party panel formed to address the contentious issues in the bill, particularly those related to serious human rights violations.

“I consider this a success achieved after the formation of the new government under Prime Minister Oli,” said Dahal after receiving the report. He added, “Now the bill, which is in the parliamentary committee, should be forwarded to the full House and endorsed through this session of Parliament.” A cross-party task force comprising Ramesh Lekhak from NC, Mahesh Bartaula from UML, and Janardhan Sharma from Maoist Center worked hard to forge consensus on the contentious issues of the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act. According to Lekhak, who now heads the Ministry of Home Affairs, issues of reconciliation, reparation, and prosecution were addressed while considering the concerns of the victims.

Prime Minister Oli said that consensus was achieved considering the Supreme Court’s 2015 verdict, meeting international standards, and addressing the concerns of the victims. He added that the government would expedite tasks related to appointments in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP), two transitional justice mechanisms formed in 2015. Oli also said that there are no longer any ambiguities or confusions regarding the transitional justice laws. The international community has yet to react to the agreement reached among the three major leaders.

NC President Deuba remarked that Nepal would set an example in the international arena if the transitional justice process is amicably settled. He said that if the task force’s resolutions are endorsed by Parliament and war-era human rights cases are settled, it would send a positive message to the world. The TRC and CIEDP, formed in 2015 to address transitional justice mechanisms, have struggled due to the absence of laws in line with the Supreme Court’s 2015 verdict and international standards.

Over the past 10 years, the two commissions have made some progress. The TRC has registered 63,718 complaints, including 314 related to rape and sexual violence. Similarly, the CIEDP has recorded 3,000 complaints. Both commissions have completed preliminary investigations on some cases. However, in recent years, they have been without heads and members, rendering them virtually defunct. Their tenures are being renewed to prevent complete collapse.

Disputes among parties primarily revolve around how to address serious human rights violations committed during the insurgency era. The international community insists that there should be no amnesty for serious human rights violations. Although the three parties claim to have resolved the disputed issues, it remains to be seen how Parliament, the international community, and most importantly, the conflict victims will respond.