The women will be well served by the 33% reservation for them at all levels of government. That is a great formula. Now we just have to make sure it gets implemented. That 33% formula is the best thing to have come out of the April Revolution so far. (Bidya Bhandari: Power Woman)
I am really curious to know how it came about. That was a master stroke. For that one act I would put Bidya Bhandari in the same league as Madan Bhandari, in her own right.
But there is a danger all those reserved seats might end up going to the urban, Pahadi, Bahun women. And so there is a need for reservations for the Dalit, Madhesi and Janajati within that 33%.
All Members To The Constituent Assembly Must Be Directly Elected
Interim Parliament: 101 Members Total
Nepal Federation of Indigenous Peoples
Nepal Sadhbhawana Party-Anandidevi
Dalit NGO Federation
These three organizations are at the forefront of the fight for social justice on behalf of the Janajati, Madhesi and Dalit respectively. And so one has to follow and critique the utterances of these organizations to get a feel for the progress or lack thereof.
For the purposes of this blog entry, I am depending on this table formulated below by the Conflict Study Center.
I am alarmed the Sadbhavana has not taken a clear stand for a republic. A Madhesi could end up president. The Janajati group has done one better. The Dalit group is silent on the issue. Holding direct elections for president will cause political fermentations that will speed up the political consciousness in the country. It will speed up social change.
Proposed Constitution
The Sadbhavana talks of an inclusive army, but that is not specific enough. The party is going to have to face some basic questions. What should be the size of the army? What should be the composition? The Janajati and the Dalit groups are also going to have to get vocal on this issue.
Monarchy, Army, Federalism
Both the Janajati and the Madhesi groups have been vocal on the federalism issue, and the Sadbhavana does have a map, Eastern Terai, Western Terai, Eastern Hills, Western Hills, and Kathmandu. What is the Janajati map? I have a feeling they might like the map put forth by the Maoists. And even the UML has been talking of states demarcated along ethnic lines. So right now the Maoist map is winning the day. And I actually don't dislike that map. But that is my second choice map.
My federalism is designed to ensure rapid economic growth for the country.
Sumit Pokharel: Maps
Interim Federalism
Critiquing Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Federalism: Competing Maps
RPP For Federalism Ahead of UML, NC And NC(D)
My Federalism Is Economic, Scientific, Not Ethnic
UML Inching Towards Federalism
Monarchy, Army, Federalism
The 45% reservations in the state bureaucracy for the DaMaJaMa and the disabled is another positive step by the seven party alliance. But the key issue about state restructuring is to do with the three basics: Monarchy, Army, Federalism.
I say abolish the monarchy, disband the army, and move towards a three state federalism.
My Federalism Is Economic, Scientific, Not Ethnic
The next constitution should be short, simple and specific. After that politicians should be competing with each other in terms who can provide the best education and health and micro credit. I call them the magic three. It is with the magic three that you lift families out of poverty and on and on to prosperity.
Another federalism that has been suggested is to have more states, and do away with districts. So you move from the village/town/city to state to federal, for a total of three layers of government.
That is a thought, but in my proposal I have retained the four layers because that is my response to the nine or more states by others. If all 75 district chairpersons are directly elected, members of all ethnic groups will stand a good chance of getting into positions of executive authority. The larger groups will get many such offices. Some of those 75 will end up the three state Governors, some of which will go on to become president. So I argue to keep the 75 districts. Each should have a district budget supplement from the state that is directly proportional to the district's population. In addition there will be the local income tax base, the local sales tax base. And the 25 poorest districts will get federal supplements.
Executive is a different skill set than the legislative. Nine or 10 are not enough. Let's create 75 executive positions.
50-30-10-10: Four Layers Of Government
And if also all mayors are directly elected, now we are talking.
And all members of the Upper House have to be directly elected. It is called people power.
The Sadbhavana And My Proposal For Federalism
The Sadbhavana folks who I personally know do not like my map. They want two Terai states so two Madhesi Chief Ministers can be guaranteed.
In my proposal, there is a strong possibility of there ending up Madhesi mayors in all the big Terai towns, Madhesi district chairpersons in the 16 Terai districts that will together control at least half the budget of all 75 districts, perhaps more like 60%, since they are so vibrant economically, and they will have the option to form a Terai District Chairpersons' Association, and there will be a 50-50 chance that the Governor in all three states will end up Madhesi, and a 50-50 chance that a Madhesi will end up president.
My proposal empowers the Madhesi more than the Sadbhavana proposal does. It is because my proposal is closer to the one person, one vote ideal.
Families want to make more money more than anything else.
Various Stages Of Political Consciousness
(1) Claiming the identity. For much of the 1990s, the big parties did a good job of avoiding use of the word Madhesi. The 2001 census uses words like Yadav and Muslim but not Madhesi.
(2) Seeing the injustice. That takes some effort. That takes some political literacy. It is actually easy to do. You compare the Madhesi share in the population to the Madhesi share in the state. The disparity is the injustice.
(3) Vocalizing, Organizing. You have to articulate the grievances. And based on that you have to get the Madhesis to come together.
(4) Plan of action, Agenda. This is about having specific goals and a plan of action to get there. Federalism is one such goal. It helps to keep the list of goals short and simple.
Coalition Building
Any Nepali can join the Sadbhavana. But for all practical reasons it has been a Madhesi party. I think there is a need for a similar Janajati party, a similar Dalit party. Or the Janajati and Dalit groups could bargain for a restructuring of the Sadbhavana to get their share. The Maoists have done a pretty good job on the Janajati, Dalit issue. But they also fall short on getting the Janajatis and Dalits to leadership positions.
The DaMaJaMa groups are best served if all parties compete for their votes. I don't think there is any one party that is salvation. It is the beauty of the marketplace of votes that the resultant fermentation brings forth progress.
Leadership Matters
No matter who agitated you get as a group, ultimately the work of progress gets done through a few leaders. Leaders matter. We have to have a soft spot in our hearts for the emerging DaMaJaMa leaders.
Some Basics To Rememer