Road to Cultural Federalism in Nepal

Nepal: Debate on Federalism : 

Nepal: Debate on Federalism Thesis Statement Nepal should have cultural federalism since it is the only way to meet demands of agitating ethnic groups, ensure long term stability and build a new prosperous Nepal.

Nepal: an introduction : 

Nepal: an introduction

Geography : 

Geography Here is Nepal sandwiched between two big brothers, India and China

A Brief History of the Himalayan Nation - Nepal : 

A Brief History of the Himalayan Nation - Nepal Nepalese Maoists(Communist Guerillas) waged a decade long armed rebellion against the state 13000 people died and millions worth of infrastructure were lost

Revolution for overthrowing Monarchy April Revolution, 2006. : 

Revolution for overthrowing Monarchy April Revolution, 2006.

A Brief Timeline : 

A Brief Timeline June 1, 2001 : Popular King Birendra and his royal family massacred. His brother Gyanendra becomes the King. (None of Gyanendra’s family members were killed. (Suspicious?????)) April 2006: Popular Revolution dethroned King Gyanendra. November 2006: Rebel Maoists and the government sign a peace accord, ending decade long insurgency April 2008: Constituent Assembly Elections held for drafting a new constitution May 2008: Nepal declared a republic, becomes the newest republic in the world. August 2008: Communist Maoists lead the coalition government as they garner highest votes. After August 2008: Constitution writing process begins and the debate on federalism begins.

Should Nepal have Federalism? : 

Should Nepal have Federalism? What are the options? Decentralized system with central command like before, even though it has been highly unsuccessful. Territorial Federalism: Federal system with states divided on the basis of territory Cultural Federalism: Dividing states on the basis of culture (language, ethnicity) Option 1 Decentralized system has several disadvantages like negligence of regions far from the central authority’s location Optimum use of local resources does not take place Same policy does not work since those regions have different priorities

Other options : 

Other options Option 2: Territorial Federalism: Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation. If it were to be divided solely on the basis of territory, ethnic populations would be divided among the individual states. As a result, respective ethnic groups may not have majority in any of the states. Not having majority would mean no change. Since the governor and administrative bodies would be elected on the basis of Proportional Representation (PR), majority of those groups have to be ensured. Territorial Federalism does not provide a long-lasting solution

Option 3 : 

Option 3 3. Cultural Federalism Ethnic groups’ demands can only be met through cultural federalism. States can be divided so that majority of ethnic groups can be ensured. Possible Opposition Federalism based on ethnicity might lead to further rebellions with demand for individual states. a. This fear is false and is generated by royalist forces who still think they have a chance to come back and other elite groups who will lose their superior control & power. b. Taking examples from other nations: Nigeria : adopted cultural federalism as its answer to ethnic conflicts India: communal ethnic and religious riots have been minimized and it has been relatively stable once it became a federal state.

Conclusion : 

Conclusion Nepal should have cultural federalism since it is the only way to meet demands of agitating ethnic groups, ensure long term stability and build a new prosperous Nepal.

Proposed Cultural Federalism : 

Proposed Cultural Federalism Vijaya R. Sharma’s proposed cultural federalism with 15 states; state territories are color coded.

Big ??????????? : 

Big ??????????? Will the Himalayan Nation have long-lasting peace? Saying yes might be a lie. The challenge to divide the country into states based on culture and to convince that this system is in the best interest of every Nepali is a Himalayan task.

Works Cited : 

Works Cited Blog Picture. < https://www.travel-nepal-news.blogspot.com > Web Translations. “Country Guides: Map of India.” <http://www.web-translations.com/resources/country_guides/India/ > Socialist Worker. “Nepal: Revolution at the Cross-roads.” <http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/chimage.php?image=2006/1998/nepal_demo.jpg> American Chronicle. “The April Revolution last year.” <http://www.americanchronicle.com/articlePics/article20778.jpg > Marxist. “ In Defence of Marxism: Nepal.” <http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/nepal/nepal.jpg > Blog. “Maoist Debate over Nepal Revolution.” <http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/nepal-maoists_cp_9960337.jpg> Blog. “Nepal Maoists declare ceasefire.” <http://blog.jinbo.net/files1/33/CINA/images/200604/280317231.jpg> BBC News. “Timeline: Nepal, A chronology of key events:” accessed march 29, 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1166516.stm > Sharma, Vijaya R. “Comparative study of Federal Proposals for Nepal.” Liberal Democracy Nepal Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2007.

The END : 

The END Questions???????? Presented by: Purushottam Shah Trinity University