A few weeks earlier, I had the chance to meet seventeen journalists from around the country. There were Madhesis and Pahadis, Dalits and women. They represented places from Dhankuta to Jumla, from Kanchanpur in Saptari to Kanchanpur of the far-west. They had gathered there to talk about the last three months when they had been writing on constitutional issues. Almost all of the journalists were young, having just started their journalistic career.
The Janaandolan II and the other ethnic movements were events that forever changed the course of our country. But it will take hard work, patience, and determination of our CA members to write the constitution.
What became immediately evident was the enthusiasm of the journalists. They had taken their work to heart. Here it Kathmandu, watching national politics on television, I have become pessimistic about the politics in Nepal. It was touching to see that young journalists throughout the country have yet to succumb to the deadly malaise of pessimism. If only our decision and constitution makers were as dedicated!
On the television was a program about how the Constituent Assembly (CA) members had not utilized a library established to facilitate their research on constitutional issues. Then there were more stories, either about the squabbles within a party or between different parties. Our leaders never tire of talking.
We are less than ten months into the deadline by when the constitution is to be drafted. So far, little progress has been made. There is the possibility of a 6 month extension, or a state of emergency has to be declared if the constitution is not promulgated on time. Judging from the current status of constitution-drafting, it looks more likely than not that either a constitutional amendment extending the timeframe or a state of emergency needs to be declared.
What is shameful is not the constant delays, it is the absence of debate that is worrying. It appears that once again, it will be a handful of experts, endorsed by their political patrons, who will draft the constitution and not the people, as was the historic mandate of the Janaandolan II. And we all know where the sympathies of our experts lie, if we are to take the Supreme Court’s recent adventurism as an indication.
The constitution’s value can barely be understated – it is the fundamental document of our nation, of our collective destiny, visions, goals, and aspirations. The neglect on the part of our elected (and nominated) representatives is tantamount to treason.
Yesterday, I flipped through news channels throughout the day as news of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy spread. I have always admired the Kennedys, ever since I was a child and barely able to understand politics. But my favorite Kennedy has shifted over the years, from JFK to Bobby (thanks in part to the excellent movie). However, it was after Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Barack Obama that I found myself admiring Ted Kennedy. It was only then that I studied his track record in the Senate, a career spanning almost half a century.
And here is where I want to tie my random thoughts of the day – while it is inspirational figures and events that change the course of history, it is hard work and dedication that draws its exact course. The Janaandolan II and the other ethnic movements were events that forever changed the course of our country. But it will take hard work, patience, and determination of our CA members to write the constitution. And it will take civil society representatives, like the seventeen journalists I met, to ensure that our leaders are accountable to the people.
The vice-president’s oath-taking and the foreign minister’s (or rather Nepal’s first daughter) cancellation of the India trip may be on the top of our minds but we cannot forget our central issue – that of drafting the new constitution. Foremost, we cannot allow a powerful clique of political elites underwrite the constitution. We have tried it in the past – the much touted ‘best constitution in the world’ suppressed the torrent of ethnic ferment only to have it explode with the loss of many precious lives.
The Kathmandu elite live in a worm hole. Surrounded by sycophants, the political bosses are too removed from ground realities to understand the current of history or to gauge the national mood. It will fall upon the people to ultimately endorse the constitution, as stipulated in the Interim Constitution.
And for that, it is to people like those seventeen journalists and countless other civil society efforts being made to educate the people about the constitution and its complexities that the responsibilities fall. We can choose to complain about our leaders, but we shall be complicit in perhaps the most historic task that has been granted to our generation.
daulat.jha@gmail.com
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