Have Your Say: What’s holding us back?

Though we desperately need a constitution to govern the land, there seem to be so many layers of demands and rights that need to be dealt with. The Week talked to a few people about what, according to them, is hindering the process.

Tanka Aryal, 36
Lawyer

I believe the root of all the challenges that we as a country are facing to make this new constitution can be traced back to each individual. As a unit, the authority figures and the leaders seem to be failing to realize the urgent need to accept change. All of them may be speaking in favor of embracing new ways, but so far all of that has only proved to be just talk. They are still unwilling to sacrifice their personal desires even when the compromise could lead to a beneficial decision for the country and its citizens. Each party is looking to address their own agendas. Besides that, they still don't seem to have any other priorities. This is a shame because this selfish mindset is being reflected on every aspect of the constitution making process.

I hoped after eight years and several failed attempts, the authorities would have learned their lessons by now. I had hoped that this time around they would realize, in order for the new constitution to work, they will have to surrender their party's personal ambitions but sadly, this has not been the case. Each leader boasts about the share of compromises they have made and demands the others to do so but in reality, everybody is childishly holding on to their own selfish motives.

Ushakiran Timsena, 27
Youth Activist

In my opinion, so far the composition of the new provinces poses to be the biggest challenge because as the country tries to form this new constitution, people can sense the effect it will have on their lives and future. However, there is no transparency behind the reasons the state is being divided in the proposed order. The government has not bothered to explain it to the citizens and they are become increasingly agitated. People are dreading the fact that they might need a passport to visit their in-laws. They are fretting about whether their province will be deprived of the country's resources and suffer severe economic disadvantages and so on. There obviously are many concerns but the government carries on without any considerations. This has the potential of festering into a real problem. The government needs to not only explain the logic behind their decision but convince the majority on why they should be implemented. Otherwise there is a big possibility that the new constitution will not be widely accepted.

Tika Dhakal, 40
Political Commentator

Demarcation of the Federal state seems to be one of the main issues that is hindering the constitution process. The demands by Tharuhat and mid-western group for an undivided Midwest are somewhat confusing and contradictory. I think that it will be a big challenge to bring this particular issue to an amicable term. Besides that, religion is one of the big issues. How do we address religion right now? Do we agree the terms and condition of the demand that the country should be a Hindu state or not? The people who are demanding them are doing so quite aggressively. This issue might not have big impact on the constitution right now, but that doesn’t mean that this topic won’t sprout later. If not addressed now, later on, we might be looking at a difficult scenario, which might involve pro-Hindu religious politics in the state of affairs. Though Hindu religion is tolerant, we have to be careful when religion enters politics, as it will make things complicated. We should seriously ponder about whether or not we want ourselves in such a mess.

Usha Kiran Regmi, 23
Student

The division of states isn’t consistent at all. First they proposed eight states, now it’s six. This arrangement is totally biased towards some districts. This has led us to questions the existence of Nepal and our identity. First of all, the number of districts in each state is unequal. Even if we look at the borderline, it is divided in such a way that it will easier for them to trade with India. Of course the main reason is said to be decentralization, but then, think again. For the districts in the borderline, doing business with India with such a system will be easy. Commercial gains seem to be the main reason. I think that our previous system of 75 districts and five development region wasn’t bad at all. It promoted a better idea of decentralization geographically. Similarly, there is so much of conflict in the name of religion. In the last few days, we saw so much tension in Nepalgunj because of this particular issue. At the end of the day, it makes each individual of the country ask who they are and where they belong, and this is the biggest problem among all the problems.

Deepti Gurung, 42
Activist

First of all, the constitution is for every citizen of the country and for the country itself. It shouldn’t work to put one person in advantage over the other. It can’t act to put half of its citizen in such a problem and pretend to be just, it should provide equality to all the people, and that is what lacks in our constitution. It is the one creating problem for itself. I think the constitution has created such a difficult situation for women. It has treated women in an unjust way. Citizenship in the name of the mother is not an option, and that is totally wrong. I think that this should be an option for them. There are so many single parents, both men and women, in the country, and the constitution hasn’t taken that into consideration. In this situation, how can the issue be resolved? So, I think the main obstacle is the constitution is definitely not giving equal opportunity to all.