A cabinet meeting on Tuesday formed the commission immediately after leaders from three major political parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML -- and from United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) agreed to form the eight-member body without its head.[break]
"We decided to form the eight-member commission without a coordinator because we couldn´t pick any candidate by consensus," UDMF leader and Minister for Information and Communications, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, told reporters while emerging from the inter-party talks at Singha Durbar.
With the failure to nominate the head of the commission, members will now chair meetings by rotation on an alphabetical basis. The body, which is entrusted with the responsibility of offering suggestions to the government on transforming the country into a federal system, is being given a two-month term for study.
The members appointed to the body include Malla K Sundar and Stella Tamang from UCPN (Maoist), Dr Ramesh Dhungel and Sabitra Gurung from NC, Dr Sarbaraj Khadka and Dr Bhogendra Jha from CPN-UML, and Dr Krishna Hachhethu and Surendra Kumar Mahato from the alliance of Madhes-based parties, UDMF.
Gupta said they proposed Dr Krishna Khanal as head of the commission and the NC and UML supported the proposal but it couldn´t be finalized due to objection from Maoist leaders. "Maoist leaders said the coordinator should be from the ethnic or indigenous community," he said.
WHO ARE COMMISSIONERS
Malla K Sundar: A human rights activist, Malla was nominated as Member of Parliament by Maoists in the reinstated House of Representatives. An advocate of ethnic-based federalism, he has published two books on federalism -- Sanghiya Nepal and Newaa Swayatta Rajya. He has a masters degree in literature and diploma in journalism. He has also served as the chairman of the state-run news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti in the past.
Stella Tamang: A women activist from indigenous community, Tamang is founder chairperson of the Women Federation of Indigenous Communities, chairperson of Nepal Tamang Mahila Ghedung. She has completed BA, BEd from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She was a school principal in the past.
Ramesh Dhungel: Dhungel holds PHD in Asian languages and cultures from George Mason University, Columbia, USA. He taught at School of Oriental and African Studies, London for six years. He is currently professor at Tribhuwan University and Researcher at Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) Tribhuvan University. He believes in a mixed federal model based on ethnic and civic nationalism.
Sabitra Gurung: A lecturer at Ratna Rajya Campus, Kathmandu, Tribhuvan University, Gurung is pursuing her PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
Surendra Kumar Mahato: Surendra Kumar Mahato holds MBA degree from Shankar Dev Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu and LLM from Kathmandu School of Law. He is Vice-chairman of Nepal Bar Association. Mahato has been active in the field of legal sector for last two decades. He has presented various working papers on the issue of law and constitution in recent years.
Sarbaraj Khadka: Completed PhD in Natural Resources Management from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Active in development activities, he is director at Rural Reconstruction Nepal, an NGO, and worked with South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication. Khadka, who has expertise in natural resources management, said he believes that the aspect of economic viability -- more than the aspect of identity -- of any proposed province should be given priority while federating the country.
Bhogendra Jha: A lecturer of economics at Rara Campus in Dhanusha district, Jha completed his PhD from Bihar. He has been teaching economics at the campus for the last 36 years. Jha said he has extensively studied Mithila culture and history and the issue of federalism in national perspective as well. He believes that a balance between the aspect of ethnicity and economic viability must be maintained while delineating provinces.
Krishna Hachhethu: Hachhethu, who completed his PhD on "comparative study of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML" from the Tribhuvan University, teaches at the central department of political science. He has been working as a researcher at the Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) Tribhuvan University for the last 23 years. He has authored more than 10 books. He is actively involved in studying and conducting research on federalism in recent years. He is an advocate of ethnic-based federal model.
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