Federal states could mean development of rural areas and the decentralization of powers but it could also mean ethnic separation. And with the Supreme Court’s decision to stand by the current deadline, wide speculations amongst the Nepali people is that the Constitution’s draft might just be a rush job.[break]
With the country in a very sensitive state, Republica sat down with four people representing the youth face of the country to discuss on the turn the country is about to take.
The participants are Rukamanee Maharjan, 27, a student of Constitutional and International Law at Nepal Law Campus; Sichu Chitrakar, 21, a 3rd year student of Development Studies at National Campus; Roman Bhattarai, 18, high school graduate from Chelsea Academy; and Rijan Lal Mulmi, 20, a Bachelor’s student of Environmental Management at SchEMS College.
How do you think the Constitution is going to affect the young citizens of Nepal?
Rukamanee: The Constitution is going to affect the Nepali people in a huge way because we’re completely rewriting our laws. But the problem is that we live in a very cynic culture. We just talk about the Constitution but never react on it even though there are many ways we can interact with the Constituent Assembly. In Singha Durbar, we have the opportunity to go and write a letter to the concerned authority but we don’t make that effort to forward our thought. Rather, we just sit back and complain.
Sichu: It’s definitely important to the youth of Nepal but the young aren’t really that interested in the Constitution. They only get hyped up when the deadline starts to come close and there’s widespread media hype about it. They don’t care about the Constitution while it’s being made, and I think this is one of the most important parts of the drafting process that the youth need to be actively involved in.
Rijan: Whatever happens, there will always be unresolved issues that the youth will need to face. The Constitution is working on the bigger picture, and in a way, the bigger picture is pushing the lighter ones back. But the thing is, even after the Constitution has been drafted, the youth of the country will have lots of little problems to take care of.
Like many other countries have been doing, do you think it would be much easier if Nepal just chose to amend the pre-written Constitution?
Rukamanee: In a way, it would’ve been easier had they decided to amend the old Constitution. But that was impossible because of the Preamble. The preamble to the previous Constitution stated that there could be no amendments with regards to monarchy, among other things, and the new Nepal required amendments on various provisions that the preamble restricted. So there could be no amendments.
Sichu: I think the whole point of writing a whole new Constitution was because the government wanted to include as many people as possible in drafting it. They wanted people from different backgrounds to contribute to the making of anew Nepal and that’s why I think they decided on a large Constituent Assembly to incorporate all the different castes and ethnicities.
Roman: If they had formed an expert committee to write to the Constitution, then we probably might already have had it. But the government doesn’t want a well-written Constitution, they want a Constitution that encompasses the whole and that’s why I think they are focusing more on the process of writing it than getting it done.
As the youth of the country, what is it that you want implemented in the Constitution?
Rukamanee: I would definitely want a clause that helps young people get into politics so that they can represent the most important part of the nation. I want fundamental rights for the youth, like free information and youth investment, and I want political participation for youth.
Sichu: I think I would go for youth empowerment and employment because while they belong to the age groups that have the most energy to change the country, aren’t getting any opportunities to do so. Because the youth aren’t empowered or employed, they tend to divert themselves to more destructive actions. They also seem to be protesting because of vested interest, and because they haven’t been utilizing their potential to the fullest, I think the government needs to focus more on empowering these youth.
Rijan: I’m personally interested in politics. But I know that I need to educate myself first. First, I need to complete my Master’s and gain substantial experience in my field before I choose to get involved in politics. But that’s not happening. People get into politics because they know the right people or because they can gather enough people to vote for them. I don’t think that’s the right way to go because we need to see how capable the person is. I want young politicians but I want them qualified and able enough to contribute well to the country and not just sit around waiting for the paycheck.
Where do you see the future of the country going?
Rukamanee: If you look at the country now, everything is in Kathmandu. From the government to residential areas to industrial estates, all are all centrally located in Kathmandu and local people have no other option than to immigrate to Kathmandu in search of jobs. But with federalist states, maybe this will no longer be true. With decentralized powers and local state governments, maybe there will be development in rural areas as well, and people won’t have to leave their families or homes and immigrate to Kathmandu.
Roman: We can’t really say what road our country is going to take because with federalism, there are lots of variables attached to it, like castes, ethnicities, languages, and faiths. But just because we introduce federalist states doesn’t mean that things will work out magically. We need a lot of work even after the new Constitution and the separation of states. So I can’t really predict where the country will go. We just have to wait and see.
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