Dr. Rachna Srivastava

Finally….. the day has arrived. After 7 long years of wait, a new written constitution has been promulgated in Nepal on 20^th September 2015. With the historic announcement by President RamBaran Yadav, the interim constitution ceases to be effective. Nepal, now, is a secular, Democratic Republic with a federal set up comprising 7 units. Framed by a 601 membered Constituent Assembly formed in November 2013, the new constitution has 37 parts and 304 articles. Union Legislature is bicameral with a 375 member Lower House and a 60 member Upper House.

An unfortunate feature is that celebrations on this historic occasion were marred by massive protests and violence by the Madhesis, Janjatis and Tharus which comprise of almost 40 percent of the country’s population. Doubts, naturally arise on the legitimacy and longevity of this new constitution. Need of the hour is that the Nepalese Government should resolve the differences through meaningful dialogue and ensure that the constitution becomes all inclusive.

A look at the history of Nepal seems imperative at this stage. Nepal was a small landlocked Himalayan Kingdom abounding in religious, linguistic and racial diversity. Law was the supreme command of the King. It was the only Hindu Kingdom in the World with 81% Hindu population. Maharaja Chandra Shamsher (1913) called it the ‘Old Hindu Dominion’. In 1962, the then king, Raja Mahendra Veer Vikram Shahdeo officially declared Nepal to be a Hindu state.

Things were going well when suddenly tragedy struck the palace and the liberal king Birendra Veer Vikram Shah was murdered along with his family. His nephew Prince Deependra ascended the throne. But he had to face stiff opposition. Maoists raised their head and after massive unrest and violence, ultimately Monarchy came to an end. During 1996 to 2006, Nepal was caught in internal strife and rebellion. Interim constitution came into force on 15 January 2007. Elections were held in 2008 with the motive of forming a Constituent Assembly to pave way for Democracy. Rebels continued to create disturbances and Maoists declared Nepal to be a secular state in 2008. The infant democracy could not withstand the turbulence and finally elections were held in November 2013 to form a second constituent assembly. Since then sincere efforts were in full swing to frame a new constitution which bore fruit on 20^th September 2015.

Nepal is crucial for India not only as a neighbor but also due to its strategic location between India and expansionist China. Relations had been cordial during the tenure of most of the Monarchs. But post monarchy, when Nepal was war torn, India naturally raised concern over the turmoil which conflicted with its security interests. This proved detrimental. Indo-Nepal relations suffered a setback. Prashant Jha, in his book, ‘A contemporary History of Nepal’ has dealt at length with this aspect. Relations further deteriorated during the tenure of PM Rajeev Gandhi when a warning was issued to Kathmandu regarding interpretation of rules in the contentious issue of approach to ports. After PM Indra Kumar Gujaral (17 years ago) no Indian Prime Minister had visited Nepal.

The Modi Government has made efforts to pacify the situation. With a novel approach towards neighbours, Prime Minister Modi not only invited Heads of SAARC nations in his oath taking ceremony but also undertook a two day visit to Nepal soon after i.e 3^rd and 4^th August 2014. Although no new deals were signed. His visit was successful. Be it his address at the Nepalese Parliament or prayer at the Pashupatinath temple or reaching out to the general public. He proposed the HIT mantra (Highway, Information way and Transmission way) for the success of Nepal. He emphasized the supremacy of the the constitution and importance of ballot over bullet. Message was abundantly clear that India was in no mood to interfere or impose upon this little landlocked state. Nepal was free to frame its own future and decide on its relationship with India. As a good neighbour, we were the first to extent a helping hand during April 15 Earthquake.

Nepal is in a state of Transition. Around 3 crore people belong to the lower socio-economic strata of the society. Environmental challenges due to deforestation stare at the face. Tourism has suffered a setback due to unrest. To stop it all, the recent massive earthquake of April 2015 has shattered the state. The new constitution, too, has not been widely welcomed. In such a situation, India needs to adopt a cautious approach. China will try its level best to somehow control Nepal’s affairs to indirectly create disturbance in India. The general impressions among the Nepalese is that while India makes promises never to be fulfilled, China delivers.

Our aim should be to instill confidence among the Nepalese, keep China and Pakistan at bay and ensure a safe border, so crucial to India’s national and security interests. Need of the hour is to maintain a keen vigil in the affairs of Nepal and to spring into action as and when situation so requires, before China has its way.