नेपालको अन्तरीम संविधान २०६३ को धारा ६३ (३ग) ले संविधान सभामा २६ जना मनोनित सदस्यको व्यवस्था गरेको छ । संविधानको सो धाराले राष्ट्रिय जीवनमा महत्वपूर्ण योगदान पुर्याएका बिशिष्ट व्यक्तिहरु मध्येवाट मन्त्रीपरिषद्बाट छब्बीस जनाको मनोनयनको व्यवस्था गरेको छ । तर राजनितिक दलहरु भागवण्डा गरी संविधान सभामा पराजित भएका राजनितिक दलका नेताहरुलाई नै मनोयन गरी  ल्याउने प्रवल संभावना रहेकोले छ । अन्तरिम संविधान २०६३ को धारा ६३ उपधारा ३(ग) को भावना भनेको गैर राजनितिक, स्वतन्त्र, विज्ञ र राष्ट्रिय जीवनमा संविधान तथा कानून क्षेत्रमा योगदान दिएको बिशिष्ट व्यक्तिहरु मध्येवाट मन्त्रीपरिषद्बाट छब्बीस जनाको मनानेयन हो । प्रत्यक्ष निर्वाचनमा भाग लिने र सो निर्वाचनमा जनतावाट दण्डित र अस्विकृत भएपछि जनमनोभावना विपरित जनआदेशको बर्खिलाप हुने गरी पुनः निर्वाचित संस्थामा संवैधानिक ब्यवस्थाको आफ्नो अनुकुल व्याख्या गरी चोर बाटो संविधान सभामा प्रवेश गर्नु लोकतन्त्रको उपहास हो ।

Friends and neighbours

Madhesi dissatisfaction with India has been growing since the November 19 election

Dipendra Jha

DEC 25 -

By the simple fact that they live along the border, Madhesis have more
interactions with Indians. Madhesis share linguistic, cultural and
religious affinities with Indians who live on the other side of the
border. There is enormous goodwill for people on both sides of the
border, thanks to the long legacy of multifaceted relations between
the peoples of the two countries. Peoples on both sides of the border
want their counterparts to live a dignified life where equity is
ensured.

However, it is because of this cultural affinity that the hill ruling
elite never considered Madhesis as true Nepalis. In fact, when
Madhesis demand their rights, some ultra-nationalists in Kathmandu
think that they are doing so at the behest of India. Kathmandu and
Delhi often forget that Madhesis have their own identity and
aspirations that are separate from their multi-faceted relations with
Indians along the border region.

Changing attitudes

Since the 2007 Madhes Movement, attitudes have begun to change in the
Madhes and dissatisfaction with India is growing. There are some
Madhesi politicians and intellectuals who believe that India is using
its leverage with Madhesis to make compromises with Nepal’s ruling
elites, who do not want to restructure the state in a fundamentally
different manner from the past. Although India might not have done
anything to directly harm the Madhesi cause in Nepal, there are some
who believe that  India played a role in splitting Madhesis to serve
its national interests.

What is more worrying is that dissatisfaction against India grew
sharply in Madhes after the November 19 Constituent Assembly (CA)
election. There is a perception in the Madhes that India did not
maintain a neutral role in the election and rather, supported its
traditional allies—the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML. If this
is true, Madhesis have never been hostile to India and there is really
no reason for India to do things at the detriment of the Madhesi
cause. Some Madhesis who are unhappy with India argue that India did
not support Madhesis in the past nor will it do so in the future. When
it comes to bilateral relations, such perceptions need to be seriously
dealt with.

The growing sense of discomfort over India’s suspected role during the
election should serve as a reminder to India

that it cannot take for granted that Madhesis will never be
anti-India. Madhesis might not gain anything by whipping up
anti-Indian sentiments but if they too start bashing India—as some
ultra left parties tend to do—things could get that much more
difficult for India.

One more obstacle

First generation Madhesi leaders are unhappy with India but are
reluctant to speak their mind for a variety of reasons. Second
generation leaders, however, are unhappy with India for its support of
the NC and the UML at the cost of Madhesi constituencies and vocal
about it. In fact, these leaders now increasingly believe that India’s
role in Nepal’s contemporary politics could be an obstacle in their
fight for equal rights. A youth leader from the Madhesi Janadhikar
Forum-Nepal told this scribe that India will not extend moral support
to the Madhesi cause as it wants to keep Nepali ruling elites happy so
as to better serve its national interest. Similarly, Madhesi
Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik candidate Ajay Gupta, who lost the
first-past-the-post election to UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal from
Rautahat-1, said, “Whenever Madhesis assert issues vital to their
empowerment, most importantly, federalism, India sends emissaries from
Delhi to force the Madhesis to enter into a compromise with the ruling
elites.”

New Delhi’s policy has always been to collaborate with Nepal’s power
centres so that it can consolidate its national interests. Whether one
believes it or not, Delhi wields enormous clout in Nepal and can
easily support the just cause of inclusion. As far as the causes of
marginalised communities are concerned, it seems to be unwilling to
extend its support because it believes that doing so would infuriate
the ruling class, causing it to lose its clout. As the largest
democracy of the world, India should have no problems supporting the
cause of inclusive democracy but so far, India has not aided any
Nepali movement launched for the socio-economic empowerment of
marginalised communities. Furthermore, there has not been a single
example, during neither the Panchayat period nor post-1990, where
India openly supported a Madhesi cause.

Officials in-charge of India’s foreign policy vis-à-vis Nepal seem to
fear a Madhesi win for identity politics could have a ripple effect in
the neighbouring states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal.
This seems to be the primary reason for those officials wanting to
dilute identity-based movements in Nepal.

Border bonhomie

People from UP and Bihar certainly sympathise with Nepali Madhesis.
This alone, however, will not change India’s foreign policy vis-à-vis
Nepal nor can the bonhomie across the border make Madhesis less
nationalistic. The fact is that Madhesis are now very clear about
Indian foreign policy objectives in Nepal and know they will have to
fight for their rights on their own. Sadhbhawana Party leader Sanjay
Kumar Sah, along with a number of other Madhesi leaders, want to
cultivate better relations with politicians, journalists and civil
society in Bihar, UP and West Bengal. Sah made such a proposal at the
party’s recent Central Committee meet. This is a reflection of their
frustration with the mandarins in New Delhi.

As far as federalism is concerned, India may have some legitimate
concerns. The Indian establishment, however, should not be wary of the
prospect of fewer provinces in the Madhes. Fewer provinces will help
India maintain and expand its cross-border security, along with aiding
its development and economic agendas. Can one imagine the situation of
UP and Bihar if it had remained under a unitary state structure?

Anti-Indian sentiment already runs high in the hills of Nepal. If the
Madhes goes the same way, New Delhi will have an uphill task dealing
with the Nepali population.


Jha is an advocate at the Supreme Court

http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/12/25/opinion/friends-and-neighbours/382879.html#.Urpx5c_j4hU.facebook

Bihar rights panel orders action in Nepal politician's death

Patna: The Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) has ordered action against two state police officials for the detention and subsequent death of a Nepali politician in a shootout, an official said on Wednesday. Bihar rights panel orders action in Nepal politician's death The BHRC has also directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the family of the slain national president of the Madhesh Rashtra Jantantrik Party of Nepal, Ram Narayan Mahto, popularly known as Manager Mahto. Acting chairman of the BHRC Neelmani said the compensation amount will have to be paid in three months' time. Mahto was detained by the Jainagar police in Madhubani district in 2009 and illegally handed over to Nepal police, which killed him in what is alleged to be a staged shootout, in blatant violation of human rights. "It was a high-profile case for the BHRC as it involved a foreign national who was also a political leader. The accused tried their best to suppress and manipulate evidence, challenging our jurisdiction and saying the case was time-barred. The probe, however, revealed the truth," Neelmani said. Mahto, a prominent leader of the Madhesis (Nepalese plains people), was arrested by the police from a tea shop in Jainagar village, along with two acquaintances. Both acquaintances were released soon afterwards. Mahto was handed over to a team of Nepal police personnel that visited Jainagar, in breach of procedure in such cases. Mahto's brother Premlal Mahto said his brother was killed in a staged shootout a day after he was taken by Nepal police. After Nepal police refused to lodge a case in the matter, Premlal approached the BHRC and filed a petition December 2011. "On the directives of the BHRC, zonal IG (Inspector General of Police) RK Mishra and later, his successor GS Gangwar, conducted the probe, and found two police officials guilty of suppressing facts, giving wrong explanations, and forging station diaries to avoid detection," Neelmani said. (http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/bihar-rights-panel-orders-action-in-nepal-politician-s-death_897637.html) accessed December 22, 2013.

Date:

Kathmandu, December 17

There has been a significant achievement  in the pursuit of making human rights violators accountable in the Terai as Butwal Appellate Court issued a mandamus against District Police Office, Rupandehi to file an FIR against two police personnel who are accused in the Ram Sewak Dhobi killing case.

The Joint Bench of judges Pushpa Koirala and Manoj Sharma of the court issued the writ of mandamus on December 15. The writ was filed by the victim's family with the legal support of Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance).  

The District Police Office, and the District Administration Office  of Rupandehi had refused to register an FIR in the case. The Rupandehi DPO had not responded to the FIR sent to it through post office.

Dhobi, 28, was arrested  by police constables Rakesh Yadav and Maya Gurung of  Marchwar Area Police Office on 10 August 2013 and was detained there.  On 11 August, 2013, Dhobi's dead body was found in a ditch seven hundred meters from Marchwar Area Police Office. Although the Marchawar Police Office denied any wrongdoing in the case, injury marks on  his body and its pressure against the family to burn the dead body without  performing a postmortem raised suspicion against police.

THRD Alliance urges all national and  international stakeholders to ask the DPO, Rupandehi to file an FIR as per the court order and do the proper and credible investigation  into the case and strictly follow the criminal justice  procedure in the case.

Election update.

Evaluating the Election circumstances in Mahottari Constituency no. 3. Usually never hearing issue of Backward, Foreward and Ethnicity suddenly gets sprouted and gets on pace when its the time of Election. Just to fulfill their vested interests some less probable Candidates always tend to create scandals and practice propaganda.Our team tried a lot to formulate tactics in order to avoid the rumor of Caste-cism, but as the day of election is approaching, again it’s on full fledge. Leaders having low probability are spreading the rumor of caste strata and are practicing propaganda just to disintegrate the vote. This problem is diagnosed mainly in Madhesh based Parties.Competition in Mahottari Constituency No. 3 is between UML and TMLP. Its not certain ed yet whose on the top. No one can predict about voters polling. Point to be noted here is that this time Voters are aware of the consequences if they get misused. Good to see the aware d voters. On work to conduct Poll in peaceful manner just to bring fair result. Thanks to all youth friends for holding hand in hand.

         Lawyers’ protest against Supreme Court

A recognizable mass of lawyers staged a protest condemning the decision of Supreme Court (SC), which quashed the 17 out of 24 writ petitions, which had challenged appointment of Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi as chief of the Council of Ministers.

Around 500 lawyers participated the protest organized inside the SC’s premises. In order to show their dissatisfaction towards the decision of SC, they had covered their mouth with black cloth. After an hour long protest, at a corner meeting organized by Nepal Bar Association (NBA), senor law workers accused SC for compromising its independence.

On Sep. 5, a three-member special bench of Acting Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prakash Osti and Tarka Raj Bhatta dismissed 17 writ petitions. The bench stated that the apex court has scheduled the hearing of separate seven petitions against Regmi’s appointment as Chief of Council of Ministers, for Sep. 19 and if those dismissed petitions had been processed ahead, that would have been insignificant.

Almost all the participants showed their serious concern over SC’s decision. They all accused SC for its unlawful step. A participant Dinesh Tripathi said, “Everyone presented in the protest had a common view that SC was wrong and unlawful as its step of dismissing the petitions was unconstitutional.”

A press note released by Bar Association of SC blamed SC for violating the international norms and values related to law. It demanded that Acting Chief Justice, Damodar Prashad Sharma should publicly have to make commitment of not repeating such mistake in upcoming days.

At the corner meeting, NBA president Krishna Hari Kari raised the issue of unsituational raid by Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) on the firm of senior Advocate Shamvu Thapa. A team from DRI raid Adv. Shamvu Thapa’s firm, Legal Advisors Forum, at Putalisadak on Sep. 6. According to Thapa, the team seized the CPU of desktops, Laptops, VAT bills and other materials.

On Sep. 8 Adv. Thapa filled a writ petition at SC saying that DRI official’s raid was illegal. He had his hearing of case on the same day. A single bench of Justice Prakash Osti, after hearing the case issued his interim decision saying that the DRI should bring all the seized items to SC. He also dismissed the DRI’s order which had called Adv. Thapa for further investigation. 

Kathmandu, Sep. 9

Abhishek Jha

Symbolic CDC report burnt

Condemning the decision of Constituency Delineation Committee (CDC), United Madheshi Students Front (UMSF) burnt down the symbolical report of CDC in Maitighar Mandala park on Sunday at 5pm. The report was not made public till then.

UMSFs’ negotiating team at their table in Baneshwor, after discussing about the report, released the press note revealing their plan of event on Saturday. They condemned the report saying that it was unlawful to Madhesh and was non-republic, unscientific and inhuman to the citizens. The note said that the report undermined the international standards of law.

Madhesh based political parties also showed their unwillingness of accepting the CDC report. Releasing a press note, Chairperson of Sadvabana Party, Rajendra Mahato forwarded his demand to delineate the constituencies in Madhesh as per the ration of its population increased. Simillarly, Chairperson of Madhesh Peoples’ Right Forum-Nepal (MPRF-N) Upendra Yadav urged that decision of CDC has negatively affected the election environment in the country.

Issuing a separate press release, Nepal Sadvabana Party (NSP),led by Sarita Giri, staged an indefinite sit-in against the report of CDC at Shanti Batika from Monday. Meanwhile, Coordinator of Terai Madhesh National Campaign JP Gupta opined that the report of the CDC has mirrored the nation’s unitary tendency and regressive character.

A remarkable presentation of Madheshi youths, led by UMSF headed towards the park with high intensity of sound of aggression. Just after reaching the park, they got prepared to set the report on fire but the security officials mobilized there intervened. This action almost created chaos between youths and the security officials. But a team from Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance led by the Chairperson Dipendra Jha, had themselves enforced on the spot to monitor the situation. Ultimately the protestors succeed to burn the report.

After awhile, the situation got settled and the event turned towards the corner meeting. Many attendees expressed their views and poured out their anger upon government and CDC. A youth leader JP Yadav said, “Programme of burning the report is just the initial step of ours, if the government fails to address our voice than we can go beyond the boundaries.”

According to them the motive of the event was to make the authority informed about their concern. As it was done peacefully, the event ended in about an hour.

Abhishek Jha

Kathmandu/08/11