internationalpolicydigest.org
LORNA DEVKOTA
December 15, 2015
As the Indian led economic blockade stretches into its fourth month and into the winter season, Nepal is struggling to operate as a country. As stated by UNICEF’s executive director Anthony Lake, “The risk of hypothermia and malnutrition, and the shortfall in life-saving medicines and vaccines, could be a potentially deadly combination for children this winter” in reference to the effects of the blockade within Nepal. Combine this shortage with the scarcity of proper housing available since the deadly earthquake, and you have a recipe for uncontrolled chaos and a devastating death toll. This begs the question of not only how such a horrific situation developed, but also why it hasn’t been stopped.
Nepal, a country desperate for morally conscience leaders and a constitution to bring it to a new era, has been in political mayhem for nearly a decade. In mid-September of 2015, a formal constitution was finally put forward and passed by 507 out of the 601 members of the Constitution Assembly.
Although received by the majority parties with jubilation and relief, the constitution is not without severe flaws.
Root of Problems
The most eminent disagreement and the foremost catalyst of the blockade is the division of Nepal into seven distinct provinces, which critics argue marginalizes Nepal’s ethnic minorities, the Tharu and Madesi communities. Residents of these communities are both Nepali and migrants from nearby Indian states with close social and economic ties to India. They feel they have been underrepresented in the constitution, and they are not wrong. A key grievance is that the constitution restricts their representation by reducing the percentage of parliament elected byproportional representation (PR) to 45%, compared with the 58% from the previous interim constitution. The PR representation system helps marginalized ethnic minorities and low caste groups to be elected in a country where discrimination is rampant, and it was most certainly a mistake to lower the percentage with the new constitution.
Since the Tharu and Madesi populations have close cultural ties to India, the Indian government views them as a support group and a buffer against any Chinese favoritism that could be operating within Nepal. As can be expected, the Indian government, led by the Hindu-nationalist BJP party, was aggravated with the new provisions within the constitution that limited the representation and authority of their most vocal supporters.
