English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

This should make us aware of the issue of
secession. Federalism should be established
by developing it on the basis of its positive
aspects. It is a scientific system and people
can have disagreements about it. We need
discussion on both the positive and negative
aspects of federalism. However, the economic
situation can’t be the deciding factor for
establishing federalism in a country. Both a
poor country like Ethiopia and a rich country
like Switzerland practice federalism.
Q. What is the meaning of the nonterritorial
province demanded by the Dalit
community? - Resham Gurung
A. Non-territorial provinces are found
in Belgium and Ethiopia, but they are
comparatively few in
practice and are not
as functional as other
forms of provincial
administration. A nonterritorial
province can
provide
representation
for the Dalit community
but it cannot ensure access. The provision of
a Dalit Council would be more appropriate.
The Council could provide suggestions and
develop Dalit-focused laws to ensure Dalit
rights in different sectors of the state.
More queries concerning federalism in the
context of Nepal are incorporated in a later
section of this report.
micro level while at macro level it recognized
Dalit, women and Madhesi as minorities and
provided their rights.
Economic capability and
geography should be
considered in demarcating
the federal provinces.
-Shuv Nath Mishra
Participants expressed the opinion that all
the provinces have not been created on
the basis of recognizing the identity of the
local community. Mr. Bipin Chandra Dhakal
argued that there was no demand for the
provinces of Jadan, Narayani and Khaptad
and they do not recognize the identity of
any community. However, Yam Bahadur
Tamu stated, “It is difficult to build a new
structure by breaking the old one, but at this
time we have no alternative to federalism in
Nepal. We should not debate much on the
borders of the province because the federal
structure has addressed the issues of the
ethnic community.” They
all agreed on the need
to develop a team of
geographical
experts,
economists, and political
experts to draw up the
appropriate demarcation
of the federal state.
Some specific questions related to the
provincial level structure are listed below
with Prof. Hachhethu’s responses.
Q. Federalism has been demanded
to decentralize the system. How will
federalism address this issue and provide
accessibility? - Khadga Nepali
Presentation on the Federal structure at
the Provincial Level
Presenting the provincial structure, Prof.
Krishna Hachhethu stated that the report of
the CSRDSP did not provide minority rights at
A. Federalism decentralizes power and authority
and supports the provision of accessible services
to most people in the country. However,
accessible services such as the issuance of
citizenship, passports and so on for everyone in
all 14 provinces are still not possible.
16 Federalism Dialogues Series 5