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

Addressing land-based discriminationtool to gain political leverage in during the negotiation. If the influentialmembers of political parties have been significantly affected, there is thepossibility of striking a deal. In many cases, properties seized during theconflict have been ‘redistributed’ to the ‘landless’. Any forceful evictionalso has the potential to erupt in violence which could easily escalate anddestabilise peace process as happened in Dudejhari, Kailali in late 2009.Consequently, there is increasing acknowledgement that the restitutionof property should be linked with a wider solution of land reform.Land reform commission formed in 2008 could not complete its workbecause of change in government. A new commission formed in 2009ignored the tasks completed by the previous commission. Though thesecond Land Reform Commission (formed in 2009) submitted its report, itis politically debatable because the UCPN (Maoist), the largest party in theConstituent Assembly, is not represented there. It is clear that land reformis an area of contested political interest. A land reform policy designedto reduce poverty and promote social justice could look very different inpractice from one designed to increase investment in land and agriculturalproduction, or one designed to conserve natural resources. In practice,promoting structural change in an area like this needs an approach thatgoes beyond what any government is able to deliver on their own. There isa need to build consensus among national stakeholders including politicalparties. Such a consensus could then pave the way for an effectivedesigning of a new land policy. So far, reaching this consensus in Nepalhas not been possible in the case of land reform.7. Equity and justiceNepal is characterised by its diversity in terms of class, caste, ethnicity,gender and geography. The distance or gap created and maintained bythese dimensions are acting as obstacles or negative forces. This diversity(mutual respect and relationships) needs to be addressed properly. Ifany element or aspect of national integration is not addressed or somealternation occurred in any one element, the whole system might beruined. It means that state building cannot be achieved at all, until andunless there is equal footing in the all dimensions of national concern. Theeconomic class dimension is one of the prominent issues of state building.There have been observable changes occurred temporally in gender,caste, ethnicity and geographical dimensions. But, class dimension, i.e.production relation, has not changed for a long time despite variousattempts on land reform. Hence, there is still a tendency of continuation162