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P rachanda as its prime ministerial c andidate and the Nepali Congress n ominated Sher Bahadur Dueba.

The Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist – CPN(UML) – and the Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (MJF) joined the government while the Nepali Congress decided to sit in opposition. The Nepali Congress leaders accused the Maoists for not reaching a consensus. In the present power structure the presidential seat has gone to the Nepali Congress, vice presidential seat to MJF, prime ministership to CPN(M) and the post of speaker of the CA to CPN(UML). So theoretically the situation appears to be in balance.

Politics of Identity and Assertion

The election to the CA has initiated a w ider process of political transformation. How do major political parties see themselves in this process? The agenda of democratic consolidation is important and there is a role for various political parties and groups. The emergence of CPN(M) as the largest party and a formidable political force in the process of consolidation of peace is something that disturbs others. The Nepali Congress had been at the helm of affairs just before the formation of the new government. The party had been in power several times. It has its identity in the democratic movements in Nepal. It a ppears that the party was not prepared for such a disaster in the CA elections. The party has been s eriously lacking internal democracy – factionalism and groupism, leadership clashes, etc, have been the main features of the party over the years. No doubt that the Nepali Congress along with the SPA agreed to develop an understanding with the Maoists and initiated the peace process. But the CA e lections have generated an identity crisis for the Nepali Congress. There is an erosion of its social base; the Tarai region is no more a stronghold of the party. Has the Nepali Congress reconciled and is it prepared to play a constructive role as an opposition party? Does the party have any agenda to rebuild its social and ideological base? The Sher Bahadur Dueba faction has joined the party again but there are serious c hallenges r egarding the internal consolidation of the party.

The CPN(UML), the third largest party in the CA, is also faced with an identity crisis. The Maoists have seriously challenged it as a party representing the communist ideology in the country. In fact, the Maoists have gone much ahead of the UML. The party did not agree to a Left alliance in the past. Now the UML has joined the government with the Maoists. An important issue is whether the party will be able to regain its identity and rebuild its bases among peasants, youth and workers, as a partner of the Maoist government.

The Tarai-based parties have their own agenda. But what is significant is that these parties have added a new dimension to Nepali politics. Many other political parties have also emerged representing diverse sections of the society. They are all striving for their identity and if they play up localised issues for political mobilisation and assertion it would open many more dimensions of Nepali politics. The larger parties like the CPN(UML), Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, etc, have been totally rejected in the CA elections. Also of importance is what their agenda to regain i dentity and status is.

Challenges for the Government

Till the formation of the CA elections the major issues were elections, abolition of the monarchy, republican state, and f ederalism. Now the main target is to actualise these and other related issues in a politico-constitutional framework. Therefore, the present phase is much more d emanding and complex. There are a large number of issues and challenges and the time has now come for the Nepalese g overnment and the CA to face and resolve them.

The New Vision: What is the vision of the new constitution? Declaring Nepal a federal, democratic republic has set a tone. It has already been accepted as a secular state. The actualisation of these and other such issues within the politico-constitutional framework is a complex exercise. For instance, it is accepted that Nepal is going to be a federal state. The basis of creating federations is likely to be g eography, ethnicity and language. The Maoists have already proposed to divide Nepal into 12 federations. Is federalism an

a nswer to the crisis of nation-building is one issue. It has also to be properly a ssessed whether federalism is feasible for Nepal because of its small landmass, p luralism, uneven geographic situation and lopsided resource distribution. The question of “One Madhes – One Pradesh” is important and has its connotations.

The Maoists talked of the right to selfdetermination. As a slogan it was alright. But the ground realities would be difficult. It has also to be noted that there have been psychological barriers in the consolidation of the state in Nepal. The question of hill vis-à-vis Madhesi identity has been playing an adverse role in the past. Of course, a change is occurring but it has to go a long way in its consolidation. Another important point is that language, ethnicity, and regionalism are sensitive issues. In Nepal all the deprived groups and regions are demanding their proper representation. It is certain that it will give rise to politics of identity. These have positive connotations for nation-building, but if not dealt with properly and if various identities are overpoliticised, it may lead, to disintegrative tendencies as well. It is not however suggested here that federalism is not feasible or that Nepal needs to maintain its unitary state. The ethno-cultural issues also need to be properly taken care of so that it does not give rise to horizontal or vertical mobilisation of these groups.

The interim constitution of Nepal shows that on many issues the Maoists and the SPA took up a compromising attitude. But now instead of a compromise there is a need to develop a broad consensus among the political parties.

Have the Maoists aroused popular e xpectations in a big way? The Maoists gave high profile slogans in their manifesto, such as to transform Nepalese economy in a few years. Education, drinking water, electricity, heath, etc, were the much-talked about issues in the Maoist election agenda. Nepal has a poor economy. In a large part of the country people are still striving for the realisation of b asic needs. It has been a feudal economy to the core. The resource allocation and d istribution system has so far benefited only a small privileged class of society. The Maoists now have to work for the r ealisation of popular expectations,

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p articularly meeting the basic needs of the people and upliftment of the depressed sections of the society.

Justice and People’s Rights: There are also issues like land reforms, infrastructural development, corruption, etc, which the Maoists have to deal with. The unstable governments in the past and conflicts deprived people of their rights and justice. There have been cases of h uman rights violation. The property that had been confiscated during the i nsurgency from a large number of p eople has to be given back to the rightful owners. Many people were displaced from the rural areas during insurgency; they have to be rehabilitated. There have been complaints of a number of people disappearing during the insurgency and after the 2005 royal coup. All these issues need to be taken up in order to build p opular confidence. Talks about Nepal’s transition from a feudal economy are plenty. What are the economic inputs that Nepal requires in order to carry this transition.

The CPN(M)-led coalition government has to work with a conservative bureaucracy that has so far been representing only a few privileged sections of the society. How it is going to be helpful in the implementation of the people-oriented socioeconomic agenda of the CPN(M) government is a big challenge. There is an urgent need for restructuring the bureaucracy in terms of both its perceptional and foundational dimensions.

The Maoists combatants are still looking for a proper settlement. The issue has not yet been settled fully. As under the earlier provision they are still living in cantonments in various parts of the country. But some solution has to be worked out regarding their future. Can they be asked now to go back to their homes? Will they not prove to be dangerous in that case? There are already dissatisfied persons and groups, who have been talking of taking up arms again. So this problem has to be properly dealt with. It can indeed become a potential source of further conflict in Nepal. There has already been a proposal for their merger with the regular armed forces of Nepal. But a controversy has been raised in certain political circles

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in Nepal by arguing that the People’s L iberation Army (PLA) has been politically indoctrinated. On the other hand, the s enior officers of PLA have warned of yet another conflict if the PLA is not merged with the Nepalese army.

Understanding among Parties: It is certain, as pointed out earlier, that there is a contest between the three major political parties but it is also a fact that the consolidation of the peace process is not possible without an understanding among them. The Maoist-led coalition is not receiving adequate support of the opposition political parties like the Nepali Congress. The political parties seem to be more concerned about their own future. But they need to think in a long-term perspective and not confine themselves to the immediate question of power wielding and power sharing. The Maoists also seem to be in a haste to alter everything they consider not fit as per their norms. They have to realise that after all they are dealing with a feudal society that cannot be changed overnight. They need to avoid hasty decisions which may put them in trouble.

External Support: The external support structure is equally important. It is a fact that the Maoist insurgency aroused serious concerns among the international community. The Maoists were also declared as terrorists. The United States (US), the United Kingdom, India and other countries initially supported the Nepalese government in finding a military solution to the Maoist problem.

The US had congratulated the people of Nepal for the successful completion of the CA elections but made no reference to the emergence of CPN(M) as the l argest party. The Maoists had always viewed the US as an expansionist power, but now there is a shift in their position. As a party in power how are they going to deal with the forces of globalisation and liberalisation is an important issue as Nepal’s d ependence on foreign aid is significant.

The Maoists also had an inimical posture towards India during the course of the insurgency. They perceived India as an expansionist power. India provided armed assistance to the Nepalese

g overnment to fight the insurgency. But there also existed several informal c hannels of interaction between political l eaders, parties, groups and individuals in India and the Maoists of Nepal. There was a perceptional change among Maoists v is-à-vis I ndia after 2005. India played a significant role in developing the Maoist-SPA understanding and the initiation of peace process in the post-2006 period.

With the formation of the Prachanda government there has been a lot of speculation in India. Prachanda had stipulated that his party would like to develop friendly relations with both the neighbours. There is a general impression that the Maoists government will lean t owards China. Prachanda’s visit to C hina during the Olympics, although not a political one, added to these impressions. Indian media projected it as P rachanda’s natural tilt towards China. It is true that China is a close neighbour of Nepal. It is also true that the present g overnment has its ideological parity with China. But Nepal’s relations with I ndia are on a different plane.

What role India can play in rebuilding democracy and stability in Nepal should be an important issue from the Indian perspective. The fact remains that an u nstable and conflict-ridden Nepal has its implications for India.

Prime Minister Prachanda’s first official visit to New Delhi in September 2008 was an indication that Nepal looks for I ndia’s cooperation. In fact, any mature political leadership in Nepal would u nderstand that it needs India’s support in peace-building. There are certain i mportant issues between India and N epal, such as the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, mutual cooperation for water resources development, open b order, migration, Gurkha recruitment to the Indian armed forces, etc. These are i ssues that can be taken up at a later stage. India should be prepared to concede to such demands if it serves the Nepalese interest. At the m oment the more important issue is India’s cooperation in the socio-economic reconstruction of Nepal. India’s approach should be to see what inputs it can provide for Nepal in its exercise in constitution-making, federalism, etc.