Editorial
Drawing lines
The reservations to the constitution across the country were perhaps to be expected. And this is not just because, as many have been saying, there are diverse groups in Nepali society, and no constitution can satisfy all groups. The more important reason is that the provinces in the new federal structure seem to have been carved out illogically. In the very end, the decision to allocate districts to provinces was taken on the basis of the personal interests of senior leaders rather than any overarching principle. In many cases, there seem to be no reason at all why certain states have been placed within the same province.The reservations to the constitution across the country were perhaps to be expected. And this is not just because, as many have been saying, there are diverse groups in Nepali society, and no constitution can satisfy all groups. The more important reason is that the provinces in the new federal structure seem to have been carved out illogically. In the very end, the decision to allocate districts to provinces was taken on the basis of the personal interests of senior leaders rather than any overarching principle. In many cases, there seem to be no reason at all why certain states have been placed within the same province.
At a first glance at the map, the most egregious problems are with Province 6. It is by far the largest state in terms of territory and it includes some of the most underdeveloped parts of the country, such as Jumla and Dolpo, on one hand, and Kanchanpur and Kailali on the other. What is the commonality between these districts to include them in a single province? Also, the large size of the province is bound to lead to the neglect of the more remote areas, such as in the Karnali region where the people have been outraged over the federal map.
The fact of the matter is that in order to design a federal map of the sort we currently have, there was no need for the extended deliberations that took place within the Constituent Assembly. One feature that has been overlooked is the principles that are included in the first CA’s report have not been reflected in the federal structure. The report speaks of balancing identity and economic viability; identity is not reflected in any state except for Province 2. And then, the principle of economic viability has not been given much attention, beyond the decision to allow all states to share a border with India. If the principle of economic viability had been heeded, Province 6 perhaps would have been drawn up in a different manner.
There is a school of thought that argues that nobody can ever be completely satisfied and there will always be some differences in such a high-stakes process, and that it is best to promulgate this constitution and move on, even though it might have some problems. We too believe that it is desirable to promulgate a constitution on time. Still, parties need to address the concerns of the population and think long and hard about the principles underlying the delineation of boundaries so that the new constitution will have the broadest possible ownership.