Nepal and Bhutan in 2009: Transition travails?

Asian Survey

Volumn 50, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 164-172

  Lawoti, Mahendra ^a,b  

^a WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies   (United States)

Author keywords

Bhutan; Constitution making; Democratic transition; Maoists; Nepal

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION; DEMOCRATIZATION; PARTY POLITICS; POLITICAL INSTABILITY; POLITICAL INTEGRATION;

BHUTAN; NEPAL;

EID: 77949280979     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: 1533838X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/as.2010.50.1.164     Document Type: Article

References (13)

1. CPN-M and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unity Center (Masal) merged on January 13, 2009, to become the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
2. Nepal, in reality, had two "armies" at the time of peace settlement: the official Nepalese army of the state and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the Maoists. Viable and functioning states have only one army. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of November 2006 called for "the rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants," and the December 2007 Agreement on Monitoring of Management of Arms and Armies referred to " integration" of the Maoist combatants "into the security forces.".
3. See World People's Resistance Movement, "Nepal: Interview with Comrade Baburam Bhattarai," October 2009, at , accessed on November 1, 2009.
4. For a discussion of various aspects of the insurgency, also see Mahendra Lawoti and Anup K. Pahari, eds., The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: Revolution in the Twenty-first Century (London: Routledge, 2009).
5. International Crisis Group, "Nepal's Faltering Peace Process," Asia Report, no. 163, February 19, 2009.
6. The MPRF represents the Madhesis who, along with the indigenous nationalities and Dalits, are increasingly challenging the historic domination of the state and polity by the higher caste, hill Hindu elites. The latter include the Bahun and Chhetri (hill Brahmins and Kshatriyas, respectively) who collectively comprise about 31% of the population. The Madhesis, residents of the Tarai (lowlands) and southern plains, share common languages and culture with various north Indian communities. For this reason, the indigenous nationalities of the hills and Dalits suspect their loyalty to the country. The indigenous nationalities, comprising more than 60 groups and collectively around 37% of the population, base their claims as being the "first residents" of various parts of the country. The Dalits, who comprise around 15% of the population, are struggling against exclusion in the state and injustice perpetuated by both hill and upper caste Hindu Madhesi groups. Overlap of identities, such as that of Dalits from the Tarai, complicates the neat categorizations of the various "ethnic groups" and also often results in discrimination against various subgroups within "ethnicities." For instance, the Madhesi population can be calculated as being more than 30% if Dalits, indigenous nationalities, and Muslims of the Tarai are also included.
7. The Nepalese army took raw recruits into its ranks in 2007, despite Maoist objections. This caused controversy as the relationship between the Maoist-led government and the Nepalese army deteriorated through 2008, resulting in the Maoist fighters also threatening to recruit new members into their ranks.
8. An election for the CA was held in April 2008 in order to bring the Maoists into the national political mainstream. The CA was mandated by the interim Constitution to write a new constitution within two years and to operate as Nepal's Parliament during this period. The Maoists, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, and MPRF obtained 229, 115, 108, and 54 seats, respectively, in the 601 member CA (240 elected in single member districts, 335 elected through a proportional representation method, and 26 nominated). The remaining 95 seats were won by 21 smaller political parties. The CA subsequently elected Prachanda as prime minister in August 2008.
9. Martin Chautari, "Policy Brief: Update on the Constituent Assembly," Kathmandu, Martin Chautari.org.np, October 2009.
10. Pathak, Bishnu, and Devendra Uprety, Tarai-Madhes: Searching for Identity Based Security (Kathmandu: Conflict Study Center, October 2009). The home minister is reported to have publicly said that 109 armed groups operate in the country.
11. See
12. It should be noted that indigenous peoples do find a form of weak representation in the political process through membership in many of Nepal's major political parties.
13. The Drukpa regime primarily consists of the Ngalongs, a minority community of Tibetan origin settled in western Bhutan. The Drukpa share many cultural commonalities with other ethnic/regional groups in Bhutan such as the Khengs in the central part of the country and Sharchops in the east. Lhotshampa, in contrast, are Nepali-speaking people who began settling in previously uninhabited southern Bhutan for agricultural cultivation in the late 19th century. At the time of their expulsion, the Lhotshampa constituted from about one-third to half of Bhutan's total population.