Political ABCs: Assemblies, Bandhs, and Constitutions

Aside from earthquakes, avalanches, floods, and other natural disasters, Nepal has made the international news several times in the past few years as it tries to lay the foundation of its government. Getting a handle on the current situation requires some understanding of Nepali history, geography, politics, and culture. I’m still trying to understand it, and I’ve lived here for almost two years.

Currently, Nepal can be divided in several ways. To the north are the Himalaya, below that the Mahabharat (Middle Hills), and in the south the Terai (plains). For administrative purposes, the country has been divided into five development regions: Far West, Midwest, West, Central and East. These are further subdivided in 14 zones, comprised of a total of 75 districts, 240 sectors, and over 3,000 village development committees (VDCs) across the country. For example, I live in Shreegaun VDC, in the fifth sector of Dang District, Rapti Zone, in the Midwestern Region of Nepal. Also, keep in mind that within the country, which is about the size of Tennessee, there are 123 languages and 125 castes and ethnic groups. Each area is a distinct combination of topography, climate, biodiversity, and culture.

Now for some political history, which I’ve tried to keep as brief as possible. For millennia, Nepal was ruled by monarchs. In 1765, Prithivi Naryan Shah embarked on an expedition to unify the country, which had previously been divided into small independent kingdoms. The Shahs ruled until 1848, when a military leader named Jung Bahadur Rana took advantage of factionalism within the royal family to overthrow the Shah dynasty, killing hundreds of administrators and officials loyal to the Shahs. In 1951, Tribhuwan Shah, backed by emerging pro-democratic movements, deposed the Rana rulers and instituted a cabinet system of government. The 1990s saw a series of reforms establishing a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.

In 1996, the United Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), capitalizing on growing dissatisfaction among the general population with the lack of reforms from the democratically elected government, launched a reform movement to the west of Kathmandu. Maoist militants attacked police outposts and district headquarters, establishing provisional governments at the district level in several locations.

In the midst of this, in 2001, the Nepali crown prince killed ten members of the royal family, including the king, queen, and himself. In the aftermath of Nepali royal massacre, the former king’s brother, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, assumed the throne.

Into the early 2000s, the Maoist movement continued to gain ground and minds until the Maoists finally declared a blockade of Kathmandu in December 2004. Forty days later, King Gyanendra dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, and instituted martial law, citing the government’s incapacity to address the Maoist insurgency. A mass movement restored the government the following year and initiated a peace movement calling for an end to the 10-year-long armed conflict. After three weeks of protests organized by a seven-party alliance and the Maoists, the king allowed parliament to reconvene in April 2006. In November, the seven-party alliance and the Maoists signed a comprehensive peace agreement, ending the war. All in all, more than 15,000 people were killed and 100,000-150,000 people displaced as a result of the Nepalese Civil War, which Maoists call the People’s War.

In January 2007, an interim constitution was drafted, stipulating an interim unicameral (single-body) parliament. At the end of the year, the seven-party alliance and the Maoists agreed to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a federal democratic republic. Constituent Assembly (CA) elections were held in April 2008 to devise a permanent constitution, with the Maoist party carrying the majority. After failing to meet their May 2010 deadline, the CA extended its own deadline a year. When this deadline, too, passed unmet, the prime minister dissolved the CA. In November 2013, two months after I arrived in Nepal, a second CA election was held. The Nepali Congress party won a majority of seats, but the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) and United Communist Party – Maoist (UCPN-M) also secured a sizable number of seats. In total, thirty parties are represented among the Nepali second CA’s 575 members, which took office in January 2014 and was given a year to draft a constitution.

January 22 2015, the deadline for the second CA draft, came and went as well. Finally, on July 2, the CA published a draft, and all parliamentary members returned to their constituents to receive feedback. These events, while well attended, seemed to be more of a formality. According to my friends who attended, many people raised concerns outside the scope of the constitution. Those who didn’t get a turn to speak gave written suggestions, which were piled up in a stack of papers over a foot high. Apparently, some members of a faction of the Maoist party arrived armed with sticks and threw a beer bottle at the police. Still, at least major seven major issues were raised across the country.

Since Nepal has been Nepal, political power has been centralized in Kathmandu. Nepal’s first elections weren’t held until the 1950s, and there haven’t been local elections in the past two decades. Aside from those elected to parliament, all other politicians and administrators are appointees. In the forming of the constitution, contentious issues include the number and borders of the provinces, organization of the electoral system and judiciary, the process of citizenship, the representation of castes in government and business, monarchy vs. republic, parliamentary vs. presidential democracy, federalism vs. decentralization, and a secular vs. Hindu state, among others. For instance, many argue that Nepal, with its 81% Hindu population, should be denominated as a Hindu nation in the constitution. Strident opposition has come from religious minorities, mostly Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians. In the current draft, proselytizing is outlawed.

Earlier this month, the CA reconvened in Kathmandu to finalize the constitution. On August 10, plans were announced to divide the country into six provinces. Protests arose in various districts: some objected to being split in half by the proposed demarcation; others opposed separating from particular neighboring districts. In Surkhet, where eleven Peace Corps Volunteers are posted, two people were killed and six seriously injured when police opened fire on demonstrators who had defied a curfew and were vandalizing government buildings and politicians’ homes. Opposition parties announced a series of protests lasting through August 17, including rallies, torch rallies, and bandhs.

Bandhs are unique to Nepal, and don’t have a good English translation. Political parties, unions, and locals use bandhs, or “closures” as a form of protest to pressure the government to fulfill their demands. A bandh consists of crowds taking to the streets and preventing all traffic from passing. This includes cars, buses, motorcycles, and sometimes even bicycles, from 5 AM to 5 PM. Only vehicles with blue license plates, which designate diplomatic vehicles, are allowed on the roads. Demonstrators been known to bombard violators’ vehicles with rocks and occasionally set them on fire.

In the meantime, the country shuts down. Typically, only hotels and hospitals remain open; everything else—shops, schools, businesses banks, and government offices—close. Try to imagine the implications of an all-out ban on travel. Farmers can’t sell their produce nor purchase pesticides to protect diseased crops, like my friend Tanka who has hundreds of tomato plants currently suffering from blight. People lose access to food and money. Recharge cards, which are how Nepalis replenish money on their cell phones, can run out, hindering communication. Shop owners lose income. Students are prevented from studying. For each day of nationwide bandh, it is estimated that Nepal directly loses 1.8 billion rupees (i.e. $1.8 million) of its GDP, totaling a loss of 0.6-2.2% of its economic output in any given year. The indirect cost is likely much higher. Can you imagine such a protest being permitted to happen in the U.S.? People wouldn’t stand for it.

Health services are also suspended or limited. The other day, two pregnant women in labor were traveling to Tulsipur in a jeep, as all the ambulances in the area had been unavailable. Demonstrators threw rocks at the car and demanded that the women nevertheless use an ambulance, as other vehicles were not permitted to travel. Only after the police arrived, finding the women crying in the back seat on the verge of childbirth, was the vehicle allowed to continue on its way. People who need to travel to Kathmandu or abroad for specialized care are forced to delay treatment.

Bandhs are often called for a day, but can last indefinitely—a week, two weeks, even a month. Occasionally, the organizers will schedule bandhs in various districts at different times, like this past January when, after returning from my family trip to Cambodia, I was stuck in Kathmandu for four days due to bandhs in districts along my way back to site. The atmosphere in Kathmandu was eerie—during the bandh, not a single vehicle could be seen on the normally bustling streets of Nepal’s capital. In total, over two dozen nationwide bandhs have been called since I arrived in Nepal.

The current bandh has indefinitely delayed my selection of participants for our upcoming boy’s development camp, upset my plans to bring Moringa trees, asparagus rootstock, and strawberry plants to my community, left me strapped for cash, and made me feel pretty fed up with Nepal.