New Publications from UNDP    |
Home »
Of Special Interest To
The 1990 Constitution and JanajatisThe 1990 Constitution was a brave attempt - but one which in many ways failed - to be democratic and inclusive. Some people may take exception to this statement because the 1900 Constitution has been blamed for many ills of the country. But it is important to know what that Constitution said -in order to avoid the same mistakes in the future. To summarise: the 1990 Constitution laid a heavy emphasis on equality. It did little to require positive steps to advance equality. It did allow special provisions for members of "classes" that were disadvantaged. This sort of provisions is designed to permit active measures for the benefit of groups that need it, without such measures being attached as discriminatory against those who are not entitle to their benefit. Examples might be quotas (reservations) or special grants etc. The Constitution did not require any such measures. Nor is it very clear which classes might benefit (except for "women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated" - so it is not clear whether Dalits or Janajatis would be included. Some restrictions were placed on human rights in order to maintain harmony among groups in society. Laws could restrict freedom of speech, for example. And political parties could not be registered if either they discriminated on the grounds of caste, gender, ethnicity etc. or were formed on the basis of ethnicity etc., nor if there was something about them that could "fragment the country". This seems to mean there could not be a Janajati party (nor a Dalit party or a women's party, for example). There are some provisions (of the sort described as "Directive Principles of State Policy") - saying that the government must take positive steps to improve relations between communities, and also to promote cultures and languages. But such a provision cannot be used as the basis of any legal claim. Communities also had the right to promote their own language and culture, but this also did not impose any duty on the state. They could also set up their own schools at primary level including teaching in their own language - but again this imposed no duty on the state. All "mother tongues" (languages spoken by people as their first language) of the country were defined as "national languages" but no significance is attached to this. Only Nepali was the "official" language. You can see the actual text of these provisions below. Many of them appear in the Interim Constitution, but that Constitution also has additional provisions about Janajatis Below are the main provisions of the 1990 Constitution that refer expressly or by implication to janajatis: Article 2 The Nation Having common aspirations and united by a bond of allegiance to national independence and integrity of Nepal, the Nepalese people irrespective of religion, race, caste or tribe, collectively constitute the nation. Article 4 The Kingdom (1) Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, democratic, independent, indivisible, sovereign, Hindu and Constitutional Monarchical Kingdom. Article 6 Language of the Nation (1) The Nepali language in the Devanagari script is the language of the nation of Nepal. The Nepali language shall be the official language. (2) All the languages spoken as the mother tongue in the various parts of Nepal are the national languages of Nepal. Article 11 Right to Equality (1) All citizens shall be equal before the law. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. (2) No discrimination shall be made against any citizen in the application of general laws on grounds of religion (dharma), race (varya), sex (li_ga), caste (jât), tribe (jâti) or ideological conviction (vaicârik) or any of these. (3) The State shall not discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe, or ideological conviction or any of these. Provided that special provisions may be made by law for the protection and advancement of the interests of women, children, the aged or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated or those who belong to a class which is economically, socially or educationally backward. Article 18 Cultural and Educational Right (1) Each community residing within the Kingdom of Nepal shall have the right to preserve and promote its language, script and culture. (2) Each community shall have the right to operate schools up to the primary level in its own mother tongue for imparting education to its children. Article 26 State Policies (2) The State shall, while maintaining the cultural diversity of the country, pursue a policy of strengthening the national unity by promoting healthy and cordial social relations amongst the various religions, castes, tribes, communities and linguistic groups, and by helping in the promotion of their languages, literatures, scripts, arts and cultures. Article 112 Prohibition on the Imposition of Restrictions on Political Organisations or Parties (3) The Election Commission shall withhold recognition from any political organisation or any party formed … on the basis of religion, community, caste, tribe or region. Article 113 Registration Required for Securing Recognition for the purpose of Contesting Elections as a Political Organisation or Party (3) The Election Commission shall not register any political organisation or party if any Nepali citizen of is discriminated against in becoming a member on the basis of religion, caste, tribe, language or sex or if the name, objectives, insignia or flag is of such a nature that it is religious or communal or tends to fragment the country. |
|||||||||||||||||||
^ Home 
|
Copyright © 2008 | All Rights Reserved | Constitution Advisory Support Unit, UNDP |
