Wednesday, January 24, 2007

National

Dev Raj Dahal

In Nepal , where both the political and economic societies have a common utilitarian motive of maximizing power and wealth, the non-profit sectors- a world of the poor and the powerless are being ignored. It is here that the civil society that can create a public space for the poor people's participation and collective action. Nearly all parts of Nepal suffer from a slow growth of vibrant civil society that is capable of initiating public discourse on policy issues and mediating among the state, the market and the international regime. How will the present state of civil society evolve into the future? On the basis of trends already underway, five critical factors that support the proliferation of civil society can be found in Nepal .

First, the historical legacy of Nepalese voluntary, self-help and charity sectors will give continuity to civic institutions and activities. Second, the tendencies of all mainstream political parties and their leaders' faith in privatization and economic liberalization will render a minimalist role for the state and will inspire citizens, consumers and workers to band together in search of common goods. Third, the civil society sector continues to grow, side by side, with the state and private sectors, offering a new channel to introduce social responsibility and democratic approach. It would be a symbol of change for creating a modern, democratic and just country where the rich and powerful were no longer above the law. The more the dominant institutions of governance are removed from the needs and concerns of people, the better scope there will be for voluntary associations and civil society. Fourth, by linking up to the global associational revolution for democratic transformation, civil society will provide an impetus for a number of local initiatives and creativity where local NGOs and people's organizations at the grassroots level will become their partners in interacting, monitoring and influencing public policies on governance. And finally, donors' shifting patterns of aid from the state to increasing the capacity of NGOs and civil society in charting the future of their societies add further strength to these intermediary bodies.

Today's civil society may be seen as a reconnaissance of shifting paradigms of governance and development for the future- a shift from competitiveness and individualism to the core values of inclusion, justice and solidarity. The future politics of civil society will aim to grasp the local people's point of view, their conception of life and help them realize their vision of the world, a vision grounded in the aspiration of multi-hued and kaleidoscopically diverse people of several racial and geographical origins. The Nepalese society will also enter a new phase of evolution, with decentralized units of self-governance. Something surprising is bound to happen as people assert their sovereign power smashing the shackles of bad legacy of the power elite and the undemocratic social control mechanisnm. This will offer an impetus for grassroots consultation on policy discussion countering a culture of vengeance, partisanship and a wholesale abandonment of democratic principles by those in power. And, the increasing centralization of governance draws the conclusion that the struggle for human rights remains very much unfinished.

THE LEGACY OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN NEPAL

Historical development in Nepal highlights the importance of facilitating new civic knowledge and skills. The emergence of the concept of civil society is historically linked with the rise of the notion of public space, a space rationally governed by the interest of the public. Later, it assumed a character of critical discourse, thus linking context to rational knowledge and knowledge to politics.

Guthis , temples, monastries and cultural associations were independent of the dominant institutions of society, both the state and the market, since the Vedic Age, the age of knowledge and enlightenment, where people freely shared their feelings and entered into cooperative schemes. The evolution of the notions of dharma (institutional duties and role), shastras (moral and religious treatises) and sashtrartha (philosophical discourses) were expected to mold the mind and character of the people and the rulers. Such interactions mediated their interests for public welfare. Nepalese religious codes, however, are based more on duties and obligations, than fundamental rights. The edifice of caste and the spiritual universe of Nepal , the Nepal Mandala, has been built around these conceptions.

The organisation of civil society along modern lines began with the Arya Samaj. Arya Samaj was founded by Madhav Raj Joshi in 1909 to awaken the Nepalese from blind faith, prejudice and conservative thinking as well as to abolish child marriage, promote widow marriage and initiate social reforms. He was imprisoned by the then Rana rulers. In 1918, Tulsi Mehar, Amar Raj and Bakpati Raj vainly tried to revive this body but could not. On the initiative of Siddhi Charan Shrestha, a Malami Guthi was instituted for social and civic activities that too suffered from the Ranas' iron hands.

In 1920 Subba Krishna Lal Adhikari wrote Makaiko Kheti (Farming of Maize) which sarcastically depicted the Rana policy of sycophancy toward Britishers ruling the Indian subcontinent, and enslavement of native people, including the conditions of peasants and workers of Nepal . He was also imprisoned for nine years. In 1937, Nagarik Adhikar Samiti (Committee on Citizens Rights) was constituted under the leadership of Sukra Raj Shastri with Kedar Man Byathit, Ganga Lal Shrestha, etc as members. Its objectives were to stimulate public consciousness through the interpretation of Hindu religious treatises, civic education, discourses and action and, consequently, lift the veil of the oppressive silence in the nation. When Sukra Raj was explaining the lesson of classical treatise, Bhagbad Geeta, at Indrachowk, in Kathmandu , he too was arrested and later hanged. Yet, one of the questions then in currency was the relationship of the public to legitimized knowledge and knowledge to-politics.

Anti-Rana flags were fluttered by the students of Sanskrit schools of Kathmandu . The chief proponents of this, Jayatu Sanskritam movement, were Sribhadra Sharma, Kashi Nath Gautam, Kamal Raj Regmi, Rajeshwor Devkota, Gokarna Shastri, etc. They wanted to modernize the syllabus of Sanskrit teaching by including history, politics, geography and other contemporary subjects and broadening the scope of learning. Likewise, in 1947 a workers' strike occurred in Biratnagar with professional demands. Many literary societies were formed at home and abroad to prepare the citizens for social mobilization and collective action. They were looking at freedom from the standpaint of not only intellectual reason but also the social and political conditions of discussion that would allow the citizens to shed their privatized identities and engage themselves, as citizens, in a movement of politics and public interest. Reflecting the lessons of the Asian resurgence movement in general and the Indian independence movement in particular, newer demands for greater political freedom brought the downfall of the Rana regime and opened a space for party politics in the fifties.

The concerted public relations campaigns promoting nationalism revived authoritarianism in the sixties. The Panchayat which lasted for 30 years postulated the patrimonial leadership of the monarch until the restoration of multi-party politics in 1990. The autonomy of civil society, such as trade unions, human rights organizations, student unions, teacher's associations women's groups, environmental advocates, professional organizations, etc., is essential for breaking the monopoly of power and wealth and enforcing a pluralist sense of justice. In spite of the actors of civil society described above, the state-civil society discourse has been poorly institutionalized, the long-term consequences of which remain profoundly uncertain. Most civic organizations have been hampered by shortage of funds, information, perspectives and personnel. The problems emerging in the discourse of civil society now are:

High level of population growth (3.41 percent) and low level of development will likely spark a struggle for resources, especially for food security and livelihoods. This will be coupled by a demand for ecologically and culturally sustainable development. The doubling of population within three decades is a trend that would reach Nepal 's population to above 40 million by the year 2020 from its current 23 million. The capacity of modern technology to reduce jobs would add a vast pool of jobless workforce which is already 2.7 million strong. Unless there is paradigm shift from consumption and revenue-based models of development to a production based one, one where the workers and peasants have the capacity and skills to compete on the market mediating with the demands of the globalization process, the potential for unrest in both the rural areas and cities remains high.

The rate of increase in poverty shows stable characteristics, which will persist over a period of time. If the goals of poverty al1eviation remain unmet, the country may have to face social and political struggle of firebrand activists for rights and justice leading to a crisis of gevernability. The current trends of graft, criminalization and a culture of impunity for the entire political class add further weight to the likelihood.

Massive concentration of rural population in urban areas, nearly 40 percent by 2010, suggests that there will be a familiar ring: dislocation of social peace and stability and the rise of social evils. Unless maturity of the civil society helps the state become able to maintain social cohesion, mediation and peace, good governance is less likely to emerge.

ECONOMIC TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABLILTY

How can the national integrity system of governance be built? The obvious answer is: by promoting economic and political transparency and accountability of the leaders and office holders. Ironically, however, Nepal does not have a better-than-average economic transparency. One of the rationales for the subordination of civil servants to periodically elected political executive is that the latter would make the former accountable for their actions as a duty-their responsiveness to the electorates. The right to vote enables the citizens to make government responsive to their needs and aspirations. While the right to information granted by the Constitution also makes civil servants transparent and accountable, the accountability standards in Nepal are, however, lower than in any other countries of South Asia . This has encouraged corrupt practices and often collusion among civil servants, politicians and business persons, adding negative contributions to economic development and political stability. Political leaders dominate the issues having a greater content of political judgment rather than expertise. The government's anti-corruption institutions, though highly publicized, have little effect because of the involvement of the whole of the political class, judiciary, law-making and law-executing agencies in their alleged involvement in graft and corruption.

The 2lst century will require a new ethics of responsibility to the natural world and future generation to go with human rights and democracy. Meeting the basic needs of half of its population who languish below poverty line requires an atmosphere capable of attracting foreign investment and employment generating activities. Similarly, in combating corruption, the problem of the gap between accusation and proof must be addressed. The CIAA is accused of laying out those cases which have conflict-laden facts and, therefore, has undermined the merit of the cases. Important testimony has been tainted in the past by mishandling of the cases. Inability of anti-corruption agencies to crack down is causing cold feet among investers. New cases of corruption are becoming more evident and huge. More important-new dimensiens are being added to existing corruption: corruption that requires international cooperation, corruption that requires bilateral efforts, corruption that emerges out of vicious cycles of causation within the country and lack of enforcement mechanisms of anti-corruption laws. All the accountability institutions, such as the Auditor-General's office, Public Account Committee, CIAA and Special Police Department need to be strengthened to bolster the national integrity system in fighting corruption and criminalization of the governance process.

The lack of national consensus within the government on how to respond to the viciousness of corruption has meant that corrupt persons are allowed to go their own way without impunity. As a result of governrnent indecision, there is a widespread impression among the corrupt and criminals that further corruption will be tolerated by the regime. An increase in the extent of cronyism is the big factor behind the roling failures of the political class that has lost touch with the needs and feelings of ordinary people. lt has failed to provide hope and a sense of inclusiveness that they long for in a competitive market environment. Not surprisingly, these features will certainly evoke grounds for pessimism in the future. Governance should, therefore, be normatively redesigned to serve the needs of diversified and articulate citizens as well as to legislate an equity between the generations.

CONCLUSION

Each government has lost many opportunities, created and added its own costs to exploit them in the future, left the preblems to fester and undermined the rights of future citizens. The above analysis is not cynicisrn about the state of governance in Nepal but a realistic anticipation of the problems to be confronted in the Future. Nepal needs to improve its micro-economic foundations for a long-term management of macro-economic and rnacro-political processes. For that, good governance is not only important as a rneans to realize the basic rights of the majority of the peeple but also to set a context for the state to become a repository of collective strength of its citizens. This will help promote the provisions of essential services whereby people can develop their full potential for eventual empowerment. Realizing the goal of human rights for all requires a develepment synergy of all the actors-the state, the market, the private sector, NGOs, civil society and the international regime. A broad-based consesus among them on the national agenda is vital where civil society can enrich policy dialogues on poverty, women empowerment, Dalits and marginalised people, disabled, environmental degradation, corruption, debt, and management of external dependence, etc. The role of the state to support public power very much depends on how much it is enmeshed in the society and how far it is helping to manage the contradictions of the existing social and economic order. An overarching vision of transformation helps issue a pious endorsement of development. Good Governance in the context of Nepal postualtes the realization of a vision underlined in the constitution, a vision grounded in the protection of "life, liberty and property " of people, where development of each person would be linked to the harmonious development of the society. Direct participation of the citizens at all the levels of decision-making that affects them enforces the ethical basis of good governance. Only good governance can be a lever for Nepal's development and democracy for the next century.

Source: South Asia Partnership, Governance in the Doldrums: Who really govern Nepal ? Kathmandu : 2000