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Kathmandu Wednesday September 19, 2001 Ashwin 03, 2058.
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Ethnic groups debate
nationalities academy
By Subas Risal
KATHMANDU, Sept 18 – Will the vehement
demand of different ethnic groups to set up an academy for the nationalities, which could
work independently as an autonomous body, be justified? Much of the debate on a Bill
registered in the Parliament Secretariat to form the academy almost a year ago has been
centered on this issue.
Ethnic groups across the country are
unequivocally demanding the academy for the Nationalities to work as an autonomous body.
They believe that if it is allowed to work under the government it will engender many
other ethnic problems instead of solving the previous ones.
"It should be allowed to work independently
as an autonomous body unlike the Nationalities Development Committee formed by the
government ten years ago. If it is not allowed to work independently, then it will be a
complete failure," says Dr. Ganesh Man Gurung, an eminent sociologist.
"Registering of the Bill is a commendable
move by the government but the academy must closely monitor the works carried out by
various agencies related with the ethnic groups," he adds.
The government formed Nationalities Development
Committee soon after the restoration of democracy in 1990 with a view to raise the living
standard of different ethnic groups. However, since the very beginning, it has been mired
in controversy as ethnic groups have been claiming it to be working against the interest
of the nationalities.
Gurung adds, "The activities of the academy
must focus on the marginalized ethnic groups like Rautes. They have always been left out
of the programs that are intended to uplift the socio-economic status of the
nationalities."
Ethnic groups have been claiming that they have
been oppressed and discriminated. They have been accusing the government of ignoring their
different demands like reservations of seats for the ethnic groups in the Upper House of
parliament.
"The provision on the Bill that provides
for the setting up of the academy is not sufficient to uplift the status of ethnic groups.
It needs many amendments before it is passed. If the Bill accommodates all the suggestions
like making it an autonomous body forwarded by lawmakers and ethnic groups, the academy
will be effective in uplifting the different ethnic groups," says Dr. Chaitanya
Subba, another eminent sociologist and former director of Nationalities Development
Committee.
"Competent persons with enthusiasm to work
for the ethnic groups should be nominated by the government," says Dr. Subba. Time
and again he has been claiming that he was ousted unceremoniously from Nationalities
Development Committee only to be replaced by an Incompetent Director.
However, the government asserts that if the
academy will be allowed to run independently as an autonomous body, it will be inviting
series of problems.
"The academy announced by the Prime
Minister will address the problems of the ethnic groups. The main objective of the academy
is to uplift the status of various nationalities. If it is allowed to work as an
autonomous body, then it will invite problems like inappropriate utilization of the
allocated budget. The academy, therefore, should work under the government," says
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development, Hari Rimal.
Besides the demand of autonomy to the academy,
the ethnic groups have put forth other suggestions in the bill like proper definition of
whom to include in the category of ethnic group.
"The bill on the academy itself is not
clear about whom to include in the category of ethnic group. There is nothing about the
reservations like political reservation for the ethnic groups in the Upper House,"
says Sitaram Tamang, Chairman of the All Nepal Ethnic Groups Association.
Tamang further adds, "The Bill on the
Academy largely focuses on language. Country is plagued with different ethnic problems,
language is just one aspect of it."
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