Nepal’s Constitution
Foundation Of Democratic Ideals

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990 was promulgated eleven years back after the successful People’s Movement was able to establish democracy in the country. The Constitution is the basic law of the land and the provisions enshrined therein has been the guiding force for the people to enjoy their rights without any discrimination. The very fact that the Constitution has been framed after studying various constitutions of other countries and the suggestions of people from every walk of life speaks of its validity. It is not a mere paper document. It touches on every facet of the life of the people.

Reflection

The Constitution that we have reflects the aspirations of the people for a just society where the people enjoy the fundamental rights for their better welfare. It also expects the people to fulfil their respective duties and responsibilities. Without this adherence to it the country cannot prosper.

What makes the Constitution very unique is that Constitutional Monarchy is a part of the democratic set up while the sovereignty is vested in the people themselves. This is clearly spelt out. It is under the constitutional provisions that the country is governed and the necessary laws and regulations are framed. It is an honour for the Nepalese people to have such a constitution which has received praises from various quarters. Anything against the constitution cannot be tolerated.

With the experience gained in the past eleven years, the people have become more mature as regards their duties and responsibilities. This is the reason why the society has become more humane than ever in the past. With elections to be held every five years to choose the representatives who are given the responsibility to govern the country, it also makes it clear that the chosen representatives of the people are to serve the people and not to lord over them. This speaks of the control over the government. Wrong interpretation of the constitution is not desirable. There may be grey areas where the role of the Supreme Court is sought. And it has rightly given verdict on a number of occasions.

In the past years, there has been clamour on the part of some people that the Constitution must come up for review. Of course, everyone has the right to air his/her views on any matter of national importance, but the tendency seen here is that there are people who speak just for the sake of speaking without any reason whatsoever. The people and political leaders who speak of the need to review the constitutional provisions themselves do not know what has to be changed or amended. This can be seen as an irresponsible way of commenting on things.

Eleven years is a short time to evaluate a constitution. On this point, former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has rightly said, the other day, that it’s too early to evaluate the Constitution. He also said the success or failure of the Constitution could be better evaluated after three more decades. He did not deny the fact that the Constitution as such may have some insignificant lapses but there is no mistake on democracy, Constitutional Monarchy and human rights. This is indeed the right opinion of the mature and wise senior Nepali Congress leader.

It is relevant here to note that the economic progress of the country has its link to the constitution. A one-sided constitution cannot pave the way for the social and economic development of the country. But in the case of Nepal, the Constitution has provided the rights to the people so that they can do the needful for their own welfare as well as the country’s. On this point there can be no disagreement. The only thing is how are the provisions enshrined in the Constitution implemented. There has to be honesty and sincerity on the part of all especially the political parties and leaders. The political leaders are the ones who have to present themselves as models to the people by adhering to the tenets of the Constitution.

Nepal is country dominated by the poor, the illiterate and the underprivileged people. For them many constitutional provisions are unknown. Here, making such people aware of their rights and duties is a task that the political parties, leaders and workers have to undertake. Just hankering after power without enlightening the people about what the Constitution has to offer is not the right approach. In the past decade, barring the first few years, a greater degree of understanding has come about the way democracy functions. This in itself is an achievement that cannot be denied.

The general elections have offered great opportunity for the people as well as the leaders to become more knowledgeable of the system that is in the country. It will take a few more decades for the people to have adequate knowledge but what has been achieved so far is praiseworthy. In this the role of education is foremost.

Ignorance

At this juncture, it may be worthwhile to talk about the Maoist demand for a republic. With the Constitution that we have, the demand is irrelevant. It is creating an issue without any logic behind it. Since the promulgation of the Constitution, monarchy has not interfered with the way the country is governed. The King has always remained within the limits of the Constitution. When this state is there, asking for something out of the blue is either ignorance or trying to create a schism among the people. Such tactics are bound to be unsuccessful. In the meanwhile, as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said everyone must uphold the spirit of the Constitution. Only this will be able to keep the country on the right track not only now but in the future as well.

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