Nationalities & Development
PRIME Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said that the
development of all nationalities is the prime concern of His Majesty's Government in order
to ensure all round and sustainable development in the country. Speaking at a programme
organised by Tharu Kalyankari Sabha (Tharu Welfare Council) and Tharu Students'Society, on
the occasion of Maghi Parba, in Kathmandu, the other day, Prime Minister Chand said that
the governemnt is soon going to introduce and implement phase-wise programmes for the
uplift of social and economic condition of all nationalities in the country. Nepal is a
multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation, which the Constituion of the
Kingdom of Nepal 1990 has also adopted. His late Majesty King Prithvi Narayan Shah has
symbolically described Nepal as a garden of four castes and 36 sub-castes. The government
has always paid serious and sincere attention towards protecting interests of all ethnic
communities and developing their cultures. These varied cultures create Nepal's national
culture, which we describe as unity in diversity. It is true that unless and until all
ethnic communities are brought to national mainstream of development, the overall progress
of the country cannot be achieved. The Constitution and other legal framework provide
equal opportunities to all people in order to bring about social and economic
transformation and creating an egalitarian society in the country, which His Majesty's
Government has strictly implemented. Nepal is a developing country and in this situation,
the first and foremost thing that the government needs to do is to alleviate absolute
poverty and raise the economic condition of the people. For this, income-generating
activities followed by easy access to education and health care facilities are very
urgent. Realising this fact, the government has announced policies and programmes for the
development of all, especially those who are poorest and downtrodden. The decision of the
government to abolish Kamaiya system, the agricultural bonded labourer system, in some
western terai districts, needs special mention here. The government has also brought about
special programme for rehabilitation and development of ex-Kamaiyas. The Tenth Plan of the
government also aims at carrying out income generating activities for the ex-Kamaiyas in
order to bring them into the national mainstream. Prime Minister Chand has once again
reiterated the commitment of the government to do all the needful for resolving the
problems being faced by the ex-kamaiyas. For this, as said by the Prime Minister, the
government is sending a probe committee to find out the woes of ex-Kamaiyas, poor and
landless people and take necessary measures to uplift their condition. This is, no doubt,
a positive step towards eradicating poverty and raising the quality of life of the people
alienated from the mainstream of national development.
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