NATIONAL 1 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Annual Ritual

Constitution Day celebrations have assumed the form of an annual ritual to pay lip service to democracy and transparency

By KESHAB POUDEL

Ten years after the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 was promulgated, leaders of the pro-democracy movement and intellectuals remain dissatisfied with the implementation of its letter and spirit.

Those who drafted the document failed to envision the range of challenges that would emerge under a multiparty polity restored after a 30-year gap.

A mass demonstration : Power of the people

"Drafting a constitution is a Utopian task. But to practice its principles means to confront realities every step of the way," says Ganesh Raj Sharma, an eminent constitutional lawyer. He says the constitution is facing the hard realities of contemporary society.

"Fulfilling the dreams and aspiration of the people in a country like Nepal is really an uphill task. Nepal is facing a crisis today not because of the constitution. The constitution is facing a crisis created by several political factors," he says.

From Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to the leader of main opposition party, Madhav Kumar Nepal, everyone sees the need to change the constitution. Interestingly, they ignore the fact that the current crisis owes more to a deterioration of the political culture.

The architects of the constitution, arguing that they produced the best possible document under the circumstances of the day, accuse political leaders for creating today's malaise.

"The constitution is not deficient. Our political leaders are responsible for the present impasse," says former chief justice Bishonath Upadhaya, who headed the panel that drafted the document. "If political leaders change their behaviour, the constitution would start functioning normally."

Other do not agree with that contention. They say the constitution contains several contradictions because it was drafted by representatives of three political forces with different ideologies.

The document may contain contradictions but there is a clear mechanism for intrepretation thorough Supreme Court. But few seem to have the patience to follow this process.

The evolution of the constitution and its practice takes time. Nepal has seen different experiments in the five decades since constitutional governance was introduced.

"Nepal's challenge is to implement the letter and spirit of the constitution. Perfection in this area comes from experience," says Attorney-General Badri Bahadur Karki.

Personal interest seems to have posed the greatest obstacle to this process of evolution.

"We need to set up an evaluation committee to see whether the constitution is functioning properly or not," says Nilamber Acharya, who as law minister played a pivotal role in bringing out the document on time. "The time has come to review the constitution."

Politicians are confused over the kind of changes they want. "If there is a need for amendments, we are ready to begin discussions. Except the four permanent features, we are prepared to amend other articles," says Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of main opposition CPN-UML.

The realization that the constitution has failed to translate the aspirations of the Nepalese people into reality may provide the ground for a broad discussion on changing it.