Nepal’s political landscape has been changed and power relations altered significantly after the successful completion of the Constitution Assembly Election on 10th April 2008.

Nepal has tremendous opportunities for its transformation from feudal, monarchical, exclusionary state to a federal, inclusive republican nation if major political forces work together. However, there are also gigantic challenges ahead particularly if the major political forces such as Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and Communist Party of Nepal Maoist (CPN-M) failed to cooperate and engaged in petty interest of their respective parties keeping aside the national interests. The important question raised by Meghan Parker is crucially important. His question is: will they be able to maintain stability after so many years fighting to disrupt the system? To answer this question we need to see how major political forces will deal with the following major challenges:
• Agreeing on federal structures: All major political parties have presented different models of federal structures (some have very clear models and others have presented the criteria that are mutually exclusive. Newly emerged regional power Madeshi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) has vehemently demanded whole madehs as one province where as CPN-Maoist has presented several federal units within Madesh. Other big two parties CPN-UML and NC has disagreed with the models presented by both MJF (1 Madesh 1 Pradesh) and CPN-M ethnicity based federal structures)
• Another major issue is inclusion of all concerned actors in the peace process and making new constitution as well as ensuring their participation in decision making related to national issues and concerns. So far the culture of political parties is very exclusive and power-centric. Hence reorienting their perceptive and behavior is another challenge
• Sustaining alliance and working on ‘coalition culture’: None of the alliance members have coalition culture and they have demonstrated in the past that even do not want to respect culture of coalition. How they will shift this mentality.
• Facilitating Disarming, Demobilization and Reintegration unqualified ‘Peoples Liberation Army’ (PLA) is another big issue. Security system restructuring is also equally important and highly sensitive. Reintegration of PLA into security forces, right sizing of security forces of Nepal are other important issues.
• Safe exit of the king and execution of the republican system is also crucial and potentially difficult.
• Managing frustration, high expectation and radical or extremist thinking
• Meeting required resources and appropriate use of resources
• Balancing need of the transitional countries and overt and covert interests of international communities (international interference)
• Proper functioning of weak state (enabling state)
• Non-cooperation and disputes among major political forces
• Armed groups in Terai and emergence of war lords
• Erosion of democratic characteristics in political parties and their democratization
• Role of UNMIN and its continuity v/s exit

So far environmental concerns are not priority of political parties except developing hydropower. Vast majority of Nepalese people have livelihood insecurity and the chronic fuel crisis, abuses and misuse of state resources by powerful elites protected by political system, extremely skewed distribution of land resources are other major concerns.

Restoring security and achieving stability depend upon the concerted action of all major political forces (at least NC, CPN-UML, CPN-M, MJF and others) and CPN-Maoist alone can not do much if it does not get cooperation form domestic and international forces.

Bishnu Raj Upreti
Kathamndu
2 May 2008

The attempt to recognize the linkage between natural resources and political conflict as a crux of social and political transformation is a high demand of the time. In Nepal, the power concentration based on natural reources especially the land still remained as a major issue. Till the date, many nepalese speically women, dalits and indigenous communities suffering from identity crisis, recognition and lack of access to basic services due to denial of land rights. Therefore, the issue of natural resources is not limited to productivity, but largely determines status and culture of social justice, societal attitude, power relation and reflection in public policy. If not dealt properly, it again can become a source of social and political conflict. Since history, the land remained as a monopolised property of certain group who claims themselve as a master of the state, community and or family. It helped to promote and practice culture of denial and excercise power based on access to control over natura resources. Now, the prime time came in front of all political parties, beaurocracy and civil society to recognise the importance of dealing with natural resource agenda with the principle of equitable access, management and benefit sharing. It will help in societal transformation, political understanding and ensuring autonomy and rights of citizens.

In democracy it is not the party but the agenda wins the elections. it is exactly what has happened in Nepal. CPN- Maoist which after fighting the dacade long civil war has come up with the agenda and programmes which most of the people of nepal has been presssing to the so called the mainstream political parties of Nepal has consistently ignored for so long. Population growth is the persisting problems in contemporery Nepal but the real problem is not the size of population but the feudal and centralized governance structure of the country which has created huge income disparities in the last two dacades leaving majority of the people in the country deprived of the promishes the political parties made dirung the dawn of the democracy in 1990. The hugely abundant natural resources has been used by the limited fef and the inequitable distribution of the natural resources has feuled the discontent of rural people in the country. The indigeneous right of people have been undermined over the resources while the traditional occupation of different cast group has also been in decline due to unavailabiliuty of the inputs and diminishing market. Overall options of people have been decreasing day by day.
by voting for maoist and the newly emerging parties in Terai the people has validated the cause of the conflict and it is now the high time for new political forces in nepal to prove themself and adress the underlying problems of the nepalese society.