Federalism: Competing Maps

Brikhesh Chandra Lal: Representation In Constituent Assembly
RPP For Federalism Ahead of UML, NC And NC(D)
My Federalism Is Economic, Scientific, Not Ethnic
Interim Constitution Draft
Janajati Angst
Why It Is Important To Me The Congress Takes Up A Federal Republic
Madhesis, Social Justice, And The DaMaJaMa Equation In Nepal
Rameshwor Shah: Inclusive Constituent Assembly
June 17 Madhesi Gathering In New York City
Frustration, Chemical Imbalance, Mental Imbalance
UML Inching Towards Federalism
Bahun, Chhetri, Sunni
Jay Prakash Gupta
June 7 Madhesi Rally In Janakpur
Monarchy, Army, Federalism
MaDaMaJa
Nepal Janajati Statement From NYC
Adivasi Janajati Talk At Harvard: Photos
Janajati Sammelan At The New School
मधेशीसँग संख्या छ, शिक्त छैन
Prakash Bom For Strong Districts

Nepal is designed for three states. Just look at the three river basins: Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali. Look at the three valleys for the three capitals: Udaypur, Chitwan, Surkhet. Chitwan of all places in Nepal is most suited to become the Shanghai of Nepal. Bathe the valley in wireless broadband and watch the economy boom: a jump from the agriculture sector straight onto the service, infotech sector, bypassing environmentally unfriendly industrialization.

The other two maps are the pendulum swinging the other way. The Bahun Chhetri Male hegemony has been so total, the other groups want to carve the country out in ways that are as different as possible from the current unitary state. I don't blame the sentiment. I feel it myself as a Madhesi.

But we have to realize Nepal's number one, number two, and number three problems are poverty, they are not social exclusion. Actually much of the social exclusion is rooted in poverty. And so the federalism has to be economic, not ethnic.

You design three states that are roughly similar in geography, population, and resources, and you let them compete with each other in terms of economic growth. Someone will have to prove themselves as the Governor of one of the states before they can hope to be the country's president. There will be no such law, but the political reality might end up shaping that way.

Much of the state machiney should stay with the three states so that the federal government can have a robust, global foreign policy for the firt time in Nepal's history. Exporting the April Revolution.

The 75 district governments should be given much power. For me it is not about having nine or 10 states, it is about having 75 districts. People from any ethnic group should be able to get elected district chairperson for a starter. Those who become Governor should be those who can deliver the economic growth. That should be the number one criterion.

Proposed Republican Constitution 2006

On the other hand, look at my tri-lingual education policy, and the language policy as it affects parliaments. My language policies will do more than the Maoist map for federalism. In a vibrant economy people move around. And so you can't hope to have ethnic federalism, unless you plan on staying a poor country forever.

People express their ethnic and cultural heritages through institutions like family and schools.

There has been so little discussion on language policy. That is curious.

The big parties like the Congress and the UML have been dragging their feet on federalism. So they are nowhere close to designing that inevitable federalism. This is a fundamental issue, it can not be avoided.

On The Web

Federalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Federalism
Close Up Foundation: Federalism
Assessing the New Federalism
The Federalism Project
Constitutional Topic: Federalism - The US Constitution Online ...
Cases & Materials on American Federalism
Crime & Federalism
ThisNation.com--Federalism
federalism: Definition and Much More From Answers.com
Back to Federalism
Democracy Papers - Publications
Center for the Study of Federalism
Oxford Journals | Social Sciences | Publius
Federalism
Centre for Research and Information on Canada: Federalism
Amazon.com: The Age of Federalism : The Early American Republic ...
FEDERALISM AND INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY
Fed-Soc.org - Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group
Ben's Guide (3-5): National versus State Government -- Federalism
Federalism Reloaded
Political Theory > Federalism in the Yahoo! Directory
USIS -- Issues of Democracy -- April 1997
Redefining Federalism: Listening to the States in Shaping "Our ...
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Federalism Has a ...
Crime & Federalism: A Favorite Blog
[PDF] Can Federalism Stabilize Iraq?
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Living With Cultural Federalism
Google Directory - Science > Social Sciences > Political Science ...