The central government keeps 50% of the federal budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the states in direct proportion to their population.
The state government keeps 50% of the state budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the districts in direct proportion to their population.
The district government keeps 50% of the district budget, and passes on the other 50% to all the towns/villages in direct proportion to their population.
The state government is the only that gets to collect the sales tax. This will make sure all states compete to create the best possible environment for business.
For the national lower house, states get seats in direct proportion to their population. 300 seats total.
For the national upper house, there are 100 seats through proportional representation. Any party that gets at least 1% of the votes qualifies. A political party may not be armed. Other than that there will not be any disqualifiers. It is called the basic human right to peaceful assembly.
In this formula, it does not matter how you draw the federal map, as in it is okay to do it along ethnic, linguistic lines. Makes no material difference.
At this point my knowledge base is such that I am sure only about three states: Madhesh, Tharuwan, and Newa. That does not mean I am opposed to the other demarcations. It is just that I want the Janajatis to come forward on their own to suggest what they want.
People - read Pahadi Bahuns - who think in terms of a zero-sum game, in terms of a limited pie, are opposed to federalism. But we have to think in terms of a growing pie. Take one example of Dolpa. People feel sorry for Dolpa because it is in Karnali. But if Dolpa were to be allowed to keep half of all the tourist revenue it generates, it would be one of the richest districts in the country. What is going on now? The bureaucrats in Kathmandu end up keeping all that money. Federalism would be great for Dolpa.
It might look like Madhesh will be the largest state and hence will dominate. Not so. All the other states will have a major incentive to gang up against Madhesh if need be. Half of the Madhesh revenue goes to the central government where all states are represented. All states will be forced to work together to decide on what to do with all the shared revenue.
And if we were to put a major focus on transforming Nepal from an agricultural economy to a knowledge economy, then it is no longer true Madhesh will have the natural advantage. Then you are looking at a level playing field. Some of the hill station destinations might be best suited for the knowledge economy. It might not be Madhesh.
Let's use FM technology to that effect. 10 years of schooling through FM. Every evening for five hours nationwide, you should be able to tune in to any of the 10 class years. This way we are saying, we can't wait until we have enough teachers and school buildings. The future is now.
Bottomline, we have to think in terms of a growing pie. It is amazing to me how populated the Nepali diaspora is with prejudiced Pahadis who have been cooking up all sorts of unscientific arguments against federalism and the same has been consumed by the Kathmandu media like there were no tomorrow.
We have to move beyond those false arguments, and get busy with actually shaping the federalism in the most democratic way possible. It is so obvious to me we are going to have the ethnic states. Madhesh is going to be a state. That is for sure.
If you are not for ethnic federalism, you are in good company with me. I was not for it either before the Madhesi Movement. Joine me. Let go of your old prejudices. Grow your horizons. Federalism is okay, it is more than okay, it is great.
Janakpurdham, Thursday, February 22, 2007. Thousands of Madheshis chanted slogans demanding abolition of monarchy, constituency based on equal and average population. They appealed interim parliament to announce Nepal as a federal republic. Madheshis also demanded immediate resignation of home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, responsible for brutal suppression and killing of 38 Madheshis during Madheshi Adhikar Andolan.
Thousands of Madheshis today picketed in the square of Janaki Temple of Janakpur. The picketing was organized by Democratic Madheshi Society, Janakpur. The gathering also resolved seven following resolutions.
Resolution 1
Madheshi Adhikar Andolan (Madheshi People's Movement) is for equality and equal rights among Nepalese citizen. We need equality nothing less or more than it. The government is trying to denigrate this peaceful and just movement. Delaying the fulfillment of well justified and established demands of Madheshi people, the regime is trying to play fouls. Recent Bill proposed by the cabinet for the amendment of the interim constitution is ambiguous, which shows its discriminatory mentality among the rulers. This meeting condemns such mentality and strongly demands reconstruction of constituencies based on equal and average population for CA elections.
This meeting also appeals all the Madheshis MPs to act jointly in the advocacy of equal rights and be attentive and conscious in amendment proceedings in the Interim Parliament.
( Proposed by : Ex-Mayor of Janakpur Municipality and NC leader, Brikhesh Chandra Lal.)
Resolution 2
During the peaceful Madheshi Adhikar Andolan (Madheshi People's Movement), the government brutally and nastily tried to suppress Madheshi non-violent protesters. Unnecessary and unjustified arms were used on unarmed protestors by the Government's police. Peace loving Protestors form Dhanusha, Morang and Sarlahi were brutally killed by the communal agents backed by the Government. These irresponsible acts of the government have been closely watched by the UNCHR, Civil Society, and Other Neutral viewers and such animalistic activities have been condemned.
This meeting strongly demands the dismissal of the irresponsible Home Minister and right punishment to other concerned officials of the Government.
( Proposed by : Ex-Chairman of DDC Dhanusha and NCD President, Dhanusha, Ram Saroj Yadava)
Resolution 3
During the Madheshi People's Movement, the protestors were brutally handled. The police were forcibly entered in the houses and mercilessly beat women and children. But so called Human Right Activists were nowhere. Rather they tried to cover misdeeds of Police and security forces. They also tried to blame baselessly such peaceful mass movement as communal riots.
This meeting condemns such prejudice and communal mentality as well as appeals the National and International genuine Human Right Activists to identify and be aware of such people and organizations.
( Proposed by : Ratneshwar Goit, Alternate Central Committee Member, CPN UML)
Resolution 4
Monarchy in Nepal has always been the centre of feudalistic activities and has exploited the Nepalese people. Killings, sabotaging, conspiracy, and power-lust have been its characteristics. Nepalese have always been compelled to fight against the monarchy for their civic rights and democracy. Monarchy is still sabotaging and working against democracy and the achievement of popular movement–II. Kings unauthorized and unconstitutional message on the Falgun 7th (19, Feb 2007) is the proof.
We hereby demand immediate abolition of Monarchy and establishment of FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF NEPAL.
( Proposed by : Mrs. Minakhsi Jha, DEMAS, Janakpur.)
Resolution 5
We the participants of this mass meeting, appeal all individuals as well as organizations working for the Madheshi Rights to act jointly with mutual coordination and cooperation. A joint front for this noble cause is essential, this meeting appeals all the concerned to move forward for the formation of the needful association.
( Proposed by : Nirmal Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman Chamber of Commerce, Janakpur.)
Resolution 6
Bomb blast in the historic, religious and traditional festival of Mithila Bihari Parikrama in Marai VDC of Mahottary District is an attack on Madheshi religious belief and traditional culture. We condemn this barbaric act.
Due to lack of responsibility and accountability, proper security arrangements could not been made during such an important and religious event. This shows the ill attitude of the present rulers and administrators. This is a conspiracy against Madheshi Culture. We warn, those who are responsible, to stop such activities instantly.
We Madheshi are proud of our Great Martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Madheshi Rights during the peaceful Movement against Khas Hegemony. We honor them and promise to perform all efforts for the achievements they wished. Wishing peace for the great SOULS, we collectively express our cordial condolences to their families.
( Proposed by : Er. Satya Narayan Shah, Civic Society Janakpur.)
There was an intense heated argument between me and Pramod Sitaula and it was tit for tat most of the way. The tit has been slightly misreported. The tat has gone unreported. His roommate joined in. Later he also was joined by a former president of the America Nepal Friendship Society whose name I forget, whose final threat to me was that he was no longer going to read my blog. He kept using the word "madisey," I kept telling him I wanted to teach him something his parents never did, that the word was like the n-word in America, and he should say Madhesi instead, and finally I gave up and gave him the finger, verbally speaking. That threw him off balance.
Pramod Sitaula never mentioned my beautiful teeth, although he did at one point say if only it were Nepal and not New York and left the sentence dangling at that. He might have a point. New York City ma kun Bahun ko ke nai aukat chha ra? New York State Democratic Party CoChair David Pollak who is one of Eliot Spitzer's closest people who is a future president some say is a friend of mine. Which Bahun in the city comes even remotely close to that kind of a political pedigree? Anand Bist does not know anyone in the City Council. There is not even a consolation prize for him.
That Anand Bist called me up after the event is a total lie. He never called. We did not even talk at the event, although I would have welcomed the exchange. At one point he was standing with great unease as I sparred below the belt with his roommate Pramod Sitaula, the barking dog of the local Nepali Congress establishment.
I think it is disrespectful to talk of me as just a blogger. My blog is not journalism, and it is way more than activism. It is leadership. Correlate my utterances since February 2005 to what ends up happening in Nepal, and let me know if I have mattered consistently to the political conversation at the highest levels.
Case in point, this email from Madhav Nepal yesterday.
Shri Paramendra Bhagat Ji ,
Namaskar !
Dherai Din pachhi I am writing to you or responding to you Sorry for that . The actual reason is that I developed a bad habit of not finding time to go through the mails .But today I here in Bangkok on my way to Seoul for the participation in the meeting of Standing com. of ICAPP -find time to the mails esp.ly Yours . So I am going to respond shortly.
Firstly ,I have to thank you very much for your thought-provocking views. Only few people give such a views . Only a few dedicate to such a level as you .
Secondly, Being an intellectual of high calibre you have to cover all things in a broader prospective .
Your dedication and concentration is envying me .
As for your many views , we need to have a detailed discussion. But I have to beg pardon from you that I can not discuss with you over the mail or chat .Because of lack of time , slow speed , my lazyness. Sorry for that . Dhanyabad feri pani . Tapai kai
M.K.Nepal
Hello.
Most of what Pramod Sitaula said were naked expressions of Pahadi Bahun prejudice. But then you get the same these days in the guest columns of NepalNews.com, a publication that has consistently refused to publish my articles.
The so-called Madhesi Movement was a law and order problem. It was never political.
Madhesis are Indians. At most they can get green cards.
Federalism is unnecessary. A lot of thought has gone into the districts, zones, and the developent regions, and they should be maintained.
We are also Madhesi. Girija is also Madhesi.
Madhesis are not in the army because they don't apply. Same with government jobs.
There are so many Madhesi engineers and doctors. Why do you need to be part of the state apparatus? Why don't you complain the Sherpas dominate the trekking industry?
Who were the two Maoists at the event? I did not notice. I don't know them. I would not recognize them if I saw them. And good for me. Who wants the FBI tapping your phones?
Momo. One good thing I learned in the almost a decade and a half spent in Kathmandu. I broke the rule and got myself at least five servings when only one was allowed. That was on top of everything else that was offered. The meal was the best part of the evening, it was not Pramod Sitaula.
And, yes, this ridiculous Democracy Day has to be replaced by a Republic Day.
My lingering thought is what would it take for me to get published by the Kathmandu media like a Kashish?
NEW YORK - A diverse group of Nepalis gathered to mark ‘democracy day’ on 19 February. Madhu Raman Acharya, Nepal’s ambassador to the US and permanent representative at Nepal’s mission to the United Nations in New York, and his wife Geeta hosted the event at the popular Yak Restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens.
“Quite the statement, wasn’t it?” he says, ushering us in. The ambassador maintains a neutral reputation here in New York, but some still view him sceptically as he was appointed to this office just days before the king’s planned attendance at the UN General Assembly in 2005. He is presumably well liked by his bosses back home too—he once said that he “does what [he is] told to do.”
Although many had complained at another Nepali gathering last year that 7 Falgun can’t be considered ‘democracy day’, the variety and number of people who accepted Acharya’s invitation was remarkable. The frail looking man wearing old sneakers, pajamas and a long sweater is Shail Upadhya, who is as close as a Nepali has come to being a celebrity in New York. The retired UN official has long been a resident of New York and is famous here for his colourful and eccentric fashion designing. At New York Fashion Week earlier this month, he was at ease, always in the front row, mingling with top designers and models, and speaking to journalists curious about his polka dot suits. Here, though, he’s just an elderly retired Nepali diplomat. “I want to listen to what these guys are saying, I heard them mention Girija Prasad Koirala,” he says, pointing towards a heated debate between political activist Paramendra and another pro-democracy Nepali. (The prime minister is one of Shail ji’s less favourite uncles.)
Paramendra, the full-time blogger behind the DFN site, is no longer lauded for his pro-democracy work, but taken to task for his recent radical posts on the madhesi issue. “I rang him the very next morning and told him to take those words back. Who the hell is he to say that and divide the country?”, fumes devoted NC cadre Anand Bista of the Nepalese Democratic Youth Council in the US. I find out later that the conversation has taken a nasty turn, with Paramendra being told that had the discussion taken place in Nepal rather than New York, his teeth would not be so firmly in his mouth any more.
No conversation gets very far here. Kamal Pande, another long-time resident, interrupts to ask us whether we didn’t think that a recent program to make Nepal a Hindu country again had been excellent. “The Indian guest speakers were great,” he adds, “they really want to help us.” A man dressed like a minister latches right on and says he’d give up his life for the cause. Knowing how comfortable Sher Gadtaula is, it seems unlikely.
The owner of Yak Restaurant, Sonam Lama, will tell anyone who will listen that, contrary to reports on fursad.com, he is not a drug smuggler or a trafficker of people or involved in the Mongolian Heart illegal immigration controversy. Meanwhile, a young man from Queens whose face bears a startling resemblance to those of his uncles, King Gyanendra and the late King Birendra, looks out of place and strained. On the other hand, the two Maoists who apparently have shown up seem perfectly comfortable.
The end of the gathering is rather more predictable than the conversations earlier, no teeth broken and no slogans chanted. Everyone agrees on some things: that the chicken chilli, choila, alu dum, momo achar were overly spicy. And that we all deserve more than three momos apiece.
Ram Manohar Sah: Madhesh Integration into Nepal: Historical Case & Context
A Short exploration of how Madhesh (East to West) was integrated into Nepal
Vijaypur Kingdom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The Kingdom of Vijayapur was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah in July 1774. This Kindom was situated between the Koshi river in the west and the Tista river n the east. It possessed territories nothe in the hill regions (the modern disctricts of Dhankuta, Panchthar, Taplejung, Tarhathum and Sankhuwa-Sabha) and the Tarai (the modern districts of Morang, Sunsari and Jhapa). After it was annexed by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, the Kingdom of Vijayapur was split into two administrative units with headquarters in Chainpur and Morang, for the hill territoeies and the Tarai respectively. On the eve of the Gorkhali conquest of Morang, the area appears to have been devastated by famine. Nepali source materials are not available to indicate the extent of the devastation in Morang, but conditions across the border, in Furnea, are revealing.” Source
This also shows, how the seperatism move was first started by Prithivinarayan Shah.
Saptari & Morang ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The message brought by Dinanath Upadhyaya was presented before the Governor-General's Council. At the meeting, the Company government decided that it would give up its claim to the Tarai regions of Ambarpur and Vijayapur, i.e. Saptari and Morang districts, in case the Nepal government undertook to ban the entry into its territory of armed Nagas who plundered people in the area from Hardwar to Dinajpur. An agreement along these lines was actually concluded between the Nepal government and the East India Company. The Company government felt satisfied when the areas ravaged by the Naga bandits inside its territories were resettled.” Source
Parsa & Rauthat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “For three years, Nepal continued sending a 21-feet tall elephant to the British. As elephants of the height were not available in the forests, in subsequent years Nepal sent an elephants of a height of approximately 19 feet. At first, the British raised objection to this. But when Dinanath Upadhyaya produced an agreement signed between Nawab Mohawat Jung and Ram Narayan, which provided for the presentation of and elephants of that height, the English officer, George Vansittart, agreed to accept such an elephant annually. The dispute over Parsa and Rautahat was thus finally settled. Warren Hastings, the new governor General of the Birtish East India Company, accepted Nepal's sovereignty over the Tarai” Source
Makwanpur ~~~~~~~~~~ “In 1738, Prithvi had a humiliating experience over the arrangement of his first marriage to the princess of Makwanpur. The angry boy had returned without the bride, Indrakumari, because of ego clashes with the bride’s brother, Digbandhan Sen, and en route to Gorkha, had secretly come to take a look at the Nepal valley.” Source
The above document doesn’t talk about futher course, when King Prithivinarayan Shah betrayed King of Makwanpur, and take away the kingdom. King Prithivinarayan leveraged his marital relationship with capture Makwanpur
Naya Mulk (Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “East India Company (EIC) could not return the monitory loan it got from Nepal immediately because of the economic crisis following the mutiny. In stead, it returned 5 districts through a 1860 Treaty with Nepal” Source
