Madhesh movement and implementation of federalism

After that there were many protests in Madhesh. The demands of federalism and other rights were addressed after the agreement between the protesting Madhesi Morcha and the government of Nepal. As a result, proportional representation and participation of Madheshi, tribal tribes, Dalits, Muslims, women etc. in all structures of the state was ensured.

The presence of Madhesi party representatives was strong in the first Constituent Assembly. But due to mutual animosity and prejudice, the Madhesi party could not get good results in the second Constituent Assembly election. After the draft of the constitution was released by the Second Constituent Assembly, the Madhesi party opposed it. Despite the demand of the Madhesi party to create at most two provinces by including 22 districts of Terai/Madhesh, only one of the eight districts of Eastern Terai was made Madhesh province. When the constitution was promulgated on October 3, 2072, the agitation was raging in Madhesh. However, in the following days, due to lack of consensus among the Madhesi parties, the movement ended without a conclusion. Although there was a big movement for the change of power in Nepal, this was the most detailed movement in history for gaining rights in the structure of the same state power.

Undoubtedly, the Madhesh movement has confirmed its achievements. After the Madhesh movement, the self-esteem and self-respect of the Madheshis was destroyed. There has been a reduction in the demeaning treatment and discrimination against Madhesi. There was a change in the treatment of the Madhesi community as second class citizens. The movement drew a new outline of the social, cultural and political identity of Madhesh. Madhesh also became a subject of interest for academics who were studying only mountains and hills. There was a wave of studying the diversity within Madhesh, regarding the political, economic and social aspects of the exclusion of Madhesh. Madhesh became a subject of curiosity and interest for donor agencies. Therefore, an organization was opened to study about Madhesh under the leadership of Madheshi. The media, which was ignoring it in the past, also gave Madhesh a place.

Moving the centralized unitary state to a federal government system is the gift of the Madhesh movement. The popular slogan of this movement was 'Apna Prant, Apna Administration'. The Madhesh movement demanded naming the province based on identity. Madhesh province got the name Madhesh Pradesh based on its identity, even though it only covers eight districts of Eastern Terai out of seven. The day when Madhesh province was named is celebrated by the state government as self-esteem day. After the Madhesh movement, the Madhesi representation in the central politics also increased significantly. The Madhesi party, which emerged as a regional party, appeared to play an interfering role in central politics. Madheshi party got the opportunity to lead a powerful ministry in economic and administrative terms. The first president and vice president were elected from the Madhesi community. Not only in government administration, but also in other fields, the participation of Madhesi became mandatory. These are the major achievements in establishing the identity of the Madhesh movement.

Madhesh Province's operations and challenges

Madhesh Province government seems to be making laws and policies to strengthen the province in terms of governance and administration and address the demands of the movement. Therefore, among the seven provinces, Madhesh province was the first to create the Provincial Police Act and Provincial Investigation Bureau Act. Similarly, the State Public Service Commission Act, State Civil Service Act has also been made by the state. As the federal government did not implement the Police Personnel Adjustment Act, the Provincial Police Act could not be implemented.

Proportional representation of different castes in state bodies was made a major issue by Madhesh. Accordingly, it seems that the state government is trying to ensure inclusiveness in state civil service and state police service by making laws. The Madhesh State Civil Service Act 2077 and the State Police Act 2075 have proportional inclusion provisions. Both the Acts provide for 50% quota for women in all reserved groups. Reservation has been implemented in the posts filled by the Madhesh Pradesh Public Service Commission as per the provisions of the Act. Dalit Empowerment Act 2076 has the main objective of ending caste discrimination and untouchability as well as improving their social, economic and educational conditions. Apart from these, the province has also implemented schemes like 'Daughter Educational Insurance', 'Dalit Scholarship'. This work of the province is claimed as an achievement of the province to make Madhesh province's bodies inclusive.

However, the diversity of castes within the Madhesi community is not reflected in the state assembly, local level, state government and subordinate bodies. In particular, women, Dalits, Muslims and other minority communities are under-represented in proportion to their population, while Yadav and Madheshi upper castes are over-represented. In terms of caste and gender, the efforts made by Madhesh Province for inclusion have also been overshadowed when the Provincial Assembly and the Provincial Government Cabinet are not inclusive.

The representation of the Madhesi party in both the Federal Parliament and the Madhesh Provincial Assembly is shrinking after each election. Madhesi party has gone through factionalism and division time and again because the self-interest of the leadership is more important than political issues. As a result, those parties have become weaker and they have not been able to act according to the spirit of the Madhesi community and the Madhesi movement. The service flow of the provincial government is also not effective as it is not possible to envisage a structure different from the centralized governance system of yesterday. The province has not been able to invest in the structure to establish regional identity. Madhesh is an area with great potential for agriculture. The impact of environmental destruction in Chure has started to be seen directly in Madhesh. But the Madhesh state government has not been able to advance the long-term plan to support agriculture or prevent environmental destruction. On top of that, there are widespread complaints of poor economic governance in the plans and programs here.

Struggle with the union

The constitution has given much less rights to the province than the Madhesh movement demanded, and Madhesi civil society and leaders are dissatisfied with this. Moreover, due to the centralized mentality of the top political leadership and high-ranking employees of the federal government, the province has not been able to use that limited power. But the Madhesh government seems to be struggling with the union due to the leadership of the parties that emerged from the demand for federalism. Since the Madhesh government was formed under the leadership of a different party than the one leading the union government, it seems to be fighting for rights with the union.

The Madhesh state government and the state assembly have repeatedly demanded the federal government to get the rights granted by the constitution. The Madhesh government has started a movement against the federal government. The Madhesh government has also filed a case against the federal government in the Supreme Court for the rights that were taken away against the constitution. Sagarnath Forest Development Project and District Forest Officer should be subordinated to the province, demanding that the province should be able to transfer employees adjusted to the provincial and local levels. The case presented by the Madhesh government with the demand that the provincial police should be transferred and the rich Terai/Madhesh irrigation special program should be subordinated to the provincial government has also reached the constitutional bench, but it has not been resolved.

Even though Madhesh state government enacted the State Police Act in 2075 before other states, the State Police has not been formed. Although the federal government created the Police Personnel Adjustment Act 2076, it has not shown any interest in its implementation. As the union government did not proceed with the police adjustment process, the states were not able to use the powers related to police administration and law and order. The Madhesh Provincial Assembly passed a resolution to start the police adjustment process immediately. The Madhesh state government not only wrote several letters to the union requesting the transfer of rights, but also protested against the union saying that it was not liberal in the transfer of rights. But there was no hearing of any of those activities. The above illustration shows that the Madhesh Provincial Assembly and the provincial government are fighting legally and peacefully to get their constitutional rights.

Civil Discontent

The government of Madhesh province has been formed under the leadership of the parties established after the raging and heat of the Madhesh movement. Therefore, it is natural that the citizens of Madhesh have expectations towards the said government. But due to the actions of the provincial government, they are met with hope and disappointment. Undoubtedly, the Madhesh movement has strengthened their self-respect and self-esteem. Also, their participation in the political and social spheres has become widespread. After the establishment of the provincial government, the citizens' access to development construction has also been claimed by provincial assembly members and representatives of political parties. But citizens complain that only a certain class and political workers have access to state resources.

Citizens are of the opinion that the provincial government should bring a program and plan to establish regional identity. But citizens also say that like the local government, the provincial government also has a small plan and most of the budget is spent in areas that do not bring returns. The program of distribution of bicycles to girls studying in classes 8 to 10 of community schools under the 'Mukhyamantri Beti Padhau Beti Bachau Program', which was conducted by the state government with great enthusiasm, came under controversy due to financial irregularities. There is widespread public complaint that the state government is very weak in economic governance.

Compared to the state assembly elections of 2074, the decline in the influence of the main parties Jaspa and LOSPA, which led the Madhesh movement and are holding power in the state assembly elections of 2079, shows that the citizens are dissatisfied with them. However, the unitary and centralized state system is experiencing the deep pain of discrimination, deprivation and contempt for the Madhesi citizens. As a result, dissatisfaction with those parties increased, but the level of dissatisfaction with the federal system in Madhesh did not increase. But the work of the state government is disappointing. Realizing this reality, the provincial government should not delay in promoting development and good governance with wide participation.

– The authors are researchers at Democracy Resource Center Nepal.