D-Day minus four
May 28 is quite close. The long awaited day when the new constitution of Nepal was expected to be promulgated is about to pass without any constitution being adopted and promulgated. This is not …
Opinions
Articles, interviews and notes in English and Nepali.
359 entries
Nowhere to go
Mao's tactics of guerrilla war were very simple: "The enemy advances, we retreat. The enemy camps, we harass. The enemy tires, we attack. The enemy retreats, we pursue." Mao did not envisage a pe…
Cards up his sleeve
Recently, references in the media as to what the president needs to do if the Constituent Assembly (CA) is not able to deliver a new constitution by Friday, May 28, have become quite frequent. Th…
Unfinished Business - Constituent Assmebly
GP. Koirala became history on March 20. A four-time prime minister, giving leadership to the country for almost eight years in that capacity, Koirala had been active in politics for the last six …
Lessons from history
"The Bolsheviks had only won a quarter of the seats in the elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA) in November 1917. They were shocked to see that the October Revolution they had forced on Rus…
Identity politics
Identities may be defined in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, language, culture, gender, sexual orientation and similar other variables. Politics aimed at establishing these identities, among …
Divide and Rule
A country can certainly go for federalism if this is the decision of its Constituent Assembly. But, as a visiting British scholar pointed out recently, federalism is not inherently a superior for…
Forms of government
Many opinions of Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), one of the enlightened American constitution builders, are credited as being foundational to the roots of American values and character. At the close…
Picking their Brains
Nepal is on the last leg of the timeframe of writing a new constitution. The unfinished work of the Constituent Assembly needs to be completed very soon. It is also a time for self-analysis and n…
Towards the New Constitution
The days ahead, however, are not that rosy. The Constituent Assembly is still without any compromise scheme about the form of government that will suit this country. It is still without a workabl…
नयाँ संविधान र ब्रुटस प्रवृत्ति
"संविधानसभाको समयसीमा साँघुरिदै जाँदा तोकिएको अवधिमा मुलुकले प्रजातान्त्रिक संविधानप्राप्त गर्न सक्नेछ या छैन भन्ने विषयलाई लिएर यतिबेला विभिन्न शंका/उपशंका गरिँदैछ । संविधानसभाको कार्यप्रगति, यस…
Restructuring Nepal's judiciary
One of the major issues before the Constituent Assembly of Nepal is deciding on the mechanics of devolving judicial power to the far-flung villages in the new state structure. The Constituent Ass…