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Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected as the new President of Nepal. Nepali Congress candidate Paudel won the election held on Thursday by a huge margin. He defeated Subash Chandra Nembang of the CPN-UML by 18, 284 votes. Paudel garnered 33, 802 votes while Nembang secured 15, 518 votes. According to the Election Commission, out of 882 voters, 831 cast their votes. Of the 332 federal Parliament members, 313 cast their votes and out of 550 Province Assembly members, 518 cast their ballots. A total of 14 lawmakers of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Prem Suwal of the Nepal Workers Peasants Party did not take part in the voting. CPN (Maoist Center) lawmaker Barshaman Pun and Nepali Congress lawmaker Chandra Bhandari could not take part in the voting as they are in China and India respectively for treatment. Federal Parliament and Province Assembly lawmakers are the voters for the presidential election. A vote cast by a member of the federal Parliament has the weight of 79 votes, whereas the vote cast by a member of the Provincial Assembly has the weight of 48 votes. The term of the Office of the President shall be five years from the date on which he/she is elected. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, CPN (Maoist Center) senior Vice-Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Nagarik Unmukti Party Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha, Janamat Party leader Abdul Khan and Janata Samajbadi Party leader Ashok Rai proposed Paudel’s name for the President. Democratic Socialist Party Chairman Mahantha Thakur, Janamorcha Party Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC, Nepali Congress Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka and CPN (Maoist Center) leader Hitraj Pandey seconded the proposal. Nembang was proposed and seconded by just the UML. The election for the fourth term of the President was held today. Nepal got its first President through the voting on July 19, 2008 after the country adopted the democratic republican system through the 2062/63 movements. Ram Baran Yadav was elected as the first President of the country. Yadav of the Nepali Congress obtained 283 votes against Ram Raja Prasad Singh from the then UCPN (Maoist) who got 270 votes. After both the candidates failed to secure majority votes, re-election was held on July 21, 2008 Yadav won the re-election by garnering 308 votes while his closest contender got 282. Bidya Devi Bhandari is now serving as the second and current President of the country. This is her second term in the Office of the President. She was elected on October 28, 2015 for her second term. The new Constitution that was endorsed in 2015 as per federalism provisioned 334-member federal Parliament (the House of Representatives and the National Assembly) and the 550-member Province Assembly. The members of the federal Parliament and the Province Assemblies are eligible voters for the presidential election. Bhandari secured 327 votes while her nearest rival Kul Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress received 214 votes. She was supported by the CPN-UML, the then UCPN (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik among other parties. Out of the total 597 voters, 549 took part in the voting, and 48 remained absent. Eight votes were invalid. She was re-elected as the President on March 13, 2018. Of the total 884 eligible voters, 862 (326 under the federal Parliament and 536 under the Province Assembly) cast their votes. Eight votes were invalid. Who is President-elect Paudel? Paudel (78) was born in Risti Bahunpokhara of Tanahun district in September 1944. He got into politics at the age of 16 after the then Prime Minister BP Koirala and his entire Cabinet members were arrested in 1960. Paudel worked closely with Koirala after he returned from exile in India in December 1976. He took part in the armed revolution launched by the Congress in 1961. Paudel, who was elected as the President of the Student Union in the Saraswati Campus in 1966, was elected as the General Secretary of the Prajatantrik Samajbadi Yuva League in 1967. He became the founding central member of the Nepal Student Union in 1970. The party made him the coordinator of the Central Publicity Committee in 1983. Paudel’s journey to the Parliament started after he won the 1991 election from Tanahun-1. Later, he became the local development minister. He was also appointed as the agricultural minister. Paudel won the mid-term elections held in 1994 from Tanahun-2. He served as the Speaker of the Parliament from 1994 till 1998. He was elected for the third term from Tanahun-2 in 1999. He took the responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister and Communications Minister in 2000. Paudel was appointed as the peace minister in 2002. He became the General Secretary of the Nepali Congress in 2005. He was appointed as the coordinator of the Peace Secretariat after the Maoist joined the peace process by signing a 12-point agreement with seven political parties. Paudel was appointed as the peace and reconstruction minister in 2006. He became the Vice-President of the Congress in 2007. Paudel, who was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly held the same year from Tanahun-2, became the Parliamentary Party leader of the party in 2008. He could not be elected to the post of Prime Minister despite contesting the election for 17 times in 2010. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML leader Jhalanath Khanal were the candidates. Paudel was elected as the member of the Constituent Assembly for the second time from Tanahun-2. He became the acting President of the Nepali Congress after the demise of then President Sushil Koirala in 2015. He lost to Sher Bahadur Deuba in the party’s 13th convention held the same year. He also lost the election held in 2017. However, Paudel was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Tanahun-1 this time. He spent around 13 years in jail.                                    

South Asian countries are plunging into economic crises one after another. The Sri Lankan economy is struggling to recover from a devastating debt crisis and its subsequent political fallout, while Pakistan’s economy is teetering on the brink of collapse. Nepal’s economy was sick before the Covid-19 pandemic due to continuous rise in imports and depleting internal production. And just as the country’s economy was getting back on track after the pandemic, it was knocked down again by the Russia-Ukraine war. To make matters worse, extreme weather patterns are also seriously hampering economic activities. Nepal’s crop output is failing. From buying groceries to energy, the cost of living is rising sharply, which has hit the low-income families the most. Meanwhile, businesses are also facing stress due to rising interest rates. Nepal’s economic growth rate has fallen further than it was during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the country’s economy grew by a meager 0.8 percent in the first quarter of the running fiscal year. Slump in construction, minimal growth in agriculture and slow manufacture are ruining the economy. As the crisis deepens, the government is struggling to strike a balance between income and expenditure. The federal budget was in a deficit of Rs 153.61bn as of March 5. A study conducted by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries shows that implementation of projects mentioned in the budget is sluggish, with zero progress in 36 economic sector programs. In order to save forex, the government imposed a ban on the import of so-called luxurious items, but the move backfired, hitting the revenue collection. If the situation deteriorates further, there is a risk of society descending to anarchy. Some elements have already launched a campaign of not paying interests on loans they have taken from financial institutions. So, addressing the economic crisis should be the number one priority of the government and political parties. Unfortunately, they are preoccupied with their own political agendas. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has only just started consulting with economists on ways to save the economy from a free fall. Well, better late than never. Nepal’s economy has remained neglected by the political leadership for a long time now. This is mainly due to the lack of political stability in the country. In the previous government, there was animosity between the finance minister and the central bank governor. Coordination between the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank was affected, as the two agencies did not see eye to eye. Now, change in the coalition has left the ministry without leadership. Frequent transfer of secretaries has not helped, either. As of now, it remains uncertain when Dahal’s Cabinet will get its full shape. The incoming finance minister will have a lot of responsibility, so it is incumbent upon the prime minister to pick the right candidate—and not get caught in political seat-sharing. Senior economist Chandra Mani Adhikari says though Nepal’s economy cannot be compared with that of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, it is certainly heading toward a disaster. He says the political leadership should get serious and get to work without any delay. Internal investment is gradually decreasing, the state of foreign investment and assistance is going down, and almost all economic indicators are poor, says Adhikari. Remittance is the only thing that is keeping the economy alive, while there are some hopes from the tourism sector as well. Economists suggest that the government maintain austerity measures and take steps to increase domestic production. This is not a normal situation, so the political leadership should think differently. Economist Swarnim Wagle says instead of patch-up work, Nepal’s economy needs a serious surgical solution. Party and political issues have overshadowed the problems in the economy, he adds, while suggesting that the current crisis should be viewed in short-term, mid-term and long-term perspectives and addressed accordingly. Former vice-chair of National Planning Commission Govinda Pokhrel says the government should pay attention to increase the capital expenditure and decrease general expenditure. In order to decrease imports, he suggests the federal government should set an agricultural production target to each local government to reduce imports. To do all these things, Prime Minister Dahal should first appoint a strong finance minister who has a sound knowledge of the current state of the economy. He must act fast to prevent a looming economic disaster.  

The word ‘caste’ (Jaat) is a widely discussed subject in South Asia. It is still alive and exists in the 21st century. Mostly in India and Nepal, caste has been a problem for Dalits for ages. Often, the three organs of state—the legislative, the judiciary, and the executive—face questions regarding caste on many occasions. And  the fourth state, the press, usually disseminates information about incidents of caste-based discrimination. Victims of this discrimination show caste and its consequences. And the media makes news. Reservations for Dalits make media news.  Recently, the voices to reduce the quota for Dalits are rising, despite the fact that the state regards reservation as a tiny compensation for caste discrimination. For the ‘we all are equal’ group, this has been a major headache, not caste discrimination and heinous activities against Dalits. The high castes of the ‘Varna’ system are undoubtedly the tormentors. They have been preserving and protecting the caste-specific footsteps of their ancestors. Comparatively, non-Dalits have gotten more education and exposure than Dalits. The ratio of literacy and exposure shows they might understand the need for equality and equity in society. They might feel the gap between high and low castes. They might have seen lapses and differences in mainstream representation. Education, degrees, dissertation, and exposure might reveal these lapses in society to them. But sadly, the so-called high caste hasn't understood the social trauma of caste discrimination for Dalits. They haven't seen the social-cultural exclusion and psychological problems caused by the caste system that affects the Dalit community as a whole. They haven't seen the status of Dalits in society. They just see a tiny opportunity without suffering pain. Beside this irrationality, this casteist mob has been practicing caste discrimination while protesting against positive discrimination. This hegemony and misinterpretation of high caste has halted inbuilt equality and equity in society. Moreover, structurally, the caste system has ruined the Nepali society. . The casteist picture of the society is very divided, fragmented, and dangerous. People enjoying caste privileges and benefiting from structural inequality take the caste system as part of their culture. They act as if the system hasn't created turmoil in society. As most of the castes belong to the Varna system of Hinduism, all the Hindus, whether high caste or low caste, follow the same culture, religion, and tradition. These sociocultural characteristics of religion seem to unite people socially. It looks fine from the outer layer. But when critically assessed, it shows how so-called cultural and social practices draw the lines between "us" and "them," touchability and untouchability among the Hindus, with utter disregard for rationality and humanity. In Nepal's context, non-Dalits' caste hegemony is clearly seen in body language, gestures, and the tones. The way of talking, tantrums, ethnocentrism, etc are the major characteristics of being from an "upper caste." Mainly in villages, one can easily see and feel the high caste burden. There are many examples of this mob refusing to sit and eat with Dalits. In fact, they demand a separate party for non- Dalits at Dalit gatherings. Moreover, the thread-wearing community looks rigid on the outside. Their behavior and activities show they are proud to be members of a certain caste. Non-Dalits want to show and challenge Dalits that they are different and high. They have benefited from being an upper caste for ages as the positions of power they hold show. Besides it, their social activities, gatherings, unity, etc are filled with unbridled monopoly regarding caste hierarchy. However, the desire to make one's lineage greater has been present in all so-called high castes and communities. Along with the origin castes, the human creates stories, genealogy, etc to expose the heroism and wisdom of his caste's legacy. There are some examples of caste hegemony in our society where particular castes like Thakuri, Brahmin, and Chetri are obsessed with their own caste. They claim themselves to be from the royal family or from the priestly class. The Thakuris address fellow Thakuris as Raja Shaheb to show their royal ancestry, while the Brahmins are portrayed as more rational and civilized than others. They have set beauty and rationality as the symbol of their caste. The major root and cause of this pure, impure, high, low, rational, and irrational behavior is the Varna system that holds that Brahmins and Kshatriyas were created first to exercise religion and power, whereas Vaishya and Shudra were created for business and artistic works, respectively. In support of the Varna system of ancient Hindu law, Manusmriti emerged. It mentions the rules of food, marriage, and profession for certain castes. Manusmriti has detailed the rules for a particular caste regarding marital and professional relations. It has strict laws on marriage. The same rules apply with regard to professions and food. Any violation of Manu's law results in the fall of caste. In addition, Manusmriti is the foundation of the caste-based law (Jang Bahadur's Civil Code), which lasted until 2021 BS. The impact of this code is being felt even today. Contrary to Manusmiriti, today's Nepali society looks free on food, profession, and marriage. People are living as per their convictions. But regarding caste, they are a bit rigid. If people compare today's cultural professional status with the history of caste as per the Manusmiriti, caste structure has already collapsed. The caste system is an illusion. It forces people to live in a dead world. Right now, there is no bar on choosing a profession; there is no boundary on eating or making relationships. Inter and intra-caste marriages are also pointing at the breakdown of Manusmiriti. Even laws, education, and international practices are there to awaken people from the so-called rites and rituals. Indeed, practicing casteism is like digging a hole for oneself. As humans of the 21st century, we should stay away from these kinds of extremist systems. Nepal will be one and united in a true sense only if we become able to put an end to all forms of racial and caste-based discrimination. Otherwise, this inhumane system will undoubtedly ruin our society.

Prime Minister and Maoist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal is in trouble for his self-incriminating speech three years ago, where he claimed responsibility for 5,000 lives lost during a decade-long insurgency. Advocates Kalyan Budhathoki and Gyanendra Aaran on Tuesday filed separate petitions at the Supreme Court demanding legal action against Dahal.    

“We are registering this case to bring to justice the people responsible for the atrocities and injustices committed against civilians during the conflict period,” said Budhathoki.    

Aaran added they were compelled to knock on the door of the Supreme Court after their repeated calls to address the flaws seen in the transitional justice process went unheard. “We have filed the case on behalf of a handful of conflict-affected families, but in reality we are representing the families of 5,500 people killed at the hands of Maoist insurgents.” 

Hearing on the case has been scheduled for Thursday. “Prachanda is not free to kill, nor order others to kill,” read one of the petitions. “His public proclamation of taking 5,000 lives is unlawful, so he must be arrested and prosecuted as per existing law.”  

Maoists on the defense 

The case against Prime Minister Dahal has rattled CPN (Maoist Center) and its breakaway parties. They issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying they stand against any activity in contravention of the Comprehensive Peace Accord. 

“Matters related to transitional justice must be taken through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Any act that goes against the transitional justice process will not help in the implementation of the peace accord,” reads the statement. The statement was signed by the Maoist Center, Nepal Samajbadi Party, NCP (Revolutionary Maoist), Nepal Communist Party, CPN (Majority), Scientific Socialist Communist Party, CPN (Maoist Socialist), and Maoist Communist Party Nepal. 

National rights body concerned

The National Human Rights Commission also issued a statement on Tuesday, calling on the government, political parties and other stakeholders to conclude the transitional justice process at the earliest. It asked all concerned parties to amend the transitional justice laws in accordance with international standards, and as instructed by the Supreme Court. The national rights body also raised concerns over the objections raised by some political parties concerning the case filed by the conflict victims in the apex court.      

“Though transitional justice has a different set of rules and procedures, it is still unjust to bar conflict victims from gaining access to the court of law for justice,” said the statement. The commission said it is worrisome that Nepal’s transitional justice has not concluded even more than 16 years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord.