Winners & Losers of Nepal Constitution 2015

84.8% of elected Constituent Assembly members have voted in favor of the constitution that was promulgated on September 20. Although the ruling parties are hailing this unprecedented and historic document as a win-win for every Nepali, it is far from true. To investigate the winners and losers of this historic document, our senior and smart correspondent ‘Chatur Nepali’ has traveled across the country.

Winners

Clothing Tailor Shops

One of the clear winners appears to be clothing tailor shops in Terai. ‘Chatur Nepali’ had a chance to speak to Gulam Manzoor in regards to this.

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Gulam Manzoor – Yes, we are very happy here in Birgatigunj. I do not understand what is in the constitution but our business has been ‘first class’ since a few days. We have received orders to sew thousands of black flags to mark this historic day. I have heard that people here will put black flags on roof of their houses to welcome the constitution. That is very good for the country and our business. To keep up with the orders, we are working despite the curfew during the day and night with our shutter closed, of course. My workers are getting paid twice their regular wages so, they are also very happy. The mood is jubilant here.

Chatur Nepali congratulated Gulam Manzoor for his success and bid adieu. He then traveled to Tanakpur and ran into Ram Bilas again, who had invited KP Oli sir to eat mangoes with him. Chatur Nepali asked him the same question.

Mango Sellers

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Ram Bilas – Yes, sir. My mango sales have been very high. Although it is off-season, the marketing efforts by KP Oli sir has driven the demand very high. Due to curfew, I stay away from the main roads and deliver mangoes to homes of my loyal customers directly but I charge them twice the price because of the high demand and also curfew. So, yes I am very happy with KP Oli sir for marketing my mangoes. No problem.

Candle Makers

Chatur Nepali noticed that the mood in Kathmandu and Terai were different over the new constitution but one thing was common: a large number of candle sellers on the streets. He approached one of them and asked the same question.

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Misri Devi – Yes, I am very happy.  My candle sales here in Tanakpur this month are very high compared to last year. Lots of people have bought candles to hold candlelight prayer vigil in memory of the ones killed here. My sister, Rabri Devi sells candles in Kathmandu and her sales are higher than mine. She told me that her sales have been higher than it was during Deepawali last year. One group buys candles in Kathmandu to celebrate the constitution and another group in Tanakpur buys candles to offer their prayers to the dead. For our business, this is good. I really want to thank our government for that.

Losers

Chatur Nepali was amazed to find so many supporters of the constitution in Terai so,  he wanted to find someone who did not support it, for the sake of balanced opinion. Down the road, he saw a Nepal Electricity Authority vehicle and its workers fixing what looked like a transformer and they did not appear happy. So, he approached them and asked the same question.

Nepal Electricity Authority

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Bijuli Prasad – No, not at all. Our company – Nepal Load Shedding Authority, I mean Nepal Electricity Authority, has suffered a great loss in revenue today because people all across Tanakpur, Biragatigunj and in most of Terai observed a collective blackout from 6 – 8 pm. Our company has already been running losses for the several years and this event has hurt us more. To add to that loss, the sudden reduction in power demand caused a frequency surge and destroyed many of our utility transformers. We were not informed of this decision because we were given orders by the government to expect a high demand ahead of Deepawali celebrations in the entire country. This miscalculation has cost us greatly. We will now have to import these from India and given our goverment’s snail pace of procuring orders, we are afraid our revenue loss will exacerbate. Now it is ‘pakka’ that we will not receive a bonus this year. I was hoping to buy my dear wife Ramdulari a silver anklet but this event just ruined it.

Chatur Nepali consoled Bijuli Prasad and his crew and returned to Kathmandu.

Khas Bahuns

In Kathmandu, he met a few members from ‘Khas Bahuns’ ethnicity and they seemed unhappy so, Chatur Nepali asked one of them the same question.

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Sushil Kamal Oli – There are many good things in this constitution but I am unhappy about Article 42(1). It accuses Khas Bahuns as being among marginalized groups and puts us in the same category as females, Dalits, Indigenous, Madhesis, and Tharus. That is a big libel to our race because we are rulers, not ruled like Madhesi and Tharus. Although we account for only 29% of the population, we have virtually dominated all higher echelons of state. As a matter of fact, from 1799 AD, we have had 66 prime ministers in Nepal and except Marich Man Singh Shrestha (who was  a Newar), all of them have been a member of Khas Bahuns. We think this is a conspiracy by marginalized groups to defame us. We will fight for our dignity and not stop until this reference is removed from the constitution.

Neutral – United Nations Undevelopment Program

In Kathmandu, he met an official of United Nations Undevelopment Program. Chatur  Nepali asked the same question again.

Chatur Nepali – Are you happy with this constitution?

Bikash Nepali – As a member of UNUP, we can not comment about a sovereign country’s decision. What I will say though is that, we commend the efforts in Terai to save energy by turning all lights off during the blackout from 6  – 8 pm. Given the load  shedding problems in Nepal, this sacrifice is honorable. Furthermore, we will request Climate Action Council to award carbon credits to Nepal for this act. Terai has set an example for energy conservation and I hope other parts of the country will emulate.

[This report by ‘Chatur Nepali’ has not been independently verified yet.]