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TH covrv dropbw_2lines_quote 23-11-06 “Rise from the village, Rise from the shanties, Rise to transform this nation.” These slogans became the clarion call of all sections of people in Nepal, who compelled a despotic, unwilling ruler to accede to popular demands for ushering in democratic reforms. For a people, who have been divided historically by ethnicity, caste, faith and geography, the entire population came together to demand pluralist democracy. The Maoists came out from the cold to engage themselves in the political process and the task of nation-building.

This was “people’s power” of a kind and dimension that Asia had not witnessed since the downfall of Suharto in Indonesia and, in an earlier phase, of Marcos in the Philippines. But the basic dilemma still remains. The old political order is dead. Will the new political leadership sink their differences, rise to the occasion and chalk out a workable solution to the long standing problems of weak political will, poor governance and security, and the demand for representation of the marginalised groups? The Maoist walkout from the government on September 18, 2007 and intransigence of mainstream political parties have cast a long shadow over the country. The Maoists still could contest the elections from outside the government, but polls without their participation would make the political exercise meaningless.

Why has Nepal become such as unstable state? This book provides some tentative answers to the inter-related problems of contentious politics and democratisation. As is well known, with the restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepal witnessed the growth of a plethora of political parties. Why did the democratic era give rise to so many political movements? Did they hasten or hinder the democratic process, which had ironically provided political space for them? Can the fundamental rights to dissent, mobilise and protest go against new democracies? This volume brings together refreshing essays by leading scholars and journalists based in South Asia, North America, Europe and Japan. The writings are based on primary empirical research as well as secondary analysis. The disjunction between the state and the society is the underlying cause for political turbulence. As Mahendra Lawoti points out, the ruling elite defined the rights and duties of the citizens towards the state by conflating it with its own interests and introducing political institutions that concentrated power among them. More than two-thirds of Nepal’s population, including the indigenous nationalities (Adbasi Janajan), Dalits (traditional untouchables) and Madhesis (plains people) are excluded from influential realms of governance. The caste Hindu political elite constitutes 31 per cent of the population, but it overwhelmingly dominates the governmental structure, politics, economy and society. The Panchayati Raj system further undermined the pluralist character of the Nepali state. It promoted one religion, one language and one set of values in a multi-cultural society and thus enshrined the upper caste hill Hindu culture behind the façade of modernisation and development. Economic inequalities, combined with concentration of power in selected few, continued to grow.

As the editor has described, poverty levels were 33 per cent in 1976-77, but rose to 42 per cent by 1995-96. The economic share of the top 10 per cent increased from 21 per cent in the mid-1980s to 35 per cent by mid-1990s, while the share of the bottom 40 per cent shrank from 24 per cent to 15 per cent during the same period. The marginalisation of the poor, widening regional differences and the neglect of the downtrodden provided fertile ground for the rise of radical political groups. The poor and the marginalised rallied round the Maoists, who promised radical restructuring of the political system. The prominent issues raised by the Maoists included the abolition of the monarchy, installation of a People’s Republic, and solution for economic and social issues. The book is divided into five parts: context and framework, the Maoist insurgency, identity politics, collective public protests and, contentious politics and democratisation. The essays are imbued with rare sensitivity and concern for the common man. The book will be extremely useful for all those interested in understanding contemporary Nepal.

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