BIKASH DWARE

When things are as polarised as they are in the current constitution debate, and when all sides want all or nothing, any political compromise was sure to be unpalatable to many. And so it was.

The street protests by Madhesi and Janajati groups that followed the deal struck on Tuesday among the four main political forces were necessary muscle-flexing. The political leadership maybe narrow-minded, near-sighted, and greedy for power and money but they have worked out the best give-and-take arrangement possible under the circumstances. They have even averaged out the number of provinces between the demand for 14 and 6.

However, the names and boundaries of future provinces were too divisive and volatile to be addressed at present. Doing that would have delayed the constitution and opened up a can of worms. By deferring the most contentious issues to the parliaments of the future provinces themselves, the party leaderships passed the buck on to those who wanted such provinces. This buys everyone some time, but it makes future negotiations over carving up the country even more fraught because of the potential for pitting Janajati against Janajati and Madhesi against Madhesi over what they should call their provinces, what their territorial outlines should be, or worse: raise questions all over again about the 11-state model. But, the leaders must have reasoned, we will cross that bridge when we get there.

It doesn't bode well for the future of the country if the debate over state structure becomes a part of the deal-making over power, and the constitution is drafted to suit the ego of one man. It can't be swayed by a vocal minority of sloganeering activists who hold the silent majority ransom with the threat of unleashing an ethnic holocaust. The extreme hate speech on social media and sections of the press is already having a corrosive effect.

There are serious problems with Nepali society. It remains the most unequal in Asia, and there are historically marginalised groups that continue to live in near-slavery. Despite signs of greater inclusivity, the civil service, the top leadership of all parties, the police and army continue to be dominated by mainly men belonging to the traditionally privileged caste groups. Many of them may have got there through dint of hard work, but no one can argue against the need to have more gender, ethnic and caste balance in officialdom. And it's not just the numbers, one has to be a Nepali woman, Dalit, Madhesi or Janajati to know the daily discrimination, arrogance and ethnocentrism with which the ruling class groups treat them. Our leaders don't seem to realise how absurd it looks to have 11 Brahmin men and a Newar sit on sofas in Baluwatar to design a new future for Nepal.

These are genuine grievances, even if some leaders of marginalised groups may be using it for political ends. They are just articulating the anger that is there. The indigenous and Madhesi groups argue that only ethnicity-based federalism will redress those grievances. Disregarding the opinion of a majority of Nepalis who don't want to correct a historical mistake by making an even bigger one, the political parties buckled under pressure and have now agreed to carve up the country.

Among the many dangers we face, the two main ones now are the demolition of democracy by a demagogue president, and the country disintegrating into inter-ethnic squabbles.

The thing to do now is to go into damage control mode to make sure that the new federalism model does not lead to the country's disintegration, doesn't keep us poor, and doesn't turn us into a dictatorship.

Read also:
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Fooling some people all the time, ANURAG ACHARYA
A new constitution may eventually be declared on 27 May but the compromised document will leave many dissatisfied