News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal The protracted power tussle between the ruling and opposition parties and their calculated divergence on multiple issues is nothing other than their lack of confidence on their organisational strength and popular base. Viewed from their track records of at least for the last one decade, if not more, none of the political parties seems to have lived up to general expectations of the people. Key forces In the political spectrum of Nepal, four forces hold the key role. These key forces are the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Center and Madhesis. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has recently emerged as another force to reckon with especially after the merger of the two factions of the RPP. An extreme leftist force is also trying to emerge, but its presence has not been felt significantly visible in Nepal's political landscape so far. In the Constituent Assembly election held in 2013, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML emerged as the largest and the s...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Election for local bodies appears to be round the corner. If all goes well, the local election will be held in next three months. The constitution  requires all three elections should be held in the next eleven months. The three elections are for local bodies (municipalities and village councils); provincial legislature and federal legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. But uncertainties still prevail. Limited time Given the climatic condition and cultural tradition of Nepal, we have limited months for holding the elections. Elections in Nepal are not possible in all 12 months of the year. The period between mid-June and mid-September is rainy season during which our farmers are occupied in agricultural activities. During the monsoon season, the country often suffers from floods and landslides, which may pose difficulty even for the movement of people. Soon after the rainy season is over festival season begins. G...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Most people often tend to define as well as believe that history is the documentation of the past events. It may be true, to a large extent, as history contains and compiles every incident and every bit of information that takes place in the past. However, history is not merely a record of the past. A real and genuine history is the objective analysis and interpretation of the incidents taken place in the past from which lessons are leant to cope with the present situation and chalk out the future course. Importance History deals with both documentation as well as its interpretation of the past events. The proper study and analysis of past is a must to exactly understand and ascertain the present situation. In the absence of understanding the past and objective analysis of the present, the forward journey often becomes difficult and the vision for the future gets blurred. Ignorance or distortion of history leads to failure in achieving the goal set forth. Study...

Yuba Nath Lamsal It has been more than 16 months since the new constitution, drafted by the Constituent Assembly composed of people's elected representatives, was promulgated. Yet the politicians and pundits are of the view that the constitution is yet to be fully implemented. According to them, the constitution will be fully implemented only when the three tiers of election are held. Clear provision The three tiers of election include federal parliament at the center, provincial parliaments and local bodies. Elections are, beyond any shade of doubt, necessary in a democracy. The constitution of Nepal has clearly specified that the present Legislature-Parliament will cease to exist from January 21, 2018, which means the election for the lower chamber of federal parliament or the House of Representatives must be held before that. The National Assembly, the upper chamber of the federal parliament, cannot be formed without holding the elections for the provincial parliament an...