Nepal's National Interests - II

171 Pages·2013·1.22 MB·English

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TIB Nishchal N. Pandey
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Tomislav Delinic
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ISBN 978-9937-2-7058-8 TN
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NEPAL'S NATIONAL INTERESTS - II
Secularism, Free and Responsible
Media and Foreign Employment

Co-Editors
Nishchal N. Pandey
Tomislav Delinic

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Published by
Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) www.csas.org.np
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) www.kas.org/saarc

First Published, April 2013

All rights reserved

ISBN : 978-9937-2-7058-8

The views and opinions expressed in this book are of the author(s) of
the chapters and not necessarily of the CSAS-KAS.

Printed at:
Modern Printing Press
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Tel: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
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Contents

Preface i

1 Secularism in Nepal: An Assessment of Future Challenges 1
Dr. Rabindra Khanal

2 Secularism and the Challenges Faced by Nepal 11
Prakash Rimal

3 The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindutva in Nepal 22
Amish Raj Mulmi

4 The Nepali State, Secularism and Minority Religious Groups 33
Monika Timsina

5 Maintaining Religious Harmony: Issues and Recommendations 43
Dr. Nishchal N. Pandey

6 Between the Media Agenda and the Public Agenda 54
Dharma Adhikari, Ph.D.

7 From Conflict to Peace: Changing Face of Danger for 66
Nepalese Journalists
Sanjaya Dhakal

8 Media Situation in Post-Conflict Nepal 76
Kosh Raj Koirala

9 Security Challenges for Journalists in Nepal 88
Chandra Shekhar Adhikari

10 High Time for Media to Become Responsive 99
Anil Giri

11 Issues and Challenges Concerning Nepali Migrant 109
Workers in the Gulf
Dr. Shambhu Ram Simkhada
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12 Managing Foreign Employment 125
Dhan Bahadur Oli

13 Consumed but Not Invested: An Inquiry into 135
‘Remittance-Growth’ Nexus in Nepal
Resham Bahadur Thapa Parajuli

14 Remittance from Arab Countries: A Question of Sustainability 151
Jayaraj Acharya, Ph. D.

Introduction to Co-editors 164

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Preface

It is with profound pleasure that we present to you another book as
an epitome of the successful partnership between the CSAS and the
KAS. Indeed, it is a matter of great satisfaction that the Nepal's
National Interests project that was launched with the support of the
KAS comes to a fruitful conclusion with this volume which is second
in series of the earlier book focusing on foreign policy, internal
security, federalism and energy-economy published in 2011
Nepal's transformational journey as a federal, secular, multi-
party democracy has had its hiccups but continues with great
expectations not only of the hitherto excluded groups within the
country but also of the international community. Shaping multiple
aspects of democracy-building has never been and will not be easy as
it will be largely shaped by the prevailing socio-political conditions in
the country and the role of political leaders. But identifying various
contours of national interest and hurdles in fulfilling those interests in
the changed context will be useful to everyone in this important path
of a long journey of a modern day democratic state.
It was with this in mind that the sub-themes of secularism, free
and responsible media and foreign employment were chosen as the
crucial spinal column of the New Nepal that is emerging. This book
with papers from experts of each theme seeks to explore the
challenges and possibilities from an uniquely analytical frame with a
prognosis of the future. All the writers have had first hand
experiences and knowledge of the selected area which we hope will
be useful to decision-makers for implementing the measures that they
have suggested.
The papers fill a significant gap in the current literature on
secularism, free media and foreign employment in the Nepali context
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and provide insightful analyses on their altering complexities and
dynamics. Only with careful handling of these issues, we feel, Nepal's
newest tryst with democracy will be successful.
As we thank all paper presenters and those that assisted in
successfully implementing the Nepal's National Interests project, we
hope this book will be an important resource for politicians, policy
makers, academics and students for a long time to come.

Tomislav Delinic
Nishchal N. Pandey

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1
Secularism in Nepal:
An Assessment of Future Challenges

Dr. Rabindra Khanal1

INTRODUCTION
Secularism is the concept that the states should exist separately from
religion or religious beliefs. When a state is declared secular, it should
neither be influenced by any particular religion in its governing
activities nor should it impose any religious faith upon its people. In
other words, no human activity related to governance and politics in
a state should have any influence from a particular religious belief. It
is the argument of the modern nation states that have adopted
democracy in a true sense. But it is not easy for any states to remain
completely away from some kind of belief system because it is deeply
rooted in the state’s tradition, culture and historical upbringing. No
states in the world have been able to adopt secularism completely
including some of the well-known secular states like India, France, the
United States, Turkey and South Korea. In this situation, the states
that aspire to adopt secularism need to maintain a balance between
the traditional values and the principles of modern democracy where
each individual gets equal treatment from the state and is assured
that the state does not discriminate. On the other hand, secularism
means not only the absence of the state in religious matters but equal
protection of all existing religions by the state so that each group of
people belonging to different religions can promote their religious
identity. Thus secularism is the separation of religion and state on the

1 Author is Associate Professor, Central Department of Political Science,
Tribhuvan University.
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2 l Nepal's National Interests - II
one hand and equally the involvement of state in every religion on
the other. It, however, does not mean ir-religion or atheism as
perceived by young people in Western Europe.
Nepal was declared a secular state by the Interim constitution of
2007. It came as a surprise to many people because the concept was
new for many even though the discussion was going for some time
among ethnic communities and the liberal activists in Kathmandu.
Ethnic groups and minority religious groups who had legitimately felt
alienated by the Hindu character of the state rejoiced it. Some
political parties including the CPN-Maoist made it a powerful political
slogan. It was a political decision made by the parliament and was
necessary for further democratization but the decision was made in
haste without adequate public debate and discussion. Such a
decision affected the majority of the people as it did not seek people’s
consent which may pose difficulty in its implementation in the
upcoming new constitution. Majority of the people may hesitate to
take the ownership of this concept when it is implemented because
the concept really does not represent their interest.
This short paper does not negate the idea of secularism in Nepal.
It will give a short history of this concept at first and then endeavor to
confine itself to the challenges it may have in future once the
constitution making process is completed.

HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE OF SECULARISM
Nepal, a traditional multicultural and multi-religious state dominated
by Hindu philosophy throughout its history, is a complicated case for
the introduction of secularism. Religion has been an important part of
people’s life including that of the state ever since the country came
into being. Almost all the ruling dynasties from Lichhavi to the recent
past had relied on Hindu religion in relations to governance. Laws
were codified from Hindu Dharmasastras like Manusmriti and
Mahabharat. The Muluki Ain implemented by Jung Bahadur was
codified mostly from Manusmriti. Some of those laws are still in
existence. People’s everyday life was also regulated by the Hindu
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R. Khanal : Secularism in Nepal: An Assessment of... l 3
rites and rituals. Buddhism that came later was respected by the
rulers but was never the ruling philosophy of the state. In fact,
Buddhism was assimilated with Hinduism to a great extent. The same
gods and goddess were worshipped by both the religions in different
names. Even Buddha was considered as one of the incarnations of
Lord Vishnu in an attempt to harmonize the two religions. The other
religions like Islam and Christianity came very late. The entrance of
Islam is believed to have taken place from the time of King Ratna
Malla in the late 15th century2 but its presence was insignificant in the
Nepali society. The Islamic population increased in Terai significantly
only during the second half of the 20th century mainly due to the
open border with India. Similarly, Christianity entered in the middle
of the eighteenth century along with the Capuchin Catholic priests at
the invitation of King Pratap Malla first and then by the last Malla
kings of Kathmandu and Bhadgaon3 but they were ousted by king
Prithvi Narayan Shah when he conquered the Kathmandu valley.
They came back to the valley again after 1950 to run the educational
institutions and hospitals at the invitation of the Nepali government.
The number of Christian population was insignificant until 1990. In
this situation it was but natural for Hinduism to remain a dominant
religious faith in Nepal. Hindu dominance over other religious faiths
in the modern period was strengthened by the Panchayat
Constitution promulgated in 1962, which declared Nepal a Hindu
kingdom in order to strengthen the divinity of the kings of Nepal.
Throughout the Panchayat period, the prerogative of the Hindu king
was never challenged even though the number of minority religions
had been increasing gradually.
While talking about secularism in the past, the country was never
declared officially but always practiced religious tolerance. Despite
the implementation of Hindu laws, other religions always received
considerable respect. The Lichhavi King Manadev, for example, was

2 Balchandra Sharma, Nepalko Aitihasik Ruprekha, Banaras: Krishna
Kumari Devi, 1951, p. 162
3 Ibid, p. 168.
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