The Dalits of Nepal and a New Constitution - ConstitutionNet

The Dalits of Nepal and
a New Constitution
59
1990 Constitution Interim Constitution
Comment
victims of conflict, including women, Dalits,
indigenous tribes, Madhesis and Muslims.
(15) The State shall pursue a policy of providing a
minimum required piece of land for settlement to
the liberated bonded labourers having determined
their exact numbers.
No equivalent
Article 63 Formation of Constituent Assembly
(4) The principle of inclusiveness shall be taken
into consideration by political parties while
selecting candidates pursuant to sub-clause (a) of
clause (3) [geographical constituencies], and, while
making the lists of the candidates pursuant to subclause
(b), the political parties shall ensure the
proportional representation of women, Dalits,
oppressed communities/indigenous groups,
backward regions, Madhesis and other groups, in
accordance with the law.
This required the Constituent
Assembly Election Act in
order to be effective. It
resulted in 49 Dalits or
8.15% of the total
membership of the CA.
No equivalent
Added by 5th Amendment - new Clause (4A) to
Article 144:
In order to give the Nepal Army a national character
and make it inclusive, enlisting of Madhesi,
indigenous ethnic groups, Dalits, women, and
people from backward and other regions into the
armed forces on the basis of the principles of
equality and inclusiveness shall be ensured by law.
This new provision requires
a law in order to have effect.