Department of Political Science

University of Delhi
State and Democracy in South Asia
28th February-1st March 2!1"
#onference bein$ or$ani%ed under the #AS&SAP pro$ramme of the Department
of Political Science University of Delhi Delhi
South Asia as a geographical and cultural category, and also in some senses a post-
colonial category, has thrown up a range of issues critical for the understanding of
state and democracy in contemporary contexts. Democracy as a concept has enframed
a set of evaluative and normative standards for assessment of existing democracies.
Yet, the forms it has taken in different parts of the world, show a range of
inheritances, from the repositories of ideas about democracy from the past, to the
more recent experiences of transition to democracies, decoloniation experiences, and
accompanying institutional changes, marked by constitutional insurgencies and
transformative constitutionalisms. Similarly the modern state, even as it is seen
variously, as an aggregate of power relations in society, as an institutional matrix to
achieve desired power-effects, or as an embodiment of sovereignty, which elicits
obligation and obedience through consent, takes plural institutional and ideological
forms.
!he representative forms of democracy, for example, have for long grappled with
evolving the appropriate frameworks of representation, which may best approximate
the normative value of direct democracy, which ironically the "moderns# can never
have, but cannot cease to desire. $n most of South Asia, experiences with holding
democratic elections have led to both the consolidation of the electoral system, and
also a churning within society, which has generated radical uncertainties within
electoral democracies in the region. $mportantly, democracy in the region is deeply
imbricated in the imaginaries of the political community, the state and its institutional
forms, in particular the manner it distributes and decentres power, constitutes
identities of belonging, and the mechanisms through which it makes citiens legible.
$n this context, both, the expression of identities, which take constitutional as well as
violent forms, and its "management# within a democratic framework presents
challenges, which make for constitutional and institutional innovations. $f distribution
of power through federaliation of polity has been one such mechanism, the putting in
place of institutions of electoral governance has been another mechanism, which
allows for a democratic consensus over the manner in which power is exercised.
$mportantly, %uestions of institutional design are inextricable woven into and
ramifications for the lives of people.
$n South Asia, the experience of territorial parceling in the historical context of the
decoloniation and formation of nation-states, has not only generated anxieties around
cartographic nationalism, but borders have also become central to policies for the
control of movement of people, and also the conceptual tools for an examination of
migratory flows and political lives. !here has been an unparalleled convergence of
energies across disciplines and methodologies in the exploration of border regimes,
from those that examine borders as producing the power effects of the state and as
practices through which the state makes itself structurally visible, and others who
examine the cartographic anxieties, and the production of specially marked categories
of citiens and corresponding regimes of governmentality or the states of exception
which mark out the bare lives of migrants.
&iolent conflicts along ethnic lines has been another concern, which the governments
of the region have addressed through a politics of accords, which are invariably
negotiations over how power may be shared, and possibly democratied. 'n the other
hand, the processes of transition to and sustaining electoral and substantive
democracies through transformations in the formative practices of the state is e%ually
a shared experience in the region, although it presents different challenges in the
specific contexts which obtain in each country. !he processes of constitutional
making, institutionaliation of democratic politics, and democratiing institutions by
producing a deliberative space where political cultures of democracy and dissent may
be freely expressed rather than contained, has remained a challenge. !he
representation of diversity and the discourses of democracy which see federalism and
devolutionary as significant constitutional devices in pursuit of accommodation of
diversities, and for addressing concerns of national security and economic
development, similarly produces a common ground for evaluating democracy in the
region. !he panels of this conference expect to detail some of these experiences with
democracy in South Asian states by inviting experts on and from South Asia.
States of Democracy in South Asia 'A Plenary Session(
1) South Asia*s Democratic Deficit+ ,essons from -ndia
Suhas (alshikar, Director, )okniti, *SDS, Delhi + (rofessor, Department of (olitical
Science and (ublic Administration, ,niversity of (une, (une.
Abstract
$t is commonplace to look upon $ndia as a relatively successful instance of practice of
democracy in the region of South Asia. -hile this success is evident both from the
continuity of competitive politics in $ndia over six decades, the weaknesses of
democratic practice witnessed in $ndia too, are symptomatic of the challenges
democracy may face in the region. !herefore, a careful examination of $ndia#s
democratic deficit can alert us to the possible emergence of comparable challenges
elsewhere in the region. !he presentation would take a critical view of key challenges
that push $ndia#s democracy in the deficit one. !hese are. support deficit,
institutional failures, slippage into ma/oritarianism, shrinking of politics and
routiniation of democracy. $ would review the democratic experience of $ndia at two
points in time01223 and 1245 and attempt to show that these challenges are faced by
$ndia#s south Asian neighbours at different points in time but confronting similar
outcomes. !aking off from $ndia, the larger story of democracy that emerges in the
region presents us with a paradox. democracy has not necessarily "delivered#
dividends and yet, it produces hope and expectations. !hese are both drivers of
despair and catalysts of improvement.
2) .he .hreat Posed by /0tremist -slamic 1roups to Pa2istan*s Democracy+
,oyalty Disloyalty and Semi-,oyalty in a 3ybrid 4e$ime
(hilip 'ldenburg, (rofessor, *olumbia ,niversity, 6ew York
Abstract
Although (akistan conducted a reasonably free and fair election in 7ay 1245, and the
reins of government were handed from one civilian government to another for the first
time in (akistan#s history, the country remains under threat from $slamic groups that
do not accept the legitimacy of the form of democracy enshrined in the constitution.
-e can better understand the extent and shape of that threat by making use of 8uan
)in#s classic distinction between 9loyal,: 9disloyal,: and 9semi-loyal: opposition.
!he army#s role in these terms can be seen as ambiguous, though it most commonly
acts as a 9loyal: opposition. ;ut (akistan remains a 9hybrid: regime, neither a
consolidated democracy nor a behind-the-scenes autocracy, and that affects the
likelihood that the semi-loyal opposition in the current almost-democratic system
might play a crucial role in determining its future.

5) Democracy and its discontents+ feminist en$a$ements 6ith the nation state
,ma *hakravarty, feminist historian
Abstract
(ost colonial nation states carry not merely the marks of their erstwhile political and
cultural experiences of colonisation but also the "burdens# of nationalism, a certain
anxiety about their territorial and political status that refuses to engage with
interrogations of the nation-state and insists upon confining thinking within a set of
givens. defined boundaries, which make up what a civil rights activist referred to very
aptly as "cartographic nationalism,# sovereignty of the "people#, which in effect is
confined to a particular class, and a cultural unity that is represented as defining the
"essence# of a people and thus legitimises the making of the nation-state as a
territorial formation. <or the post colonial nation-states of South Asia the anxieties
and interrogations are so numerous that criti%ues of the nation-state have taken more
time than warranted to make their way into civil rights activism =which is fairly well
consolidated now> but much longer into scholarship, a process that is finally
underway. <eminist scholarship on the nation-state too has had a late start in our
region but $ndian feminism stands out even within South Asia for its failure to grapple
with fundamental issues around the nation state from a decidedly feminist
perspective. this has meant that theorising militariation and internal repression, even
conflict between "communities# and regions has taken far longer to emerge in $ndia
than it has in (akistan, Sri )anka and ;angladesh. An important %uestion for me in
recent times has been to try and understand why this has been so. over the years $
have come to have misgivings about the peculiar burdens of post- colonial
nationalism specific to $ndia wherein the $ndian middle class believes, and has been
fed to believe, that "our# nationalism carries the imprimatur of a pure and liberatory
patriotism that was pitted against an evil racist colonialism? further it was untainted by
the "selfish# and "communal# demand for the partition of the sub-continent on
religious lines. !he nation-state in $ndia is thus constructed as an example of a
"higher# nationalism based upon the principles of secularism and democracy0
features that were absent in the nationalism of (akistan. ;oth men and women
subscribe to these assumptions often explicitly but even more often implicitly. -e
have therefore rarely listened to the voices that are speaking. $n this paper, $ will
examine some issues that mark the relationship of $ndian feminism to $ndian
nationalism in the post colonial phase and explore the ways in which pioneering work
on feminism and nationalism in Asia suggest lines of en%uiry that can help us
understand our own politics of location.
Panel 7ne+ -dentity Democracy and 1overnance in South Asia
7r$anised by 8eena 9u2re:a Professor Department of Political Science
University of Delhi Delhi
South Asia is experiencing a triple explosion of awareness, aspirations and identities.
$t has also created intensified social tensions which have produced agitational and
protest movements, on the one hand, and violent conflicts and organied insurgencies,
on the other, along religious political and ethnic lines.
7ost states of South Asia are plural or multicultural societies with religions and
languages cutting across national frontiers and influencing inter-regional relations. All
the states of South Asia, perhaps with the exception of 7aldives, are witnessing
violent social and political conflicts. $n $ndia, 8ammu and @ashmir and the
northeastern region have been in deep turmoil for a long time. Athnic conflicts in
contemporary (akistan, ranging from autonomy to political regression is a
manifestation of the ineluctable dilemma in the country. $n case of Sri )anka the
brutal military victory over the )!!A, the federal idea or constitutional reforms for
conflict resolution has moved backwards rather than forward. $n 6epal in the wake of
the comprehensive peace agreement to which ended the 7aoist $nsurgency and
abolished the 7onarchy, a *onstituent Assembly was elected which even after
repeated extensions could not agree on a draft constitution. !he second *onstituent
Assembly has /ust been elected with the task to carry forward this process. !he
challenge of coping with these conflicts is indeed complex, involving political and
constitutional accommodation of the legitimate grievances of the affected people, and
the agenda of development, and good governance. !his panel brings to the fore the
nature and role of the state as an institution in the creation, construction,
accommodation of ethnic demands, the imposition of nationalist discourses and the
resistance from the margins, and the diverse impact of globaliation on ethnic and
religious assertions in different countries.
1) #onflict situation and state of democracy+ A study of democratic institutions
and process in -ndian and Pa2istan administered 9ashmir
Bekha *howdhary, $*SSB 6ational <ellow and (rofessor =rtd.>, 8ammu ,niversity,
8ammu
Abstract
!he paper will deal with implications of conflict situation on $ndian and (akistan
administered 8+@. Divided between two hostile nations, the people in this part of the
world have continuously suffered the trauma of division? unsettled borders? multiple
displacements? divided families? and hostility between $ndia and (akistan. -hile for
the rest of the sub-continent, partition has become a history, though a painful one, it
continues to be an ever-present reality for the people here. *aught up in the situation
of conflict for six and half decades now, the areas on both the sides of )ine of *ontrol
are heavily militarised and are seen as locations of strategic importance. ;y
implications, these have become "territorialised# areas where the issues of state
sovereignty, national interest and national security presume greater importance than
the anything else. !he fragility of political institutions and processes, therefore, is a
logical conse%uence of the location of these areas.
'n both the sides of )o*, the story of democratic institutions almost remains the
same. 'n the $ndian side, @ashmir in 4CDE, had the privilege of having the most
crucial democratic resources F a highly mobilised political mass which had been
involved in an indigenous anti-feudal and anti-monarchical movement? entrenched
and well-established political organisation, the 6ational *onference with its radical
ideological framework? and a well-recognised leadership. !hese resources could have
been useful not merely for restructuring the society and economy, but also for
deepening the democracy. Gowever, barely few years after the radical land reforms
and other pro-people policies were initiated and asymmetrical federalism to protect
these policies was negotiated, the paradigm of @ashmir#s politics was completely
changed under the pressure of "nationalist discourse#. !he contestation of the $ndian
state, both from the external as well as internal sources, thereafter, resulted in
subordination of the democratic processes to the "national interests#. Alienating the
people from the "mainstream# political processes, the "separatist# political space was
expanded which culminated in 4CHC-C2 fiasco of militancy.
$f there was anything worse than the @ashmir situation on the $ndian side, it was the
situation on the (akistani side. 'stensibly "Aad#, the state under the (akistani
administration, was directly controlled by (akistan administration. <or the first few
decades, there was no proper structure of political institutions and representations and
even in the later period when these institutions were given shape, the political control
by (akistan remained the ma/or issue. Still worse was the situation of Iilgit ;altistan
which was divided from the rest of the state and was directly "administered# by
(akistan with no right of political representation to the people. 'nly recently, the right
to representation has been granted but its political status continues to be ambiguous.
2) Perceptions and Memories+ Ma2in$ Sense of ;an$ladesh*s -ndia 7utloo2
(artha S Ihosh, Senior <ellow, 6ehru 7emorial 7useum and )ibrary, 6ew Delhi +
(rofessor =Betd.> S$S, 86,, 6ew Delhi
Abstract
!he argument that the ;angladeshi society is divided between the ";engali
nationalists# and the ";angladeshi nationalists#, is not completely valid. !here is a
fairly large cusp one between the two, otherwise the Awami )eague =A)> and the
;angladesh 6ationalist (arty =;6(> would not have alternated in power. At the core
of the recent controversy over the issue of dealing with the criminals of the 4CE4
liberation war is the %uestion of punishment and forgiveness. Did ;angladesh
forgive the war criminals all these years, and suddenly it has woken upJ !hough
efforts were made in the initial stages to punish those who collaborated with (akistani
military /unta to suppress the ;engali freedom struggle nothing happened in the post-
7u/ib era to bring them to book. Avidences, however, suggest that at the
subcutaneous level the traumatic memory of 4CE4 remained in public consciousness
though 8amaat-i-$slam and ;6( did succeed in obfuscating the discourse by in/ecting
into it the controversy over secularism at the expense of $slam. $n the same context
%uestions arose as to what extent $ndia too mattered in the collective memory of
;angladesh. Gas the political divide between 7uslim ;engal and Gindu ;engal,
which had its first expressin in the (artition of ;engal of 4C23, been a matter of the
past or it has remained as a constant fixture in the politics the Aast ;engal which
neither the (artition of $ndia in 4CDE nor the creation of ;angladesh in 4CE4 in which
$ndia had a substantive and positive role to play could do away with. $n what way
would ;angladesh be able to reconcile itself to the baggage of this multifaceted
memory and how would the process shape its $ndia outlook is what this paper is
trying to understand.
5) .he State -dentity and the .amil <uestion in Sri ,an2a
6asreen *howdhory, Assistant (rofessor, Department of (olitical Science, ,niversity
of Delhi, Delhi
Abstract
Gistorically !amils in Sri )anka have been marginalied in Sri )anka for a long
period of time. !he initial focus was through the strengthening of the ma/oritarian
Sinhalese ideology, and constitutional primacy accorded to its language and religion.
$n retaliation the !amil nationalists made every attempt to change the skewed political
relation, and any threats to their survival as a minority $dentity through sustained
political movement. *onse%uently, demands were made for a meaningful power
sharing arrangement under a federal constitution as an effective safeguard structure
against such contingent Sinhalese ideology which have had mixed results. !he
constant contestation of political space led to beginning of civil war in Sri )anka, with
)!!A#s aspiration for a separate state, and Sri )ankan national army resisting such
efforts. !he paper asserts that the core issue of !amil accommodation lies in the
constitutional framework, which may re%uire revisiting of some of the significant
peace agreements of the past. !he paper seeks to revisit the key provisions of
!himphu principles to resolve the %uestion of !amil accommodation.
") ;alveer Arora 'title to be announced(
Gonorary *hairman, *entre for 7ultilevel <ederalism, $SS, 6ew Delhi + (rofessor
=Betd.>, *entre for (olitical Studies, 86,

Panel .6o+ /lections and /lectoral 1overnance+ -nstitutions and Political
Practices
Organised by Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Political
Science, Uniersity of Delhi
!he debates around elections and electoral governance are pronounced with %uestions
around issues of e%uality in representation, and devising statutory frameworks and
institutional structures of electoral governance, which may enable the crafting of
democratic politics as a continuum between representation and participation. $ndeed,
while elections do not exhaust the possibilities of democracy, in the lives of
democracies, elections are times when political energies are grouped and expressed in
plural ways. <rom the perspective of those who administer the institutional apparatus
of electoral governance, elections are extraordinary times re%uiring efficiency in "rule-
implementation#. 'n the other hand, the players in the election game, the political
parties and the political class in general are placed under regulatory control as
political power is deferred until affirmed again through the mechanism of electoral
affirmation. 'n the other hand, the voter, the "little-man#, in the words of the Supreme
*ourt is at once, the common man aggrieved by misrule, but also empowered enough
to change the rules of the electoral game. !his panel intends to explore a range of
themes - from making sense of elections as times which are extraordinary not /ust for
the enormous concentration of power in the institutions of electoral governance, to
elections being themselves "measures# of political resolution of crisis. $n these and
other contexts, the panel will also concern itself with a comparative study of election
commissions, the laws pertaining to the conduct of elections, and the manner in which
these have unfolded in diverse political cultures.
1) =epalese /0perience of Democratic /lection+ An e0ample of proportionality
and inclusivity
6eel @antha ,prety, *hief Alection *ommissioner of 6epal, @athmandu.
Abstract
$n a bid to put an end to the protracted transition and bring the ongoing peace process
to a successful conclusion, 6epal has championed the democratic election
management system with its own branding. -ith successful holding of the
*onstituent Assembly =*A> election in 6ovember, 1245, 6epal is embarking toward a
/ourney to framing a new democratic constitution, during which matters relating to
electoral system and election management are certain to surface as the prominent
agenda. !he experience of 6epal in making elected bodies more proportional and
inclusive is a newexpounding achievement for developing democracies across the
world. !he election is widely expected to be marked in history as a milestone event
Knot /ust for 6epal but for people around the world working to rebuild after conflicts
and resolve disputes via constitutional and homegrown meansK. !he electoral system
and its management process right from the registration of electors, their identification
for secured participation in the elections? the proportionality with inclusivity of
demographic composition in the representation are some notable features of recent
elections in 6epal. !he role of political parties and their attitudes in developing
democracies? circular effect of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy in the democratiation
process of 6epal and compromises 6epal had to make during post conflict election
along with suggested ways forward will be discussed.
2) /lectoral 4eforms and Democracy in -ndia
6avin ;. *hawla, former *hief Alection *ommissioner of $ndia, 6ew Delhi.
Abstract
Alectoral Beforms must necessarily be a part of any evolving democracy. Beforms
must accompany the changes in the body politic and must address the infirmities that
intrude in that landscape. $ndia and its electoral system is seen in many parts of the
world as a beacon worthy of emulation. $ndeed, there are many aspects
that are praiseworthy. -e hold our elections in time, every time. !here has always
been an orderly transfer of power. !he Alection *ommission is respected by most
$ndians and its conduct of elections is viewed as fair and transparent. -e have
benefited by the nature of our freedom struggle under the 7ahatma, the sagacity of
our *onstitutionLs framers, most notably of Dr Ambedkar and the building up and
nurturing of our $nstitutions under the wise stewardship of 6ehru. $f we look around
and observe the many countries that attained their freedom from colonial rule at about
the same time, we could assess the distance we have traversed.
Yet infirmities have slowly but surely also taken root. 'ur elections have become too
expensive. Statutory financial limits are almost always breached. -orse still, the 43th
)ok Sabha had 52M of its ranks occupied by people of criminal antecedents.
*rorepatis seem to en/oy the best chance of both being nominated by political parties
as well as winning elections. Are we becoming an oligarchyJ !he %uestion is . Are we
bringing in the reforms needed to fulfil the hopes of our freedom fighters and
the architecture of our *onstitutionJ
5) Minimi%in$ /lectoral 8iolence+ Are /lections more Free and Fair>
San/ay @umar, (rofessor and Director, *SDS, Delhi
Abstract
Ione are the days when newspaper were full of headlines about booth capturing,
rigging and various other form of electoral violence during election. Aven if such
news were not reported from all the states, but large number of states were prone to
various kinds of electoral malpractices. &arious measuresNsteps taken by the Alection
*ommission of $ndia have been able to minimise the incidence of electoral violence,
at least we do not witness visible violence on election day during election. Data
collected from the 6ational Alection Study regarding peopleLs opinion in fairness and
whether election are more free now compared to the past suggest, huge ma/ority of
people confirm that elections are more free now compared to the past and incidence of
electoral violence have declined drastically during last few elections. -hat may be a
better indicator than voters themselves, who experience and participate in election,
confirming, elections are free and fair. 7ost of the credit for election being free and
fair should go to the election commission of $ndia which initiated various steps, like
phased elections facilitating proper deployment of security forces at polling booths,
making some kind of certification of the identity necessary for the voters before
voting at the polling station, video recording of the polling process etc. All these steps
have gone a long way in making election free of violence on election day. !his
disappearance of election day violence has resulted in not only more people turning
out to vote, but more important is the increasing participation of women in election.
!here may be other factors which have contributed to the greater participation of
women in recent election, but the declining or situation of near no election day
violence has certainly provided a more conducive environment for women to come
out to vote in bigger numbers than the past. !his also has an impact on greater
participation of voters from marginalised sections, namely Dalits, Adivasis and
7uslims.
;ut does this mean that all that was needed to make election free and fair has been
done and we need not worry about fairness of electionJ -hile we have been able to
address the issue of election day violence, to a great extent, but recent years have
witnessed change in nature of electoral violence, the elections report more instances
of post-election violence. 7ere control of election day violence does not mean,
elections are more free and fair now compared to the past. !he nature of election
malpractices have changed, the problem of money power has grown out of proportion,
there is also indirect influence of muscle power on election, by way of threat. 7ore
recent phenomenon is the problem of paid news in election. -hile problem =election
day violence> which was visible and actors were more or less known, was easy to
handle, but the recent problems poses greater threat to the neutrality of elections.
&iolence free election is one and an important component of free election, but not the
only element of fair election.
") ?/lection .ime's(* in the life of -ndian Democracy+ /0traordinary
interre$nums or $overnance as usual>
Anupama Boy, (rofessor, *(S, 86,, 6ew Delhi
,//wal @umar Singh, (rofessor, Dept of (olitical Science, ,niversity of Delhi, Delhi

Abstract
!he expression "election time# is being summoned in this paper as a conceptual
category, to bring electoral governance in $ndia to a normative and analytical scrutiny.
!he paper examines the distinctive rhythms of election time in the life of $ndian
democracy, in particular the manner in which election time has been constituted
/uridically, through electoral law, and the institutional structures provided for by the
*onstitution of $ndia. $n doing so the paper will show the specificity of election time
in $ndia, and at the same time, delineate the polysemous ways in which election time
has played out in $ndia. !he argument about both specificity and polysemy, will be
made through the study of the first general election in $ndia =4C34N31> as the site when
electoral laws and institutions of electoral governance ac%uired form, and
subse%uently through an examination of the model code of conduct as an innovation
in electoral governance outside of electoral laws.
Panel .hree+ Federalism and Devolutionary Discourse in South Asia
Organised by !e"ha Sa#ena, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science,
Uniersity of Delhi
!he federal and devolutionary discourses have always been a significant
constitutional device in pursuit of accommodation of diversities, national security and
economic development. $ts importance has become accentuated in the contemporary
phase of "glocaliation# =globaliation plus localiation>. $n South Asia, theses
mechanisms would appear to be inescapable in view of the fact that the ma/or
countries of this region are either multicultural or multinational or both. Gowever,
most South Asian states historically as well as in contemporary times have been
either reluctant federalists or even hostile to the idea. !his is due to the historical
legacy of colonial divide and rule policy or due to the contemporary challenges of
communalism and secessionism. ;ut a dispassionate ob/ective approach to federal
and devolutionary solutions would suggest that it is a false fear which is borne out by
the success of federal democracy in $ndia and 6epal in staving off secession and
containing communalism and authoritarianism. Arguably, the break-up of (akistan in
4CE4 and the 1O years of civil war in Sri )anka would have been averted by giving
federal democracy a chance. !he literature on comparative federal theory and practice
today suggests that federalism and /udicial review are the most rapidly growing
devices in post-conlict situations around the world.
1) -nstitutionali%in$ Democracy in =epal
Surya Dunghel, Senior Advocate, @athmandu, 6epal
Abstract
After having its six constitutions failed to institutionalie democracy during the past
seven decades, 6epal embarked on drafting its seventh *onstitution through an
elected *onstituent Assembly of O24 representatives under the second $nterim
*onstitution in 122H with a promise to promulgate a democratic *onstitution within
two years. As a part of the peace and constitution building process aiming to end the
ten year long brutal armed conflict, a *omprehensive (eace Agreement was signed in
122O by the 6epal *ommunist (arty =7aoist> that led the armed insurgency and the
then coalition government of eight parties headed by the 6epali *ongress.
,nfortunately, the *onstituent Assembly failed to deliver a *onstitution even after its
four years of stretched life. Gowever, the critical issue of managing combatants as a
part of the peace process was resolved within the same period. $n addition, emergence
of 6epal as a sovereign republic nation was a big achievement.
$nterestingly, 6epal#s first attempt to create a *onstituent Assembly for drafting a new
constitutional framework under its first $nterim *onstitution during early fifties was
li%uidated by the then @ing who unduly amended a provision to delete the relevant
clause. !his time, it was mainly due to the failure of ideologically divided over thirty
political parties in the huge Assembly to agree on over 122 contentious constitutional
issues, no draft could be developed. 7oreover, the newly emerged political forces and
their leaders prioritied their focus on sharing political power. Due to this the
*onstituent Assembly#s constitution making function was overshadowed, and in fact
hi/acked, by a few leading parties. ,nwelcome attitude of the Assembly leaders
distanced constitutional experts and practitioners and prevented them to contribute to
the process? public consultations were not ade%uately done as is needed in a post-
conflict constitution making exercises. As a result, the Assembly died its unpleasant
death on 1E 7ay 1241 without even producing a skeletal draft of the proposed
*onstitution. 6o explanation was given to the people by anyone, not even by the
Assembly authorities and political parties, as to why the Assembly could not complete
it /ob. $n order to bring the derailed constitutional and political process back on the
track, intensive exercises amongst relevant national and international actors, mainly
the first Gead of the State of the new secular republic and the leading political parties.
!hen extraordinary political measures were taken by the country through exceptional
constitutional tools of "removing constitutional difficulties# under the $nterim
*onstitution to hold new elections for *onstituent Assembly under the *hief 8ustice
led electoral government. 6ot to allow the country plunged in to a new kind of
political conflict, the elections for the new *onstituent Assembly were successfully
held on 4C 6ovember 1245 thereby enabling nearly eighty percent people to articulate
their voice through ballots. Despite several deficiencies and odd constitutional
experiments, 6epal has now entrusted the task of drafting a new democratic
*onstitution for the new federal republic again to an elected sovereign *onstituent
Assembly that has about eighty percent new faces, especially youths and women. !he
task of resolving contentious issues, including the creation of a well-designed
federation is not an easy task for the Assembly. 7anaging a small but resourceful
nation inhabited by 413 identity groups, speaking over C2 languages, under a
democratic constitutional framework certainly demands a sophisticated but simplified
governance model. Since the country has had suffered enough and learned lessons
now, it has to embark with full commitment on a course to offer a common national
vision reflected in a new democratic charter that is owned by the people of all
segments. !he political parties and others in and out of the Assembly must play a
responsible role. -e have no other options left except working together to
demonstrate national wisdom for creating a *onstitution that can partly be a peace
agreement and partly a national legal framework of governance setting up the rules by
which the new democracy will operate ensuring unity and opportunities for the people
of 6epal towards peace and prosperity.
2) Myanmar*s .ransition to Democracy+ -ssues and #hallen$es
Sandeep Shastri, (ro &ice *hancellor, 8ain ,niversity, ;angalore
Abstract
After decades of military rule, 7yanmar has begun its transition to democracy. !his
transition has been accompanied by a range of challenges, typical of any process of
transition. !here are heightened demands and expectations, there is competition for
attention among competing claims for recognition, there are debates on the
institutional framework that needs to be adopted, there are concerns expressed by
ethnic minority groups about the protection of their rights and distinct identities, there
are challenges about arriving at a consensus on prioritiing the different steps in any
process of transition. !his paper outlines the ma/or contextual and institutional factors
that are defining and determining the debate on the process of transition to democracy.
!he insights that the paper draws upon are based on the existing literature and also an
analysis of the situation on the ground as evidenced from the interaction with multiple
stakeholders during a series of workshops on capacity building for democratiation in
different parts of 7yanmar.
5) Mana$in$ diversity throu$h federalism> =epal*s debate on Federalism in the
South-Asian conte0t
)eena Bikkila !amang, Begional Director for Asia and (acific, $nternational $DAA
Abstract
7ost of the South Asian countries have designed mechanisms of devolution of power
in order to manage internal diversities. $t seems however that it has been easier to the
countries in the region to handle spatial concerns than social diversity by introducing
policies of federalism and decentraliation. $ndia is perhaps the only "working#
federalism in the region, yet ethnic and regional tensions have marked its modern
history, (akistan is federal as per its constitution with serious tensions between
regions and sects within $slam continue. 6epal is recovering from a decade long
7aoist insurgency and based on the (eace Agreement =122O>, Jana Andolan =122O>,
and Madhesh Andolan =122E> included promise of "federalism# to its $nterim
*onstitution =122E>, and is currently debating and deciding about detailed design for
federalism =*A 124D-P>. $n Sri )anka, after the civil war, the efforts toward more
regional autonomy as a way of managing diversity and further constitutional reforms
towards the same have almost disappeared and ma/oritarian ethos is dominating. $n
these two post =armed> conflict countries, the debate about federalism has taken very
different tra/ectories.
!his paper is looking at the 6epal#s ongoing debate on federalism and options on the
table in the context of Southasian experience of managing diversity through
federalism and decentraliation, in order to anticipate what may be the challenges
ahead for 6epal as the country is making some of the critical choices concerning the
federal design. !he paper is drawing on the findings of citien surveys Nepal in
Transition =122D 122E, 1245> by $nternational $DAA, and on the study on State of
Democracy in Southasia, =by *SDSNDelhi and partners> in order to understand what
the people of Southasia, and of 6epal in particular, think of what federalism is and
what to expect from federalism, and how do people understand the
minoritiesNma/orities.
") Pa2istan*s Fedral Dilemma
&eena @ukre/a, (rofessor, Department of (olitical Science, ,niversity of Delhi, Delhi
Abstract
$n (akistan federalism has been struggling to take roots even, after more than OO years
of its emergence, as the country does not have shown federal character of the state and
the nation in strict sense of the term. Since its creation in 4CDE it has failed to
establish an organic and effective covenant between the federating units, despite some
incremental forward movements toward provincial autonomy and devolution. !he
federal issue in (akistan is rooted in strained history of federal-provincial relations.
,nlike, $ndia, (akistan =4C3O and 4CO1 constitutions> failed to devise the institutional
arrangements of power-sharing and accommodation of diversity at different levels of
the polity. !herefore the country failed to hold together and disintegrated in 4CE4,
when the province of Aast (akistan, after a bloody civil war, emerged as the new
nation-state of ;angladesh. !he 4CE5 constitution accommodated provincial
autonomy, but has yet to provide for substantial but e%uitable power sharing. !he
institutional arrangements of devolution in (akistan have favoured the dominant
ethno-national group 0 the (un/abi. A profile of "(un/abiation# of the state
underscores a strong sense of distrust towards the centre as well as demand for
provincial autonomy in the three smaller provinces. !here are enduring and well
entrenched issues over the fairer allocation of financial and national resources
between the centre and provinces on the one hand, and within the provinces, on the
other. !he 4H
th
Amendment can be considered a landmark development, if
implemented in spirit, on the route to engendering the spirit of federalism in the
country.
@) Federali%ation and Aurisdictional #onflicts in 1lobali%in$ -ndia
Bekha Saxena, Associate (rofessor, Department of (olitical Science, ,niversity of
Delhi, Delhi
Abstract
!he formation of the $ndian union was largely a product of federal decentraliation
within a highly centralied political system.. !he first four decades of the $ndian
federation were also marked by a high degree of political centraliation owing to one-
party dominance in the centre as well as the states. Gowever, the political scenario has
radically changed since the early 4CC2s because of the transition to multi-party
system with federal coalition governments as well as extremely variegated power
configuration in state party systems. <urther, the neo-liberal economic reforms since
4CC4 have also transformed the political economy of federalism, therefore the
governments in $ndia must accommodate market forces and civil society institutions
in the process of economic management and planning. !hese transformations are
clearly responsible for new contours in centre-state relations evident in recent
controversies surrounding issues of governance, economic and foreign policies
Decline of the national parties and rise of regional parties in the context of coalitional
governments has produced a situation in which the union government can no longer
ignore the state governments on important %uestions in centre state relations and
implementation of /oint programmes and policies. !his matter assumes greater
significance within the framework of the federal division of powers in the Seventh
schedule of the *onstitution through the union, state and concurrent lists. !he three
lists are so closely intertwined in theory as well as practice that unilateral action by
one order of the government is impracticable. Aven exclusive /urisdictions of two
levels of governments are difficult to neatly separate in practice.
7oreover, the chief ministers and regional satraps have ac%uired a great deal of
leverage not only within their respective states but also in the making and unmaking
of the federal coalition governments. !his has stretched some constitutional principles
beyond recognition like cabinet collegiality and cohesion, collective responsibility of
the council of ministers to the (arliament , and the (rime 7inisters# pre-eminent role
in policy initiation, coordination and implementation. $t is for this reason some
political analysts have gone to the extent of saying that the constitution of $ndia may
be "%uasi-federal# but the government of $ndia in practice is "%uasi-con federal #.
$n sum, the two orders of governments so far have been largely acting out their scripts
more or less unilaterally with perfunctory consultations, if at all. !he problem has
become magnified due to a variegated chessboards of divided coalition governments
in 6ew Delhi and different political complexion of state governments. !o reduce the
conflicts directly intruding into the union cabinet and the overload on /udiciary, the
activation and institutionaliation of intergovernmental mechanisms of executive
federalism is inescapable.
Panel Four+ -s Displacement a ?state of e0ception*> -ssues and Perspectives in
Forced Mi$ration in South Asia
Organised by Dr$ %asreen &howdhory, Assistant Professor, Department of Political
Science, Uniersity of Delhi
!he panel seeks to understand displacement through the lens of location of stay of
exilees. $n this context camps are often conceived as states of exception, states-of-
transition with little or no social and political rights =employment, property,
education> exist. !he transitory nature of living in camps is often transformed to be
the permanent place of stay-of-stay that condemns inmates to a future without rights
and belonging. !he camp constitutes a space removed from the social, economic and
political life, and human condition, i.e., what Agamben calls 9bare life:, to their mere
biological condition.
1) Bords of ,a6 Borlds of ,oss+ the Stateless People of the -ndo-;an$ladeshi
/nclaves
Atig Ihosh, Assistant (rofessor, &isva-;harti ,niversity, Santiniketan, -est ;engal
Abstract
According to a widespread conception, the state of exception would be situated at an
"ambiguous and uncertain fringe at the intersection of the legal and the political,# and
would constitute a "point of dise%uilibrium between public law and political fact.#
&iewed from this optic, the enclaves on the border of ;angladesh and the northern
district of *ooch ;ehar in -est ;engal, $ndia, may be considered as spaces in which
the state of exception has become the rule. $f Agamben#s formulation in (art $$$
Section E of Homo Sacer ="!he *amp as the 96omos: of the 7odern#> that the camp
"is the space that is opened when the state of exception begins to become the rule,#
then one may argue that the camp-effect has struck roots in these remote enclaves =or
Chhitmahals, as they are locally known>. An ethnographic understanding of the
sociopolitical contours of such "camps# is urgent. $t may help us surmount the
politico-legal paradox that is at the heart of states of exception and suggest new
pathways for expressing demands for social /ustice locally. <or, the social in social
/ustice, as Banabir Samaddar suggests, is what remains beyond what is
governmentally constituted, administratively constituted, or constituted by
considerations of rule =that is, considerations of territory, security and streamlining of
people into population groups>. 7y paper, "-ords of )aw, -orlds of )oss. the
Stateless (eople of the $ndo-;angladeshi Anclaves#, will try to probe this con/oint
issue of the prevalence of the state of exception and the modes of expressing stout
demands for social /ustice therein.
2) Understandin$ state of e0ception throu$h representation
;iswa/it 7ohanty, Associate (rofessor, Department of (olitical Science, Deshbandhu
*ollege, ,niversity of Delhi
Abstract
!he paper is about tribes who were living in a 9state of exception:, where politics has
been defined exclusively in terms of friends and enemy occupying two opposite ends
of the political spectrum. !he enemy existentially represents the other F the stranger
with whom the extreme case of conflict has been "accomplished#. $n this extreme
locale the participants of the political arena see the adversary whose intention is to
negate the opponent#s way of life and therefore be repulsed or fought in order to
preserve one#s own form of existence F both in terms of ideas as well as corporeal.
!his state of exception has been accomplished through a process of complex web of
power relations that existed historically between the representatives and the tribes of
*handia (anchayat of @alinganagar SAQ, who are resisting displacement for the past
42 years. ,nraveling of the process would enable us to understand another sub-theme
about techni%ues of survival devised by the resisting tribes. !he study of everyday
algorithm of 9bare life: would lead us to a second level of analysis of representation
where representation does not mean speaking through 9the voice of the other:. <or
them as a techni%ue of survival representation is understood as connectedness that
enables them to withstand the politics of 9inclusion by means of exclusion:.
5) =o Man*s ,andC Bhere Do .hey ;elon$>
Shaila/a 7enon and Anoop Awasthi, Assistant (rofesssor, Ambedkar ,niversity,
Delhi
Abstract
<or a security obsessed $ndia, ;angladeshi migrants are persona-non-grata. !he
problem is further compounded by the fact that $ndia shares the longest international
border with ;angladesh stretching along D2C3.E km. Since 4CHO, the borders are
being fenced, adversely affecting the lives of the citienry. !his decision provoked by
security concerns has lead to an unnatural division of people and created a human
tragedy of unparalleled dimensions. !he people ensnared in these illegal confinements
are excluded from the mainstream discourses of security at the cost of their life and
livelihood. !he unbalanced and un%uestioning portrayal of the media regarding the
influx of ;angladeshi migrants has ignored the human sufferings of the fenced
$ndians. $n the process, constitutionally guaranteed rights of the $ndian citiens
trapped to live in fenced off areas of the $ndo- ;angladesh border have been infringed
upon. !his paper is based on the peoples# testimonies, Iovernment documents and
information gathered under the Bight to $nformation Act 1223.
") 8oices from a ?Space of e0ception*+ /veryday life in a 9ashmiri Pandit #amp
in Aammu and 9ashmir 1DD!-2!11
Ankur Datta, Department of Sociology, South Asian ,niversity, 6ew Delhi
Abstract
!his paper seeks to explore whether Agamben#s framework on the state of exception
is ade%uate for exploring camps in South Asia. $ draw on anthropological fieldwork
among @ashmiri (andits displaced by conflict in the @ashmir valley since 4CC2, who
lived in a displaced persons camp colony in the city of 8ammu, 8ammu and @ashmir
until their closure in 1244. !he @ashmiri (andits are $D(s who hold a special status
with specific rights, and are yet not in direct conflict with the state. !hey do not easily
fit into Agamben#s figure of "bare life#. $ will try to compare the notion of the state of
exception with perspectives of ideal everyday life displaced @ashmiri (andits
articulate in conversations situated on space and place. !he paper will argue that
while the state of exception is a useful approach to the displaced persons camp in
South Asia, it must be complemented by discussions and descriptive pro/ects of
ordinary routine lives as lived by the displaced in camps. Gence, a theoretical
framework for studying camps will benefit by paying attention to what the displaced
themselves, regard and experience as "exceptional#.
@) Mar$inality and A$ency+ Problems of $overnability amon$ refu$ees in South
Asia
6asreen *howdhory, Assistant (rofessor, Department of (olitical Science, ,niversity
of Delhi
Abstract
$n my study $ view camps to be sign of modernity or what 7ichel <oucault called the
9pastoral power:. !ypically camps tend to represent a form of political authority that
owes its origin in the function of setting up camps, where issues of /ustice and
in/ustice are suspended against the backdrop of administrative rationality. (ursuing
this argument $ interrogate camps located in 12 districts in !amil 6adu, $ndia to study
the changes in gender roles, domestically and especially within family institutions.
<urthermore, $ assert that this has contributed to a peculiar altered gender patterns of
political participation vis-R-vis the government of !amil 6adu.