Politics Of South Asia

Political development modernizes the country by improving
institutional functions, national integrity, democratization and
political participation. But, this concept could not be sustained in
Pakistan due to the domineering behavior of the executive, poor
performance of the parliament, lack of judicial independence and
military coups. The period 2008-13 saw various events
contradicted previous political upheavals. Conduct of
continuous elections, the establishment of the coalition
government, political cooperation between the opposition and
the government on the issues of national importance, increased
political participation, vibrant media, restoration of a democratic
constitution and abundant law-making, judicial activism to
restore constitutional independence of judiciary helped to
develop a democratic political system of the country. These
political events are explored in this paper which occurred for the
first time in the political history of the country and caused
political development. This research paper highlights the specific
condition of political development in this era and identifies the
issues which affect democratic development in the country. It
also describes that either democratic political development in
Pakistan during 2008-2013 was improved or not?

Nepal is not often in the news, but when it is, the headlines cry out with a vengeance. The last time I was asked to speak about Nepal was in 2001, right after the unspeakable tragedy, when crown prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev went on a rampage and killed practically the ...

This article explores the erosion of secular public culture in the UK and its implications for minority women whose bodies have become the battleground for the control of community representation. It argues that struggles for equality and secularism now overlap and have taken on a sense of urgency because it is the human rights of women that are being traded in the various social contracts that are emerging between state and the religious right minority leaderships in the UK. The increasing communalisation (involving religious and community groups mobilising solely around religious identities) of South Asian populations, in particular Muslims, reflects a form of instrumentalisation of religion by the state which has severely constrained the public space available for women to mobilise around a rights-based agenda and has also significantly narrowed the choices of women of faith.

In late 2003, Syed Mumtaz Ali, a retired lawyer and scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, announced in the Canadian media that the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice (IICJ) would start offering arbitration in family disputes in accordance with both Islamic legal principles and Ontario's Arbitration Act, 1991. This act allowed a variety of private matters to be settled through legally binding arbitration, including arbitration based on religious principles. A vociferous debate ensued on the introduction of sharia law in Ontario in which the presumed incompatibility of sharia-based family law and women's individual rights took centre stage. This debate reached its conclusion in September 2005 when Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that he would end all religious arbitration. In February 2006, the Ontario legislature passed amendments to the 1991 Act that allowed family arbitration only if it was based on Ontario or Canadian law, excluding any form of religious arbitration, whether based on Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or other religious principles. The account that follows is based on my reading of the Canadian newspapers, the government commissioned report on the desirability of allowing sharia-based arbitration tribunals, and the websites of various organizations arguing for and against the establishment of shariabased arbitration tribunals.

This article examines 'the West versus Islam' paradigm in the studies on the representation of Islam and Muslims in the Western media. It argues that while offering insights which uncover the hidden oppressive power that drives the representation of cultural differences, the use of the conf lictual model of analysis in exploring media representations of Islam and Muslims provides no space for understanding the creative, dialogic formation in the encounter of individuals and people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. This conf lictual model of analysis normally employs a simplistic, binary system of thinking, and is therefore inadequate as a response to the complex challenges faced by a multicultural society. To develop this argument, the article reviews various studies on media representations of Islam and Muslims that have relied on this model. In the light of the inadequacy of the conf lictual model of analysis, the article suggests a shift to a dialogic model of analysis as developed in the politics of recognition as an alternative framework that accommodates the possibility of transformation in the encounter of individuals, people and cultures in a multicultural society. Conceptual frameworks used in studies on Western media representations of Islam and Muslims Contemporary studies on the representation of Islam and Muslims in the Western media have relied on a number of conceptual frameworks. These include the theories of Orientalism, 'clash

People’s Multiparty Democracy (PMPD), postulated by Madan Kumar Bhandari in the early 1990s, is a political, economic, and social theory that combines Marxism with specific Nepali attributes. By reviewing the global landscape of socialist movements, Bhandari’s political thought offers a theoretical framework for critically examining Nepal’s evolving production relations based on its contemporary class dynamics. Tragically, Bhandari, who served as the Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN [UML]), lost his life in a mysterious car accident in 1993. His political journey traces back to the 1960s when he began as a communist party worker during the Panchayat regime under the absolute monarchy. Subsequently, he drew inspiration from the postwar rise of communist parties around the world but went on to reshape Nepal’s unique left movement, setting it distinctly apart from other communist parties in South Asia and beyond. He recognized the need for...

Madan Bhandari’s theory of People’s Multiparty Democracy has evolved from a patriotic perspective amidst the intricacies of Nepali geopolitics and contemporary global political dynamics. This theory sheds light on the need-based causes and consequences in the development of PMPD, utilizing historical study as the methodological approach. In this article, the primary argument is in favor of the validity of PMPD within internal geopolitical realities and global political dynamics, considering the perspectives of contemporary Nepali national interests and patriotic values. However, the innovative spirit of Bhandari’s political philosophy has yet to be truly transformed into practice. Furthermore, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN [UML]) has struggled to maintain a balance between its rhetoric and reality, given that PMPD serves as its guiding principle in Nepali politics. First, there is perplexity in analyzing the character of Nepali sovereignty accurately i...

Rhetoric can be described as an art of persuasion, encompassing both words and actions. It is associated with the relationship between an addresser and an addressee in the process of communication. In the early post-1990 era in Nepal, CPN (UML) Secretary General Madan Bhandari emerged as a popular leader with his political philosophy of People’s Multiparty Democracy (PMPD), effectively employing the art of rhetoric to connect with a diverse audience. The rhetorical analysis of Bhandari’s speeches, which covered topics such as monarchy, constitution, parliamentary elections, and the Tanakpur Treaty, had a profound impact on shaping the Nepali psyche. Using rhetorical appeals – logos, pathos, and ethos – Bhandari brilliantly persuaded the intended audience in the post-democracy Nepali society early in the 1990s. Exploiting myths and metaphors, and repetitions and parallelism, Bhandari skillfully projected a sense of hope and expectation amidst contemporary political exigencies. Bhanda...

Democracy is conceptualized and practiced differently in different times and places; and may exist in various forms and levels with various degrees and dimensions. Therefore the use of the word “democracy” occurs neither alone, nor steadily, nor completely; it is, “historically” and “ethnographically emergent”. Following an extensive review, the paper concludes that democracy (ideals, institutions and practices) is depended upon effective state vis-à-vis strong civil society. Effectiveness of the state and the strength of the civil society, both depend on a common denominator, that is, participation. This paper, excavates some of the traces of, what we may like to refer today as democracy, in our own historical context; and, portrays how the meaning of democracy shifting along with the shifting of the local terms for democracy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10440 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7, 2013; 133-156

The normative figure in Western feminism remains the liberal autonomous individual of modernity. 'Other' women are those who have their freedom to choose restricted. Typically, 'other' women are those burdened by culture and hindered by their communities from entering modernity. If we remain in the terrain of thinking about women as vulnerable or imperilled, and some women as particularly imperilled, as we generally do of Muslim women, we remain squarely within the framework of patriarchy understood as abstracted from all other systems. A modernity/premodernity distinction will continue to invade any projects intending to help Muslim women. This paper shows the persistence of the modernity/premodernity distinction in contemporary debates around applying Sharia law to the settlement of family law disputes under the Arbitration Act in Ontario, Canada. I argue below that in their concern to curtail conservative and patriarchal forces within the Muslim community, Canadian feminists (both Muslim and Non-Muslim) utilized frameworks that installed a secular/religious divide that functions as a colour line, marking the difference between the modern, enlightened West, and tribal, religious Muslims. I suggest that feminist responses might have helped to sustain a new form of governmentality, one in which the productive power of the imperilled Muslim woman functions to keep in line Muslim communities at the same time that it defuses more radical feminist and anti-racist critique of conservative religious forces. I end by exploring how this effect could have been restricted.

THE purpose of the research is to trace the altering patterns of political activism in India. Rise of Middle Class and its impact on the political order of India has been attempted to be explored. Design/Methodology/Approach: Qualitative data analysis has been applied with an exhaustive literature survey of books, articles, conference papers, and newspaper reports on the said topic. Findings: The disparities among Indian Middle Class are giving a continuous roam to the political actors to assert themselves. Aam Admi Party is the representation of Indian Middle Class's disgruntlement at large in an elite dominated framework of Indian political frame of rule. Research Limitations/Implications: Research will be a good help and a useful study for the students of politics, economics, and management sciences as the subject of the research is interdisciplinary. Originality/Value: Paper glimpses at the thematic overview of the Indian electoral trends, and also encompasses the most recent scenario of Indian elections.

This Research paper will explore the side effects of 18 th Constitutional Amendment, 18 th constitutional amendment is regarded as "Magna carta' of Pakistan but in reality, it is just as a needed amendment made by a political party to cater and help that specific party to gain its political goals as that party knew that gaining power is in federation will not be possible again but Sindh was as near to them as a palm of their own hand so to grab power with its full bloom in the province of Sindh was the original goal gained by the said Amendment. This qualitative research will point out areas where 18 th Amendment is hurting the Federation and ultimately becoming the threat which could shake the roots of the Federation. In the end it contains some suggestion to fulfill the deficiencies. Keywords: 18 th constitutional amendment, the flaws in 18 th amendment, harmful for federation of Pakistan, a political trump card to gain absolute power, power corrupts, and an absolute power corrupts absolutely

The contributors to this volume examine eight case studies of Asian democracies, arguing that the common element is the extent to which political parties, including opposition parties, have become institutionalized and act as stabilizers in democracy. An essential resource for students and scholars of Asian politics, especially those with a focus on comparative politics, political parties, and institutions.

This Research paper will explore the side effects of 18 th Constitutional Amendment, 18 th constitutional amendment is regarded as "Magna carta' of Pakistan but in reality, it is just as a needed amendment made by a political party to cater and help that specific party to gain its political goals as that party knew that gaining power is in federation will not be possible again but Sindh was as near to them as a palm of their own hand so to grab power with its full bloom in the province of Sindh was the original goal gained by the said Amendment. This qualitative research will point out areas where 18 th Amendment is hurting the Federation and ultimately becoming the threat which could shake the roots of the Federation. In the end it contains some suggestion to fulfill the deficiencies. Keywords: 18 th constitutional amendment, the flaws in 18 th amendment, harmful for federation of Pakistan, a political trump card to gain absolute power, power corrupts, and an absolute power corrupts absolutely

Public discourse commonly depicts "communication" as a crucial function of nuclear hotlines. However, scholars have not critically examined images of communication that dominate the development and use of nuclear hotlines. Analysis of related institutional narratives reveals their multiple, competing conceptions of "communication." While this interpretive flexibility may serve the needs of nuclear hotline stakeholders, it also creates ambiguity and contradiction that may distort its ongoing development. We subsequently surface key meanings of communication associated with the history, technology, and institutions of the nuclear hotline. We focus on two limitations of these narratives-the perpetuation of instrumental illusions, and the insensitive conception of mediated communication-and their implications for nuclear hotline development. We conclude by reviewing the benefits of revising these narratives and proposing an agenda for communication research.

This paper focuses on unveiling and lime lighting the richness of Karimganj, an administrative district of Assam. There has been lot of researches done and piled on the beauty of Assam but one thing which is majorly missing in them is the rich and latent Sylheti culture. We often confuse these terms like Sylheti, Punjabi, and Bengali with the identity of origin. To clarify on this, I have tried to explain that this terminology of Sylheti means those people who belong to Sylheti culture and not the only ones who are right now living in Sylhet (a part of Bangladesh). We often confuse cultural identity with geographical one.

After the Constituent Assembly (CA) elected in 2008 failed to adopt a permanent constitution despite multiple extensions of its original two-year mandate, Nepal finally held elections for a new CA in November 2013. International monitors deemed the voting generally free and fair, and two centrist parties-the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML)-won a strong majority, sidelining the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), whose long-running insurgency had ended with a 2006 peace agreement. Negotiations on the formation of a new cabinet were ongoing at year's end. The Maoists' defeat suggested that previous elections that brought them to power may have been fraudulent. Parties hoping to restore Nepal's monarchy also did poorly in the November elections. Prior to the elections, the country had suffered from political paralysis and rising instability. Many observers in Nepal expect the renewed constitutional drafting process to take as long as three more years.

Starting with a short introduction into the historical development of political parties in Nepal, this presentation concentrates on the events after 1990. Since then, executive and legislative powers have been in the hands of the political parties. Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, the two leading parties of the 1990 system, failed to develop the young democracy into an inclusive system. This gave rise to the Maoist insurgency that pretended to fight for the rights of the excluded sections of society. After the intermezzo of a royal putsch, Nepali politics faced a people's movement in 2006 that led to a new beginning with the intention of guaranteeing a durable peace and replacing the constitutional monarchy by a federal republican system. Despite successful elections to a constituent assembly in April 2008 and the abolition of monarchy one month later, the political parties have not been able to reach these two goals, yet. The crisis culminated once again on May 28, 2011, when the t...

Democracy is conceptualized and practiced differently in different times and places; and may exist in various forms and levels with various degrees and dimensions. Therefore the use of the word “democracy” occurs neither alone, nor steadily, nor completely; it is, “historically” and “ethnographically emergent”. Following an extensive review, the paper concludes that democracy (ideals, institutions and practices) is depended upon effective state vis-à-vis strong civil society. Effectiveness of the state and the strength of the civil society, both depend on a common denominator, that is, participation. This paper, excavates some of the traces of, what we may like to refer today as democracy, in our own historical context; and, portrays how the meaning of democracy shifting along with the shifting of the local terms for democracy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10440 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7, 2013; 133-156

Although he may have had good intentions, King Gyanendra miscalculated the effect of his draconian measures on February 1, 2005. The King and his advisors miscalculated the capacity of the military, the response from the international community, the effectiveness of ...

Public discourse commonly depicts "communication" as a crucial function of nuclear hotlines. However, scholars have not critically examined images of communication that dominate the development and use of nuclear hotlines. Analysis of related institutional narratives reveals their multiple, competing conceptions of "communication." While this interpretive flexibility may serve the needs of nuclear hotline stakeholders, it also creates ambiguity and contradiction that may distort its ongoing development. We subsequently surface key meanings of communication associated with the history, technology, and institutions of the nuclear hotline. We focus on two limitations of these narratives-the perpetuation of instrumental illusions, and the insensitive conception of mediated communication-and their implications for nuclear hotline development. We conclude by reviewing the benefits of revising these narratives and proposing an agenda for communication research.

Democracy is conceptualized and practiced differently in different times and places; and may exist in various forms and levels with various degrees and dimensions. Therefore the use of the word “democracy” occurs neither alone, nor steadily, nor completely; it is, “historically” and “ethnographically emergent”. Following an extensive review, the paper concludes that democracy (ideals, institutions and practices) is depended upon effective state vis-à-vis strong civil society. Effectiveness of the state and the strength of the civil society, both depend on a common denominator, that is, participation. This paper, excavates some of the traces of, what we may like to refer today as democracy, in our own historical context; and, portrays how the meaning of democracy shifting along with the shifting of the local terms for democracy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10440 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7, 2013; 133-156

Abstract: This article deals with the 2002-2005 controversy over faith-based arbitration tribunals in Ontario. It seeks to contribute to the existing literature on the question by looking at new empirical sources. The analysis focuses specifically on the public discourse of social actors who opposed the creation of arbitration tribunals for Christians, Jews and Muslims. The majority of those who opposed arbitration tribunals did not formulate their position in terms of an opposition between religion and feminist values. Rather, they focused their arguments on the danger of Islam, which they perceived as an oppressive and alien religion. The controversy over religious arbitration becomes a way to claim a Western, secular and Judeo-Christian Canadian identity. From this perspective, the Ontarian controversy can be likened to European debates on Islam that have emerged over the last decade (e.g. caricatures of Muhammad in Denmark, minarets in Switzerland and the burqa ban in Belgium).

Some of the critical decisions of Gen. Pervez Musharraf (GPM) that changed the course of history and totally neutralized all the good and well-intended efforts he made for betterment of Pakistan. Let's not forget that Gen. Pervez Musharraf Gov. had granted NRO 9NATIONAL Reconciliation Ordinance to Nawaz Sharif and allowed him to leave for Saudia. Imagine he was in full power and could have hanged Nawaz Sharif on the Plane hijacking case. Also there was no way MNS could have escaped severe punishments in the Hudaibia Paper Mills case, when Judiciary was under his total control. We all know GPM must have been under immense pressure to release Nawaz Sharif. But so was Gen. Zia-ul-Haque when he had decided to hang Bhutto. Col. Qaddafi's plane was waiting at the Chaklala air base to take Bhutto out of Pakistan, but hats off to Gen. Zia for not accepting any pressure, whatsoever.

This dissertation traces the emergence of the figure of the Acceptable Muslim in Canadian public, political and cultural discourses, and illuminates the conditions for inclusion of such figures in the national imaginary. The Acceptable Muslim is perceived as a ‘good,’ ‘moderate,’ ‘modern,’ and assimilable Muslim, one who espouses a privatized faith with few public expressions of religious/cultural belonging. Against the backdrop of the racialization of Muslim bodies, Acceptable Muslims (re)confirm the racial boundaries of the nation-state, becoming passionate defenders of multiculturalism, whiteness and a global politics of Western domination. I theorize that the figure of the Acceptable Muslim sustains the narrative of the Canadian nation-state as liberal, democratic, secular, modern and inclusive, even as it relentlessly excludes, punishes and eliminates the Muslim Other. In this sense, Acceptable Muslims stand as sentries at the (symbolic) borders of the nation, reanimating the r...

A constitution is not just a legal document; it has to refl ect the aspirations of all segments of society. People need to have a sense of ownership in the constitution. Th ey should be able to say that it is their own document and not something handed to them by somebody in power. Th e 1990 constitution failed to properly represent all sections of Nepali society and could not gain support from the general public. Th e Constitution of 1990 therefore rightly came under sharp scrutiny. Questions were raised about the lack of people's participation in its making, and exclusionary and discriminatory provisions in it. Women, dalits, janajatis, religious minorities and people from remote geographical regions began to assert that the 1990 Constitution was not representative and, therefore, a new constitution was needed. Th e debate gained greater salience as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which was waging the people's war against the state, started to demand that a new constitution be made through a democratically elected constituent assembly as a way out from the current impasse. Now the constitution has become perhaps the most publicly debated issue today. And proposals and counter-proposals have come from diff erent quarters about the process of making a new constitution. All the political forces have, even if lately, realized that the Maoist confl ict cannot be Introduction 3

This paper will argue that the rationale of using women’s status as an indicator for the level of modernity achieved in non Western Muslim societies, can set up a vicious circle, that reinforces the orientalist bias. Indeed, such an evaluation is often affected by a widespread belief that secular-liberal regimes holds a more favourable stance towards women [2] . In addition, some Western feminist scholars have developed an approach to this issue based on the triangle Imperilled Woman, Dangerous Muslim Men, Civilised European [3] , that exasperates this dynamic.

Identity politics were unheard of in the early 1980s, when I carried out my first fieldwork among the Kham Magar, a Tibeto-Burman population of west Nepal. If people felt like comparing or defining themselves, they focused on very local differences: on the dialects of different villages, their specific festival calendars, their different ways of covering haystacks (by means of a cover made of goatskin or with a straw roof), the different itineraries they followed with their flocks, or the boundaries of their communal territories. Subjects like these were discussed again and again. Such conversations presupposed a common shared identity, of course, but there was no context in which Kham Magars needed to articulate it. For example, relations with their cousins, the Magar, the largest minority in Nepal, were undefined and the exploration of differences between Kham Magars and Magars did not appear to be important, at least to the Kham Magar themselves. In sum, Kham Magar villagers pref...

General Zia Ul Haq’s military regime is known, for many for its blatant violation of human rights, hanging, flogging, and imprisonment of political workers. Even intelligentsia and journalists were executed for political reasons during this regime. However, his regime was particularly known for suppression of women rights in his process of Islamization. After deposing Bhutto by imposing Martial Law General Zia took over the helm of affairs of the country on the 5th of July 1977 and remained in power with full autocracy till 17th August 1988 when his plan was ablaze in the air near Bahawalpur. This study is an attempt to analyze the process of Islamization by General Zia, its causes, suppressive actions act against various segments of society especially women. The study is also an attempt to search for the answers to the question “Was his policy of Islamization a sincere effort to implement the Islamic system or merely politically motivated? The response of women against Islamization...

A constitution is not just a legal document; it has to refl ect the aspirations of all segments of society. People need to have a sense of ownership in the constitution. Th ey should be able to say that it is their own document and not something handed to them by somebody in power. Th e 1990 constitution failed to properly represent all sections of Nepali society and could not gain support from the general public. Th e Constitution of 1990 therefore rightly came under sharp scrutiny. Questions were raised about the lack of people's participation in its making, and exclusionary and discriminatory provisions in it. Women, dalits, janajatis, religious minorities and people from remote geographical regions began to assert that the 1990 Constitution was not representative and, therefore, a new constitution was needed. Th e debate gained greater salience as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which was waging the people's war against the state, started to demand that a new constitution be made through a democratically elected constituent assembly as a way out from the current impasse. Now the constitution has become perhaps the most publicly debated issue today. And proposals and counter-proposals have come from diff erent quarters about the process of making a new constitution. All the political forces have, even if lately, realized that the Maoist confl ict cannot be Introduction 3

Women are more than half of the Pakistan’s population, still they are discriminated in every field of life due to prevailing misinterpreted religious teachings, patriarchy, and feudalistic values, which are deep rooted in society. Alongside, since independence military role remain dominant in political that have strong impact in shaping women status in Pakistan. For this reason, in this article comparison of two military regimes General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf is made to explore how their policies shaped the women status in Pakistani society. General Zia was determined to Islamized the legal system of Pakistan, which limited the women within four walls of home; no practical political will was there to empower women. The introduction of Hadood Ordinance 1979, blocked women social, economic, and political liberation.  Contrary to this, General Pervez Musharraf’s era seems a cure, as political efforts made, for instance, Women Protection Bill 2006 introduced, and vague ...

Women are more than half of the Pakistan’s population, still they are discriminated in every field of life due to prevailing misinterpreted religious teachings, patriarchy, and feudalistic values, which are deep rooted in society. Alongside, since independence military role remain dominant in political that have strong impact in shaping women status in Pakistan. For this reason, in this article comparison of two military regimes General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf is made to explore how their policies shaped the women status in Pakistani society. General Zia was determined to Islamized the legal system of Pakistan, which limited the women within four walls of home; no practical political will was there to empower women. The introduction of Hadood Ordinance 1979, blocked women social, economic, and political liberation.  Contrary to this, General Pervez Musharraf’s era seems a cure, as political efforts made, for instance, Women Protection Bill 2006 introduced, and vague ...

This article l w~lI discuss how the negotiations over the defining attributes ?f state~uthonty and of state-society relations at important conjunctures In N~~al 5 recent political history are related to political and economic condltlO~s ":,,ith n~tionaL regional and global outreach. The unravelling

General Zia Ul Haq’s military regime is known, for many for its blatant violation of human rights, hanging, flogging, and imprisonment of political workers. Even intelligentsia and journalists were executed for political reasons during this regime. However, his regime was particularly known for suppression of women rights in his process of Islamization. After deposing Bhutto by imposing Martial Law General Zia took over the helm of affairs of the country on the 5th of July 1977 and remained in power with full autocracy till 17th August 1988 when his plan was ablaze in the air near Bahawalpur. This study is an attempt to analyze the process of Islamization by General Zia, its causes, suppressive actions act against various segments of society especially women. The study is also an attempt to search for the answers to the question “Was his policy of Islamization a sincere effort to implement the Islamic system or merely politically motivated? The response of women against Islamization...

Nepal, a nation of 26 million people (2011 census) in the Himalaya Mountains north of India, has been a monarchy since the country was unified two centuries ago. There have been extended periods when the king was merely a figurehead while the country was ruled by various oligarchs, the last of whom was ousted in 1951. King Mahendra initiated a brief experiment in parliamentary democracy in 1959 but terminated it in December 1960. In 1990 several political parties and coalitions exerted pressure on the government to introduce multiparty elections and to end its age-old system of government. After a very rocky few years the king accepted the draft of a new basic law that provided for multiparty elections. Since November 9, 1990, Nepal has been a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy.

The idea of different types of power applied in negotiations is discussed in Gyawali (2000). 2 The political actors that wield various powers-especially the egalitarians-have been identified by various institutionalists. See Thompson and Gyawali (2007, forthcoming). 3 This mode of analysis was discussed in an article (D. Gyawali: Nepal's Intertwined Politics of Oil, Wick and Lamp) in a (now defunct) website www.nepaleyes.com in February 2006 and reproduced in People's Review (Kathmandu) of 23/02/2006. I am grateful to The Asia Foundation (TAF)-Nepal, in particular to Mr. Nick Langton, representative of TAF for providing us the financial support for undertaking this particular survey, which is the third in the series of opinion polls supported by TAF. I am grateful to Dr. Sagar Prasai, Consultant at TAF, for his initiative in helping us start the work on time and for his feedback during various stages of the work I am grateful to our organization, Interdisciplinary Analysts, Kathmandu for providing us the opportunity to take this up and especially to its chairman, Mr. Dipak Gyawali, for his comments, suggestions and other backstopping support during the entire project period. I am grateful to Dr. Anup Pahadi, Sociologist, for his inputs in questionnaire formulation. The opinion poll has benefited from the comments of Mr. Hari Sharma, Poltical Scientist, on the first draft of the report for which I am obliged to him. The team has also benefited from the inputs provided by Mr. Fatik Bahadur Thapa, Member of Parliament, who had been involved in earlier opinion polls undertaken by Interdisciplinary Analysts as well. This opinion poll could not have been accomplished without the assistance of Blitz Media Pvt. Ltd. in conducting the fieldwork and managing the processing of data. I especially thank Ms. Juna Mathema, Managing Director of Blitz Media Pvt. Ltd., for taking overall responsibility of the fieldwork management and the data processing and completing it on time. I heartily appreciate the efforts of Mr. Lila Acharya for coordinating fieldwork and the field supervisors and enumerators for administering questionnaire in the field. I am grateful to Mrs. Perry Thapa for copy-editing the text, her skills having made this report much more readable than would have been the case otherwise. At Interdisciplinary Analysts, help was rendered in word processing by Mrs. Sunita Munakarmi, while Mr. Narayan Adhikari was responsible for layout, formatting and cover page designing. My thanks go to both of them. The report was printed at the Jagadamba Press. As the principal investigator of the study, I sincerely thank the co-author of this study, Mr. Pawan Kumar Sen, for putting in significant inputs in designing the sample, in formulating questionnaire, and in data analysis, interpretation and report writing, and absolve him of shortcomings remaining in the report by taking them upon myself. In the last opinion poll-Nepal Contemporary Political Situation II-we had wondered if there had been shifts in the opinions held by the people because of the political events of April 2006 (which is generally referred to as the 'Second People's Movement'). This opinion poll-Nepal Contemporary Political Situation III-conclusively shows that there has indeed been dramatic shifts in core opinions held by the people, which in turn goes to show that opinions are indeed dynamic. The strength of the series of opinion polls that Interdisciplinary Analysts has been undertaking during the past two years is that they are capable of capturing shifts in the opinions of the people, something that would not have been possible with only a single, one-time poll. It needs reminding that a public opinion poll, which meets minimum criteria of scientific meritand I believe this one does-represents not just the views of the sample but the entire population. Furthermore, while it may be obvious, it does, however, need re-emphasizing that this opinion poll, as with the others before it, is not the opinions the authors. The authors, however, can and should be critiqued for any interpretation of those measured opinions that the readers feel is unjustified. We welcome and look forward to such constructive criticisms, mainly because they help us hone our poll-taking skills.

https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/politics-language-assam

Language has been at the heart of political debate in Assam since the formation of the British colonial province of Assam in 1874, then through the turbulent decades leading to Independence, the separation of Sylhet during Partition, and into our times.