POLITICAL TRANSITION AND CONSTITUTION MAKING IN NEPAL: THE MILITARY DIMENSION

This article analyzes the critical and highly contentious military dimension of Nepal's political transition and constitution-making process following the 2006 Jana Andolan II. It focuses on the central challenge of the "security sector reform," particularly the issue of the integration of the former Maoist combatants of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with the state's traditional Nepal Army. The study examines the deeply conflicting positions of the major political actors on this issue, with the Maoists demanding a full integration and the traditional parties and the Nepal Army resisting it. The research argues that this issue was not merely a technical one but the single most important and politically charged aspect of the entire peace process. The paper posits that a successful and sustainable political settlement was contingent upon finding a mutually acceptable solution to this military question. The analysis concludes that the failure to resolve the issue of army integration posed a grave threat to the long-term stability of Nepal's democratic transition.

The end of the decade-long Maoist insurgency in Nepal in 2006 ushered in a complex and difficult political transition. This paper focuses on what was arguably the most intractable challenge of this transition: the military dimension. The study begins by outlining the key provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), which called for the "integration and rehabilitation" of the former Maoist combatants who were cantoned under UN supervision. The core of the article is a detailed analysis of the profound political and institutional obstacles to implementing this provision. It examines the position of the Nepal Army, a traditionally royalist and conservative institution, which was deeply opposed to the idea of integrating the "politically indoctrinated" Maoist fighters into its ranks. It contrasts this with the position of the Maoist party, for whom the integration of their former fighters was a non-negotiable demand, a symbol of their equal partnership in the new republican state. The paper also explores the role of the international community, particularly the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), in trying to mediate this sensitive issue. The findings reveal a deep security dilemma at the heart of the peace process. The paper concludes that the question of what to do with the two armies was not just a military issue but was the central question of power in the new Nepal, and its successful resolution was the absolute prerequisite for the drafting of a new constitution and the consolidation of a lasting peace.