Nepal
is a polytheist
Hindu
state. The legitimacy
of the Nepalese state, therefore, rests on its
embeddedness in society which can “either cede
a measure of its autonomy to the state through voluntary
consent, or withold it, thus denying it any sense
of legal or moral standing.
The
limits of government are well defined in the Constitution
and the fundamental
rights acquired by citizens. The government is
also subjected to the judicial process, parliamentary
review, scrutiny of the press and the public that
constitute the civil
society. The institutions of representation, such
as the parliament,
political parties and civil society mediate the
activities between the public and the state and help
in the democratization
of both. In this vein, “we find that the civil
society has to contribute even in empowering the state
in the interest of social transformation, if by em-powerment
we can mean building the capacity and legitimacy of
the state to address the issues of social concern”
(Panday, 1999:131). Recent experience shows that Nepalese
civil
society confronts a variety of pressures from
the citizens to address the complexity of development
functions. Many of the formal and informal organizations
working in the civic space and exerting pressure for
democratization
of the political society and the development process
can be categorized as such
Economic
Society:
Federation of the Nepalese Cham-bers of Commerce and
Industry, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Dhikuties, Private
Business Houses, Cooperatives, Petty Traders’
Association, Financial Institutions, Nepal-India Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, Nepal-German Chamber of
Commerce, Nepal-US Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Consumer and Users Groups, Association of Econo-mic
Writers, Association of Bankers, Management Association
of Nepal, Hotel Association of Nepal, Nepal Advertisement
Agency Association, Nepal Overseas Exporters’
Association, Federation of Community Forest Users'
Group of Nepal, etc
Social
and Cultural Associations:
Guthi, Mithila Samaj, Manka Khala, Newa Khala, Nepal
Tamang Ghedung, Tharu Welfare Society, Thakali Welfare
Committee, Kirant Yakthung Chumlung, Depressed People’s
Upliftment Platform, Rodhi among Gurungs, etc.
Educational
and Informational Institutions:
Auto-nomous research institutions and universities,
acade-mies, Federation of Nepalese Journalist, Communica-tor’s
Group, Nepal Environmental Journalist Associa-tion,
Editor’s Guild, Nepal Press Institute, Nepal
Institute of Mass Communication, Nepal South Asia
Center, Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies, Center
for the Consolidation of Democracy, Institute for
Integrated Development Studies, etc
Promotional
and Protective Interest Groups:
Nepal Trade Union Congress, Democratic Confederation
of Nepalese Trade Unions, General Federation of Nepa-lese
Trade Unions, Student Unions, Nepal Teachers’
Association and organization, Federations of Village
Development Committees (VDC), municipality and District
Development Committees (DDC), Nepal Bar Association,
All Nepal Lawyers’ Association, Nepal Medical
Association, etc
Relief
and Development Associations:
NGOs, Self-help Groups, Federation of NGOs, Maiti
Nepal, Nepal Red Cross Society, Rotary Club, Lions
Club, Anti-T. B. Association, Family Planning Association
of Nepal, Netra Jyoti Sangh, etc
Advocacy
Groups:
Nepal Federation of Ethnic Groups and Nationalities,
Nepal Dalit Association, Women’s Pressure Group,
Indigenous societies, Legal Aid and Consultancy Center,
Paribartan Nepal, TEWA, etc.
Civic
Groups:
Human Right Organizations (such as, Informal Sector
Service, Human Right Organization of Nepal, Amnesty
International-Nepal Chapter, INHURED International,
Child Workers, Modern Civil
Society and Nepal 23 in Nepal Concerned Center,
Kamaya Concerned Group, etc), Election Observation
Group, Transparency Interna-tional, Nepal Law Society,
Political Science Associa-tion of Nepal, Sociological
and Anthropological Association of Nepal, Intellectual
Councils, etc.
Public
Trusts:
Pashupati Area Development Trusts, King Mahendra Trust
for Nature Conservation, Lumbini Development Trust,
Madan-Ashrit Memorial Trust, Mana Mohan Memorial Foundation,
Ganesh-man Foundation, B. P. Koirala Foundation, Tank
Prasad Acharya Memorial Trust, etc.
Private
Philanthropic Associations:
Bhupal Man Singh Foundation, Buddha-Gandhi Foundation,
Madan Puraskar Guthi, etc.
