Nepal's new constitution kindles celebration, controversy, and church bombings

After almost a decade of political limbo, Nepal formally adopted its new constitution on Sunday, providing the Himalayan nation with its first complete governmental framework since the monarchy toppled in 2008. Amid fireworks, balloons, and congratulatory banners in the capital, Kathmandu, President Ram Baran Yadav signed the charter and made the proclamation announcement to roaring applause.

“We believe that the adoption of the new constitution has now opened the path for development of the country,” he told the Constituent Assembly.

The charter declares Nepal a secular federation, and slices the nation into seven states, each with its own prime minister and legislature. The constitution won landslide approval from the Nepali government, and is viewed as a symbol of progress and modernization.

“The people have achieved a republican nation that they have aspired to for decades,” said Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey.

But not all Nepalese are happy with the new political order. Christians fear the document’s ban on conversion, if enforced, will snuff out religious liberty entirely. And some in the Hindu majority are angry the document did not make Nepal an explicitly Hindu nation. They used protests over the constitution’s secularism as an excuse to bomb two churches and attack another. Some Christian pastors are being placed under police protection and advised to stay home until the hostility subsides.

On the other hand, Nepal’s homosexual demographic lauds the constitution, which, according to the BBC, includes articles giving the gay and transgender community broader freedom to participate in the legislature. “This constitution ensures our identity, rights, participation, and inclusion; a better path ahead for Nepalese LGBTs,” said gay rights activist Sunil Pant.

In contrast to the pomp and circumstance in Kathmandu, protests sparked riots elsewhere in the nation. On Sunday, local police said one demonstrator was killed in clashes between officers and protesters in southern Nepal. In recent weeks, violent protests among the Tharu and Madhesi ethnic groups left at least 45 dead. Food and cargo transport from the breadbasket south to Kathmandu remains largely bottlenecked as Nepali police tightened security and imposed a curfew amid blockades and bloodshed.

Nepal’s ethnic minorities say lawmakers ignored their concerns over state borderlines. They claim the new boundaries intentionally divide and weaken ethnic minorities like the Tharu and Madhesi.

Nepal is home to more than 100 ethnic groups, and some say the new constitution still limits their representation. Hinduism is the majority religion in Nepal, though many inhabitants practice a fusion of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Christians make up less than 1.5 percent of Nepal’s population of 28 million.

“They may disagree with the size and makeup of these states, but that is not a really big issue,” Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said Saturday.

After violence erupted over the weekend, U.S. lawmakers warned about the potential for human rights violations: “We are seeing early warning signs that Nepal may legalize the persecution of up to 20 percent of its population, based solely on religious belief. It would be irresponsible not to speak up,” wrote U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Both the U.S. government and neighboring India urged Nepal’s security and political forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests and cautioned citizens against resorting to violence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.