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Jagannath Adhikari/Exclusion and access to economic
opportunities: Implications for political participation
and conflicts
There
was a marked change in the amount of political
space available after the 1990 democracy movement.
In the decade since, this space came to be occupied
by the richer groups. In Pokhara, where Jagannath
Adhikhari based his research, the richer group
is that of Gurungs, who are recent settlers. Adhikari
described the inter-linkages between economic
well-being, ethnicity and the electoral process,
as studied at the micro-level in Pokhara.
The
richer groups, by virtue of enjoying certain social
and economic rights, are able to better access
and exercise their political rights. Figures indicate
that political participation at the national level
is more representative in democracy than it was
under Panchayat rule. Adhikari’s concern
is with the municipal level, and the impact of
democracy and economic wherewithal on local-level
political participation. The question Adhikari
investigated was whether political participation
at the municipal level is instrumental in reducing
poverty, using data from local-level elections
for analysis.
In
Pokhara, which has grown more prosperous in the
last decade (though the Maoist conflict has crippled
its tourism-dependent local economy now), Adhikari’s
research shows that the marginalised sections
of society, such as dalits and others, are progressively
becoming poorer. Presenting comparative data for
dalits and others (squatters, etc), Gurungs, Newars,
Chhetris, Bahuns and others, Adhikari formed a
grid where political participation, economic well-being
and ethnicity overlapped. He also presented disaggregated
data for dalit participation and voting patterns
vis-à-vis the political parties.
Adhikari
found that at the local level, the 1998 local
elections showed that rather than the ethnicity/ideology
dichotomy, economic and social factors were more
important in influencing political choices. Thus,
Gurung candidates, even though they represent
a minority, almost consistently polled higher
votes than caste candidates. Ethnicity is important
because it interfaces with economic well-being.
Adhikari also found that women do not attract
votes.
The
impact of such marginalisation is felt at both
the personal and the societal level, and this
has tended to feed the impetus for violent politics
as manifested most obviously in the Maoist movement.
In the absence of state-supported mechanisms of
economic advancement, dalits will continue to
languish outside the pale of democratic processes.
The high level of Gurung political mobilisation
in Pokhara, and ethnic mobilisation more generally,
is linked with their greater economic capacity.
Taking its cue from this, the state should support
the economic empowerment of dalits in order to
facilitate their political empowerment.
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