Question: What is social justice? How does the implementation of federalism in Nepal contribute to the promotion of social justice? Present clear bases.
Meaning of Social Justice
Social justice refers to a condition in which people belonging to all classes, regions, castes, genders, and communities have a fair and equitable share in, and access to, the resources, rights, opportunities, and benefits available within the state.
The concept of social justice seeks to eliminate various forms of class-based, caste-based, regional, linguistic and gender-based discrimination, inequality and exploitation and to create a just and equitable social order. It advocates equal treatment among equals and differentiated treatment where circumstances are unequal, to empower, uplift and promote the development of disadvantaged groups and communities.
The fundamental objective of social justice is to bring socially excluded and marginalized groups into the mainstream through equitable distribution, redistribution, protection, affirmative measures, remedial interventions and rehabilitation, thereby ensuring that all sections of society experience justice and dignity.
Federalism in Nepal and the Promotion of Social Justice
The Constitution of Nepal seeks to build an equitable society based on the principles of proportional representation, inclusion and participation by ending discrimination and oppression of all forms arising from the historically centralized and unitary state structure. It has adopted a federal democratic republican system of governance with the broader objectives of achieving sustainable peace, good governance, development and prosperity.
The implementation of federalism provides several institutional, constitutional and fiscal bases for promoting social justice in Nepal:
- Devolution of state power and authority: With the distribution of state power among the federal, provincial and local levels, provinces and local governments have been empowered to identify and address local needs, priorities and problems of marginalized communities more effectively.
- Equitable fiscal transfers: The National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission provides an institutional basis for making fiscal transfers to subnational governments more objective and equitable, thereby promoting fairness in the distribution of public resources.
- Social protection and welfare measures: All three levels of government can formulate and implement annual policies, programmes and budgets for the protection and advancement of economically and socially vulnerable individuals and communities.
- Progressive taxation: Within their respective revenue jurisdictions, the three levels of government can adopt appropriate progressive taxation policies to promote redistribution and reduce economic inequality.
- Proportional and inclusive representation: The constitutional principle of proportional inclusion and participation provides a basis for ensuring the representation of marginalized, disadvantaged and historically excluded communities in political institutions at the federal, provincial and local levels.
- Affirmative action in public employment: Constitutional and legal provisions relating to reservation and inclusion in public service recruitment provide opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities to participate in the administrative structure of the state.
- Inclusive provincial public service: Provinces have a constitutional and legal basis to introduce appropriate inclusive and affirmative measures in provincial and local public service recruitment, with particular attention to marginalized communities within the province.
- Local access to justice and protection of vulnerable groups: Local-level Judicial Committees can play an important role in facilitating access to justice and protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups, including women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged or helpless persons.
- Recognition of local identity and culture: Federalism provides greater scope for addressing the language, culture, traditions and identity of local communities while determining the names and boundaries of local governments.
- Recognition and promotion of linguistic diversity: All mother tongues are recognized as languages of the nation, while provinces may determine one or more languages spoken by a majority of the population within the province as official languages for provincial government business, subject to constitutional and legal provisions.
- Protection of local language, culture and heritage: The assignment of powers relating to language, culture and fine arts to local governments enables them to protect and promote local languages, cultures, arts, dress, customs, traditions and community identities.
Conclusion
The Constitution of Nepal seeks to promote social justice through institutional mechanisms such as equality, equity, proportional representation, inclusion, participation, local autonomy, decentralization and equitable fiscal transfers. Federalism creates opportunities to bring government closer to citizens and to respond more effectively to the specific needs of marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
The effective implementation of federalism, however, depends on how responsibly the three levels of government exercise their respective constitutional powers. Therefore, while formulating policies, allocating resources, and delivering services, all levels of government should remain committed to the empowerment, inclusion, equal opportunity, and socio-economic advancement of marginalized communities. Such an approach can strengthen the constitutional vision of an inclusive, equitable and socially just society.