Indigenous Minority Rights – 2008
2008
The formation of the High Level Commission remains a contentious issue amongst political parties. These parties differ in opinion on the number of states that should be created, the names of the states, the boundaries, and what role ethnic groups will play within the federal state. Notwithstanding the delay in the restructuring of the state, achievements were made in terms of providing greater opportunities for ethnic minorities in the governance. In the Constituent Assembly, the previously excluded castes and ethnic groups were represented through the quota system. According to this systems, the Dalits had 13%, the oppressed caste/indigenous groups had 37.8%, the Madeshi had 31.2%, other groups had 30%, and the backward regions had 4% of the total seats.[fn]”Nepal Human Development Report 2009-State Transformation and Human Development,” UNDP, 2009.[/efn_note]