KATHMANDU, August 1

Janajati Constituent Assembly members of the Unified CPN-Maoist on Saturday submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of the Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee of the CA Baburam Bhattarai.

As many as 27 CA members from indigenous communities have submitted the memorandum demanding that the words ‘Peoples War’ and ‘Secularism’ be included in the preamble of the constitution.

The memorandum states that the draft constitution has raised serious concerns about the indigenous communities because it has excluded their rights and has backtracked even from the Interim Constitution.

They have demanded that the CPDCC include one-horned rhino as the national animal of the country instead of the cow; education for all Nepalis up to higher level in their respective mother tongue; use of local language in the Pradeshes as official language; mother tongue use for indigenous people in public services and proportional representation of disadvantaged groups in all organs of the state.

Similarly, they have also demanded constitutional Indigenous Nationalities Commission with its wings in the Pradeshes and local levels and demarcation of Pradeshes along with their names.

The indigenous CA members have also demanded that the CPDCC own up all the decisions finalised by the previous CA. Ganeshman Pun, Santu Darai, Sri Prasad Jagebu, Lal Bahadur Gurung, Suryabala Rai, Aman Modi, Ongdi Sherpa, Santa Kumar Tharu, J B Tuhure, Shyam Kumar Shrestha, among others, signed the memo.