Social Studies and Life Skills · Chapter 8
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
A constitution is the fundamental law of a country. It is the supreme legal document. It establishes the form of government. It distributes state power. It guarantees the rights of citizens. It sets the limits within which the government must act. Nepal's present constitution is the Constitution of Nepal. It was promulgated on 20 September 2015. In the Nepali calendar this is the Constitution of Nepal 2072 BS. It was made by the second Constituent Assembly. That assembly was an elected body representing the people. The Constitution declares Nepal to be an independent, indivisible, and sovereign state. It declares Nepal a secular, inclusive, and socialism oriented federal democratic republic. Civic awareness means the knowledge that citizens have of public life. It covers their rights and duties. It covers how the government works. It covers how to take part responsibly. A democracy depends on civic awareness. Rights have little value if citizens do not know them or do not use them. This unit explains how government is formed. It explains what the government does. It explains the rights and duties of citizens and adolescents. It covers the new civil law, the right to information, and the importance of integrity and social accountability.
Nepal is a federal democratic republic with three tiers of government. The first is the federal (central) government. The second is the provincial governments of the seven provinces. The third is the local governments made up of the local units. The total number of local units is seven hundred fifty three. At each tier the government is formed through periodic elections. These elections are held on the basis of universal adult franchise. This means every citizen above the set voting age has the right to vote.
At the federal level, the parliament (Sangha) has two houses. So it is bicameral. The first is the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha). It is the lower house with two hundred seventy five members. The second is the National Assembly (Rastriya Sabha). It is the upper house with fifty nine members. Members of the House of Representatives are elected by a mixed system. It combines first past the post constituency election with proportional representation. This helps ensure the inclusion of women and marginalized groups. After an election, one leader is chosen. It is the leader who commands the confidence of a majority in the House of Representatives. That leader is appointed Prime Minister (Pradhan Mantri). The Prime Minister forms the Council of Ministers, which is the executive. The President (Rastrapati) is the constitutional head of state. The President is elected by an electoral college of federal and provincial lawmakers. The provinces follow a similar pattern. Each province has a provincial assembly. Its majority leader becomes Chief Minister. Each local unit also has an elected assembly. It is headed by a mayor or chairperson. For example, elections were held under the Constitution. After them, local, provincial, and federal governments were formed in turn. This showed the full three tier structure in operation.
The government exists to serve the people. It maintains order. It protects the country. It promotes development and welfare. Its functions are usually divided among three organs. (a) The legislature (Byavasthapika) makes laws. It approves the budget. It holds the executive accountable. (b) The executive (Karyapalika) is the Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister. It implements laws. It runs the day to day administration. (c) The judiciary (Nyayapalika) is the courts led by the Supreme Court (Sarbochcha Adalat). It interprets laws. It delivers justice. This separation of powers has checks and balances. It prevents any one organ from becoming too powerful.
The Constitution divides powers among the three governments. It uses lists of exclusive and concurrent powers. So each tier has its own duties. The federal government handles defence, foreign affairs, and currency. Local governments handle basic services, local roads, and primary health and schooling. The main duties of the government are several. It maintains peace and security. It protects fundamental rights. It delivers services such as education and health. It runs the economy. It conducts foreign relations. The government also has rights. It has the right to make and enforce law. It has the right to collect taxes and revenue. It has the right to maintain security forces. For example, a local government in Nepal has clear duties. It registers births and deaths. It collects certain local taxes. It runs local schools and health posts. This shows how government functions reach citizens directly.
A citizen (nagarik) is a person who has legal membership of the state. With that membership come rights and duties. Rights and duties go together. A right of one person creates a duty on others and on the state to respect it. The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights (maulik hak). They are set out in its part on fundamental rights. Ordinary law cannot take them away. They include many rights. There is the right to equality. There is the right to freedom, including freedom of expression and assembly. There is the right against untouchability and discrimination. There is the right to live with dignity. There are the rights to education, health, employment, and food. There is the right to property. There is the right to freedom of religion. There is the right to information. There is the right to constitutional remedy. There are special rights for women, Dalits, and other marginalized groups. If a fundamental right is violated, a citizen can seek a remedy. They can go to the Supreme Court or a High Court.
Citizens also have duties (kartavya). The Constitution lists several. One is to safeguard the nationality, sovereignty, and integrity of Nepal. Another is to abide by the constitution and the law. Another is to render compulsory service when the state requires it. Good citizenship goes further. It means paying taxes honestly. It means voting. It means respecting the rights of others. It means protecting public property and the environment. It means helping maintain social harmony. For example, citizens pay taxes and vote in elections. In doing so they fulfil duties that make the rights and services of a democracy possible. Civic awareness means understanding that rights and duties are two sides of the same coin.
Adolescents (kishor kishori) are young people in the stage between childhood and adulthood. This is roughly the teenage years. They are a large and important part of Nepal's population. They are the future of the country. They are still developing. So they enjoy the special protections given to children and young people. They also enjoy the general rights of citizens. The Constitution guarantees the rights of children (balbalika). These include the right to a name and birth registration. They include the right to education, health, and nurture. They include the right to protection from child labour, child marriage, trafficking, abuse, and exploitation. A child in conflict with the law has the right to juvenile friendly justice. The Act Relating to Children gives effect to these rights.
So the rights of adolescents include several things. They have the right to free basic education. They have the right to health, including reproductive health information. They have the right to protection from early marriage and all forms of violence and exploitation. They have the right to express their views and to take part in matters affecting them. They have the right to rest and recreation. Along with these rights, adolescents have duties. They should study and develop their abilities. They should respect parents, teachers, and elders. They should obey the law. They should avoid harmful behaviour such as substance abuse. They should use digital technology responsibly. They should contribute positively to their family and community. For example, consider an adolescent who stays in school. The adolescent refuses early marriage. The adolescent helps spread awareness about cleanliness or against drug abuse in the community. That adolescent is both exercising rights and fulfilling duties. Encouraging adolescent participation builds civic awareness from an early age. This includes child clubs (bal club) and school councils.
The Muluki Samhita is Nepal's codified national law. The new civil law is the Muluki Civil Code (Muluki Dewani Samhita). It was enacted and came into force. It replaced the old Muluki Ain. The old Muluki Ain was the general legal code. It had governed the country in various forms since the mid nineteenth century. The old Muluki Ain of 1854 is well known for one thing. It had codified caste based discrimination. It was later reformed in 1963 to remove legal caste discrimination. Finally it has been replaced by the modern codes. The new set of codes includes the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code. Alongside them are a new Criminal (Penal) Code, a Criminal Procedure Code, and a Sentencing Act.
The Muluki Civil Code organizes and modernizes the private law of Nepal. It covers persons and personality. It covers family relations, including marriage, divorce, and partition. It covers property and inheritance. It covers contracts and other civil obligations. It has several aims. It makes the law consistent with the rights and equality guaranteed by the Constitution. It simplifies and unifies scattered laws. It makes justice more accessible. For example, the Civil Code has provisions on marriage, divorce, and property. These apply to civil disputes between individuals and families across the country. They replace older and sometimes discriminatory rules. The replacement of the old Muluki Ain by the new codes is an important milestone. It shows the legal system being brought into line with a modern, rights based, and more equal society.
The right to information (suchana ko hak) is the right of citizens to obtain information held by public bodies. They can seek it, receive it, and obtain it. It is recognized as a fundamental right in the Constitution. The Constitution provides that every citizen shall have the right to demand and receive information on any matter of public importance. There are reasonable limits. Information may be withheld if its disclosure would harm national security or privacy. The right is given detailed effect by the Right to Information Act. A National Information Commission (Rastriya Suchana Aayog) has been established. It protects and promotes this right. It hears complaints when information is wrongly refused.
The right to information is a powerful tool for transparency and good governance. It lets ordinary citizens, journalists, and civil society find out how public money is spent. They can learn how decisions are made. They can check whether officials are doing their duty. Public bodies have duties here. They must appoint information officers. They must publish important information in advance. Then citizens do not always have to ask. For example, a citizen may suspect misuse of funds for a local road or a school building. The citizen can file an application for information about the budget and the contract. The public body must provide it within the set time. In this way the right to information helps citizens hold government to account. It reduces the space for corruption. It directly strengthens civic awareness, because informed citizens can take part meaningfully in public affairs.
Integrity means honesty and uprightness. It means holding to strong moral and ethical principles, especially in public life. A person or official with integrity acts honestly even when no one is watching. They do not take or give bribes. They do not misuse public position for private gain. They treat people fairly. Integrity in public service is the foundation of good governance (susasan). Corruption (bhrashtachar) does great harm. It wastes public resources. It deepens inequality. It destroys trust in the state. Nepal has established bodies to protect integrity. The most notable is the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Akhtiyar Durupayog Anusandhan Aayog). It is a constitutional body. It investigates corruption and abuse of authority by public officials. Other bodies include the Auditor General and the National Vigilance Centre.
Social accountability means the ways citizens and communities hold public officials and institutions answerable. It concerns their decisions and their use of resources. It goes beyond the formal checks of elections and government agencies. There are several tools of social accountability. One is the right to information. Another is public hearings (sarvajanik sunuwai). Another is public audits and social audits (samajik parikshan) of local projects. Another is citizen charters. These tell people what services they are entitled to and in what time. Another is grievance mechanisms. For example, a local government may hold a public audit of a drinking water project. Then villagers can see how the budget was spent. They can question any irregularity. This discourages misuse and builds trust. Integrity and social accountability together create a culture where government serves the people honestly. Civic awareness is essential here. Accountability works only when citizens know their rights, demand information, and participate actively.