The Guthi is one of the oldest socio-religious institutions in Nepal. The systems are said to be in existence since 5 BC. Guthi means sacred land, which was donated by individuals for social and religious functions to take place. There are two types of Guthis, and they are public and private Guthis. The public owns public Guthis, and the community controls them. Private Guthis are spaces owned by specific family lineages. The donors believed that they would be blessed for their generous actions. Then the land would be tilled, and the benefits support the cultural and religious activities such as construction and repair of temples and priest houses. The income is also used to facilitate various cultural festivals, rituals, and customs. Though the western culture has become popular in Nepal, Guthi system remains an essential system among the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley. It plays the role of maintaining traditional public spaces and temples. Additionally, the system organizes festivals and religious parades.
Guthi system politics began on November 2nd, 1964, when Guthi Sansthan was introduced by the government to take care of all Guthis in the country. This meant that it would take up all the roles of maintaining temples and conduct religious, cultural, and social activities in the state. However, since the establishment of the Guthi system, more Guthi land has been lost for the building of governmental structures such as hospitals, schools, among others. Also, Guthi Sansthan rents the property that is not used for farming to tenants for their purposes. Some of the tenants use the land for commercial purposes, which many people believe it was not part of the original use of Guthi land. In 2019, the Minister of Land Management, Cooperative, and Poverty Alleviation introduced the Guthi Bill in the Upper House. The bill suggested the replacement of the current Guthi Sansthan and its duties. The bill also intended to regulating all religious sites and nationalizing both public and private Guthis. Immediately after the presentation of the law, protests began in the Kathmandu Valley by the Newar community.
The protesters wanted the bill brought down because it would further misuse Guthi for their benefits. They had learned this from the previous Guthi Sansthan Corporation, which had made it hard to maintain community temples. The opposition grew as the government continued to push for the ratification of the bill. The minister believed the bill would become law as two-thirds of the parliamentary representatives were supporting the bill. However, the opposition continued to increase, and not Nepar opposed it but most citizens of Nepal. The government tried to stop the protests by using the police. The police used water cannons to disperse the protesters. At the climax of the demonstrations, people matched to the prime minister’s office and protested outside the offices. Prime Minister Oli seemed to argue that the bill would be improved if it was impacting the culture. Contrary, the protesters wanted the bill closed, not being revised. The government was left with no option but to withdraw the bill due to the growing protests. Even after the government announced to withdraw the bill, the protests continued to the day before withdrawal.
The bill was accused of violating the constitutional rights outlined in Article 26 (2) of the constitution. The Article explains that every religious denomination should operate ad protect its religious sites and religious Guthi. Also, there are different types of this in Nepal, and each has its way of running. If the bill was passed, it would mean that all this will be run similarly, and thus some people would lose the culture which they had practiced for a longer time.
It was necessary to involve all stakeholders during the drafting of the bill. The key stakeholders included the Guthi Sansthan and Newar community, which would be affected by the changes of the Guthi system. This would ensure that all needs were well agreed, and the proposed changes would not be one-sided. The Newar community would present their proposals on how the bill would protect the Guthi system. When the government, through the Minister of Lands, drafted the Guthi Bill, it made assumptions that the citizens would readily accept the draft. However, it turned out that its recommendation was challenged by the demonstrations, which led to its failure. People are aware of their rights, and they clearly understand that it is legal to protest what they feel is against the law. This is unlike 1964 during the takeover of Guthis by Guthi Sansthan. During the period, many people were unaware of their rights, and also the government had extreme powers to silence. The involvement of all the stakeholders of the Guthi system would help prevent the mass demonstrations in the streets of Nepal because their grievances would be considered in the draft. The importance of all stakeholders was also witnessed when the Prime Minister stated that the claims of the Newar community would be incorporated in the bill during revision. The only thing that they wanted was only its withdrawal.
The land is an essential property in the Guthi system. Land management coop is the strategy used to manage land in the Guthi system. Land management coop is defined as the situation in which a group of people own land together and manage the land cooperatively. When Guthi land was donated or purchased, the ownership of the property became public, and everybody in the community could participate in the development of the property. The land no longer belonged to the giver. Also, the product obtained from the property was used to benefit the community as a whole and not individuals. Land management coop differs from the land trust. Land trust refers to the state in which one party agrees to hold a title to the property for the benefit of another party. In this type of ownership, the trustee only holds a claim, but the trustor has exclusive rights to benefit from the income of the land. Also, the trustee must follow the rules of the trustor as it is in agreement. If the government acquires the property, it takes away the rights of the community, and thus it becomes the beneficiary. This is why the Guthi Sansthan sold some land to investors for development.
The Guthi Bill was introduced in June 2019 to nationalize all Guthis in Nepal. However, the bill was opposed by many people, especially the Newar community, from Kathmandu Valley. The protesters believed that it would lead to the end of the indigenous culture, which has been used since 5 BC. Engaging all stakeholders affected by the bill would be of importance during the drafting of the bill. It would help to prevent the demonstrations.