Participation is a key to awareness and personality development. It is through participation that people know each other, identify commonalities and differences, enhance self-respect and develop ways to adjust themselves to political, economic and social processes and systems. Participation helps them identify what changes or reforms are necessary in the system they are interacting with. Participation thus leads to change and development for the common good.

Participation allows people to make decision about issues and problems facing them, political, economic, social and cultural issues. They adopt mechanism to implement the decision and participate in the monitoring of the action. Participation is thus a reflection of the wish and choice of the people. It is free of influence, coercion and manipulation. Participation is an integral element of democracy.

In our experience we have some rooms expanded for participation, both in political and other sectors, as compared to that of the party less system. But it is mostly limited to elections. There is no room for participation in decision-making level. Even after the chance in polity, the centralized political and administrative structure did not undergo any changes. The society is still divided between the so-called high-caste and low-caste, pure and untouchable. All this had hindered equality in participation.

Even in elections, participation could not be reflected in its genuine sense. By the large free and fair elections were held, but they could not be representative. In polls both men and women equally participated, but not in positions. No political parties could go beyond the constitutional mandate of compulsory 5 percent women nomination in elections. The highest so far has been only 9 percent.

There is reason to doubt that the parliament dominated by the high-cast males trained under traditional values, which despise women, does not produce bills and enact laws towards guarantying equality between men and women. There are MPs in parliament openly rejecting equality for women on legal, economic and social issues.

The participation of ethnic, dalit and marginalized groups is remarkably low. Both Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) have been predominated by Brahmins. Around 40 percent MPs are Brahmins whereas the total population of Brahmins is only 12.6 percent in Nepal according to 1991 census. Chhetris and Newars cover the next large portion. Marginalized and ethnic people make up around 40 percent of the total population but their representation is parliament is quite nominal.

As agriculture is the mainstay of Nepalese economy, economic development means nothing but readjustment in the pattern of existing land distribution and ownership in a manner that increases productivity. So for, no democratic governments have made any heed way towards this end. Those who do not work control the land and those who work in the field do not won it.

Despite hard labor, only half of those who work in agriculture earn food sufficient to feed their family members. Although a minimum wage has been fixed and working hours specified by the state last year, they have yet been implemented. The government has not been able to develop a monitoring mechanism. Rural people are still compelled to go to local moneylenders for debts to address household needs. They are pressed to pay an unbearably high interest rate. They have no alternative.

After the advent of democracy, progress has however occurred in the level of awareness and education of the people. Through election manifestos, political rallies and inter-party debates, people have been aware of the political and socio-economic affairs around them. They have been able to distinguish between what is good and what is bad.

Following the restoration of democracy, the civil society has emerged as a relatively fair and objective entity. It has played a key role in educating people about their right and responsibilities; about the government accountability to the people; about just and unjust systems; abut equality and exploitation; about authoritarianism and pluralism. This is surely a positive contribution democratic polity has made to the people at large.

Similarly, development NGOs have involved people in piloting small schemes that aim at environmental protection, community health and sanitation, forest conservation, poverty elimination and so on. These model projects have also helped them understand the dynamics of poverty, fatalist concepts, independence and inter-dependence, the worth of labor and meaning of organization and its power and so on. People are being informed of the rule of law, constitution and this constitutional morality; and contradiction and conflict between principles and practices around these issues.