New Delhi:
Nearly seventeen years ago – on May 28, 2008, to be exact – Nepal abolished a 239-year-old Hindu monarchy, with Gyanendra Shah as king, and brought the curtain down on a decade-long civil war that had killed over 16,000 people. The Hindu-majority nation was reborn as a federal, secular republic.
On Sunday, thousands (over 10,000 by some accounts) campaigned to turn back the clock, demanding the return of Shah amid concerns over political instability, corruption, a cost of living crisis, unemployment, and a lack of economic development.
“Come King, save the nation…” was the refrain that rang out as Shah, who had been touring the nation, possibly to feel out the level of support, left the airport in Kathmandu.
“The country faces instability. Prices are high, people are jobless, and there is a lack of education and healthcare,” Rajindra Kunwar, 43, a teacher and a pro-monarchy protester, told AFP, “The law applies to the public… but not politicians. That’s why we need the king.”
That “instability” is emphasised by Nepal having had 13 governments since 2008.
Behind Nepal’s Pro-Monarchy Movement
First, this isn’t new.
Before it was abolished, the Nepalese monarch was revered, mostly.
That slumped after Shah’s power grab in 2005. Anti-monarchy protests broke out in 2006 and Shah was forced to hand over his newly-seized authority to the fledgling government.
But respect for the Hindu monarchy never fully went away.
There were periodic protests calling for the return of the king. Among the more recent, in 2020 The Record Nepal reported mass demonstrations by royalists and Hindu groups, including in the east, which is where the current Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli is from.
And, in 2023, Kathmandu police tear gassed a mob demanding the return of the monarchy.
On Sunday those sentiments were on display again, much of it led by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, a Hindu nationalist outfit that is the fifth-largest in the House.
The Kathmandu Post has reported increased popularity for Gyanendra Shah, although political analysts in that country do not expect him to return to power.
Why Is Nepal Pro-Monarchy Now?
In a nutshell, the Nepalese people are dissatisfied with their country as a republic.
International Monetary Fund data shows economic growth has declined over the past few years. Real GDP touched a high of nine per cent in 2015 before falling to under five per cent last year. Inflation, at average consumer prices, was 4.6 per cent last year.
Those welcoming Shah at the airport on Sunday said they were hoping for a change to stop their country from further deteriorating. “We are here to give the king our full support and to rally behind him all the way…” 72-year-old Thir Bahadur told The Associated Press.
Former anti-monarchists are also on board.
Kulraj Shrestha, a 30-year-old carpenter who protested to remove Shah, has changed his mind and now supports the monarchy. “The worst thing is massive corruption… politicians are not doing anything. I was in the protests that took away monarchy… but I was mistaken and the nation has further plunged. So I have changed my mind,” he told AP.
Does Gyanendra Shah Want To Return?
Probably, although he has not issued a statement either way. Yet, his travelling to parts of the country suggest he is at least considering a return to the throne.
Publicly at least, Shah has called for unity and for his countrymen and women to rally for the “defence, progress, and prosperity of the country”.
For now, it appears he is waiting and watching, possibly to see how much stronger these round of pro-monarchy protests will be and how far it may run.
How Nepal Abolished Monarchy
Back in 2008, a Constituent Assembly, led by a Prime Minister – Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former rebel commander – was set up and tasked with drafting a new Constitution within 48 months. And elections, that true test of a democracy, were to be held shortly after.
But prolonged political squabbling, and the April 2015 earthquake, which killed 9,000 people and caused millions of dollars of damage, meant the (extended) first Assembly gave way to a second. It wasn’t till September 2015 the new Constitution was presented and approved.
The late Sushil Koirala, then the Prime Minister and who oversaw a 507-25 vote in favour, called it “a matter of pride for all Nepalis that the ‘people’s Constitution has been passed”.
Nepal’s first election was a further two years away; millions of Nepalese lined up to vote in a two-phase poll for national and provincial polls in May 2017.
With input from agencies
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