Nepal Sees Surging Popular Support For Former King — Will Monarchy Make A Comeback?

Nepal’s political parties, especially the communists, are rattled by the surge in support for pro-monarchist forces and former King Gyanendra across the country in recent months. 

Huge crowds greeted former King Gyanendra during his tour to various parts of the Himalayan country over the past three months. 

What was especially galling for the country’s politicians was the tumultuous welcome the former king received on landing in Kathmandu on Sunday (9 March). 

While an estimated 40,00 people greeted him at the Tribhuvan International Airport, tens of thousands lined the six-kilometre route from the airport to Nirmal Niwas, the former king’s private residence. 

King Gyanendra returned to Kathmandu after a two-week stay at Pokhara, a popular lakeside resort town in central Nepal, where thousands of people had greeted him and sought his blessings. 

Over the past three months, King Gyanendra visited various places like Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Syangja, Baglung, Myagdi, Bardiya, Dang, and Taulihawa. The enthusiastic response he received at all these places has alarmed Nepal’s political parties. 

So much so that King Gyanandra’s return to Kathmandu last week and the frenzied welcome he received became the subject of a heated discussion in Parliament on Wednesday (12 March). 

Nepal’s political parties, especially the Communists Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) that’s led by current Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) led by former insurgent Puspa Kamal Dahal and the other smaller communist parties, are rattled by the resurgence of support for the former monarch. 

Even the largest political party—Nepali Congress—is worried by the rapid surge of pro-monarchist parties all over the country. 

The former monarch, King Gyananedra, is backed by the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and its close cousin, the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal (RPP-N). 

Both these parties demand a constitutional monarchy with King Gyanendra as the titular head of state in place of a president and also the restoration of Nepal’s status as a Hindu rashtra. 

The two parties have been organising rallies all over the country in support of King Gyanendra and their twin demands. These rallies have evoked a very good response. 

A number of small public meetings organised by the two parties in different parts of the country have also attracted good crowds with thousands of people mouthing slogans demanding that King Gyanendra be made the head of state and Nepal’s earlier status as a Hindu rashtra restored. 

In fact, such has been the public response to the rallies and the demands for making Nepal a Hindu state and a constitutional monarchy that the CPN (Maoist Centre) had to suspend its month-long campaign in the Tarai-Madhes belt early last week. 

CPN (Maoist Centre) general secretary Dev Gurung told Swarajya from Kathmandu that the decision to suspend the month-long outreach programme that was launched on February 24 was taken to counter the monarchists who were gaining strength.

“At a time when the monarchists are gaining ground, we need to devote our full attention to countering these anti-republic forces. We have to counter them politically,” said Gurung. 

Monarchy was abolished in Nepal in December 2007 and the country was declared a federal democratic republic in May 2008. Following this, King Gyanendra left the grand Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu. 

Nepal’s status as a Hindu rashtra was scrapped and the country was named a ‘secular’ republic in the country’s interim constitution of 2007. 

What really upset the political parties was King Gyanendra’s address to the nation on ‘Democracy Day’ (February 18). 

The ex-monarch’s video address 

The former monarch released a video that was seen as a direct censure of Nepal’s republican political parties. 

King Gyanendra, in his address, criticised the prevailing political mindset that is “rooted in exclusion”, expressed grave concern over “Nepal’s history being erased”, and added that the country’s very existence is at stake. 

King Gyanendra also spoke about Nepal’s growing debt, “collapsing industries and businesses”, “decline of educational institutions”, and the general sense of despair that has gripped people of the country. 

“Unfortunately, those who promised change have failed miserably to improve the plight of the people. There’s a growing feeling among people, especially the educated and intelligent, that there’s no point in staying in Nepal. Our talented and capable people are leaving the country in large numbers,” he said. 

“The democracy we sought was meant to bring smiles to people's faces and make them happy and prosperous. But that has not happened,” the former monarch lamented. 

Alluding to the past, Gyanendra said that he and his family had given up “our positions and privileges” for the sake of democracy. “But the sacrifices we made do not diminish our stature and should not be mistaken for weakness,” he warned. 

Gyanendra referred to Nepal’s earlier status as a Hindu kingdom. “We cannot move forward by erasing our history and dishonouring our identity. We need to correct past mistakes and errors that have gone against our culture and traditions,” he said. 

He ended his ten-minute address by calling on the people of the country to “join us in the endeavour to protect our nation, maintain national unity and strive for prosperity”. 

This address has rankled not just the communists, but also the NC. All parties think that the former king is planning to enter the political fray directly, or at least endorse the RPP. That will mark a major realignment of political forces in the country.

King Gyanendra’s visit to Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Prayagraj in January this year has come under scrutiny in Nepal. Gyanendra's meeting with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also raised the hackles of Nepal’s politicians. 

Yogi Adityanath is perceived to be a strong supporter of the former monarch and also a strong advocate for restoring Nepal’s status as a Hindu rashtra. 

The Goraknath Mutt (in Gorakhpur) of which Yogi Adityanath is the head has a very strong association with Nepal, especially the Pashupatinath Mandir in Kathmandu and the erstwhile royal family. 

In fact, the erstwhile royal family (Shah dynasty) traces its origins to Guru Gorakshanath, the yogi who founded the Nath monastic order in the sub-Himalayan belt in the 11th century CE. 

The Gorkhas (the erstwhile royals are Gorkhas) of Nepal take their name from Gorakshanath, also known as Gorakhnath. 

Posters displaying Yogi Adityanath’s photo were carried by some participants at last Sunday’s rally in Kathmandu, earning the ire of Oli and other communist politicians. 

What Nepal’s politicians say

Prime Minister Oli, while addressing a gathering last week, asked the former monarch to "stop this game of hide and seek" and come out openly to form a political party and contest elections. 

“If you (King Gyanendra) think you are popular, come out in the open and fight elections. Then you will know how many people support you. Stop this game of hide and seek,” said Oli. 

CPN (Maoist Centre) chairperson Dahal also spoke in the same vein. Dahal, an impeccable foe of the monarchy, claims it was the Maoist insurgency, (which he led) that wracked the country for a decade between 1996 and 2006, that ended the monarchy and made the country a federal democratic republic. 

The Nepali Congress (NC) has, however, chosen to be more circumspect. NC chairperson and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said King Gyananedra has only himself to blame for Nepal turning into a republic. 

“It was his (Gyanendra’s) wrongful moves that led to the abolishment of the monarchy and Nepal becoming a republic. He usurped power and arrested and tortured many people. So people revolted and the monarchy was overthrown. It was he who was solely responsible for Nepal becoming a republic,” said Deuba. 

In Parliament, Dahal blamed misgovernance by the present dispensation led by Oli for people turning to the former monarch. 

He said that disillusionment with the present coalition government (NC and CPN-UML) had led to people’s support for pro-monarchists. 

“The present government’s incompetence has forced the suffering masses to look for alternatives and they are thus supporting the pro-monarchist and anti-republican forces,” said Dahal. 

The Maoist party chief also blamed “foreign powers” for the surge in support for the pro-monarchist forces. “There is an organised force behind the increasing activities of the royalists. It is driven by internal elements with foreign forces manoeuvring to provoke the royalists,” said Dahal.

But NC general secretary Gagan Thapa countered Dahal and said that the present government (of which NC is a part) cannot be blamed for the rise of royalist forces. 

“It is the collective failure of all parties that have ruled Nepal for the last 17 years. We should all reflect on this and find a way to address people’s disillusionment with us,” Thapa said in Parliament. 

Disillusionment with politicians

Nepal’s politicians, be they the communists or from the NC and even the new Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) that was formed in July 2022, are widely perceived as corrupt, power-hungry, unprincipled, and incompetent. 

Nepal has seen 14 governments in the past 17 years of its existence as a ‘federal democratic republic’ with parties often ditching allies and stitching new alliances. The frequent change of governments, driven by lust for power and pelf, had badly damaged the image of politicians and political parties. 

The two main communist parties are seen as the worst culprits here with both Oli and Dahal perceived to be hugely corrupt and completely unprincipled. It is their ambitions that have triggered the frequent political turmoils that have convulsed Nepal and damaged its governance, institutions, economy, and image. 

Nepal has witnessed an economic downslide ever since the monarchy was abolished. Along with the flight of capital and brain drain that the country has witnessed, inflation and poverty levels have been rising sharply. 

Many scams have been exposed, and the Oli-Dahal duo are seen as authoritarian and anti-democratic as well. 

The birth of the RSP offered fresh hope to the people, but this party also got embroiled in scams. RSP founder and president Rabi Lamichhane (who served as Deputy PM under Dahal for a few months early last year) was arrested in October last year on charges of fraud and organised crime. 

As for the Nepali Congress (NC), its leaders are also not above board and have been accused of many cases of fraud and corruption. 

Above all, these parties have failed to deliver. While Nepal’s infrastructure remains poor, its economy is tottering, its institutions are heavily politicised and inefficient, the judiciary is weak and pliant, its police force is corrupt and its politicians are seen as power-seeking and venal.

This is why, says Rashtriya Prajatanra Party MP Roshan Karki, people are turning towards the former monarch who they revere. 

“The longer these politicians remain in power, the more will people’s disillusionment and disgust increase and the stronger we will become,” said Karki. 

RPP general secretary Dhawal Shumser Rana told Swarajya over the phone from Kathmandu that the surge in support for his party is because Nepalis now feel that the present system has failed to deliver. 

RPP-N chairman Kamal Thapa told Swarajya that the monarchy had provided stability to the country and was a strong bulwark against anti-national forces as well as foreign powers trying to intervene in Nepal. 

“Without the monarchy, Nepal has hit rock bottom. Making the country secular was another devastating blow that allowed missionaries and others to indulge in widespread conversions which threaten to undermine Nepal’s identity, culture and traditions,” said Thapa. 

The conversions (by allurements and force) of lakhs of Nepalis to Christianity and Islam have triggered social tensions in many parts of the country. 

Along with widespread corruption, misgovernance, and failure of institutions, the threat to Nepal’s Sanatan identity and culture has caused widespread disquiet among the people of the Himalayan nation. 

That’s why many are turning to the royalist parties and the king, and that’s causing alarm among Nepal’s venal and power-hungry politicians.