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Monarchy in Nepal (File )
Nepal, once famous for kings and their monarchy traditions, is now a democratic republic. But the process of this transformation was not smooth. The genesis of transformation is in the black night of 1 June 2001 when King Birendra and most of his relatives were assassinated in the Narayanhiti Palace massacre in Kathmandu.
Situated in the fold of the Himalayas, Nepal was earlier famous for its kings and royal customs, but today the nation is making its way to exist as a democratic republic. But this Nepalese journey has not been a smooth one. The dismantling of the 240-year-old monarchy, the suspicious assassination of the royal family and the test of democracy all made the nation's history at least a thriller.Today, when the demand for the return of the monarchy is rising again on the streets of Nepal, it is important to understand how the king's rule ended, whose massacre of the royal family was a conspiracy and what role India played in it.
The history of Nepal is inseparably intertwined with the Shah dynasty. Nepal was unified and the foundation for modern Nepal established by King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha in 1768. It was unified with the conquest over the three Malla kingdoms Kathmandu, Patan and Bhadgaon. They asserted that the Shah dynasty came from Rajputs of ancient India. The Shah dynasty ruled over Nepal for a period of roughly two hundred and fifty years.
The 19th century witnessed the establishment of the Rana dynasty, which made the Shah kings a titular ruler. The Ranas enjoyed good relations with the British regime, but following the mass movement in 1951, King Tribhuvan deposed the Rana regime and the Shah dynasty's power was reinstated. Multi-party democracy was reinstated in Nepal in 1990, but the monarchy was still present. It lasted until 2001, when the worst-ever scandal in Nepalese history was unearthed.
During the weekly royal dinner at the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu on the evening of June 1, 2001, there was a surprise shower of bullets. Crown Prince Dipendra Shah arrived in a military uniform and fired at his own family members. Several members of the family such as King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Prince Niranjan, Princess Shruti were shot dead in the massacre. Following this, Deependra also shot himself and succumbed to his injuries three days later.
As per the official report, the massacre occurred due to a family feud. Deependra was keen to marry Devyani Rana from the royal family of Gwalior, but Queen Aishwarya did not favor this union. This conflict killed the whole royal family. Yet, most people think it a conspiracy and prefix the name of India's intelligence agency RAW to it, but no solid proof was discovered.
Gyanendra Shah became the king of Nepal after the royal massacre, but his popularity was never that of King Birendra. Nepal was fighting a Maoist insurgency at that time. The movement from 1996 to 2006 was against the monarchy and also focused on issues of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
In 2005, King Gyanendra took full control of power, but this generated immense discontent among political parties and the public. In 2006, the People's Movement-II started, during which the pro-democracy and Maoist parties united. On 28 May 2008, the Constituent Assembly of Nepal made Nepal a federal democratic republic by repealing the monarchy by a majority of 560-4. Gyanendra Shah was forced to vacate the Narayanhiti Palace and became a common citizen.
Nepal and India are historically, culturally, and politically deeply associated. When King Tribhuvan fled from the Rana regime to Delhi in 1951, India assisted him. India is also believed to have been involved in bringing an end to the monarchy in Nepal in 2008. India's intelligence bureau RAW is believed to have collaborated with Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to consolidate the roots of democracy in Nepal in order to challenge China's expanding influence.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was the leader of the Maoist rebellion in 1996 for the formation of a republic in Nepal. India had previously been an ally of Nepal's monarchy, but subsequently supported pro-democracy forces. When Prachanda became the Prime Minister of Nepal in 2008, he went to China on his first foreign visit, while traditionally the Nepalese Prime Minister used to go to India first. Thereafter, the Indo-Nepal relationship was strained. Prachanda also spoke against Indian interference and attempted to make Nepal totally independent.
As of March 2025, Nepal is seeing growing political instability. Political upheaval over corruption, economic crisis, and concern for the loss of Hindu Rashtra identity has brought the common man to the streets. Slogans of "King come back, save the country" were heard on the streets of Kathmandu. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party and many Hindu groups are calling for an effort to establish Nepal as a Hindu state once again. According to him, the population of Nepal is more than 80% Hindu, and hence, there is no point in Nepal remaining secular.
Gyanendra Shah is 77 years old now and out of public life, but part of the public feels that there was stability during his rule, which does not exist today. Democratic leaders, however, are terming it an anti-democratic conspiracy.
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