This lasted only a decade until King Mahendra banned all political parties in 1960 and introduced a system called Panchayat. Representatives of political parties were arrested or sent into exile.
In 1990, his successor Birendra bowed to pressure from the popular movement and implemented constitutional reforms that restored the multi-party system. Six years later, the “people” carried out another revolution, but this time it was a brutal revolution led by the Maoist party, which claimed 16,000 lives and led to the establishment of a one-party government.
In 2001, the heir to the throne, Gyanendra, whose father and brother had been killed in a massacre at the royal palace, responded. After his coronation, he carried out a palace coup that removed the Maoists from power and restored the autocratic monarchy.
In 2006, parliamentarians carried out another revolution that finally overthrew the monarchy. The Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a secular state, ending the era of the “last Hindu kingdom.” After the constitution was adopted on May 28, 2008, the parliament declared a federal republic, ending 240 years of monarchy.
The roof of the world between the great powers
Currently, 13 political parties are represented in the federal parliament of the Republic of Nepal. However, apart from two or three regional parties representing various ethnic groups, almost all parties in both chambers are Maoist.
The Communist Party – United Marxist-Leninists and the Socialist People's Party are represented in the governing coalition, while members of the Communist Party – Maoist Center, the Communist Party – United Socialists, and many others sit in the “opposition.”
The ruling Nepali Congress Party and the opposition monarchist Rástríja Prádžatantra are the only ones that do not define themselves as extreme left-wing. The monarchists in particular gave up their seats due to the “moral crisis” at the beginning of the protests.
What began as a protest by “Generation Z” against the ban on Facebook and X developed into violent demonstrations that have the potential to topple the Maoist government. The protesters set fire to the parliament building and the headquarters of one of the communist parties.
They tore down the hammer and sickle flag from the party headquarters and then tore it to pieces.
The protesters attacked several party representatives and looted their homes. They allegedly killed the wife of the former prime minister, but these reports have not been confirmed.
They stripped the finance minister and threw him into the river, beating him repeatedly on the back.
The government sent the army onto the streets to stop prisoners escaping from open prisons, but according to AFP, around 16,000 of them managed to escape. Military helicopters evacuated several representatives from the seat of government.
In addition to the parliament and the homes of politicians, the demonstrators also set fire to the headquarters of the state television station. While the demonstrators accused government representatives of corruption, they accused the television station of covering it up and practicing general censorship.
Against the backdrop of the protests, the official heir to the throne—the aforementioned Gyanendra—spoke up and indicated that he would be willing to return to the helm of Nepal in the event of a constitutional change. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli resigned on September 9. Meanwhile, the army has sent thousands of soldiers onto the streets and imposed martial law, which ends on Thursday morning, according to the BBC.
Political observers see the country as a barometer of the balance of power between India and China. Post-colonial India, weakened by colonialism, had no chance of asserting itself against the rapidly growing, quasi-imperial China, which spread its power under the guise of exporting revolution. Although China is currently considered the new superpower and challenger to the US, its influence in Nepal is waning.
Today, however, Beijing is focusing on the annexation of Taiwan and largely ignoring the western part. In contrast to the 1950s, when the new communist government attempted to conquer Tibet or the Uyghur region – then known as East Turkestan – the current interest of Xi Jinping's government is dominance over the sea, which it considers its property.
Although India and China are major powers and among the most populous countries in the world, they are almost completely different culturally—Indo-Iranian Hindus versus Han Chinese Confucians—and historically have fought few wars. This is because they are separated by the Himalayas, on which China relies.
The so-called Middle Kingdom is therefore “generously” allowing its neighbor a change of government, primarily in the name of maintaining good neighborly relations. Xi recently welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the summit in Shanghai; both countries are simultaneously subject to US tariffs and trade with Russia.
Nepal is not important enough to the Chinese empire to jeopardize good neighborly relations.
