A Nepali Political Primer

Nepal is currently undergoing a political transformation after a 10-year insurgency that led to the fall of the monarchy. There will likely be continued political instability until a new government and constitution are approved. The purpose of this posting is to provide a very short history (condensed from Wikipedia) of how Nepal came to its current situation, so that when I refer to politicians and parties in future postings, you'll be able to put it all in context.

The modern state of Nepal was created in 1786 by King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great. It survived a brief skirmish with the British in the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1815-16. In 1846 the Rana family dynasty began, lasting until 1951 when the India-supported King Tribhuvan was seated on the throne.

The monarchy's popularity gradually dissipated, and in 1989 the People's Movement uprising forced the then King Birendra to relinquish absolute power, initiate constitutional reforms and create a multi-party parliament. The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist/Leninist (CPN-ML) have been two of the major political parties in the resulting parliamentary monarchy, with Prime Minister Koirala (NC) being the most recent head of government. Continued disenchantment with widespread poverty and government inaction led to an armed insurrection (the "Nepali Civil War") in 1996 led by Commander Prachanda of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M). This continued until 2006 and claimed over 12,000 lives.

In 2001, the country was shocked when King Birendra and his wife were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra who then committed suicide. Birendra's unpopular brother, Gyanendra, took over the throne and, in 2005, made himself even more unpopular by dismissing the government and assuming executive power in order to quash the Maoist uprising. But, the Maoists were strong enough to force peace talks in 2006 which stripped the king of his powers, created an Interim Parliament, and declared Nepal a secular state.

Nepal's first democratic election was held in April 2008 for the seating of a Constitutional Assembly. The Maoists (CPN-M) were the biggest winners but still were short of a simple majority. Nonetheless, the new assembly legally abolished the monarchy in May 2008 and established Nepal as a Federal Democratic Republic. Former King Gayendra, served with an eviction notice, voluntarily left his Kathmandu palace in June 2008.

The first order of business was to elect a President (a ceremonial position) prior to forming a new government. After an indecisive first round of voting, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav (NC) was elected by a narrow margin on July 21, 2008 (yesterday!!). Viewing the election as a blow to his CPN-M party, Prachanda announced today that he will not try to form a new government, but will instead allow the other parties to try while the CPN-M takes an opposition party role.

If the other parties can create a majority they will appoint a Prime Minister. Then the slow process of writing a new constitution will commence. And if it's anything like the drafting of our Constitution, then we can expect a long wait and lots of political fireworks. It should be quite an experience watching this all unfold.

Political will in Nepal is often displayed in the form of nation-wide strikes (bandhs) which have been frequent in recent years and, in some cases, have made it nearly impossible for previous Fulbrighters to get much work done. I hope things settle down enough so that I can teach and get some research done while I'm there. But, just in case, I'll be bringing lots of reading material and work with me to keep me occupied.

Only 3 days until we leave the peaceful Maine woods for the bustle and excitement of Kathmandu.