Select ‘Constitutional Monarchy’ and press the Shift and Delete keys: Ultra-monarchists are advocating for ceremonial monarchy, constitutional monarchists are advocating for republicanism and republicans want Nepal to be declared republic state right now!
In the past few days, unthinkable are happening in Nepal. It’s not that frogs are falling from the sky or dead men are walking on the Kathmandu streets but we are witnessing something similar in nature. Maoists are giving donations and Surya Bahadur Thapa and Pashupati Shumser Rana are deleting “constitutional monarchy” from their “club” parties’ statues (see box item). You know what; even the diehard royalists are trying to portray themselves as revolutionaries by stressing the need of “ceremonial monarchy”, mind it, not “absolute monarchy”, in Nepal. Democratic republicans are amused. The latest situation that there are three kinds of folks in Nepal right now:
1. Those folks who spent most of their lives praising and serving the autocratic monarchy are now either ceremonial monarchists or “neutral”! [Even Rabindra Nath Sharma is not advocating for absolute monarchy. He is for ceremonial! Publicly, at least.]
2. Those guys who demanded constitutional monarchy all their lives are now on the verge of turning into republicans. [Do I have to tell what Nepal Congress will do in the next few months to survive the election? This party deleted "constitutional monarchy" months ago when Gyanendra Shah was using police to baton charge the agitating Congress folks. There is intense pressure within the party to for the next reasonable step: republican.]
3. And those who always advocated for the abolition of monarchy want to declare the country a republic Nepal right now. [Oh...yea, Prachanda and company is just an example.]
To sum of the situation, one must say the wind is flowing towards republicanism. Politically speaking, Nepal is progressing for sure. It’s very unlikely that the monarchy could retain powers in any constitution that it lost on paper in the past several months. The only question that is lingering around is how the “wind of republicanism” does away with the monarchy. -by Wagle Continue reading →
