This book seeks to restore nepals political experience to its proper place in the current discourse on third wave of democracies, nepals struggle for democracy has a long history of six decades as its people carried on two decisive movements in the proc. The king called upon the seven party alliance to bear the responsibility of taking the nation on the path to national unity and prosperity, while ensuring permanent peace and safeguarding multiparty democracy. On the other hand, in nepal, the struggle was about the foundations of the countrys politics. But the country faces a deeply polarized polity, with. This was the first visit time a chinese head of state had visited the country. In a democracy, citizens hold some level of power and authority, and they participate actively in the political, or decision making, process of their. Transition to democracy in nepal negotiations behind. How nepal moved from absolute monarchy to democratic republic. It is a type of government or political system ruled by citizens, people who are members of a. Bolivias water war the story of poland and that of nepal apply to the struggle for establishing or restoring democracy.
Nepal, defending democracy on the roof of the world. Pdf democratic practice and good governance in nepal. The movement is also sometimes referred to as jan andolan ii peoples movement, implying it being a second phase of the 1990 jana andolan. The challenge to democracy in nepal politics in asia brown, t. The chapter, the indian constitution, says nepal was a monarchy till recently and. The citizens movement for democracy and peace and the meanings of civil society celayne heatonshrestha and ramesh adhikari introduction this paper focuses on a citizens movement during the last few years of the maoist insurgency in nepal 19962006. This new republic now has the first government, newly formed this past february, under a. Nepals people live a constant struggle to accumulate some insulation from the hardships and arbitrariness of life. The challenges of peace and democracybuilding in nepal. Hardly noticed on the world landscape of emerging democracies, lies nepal. The road to nepals democracy was not an easy task due to powers a king possessed and the need to curtail them foster, 2007. Pdf pnepal was declared federal democratic republic after the mass movement of 2006. It has been our privilege to observe nepals efforts toward sustainable peace and inclusive. To help the students understand the political process and constitution, the ncert has given a brief history on nepals struggle for democracy in the recently introduced political science textbook of classviii.
Transition of nepal from monarchy to democracy iosr journal. It also led to the maoist struggle spreading to the. But it is likely that the spa and even the maoists, on the basis of their public statements would be prepared to accept a monarchy as part of nepals political future, on the condition that the monarch is completely subordinate to. Green left weeklys michael tardif talked to him about the struggle for democracy in nepal. Nepal had witnessed several popular movements for democracy. It is a type of government or political system ruled by citizens, people who are members of a society. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of south asia and east asia. Political transition and state formation in nepals. The role of political parties in deepening democray in nepal. For 400 years nepal was a hindu kingdom, ruled by successive monarchs.
The story of poland and that of nepal apply to the struggle for establishing or restoring democracy. Andolan particularly within the urban space of nepals capital, kathmandu. Nepals struggle for a constitution a primer nepals second constituent assembly has to deliver a constitution by january 22, 2015. The challenge to democracy in nepal politics in asia. In the 1940s, political opposition rose, critical of the enduring, often unstable, autocratic rule and calling for. The 2006 general strike in nepal was part of a larger democracy movement in the country. Nepal has had a historically monarchal government dating back to the mideighteenth century. However in 2006 there was a massive uprising, millions of people took to the streets calling for democracy and freedom. The growing republicanism of the democracy movement is partly a response to the existence of these powers.
Nepalese general strike to protest monarchic rule, 2006. In bolivia, the struggle was about one specific policy. This war claimed 19 thousand lives, including civil society and armed forces. What was the result of the popular struggle of nepal. The movement aimed at restoring democracy, it was aimed at regaining popular control over govt. This is an attempt to present an exhaustive account of the role played by girija prasad koirala in the struggle for establishing and sustaining democracy in the landlocked himalayan state. He talked about nepals constitutional government and efforts of the nepal national assembly to achieve democracy. The countrys journey from absolute monarchy to multiparty democracy is a story of innumerable sacrifices and many revolts that. Nepalese peoples long struggle against a variety of odds, for a democratic constitution, finally succeeded with the adoption of such a constitution. Taking a stand for democracy in nepal crisis group.
A brief timeline on nepals political history with an. The agenda was obviously the twopoint demand of the mass movement. In the war, the nepalimaoist communist party cpnm staged a rebellion to overthrow the monarchy in the country. The spa chose girija prasad koirala as the new prime minister of the interim government. Nepals democracy on the brink stagecraft and statecraft. Since our first visit to nepal in 1985, rosalynn and i have followed the countrys development closely. At the moment when the popular struggle was gaining a revolutionary character2, king birendra abandoned the suppressive line, and sought for. Indeed, the maoist insurgency during the nepalese civil war 19962006 aimed to. Nepals political and institutional failures clearly predate the insurgency and indeed form part of the causal backdrop to its rise. In nepal, the disaffected minorities are large, making up nearly a third of the population. Nepals desperate struggle for democracy nowthis world.
Still, the study has shown that the people greatly. Nepals mass movements, an exceptionally strong political force, include all sectors of the population. For any country, the implementation of a new constitution signifies a promising new beginning. This struggle came to be known as nepals second movement for democracy. But the role of popular struggles does not come to an end with the establishment of democracy. For example, nepals earlier constitution stated that the country was to be ruled by the king and his council of. Nepal case study political settlements research programme.
With the recent earthquake in nepal claiming thousands, the government admitted they are illprepared for rescue efforts. No doubt the aroma of this historic tragedy has reemerged in nepals parliamentary elections. The second important purpose of a constitution is to define the nature of a countrys political system. The long struggle between absolute monarchy and democracy in nepal has now reached a very grave and new turn. Nepals struggle for modernization 1991 by anthropologist dor bahadur bista. The decadelong maoist movement alone claimed the lives of 17,000 people. Nepal struggled to establish democracy while bolivias struggle involved claims on the elected govt. Neighboring india is a variegated society where widespread want has long been a end page 129 problem, yet indias democracy is vibrant and the countrys movement toward liberalization substantial.
Nepals civil society played a key role for the establishment of the democratic regime, and forced the maoists rebels to end violent conflict. It is a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual country. Nepal witnessed an extraordinary popular movement in april 2006. Nepal experienced a lot of chaos, unrest and walkouts before it became a fully functioning democratic republic. Now, with neardaily democracy demonstrations, even the u. Reinstitution of parliament in a nationally televised address, king gyanendra reinstated the old nepal house of representatives on april 24, 2006. Usaids democracy and governance programs also strengthen government response and nongovernmental organization services for one of nepals most vulnerable populationsnepalis at high risk for human trafficking sex, labor, and other and the. Chapter c nepals march towards constitutional democracy.
Pdf the dynamics of representing nepals struggle for. Loktntra andolan is a name given to the political agitations against the direct and undemocratic rule of king gyanendra of nepal. The caption alongside elaborates nepals struggle for democracy. In 2004, international idea and the nepal chapter of the state of democracy in south asia carried out a survey on the state of democracy in nepal. The world movement is described in many forms of collective action. There are many events for tourists to attend, where they can learn of nepals history and see the nations patriotism on display. The countrys journey from absolute monarchy to multiparty democracy is a story of innumerable sacrifices and many revolts that were seldom peaceful. History and circumstances called upon nepal to work a westminstertype of democracy. To be fair though, if we had continuous uninterrupted democracy since our first parliamentary election in 1959 ad then maybe things would have been a little bit better but no, we never had that.
But nepals constitution has provoked a virtually open revolt by the plains people. The current constitutional crisis has focused attention on the mass campaign for democratic rights. India backed the democracy struggle in nepal in several ways. Lunch seminar on struggle for democracy in nepal by professor manik lal shrestha. The restoration of democracy system of governance happened in the year 1989 to the year 1991.
Trajectories of democracy and restructuring of the. With kp sharma oli as prime minister, nepal has got its first ever democratically elected government. The paper also tries to analyze the role of democratic movements for democracy and the relation between democracy and good governance in nepal. A brief timeline on nepals political history with an analysis on the current situation. Democracy day is a day to remember past heroes and to be thankful for democratic government. No democracy can be stable and safe if it does not protect minorities. This struggle came to be known as nepals second movement. The most spoken language of nepal is nepali followed by several other ethnic languages. On august 19 the nepalese government arrested some 3000 political activists including the parliamentary representatives and national leaderships of the major opposition parties and the head of the students federation and the womens movement. Youll still be able to search, browse and read our articles, but you wont be able to register, edit your account, purchase content, or activate tokens or eprints during that period. I am pleased to share this report on the carter centers work to support nepals political transition process. Peoples successful struggle against privatisation of water in bolivia reminds us that popular struggles are integral to the working of democracy. Nepal, we might recall, was one of the third wave countries that had won democracy in 1990. Brief notes on the movement for democracy in nepal short essay on popular struggles and movements short essay on spanish struggle for democracy struggle for freedom under the leadership of mustafaalnahas in egypt how are popular struggles undertaken.
362 1189 925 535 759 338 235 862 1184 679 1274 1433 893 809 459 507 1159 531 355 366 1403 958 558 569 967 1213 325 1344 1247 126 89 656