the last king

The Last King

“Nepal’s monarchy has ended. The last king of Nepal, Gyanendra Shah, will leave his home, the royal palace, in 15 days. It was a decision made by the elected representatives, mainly the Maoists. Many believe they saw this coming and the king brought the plight to himself and the 240-year-old institution.

Nepal gained independence for the first time from autocratic monarchy in the early 90s. The country has been struggling to build a stable democratic government ever since. Every political party in the government abused position and power. Corruption plagued the administration. The monarchy led a luxurious life, while Nepalis became poorer.

The Maoists, a political faction, started opposing the monarchy. They said they wanted a fair representation of the poor. They operated underground, mobilizing the unemployed and the poorest of the poor. The Maoist fought violently for 10 years, becoming powerful as they stole arms and ammunitions from the government, extorted businessmen and industrialists, threatened citizens and journalists, and established a parallel government in extremely undeveloped parts of Nepal.

Meanwhile, as the democratic government was failing to deliver, a royal massacre of the previous king in 2001 changed the political picture drastically in the capital city of Kathmandu. The massacre killed every possible heir apparent. Only the current ex-king’s family survived. This raised much suspicion and unpopularity.

 Soon after, Gyanendra took over power and dismissed parliament citing inefficiency. He declared absolute control thwarting any dissent. The king then took all the wrong steps to his unpopularity. He increased his salary four times pressuring the country’s ailing budget; sacked the prime minister; and failed to do justice to his son accused of killing two people in drunken driving. 

In the midst of his growing unpopularity, violence between Maoists and the Nepali army escalated. Casualties and destruction hit a record high with 13,000 Nepalis dead. A sign of relief came when the Maoist gave up violence in 2007 under international pressure. The party, once declared terrorists, decided to put down arms and enter mainstream politics. They agreed to partake in the general election held in April 2008.

All this while, their pre-condition for peace was declaring Nepal a republic and eliminating the monarchy.

The election in April 2008, majority of Nepalis voted for the Maoist party. Tired of the old political parties and their administrative failures, people voted for change, hoping there would be real development as the red party promise.

It is a big change for Nepal to do away with monarchy, an institution embedded in Nepal’s culture and politics. But whether this change will bring Nepal the development it needs is still a big question, and a desperate hope.”