Pro-Monarchy sentiment appears to be on the rise in the erstwhile Hindu state of Nepal as hundreds and thousands of Royalists took to the streets to demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in the Himalayan nation. Protests have been underway across the country all week and on Saturday, thousands marched in Kathmandu, the national capital, calling for a Monarchical restoration.
Nepal: Demonstration held in capital Kathmandu, demanding restoration of monarchy in the country. pic.twitter.com/TFjmKu9U9Z
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2020
Demands for the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy in Nepal has been steadily gaining momentum in recent times. Two weeks after the first round of protests for the same, the Rashtriya Shakti Nepal on the 30th of November threatened the restoration of the ‘Hindu Kingdom’ status of Nepal through a peaceful movement. In the previous round of rallies, slogans such as “monarchy must return to save the country” and “country above party” were raised.
Slogans such as “King, please come back and save the country,” were also raised. RSN leader Keshar Bahadur Bista said that since the fall of the Monarchy, Nepal had become a country with many kings. He said, “King Gyanendra has no parallel in world history, where a monarch quietly gave up the throne to give leaders a chance, but what they did in the past 14 years was indulging in rampant corruption and plunder.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs in Nepal, meanwhile, had issued directives to 77 districts to quell the current spate of protests, through force if needed. These protests have support from the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, royalist groups and pro-monarchy citizens. Damodar Wagle, president of the RPP youth organization Bagmati, told Nikkie Asia on Wednesday, “We are supporting the royalists, and our movement will continue despite the directive of the home ministry. If they use force, we will retaliate.”
“Our aim is to reestablish the monarchy and a Hindu state in Nepal. We will gather support from the streets and also push for a referendum based on the 2015 constitution via winning the next general election,” Wagle said. The protesters are carrying flags and placards of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. They demand the restoration of the Hindu Monarchy for the ‘sake of the country’s national unity and well-being of the people’.
