In March, Kathmandu witnessed massive street violence at a rally demanding the restoration of monarchy. The same month, when Nepal’s former king, Gyanendra Shah, returned to Kathmandu from Pokhara, at least 10,000 pro-monarchy activists and supporters gathered at the Tribhuvan International Airport to receive him. What sparked controversy was the presence of the photographs of the Indian Hindu nationalist leader and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. This is not the first time that Adityanath’s role in Nepal’s internal affairs has come to light. In 2015, Adityanath had written a letter to the then Nepalese prime minister, Sushil Prasad Koirala, urging him to declare Nepal a “Hindu State”. Following this, Shah had invited Adityanath to attend a religious gathering in Nepal.
Several attempts have been made by others in India’s Hindutva brigade to provoke Hindu nationalist sentiments in Nepal. In 2021, the former Indian army general, G.D. Bakshi, a cheerleader of Hindu supremacy, formed a Hindu consciousness-raising “core team” to save India “from external and internal threats” and “support Hindu Rashtra in Nepal”. This led to huge rallies in Nepal where the country’s Hindu nationalists demanded the re-establishment of Nepal as a Hindu State. Mass protests by civil society were also seen to counter the reinstatement of monarchy and pro-democracy activists had asked Bakshi to stay out of Nepal’s politics.
A 2022 report by the state department of the United States of America stated that right-wing religious groups associated with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have been providing funds to influential politicians of all parties in Nepal, especially to those in Nepal’s royalist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, for speaking in favour of Hindu statehood.
After the monarchy was abolished formally, Shah had remained away from public life. He addresses the nation only on February 18, which is marked as Democracy Day. This year, however, his address to the nation was political. Shah criticised major parties and leaders for breaking promises made when he abdicated. He emphasised that he voluntarily returned the sovereign crown to the people and, for the first time, made a direct appeal to the people for “extending their support if they wanted to secure the nation’s future”.
The royalist RPP, which has been making steady electoral gains, has been capitalising on mass public disillusionment over Nepal’s corrupt political system, nepotism and inefficiency, stressing the monarchy’s role in bringing stability to the nation. It has been wanting to establish a monarchical institution in Nepal as a constitutional guardian. Initially, Shah had ruled as a constitutional monarch but in 2005, he disregarded the Constitution, dissolved an elected Parliament, jailed political leaders, handpicked ministers and restricted fundamental rights before ceding power in 2006. Yet, the royalists have been calling for the restoration of monarchy and Hindu statehood. This rhetoric has been widely promoted with the help of “right-wing religious groups associated with the BJP in India” who continue to “provide money to influential politicians of all parties to advocate Hindu statehood”, Nepal’s civil society members had informed the US state department.
Fresh Hindu nationalist sentiments in Nepal have led to discrimination against Christians and Tibetan Buddhists. Vitriolic speeches by Nepali Hindu influencers have led to tensions between Muslims and Hindus there.
Despite sharing cultural and linguistic ties with Nepal and having a separate Gorkha regiment of over 32,000 Nepali soldiers in the Indian army, India has also been accused of creating instability in Nepal at different intervals through economic blockades and unequal treaties. Lobbying by India’s Hindu nationalists for the return of monarchy in Nepal may lead to further tensions. Many anti-monarchists and secularists are extremely unhappy with this. They argue that India, as one of the largest democracies in the world, should help Nepal to strengthen its democratic institutions and not conspire to threaten their existence.
Sonia Sarkar is an independent journalist covering conflict, religious extremism and political violence in Asia