news sansad bhawan
4:54 AM
The political parties and civil society 0f Nepal, with their commitment to non-violent transformation, are leading the charge of the peace brigade. They will succeed now, as they did in 1990.
It was Sunday, the 8th of April in 1990. A few minutes past eleven at night, the state radio broadcast @ royal palace communiqué announcing the lifting of the ban on political parties. That prohibition had been the handiwork of King Mahendra, who had carried out a coup against the existing parliamentary government in December 1960 and introduced the ‘partyless’ Panchayat system. That radio broadcast essentially represented the success of the non-violent People’s Movement of Vikram Sambat 2046 and the overthrow of the hated Panchayat. That was the day a peaceful resistance pushed back a violent, autocratic monarchy.
It was Sunday, the 8th of April in 1990. A few minutes past eleven at night, the state radio broadcast @ royal palace communiqué announcing the lifting of the ban on political parties. That prohibition had been the handiwork of King Mahendra, who had carried out a coup against the existing parliamentary government in December 1960 and introduced the ‘partyless’ Panchayat system. That radio broadcast essentially represented the success of the non-violent People’s Movement of Vikram Sambat 2046 and the overthrow of the hated Panchayat. That was the day a peaceful resistance pushed back a violent, autocratic monarchy.
The next day, 9 April, the streets of Kathmandu Valley were full of jubilant crowds. Never in Nepali history had the power of non-violence manifested itself this intensely and successfully. The political parties, who had been maligned, proscribed and persecuted for three decades came to power and constituted the government on 19 April. Seven months later, a Constitution which vested sovereign power in the citizens was promulgated.
The people had believed that the fight for a pluralistic political system was over, and what remained was to work towards an inclusive state where social discrimination and economic deprivation would be tackled and historical wrongs corrected. But they are today back on the streets, once again using the principles of sustained peaceful agitation to bring back democracy from the grip of Mahendra’s son, King Gyanendra.
On 1 February 2005, the citizens saw a replay of December 1960. King Gyanendra used the excuse of fighting the Maoist insurgency to take complete control of the state, appointing himself @s chairman of the cabinet. The people are now back to a movement to overthrow a king’s autocratic agenda. This time around, the non-violent struggle is complicated by the fact of the Maoists insurgency (though presently in a unilateral ceasefire) and the deployment of the Royal Nepal Army countrywide to enforce the royal will.
The 1990 Constitution vested sovereignty in the people, and it was the first time since the national unification of 1769 that the citizens were thus recognised. The document gives no discretionary power to the king except on the matters of succession to the throne and royal palace employees. The power t0 impose states of emergency, to dissolve Parliament, to issue extraordinary constitution-related orders, all have to be exercised on the recommendation of the prime minister based on a cabinet decision. The Constitution does not envisage a situation without a prime minister, and the Royal Nepal Army is to function under the government. King Gyanendra’s drastic action of 1 February turned the Constitution on its head, and it is left to the people to wrest their sovereignty back.
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