India casts its long shadow on pro-monarchy protests in Nepal
In the past month, protests calling for the restoration of the monarchy have broken out in the Himalayan country in which pictures of an Indian BJP leader have appeared. New Delhi has repeatedly expressed support for the king and for Nepal to return to being a Hindu state. But many believe the protests express dissatisfaction with traditional parties, which are not keeping their promises of prosperity.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Over the past month, Nepal has been the scene of anti-government, pro-monarchy protests, which the country officially abolished in 2008. The situation is indicative of a certain influence of India’s far right in the country.
Since King Gyanendra Shah abdicated after running an extremely authoritarian and repressive regime, Nepal has continued to live in a situation of political instability, with frequent changes of government (14 in all so far); this has hindered economic development, and created disillusionment in the population, who had hoped for a better future under a republican government.
On 9 March, more than 10,000 supporters of the former monarch gathered in Kathmandu to complain about the corruption of current Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and calling for a return to the monarchy.
At the end of the month, another rally turned violent with protesters clashing with police, which resulted in the death of two people and scores wounded.
Protesters broke through security barriers, threw stones at police and set fire to buildings, including political party headquarters and media offices. In response, the government imposed a curfew and deployed security forces to restore order.
During the protests, posters appeared with pictures of Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal, a leading figure in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ultranationalist Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Adityanath's association with Nepal's pro-monarchy movement has raised concerns in the government about possible foreign meddling. Prime Minister Oli, who is considered pro-Chinese, said India was playing a role in the country's pro-monarchy movement and vowed to "unmask" it in parliament.
However, almost half of the Nepali population would like a return to a Hindu state rather than a return to the monarchy. The king of Nepal was considered a Hindu deity, and India has always tried to stress this element to increase its influence and counter Chinese activism in the Himalayan country.
Despite its long and stable relations with Nepal’s monarchy, India has had some success in cultivating relations with traditional Nepali parties. But that is not all.
Important BJP leaders have married into the Nepali royal family. In the past Adityanath had declared that the decision to make Nepal secular was "unconstitutional", while Nepal’s government and opposition recently squared off over foreign influence.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the main monarchist party, responded to Prime Minister Oli and the unified Marxist-Leninist party by asking: "Where do Marx, Lenin and Mao come from?”
At present, it is believed that the demonstrations are a sign of the growing and widespread public frustration with a number of parties that have so far proved incapable of managing public affairs, because few Nepalis appear to be truly in support of the restoration of the monarchy.
In the 2017 general election, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) won less than 2 per cent of the vote. Support in the 2022 election rose to 6 per cent.
According to some reports, the 10,000 pro-monarchy protesters who took to the streets in Kathmandu are not comparable to the hundreds of thousands of people who in 2006 demanded the end of the royal government.
At the same time, however, others believe that it is undeniable that Hinduism, practised by more than 80 per cent of Nepalis, has taken on greater importance, even among the most pro-Chinese politicians. In fact, several leaders have made pilgrimages to different temples in recent years, including in Uttar Pradesh.
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