Kathmandu, Nepal – On the eve of Valentine’s Day last month, Nepal’s former king was en route by helicopter to the capital, Kathmandu, from Jhapa, a district in the southeast where he has business interests.
Thousands of supporters of Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah landed in Kathmandu chanting “Raja Au, Desh Bachau!” Greeted the red carpet with slogans. (“Go back, king, save the country!”), a popular slogan rang out among Nepal’s royal family.
Four days later, on the eve of Nepal’s Democracy Day, the 78-year-old former king released a video message with English subtitles, speaking of his “unwavering duty and responsibility” towards a nation he suggested was caught in an “extraordinary maelstrom of suffering”.
“The country is going through one of the most painful situations in its history,” he said.
“In a democracy, it is ideal that state systems and processes function in accordance with constitutional principles. Although periodic elections are a natural process in a democratic system, prevailing sentiments dictate that elections should be held only after national consensus to avoid post-election conflict or unrest.”
Shah’s apparent opposition to parliamentary elections – scheduled for Thursday – is aimed at Nepalis with a long-standing nostalgia for the monarchy, which was abolished in 2008 after seven years on the throne.
Why is Shah hopeful?
Since the 239-year-old monarchy was abolished in 2008, Nepal, a poor nation of 30 million people, has been plagued by political instability.
It has seen 14 governments and nine prime ministers, with power rotating between the former Maoist rebel party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), and the Nepali Congress.
However, a coup led by General Z in September last year challenged the dominance of Nepal’s established political parties and forced the formation of an interim government to oversee the March 5 election.
A youth-led challenge to an aging political class has reignited debates about the possible return of the monarchy in Nepal and whether the prospect has significant public support.
There is also minimal political support.
The Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which won 14 of the 275 seats in the 2022 parliamentary elections, openly advocates for the restoration of the constitutional monarchy. Its leader Ravindra Mishra told Al Jazeera that Shah’s call for consensus on the issue echoed his own thoughts.
“I believe we need a national consensus and a systematic overhaul of the system,” Mishra said while campaigning in his constituency in Kathmandu. “I am saying that the election should be postponed a bit to build a consensus before announcing new dates. But we are not a formidable political force. The major parties are leading regardless of the election.”
A year earlier, Shah had expressed similar support in Kathmandu, fueling speculation that he was trying to test the waters for the restoration of a constitutional Hindu monarchy. The demonstration turned violent after royalist Durga Prasai, who mobilized people for the rally, broke a police barricade with her car and entered a restricted zone not designated for demonstrations. Clashes with police left two dead, over 100 injured and over 100 arrested.
‘Trying to be relevant’
Critics see calculated political symbolism behind Shah’s public appearances.
Former Prime Minister and ex-Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai said that Shah’s statements are worrisome.
“These kinds of public statements at a critical time are not good,” Bhatt told Al Jazeera. “The Constituent Assembly legally abolished the monarchy and established a democratic republic. He should think how to contribute responsibly as a citizen. To suggest that elections should not be held before they are held sends the wrong message.”
Political analyst CK Lal offered a more nuanced view.
“He (Shah) has seen power and that nostalgia doesn’t fade easily,” Lal told Al Jazeera. “Perhaps if circumstances change, he thinks, keeping the idea alive might prove useful. But for now, he seems to be trying to stay relevant. It’s hard for someone who once held absolute power to accept irrelevance.”
‘Unifying Symbol’
The RPP’s election manifesto describes the monarchy as a necessary “guardian institution” for a country in crisis.
“To move forward, both wheels must be strong,” says party leader Mishra, using the metaphor of a royal chariot. “We are not advocating that the monarchy runs the government. Political parties do. The monarchy serves as a symbol of unification over partisan politics.”
Mishra said Nepal was facing internal security challenges and regional geopolitical pressures and the ceremonial monarchy would provide stability.
But Bhattarai rejects this, saying the idea of a Hindu monarchy conflicts with Nepal’s religious, ethnic and cultural fabric and its secular constitution.
“Monarchy is old,” he said. “This will not solve our crises. These are inherent challenges that can only be solved through democratic processes. Nepal is an inclusive, secular state. We cannot reverse it.”
However, Lal argued that the monarchy retained a limited but symbolic resonance among some people.
“To say it’s not energy is presumptuous,” he said. “But it is not a substantial force. It appeals mainly to religiously minded elders and cultural conservatives. The younger generation has no lived experience of monarchy. To them it seems primitive.”
Calls for restoration of Hindu state
Nepal’s monarchy under the Shah dynasty ended in 2006, when Maoist-led mass protests forced the Shah, who seized power and imposed a state of emergency, to restore parliament. In 2008, the Constituent Assembly formally abolished the monarchy and declared Nepal a secular federal democratic republic.
Now, the RPP advocates the restoration of Nepal as a Hindu state. Nepal was the only officially Hindu state in the world until 2008.
Mishra framed the proposal as one of cultural preservation rather than religious majority. “Nepal is a center of both Hinduism and Buddhism,” he said. “We are not against any religion.”
However, he insisted: “To protect Nepal’s identity and maintain social cohesion, we need a Hindu king as the head of state.”
More than 80 percent of Nepal’s population is Hindu.
Bhatt dismissed this idea as “romanticism”.
He said that religion is a personal belief. “The nation-state has no religion – the people do. Enforcing a religious identity in a diverse society is anti-democratic.”
Lal pointed out that calls for restoration of monarchy and Hindu state were closely intertwined. “From the perspective of the monarchy, a Hindu state is the first step,” he said. “For Hindu nationalist forces, this could be the ultimate goal. There seems to be a convergence of interests.”
Since 2008, Shah has not formally entered politics, although he has a visible public presence. He appears in restaurants, night clubs and other public places during his birthdays and festivals, occasionally posing for photographs with people. Although he has no official diplomatic role, his occasional private visits to foreign countries, including India, have drawn political scrutiny.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of India holds the ideology that India should be a Hindu state.
At a pro-monarchy rally in 2025, a prominent poster showed Hindu nationalist politician Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of India’s Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal. Adityanath is also the chief priest at the Gorakhnath temple, which the Shah dynasty considers sacred, and has publicly sympathized with Nepal as a Hindu state.
But Lal played down speculation that India, home to the world’s largest Hindu population, would support Shah.
“Foreign governments support the winners, not the losers. Their (India’s) interests lie with whoever is in power,” he said. “While there is a close relationship between the monarchy and the (Hindu nationalist) lobby in India, where the ruling class is now, they know that the monarchy has no relevance in Nepal.”
Monarchists mainly derive their support for the institution from the 18th-century treatise Dibya Upadesha (Divine Counsel). The unification of Nepal is attributed to King Prithvi Narayana Shah’s “Prithvipath” philosophy. The idea describes Nepal as a “yam between two rocks”, referring to its precarious position between India and China, and urging its leaders to pursue cautious diplomacy, economic self-reliance and internal unity.
RPP’s Mishra argues that these principles are relevant.
“What Prithvi Narayan Shah formulated 240 years ago is still applicable today for foreign policy, diplomacy, economic defense and national stability,” he told Al Jazeera. “We already had our organic values in Dibya Upadesha, but we looked elsewhere for theoretical models.”
But analyst Lal dismissed the idea that 18th-century ideology could guide a 21st-century republic.
“It is largely nostalgia. Invoking Prithvipath does not address contemporary geopolitical and economic realities. Nepal today operates in a completely different global context,” he said.
“I don’t see much chance of restoring the monarchy.”
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