D emocracy in N epal Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in the past and then a constitutional monarchy in the modern period for many years. Throughout this period, political parties and the common people of Nepal have wanted a more open and responsive system of government. But the king, with the help of the army, retained full control over the government and restricted the expansion of democracy in Nepal. The king accepted the demand for a new democratic constitution in , in the wake of a strong pro- democracy movement.
However, democratic governments had a short and troubled career. During the nineties, the Maoists of Nepal were successful in spreading their influence in many parts of Nepal. They believed in armed insurrection against the monarch and the ruling elite. This led to a violent conflict between the Maoist guerrillas and the armed forces of the king.
For some time, there was a triangular conflict among the monarchist forces, the democrats and the Maoists. In , the king abolished the parliament and dismissed the government, thus ending even the limited democracy that existed in Nepal. In April , there were massive, country wide, pro- d e m o c r a c y p r o t e s t s . T h e struggling pro-democracy forces achieved their first major victory when the king was forced to restore the House of Representatives that had been dissolved in April .
The largely non-violent movement was led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the Maoists and social activists. N e p a l ’ s t r a n s i t i o n t o democracy is almost complete. Nepal has undergone a unique moment in its history because it formed a constituent assembly to Let’s know more about Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank. Can we make use of the idea to reduce poverty in India?