MONARCHY VS. DEMOCRACY: The Epic Fight in Nepal

The democratic movement of the mepalese people against absolute monarachy, going on for more than half a century, is now heading towards a climax. The nine-year long People War led by the CPN for a people republic has virtually wiped out the feudal socio-economic and cultural roots of the monarchy from the vast rural areas. This historical struggle between monarchy and democracy has drawn the attention of the whole world in recent years. It has made the imperialist nations led by US very restless whereas it has ignited a ray of hope among the people opposed to imperialism, feudalism and those who stand of understanding about the real nature of this struggle even among the close observers of the Nepalese politics.

The book Monarchy vs. Democracy: The Epic Fight in Nepal deals with the period after the infamous palace massacre of June 2001. The chain of events since then viz. declaration of national emergency and deployment of royal army since November 2001, dissolution and parliament in May 2002, dismissal of elected Prime Minister and assumption of executive powers by the king in October 2002 which culminated in the imposition of absolute monarchy on February 1, 2005, amply testifies the regressive intentions of the Monarchy. The main demand of Moists, today is that is a Constituent Assembly should be elected for the new constitution. The process of polarization in favour of this demand has intensified since the autocratic step taken by the King on February 1. But surprisingly the ruling elite of India and the US still consider Monarchy essential for the stability of Nepal.

About the Author:

Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, 50, a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi(1986), is a rare combination of an outstanding intellectual and a top revolutionary leader of Nepal.

He is the senior Standing Committee Member of the Politbureau of the Communist Party of Nepal which is leading a revolutionary people's War in Nepal since 1996. He is also the Head of the International Department of the Party, and Convener of United Revolutionary People's Council, Nepal an embryonic Central People's Government Organizing Committee.

He has a number of publications to his credit, including The nature of Underdevelopment and Redional structure of Nepal: A Marxist Analysis, Politico-economic Rationale of People's War in Nepal , among others.