Will Monarchy be restored in Nepal? Will deposed king Gyanendra be Hindu king again?

Gyanendra, the former king of Nepal, who was ousted in a communist revolution in 2006, was received by thousands of people in the capital Kathmandu, as he had returned from the resort town of Pokhra after two months. 

Though his supporters claimed that more than 400,000 people gathered at the airport to receive the former emperor, the Associated Press reported the number to be 10,000. 

Analysts point out, whatever the number might be, the way the former king was welcomed by the people in the capital city, must unnerve the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist),and its Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli. 

Will deposed king Gyanendra float political party?

Days before the return of the deposed king, Oli said that the king should float a political party and win the elections if he wanted to rule the country. 

However, the political observers point out, that the king does not want to become a politician, he wants to become the king again and get his kingdom back. 

Echoing the sentiment, Shyamal Krishna Shrestha, a member of the Hindu nationalist  Rastriya Prajatantra Party, took to social media platform X. 

He wrote in a post, "I can feel the winds of change. Nepal's Third People's Movement to restore the monarchy, Hindu state and scrap federalism has begun." 

Do Nepalese want return of monarchy?

Analysts believe, the masses of the Himalayan kingdom are upset with the charges of corruption leveled against the political class, which included former Prime Minister and guerilla leader Pushpa Kumar Dahal, better known by his nom de guerre 'Prachanda'. 

The Nepalese masses are also not happy about the political uncertainty in the country. 

Besides, the governments that came after the ouster of King Gyanendra failed to address the economic problems of the country. Unemployment is at the highest and inflation has been soaring for quite some time. 

Political analysts believe the people of the mountainous Himalayan country are frustrated at the failures of the present ruling class, but they don't support the former king and no one wants him to be reinstated. 

Observers believe the question of the return of the monarchy is out of the question as no one wants the return of the former king. 

Earlier, Nepal has been ruled by successive monarchs for more than 240 years. 

Monarchy Ruled For 240 Years, Assigned To History's Dustbin

It was King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who unified the fragmented kingdoms and small principalities of the region to set up the Kingdom of Nepal in 1768.

However, the actual control of the kingdom slipped away from the hands of the kings during the 1800s and agents or Ranas ruled the kingdom in the name of the successive kings of the Shah dynasty. 

Tribhuvan Shah, who held a ceremonial role like his ancestors, claimed a political role in 1950. Since then, kings of the Shah dynasty exerted political power in Nepal until 2006, when a communist revolution uprooted the monarchy.