Nepalese Monarchy Abolished
12/29/2007
In the process of transforming Nepal from a monarchy to a democratic republic, that nation has abolished their 249-year-old monarchy, in part due to demands of the Maoist revolutionaries, who have suggested they may not stop with said democracy.
The Kings of Nepal had been believed to be reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, and revered accordingly. Nepal was the last remaining Hindu monarchy.
Trouble began for the royal family six years earlier when a drunken Crown Prince Dipendra shot and killed ten members of the royal family including his father the King and finally himself. The late king's brother, King Gyanendra, then assumed the throne.
Historians will argue whether Gyanendra's political activities--which included disbanding parliament, suppressing dissent, and assuming absolute power--were the cause of his downfall or the monarchy's last best efforts against the Maoist insurgents, the battles with which have taken an estimated 13,000 lives.
While the King will be allowed to remain in his palace until the newly elected parliament confirms the abolition early next year, his fate thereafter as a commoner is yet to be seen.
One can easily guess that some devout monarchists are now wishing that the King were one of Vishnu's avenging avatars, and not simply a human one.
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