Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Kingdom of Nepal (1769-2008)

It looks likes it's over for the world's only Hindu monarchy, with Nepal poised to formally become the world's newest republic, as reported by the BBC and the New York Times. I don't have much to add to what I wrote last month and in other Nepal posts. The modern era has offered few good times to be a monarchist, but this would appear to be a particularly dismal one, and I cannot think of any positive spin to put on what has happened.

This is a black day for Nepal and the world. The gang of thugs and murderers currently in charge of Nepal have "swept away more than two centuries of history," as the Telegraph put it. Will those photographed dancing in the streets still be dancing after they've experienced Maoist rule? Whatever happens, the new republican "government" is an abomination and while we may have to deal with its existence for the foreseeable future, we should never accept it. Once again Revolution, the diabolical enemy of all that is good and beautiful, which has been poisoning the world since the late 18th century, has claimed another nation as its victim. Let's make sure this is the last time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dont think all is lost in this case, the Maosists will almost certainly make a mess of the country, at which point there may be a situation similiar to Cambodia where the people demanded the Monarchy be restored.

Theodore Harvey said...

Unfortunately, Communists also made a mess of Russia, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Bohemia, E Germany, China, N Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Ethiopia, etc., and yet none of those monarchies have been restored... :(

Unknown said...

If you need a positive spin for this situation, consider this: all of the populist euphoria in the streets cannot belie the fact that this Nepalese "Republic" has been stillborn. The parties' headlong rush to a republic has been so maladroitly handled that the King is all but guaranteed a comeback of some sort, though perhaps not in the immediate future.