Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
united and in the late eighteenth century Prithvi Narayan Shah,
king of Gorkha, conquered Kathmandu and united Nepal into
one kingdom.
There was a brief movement toward a constitutional monᆳ
archy from 1951 to 1960, when the Nepalese people rose up
against feudal autocracy, but that was quickly quashed after
many struggles between King Mahendra and the Nepalese Conᆳ
gress Party who were supposed to be corulers. The panchayat
system governed Nepal until 1989, when the People's Moveᆳ
ment forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and
to establish a multiparty Parliament.
A NEW CONSTITUTION
In 1990, Nepal adopted a new constitution that established a
multiparty democracy, ending 30 years of absolute rule. Faced
with major proᆳdemocracy protests by the banned politiᆳ
cal parties, King Birendra agreed to large political reforms.
While the king maintained significant powers as head of
state, a prime minister would be head of the government.
The legislature was bicameral (twoᆳchamber) consisting of a
national council (Rashtriya Sabha) and a house of representaᆳ
tives (Pratinidhi Sabha) that is directly elected by the people.
All Nepali citizens can vote when they turn 18. The executive
branch consisted of the king and the Council of Ministers
(the Cabinet). The cabinet was appointed by the king and the
prime minister.
These political changes were recognized as a victory of
“good people for good system” over “bad system.” A crucial
shift in the Nepalese way of thinking contributed to the
reconstruction of Nepal's social structure. Equal opporᆳ
tunity was provided to all people, and education was free.
For the first time, female participation in political activiᆳ
ties was encouraged, and quotas in Parliament for women
were instated.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search