TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL THE PROCESS AND PROSPECTS

This article analyzes the historic transition to democracy in Nepal in 1990, which brought an end to thirty years of the partyless Panchayat system under an absolute monarchy. It examines the process of the Jana Andolan (People's Movement), a mass uprising led by a coalition of the Nepali Congress and the United Left Front. The study details the key events of the movement and the factors that led to its success, culminating in the King's decision to accept a multi-party system and a new constitution. The research then assesses the immediate prospects for the new democracy. It identifies the major challenges, including the drafting of a new constitution, the holding of free elections, and the management of a fragile economy. The paper concludes with a forward-looking analysis of the opportunities and obstacles for consolidating democracy in the Himalayan kingdom.

The year 1990 was a watershed moment in the political history of Nepal, witnessing the dramatic collapse of the authoritarian Panchayat system and the dawn of a new democratic era. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this transition. The first part of the study is a detailed account of the Jana Andolan (People's Movement). It explores the coalition-building process between the historically rival Nepali Congress and the various communist parties of the United Left Front, arguing that this unity was the critical factor in the movement's success. It chronicles the course of the mass protests and the state's initial repressive response, which ultimately failed to quell the popular demand for change. The second part of the paper focuses on the immediate post-movement period and the prospects for democratic consolidation. It examines the intense and complex process of drafting a new constitution, which had to navigate the contentious issues of the role of the monarchy, the nature of the state, and the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities. The analysis also looks ahead to the challenges of the upcoming 1991 general elections, the first multi-party elections in over three decades. The findings suggest that while the transition had been remarkably swift and successful, the new democracy faced a daunting array of challenges, from managing the high expectations of the public to institutionalizing democratic practices in a country with little prior experience.