Nepal People Movement

In 1990 the Jana Andolan mass movement forced Nepal absolute monarchy to accept constitutional government and multiparty democracy.

Overview

The panchayat system installed in 1960 had banned parties and concentrated power in the palace. Growing protests through 1989, sharpened by an Indian trade blockade that revealed the regime fragility, emboldened a united front of the Nepali Congress and leftist parties. The Jana Andolan filled the streets of Kathmandu in the spring of 1990 despite shootings that killed dozens. In April King Birendra lifted the ban on parties, and a new constitution in November created a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and fundamental rights. Democratic instability, the 1996 to 2006 civil war with Maoist insurgents, and the 2001 palace massacre led to the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, but 1990 made the people sovereign.