Political Participation in an Asian Monarchy. A Case Study of Nepal

Abstract To gain a proper perspective of the previous political experiments and the present day Panchayat system of Nepal, it is necessary to analyse in brief the historical and political evolution of the country. The actual modern history of Nepal starts in the year 1951 after the success of the Revolution of 1950—51, which was carried out in alliance between the Nepalese royal house of Shah and progressive political parties under the leadership of the democratic-socialistic Nepali Congress Party against the century-old autocratic regime of the powerful Rana clan. A certain analogy with the Japanese Shogunate system is evident. But unlike in Japan, where the Meiji Restoration led to the end of feudal rule and the contact with the West resulted in an accelerated modernisation of the country, in Nepal, the restoration of the royal prerogatives did not bring about large scale change in the social, economic and political spheres.