It is possible to endlessly debate on what real democracy is all about. But there can be no dispute that a monarchy should have no place in a democracy. A hereditary institution such as the monarchy is fundamentally alien to the idea of elections and popular choice. This really is the larger issue before Nepal as its young democracy enters a new phase. The peace initiatives between the Maoists and the government only set the stage for the real change. The issues of arms management, formation of a constituent assembly and the drafting of a new constitution are all crucial components of the new experiment. But all these are secondary to the central question about the monarchy. The question is not whether a particular monarch is good or bad. The people of Nepal have to decide whether they want their country to remain a kingdom or to become a democracy. Stripping the monarchy of its powers and privileges is no answer to the basic question. It was in another age and in different historical contexts that some countries such as the United Kingdom decided to have both a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Nepal can actually make a new beginning. It can adopt a truly democratic model such as that of the United States of America, where the president is the head of both the state and the government.

Strangely, many in Nepal and outside see imaginary virtues in the monarchy. And not all of them are diehard royalists. It is argued that the monarchy has two uses in Nepal’s politics and society — as a symbol of national unity and as a defence against political instability. Given the monarchy’s record of destabilizing elected governments, such arguments are wrong and their motives suspect. True, the democratic governments and political parties have had their failures. But the monarchy cannot be a solution to the problems of democracy. In fact, such a prescription is worse than the malady. Unfortunately, the democratic governments in Washington and New Delhi help perpetuate the illusions about the monarchy. India, in particular, has come to the rescue of a beleagured monarchy in Kathmandu several times in the past. Even now, the South Block seems to think that a weak monarchy that it can manipulate is a better bet for India than a strong democracy in Nepal. This is a short-sighted foreign policy; worse, it betrays a warped sense of history.