In Tunisia, by January 13, 2011, 66 people had died protesting against the government of President Ben Ali. Come January 25 in Egypt, and 846 perished when they opposed President Hosni Mubarak’s rule. About 1,800 have already lost their lives in Syria, and its government continues the daily massacre. In Libya, the fatalities number about 13,000; and they add to the figure every day. Thus, we can give Gyanendra the credit for accepting his fate relatively peacefully though he should bear full responsibility for the loss of those precious 25 people. Had he resisted further, more Nepali lives would have ended prematurely.
Some Nepalis still clamor for a Hindu state, and Gyanendra proves useful to them. In Nepali tradition, the superstition that the king incarnates the god Vishnu made the monarch indispensable to the Hindu state. Historian John Whelpton (Kings, Soldiers and Priests) states that the concept began with the Vedic and Puranic texts considering the king as the rainmaker and the guarantor of the cosmic order. Given such an imaginary reputation, the king soon took the garb of Vishnu. This evidently started from the time of Jayasthiti Malla in the 14th century. The subjects of the 17th century Gorkhali king considered him a "fragment of Vishnu".
During the mid-1700s, King Prithvi Narayan Shah expressed his desire to make Nepal a model Hindu state. He felt that the East India Company with its cow-eating British had polluted our southern neighbor. A petition to King Rajendra Bir Bikram addresses him as an avatar of god. Rajendra quarrelled frequently with Bhimsen Thapa, but the latter tried to make the former believe that as king he was god’s earthly representative who should receive worship from his subjects and not interfere in temporal matters. Thus, Bhimsen Thapa paid lip-service to the superstition mainly to boost his own power. Later, Jang Bahadur did the same with the kings of his time. Even the 13-year-old, delinquent Surendra Bikram received homage as sacred. This superstition continued to Gyanendra who with his ancestors never denied that he is an incarnation of Vishnu.
During March 2010, Nepali Congress’ Khum Bahadur Khadka garlanded and consulted Gyanendra in Pashupati where Kalibaba had organized a fire-sacrifice (yagya). Later, Naya Patrika (May 9) reported on an international conference of Hindus in Mumbai. From Nepal, Kamal Thapa (chairman of the present RPP-N) and Khadka attended. Both advocated declaring Nepal a Hindu state under a constitutional monarchy. Thapa had met Gyanendra before proceeding to Mumbai.
Gyanendra’s religiosity started only after he sat on the throne. Before that, he had a reputation as a businessman. Similarly, neither Kamal Thapa nor Khum Bahadur Khadka give the impression of being Hindu sages. Kamal Thapa’s RPP-N would have no distinctive political agenda if it gave up its demand for a Hindu state with constitutional monarchy.
He knows that no king after 1950 wanted to be seen only and not heard. So, constitutional monarchy in Nepal has never succeeded; Tribhuvan, Mahendra, Birendra, and Gyanendra all became dictators. Similarly, Khadka (now under the scanner for corruption) could’ve used his brief shoulder-rub with Gyanendra to teach his NC that he could do drastic political about-turns. Author Vivek Shah writes that while Gyanendra ruled, Khadka pleaded with the king often to absolve him of corruption charges. To both, India’s Shiv Sena, BJP (who have failed to turn their country to a Hindu state but try here), and many others like them, Gyanendra is useful as a rallying point.
Gyanendra’s utility extends to journalism as well. Newspapers have something special to write when the former king opens his mouth or attends a function.
Gyanendra’s utility extends to journalism as well. Newspapers have something special to write when the former king opens his mouth or attends a function. On May 11, 2011, Gyanendra went to Pashupatinath temple to participate in a ceremony with the Hindu state as its goal. There he said, "...a person, who had once taken the responsibility of the nation, cannot sideline himself in the prevailing situation." An editorial on May 13 declared that Gyanendra hadn’t learnt his lesson, and warned him not to use religion for political means.
At least one weekly, People’s Review, aims to restore monarchy through its writing campaign. Its May 5-11 output had an article titled, "Relevance of Monarchy in the Republic of Fools." Issue after issue, People’s Review longs for the Ram-rajya (that never existed) under Nepali kings. Without Gyanendra, the weekly could still continue; but it would lose even the few buyers it has. Gyanendra provides it the day-dream, the possible return of the monarchy. Most articles in it devote themselves to tearing apart our floundering republican democracy. I enjoy its anti-republican rant with its liberal dose of emotive vocabulary.
On July 7, Gyanendra turned 65. To well-wishers who thronged to Nirmal Niwas on his birthday, Gyanendra said that he didn’t leave his throne in order to see “such uncertainty and confusion prevail in the country”. That evening, the BBC Nepali program asked the columnist C K Lal what he thought of the former king’s statement. Lal replied that Gyanendra didn’t leave the throne on his own. The Nepali people forced him to do so!
Gyanendra must have his Nepali fans in some countries. A few years ago, a group active in the US asked me to join the monarchist camp. I declined by giving its leader my real reason. King Birendra’s regime locked me and 13 others in Dandeldhura (1984) for our Christian faith; and I couldn’t support Gyanendra, who would do the same if he came to power again.
Yet, now I like the civilian Gyanendra. He no longer commands the army that choked our democracy (February 1, 2005 to the April uprising 2006). He blames no one, not even his son Paras, but himself for having encouraged republicanism. (Read his year-old interview with Image Channel TV.) His greed knew no bounds while he ruled; but give him the credit for living a chaste married life, a rarity nowadays. Tribhuvan, Mahendra, all had their concubines; but not Gyanendra (we haven’t read that he has any). When people still flock to see Gyanendra (like in Imadol on August 10, 2011) and shout slogans like, "Come king and save the country," our politicians get goose pimples. They should! They know that monarchy may still return if they continue to mismanage the country. Thus, as the index finger warning our fumbling, grumbling leaders, Gyanendra proves useful to our republic. Also to me—I have just written on him. Long live the former king!
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