N.P. Upadhyaya: The political change of the 1990, let’s admit the fact, was just to curtail the exclusive rights of the then active monarch.
The political leaders assured the population that it is the institution of the Monarchy that has impeded the rapid development of the country. The people believed this strange but a very calculated notion that it was. However, the domestic did not presumed in advance that time permitting several Kings along with some high flying criminals shall be in place to rule this country.
The King then complied because he concluded that it would be better to compromise with the desires of his own nationals instead of bowing down to the Indian establishment.
The Indian Foreign Secretary SK Singh by then had returned empty handed with his Delhi drafted security terms and conditions for Nepal which if had been agreed by Nepal, the movement would have vanished. This was the Indian condition. Neither the Nepal PM nor the King agreed to remain under the Indian security umbrella.
Now PM Modi has almost succeeded in swinging Nepal to which his predecessors have had summarily failed in the past beginning Madame Gandhi to Dr. MM Singh.
Undeniably, the Indian establishment then controlled by Dacota aircraft pilot turned PM Rajiv Gandhi did all he could to “teach a befitting lesson” to King Birendra for having denied a breakfast meet of some selected few SAARC leaders in Islamabad during the SAARC Summit that was held in Pakistan.
The abrupt absence of King Birendra in the breakfast meet of the Indo-pendent SAARC leaders infuriated Mr. Gandhi to the extent that he took perhaps oath to unseat the Nepal King from the throne at the earliest.
King Birendra’s thinking was that “the selected few invited” for the Gnadhi’s breakfast will send wrong signals to the rest of the SAARC members. Later sub groupings came into existence. Let’s recall the growth Quadrangle. Pakistan was deliberately left in the cold by the Indian establishment.
This infuriated Pakistan that the latter preferred to cut its association with the SAARC grouping once and for all. However, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Kadirgamar convinced Pakistan and the collapse of the SAARC regional body was averted.
Mr. Gandhi imposed an economic blockade on Nepal, March 23, 1990, and the present day Nepali leaders took the blockade as an Indian blessing which could be utilized to wage a sort of grand movement against the then Royalty controlled system.

(Some high placed sources then said this scribe that the Nepali leaders appealed the Indian PM for imposing an economic blockade. This appeal made the Indian PM happy in that he could now have a constituency in Nepal who would hail the imposition of the economic blockade).
The sponsored movement of the 1990 April did its job candidly and the King preferred to yield. The King was demoted to a constitutional from an active monarch.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal then was Shri Arvind Ram Chandra Deo. (It would not be fair to disclose our one on one discussion in details which had taken place on different occasions in Kathmandu and the venue being diplomatic receptions. We both talked about the blockade and on some other political issues as well. He was representing his country and myself being a Nepali national feeling the brunt of the blockade. The envoy was determined that the blockade would ultimately be a success. It was a success as he desired along with our own leaders who were happy with the imposition of the Indian blockade).
The Interim Nepal PM Mr. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai went to India, On June 10, 1990, a Joint communique was issued which was no more no less than the 1950 treaty. The Status Quo Ante was in place and the blockade lifted.
The 1991 Constitution was promulgated which, the leaders claimed then, was perhaps best in the world. That it was not the best was best ascertained by the birth of the Nepal Maoists which later cleverly sneaked into the Indian Capital only to be taken care by the Indian establishment. The rest of the story my valued readers know and thus I think that let the things not be repeated again and again for a variety of political reasons.
Years went by. The King felt relaxed though pain must have been inside the heart yet smilingly he adjusted himself to the changed political context.
Queen Aishwarya had some difficulty in adjusting to the rapidly changing Nepali Politics, we had heard.
This was the Samuel P Huntington’s “third wave of democracy”, to which Dr. Larry Diamond of the Stanford too subscribed.
(I met this senior political scientist right in Kathmandu while making a lecture at the Hotel Soaltee on democracy in 1992 or 1993).

Ms. Julia Chang Bloch was the US Ambassador to Nepal then.
However, after the Royal massacre national politics began dwindling. Nepal got Gynendra, the middle brother of late King Birendra, as new Nepal King.
Sky was the limit for King Gyanendra’s ambitions. It were these ambitions that shortened His Royal tenure. Apart from being declared as King of Nepal, Gyanendra wished to rule the nation as the country’s Prime Minister also.
If Rajiv Gandhi “taught a lesson” to King Birendra then it was Dr.Man Mohan Singh, a yes man of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, who also thought to take some tutorial classes to King Gyanendra.
But how? A reason was being searched.
Thank God. Dr. Singh found one flimsy reason. King Gyanendra pressed the SAARC leaders to grant China an Observer Status. Naturally India did not like this Nepal King India-puzzling proposition. But Gyanendra remained undeterred and finally brought China as an Observer in the SAARC conglomerate.
India in lieu preferred Afghanistan for the SAARC. The SAARC is almost defunct now.
Yet India was not convinced and began thinking on how to unseat the Nepal King.
Thanks Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress with the tacit backing of the Delhi based Nepal Maoists, Dr. Bhattarai and Prachanda, to form a seven party alliance against the King of Nepal.
A Movement of the seven party alliance could be seen then from Ratna Park to Ratna Park and that was of it all. Park was the origin with the end being again the park itself.
Things later went as per the instructions or say grand design of New Delhi. Dr. Man Mohan Singh was the de facto PM only. The one point agenda was to dethrone King Gyanendra. Rest the politics developed so fast that the then Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran too could not have imagined that his “schemes” would act so fast?
The 12 point agreement was primarily drafted in Hindi later translated into Nepali for domestic consumption. Intelligent brains in Kathmandu found out the truth.
The Maoists entered Nepal safely as desired by New Delhi. Koirala and the six party leaders were just entertainers. The leaders did what was told to be done.
The King was unceremoniously ousted. Krishna Prasad Sitaula, a no name suddenly emerged as a senior political luminary and he then approached the “frustrated king” and told the latter to vacate the Royal Palace. The King Complied. With a heavy heart perhaps.
The Jungle dwellers came to Kathmandu and the Kathmandu dweller was forced to enter the Nagarjun Jungles.
Since then the politics of this nation has been swinging like a pendulum.

Nepal has lost its political persona in the world, so claims Prakash Koirala, the elder son of late B. P. Koirala. (For details please log on to telegraphnepal.com and see Nepali Congress and Monarchy).
Mr. Koirala also authentically claims that the Northern neighbor does not trust the Nepali leaders. But why, Koirala remains tight lipped.
The King was dethroned for having lobbied for China and China in turn watched the Nepal events through Idiot Box.
Is it the criminalization of politics or just the other way round? Keep on guessing dear valued readers. Do not forget to the fresh release of Bal Krishna Dhungel from Dillibazar jail. The Royal pardon has been so graciously granted. For the brilliant HR activists, Dhungel’s release from the jail is no news at all. Perhaps more remains in the pipeline…..
As was expected, India has been dominating Nepali affairs clearly and the population is helpless.
Each day, Nepal as a nation-state has been losing. Recall how Sushma Swaraj viewed Nepal’s Janakpur population while making a statement in Delhi.
The Nepali nationals were being taken as Indian citizens. Condemnation was expected from the area itself which was hit hard by Sushma.
One more Hydropower project that had been awarded to China has been scrapped under the instructions, let’s presume it must have been so, of the New Delhi establishment. (Wait for the details).