The royal ghosts
A man carrying a Nepali flag stands atop a statue of king Mahindra, an image destined to be as iconic as the Chinese protester in Tiananmen Square. In formally voting to become a republic yesterday, Nepal became the first country to drive its monarch from office since Iran.
It was also the last Hindu monarchy, an anachronism of which one should be ashamed, not proud. (I’m looking at you, Arabia.) Monarchs began as brawny louts who later backfilled their legitimacy with ginned-up coats of arms, campy rituals and unbelievable pomp. They were the reality shows of their time, which ended well over a century ago. They relied on suppressing critical thought and freedom of speech. As actual rulers rather than figureheads, they were incompatible with economic development.
Birendra’s drugged-up son machine-gunning his family shattered any remaining illusions about Nepal’s one-time rulers; Gyanendra’s political thuggishness sealed the family’s fate. One can only hope Britain too turns its royal parasites out to pasture sooner rather than later.
The royal flag came off the palace yesterday in favor of the national one. But the double triangles still represent monarchic capture:
Until 1962, the flag’s emblems, the sun and the crescent moon, had human faces. They were removed to modernize the flag. The moon in the upper part represents the royal house. The sun in the lower part symbolizes a branch of the Rana family, members of which acted as prime ministers until 1961; and they also represent the wish that the nation might live as long as these celestial bodies exist…
The two triangles symbolize the Himalaya Mountains and they also stand for two religions: Hinduism and Buddhism… two separate triangular pennants were flown one above the other; these were then joined to form a single flag…
Crimson is the national color of Nepal which is the color of the rhododendron; the country’s national flower. Red is also considered the sign of victory in war; while the blue border is said to represent peace. [Link]
Photos of the celebration, courtesy of the NYT and Yahoo News:
on Thursday, May 29th, 2008, 1:37 pm in News, Religion › 
Email this
› 
Facebook this
› 
Reddit this
› Link
› Reader links
Last hindu monarch?
Eh? Isn’t Wangchuck Buddhist?
hmm.. ok. i dont see buddhism and hinduism diverging all that much but then again i eat off the magical mystical buffet.
Is rule via monarchy and rule via parliament necessarily different in terms of quality? You can find people that thrived under under royal rule as well as those who suffered under rule by the people. Methinks that this good day for Nepal won’t last too long; your reference to Tiananmen Sq is relevant less for the iconic image than for what happened afterwards…
As for Bhutan, things are already going down a less than stellar path.
Everybody Wangchuk tonight.
AWESOME, Manish! Monarchies (constitutional or not) are probably the most evil form of gov’t.
(Quite different, khoofia. I’m only familiar with hindutva goons trying to flippantly lump the 2 together.)
The end of monarchy in Nepal is good - but the Maoists are not necessarily good news. Prachanda interview here.. Although Hindu revivalists in India made much of the Nepalese King’s religion - it’s not comparable with Saudi Arabia - it’s not like the King of Nepal ever thought of himself as the ‘Defender of the Faith’ - nor did others think of him that way. His Hindu-ness was pretty much incidental. Thailand still has a constitutional monarch - Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and as far as I know, he’s seen as Hindu too, again, incidental.
People who mentioned Bhutan, should also add that it has taken major steps toward democracy, with a constitutional monarchy in a transitioning role, this year. World’s Remaining Monarchies.
Lastly, Monarch != Autocratic Despot. There’s a place for constitutional monarchies in this world.
When you remove popular pressure upon the rulers, you usually end up with bad policy.
A monarchy hemmed in by a constitution isn’t pure autocracy, of course. The stronger the constitution, the more the royals become tax-sapping figureheads.
But many Indian Hindus took much pride in it.
I did not know that. Fascinating, thanks.
The Gurkhas will still line up in huge numbers to try to join british army and will still swear allegiance to Her Majesty Queen of England
HAHAHAHA Progress
“But many Indian Hindus took much pride in it.”
Did they ? IMNHO It was a fact raised in desi trivia night, kind of like wheres the largest hindu temple