Amid Gen-Z protests, will Nepal’s former King Gyanendra Shah make a comeback?

Nepal’s witnessing mayhem. The political landscape is in turmoil after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned as Gen-Z protesters went on a rampage, burning Parliament, setting government offices on fire and even assaulting ministers — past and present.

The protests, which began as a movement against the government’s controversial social media ban escalated into widespread protests, fuelled by deep-seated frustration with corruption, poor governance, misuse of power, and the arrogance of past governments and political parties.

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Amid this volatile situation, many are wondering if former King Gyanendra Shah will take the reins of the country, marking the country’s return to monarchy after its two-decade experiment with secular democracy.

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Rumours of the former monarch taking charge became even more pronounced as he issued a rare public statement, expressing sorrow over the deaths of young protesters and calling for peace, good governance, and restraint from violence.

“It is extremely tragic and condemnable that, instead of addressing the legitimate demands of the younger generation, lives were lost and many were injured,” the statement read. “I condemn the violence, which is against the norm of the peaceful Nepalese society.”

As rumours swirl of a possible royal takeover, here’s a look at who exactly is the Nepal royal family and why were they ousted in the first place.

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Who is Nepal’s former King Gyanendra Shah?

The last monarch of Nepal — he reigned from 2001 until 2008 — Gyanendra Shah was a businessman with a special interest in environmental and conservation issues before becoming king. In the past, he has owned a hotel in Kathmandu and a cigarette factory.

His ascent to the throne was quite controversial. In June 2001, his elder brother, King Birendra, his wife and eight other members of the royal family were shot dead in a drunken killing spree by the heir to the throne, Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah, who then turned the gun on himself. In a single night, Nepal’s royal family was almost entirely wiped out.

The massacre reportedly followed an argument between Dipendra and his parents, who objected to his plans to marry local aristocrat Devyani Rana. It is believed Dipendra was threatened with being disinherited if he continued with the match and this may have been what drove him to murder.

At the time of the massacre, many rumours swirled that Gyanendra and his son, Paras, plotted the royal killings and framed Dipendra to assume an easy route to the throne.

Once he took the throne, King Gyanendra became a contentious and divisive figure in Nepal; during his reign, he dismissed the government twice in three years. The first time was in 2002 when he sacked elected Sher Bahadur Deuba, the prime minister, and appointed royalist Surya Bahadur Thapa in his place, postponing planned elections indefinitely.

Thapa resigned in June 2004 after huge protests against the government, and Deuba was re-appointed by the king only to be sacked once again in February 2005. Matters then came to a boil with him staging a coup d’etat, declaring a state of emergency, suspending the constitution, and taking direct control over the country. At the time, he said that the Cabinet had been unable to control the Maoist rebellion, which had been ongoing for the last nine years, resulting in the death of nearly 17,000 people.

However, the king’s act sparked what came to be known as the second people’s movement in Nepal, which brought businessmen, politicians, journalists and others out in the streets against the monarch. Those protests finally culminated with him being forced to give up the throne with the country moving to a parliamentary democracy.

Following the abolition of monarchy, former King Gyanendra Shah has lived as a private citizen. Meanwhile, his stepmother, Queen Mother Ratna continues to live at Mahendra Manzil, situated within the former royal palace complex. Some younger members of the Nepali royal family live abroad.

A comeback for former King Gyanendra?

Even before the Gen-Z protests, former King Gyanendra made the headlines back in March when his supporters rallied in Kathmandu, demanding the restoration of the monarchy and Hinduism as the state religion. Chants of “long live our beloved king” and “vacate the royal palace for the king” echoed through the streets.

At the time, over tens of thousands of supporters blocked the main entrance to Tribhuvan International Airport as he returned to the capital. Protesters carried flags and banners calling for his reinstatement.

His supporters maintain that despite his heavy-handed tactics, they were necessary to preserve Nepal’s sovereignty. They further cited the country’s failure to achieve economic progress as a reason to return to the monarchy style of governance. As one monarchy supporter was quoted as saying, “The worst thing that is happening to the country is massive corruption and all politicians in power are not doing anything for the country. I was in the protests that took away monarchy hoping it would help the country, but I was mistaken and the nation has further plunged so I have changed my mind.”

Will monarchy now return to Nepal?

Now, Nepal’s political future is in doldrums following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as a result of the mass, violent Gen-Z protests that first broke out on Monday (September 8).

While the immediate cause behind the agitation was the government’s move to ban popular social media platforms, it reflects a broader resentment in Nepal, where many people have increasingly become angry with the government over a range of issues, mostly to do with corruption and frustration over nepotism in the country’s politics.

“Protests over the social media ban were just a catalyst. Frustrations over how the country is being run have long been simmering under the surface. People are very angry and Nepal finds itself in a very precarious situation,” said Prateek Pradhan, editor of Baahrakhari, a Nepalese independent news website, to the Associated Press.

And as 20 people died and widespread destruction was reported, the former king expressed support for the protesters, saying the “violent outbursts and anger expressed during these demonstrations are indeed matters of deep concern”.

In a statement, Gyanendra Shah said it was “extremely tragic and condemnable” that “instead of addressing the genuine demands of the young generation, lives have been lost and many have been injured. This incident goes against the values of the peace-loving Nepali society”.

Moreover, Nepal Army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel’s address to the nation also grabbed attention as he stood in front of an image of former Hindu king Prithvi Narayan Shah, the mid-18th-century monarch who laid the foundations of modern Nepal.

It remains unclear if Gyanendra Shah will be able to fill the void caused by the resignation of KP Sharma Oli; will he seek to restore the monarchy or try to unify the nation?

However, as Nepal grapples with political instability, voices for a return to monarchy only grow louder. We will have to just wait and watch to see what comes next.

With inputs from agencies