The enduring spirit of Nepal

Amidst growing discontent and a challenging socio-economic landscape, public nostalgia for royalty has surfaced again

“Never! That’s never going to happen!” businessman Budhiman Gurung, from Pokhara, Nepal, exclaimed emphatically when asked if Nepal could see the resurrection of the monarchy. Mr Gurung has real estate interests in Nepal and is the promoter of a gas-bottling company, among other businesses. He has contested local elections as a candidate of the Nepali Congress, for many years the main political party opposed to the monarchy in Nepal.

Nepal was a monarchy till 2008, when the reigning king from the Shah dynasty, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, was constitutionally deposed and Nepal became a secular, democratic republic. Between then and