The following is an excerpt of an op-ed written by Rishi Gupta, Assistant Director of ASPI New Delhi, and published in the Hindustan Times. 

Exactly a month ago, on March 9, the former King of Nepal, Gyanendra Bikram Shah, was welcomed by a crowd of 10,000 people in Kathmandu. Following his return, Nepal has witnessed a political churning where pro-monarchy groups, including its political wing—Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)—the fifth largest party in the current parliament—have carried out demonstrations vowing to bring back the monarchy. On March 28, RPP, along with other pro-monarchial groups, reportedly carried out violent demonstrations resulting in two deaths, hundreds injured, many arrested, and damage to public property. Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli, has warned, “The perpetrators of these horrific acts must face stringent legal action” and added that ‘the idea of revising the monarchy is a mere illusion and serves no purpose.’ But for a country that fought a decade-long civil war from 1996 to 2006, first led by Maoist guerrilla fighters and later a People's War briefly in 2006, against the monarchy and State, resulting in an estimated loss of 17,000 lives, why does it want the monarchy to come back?

Read the full op-ed here.