KATHMANDU, NEPAL, May 29, 2008: The Himalayan nation of Nepal has become the world’s newest republic, ending 240 years of monarchy. A constituent assembly meeting in the capital, Kathmandu, overwhelmingly voted to abolish royal rule. The Maoists, the largest party after laying down arms and standing in last month’s elections, were committed to ousting King Gyanendra. People celebrated wildly in the streets of the capital after news of the assembly vote.
The approved proposal states that Nepal is “an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic nation”. Royal privileges “will automatically come to an end”, the declaration says. It also states that the king’s main palace must be vacated within a fortnight, to be transformed into a museum.
The Maoists and other politicians are being conciliatory about the monarch now being ousted and say he should live on in Nepal as a private citizen. Some militant pro-Hindu and pro-royal factions are campaigning against Nepal’s shedding of its royal – and its officially Hindu – status.