Sahasranshu Dash
In recent months, pro-monarchy demonstrations have flared across Nepal, with some protesters carrying posters of Indian Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. These symbolic gestures are not incidental. They signal a growing ideological intersection between Nepal’s royalist nostalgia and India’s rising Hindu nationalism. For some in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – and its ideological mentor,
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the return of a Hindu monarchy in Nepal is being framed as both a civilizational triumph and a strategic necessity. But this vision is a dangerous misreading of Nepal’s history, its political complexities, and the implications for India’s regional interests.
For India, the idea of a culturally aligned, Hindu-majority monarchy in Nepal appears attractive amid the growing Chinese presence in the region. Proponents argue that a Hindu king could serve as a bulwark against Beijing, foster cultural affinity, and stabilize a politically turbulent neighbor. This narrative has gained traction among Indian right-wing commentators and politicians alike, echoing similar ideological currents across the subcontinent.
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But this fantasy is historically flawed and strategically shortsighted.
Nepal’s monarchy was never the steadfast Indian ally it is now nostalgically remembered as. After King Tribhuvan’s exile and return with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s support in 1950, hopes for a constitutional monarchy in Nepal were high. Yet these hopes were quickly dashed. King Mahendra’s 1960 royal coup dismantled the nascent democracy, suppressed pro-India politicians, and aligned Nepal closer to China – a pattern that recurred with his son, King Gyanendra, during his 2005-08 power grab.
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