2008 Elections held \u2013 CPN-M won plurality of the seats (Matthew p. 137)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Panchayat System<\/p>\n
One event in Nepali history that influenced many of the modern social injustices is the introduction of the panchayat system by King Mahendra.\u00a0 Son of King Tribhuvan, Mahendra believed that the king needed more power to \u201ccontain the growing tensions in Nepal\u201d (Khadka p. 431).\u00a0 These tensions included a poor relationship with neighboring country India, of which, the foreign minister of Nepal stated that a new political system was key to an improved relationship (Khadka p.432).\u00a0 In order to implement his new political system, Mahendra needed the faith and support of the people which he had, as they accepted him as a \u201cbenevolent reincarnation\u201d (Khadka p. 432).\u00a0 Although, in theory, the new system gave people political rights, \u201cthe \u2018innovative\u2019 panchayat system was basically just an attempt to idealize the concept of a Hindu monarch by combining it with certain features of other political systems\u201d (Khadka p. 432).\u00a0 King Mahendra used his new political system to gain more power and take away from his people.<\/p>\n
![\"Official](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/nepalmosaic\/files\/2017\/09\/Mahendra_Bir_Bikram_Shah-300x300.jpg\")
Official Portrait of King Mahendra<\/p><\/div>\n
The panchayat system was a four-tiered power system.\u00a0 On the base was the village assembly.\u00a0 For this, the adult population of the villages voted for an eleven-member village panchayat.\u00a0 This assembly took care of the low level political affairs of the villages.\u00a0 Each village panchayat would send one representative to the district panchayat which formed the zone assembly.\u00a0 This panchayat acted as a district level governing body.\u00a0 The next level in the panchayat system was the national panchayat.\u00a0 For this level, representatives from each district were selected by the zone assembly. The apex of the system was King Mahendra.\u00a0 Although the basic structure of this system lasted, it was adapted to throughout the years as \u201cthe first amendment to the constitution abolished the zonal panchayat\u201d (Khadka p.434).<\/p>\n
After implementation of this system, King Mahendra banned all political parties.\u00a0 The official government statement was as follows, \u201cthe official philosophy of the partyless character of the system was to maintain a \u2018systematic neutrality\u2019 suited to Nepal\u2019s political geography\u201d (Khadka p.435).\u00a0 The King justified taking away political freedom by telling people that his system was necessary for international stability.\u00a0 Thus, the political ideology of the nation was that, as demanded by the king, was that \u201cthe king should direct policies of the nation as an absolute ruler\u201d (Khadka p.435).<\/p>\n
The effects of the oppressive rule of King Mahendra and his panchayat system are still felt today.\u00a0 The lack of a political party lead to increased economic instability.\u00a0 \u201cFor some time no concrete political economic objectives were formulated for the system, because it had no fixed political ideology on which these could be based\u201d (Khadka p.434).\u00a0 This economic stress on society is something that ties the panchayat system to the Dickinson Nepal Mosaic. \u00a0Many of the environmental issues that occur in Neal stem for the lack of social equality.\u00a0 For example, people are pushed to abuse natural resources in times of economic struggle, if it is their only option for revenue or resources.\u00a0 This struggle is one that occurs everywhere\u00a0 but, in Nepal, was made worse by the\u00a0 panchayat system.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bibliography:<\/p>\n
Khadka, Narayan. “Crisis in Nepal’s Partyless Panchayat System: The Case for More Democracy.”\u00a0Pacific Affairs<\/em>\u00a059, no. 3 (1986).<\/p>\n Matthew & Upreti, 2010, Environmental change and human security in Nepal, pp 137 \u2013 154 in Matthew et al (eds), Global Environmental Change and Human Security<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava.\u00a0Asian Survey<\/em>\u00a047, no. 3 (2013): 393-414.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Timeline: 1768 \u2013 Prithvi Narayan Shah unifies Kathmandu Valley (Matthew p. 141) 1950 \u2013 Nepalese people and King Tribhuvan overthrow the Ranas, ruling party over Nepal, w\/ support from India, lead to \u201cDelhi compromise\u201d (Matthew p. 142) 1950 \u2013 Delhi … Continue reading