Republic Day ( ne, गणतन्त्र दिवस) is a national holiday in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. It commemorates the date on which the first meeting of the

Constituent Assembly of Nepal The Second Constituent Assembly of Nepal, later converted to the Legislature Parliament ( ne, व्यवस्थापिका संसद), was a unicameral legislature of Nepal. It was elected in the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections af ...

took place on 28 May 2008, which ended the 240-year reign of the Shah kings and declared Nepal a

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

. The establishment of the republic put an end to the civil war that lasted for almost a decade. According to the

Nepali calendar Nepali calendar can refer to: * Vikram Samvat, the official calendar in Nepal * Nepal Sambat Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era ...

, the republic day is marked on Jestha 15 every year. Celebrations include a military parade in Kathmandu and several small-scale programs organised by various government agencies across the country.

History of Republic Day

Modern Nepal came into existence in 1768, when that ruled the country until 1951. The prime minister and other government positions were made hereditary and the monarch had no real power. Dissatisfaction with the Rana regime led to the 1951 revolution which ended the Rana oligarchy. The country was a constitutional monarchy after the end of the Rana rule, but in 1960, King Mahendra suspended the constitution, assuming absolute power under the

Panchayat regime Panchayat ( ne, पञ्चायत) was a partyless political system incepted by King Mahendra by sidelining the Nepali Congress government of B. P. Koirala on 15 December 1960 AD (1st Poush 2017 BS). He introduced the partyless Panchayat sys ...

. After the People's Movement in 1990 that brought an end to the Panchayat, constitutional monarchy was reestablished and

King Birendra Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was the tenth Shah Ruler and the King of N ...

brought about several democratic reforms. In 1991, an elected government was formed for the first time in 32 years. However, the new government's policy led to an economic crisis. The Maoist revolution that began in the early 1990s eventually transformed into a full-scale civil war. The Democracy movement in 2006, resulting from the

seven party alliance The Seven Party Alliance was a coalition of seven Nepali political parties seeking to end autocratic rule in the country. They spearheaded the Loktantra Andolan. The alliance was made up of the following parties: * Nepali Congress * Nepali Con ...

, brought the civil war to an end and spearheaded the Maoists into mainstream politics. The Constituent Assembly was elected in 2008, ending the monarchy and successively, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared as a parliamentary republic.

Celebrations

The main Republic Day celebration is held in the national capital,

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

at the Sainik Manch, Tundikhel. Ceremonious parades take place at Tundikhel, which are performed as a tribute to the country; its unity in diversity and rich cultural heritage. The government of Nepal had declared a public holiday to commemorate this day. But since 2019, the public holiday has been cut off, yet the day is celebrated by organising various programs at workplaces.

References

{{Reflist History of Nepal

2008 establishments in Nepal

History of Republic Day

Celebrations

See also

References