Nepal overwhelmingly rejects ‘secular’ tag
The world's last Hindu state, officially dissolved just seven years ago to make way for a secular republic, is seemingly ready for a comeback. The Constituent Assembly of Nepal has agreed not to use the word ‘secularism' in the new Constitution that it is currently drafting; instead, it is considering two other options — ‘Hindu' and ‘religious freedom' — to describe the country's basic structure. If this change is carried out and Nepal's new Constitution does indeed acknowledge the country as a Hindu nation, it will be an important course-correction in that country's beleaguered political transition process.
Nepal had officially been a “Hindu state” with a “Hindu King” since the enactment of the 1962 Constitution but, after the civil war came to an end in 2005, the situation changed. Secularism was enshrined in the 2007 Interim Constitution and, in 2008, the Constituent Assembly officially declared Nepal to be a secular, federal, democratic republic. In the process, the country's more than 200 years old monarchy was also abolished, and the King of Nepal, once revered by his people to as a living avatar of lord Vishnu, removed from his palace. Possibly because Nepal's Hindu identity was, at the top, so tightly linked to the institution of the monarch, when the new rulers of Nepal — the Maoists who had just surrendered their guns and entered the political mainstream —took charge, they were convinced that, for their version of the New Republic to be born, both the monarchy and the country's Hindu antecedents had to be done away with. Besides, the Maoists had always been disdainful of Hindu traditions.
Throughout the civil war they were known to destroy temples and idols, burn rare Sanskrit manuscripts and slaughter cows. Also, at the time of transition, the Maoists received ample support for their secular state policy from the international community, including Nepal's Western foreign donors (who were/are crucial for post-war re-construction and development). All these factors put together meant that there was almost no opposition to the policy at the top level, even though it was being imposed without any meaningful public consultation. Seven years later, that policy has now almost unraveled. last week, the Constituent Assembly sought public feedback on its latest draft of the Constitution, and while the people disagreed on several issues, there was consensus on one — secularism. An overwhelming majority voted in favour of doing way with the ‘secularism' tag and re-declaring Nepal a Hindu state. This has now compelled the political elite to make amends.
Some are already complaining about the loss of the New Republic's secular character but these concerns are not grounded in reality. First, irrespective of what the Constitution said, Nepal has always been a tolerant nation and religious minorities have rarely been threatened. Second, even in these few years that Nepal technically has been a secular nation, the classic separation of state and church was not carried out. The Government, for example, still funds religious activities and state leaders preside over religious festivals. The ban on cow slaughter, an important element in the secular versus Hindu debate, also remains in place. The point of contention lies elsewhere.
In Nepal, secularism is being used as a cover for religious conversions and proselytisation, even though there remains significant public resistance to both at the grassroots level. Though conversions are still illegal, few have been prosecuted in recent years for proselytising. Also, Western agencies have been pressuring the Government to include the right to religious conversion as an integral part of secularism (which is undefined in the 2007 Interim Constitution). In fact, a British Ambassador had to resign for his open letter to the CA, lobbying for the right to convert. Even if one doesn’t go so far as to say there’s an evangelical conspiracy at work here, there is a case to be made for the fact that Hinduism is the glue that binds an otherwise diverse Nepal together.