Nepali coat of arms

In 1990 the the 'Jana Andolan' or 'People's Movement', a historic and courageous uprising of ordinary Nepalis, led by a multi-party political alliance, brought about the end of absolute monarchy, forcing King Birendra to become a constitutional monarch and catalysing constitutional democracy in Nepal. The Jana Andolan was remarkable because of the co-operation between political parties with very different idealogies, such as the Nepali Congress party and a range of Communist parties which banded together as the United left Front.

The importance of the Jana Andolan cannot be underestimated. When the Nepali people took to the streets in their thousands in 2006 to bring to an end the autocratic rule of King Gyanendra, the movement was dubbed the 'Loktantra Andolan' (which roughly translated means the 'Democracy Movement'), but it was also widely known as the Second Jana Andolan.

Save as PDF

Print