Autocratic Monarchy: Politics in Panchayat Nepal

 

Autocratic Monarchy: Politics in Panchayat Nepal is a collection of thirteen articles on politics in Nepal during the first two decades of the Panchayat System (1960-1978) written by the political historian and literary scholar L.S. Baral (alias Isvar Baral). The first part of the book begins with an article on the 1959 Constitution of Nepal and is followed by an overview of the political experiments of the 1950s. The next three chapters analyse King Mahendra’s coup of 1960 and the ensuing ‘new order’ and the shifting loyalties of the non-Nepali Congress leaders. The first elections under the Panchayat System and the so-called ‘class organizations’ are the subjects of two middle chapters. Baral also discusses the work of Panchayat’s opponents during the 1960s and analyses the changes undergone by the Panchayat System until the mid-1970s. The three chapters in the second part discuss Nepal and the non-aligned movement, Nepal’s foreign policy under King Mahendra, and relations with India. This book is an important contribution to the recent political history of Nepal and should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand how Nepal came to be ruled by autocratic monarchs under the Panchayat System.