Monarchy, Democracy And Gen Z’s Protest Against Corruption: A Timeline Of Nepal’s Political Instability

1768 (Shah Dynasty Established): King Prithvi Narayan Shah unified the Kingdom of Nepal, establishing the Shah dynasty. This marked the beginning of a centralised monarchy that ruled the Himalayan country for more than two centuries. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1846 (Rana Auticracy Begins): Jung Bahadur Rana orchestrates the Kot Massacre, eliminating rivals and establishing the Rana regime. The Shah Kings become figureheads while the Ranas hold real power, ruling Nepal autocratically for over a century. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1951: A popular movement backed by King Tribhuvan and political parties ends Rana rule. King Tribhuvan returns from exile and restores his authority, paving the way for Nepal’s first attempts at democratic governance and political modernization. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1959: The Himalayan country holds its first multiparty election. The Nepali Congress party wins and Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala becomes Prime Minister. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1961-1990: King Mahendra banned political parties in 1961 and imposed a return to a centralised system of government that consolidated his powers, known as “Panchayat”. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1990 (People’s Movement): People’s frustration with the system grew and reached a peak in 1990 when some parties launched a campaign and staged demonstrations to restore multi-party democracy. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1991: Nepali Congress wins the general elections, marking Nepal’s first democratic government in decades. The king remains a constitutional monarch with limited powers, and parliamentary democracy is firmly established. (Representative Image: Wikimedia Commons)

1996: The country’s left-wing Maoists started a violent bid to replace parliamentary system with a people’s republic. This led to a decade-long civil war and caused over 17,000 deaths. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

2006-2015: Civilians protested against the monarchy in 2006, leading to its abolition in 2008, making Nepal a federal democratic republic. In 2015, Nepal adopted a new constitution. (Image: X)

2015 – Present: K.P. Sharma Oli took over as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the first time in October 2015 and his government lasted for about a year. He was elected for the second and third time successively in 2018 and 2021 and for the fourth time in 2024. (File Pic)