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Posted
on 04-Jun-01 01:52 AM
King Gyanendra crowned at Hanuman Dhoka
KATHMANDU, June 4 -- Radio Nepal has carried a live broadcast detailing the ascension to the throne of King Gyanendra at almost exactly 1100 AM on Monday morning at the Nyasal Chowk of Hanuman Dhoka Palace.
Amidst auspicious music in the background, the radio said the Bada Guru placed the crown on the new King. The King then sat on Nepal's Naga Throne amidst traditional splendor. Also present on the occasion were the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, senior government officials and other members of the Royal Palace and senior generals of the Royal Nepal Army, including the Chief of Army Staff Prajwalla SJB Rana. All passed in front of the throne and ceremonially placed silver coins on the ground before paying their respects ("daam rakhne"). In Tundikhel, cannons boomed in the air in a 31-gun salute. nepalnews.com/kd
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The full text of King Gyanendra's address to the nation:
"Beloved citizens, I am extremely saddened to tell you that His Majesty King Dipendra is no more with us. In his tenure as King, we as Prince Regent had addressed you earlier. In that address, we had referred to the tragic incident at the Royal Palace on Friday, 19 Jestha 2058, but there were constitutional and legal difficulties in expressing what had actually transpired. Now that the situation has changed, we will make an investigation into the incident and urgently let the beloved citizens know the outcome. We are convinced that all Nepalis must be solemn and united in living through these tragic times. May Lord Pashupatinath Bless Us All. Jaya Nepal"
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Gyanendra Crowned King of Nepal
In a ceremony held at Hanuman Dhoka at 11:00 am, Regent Prince Gyannendra Bir Bikram Shah has been crowned as the King of Nepal.
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Posted
on 04-Jun-01 02:06 AM
Survivor faces struggle to keep monarchy alive
By Alex Spillius in Kathmandu
THE profound crisis unleashed by the massacre in Kathmandu is not the first that the royal family has faced but, if Nepal's new ruler is not careful, it could be the last.
Public affection for the royal family was clearly visible on the streets of the capital yesterday as thousands queued to lay wreaths at the palace gates and many men shaved their heads as a mark of respect. Yet only 11 years ago, the monarchy was shaken by widespread popular protests triggered by anger at poverty and corruption.
Eventually, King Birendra had to declare an end to the absolute monarchy and establish a constitutional monarchy. The risk for the king's brother, the newly appointed regent Gyanendra, is that popular bewilderment at the massacre will turn to political discontent.
Bhubaneshwore P Daibagya, a former judge, said: "The future of Nepal's politics as well as the monarchy hangs in the balance. The new king will have to win the love, confidence and support of the Nepalese people. But it will be difficult."
The current assumption is that Dipendra, who was appointed king despite being blamed for machine-gunning eight of his family, will soon be pronounced dead and the succession will pass to Gyanendra. However, he is not the most popular of royals, while his son and future heir, Prince Paras, generates widespread public rage because he killed a popular singer in a driving accident last autumn.
This has fuelled Kathmandu's lively rumour mill. Feeding off public disbelief that Dipendra could have committed such an atrocity, there are already mutterings that the regent and his son were somehow involved, even though Gyanendra was not present at the fatal dinner party.
Prince Gyanendra, who was educated at a Jesuit school in Darjeeling, India, is thought to be one of the wealthiest members of the family, with substantial properties and investments abroad. If he becomes king he will inherit more riches and give detractors more potential weaponry.
He has a reputation as being efficient and shrewd, but is known to have opposed the late king's decision in 1990 to reduce the monarchy to a constitutional figurehead. In that year, the People's Movement, a multi-party coalition, forced the king to lift a ban on political parties.
This crisis could hardly have come at a worse time for Nepal, which is struggling to contain an increasingly violent Maoist insurgency that has claimed more than 1,600 lives since 1996. It has prospered from popular loathing of a political class seen as a corrupt and bickering elite.
As a constitutional monarch, the late king was an influential and important symbol of continuity and national unity in a volatile political environment. In a country of deep mysticism, the monarch is held as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. But the degree of reverence still depends on how well he performs his job.
Prince Gyanendra may well realise that his best interests lie in taking the same approach as his elder brother. During immense political upheaval in 1950, he was declared monarch at the age of five after being left behind as insurance when the then King Tribhuvan - his and Birendra's grandfather - fled Nepal for India, returning two months later to re-assume his throne.
The Nepali royal family is largely based on two great families, the Shahs and the Ranas. Descended from western India's Rajput warrior clan, they fled to Nepal to escape Muslim persecution in the 14th and 15th centuries, establishing mountain fiefdoms and increasing their military might.
In 1776, the Prithvi Narain, the ninth Shah king, seized control of Kathmandu and set about expanding his territory. In 1846, after a period of bloody palace intrigues which led to the massacre of 35 Shah courtiers, the shrewd General Jung Bahadur Rana became king.
The Shahs, after another period of scheming, returned to power 104 years later in 1950. By now the two clans had inter-married and controlled Nepal between them.
Britain has always been closely involved with Nepal, using its mercenary troops, the Gurkhas, and its borders as a buffer zone between India and China. Today the soldiers' earnings are an important element of Nepal's economy, with 50,000 former Gurkhas living there off British government pensions.
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| Gandhi |
Posted
on 04-Jun-01 12:05 PM
At this time I am speaking about the tradition, not for support to the New King.
The tradition says that the new king has to be crowned at Hanuman Dhoka before the body of old king be cremated. Late King Deependra should have done this very thing had he been able to do that. Though Late King Deependra could not do that, King Gyanendra, who is in physical condition to perform the rituals, did it. I see it normal because of the tradition. Up to now, THE THRONE SHOULD NOT BE EMPTY belief is working.
Though it is different story that: When a father of a citizen dies, the sons throw their cap, when a father(here no choice) of a prince dies, he puts on the royal cap.
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