King Gyanendra: A Profile

A Profile

"The days of royalty being seen and not heard are over," he says. "And the monarchy is not going to allow anyone to usurp the fundamental rights of the people. All I'm saying is stop saying 'me.' Say 'us.' Stop saying 'party.' Say 'people.'"

I think this statement from King G sums it up. Stop saying party, say people. I guess the guy is the ultimate Panche. Political leaders in a democracy are, by definition, going to disagree and disagree a lot. He finds that offensive. It is the mindset of an aristocrat, an autocrat. His gameplan is to stay, and to stay a little more. If he gets his three years - not likely - he will bring in a Musharraf democracy. Elections will be held, but the drama will be just his way of "hiring" a new face, to be dismissed at whim.

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyanendra_Bir_Bikram_Shah_Dev
2. TIMEasia Magazine: King Gyanendra: Extended Interview
3. TIMEasia Magazine: Interview With The King
4. BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Profile: Nepal's King Gyanendra
5. BBC NEWS | South Asia | Nepal king's biggest gamble
6. COVER STORY (Spotlight Weekly)
7. The Agonist | thoughtful, global, timely .... a man who believes in royalty, who believes that from his birth he has been "higher" than other people...After his father died, Gyanendra became a trusted adviser to his brother, King Birendra, but they fell out in 1990. That was when Birendra agreed to give up absolute power and become a constitutional monarch.Gyanendra opposed the constitutional monarchy from the start...So unpopular is Paras that at first Gyanendra did not dare name him as crown prince and heir, but waited until he had been on the throne a few months, and then rushed the announcement out during a holiday ...... In 2000, Paras allegedly killed a popular singer while drunk at the wheel. Half a million Nepalis signed a petition calling for him to be prosecuted......Most of Gyanendra's life has been devoted to preserving the absolute power of the kings of Nepal and, seen in that light, his decision this week to tear up the constitution and reimpose direct rule is not surprising. It was just the latest in a series of efforts to take back the powers his brother gave away in 1990.
8. TIMEasia Magazine: A Kingdom in Chaos January 26, 2004 As his servants take their leave with a series of silent bows, it becomes apparent that King Gyanendra spends much of his time in the company of ghosts..... "It is lonely," says Gyanendra, drawing deeply on a cigarette and flicking ash absently onto a tiger-skin rug. "I miss my brothers and sisters. I am a human being after all." ..... "I left this palace 30 years ago when I got married," says Gyanendra in his measured English. "I never thought I would have to occupy it again. It is difficult, but we do the best we can. It's people that change a house into a home, and that's what we've been trying to do." ..... Beset by enemies from within and without, with government control outside of the capital slipping away, Gyanendra alone rules a country that foreign diplomats and many Nepalese believe is verging on anarchy........ the Maoist uprising is currently the deadliest conflict in Asia ... also the most brutal. ...... crowds of Maoists would watch their leaders break every bone in a "class enemy's" body, then skin him and cut off his ears, lips, tongue and nose, before sawing the body in half or burning it ........ the "almost identical pattern" of such atrocities suggested this was "a policy coordinated at senior command levels." ...... the countryside, the majority of which is under the control of neither the Maoists nor the army ....... since 1996, Maoists have destroyed 1,321 village administration buildings and 440 post offices, while police have abandoned 895 stations and teachers have abandoned 700 schools...... "The smell of burning tires on the streets of the capital reeks of democracy in decay," writes Nepali Times commentator C.K. Lal. ....... Gyanendra says he will relinquish power and reinstate Parliament only if the parties unite to pull Nepal back from the abyss ...... in April 2003 the Maoists released a manifesto expressly welcoming "citizens of any foreign nation who were compelled to leave [their home countries] due to their involvement in revolutionary activities." ...... "The future of Nepal, yes, lies in constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy," he says. But he refuses to leave governance solely to them. "The days of royalty being seen and not heard are over," he says. "And the monarchy is not going to allow anyone to usurp the fundamental rights of the people. All I'm saying is stop saying 'me.' Say 'us.' Stop saying 'party.' Say 'people.'" ....... "He's an ambitious man," says sacked Prime Minister Deuba. "He just wants power." ...... "If some people do not understand me, if there is mistrust and a crisis of confidence, let's do something about it." ...... Gyanendra admits that he has reservations about the need to be known and demystified ...... "There is a human face to every King," he says, "but that does not mean he has to flaunt it." Asked about his sense of isolation, he grows defensive. "What makes you think I don't have friends?" he asks. But one such friend, Prabhakar Shunshere Rana, says that, for a King, relatives are the only true confidants. "You can have friends, advisers, all the experts you want," says Rana. "But without family, without brothers and sisters, monarchy is a very lonely place. The late King used to consult with Gyanendra all the time. If you look at Gyanendra now, he's really on his own." ........ Gyanendra says he still dreams of a time when "all of Nepal should have the opportunity to progress irrespective of color, caste and creed." He adds, "If the people are happy, the King is happy."
9. King Gyanendra: The absolute monarch :: KuraKani.tK :: Dedicated ... He was in favor of absolute monarchy since he was a kid. He was angry at his brother and late king Birendra for accepting to be a constitutional monarch....... Most of Gyanendra's life has been devoted to preserving the mystique and power of royalty. He even played a small part in the drama of Britain's own royal family. When Prince Charles came to Nepal in the late 1970s for some space to think about whether he should marry a young blonde called Lady Diana Spencer, it was Prince Gyanendra who took the English prince under his wing, playing host and devising the "royal trek", a route below Machhapuchhre mountain where Charles walked and meditated on his decision....... after those tumultuous events of his boyhood, Gyanendra had to learn to play the part of the dutiful younger brother. He developed his own business interests: a hotel in Kathmandu, a tea estate in eastern Nepal, and a cigarette factory. He also became a leading conservationist........ After his father died, Gyanendra became a trusted adviser to his brother, King Birendra, but they fell out in 1990. That was when Birendra agreed to give up absolute power and become a constitutional monarch.Gyanendra opposed the constitutional monarchy from the start....... Gyanendra might well get away with his gamble - but for the Maoists. He may have seized absolute power, but it extends only over Kathmandu and a few government-controlled towns outside the capital. ...... The front line is just 20 miles from Kathmandu. Across it, you are no longer in Gyanendra's Nepal, but in the Maoists' Nepal.