All bad things must be brought to an end. Nepal’s monarchy, which under King Gyanendra’s benighted rule alternated between unenlightened tyranny and violent anarchy, is now a discredited institution, bereft of political legitimacy and popular support. Following an agreement between the ruling Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the Girija Prasad Koirala regime on Monday tabled a bill in the interim Parliament to declare Nepal a Feder al Democratic Republic. Although the abolition of the monarchy is subject to ratification by the yet-to-be-elected Constituent Assembly, that seems to be a mere formality. The interim Parliament is already empowered to abolish the monarchy if the King is found to be conspiring against the Constituent Assembly election. The Maoists walked out of the interim government on just this point: they wanted an immediate end to monarchy while the centrist political parties wanted the decision to be left to the Constituent Assembly. The former rebels are likely to rejoin the Cabinet after the bill is passed. The present agreement should also pave the way for an election to the Constituent Assembly that will see no interference from the King but will actively involve the Maoists.

The election, which is rescheduled for April 2008, was put off because the Maoists were hesitant to come on board. Their participation in the democratic political process is crucial to the transition of Nepal from a monarchy to a republic. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the abolition of the monarchy gets the stamp of the people’s approval. In the absence of any provocation from the King, the sound constitutional course would be to let a duly elected Constituent Assembly formally end the monarchy that dates back to 1769. From the start, King Gyanendra showed signs of ending up as the last monarch of Nepal. The bizarre circumstances under which he ascended the throne in June 2001 — following a palace bloodbath that took the lives of King Birendra and his family, including the maniacal and drunken parricide, Crown Prince Dipendra, who reigned as a virtually brain-dead King for four days — in no way added to the legitimacy of his reign. He became a detested figure after he assumed dictatorial powers in February 2005 in an attempt to crush the Maoist revolt. The ignominious collapse of King Gyanendra’s power and legitimacy has effectively ended the centuries-old royal lineage. Clearly, the future of Nepal lies in developing into a modern democratic republic, with a progressive Constitution and the rule of law, free from the trappings of a semi-feudal past. The monarchy must be given a swift and unfussy burial.