Panchayat (Nepal)

Panchayat (Nepali: पञ्चायत) was a political system in Nepal that remained in place from 1961 to 1990. It banned political parties and placed all governmental power, including power over the Cabinet and Parliament, under the sole authority of the King of Nepal, effectively establishing the country as an absolute monarchy.

After sidelining the Nepali Congress government of B. P. Koirala on the 15th December 1960 (1st Poush 2017 BS) Nepal coup d'état, King Mahendra introduced the Panchayat system on 5th January 1961 (22nd Poush 2017 BS). Under his direct rule, King Mahendra introduced a four-tiered structure – village, town, district, and national Panchayat – based on limited elected executive committees. Mahendra further consolidated power by institutionalizing and invoking three pillars of national identity – Hindu religion, Nepali language, and monarchy – as foundations of everyday social and religious life. This was encapsulated by the slogan Ek Raja, Ek Bhesh, Ek Bhasa (One King, One Dress, One Language).

Popular discontent over the Panchayat system grew and finally exploded on 18th February 1990, when the banned Nepali Congress and the United Left Front, a coalition of left-wing Nepali parties, launched a campaign of popular demonstrations and strikes to end the Panchayat system and restore multiparty democracy. This campaign, later known as the Nepalese Revolution, compelled King Birendra to lift the political party ban on 8th April 1990, ending the Panchayat system that had dominated Nepal for almost 30 years.