Nepali Congress (NC) has once again started debating whether to include "Hindu state" in the preamble of the Constitution.
After discussions with all seven provinces and affiliated and well-wisher organizations, the grand old party's Professional and Intellectual Department led by Central Committee member Dila Sangroula, and the Nepal Democratic Lawyers Association (DLA) submitted a report to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, suggesting the establishment of a Hindu state.
At a time when people, including former Panchayat supporters, are strongly advocating for restoration of the monarchy, it remains to be seen whether the issue of Hindu state will gain more traction within NC.
Hindu state advocates within the party argue that if NC itself aligns with the Hindu state stance, the demand for restoring the monarchy would weaken on its own. However, the prevailing opinion within NC, a centrist party, is that it must represent the sentiments of all Nepalis, including every ethnicity and religious group, and remain steadfast in its commitment to secularism.
The view that Nepal should be a Hindu state has existed within NC since drafting of the new Constitution in 2015 and has gained some strength in recent years. Although the issue of Hindu state has been raised from the central committee to the mahasamiti and the general convention, the party has not formally deliberated on it.
This time, following discussions in all seven provinces on "Constitutional Amendment: Today’s Necessity and Challenges," the Professional and Intellectual Department, and the DLA submitted suggestions that have brought the Hindu state debate back to the forefront within NC.
Sangroula has been a supporter of Hindu state from the beginning. Some speculate that since Sangroula—who was appointed department head by Deuba—has included this suggestion in the report after Deuba gave the green signal this time.
Leaders, including Sangroula, who held discussions across all seven provinces to identify potential constitutional amendment agendas, strongly emphasized establishing a Hindu state. Sangroula, the head of the Intellectual Department, read out the report’s key priorities at Sanepa on Wednesday, stating, "The suggestion is that the provision for a Hindu state should be included in the preamble of the Constitution." After reading this section, she urged everyone present to applaud loudly.
The report also includes suggestions such as reducing the number of seats in the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial assemblies, retaining a directly elected system while abolishing proportional representation system, making the National Assembly fully proportional, reducing the number of local levels to strengthen federalism, and not providing services and facilities to elected representatives. However, the suggestion to establish a Hindu state has garnered the most attention, as it is an issue that has repeatedly surfaced and subsided within NC.
Sangroula said, "The Nepali Congress should now form a constitutional amendment commission or task force. We urge the president to move forward by implementing the suggestions we have provided. We are confident that the leadership will take steps to implement these suggestions."
It remains uncertain whether NC will take up the suggestions from the department and DLA for discussion in the central committee or let them fade away. Out of the 72 departments within NC, President Deuba has formed around 57, and these departments are actively providing suggestions based on their respective areas.
Sangroula noted that interactions were held with constitutional experts in all the provinces. Experts such as Bhimarjun Acharya in Koshi, Surya Dhungel in Madhes, Purna Man Shakya in Bagmati, Radheshyam Adhikari in Gandaki, Kashi Raj Dahal in Lumbini and Far West, and Bipin Adhikari in Karnali made presentations on constitutional provisions and related matters. Based on these discussions, leaders, party workers, and citizens provided suggestions on necessary constitutional amendments, which the department and DLA compiled and submitted to President Deuba.
Sangroula explained, "Papers were presented so that each province could contribute its perspectives. In these seminars, the floor spoke, and the dais listened, and we incorporated those suggestions into the report." She emphasized that the suggestions they submitted should be considered the party’s assets and that the issues highlighted in the report should be prioritized during constitutional amendment discussions, drawing President Deuba’s attention to this.
"The suggestions we have provided should form the basis for prioritizing constitutional amendments," Sangroula said.
While President Deuba accepted the report, he did not comment on the suggestion to include a Hindu state in the Constitution’s preamble, only stating, "I believe this will be an important resource for the party, and this report will also assist in constitutional amendments."
Although the Professional and Intellectual Department and DLA submitted the report on Wednesday, party leaders have said they have not yet studied it. When asked whether NC is preparing to include a Hindu state in the Constitution’s preamble, NC Spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat told Setopati, "There are many departments in the party, and I don’t know what report each department submits. I haven’t studied it either. We’ll ask the department. There has been no new debate on religion within the party at this time."
Mahat, who attended one of the department’s seminars, added, "There are various departments in the party. I don’t know on what basis they raised this issue. I attended one program, but no discussion on religion came up there."
While it is unclear whether the party will take ownership of the department’s suggestions, it seems the debate on religion within NC will continue.
General Secretary Gagan Thapa, speaking at an event in Tanahu on Wednesday, stated that all castes, religions, and languages should be treated equally.
"Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural country. We give equal space to all castes, religions, and languages," he said. "In recent times, we have been witnessing religious conversions everywhere in Nepal, and we must stop this."
He also pointed out that there is a large community following Vedic Sanatan Dharma, and they harbor fears that their religion and faith might be harmed. "It is not some self-proclaimed protectors who will protect religion; it is NC that will protect it," Thapa remarked.
A seven-point agreement reached between NC and UML on July 2 last year included a provision to amend the Constitution. However, NC and UML have not yet finalized which specific issues will be addressed in the amendment.
Central Committee member Bal Bahadur KC argues that the consent of the 601 assembly members who drafted the Constitution must be sought before any amendments are made.
"I am one of the 601 who signed and drafted the Constitution. The country has not been run according to that Constitution. Those who shouldn’t have raised their heads have done so and turned NC into a toy," he said. "The issue of constitutional amendment has been raised, but amending it without the consent of those who drafted it is not acceptable. The forces and members who created the Constitution cannot be ignored."
Within NC, there is also an opinion that "religious freedom" should replace "secularism."
Shashanka Koirala, a former general secretary and son of NC foounder BP Koirala, argues that making the country secular was a mistake and that religion should be free.
"Religion is neither secular nor relative; religion is free," Koirala asserts. "One of the four stars in NC’s flag symbolizes religious freedom."
Documents reveal that BP Koirala also believed the state should not have a religion. He supported every citizen’s right to choose their religion. BP used to interpret the ideals of NC’s flag as favoring religious freedom, believing it would not disrespect any religion.
The 1959 Constitution, which NC endorsed, did not state that Nepal "shall be a Hindu state."
In 1960, the then king Mahendra staged a coup and seized power and then issued a new Constitution in 1962. Tulsi Giri argued that with India’s large Hindu population, writing "Hindu state" into Nepal’s Constitution would make it easier to gain Indian support, convincing Mahendra to include it.
BP Koirala called the inclusion of "Hindu state" in the 1962 constitution a "fraud on the constitution," meaning betrayal of its principles.
Last year, from February 19 to 22, during the Mahasamiti meeting held by NC in Godavari, debates on religion took place outside the formal agenda, though NC did not include the topic officially.
At that time, Central Committee member Shankar Bhandari led a signature campaign in favor of Hindu state, with 1,063 Mahasamiti members signing it. Before the Mahasamiti meeting, during the central committee meeting on February 16 and 17, 22 out of 138 central members signed in support of Hindu state.
During that central committee meeting, convened to discuss the Mahasamiti agenda, members including Shankar Bhandari, Devendra Raj Kandel, Prakash Rasaili Snehi, Rangamati Shahi, Bidya Timilsina, Gehendra Giri, Sita Devkota, Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh, Shukra Raj Sharma, Pushpa Bhusal, Sharada Paudel, Nagina Yadav, Nrip Bahadur Bada, Sanjay Gautam, Bhim Parajuli, Dinesh Koirala, Mukta Kumari Yadav, and Dila Sangroula submitted a supplementary proposal demanding discussion on Hindu state.
However, NC officially clarified at the time that it is not an ethnic, regional, religious, or sectarian party. The signatures collected in front of the Mahasamiti meeting venue were submitted by Bhandari to President Deuba.
Earlier, during NC’s 2018 Mahasamiti meeting, a signature campaign demanding Hindu state declaration was launched, with 717 out of 2,300 Mahasamiti members signing it.
The growing support for Hindu state within NC is evident from these signature campaigns.
Nepal’s 2015 Constitution states, "Nepal is an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive, democratic, socialism-oriented, federal democratic republican state."
It also mentions that all religions traditionally practiced in Nepal from the time immemorial will be protected. Thus, secularism does not mean the state rejects Hinduism or any religion; it means the state does not discriminate against any religion.
