Despite being home to the birthplace of Buddha, until 2008 Nepal was the world's only Hindu kingdom, with the vast majority of the population practicing that religion. At that time, the interim government declared the country a secular state, along with abolishing the monarchy. Hinduism is the most popular religion in Nepal, with over 80% of Nepalis reported as Hindus. While the populations of other religions are quite small, there are a number of other religions with practitioners in the country.
As a states party to the ICCPR, Nepal is legally obligated to ensure freedom of religion to all of its citizens. During the Maoist People's War, this was in fact one of the points they strongly advocated. One of the first motions of the Constituent Assembly (the body elected to draft Nepal's new constitution) in 2008 was to end the monarchy as well as declare the country a secular state, with religious freedom to all. However, recently tensions have grown in the country due to the CA's inability to draft the new constitution, scheduled to have been completed May 28, 2010. The deadline has been extended one year, but few believe the constitution will be completed within that time period. Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal, writing in Republica, is quite cynical of the extension, saying that "The extension also extends flow of pay and perks" for the CA members. His implication is that even with the extension, the constitution will not be finished (at least not by those in the CA currently).
The two main points of reference are the Constitution of 1990, and the Interim Constitution of 2007. The Constitution of 1990 marked the end of the Panchayat (monarchical one-party) era and the beginning of multiparty democracy in the country. That constitution, the first democratic constitution in the nation's history, provided provisions protecting freedom of religion, even while maintaining its status as a Hindu kingdom. Part 1, Section 4 states that "Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, democratic, independent, indivisible, sovereign, Hindu and Constitutional Monarchical Kingdom." However, it follows that all Nepali people irrespective of many different factors including religion collectively constitute the nation. Part 3, Section 11 provides a specific article on freedom of religion:
No discrimination shall be made against any citizen in the application of general laws on grounds of religion (dharma), race (varya), sex (li_ga), caste (jât), tribe (jâti) or ideological conviction (vaicârik) or any of these.Despite maintaining a 'protected' religion for the state, it does nothing to discriminate against those of other religions. However, the Interim Constitution of 2007 takes a step back. Part 1, Section 2 and Part 3, Section 11 mirror statements in the Constitution of 1990 on freedom of religion. Apart from this, there is another section that does bring up some conflict. Section 23 is 'Right to Religion' and sets down a number of guidelines on that right.
(1) Every person shall have the right to profess, practise and preserve his/her own religion as handed down to him/her from ancient times having due regards to the social and cultural traditional practices.In terms of restrictions, the middle sentence of the section provides a bit of a contrast. Essentially, this section bans active proselytizing. According to Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, this section is in fact a violation of freedom of religion. Jahangir has stated that religious freedom '"includes carrying out actions to persuade others to believe in a certain religion,"' and that banning these practices "only serves to fuel prejudice and intolerance against religious minority groups." However, those who are the targets of proselytizing may argue that the act jeopardizes their own religion, which would therefore be a violation of the constitution as well as international human rights treaties. It would seem to be at an impasse.
Provided that no person shall be entitled to convert another person from one religion to another, and shall not act or behave in a manner which may jeopardize the religion of others.
(2) Every religious denomination shall have the right to maintain its independent existence, and for this purpose to manage and protect its religious places and religious trusts, in accordance with law.
Attack on Christians
While Nepal has throughout its history been generally tolerant of religious diversity, in recent years there have been a spate of attacks on people and institutions that are not Hindu. A dissatisfaction with the actions (or in their views, inaction) of the Constituent Assembly has led to the creation of many pro-Hindu groups, which wish to reestablish Hinduism as the state religion. In promoting their cause, some of these groups have turned to violence towards the various religious minorities in the country.
Nepal Defense Fund/Nepal Defence Army appears as the largest, or at least most prominent, of these groups. In one prominent attack on May 23, 2009, the group bombed a Catholic church in Kathmandu which killed 3 and injured 15. Soon after, NDF issued a letter stating that if Christians did not leave within 30 days, the group would start bombing Christian homes. Even before the actions of 2009, in 2008 the group sent more death threats and mutilated and murdered a Catholic priest in their quest to return Nepal to a Hindu state.
The head of the organization actively sought out media sources in Nepal, speaking to Nepali-language weekly Ghanata Ra Bichar about NDA and its aims. Parivartan, a former police officer and head of the NDA, spoke about similarities to his group and al-Qaeda, stating that they have trained five suicide bombers if the time came that they need to use them. NDA, from Parivartan's interview, is not political or linked to the former king, Gyanendra Shah, but has stated that the Maoists are their main enemy.
The next prominent anti-Christian actions came in June 2010, when Sher Bahadur Pun, a 68-year-old veteran of the Indian Army was attacked along with his son while praying in a church in western Nepal. According to Voice of the Martyrs-Nepal, the elder Pun suffered two broken ribs in the attack and both were "compelled to leave the village." The church was closed in the attack and has not reopened.
Soon before the CA deadline came, a popular holy man in Nepal, Kali Baba, threatened self-immolation unless Nepal was turned back into a Hindu state. He submitted to an interview with Telegraph Nepal, discussing his reasons for reverting to a Hindu state as well as his dislike of the Maoist leaders. In his explanation of why the country should revert, he stated, "More than 85 to 90 per cent of population is Hindus. How can these leaders forcefully impose such an unjust declaration in the Nepali population?" He continued, stating that the nation was peaceful while the nation was not secular, and fell into anarchy after secularism was announced; therefore, peace will come automatically once Hinduism is reinstated as the state religion.
In response to the increased violence as well as the upcoming deadline for the CA, an interfaith group created an 11-day conference in Kathmandu in March 2010 on preventing conflicts based on religion and ethnicity. The meeting, Bishwa Shanti Mahankal Chakra Prabchan (Great Era Cyclic Talks for World Peace), was attended by Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and Jain representatives. In the past, there has been little history of religious conflict in the country, with Bibek Bhandari stating in Republica, "...people are accepting other forms of faith..."
These conflicts over religion drive, as David Griffiths of the Guardian says, at the very core of Nepal's identity. Griffiths states in his article 'Religious freedom in Nepal,' "...what is abundantly clear is that the debate centring on religious hegemony and pluralism is not a mere tussle over a constitutional detail, but a disagreement about the very identity of Nepal." Nepal has in such a short time transitioned from a constitutional monarchy (although for most of the time only constitutional in name) to a republic still trying to figure out its place in the world, and for its people.
Media Representation
The issue of religion has come up many times in Nepali media, although not as much in the West. Most Western news sources regarding the religious clashes in Nepal seem confined to religious media sources, who obviously have a vested interest in reporting the story. However, some sources like the Guardian have reported on the issues.
Nepali media reports on it much more frequently, especially when the attacks on Christians are instigated by Maoists. A recent article in Republica, one of the most widely-distributed English-language dailies in Nepal, featured a number of converts from Hinduism to Islam and Christianity, as well as a Western convert to Hinduism. Throughout the article, the author tried to emphasize religious harmony and understanding, possibly in an attempt to reach out to readers and facilitate a more open understanding of other religions.
Like English-language print media, English-language video materials on the subject are also hard to come by. However, for Nepalis, there is a fair amount of visual resources on the subject. The following video, in Nepali, is from July 6, 2009. In the video G.P. Koirala, then-Prime Minister of Nepal, addresses the government, saying that Nepal must be free of religious conflicts.
Another video, available on the Voice of the Martyrs Facebook page, outlines the situation for a (limited) Western audience.
