Nepal is a secular state under the Constitution of Nepal 2015, where “secular” means religious, cultural freedoms, including protection of religion and culture handed down from time immemorial.
Generally, Nepali government did not interfere with the practice of other religious groups but it was India with Hindu nationalism who kept eye on Nepal, under which religious tolerance was broadly observed which further posed restrictions on religion other than Hinduism.
Adherents of the country’s many religious groups generally coexisted peacefully before the involvement of India and imposing its Hindutva ideology. The ideology of Hindutva has been present in the project of state formation in Nepal since the very beginning.
The first monarch of this small Himalayan nation, Prithivi Narayan Shah (PNS), repeatedly mentioned in his writings how he wanted to establish Nepal as the “asal Hindustan” (the true land of the Hindus).
His campaign of unification was also an attempt to establish a Hindu bulwark against Muslim hegemony in Mughal India and the rising Christian presence from the British.
By propagating Islam phobia and false accusations of Christian proselytization, Hindutva deems the native followers of these minority religions as outsiders in their own homeland.
The harms of Hindutva have not been limited to the non-Hindu population of Nepal. One of the most notorious ways in which it subjugates Hindu populations is via the caste system. The Hindu caste system has been used as a central tool of division and oppression in many Hindu kingdoms in South Asia for the last 3500 years. The most detrimental effects of the caste system have been experienced by Dalits—communities denigrated to the bottom of the caste hierarchy. The ancient Hindu tradition of caste-based marginalization has continued under the direct supervision of every ruler since the founding of Nepal.
The concept of “akhand bharat” has also hit the Nepal with such strong stroke that according to the constitution of 2015, Nepal was declared as secular state but now with the passage of time the Hindu nationalism elements have been found immensely threatening the other religions and minorities to restore Nepal as “asal Hindustan” according to the constitution of 1990.
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