What The People Feel

This paper attempts to examine how far the king's assertions are in conformity with what the people of Nepal actually feel. It uses available evidence to analyze how the Nepali citizen may react to the idea of executive monarchy and what they think is the way out for some of the most difficult issues facing the country today. Since the current circumstances of emergency and press censorship do not permit any accurate assessment of public opinion, this paper uses the findings of a recent social scientific survey of democratic opinions and attitudes of a representative sample of Nepali citizens to answer these questions. Carried out across the country some six months before the royal action, this survey is one of the few sources of reliable information about the opinions and attitudes of a cross-section of Nepali citizens.