By Abmareen Afshain

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. The Constitution provides for freedom to practice one’s religion. The Constitution also specifically denies the right to convert another person or forcefully pushing someone into a particular religion. Since Nepal was described the country as a “Hindu Kingdom” by using conspirational moves in the constitution of 1990, which effected until 15 January 2007. The Government generally 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. Nepal was viewed as a religiously harmonious place for its state of development. As Nepal’s new constitution adopted on 2015 doesn’t give anyone the right to convert anyone person to another religion furthermore Nepal also passed more stringent anti-conversion law on 2017.
So the ripping seeds of hindutva showed that the country has an area of 147,516 square kilometers (56,956 sq mi) and a population of 28 million which reflected that Hinduism is reported to be the religion of 81.34% of the population followed by Buddhism (9.04%), Islam(4.38%), Kirant (an indigenous animist religion)(3.04%), and Christianity (1.41%). Moreover there are adherents to many other religious groups as well, whose proportion is small. Twenty thousand Tibetan Buddhist refugees reside in the country.
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), was believed to have unified all the smaller kingdoms that existed prior to the 18th century as a strategic ploy to counter the increasing power of the British in colonial India. Many are not aware how central Hindutva was to this project. 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.The presence of Hindutva can be observed in the monarchy more recently as well. Towards the end of the 20th century, the monarchs actively used Hindutva to retain popular legitimacy and power over increasing calls to democratize. Undercounting other religions and their merits is not unusual for Hindutva. One of the major criticisms of Hindutva is how it denigrates the contribution of other religions that also originate in South Asia, like Buddhism, Jainism, and Kirant. It also externalizes Islam and Christianity as invader religions. 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. Nepal has been no exception. 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. Dalits have been denied both the necessary land to survive and their deserved social respect in Nepali society since its inception. This continues to this day as Dalit teenagers are lynched for falling in love with those from the upper-caste, and Dalit individuals are denied access to public spaces and commercial holdings because of their identity. One of the good example of this caste system is discriminatory behavior with Rupa Sunar who made headlines in Nepal when she was denied a rental room in the capital city of Kathmandu because of her caste.
For RPP-Nepal, the issue goes to the heart of its political philosophy. Oli used Hindu nationalism instrumentally, though he does not have much affinity for a “secular” state. He used the religious-nationalist card to burnish his credentials when his back was against the wall due to deep divisions within his party, the Nepal Communist Party.Many people have been disappointed by the performance and conduct of the mainstream political parties over the last decade-and-a-half and harken back to the previous monarchical era. Hindu nationalism has also surged as a counter to the rise in ethnic and linguistic nationalism as well as in response to the increased presence of Christian missionaries in the Nepali hinterlands.
The hindutva ideology of BJP which is the mainstream used by Prime minister Modi in his government which is the concept of “akhand bharat” that reflected to make whole region as Hindustan. This Hindu nationalism 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.