Kathmandu: An already precipitous state of the nation has been brought closer to the brink by a heart-rending incident in the Royal Palace the suddenness of which has caught the Nepali people utterly unaware. King Birendra is no more and so are the immediate members of his family. Events that led to this disaster have yet to be readily forthcoming to the public from a Royal Palace which must perhaps confront the developments with more care than a grieving public who demand immediate solace to their thirst for information.

Although none less than Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel has been quoted by foreign agencies who have largely been instrumental in disseminating the news of the disaster and although these grievous information have also evidently been resourced by unnamed senior Palace and military officials in the reports, statement issued by the political parties and their leadership continue to demand the details. Of course, Prime Minister Girija’s personal message has assured the details will be forthcoming.

For the moment though, the newly declared Prince Regent, at time of penning this analysis, has in his first proclamation admitted that the sudden burst of an automatic weapon at a family dinner in the Royal Palace has led to this grievous event. As a result King Birendra who nurtured a Monarchy to the peak of popularity demonstrated by the spontaneous outpouring of public grief at his sudden demise is no more.

The period is now of desperation and a search for a Nepali people who had increasingly come to rely on his sagacious steering of a ship of the state that has over the decade increasingly meandered in serach of a stable democracy.

The late King Birendra from his very enthronement as a monarch was a known democrat committed to the people’s participation and upliftment and his transparent commitment to this process remained firm even after the resurgence of highly charged partisanship in the political process of late. This obvious monarchical preference has hit the vibes of a people who were increasingly turning to King Birendra for solace in this period of increasing uncertainty. It is not for nothing that a sense of desperation and helplessness prevails in the shocking absence of his benevolent presence.

Indeed, the now widely recognized experience in national and international affairs that is very willingly credited to the late King Birendra is merely one manifestation of the reasons behind the public grief. Among others will be the fact that even at times antagonistic politicians admitted publicly that it was King Birendra alone who has subscribed to the letter and spirit of the constitution of the day. At this precarious moment a grieving public are acutely aware of the vacuum that the tragedy has dumped on the Nepalese public. It is at such times that fortitude and forbearance are required from the grieving nation.