Hindu activists close down Birgunj

May 24, 2006
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The southern industrial town of Birgunj remained closed on Wednesday in protest of the proclamation of the reinstated House of Representatives to turn Nepal into a secular state by deleting references to the country as a Hindu kingdom.

Thousands of Hindu activists marched in the streets of Birgunj today denouncing the HoR proclamation and demanding that Nepal be declared a Hindu nation once again.

Until last Thursday, Nepal used to be the only Hindu kingdom in the world. Along with clipping powers of the king and bringing the army under the purview of the parliament, the seven party alliance declared Nepal as a secular state.

Jurists and lawyers have already raised questions regarding the legal and constitutional status of the proclamation.

Ethnic communities and Buddhist and Christian population in the country have welcomed the HoR proclamation saying that it will end what they call all sorts of discrimination in the name of religion.

Over 80 percent of the country’s 27 million population is Hindu, according to the central bureau of statistics.