Senior leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and member of House of Representatives, Pashupati Shumsher Rana, remains one of Nepal’s most prominent voices advocating for the restoration of a ceremonial monarchy. In conversation with Kamal Dev Bhattarai & Pratik Ghimire, he reflects on the current state and future of the royalist movement, the challenges within his party, and the broader political landscape. From his critique of the government’s governance and integrity to his insights on foreign policy, Nepal’s geopolitical balancing act, and relations with global powers, Rana offers his kind of perspective. Rana says it has always been his desire that this country should prosper, that its people should be able to get what they’ve always deserved. “And for that, my life, my abilities, my everything is committed to that,” he says whatever he can do for the people and the country, this is what he’ll always do. Excerpts:
Why has the royalist movement become weak?
I think the movement to restore an ornamental monarchy is something that is a part of not only our party’s expression but for a wide sector of the public. To maintain any movement of this kind, you need persistence. You need effort of every kind. You need finance. You need a wide spectrum of people coming in and sustaining a movement of this kind. And I think we’re all working towards that. On the first day of the movement, we had nearly 200,000 people out in the streets. But sustaining such a movement is extremely difficult. We’re working on ways and means on how to get it going again and our beliefs continue. We believe that if there is an ornamental monarchy on the model of the British one, not powerful, not capable, but giving dignity and glamour to the country, that would be something that’s worth doing.
Some people with extremist views were also in the royalist movement. Do you think their involvement affected the movement?
That part of the story, I mean what they do is up to them. We believe that there should be a peaceful movement, that it should be successful on the means of in the modes of democratic dignity. You cannot have a wild movement. You cannot have one that has no limits, that carries destruction in its weight and all that. We have beliefs and we hope and we’re working hard towards creating and sustaining such a movement.
Where do you see the future of the royalist movement?
This doesn’t succeed at one go. You have to keep on trying. And gathering such a group of such large numbers and people and keeping them in Kathmandu is a very difficult task. But the party is working on it. We are trying to build as much support as we can and I think we will achieve it one day.
We saw many youths at the royalist movement but those who are leading the group are of the older generation. Do you think integrating youths in the leadership may help in sustaining the movement?
The central committee of our party has, in the last three, four months, appointed nearly 20 people below 40 and we are trying to address the concerns of the youth in every way possible. We believe that the future belongs to young people. So we will move forward to gathering as much of the youth as we can.
We see many conflicts inside RPP. What’s your take on this?
In a party which is alive, you will find some degree of dissension. If you look at the CPN-UML, an extraordinary situation, the former president, the person who was president twice, has come back and is trying to create dissension there. And in Nepali Congress, there has always been dissension. And there’s dissension within the CPN (Maoist Center) too. In a party which is vibrant, you will have differences. And the ability to tolerate and manage dissent is something that the leadership must exercise.
Many parties have already started to aim for the upcoming general election. How is your party preparing?
We’re working hard towards it and I think first of all we have to manage our general conference which is within six months and after that we’ll do full out. You know the preparation of the general conference also, you have to have membership up to the ward level and it automatically creates the situation. But by the time of the election, there must be totally new momentum. We cannot remain at the size that we are. We have to increase it in every possible way.
Are you going to fight for party president in the general conference?
No, I’m not.
Are there any chances or talks going on to unite the like-minded parties like yours?
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party is trying to carry with it all forces that support our ideals. To what extent will succeed in uniting which particular groups remains to be seen.
How do you evaluate the performance of the current government?
In short, it’s not up to the mark. You know if you look at the present government or any similar government run by the large parties, the trouble is they don’t have the required efficiency and of all the value of honesty. If within your objectives, you say you do this for the people, you do that for the people, you would achieve these great development goals, but at the core the large parties are more interested in collecting money than anything else. And this country, which has extraordinary possibilities, it is after all in hydropower alone we have magnificent possibilities. In irrigation we have enormous possibilities. Tourism, I think this is the most beautiful country in the world.
We haven’t been able to advertise it adequately. That’s the only reason it doesn’t grow. And as far as cash crops, Nepal has abundant possibilities.
So it’s a question of exercising the art of government with skill and with honesty so that your objectives towards the people and the country can be realized in reality. But at this stage, I’m disappointed to say that the larger parties are not coming up to those standards and the country is not going where it should.
You have been a long time student of diplomacy and foreign policy. You have also led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past. How do you see the challenges of Nepal’s foreign policy right now?
I think the main challenge for Nepal is that our geography doesn’t change. Whether you talk about the period of Prithivi Narayan Shah or at the time of Jung Badur Rana or during democratic period or in republican days, the basic and fundamental fact is that we are a country with a vast. The second largest power in the world, like China on one side, and India growing at a fantastic rate on the other. And the balancing of the two. So that Nepal’s sovereignty can keep on existing and become strong, as well as developing the country, means you have to balance between the two. And then, on a broader front, there is of course America, the most powerful country in the world. So, if you do not know how to manage the policies vis-à-vis these great powers, then the possibilities that are within Nepal cannot grow.
In this Donald Trump’s tariff era, how do you see the future of Nepal-US bilateral relationship?
Well, whether you like Trump or not, he’s the President of the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world. So you have to deal with that reality and the nature of the person that he is. The fundamental national interests of America do not change whoever runs it. And to be able to balance those national interests along with our national interest is a challenge that we have to perform.
Prime Minister KP Oli’s long-awaited visit to India now seems likely. Experts say Nepal–India relations have been strained. How do you view the current state of Nepal–India relations?
There do seem to be difficulties, but the Prime Minister has been invited to India. And how he deals and how his government deals is up to them. But the classic fact that Nepal has to deal with is we are between these two great countries and they obviously have their own interests. Nobody’s going to love us because we’re a beautiful country or something like that. Every country carries its policies according to its interest and we must manage our interests vis-à-vis India, vis-a-vis China, vis-a-vis the United States of America with the skill that our forefathers maintained when they contained this country.
Even at that time, when the British Empire was an empire on which the sun never set, even at that point, Nepal succeeded in maintaining its independence, its cultural integrity. You know, those are the skills. Whether you talk about Prithivi Narayan Shah, whether you talk about Jung Bahadur Rana, whether you can talk about BP Koirala, those are the skills that are required.
