KATHMANDU: Thousands of men, women and children of Buddhist faith staged a silent demonstration here Friday protesting what they called, “the hegemony of one religion,” in Nepal.
A number of Buddhist monks, joined in sit in demonstration in front of the Chinese built city hall.
A large number of banners and posters was displayed in front of the office demanding “we do not accept one religion hegemony and chauvinism” and “secularism is the heart of democracy.”
Thirteen political, social and religious bodies demanded, that since Nepal was a multi religious nation, the country should be declared a secular state by scrapping the phrase “Hindu kingdom” from the future constitution.
In a joint statement the parties maintained that it would not be appropriate to declare Nepali or any other language as the national language as Nepal was also a multilingual nation.
The new constitution should give recognition to all the dialects in the country and only then will it be possible to maintain the national unity and the territorial integrity of Nepal, it said.
The signatories to the joint statement included among others Rashtriya Janamukti Morcha (People’s National Liberation Front) Kashmir (Takiya) Masjid, Akhil Nepal Rastriya Mahila Manch, (all Nepal National Women’s Forum), Sarba Jatiya Adhikar Manch, (All caste rights forum).
Article extracted from this publication >> June 29, 1990
