Nepal's Democratic Struggle: Civil Society's Role in the People's Movement • PolSci Institute

When a prime minister tries to shut down the elected legislature, who stops them? In Nepal, the answer came not only from courts and rival politicians, but from ordinary citizens who took to the streets. In late 2020, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House of Representatives in a move that critics across the political spectrum branded a constitutional violation. What followed was a textbook example of civil society stepping in to defend democratic institutions. This case offers one of the clearest recent illustrations of how non-state actors-students, writers, lawyers, and rights activists-can act as a check on state power when formal institutions are under threat.

What civil society means and why it matters
A deep-rooted tradition in Nepal
The 2020 crisis: how it began
Protests on the streets
Civil society takes the lead
The role of writers and intellectuals
Students and youth at the forefront
Human rights activists and professionals
The state’s response and the question of restraint
The courts deliver: civil society’s pressure pays off
What this case teaches about civil society and democracy

What civil society means and why it matters

Civil society refers to the space between the individual, the market, and the state. It includes the associations, movements, and organisations that citizens form voluntarily-NGOs, professional bodies, student unions, advocacy groups, and informal citizens’ collectives. These groups are not part of the government, nor are they driven purely by profit. Their value lies in giving citizens an organised voice independent of political parties and the state machinery.

In democratic theory, civil society performs a watchdog function. It monitors those in power, raises the alarm when rights are threatened, and mobilises public opinion. When a government oversteps its constitutional limits, civil society often becomes the first line of resistance. The Nepal episode of 2020-2021 demonstrates this role with unusual clarity, because the threat was not an external invasion or a military coup but an action taken by an elected leader against an elected institution.

A deep-rooted tradition in Nepal

Civil society did not suddenly appear in Nepal in 2020. The country has a long history of citizen-led mobilisation against authoritarian rule. The 1990 People’s Movement (Jana Andolan I) brought together students, intellectuals, workers, and political activists to overthrow the partyless Panchayat system and restore multiparty democracy. Then came the 2006 People’s Movement (Jana Andolan II), a 19-day uprising that ended King Gyanendra’s direct rule and paved the way for Nepal to become a federal democratic republic. In both movements, youth and civil society organisations were at the forefront, organising mass protests, strikes, and rallies that sustained the momentum for change.

This history matters because it created a settled expectation in Nepal: when democracy is in danger, citizens organise and respond. The 2020 protests drew directly on this tradition. They were, in effect, the latest chapter in a decades-long story of people’s movements defending democratic gains.

The 2020 crisis: how it began

On 20 December 2020, President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the 275-member House of Representatives on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, and announced fresh elections for April and May 2021. Oli’s stated reason was that infighting within his own Nepal Communist Party had paralysed governance and forced him to seek a fresh popular mandate. The real trigger, however, was a bitter power struggle between Oli and his party co-chair, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

The move was immediately condemned as unconstitutional. Critics pointed out that Nepal’s 2015 Constitution does not give a prime minister who commands a majority the power to simply dissolve the House to escape internal party trouble. Within days, opposition figures, members of Oli’s own party, and a section of civil society began approaching the courts. Several petitions were filed with the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution.

Protests on the streets

The opposition to the dissolution quickly spilled into the streets. Three former prime ministers joined hundreds of activists who sat near Oli’s office demanding that he reverse the decision. By late January 2021, the scale had grown dramatically. A senior police official estimated that around 25,000 people had gathered to protest near Oli’s office, with more marches planned across the country. All of this unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made the willingness to assemble in such numbers even more striking.

Civil society takes the lead

What made the 2020-2021 episode distinctive was not just the involvement of rival political factions, but the emergence of an independent, citizen-led movement. In January 2021, a group of Nepali citizens formed the Brihat Nagarik Andolan (BNA), which translates as the Greater Citizens’ Movement. This was a civil society alliance representing people from diverse walks of life, not a party front.

According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the BNA followed in the footsteps of the 1990 and 2006 movements but aimed at more than resolving the immediate crisis. It demanded greater accountability from the political class, called for structural changes to address historical inequities, and pushed for more inclusive and transparent governing institutions. The movement explicitly framed the dissolution as an attack on the constitution itself. The BNA described the dissolution as a coup aimed at demolishing the constitution and democracy, and called on democratic parties, rights activists, professionals, and aware citizens to unite.

The role of writers and intellectuals

Writers and intellectuals gave the movement its moral and intellectual backbone. Prominent literary and academic figures personally led demonstrations on the streets. A January 2021 protest in Kathmandu was led by writers such as Narayan Wagle and Khagendra Sangraula, professor Sanjeev Upreti, and others, alongside human rights activists and a well-known surgeon. These were not professional politicians but public figures using their credibility and platforms to articulate why the dissolution mattered. Through essays, articles, and speeches, they helped frame the public understanding of the crisis as a constitutional question, not merely a squabble between leaders.

Students and youth at the forefront

Students have historically been central to Nepali political movements, and 2020 was no exception. Just as student protests in 1979 and the youth mobilisation of 1990 and 2006 had powered earlier democratic transitions, student groups again joined the demonstrations against the dissolution. Their participation mattered because young people bring energy, numbers, and staying power to protest movements-qualities essential for sustaining pressure over weeks and months.

Human rights activists and professionals

Human rights activists, lawyers, and professional groups formed another crucial layer. Legal professionals were essential because the battle was ultimately a constitutional one. Lawyers, including a former attorney general, filed and argued the petitions challenging the dissolution. Rights activists organised public forums, engaged with the media, and connected with international organisations to keep attention on the crisis. This combination of street mobilisation and legal action created pressure on two fronts at once.

The state’s response and the question of restraint

The Oli government did not simply tolerate the protests. On at least one occasion, when demonstrators approached the prime minister’s official residence, police used batons and water cannons to disperse them. The BNA described this as evidence of a suppressive mindset. Yet despite such incidents, the movement largely retained its peaceful and disciplined character. This restraint was itself a strength: by keeping the protests non-violent and focused on the constitutional issue, civil society denied the government any easy justification for a harsher crackdown and kept public sympathy on its side.

The courts deliver: civil society’s pressure pays off

The combined pressure of street protests, political opposition, and legal challenges converged on the Supreme Court. In February 2021, the Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana ruled the dissolution unconstitutional and ordered the House reinstated. The verdict observed that the framers of the constitution had never imagined that a leader of a party holding a majority could dissolve the House. Various parties and civil society members welcomed the decision as bringing politics back within the constitutional framework.

The story did not end there. In May 2021, Oli engineered a second dissolution after losing a confidence vote. Once again, civil society and the opposition turned to the courts. In July 2021, the Supreme Court reinstated the House a second time and ordered the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister. A legal analysis published by JURIST described the judgment as a landmark step toward protecting the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law.

What this case teaches about civil society and democracy

The Nepal episode illustrates several enduring lessons about the relationship between civil society and democratic institutions. First, civil society acts as a guardian of constitutional limits. When an elected leader tries to bypass the rules, organised citizens can refuse to let the violation pass quietly. Their visible opposition raises the political cost of undemocratic actions.

Second, civil society complements, rather than replaces, formal institutions. The protests did not overturn the dissolution by themselves-the Supreme Court did that. But the sustained public mobilisation created an environment in which the judiciary’s independent decision was widely supported and difficult to ignore. Courts do not operate in a vacuum; an engaged citizenry strengthens their hand.

Third, diversity within civil society is a source of strength. Students brought numbers, writers brought legitimacy and narrative, lawyers brought constitutional expertise, and rights activists brought organisation and international linkages. No single group could have achieved as much alone. The breadth of participation reflected the genuine, society-wide stake in protecting democratic gains.

Finally, the case reminds us that democratic backsliding is not always dramatic. It can come dressed in legal language, justified as a response to a crisis, and carried out by elected officials. This is precisely why an alert civil society matters. The threats to democracy are often subtle, and recognising them requires informed, engaged citizens willing to act.

What do you think? If civil society had not mobilised so strongly, do you think Nepal’s courts would still have ruled the dissolution unconstitutional-or does sustained public pressure shape how institutions behave? And in your own context, what role should ordinary citizens play when an elected government appears to overstep its constitutional limits?

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Table of Contents

What civil society means and why it matters 🔗

A deep-rooted tradition in Nepal 🔗

The 2020 crisis: how it began 🔗

Protests on the streets 🔗

Civil society takes the lead 🔗

The role of writers and intellectuals 🔗

Students and youth at the forefront 🔗

Human rights activists and professionals 🔗

The state’s response and the question of restraint 🔗

The courts deliver: civil society’s pressure pays off 🔗

What this case teaches about civil society and democracy 🔗