In recent months, Nepal has experienced a series of episodes that hint at organized efforts to increase the salience of religion in the country’s officially secular politics. During his visit, Shastri reportedly challenged Nepal’s secular status. This emergence of Hindu nationalism coupled with attacks on Nepal’s secularist credentials as enshrined in the country’s Constitution should not be seen as discrete incidents. Rather, they must be analyzed in the context of Nepal’s domestic politics, while taking into account the export of Hindu-nationalist politics from India. The stakes are urgent, as the health of Nepal’s young democracy would suffer should Hindu nationalism make significant inroads there.
