This MCQ module is based on: Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives Politics
TOPIC 8 OF 21
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives Politics
🎓 Class 12
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Chapter 3 — Contemporary South Asia
⏱ ~25 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan — Politics
Around the political giants of South Asia stand five smaller but equally fascinating states. Nepal travelled from a Hindu monarchy to a federal democratic republic in barely two decades. Sri Lanka, an unbroken democracy since 1948, fought a thirty-year ethnic civil war that ended only in 2009. Bhutan re-invented itself as a constitutional monarchy in 2008 and gave the world the idea of "Gross National Happiness". The Maldives moved from sultanate to multi-party republic in 2008, and faces an existential threat from rising seas. Afghanistan, finally, has lurched between Taliban rule (1996), American presence (2001) and a Taliban return (2021). This Part follows each of these journeys, drawing out the lesson NCERT wants the student to absorb — that despite very different starting points, every country in this region is engaged with the question of democracy.
3.5 Monarchy and Democracy in Nepal
Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in the past and then a constitutional monarchy in the modern period for many years. Throughout this period, political parties and the common people of Nepal had wanted a more open and responsive system of government. But the king, with the help of the army, retained full control over the government and restricted the expansion of democracy.
3.5.1 The 1990 Constitution and Maoist Insurgency
In 1990, in the wake of a strong pro-democracy movement, the king accepted the demand for a new democratic constitution. However, democratic governments had a short and troubled career. During the nineties, the Maoists? of Nepal succeeded in spreading their influence across many parts of the country. They believed in armed insurrection against the monarch and the ruling elite. This led to a violent conflict between the Maoist guerrillas and the armed forces of the king. For some time there was a triangular conflict among the monarchist forces, the democrats and the Maoists.
3.5.2 The 2002 Royal Coup and 2006 People's Movement
In 2002, King Gyanendra abolished the parliament and dismissed the government, thus ending even the limited democracy that existed in Nepal. In April 2006, however, there were massive country-wide pro-democracy protests. The struggling pro-democracy forces achieved their first major victory when the king was forced to restore the House of Representatives that had been dissolved earlier. The largely non-violent movement was led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the Maoists and social activists. The king was reduced to a ceremonial figure.
3.5.3 Republic and the 2015 Constitution
Nepal underwent a unique moment in its history because it formed a constituent assembly to draft the constitution for Nepal. Some sections in Nepal thought that a nominal monarchy was necessary for Nepal to retain its link with the past. The Maoist groups agreed to suspend armed struggle. They wanted the constitution to include radical programmes of social and economic restructuring. All the parties in the SPA did not agree with this programme. The Maoists and some other political groups were also deeply suspicious of the Indian government and its role in the future of Nepal. In 2008, Nepal became a democratic republic after abolishing the monarchy. In 2015, it adopted a new constitution that established a federal democratic republican framework.
Nepal — From Hindu Kingdom to Federal Republic (1990 – 2015)
💡 The Photographs of Durga Thapa
Two well-known photographs by Min Bajracharya show the Nepali democracy activist Durga Thapa participating in the pro-democracy rally in Kathmandu in 1990, and then the same person in 2006 celebrating the success of the second democracy movement. The images stand for the long generational struggle that ordinary Nepali citizens fought for democracy.
3.6 Ethnic Conflict and Democracy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, gained independence from the British in 1948 and has retained democracy ever since. But it faced a serious challenge — not from the military or monarchy, but from ethnic conflict that produced a demand for secession by one of its regions.
3.6.1 Sinhala Majoritarianism and Tamil Grievance
After independence, politics in Sri Lanka was dominated by forces that represented the interests of the majority Sinhala community. They were hostile to a large number of Tamils who had migrated from India to Sri Lanka and settled there over the colonial period and after. Sinhala nationalists thought that Sri Lanka should not give "concessions" to the Tamils, because Sri Lanka belonged to the Sinhala people only. The neglect of Tamil concerns produced a militant Tamil nationalism.
3.6.2 The LTTE and the Civil War (1983–2009)
From 1983 onwards, the militant organisation the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)? waged an armed struggle against the army of Sri Lanka in pursuit of its demand for a separate "Tamil Eelam" — a homeland for the Tamils of Sri Lanka. At one stage, the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka was effectively controlled by the LTTE.
The Sri Lankan crisis continued to be violent for over two decades. International actors, particularly the Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Iceland, tried to bring the warring groups back to negotiations. Finally, the armed conflict came to an end as the LTTE was vanquished in 2009. In spite of the conflict, Sri Lanka registered considerable economic growth and recorded high levels of human development. It was one of the first developing countries to successfully control population growth, the first country in the region to liberalise its economy, and it had the highest per capita GDP in the region for many years right through the civil war. Despite the ravages of internal conflict, it has maintained a democratic political system throughout.
Sri Lankan Civil War — Key Dates
⚠ The Lion and the Tiger
Cartoonist Keshav of The Hindu depicted the dilemma of the Sri Lankan leadership as trying to balance the Lion (Sinhala hardliners) and the Tiger (Tamil militants) while negotiating peace. The cartoon captures the structural problem behind every Sri Lankan peace effort — concessions to one side were read as betrayal by the other.
SOURCE WORK — Reading "Liberty Leading the People"
Bloom: L3 Apply
The opening picture of this NCERT chapter is artist Subhas Rai's adaptation of Eugene Delacroix's 1830 painting "Liberty Leading the People", reproduced from Himal Southasian (January 2007). Delacroix's original celebrated the French revolution; Subhas Rai's version reimagines the same scene for South Asia.
- Why might a magazine of South Asia choose to adapt a French Revolutionary painting? What political message is it sending?
- Which two recent democratic struggles in South Asia (Nepal 2006, Bangladesh 1990) does the painting most strongly evoke?
- Compare this image with a more conventional national-flag-and-leader poster. What does each form of visual rhetoric emphasise?
✅ Pointers
(1) Adapting a Revolutionary painting links South Asia's democratic struggles to a universal vocabulary of popular sovereignty — it claims that what France did in 1830 the people of South Asia have been doing in their own way. (2) The image especially evokes the Nepali People's Movement of April 2006 and the Bangladesh student-led overthrow of Ershad in 1990 — both grassroots, multi-class, multi-party movements rather than elite transitions. (3) A national-flag poster centres the state and a single hero, while the Liberty image centres the people; the first is consolidating, the second is mobilising.
3.7 Bhutan — A Constitutional Monarchy
Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom, was for centuries an absolute monarchy ruled by the Druk Gyalpo? ("Dragon King"). The chapter notes that Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008. Under the leadership of the king himself, Bhutan emerged as a multi-party democracy. The transition was deliberately gradual: the king introduced reforms in stages, persuaded a sceptical population to accept multi-party elections, and then voluntarily surrendered absolute powers to the people's elected representatives. It is one of the few examples in modern history of a monarch opening a country to democracy from above.
3.7.1 Gross National Happiness
Bhutan is internationally famous for the philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH)?, an idea introduced by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in the 1970s. GNH proposes that a country should be measured not only by its Gross Domestic Product but by the well-being of its citizens — economic, cultural, environmental and spiritual. Bhutan's policies on environmental protection, cultural conservation and good governance are guided by GNH.
3.7.2 India and Bhutan
India enjoys a very special relationship with Bhutan and does not have any major conflict with the Bhutanese government. The efforts made by the Bhutanese monarch to weed out the guerrillas and militants from north-eastern India that operated in his country have been helpful to India. India is involved in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan and remains the Himalayan kingdom's biggest source of development aid.
3.8 The Maldives — From Sultanate to Multi-Party Republic
The Maldives — a chain of about 1,200 small islands in the Indian Ocean, of which fewer than 200 are inhabited — was a Sultanate till 1968. In that year it transformed into a republic with a presidential form of government. In June 2005, the Maldivian parliament voted unanimously to introduce a multi-party system. From 2008, multi-party elections produced a vibrant if turbulent democracy. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) dominates Maldivian politics today, and the MDP won the 2018 elections.
3.8.1 Climate Change and an Existential Threat
The Maldives is the lowest-lying country on Earth, with an average elevation of less than 1.5 metres above sea level. It is therefore one of the world's most vulnerable nations to climate change and rising sea levels — a question that occupies central place in its foreign policy. Maldivian leaders have used international forums to argue passionately that the world must act on climate change before small island states disappear beneath the sea.
3.8.2 Operation Cactus and India–Maldives Ties
India's ties with the Maldives remain warm and cordial. In November 1988, when some Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka attacked the Maldives, the Indian Air Force and Navy reacted quickly to the Maldives' request to help stop the invasion. This rescue operation — known as Operation Cactus? — has remained a touchstone of Indian goodwill in the Indian Ocean. India has also contributed towards the island's economic development, tourism and fisheries.
📜 Operation Cactus, 3 November 1988
Within hours of receiving President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's appeal, Indian paratroopers were flown to Malé, the airport was secured, the mercenaries were rounded up, and constitutional order was restored — without a single Indian casualty. The operation showed that India could project power swiftly across the Indian Ocean and was widely praised internationally.
3.9 The Smaller Countries — A Comparative View
Nepal
Hindu kingdom → constitutional monarchy → 2002 royal coup → 2006 People's Movement → 2008 republic → 2015 federal constitution. Maoist insurgency (1996–2006).Sri Lanka
Independence 1948 (continuous democracy). 30-year ethnic war (1983–2009). LTTE vanquished 2009. First in region to liberalise economy.Bhutan
Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) opens the kingdom to multi-party democracy in 2008. World pioneer of Gross National Happiness.Maldives
Sultanate till 1968 → presidential republic. Multi-party from 2005. Operation Cactus 1988. Climate-change frontline.Afghanistan
Taliban rule 1996–2001. US-led intervention from 2001. US withdrawal and Taliban return in 2021. Joined SAARC 2007.3.10 Afghanistan — A Note in the Margin
Afghanistan is the eighth member of the SAARC family — admitted in 2007 — and is included in wider discussions of South Asia. Its modern history has been turbulent. The Taliban first came to power in 1996, ruling until 2001, when a US-led international coalition removed them in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The next two decades saw a fragile electoral democracy under Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, propped up by a large foreign military presence. In August 2021, after the United States withdrew its forces, the Taliban swept back to power and the Afghan republic collapsed in a matter of weeks. The Afghan story sits at the intersection of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, and reminds the student that the region's neighbourhood is shaped by powers far outside it.
Military Spending across the Region — Schematic Comparison
DISCUSS — Three Routes to Democracy in South Asia
Bloom: L5 Evaluate
Three of the smaller countries in the region — Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives — moved to multi-party politics around the same period (2005–2008), but by very different routes. Nepal abolished a monarchy through a People's Movement; Bhutan's monarchy itself led the country to elections; the Maldives moved by a parliamentary vote inside a sultanate-republic. Discuss in groups: which route is most stable in the long run, and why?
- What does each route tell us about the relationship between rulers and the ruled?
- Are revolutions or top-down reforms more likely to deliver lasting democratic institutions?
- Which model — Nepali, Bhutanese or Maldivian — could be relevant to other monarchies of West Asia?
✅ Pointers
(1) Nepal's route shows that where a monarchy refuses to reform, a popular movement can still produce democratic change — but the cost is decades of armed conflict. Bhutan's route shows that a wise monarch can deliver democracy peacefully — but only if the king genuinely wants to. The Maldives shows that an unelected legislature can be a hinge to multi-party politics. (2) Top-down reforms are usually safer in the short run but produce institutions that depend on the goodwill of the elite; revolutionary routes produce more legitimate institutions but at greater cost. (3) The Bhutanese model is in principle relevant to West Asian monarchies, but the political culture and oil-economy of those states make Nepal's bottom-up route the more likely pattern there.
THINK ABOUT IT — Gross National Happiness vs Gross Domestic Product
Bloom: L4 Analyse
The Bhutanese idea of "Gross National Happiness" claims that a society's progress should be measured by how well it serves the well-being of its citizens — not by its GDP alone. Critics say GNH is too vague to be policy. Supporters say GDP forgets what life is for. Write 200 words evaluating: should every South Asian country adopt a "happiness index" alongside its GDP statistics?
✅ Sample Response
A useful answer accepts both halves of the argument. GDP is an indispensable measure of economic activity but says nothing about how that activity is distributed, how much it pollutes, or whether the people who produce it lead meaningful lives. Bhutan's GNH framework asks four questions — equitable economic development, environmental conservation, cultural preservation, and good governance — none of which appears in standard national accounts. South Asian states share with Bhutan steep ecological costs of growth (river-water stress, air pollution), uneven income distributions, and pressures on cultural identity. A GNH-style index would therefore complement rather than replace GDP, much like the UN's Human Development Index does. The risk is that "happiness" can be defined by the government rather than by citizens, and used to dismiss legitimate complaints. The right path is participatory: a happiness index designed by independent statisticians and reviewed by parliaments, used alongside HDI and GDP to shape policy. South Asia, with its strong family bonds and rich cultures, may indeed have something to teach the world here.
3.11 The Verdict on Democracy in South Asia
Despite the mixed record of the democratic experience, the people in all these countries share the aspiration for democracy. A recent survey of the attitudes of citizens in the five big countries of the region showed widespread support for democracy. Ordinary citizens — rich as well as poor and belonging to different religions — view the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of representative democracy. They prefer democracy over any other form of government and believe democracy is suitable for their country. These are significant findings, for it was earlier believed that democracy could flourish only in prosperous countries. In that sense the South Asian experience of democracy has expanded the global imagination of democracy.
| Country | System (current) | Key Transition |
|---|---|---|
| India | Parliamentary federal democracy | Continuous democracy since 1947 |
| Sri Lanka | Presidential democracy | Democracy since 1948; civil war ended 2009 |
| Pakistan | Federal parliamentary democracy | Civilian rule restored in 2008 |
| Bangladesh | Parliamentary democracy | Multi-party democracy since 1991 |
| Nepal | Federal democratic republic | Monarchy abolished 2008; constitution 2015 |
| Bhutan | Constitutional monarchy | Multi-party democracy from 2008 |
| Maldives | Presidential republic | Multi-party system from 2005 |
| Afghanistan | Islamic Emirate (Taliban, post-2021) | SAARC member since 2007 |
📋
Competency-Based Questions — Part 2
Case Study: Three smaller South Asian states made decisive moves around the same time. In April 2006, mass non-violent protests in Nepal — led by the Seven Party Alliance, the Maoists and social activists — forced King Gyanendra to restore parliament; by 2008 Nepal had become a republic, and in 2015 a federal democratic constitution was adopted. In Sri Lanka, three decades of armed conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army ended with the LTTE's defeat in 2009. In 2008 Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy, and the Maldives held its first multi-party elections, with the MDP winning a fresh mandate again in 2018. Around the same period, the older island story of November 1988 was being remembered, when India's Operation Cactus rescued the Maldives from a mercenary coup attempt.
Q1. Which militant organisation fought for a separate "Tamil Eelam" in Sri Lanka and was finally vanquished in 2009?
L1 RememberAnswer: (C) LTTE — The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fought an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan state from 1983 onwards, demanding a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamils. They were militarily defeated in 2009.
Q2. Which year is most accurately associated with the abolition of the Nepali monarchy and the declaration of a republic?
L2 UnderstandAnswer: (D) 2008 — In 2008, Nepal became a democratic republic after abolishing the monarchy. The People's Movement of April 2006 had restored parliament, and the constituent assembly elected thereafter formally ended the monarchy in 2008. A new constitution followed in 2015.
Q3. List three challenges to democracy in Nepal during 1996–2008.
L4 AnalyseModel Answer: (i) Maoist insurgency (1996–2006) — armed insurrection by Maoists in many parts of Nepal that produced a triangular conflict among monarchists, democrats and Maoists. (ii) Royal interference — King Gyanendra's dismissal of parliament in 2002 ended even the limited democracy that existed, until the 2006 People's Movement reversed it. (iii) Disagreement on the Constitution — even after 2008 there were sharp differences inside the SPA over how radically to restructure society and over relations with India, delaying the new constitution until 2015.
HOT Q. Imagine you are advising the Maldivian government in 2025 on a 10-year national plan that combines climate-change adaptation with democratic consolidation. Outline a five-point strategy that uses Bhutanese, Nepali and Indian experience.
L6 CreateHint: A serviceable strategy could include: (1) write coastal-resilience and renewable-energy targets into the constitution itself, the way Bhutan wrote environmental protection into its 2008 constitution; (2) strengthen multi-party rules and electoral autonomy on the Indian model; (3) borrow from Nepal's federal experiment to give outer atolls real local autonomy; (4) deepen cooperation with India on coastguard, tourism and disaster relief — building on Operation Cactus 1988; (5) pioneer an "Island States Climate Forum" with regional and international partners to lobby on climate finance.
⚖️ Assertion–Reason Questions — Part 2
Options:
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
Assertion (A): Sri Lanka has retained democracy since its independence in 1948 despite three decades of civil war.
Reason (R): The country was the first in South Asia to liberalise its economy and registered high human-development indicators throughout the conflict.
Answer: (B) — Both A and R are true. Sri Lanka has indeed maintained democracy since 1948, and it was the first country in South Asia to liberalise its economy. But economic liberalisation does not automatically explain democratic continuity — many liberalised economies have authoritarian governments. The two facts coexist but are not in a causal relationship.
Assertion (A): Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008 and emerged as a multi-party democracy under the leadership of the king himself.
Reason (R): The Bhutanese monarchy was overthrown in a violent revolution in 2008.
Answer: (C) — A is true: Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008 and the king led the transition. R is false: there was no revolution in Bhutan; the transition was a planned, peaceful, top-down reform led by the Dragon King.
Assertion (A): India sent its armed forces to the Maldives in November 1988 in Operation Cactus.
Reason (R): Some Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka had attempted to overthrow the Maldivian government, and the Indian Air Force and Navy responded quickly to the Maldives' request for help.
Answer: (A) — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A. Indian forces moved to Malé to foil the mercenary coup attempt and restore the elected government — a textbook case of swift Indian intervention by invitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Nepal become a democracy?
Nepal moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1990 after the Jana Andolan, then to a federal democratic republic in May 2008 following the Maoist insurgency (1996–2006), the 2006 People's Movement, and the abolition of the 240-year-old Shah dynasty. A new constitution was adopted in September 2015.
What was the Sri Lankan civil war?
Sri Lanka's civil war (1983–2009) was fought between the Sinhala-majority government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who demanded a separate Tamil homeland (Eelam) in the north and east. The war killed an estimated 80,000–100,000 people and ended in May 2009 with the military defeat of the LTTE.
Why did India send the IPKF to Sri Lanka?
Under the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, India sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to help enforce the agreement and disarm Tamil militants. The mission ended in 1990 after the IPKF was drawn into fighting with the LTTE itself, with significant Indian casualties. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber on 21 May 1991.
Why is Bhutan called a constitutional monarchy?
Bhutan moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 2008 when its first written constitution was adopted, parliamentary elections were held, and the Wangchuk king voluntarily transferred most executive powers to elected representatives. Bhutan is famous for its "Gross National Happiness" development philosophy.
How did the Maldives become a democracy?
The Maldives became a multi-party democracy in 2008, ending 30 years of one-party rule under President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party won the first multi-party presidential election in October 2008.
What was Operation Cactus?
Operation Cactus was the Indian military intervention in November 1988 to defeat a coup attempt against the Maldivian government by Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka. The Indian Air Force and Navy moved swiftly at the request of President Gayoom, foiled the coup, and demonstrated India's role as a security provider in the Indian Ocean.
What has been Afghanistan's recent political journey?
Afghanistan went through Soviet occupation (1979–89), civil war, Taliban rule (1996–2001), the post-9/11 US-led intervention, an elected government under Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021 after the US withdrawal. Afghanistan is sometimes included in South Asia.
Continue learning → Part 3 · India–Pakistan, India and its Other Neighbours, SAARC and Exercises
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