Opinion | Who does Nepal Police serve?
Summary
Nepal’s police system has long carried the habits of regimes it outlived, raising the enduring question of whether it serves the ruler or the people. The article traces police reform from the Rana era through Panchayat rule and into multiparty democracy, arguing that civilian control without constitutional limits can become political control.
Key Points
- Nepal’s police has historically been shaped to protect ruling orders rather than citizens, from the Rana period through the Panchayat era.
- The Police Act of 1955 placed police under government supervision, but the article argues that democratic control needs constitutional, judicial and parliamentary limits as well.
- After the return of multiparty democracy in 1990, reform efforts such as the 1992 Police Reform Commission remained incomplete and police careers continued to be vulnerable to political influence.
- The article says the hardest test came with the 1996 war, when police were pushed to the front line, and previews further discussion of disappearances and investigations.
