National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

Goodwill Mission

Following the state visit to India a year ago, Crown Prince Paras completes his visit to Nepal’s northern neighbor China this year

By KESHAB POUDEL

After the proclamation as the Crown Prince three years ago, Crown Prince Paras has been gradually learning his royal roles and duties. After his visit to India a year ago, he recently completed his second official visit to Nepal’s northern neighbor China.

Following the mysterious palace massacre in June 2001 when all the family members of late King Birendra were killed, the role of Paras has transformed from that of a Prince to the Crown Prince.

King Gyanendra proclaimed his only son Paras Shah and daughter-in-law Himani as the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Nepal in accordance with the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990 and the Royal Succession to Throne Act 1998 in October 2001.

Sandwiched between two equally strong Asian Powers India in the south and China in the north, Nepal is in a very delicate situation. Crown Prince might have experienced the reality by his visits.

During his official visit to India, Crown Prince Paras had visited north and south India including India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This time Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani visited Lhasa - the capital of Tibetan Autonomous Region and many other major industrial cities of China.

During his 11 days sojourn, the future monarch also visited the ancient and historical sites of China including great wall and forbidden cities. Crown Prince Paras also met Chinese leaders including president and premier in Beijing.

Royal couples and Nepalese delegation were given a warm welcome in all three different parts of the region. According to the reporting in the Nepal Television by Rama Singh, Royal Couples were provided the taste of Chinese history, culture, commonalities of culture between Nepal and China as well as the economic miracles achieved by China in the last two decades.

Soon after the proclamation, the formal process of grooming of future monarch has begun. King Gyanendra has also appointed Crown Prince Paras as the chairman of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC).

As the chairman of the Trust, Crown Prince Paras has already visited a number of countries and various sites of conservation areas. He addressed an international conference in a Central Asian country a few years back.

His grooming is being carried out through attending of inaugural ceremonies and meeting people with his father King Gyanendra. Even as certain controversies have erupted regarding the Crown Prince; the process of grooming is taking place side by side.

With the dissolution of the House of Representatives three years back, Crown Prince Paras has missed a greater opportunity back home to learn the duties, functions and traditions of the constitutional monarch.

Had the parliament functioned and the political processes taken root, the grooming of the future constitutional monarch would have been different. As there are no immediate signs to hold the elections or functioning of parliament, the future monarch will miss his important episode in the grooming.

“One of the difficult tasks of the institution of monarchy in Nepal is that it has to build up a consensus at home and sympathizers abroad when modern institutions are yet to establish in the country,” said a political analyst.

The institution of monarchy in Nepal is not based on likes and dislikes of popular voters as it remains a source of change as well as mainstay of continuity and traditions.

In presence of Crown Prince Paras and Chinese vice-president, three major projects were signed. The projects include construction of greater ring road inside the Kathmandu valley, laying down fiber optical link between Kathmandu-Lhasa through Kodari highway and the construction of Civil Servant Hospital.

The inner Ring Road was also constructed with the support from Chinese government in the past. Construction of the outer ring road is one of the biggest projects signed between Nepal and China in the recent years.