When is Nepali Constitution Day?
Nepali Constitution Day is a public holiday in Nepal observed on September 20th each year.
This is treated as the National Day of Nepal and celebrates the adoption of the current Constitution on this day in 2015. In most countries, National Day takes place on their Independence Day. Through all its history of border expansion and contraction, Nepal has never been colonized and ruled by foreigners, which means Nepal does not celebrate an Independence Day.
History of Nepali Constitution Day
This holiday was first observed in 2016 on the first anniversary of the promulgation of the new Constitution.
Nepal is governed according to the Constitution which came into effect on September 20th 2015, replacing the Interim Constitution of 2007.
This was the first full-fledged constitution to be drafted by democratically elected representatives after the South Asian country became a federal democratic republic in 2008 following the overthrow of the 240-year monarchy. The process to enact a new Constitution has been a drawn-out one, with several efforts to produce a new Constitution drafted since 2008.
The 2015 Constitution restructured Nepal into a federal republic, dividing the nation into seven provinces, some of which are still named by their temporary numbers.
It also completed the transition of Nepal from constitutional monarchy to republicanism and from a unitary system to federalism.
In 2019, at the Army parade ground, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that the day should create a feeling of celebration among all Nepalis.
“We Nepalis were starving for this day for the past seven decades. The day when we were liberated from suppression is also an independence day and a day to celebrate our achievements,” Oli said.
As a new holiday with no historical traditions, the government has been pushing this as a holiday with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration having to issue notifications urging all district coordination committees and local levels to celebrate the upcoming Constitution Day with “pomp and grandeur”.
How it is celebrated?
This year, 19th September (3rd Ashwin of Nepali calendar) commemorates the Constitution Day (National Day) of Nepal. The day is treated as the National Day (संविधान दिवस, Sambidhan Diwas) of Nepal and celebrates the adoption of the new constitution, which came into effect from the 20th September 2015 replacing the Interim Constitution of 2007. In the year 2016, Nepal marked the first anniversary of the declaration of the new constitution in the country. The Constitution of Nepal comprises of the documented principles and precedents of the Government of Nepal. Nepal constitution frames the fundamental political principles, procedures, human rights, restrictions, and duties of the government and its citizens. The present constitution is a first full-fledged constitution to be drafted by democratically elected members of the constituent assembly, which was drafted after the country became a federal democratic republic in 2008. Every year on this day there occurs a military parade in Nepal Army Pavilion in Kathmandu, and different government agencies organize various program throughout the nation. Additionally, the President and Prime Minister of the country issue separate statements and extend best wishes to all Nepalese’s living in Nepal and oversea. Apart from this, people of Nepal light candles in the evening to mark the national day. Nepalese embassies in foreign countries celebrate the day by hosting the national flag with a reception and diplomats organize the gathering where Nepalese citizen living in different foreign nations celebrate their national day by organizing get together, hosting flags, and lighting candles.
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