Demand to bring back monarchy in Nepal arose! Thousands of supporters descended on the airport in support of former King Gyanendra Shah

Thousands of supporters welcomed Nepal's former king to the capital Kathmandu on Sunday, demanding that his abolished monarchy be restored and Hinduism be brought back as the state religion. Around 10,000 supporters of Gyanendra Shah, who was returning from a tour of western Nepal, blocked the main entry gate of Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport.

The crowd outside the airport was chanting slogans, "Vacate the Royal Palace for the King. Come back King, save the country. Long live our beloved King. We want monarchy." Due to such a huge crowd, passengers were forced to walk to the airport and back.

Hundreds of anti-riot police stopped protesters from entering the airport and there was no violence.

In 2006, massive street protests forced Gyanendra to abandon his dictatorial rule, and two years later parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. Gyanendra left the royal palace to live the life of a commoner.

But many Nepalese have become disillusioned with the republic, saying it has failed to bring political stability. They blame the republic for the country's struggling economy and corruption. Nepal has had 13 governments since the monarchy ended in 2008.

Rally participants said they hoped for a change in the political system to prevent the country from deteriorating further.

Gyanendra has not commented on the massive calls for a return to the monarchy. Despite growing support for the former king, Gyanendra is unlikely to return to power immediately.

He became king in 2002 after his brother and family were assassinated in the palace. He ruled as a constitutional head of state with no executive or political powers until 2005, when he assumed absolute power.

He dissolved the government and parliament, jailed politicians and journalists, cut off communications, declared a state of emergency, and used the military to rule the country.

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