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Singing the new N epal
Author(s) -
Hutt Michael
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2011.00512.x
Subject(s) - anthem , politics , context (archaeology) , national identity , public sphere , monarchy , state (computer science) , lyrics , singing , sociology , law , political science , political economy , history , literature , art , art history , economics , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , management
N epal's adoption of a new national anthem in 2007 reflected a decision to establish a new social and political order that was republican, federal and inclusive of the country's many minority communities. It came after a ten‐year internal conflict, and was followed by the abolition of the S hah monarchy that had ruled the country since the late eighteenth century. This article describes the historical and political context of the decision to replace the old anthem, the selection of the new anthem, and the debates that arose in the N epali media and public sphere after its lyrics and the identity of its author were made known. The discussion refers to arguments made by K aren C erulo about the relationship between the syntactic structure of national anthems and the stage reached in the process of political modernisation of the nation‐state in question, and provides some comparative perspectives on the N epali case.