Nepal Ministry of Defense

Government of Nepal is responsible for ensuring the defence of the country and every part thereof. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) undertakes this responsibility by formulating defence policies and coordinating the Nepalese defence affairs with other agencies of the government and the Nepal Army.

The origin and evolution of the defence administration of modern Nepal dates back to the unification of Nepal in 1768 AD. From the foundation to until popular movement, the defence administration was directly overseen by the Crown itself. From the time of the unification campaign in the 18th century untill the rise of the Ranas in the mid 19th century, the Nepalese Army was under the Shah monarchs. Then the Ranas, as the executive heads of government, controlled the army for a century. With the fall of the Ranas in 1951, an interim constitution was drafted. Article 83 of the Interim Constitution of 1951 vested in the monarch the sole authority to mobilize the army as the Supreme Commander. The subsequent constitutions until the fall of the Panchayat in 1990 all had similar provisions.

The organizational structure of the Nepalese defense establishment reflected the country's indigenous military traditions, its long association with the British military, and reforms introduced by Indian military advisers in the 1950s and 1960s. There was strong reason to suspect that the basic changes introduced by the constitution as a result of the success of the prodemocracy movement would, in time, lead to new organizational arrangements and changes in command and control in line with the political realities that emerged in the early 1990s. Following the British pattern, there was a Ministry of Defence, which, in conjunction with the king and the Parliament, was responsible for overseeing the military establishment. As with other government ministers, the minister of defense (a portfolio assumed by Prime Minister G.P. Koirala upon his government's assumption of office on May 29, 1991) was a cabinet official appointed by the prime minister.

Under previous constitutions, the king ordinarily assumed the role of minister of defense, although routine oversight of the ministry was performed by a civilian bureaucrat or army officer who served at the pleasure of the king. The Ministry of Defence, located in Kathmandu, was responsible for overseeing routine matters such as pay, budget, and procurement, although the army high command retained broad discretion in matters relating to promotions and recruitment. Real command authority over military operations was generally reserved for the king, who acted in accordance with the wishes of the National Defence Council and the elected civilian government.

The Panchayat era was replaced by a democratic era which followed the Westminster style of governance. Democratically elected prime ministers held executive powers. The monarch was reduced to a constitutional role. The Constitution of Nepal 1991 in articles 118 and 119 laid down that the Nepalese Army could be mobilized only upon the recommendation of the National Security Council, a body chaired by the Prime Minister. This process was implemented smoothly when the democratically elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba mobilized the Nepalese Army in support of the national counter insurgency campaign.

The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 replaced the constitution of 1991. In the republican set up, the President took over the role of the Supreme Commander and the National Security Council was widened. The Nepalese Army transitioned smoothly from a monarchial set up to a republican one.

Before the advent of democratic system of governance in 1950, there was no division of duties between the Ministry and the Army headquarters. The Commander-in Chief and the Senior Commanding General between themselves dealt with the whole range of administration and policy regarding defence. For the first time in the history of Nepal, a separate ministry by the name of Defence Ministry was set up in the interim Government of 1950 headed by Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher. The first Defence Minister was Babar Shumsher. The organizational structure of the Defence Ministry at the time was quite simple having only two branches, Viz. (i) General and (ii) Budget. The Ministry had a secretary, 2 Deputy Secretaries, and 2 Assistant Secretaries. Since then the ministry has undergone continuous evolution and assumed the present structure.

The Ministry of Defence was established to protect and defend the nation and the people from internal instability and external threats by ensuring the sovereignty, national independence and integrity of the country. Ministry of Defence is established as per Govt. of Nepal (Business Allocation) Rules, 2063 BS with the objective of managing and operating national defence affairs. The Ministry is responsible for maintaining internal as well as external security in order to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Besides its primary responsibility of external security, it is also responsible for maintaining internal law and order by protecting the lives and properties of the people as per the derisory of the government. In this context the principal task of the Defence Ministry was to make policy directions on defence and security matters and communicate them for implementation to the Nepalese Army and its various service departments. Besides, the MoD also acts as a liaison or contact point for communication and interaction for Nepal Army with other Ministries and Departments.

The Palace's use of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) to attempt to suppress the pro-democracy movement in 1990 had important and lasting repercussions. Strained, mutually suspicious relations persist between party leaders, many of whom were imprisoned, harassed or in exile during the struggle, and the Army. Unfortuantely, the advent of democracy has done little to ameliorate this situation. The 1991 Constitution gave the democratically elected Prime Minister and his Cabinet oversight over all vital Government organs with one important exception--the Royal Nepal Army (RNA). Although the Constitution gives the Prime Minister, as a member of the National Defense Council, nominal authority over the RNA, the King, as Supreme Commander, retains power over its mobilization and deployment. Former Prime Minister and NC President G.P. Koirala claims the King rejected his request to deploy the RNA against the Maoists in July 2001. The King later mobilized the Army -- under a different PM -- after Maoists attacked RNA installations four months later.

While this separation of powers kept the RNA insulated from Nepal's turbulent, bitterly partisan democratic politics, it has also inhibited the development of cordial relationships, based on trust and mutual interest, between the civilian and military leadership. Whether fairly or not, most politicians remain deeply skeptical of the RNA's commitment to democracy, while many senior Army officers are just as skeptical of the politicians' commitment to governing in the national interest.