National Gods at Court. Secularism and the Judiciary in Nepal

Starting from the acknowledgment that the notion of secularism in Nepal is multivocal and is still taking shape, this chapter looks at the contribution of the judiciary in defining it. Two Public Interest Litigation cases dealing with religious traditions strictly connected with the Hindu monarchy are discussed. One petition seeks to reform the tradition of the living goddess Kumari in the name of child rights, while the other seeks to prevent the state from interfering in the appointment of priests at Pashupatinath temple. The analysis of these cases at the Supreme Court shows that Nepali secularism is taking a form which ascribes to the state and the court an active role in both supporting and reforming religious traditions, which contrasts with the neutral stance and no-relation policy that is generally seen as a mark of secularism in the West.