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Nepali Political and Organizational Flags

Last modified: 2003-12-27 by rob raeside
Keywords: nepal | star | nepali congress party | mongol national organisation | maoist |
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Nepali Congress Party

[NCP Flag] by Ivan Sache

From the party website, the stars should be red.
Dov Gutterman, 14 Apr 2000

The Constitution of the party can be downloaded at http://www.nepalicongress.org.np/party/nc_cons_2017.pdf. The text is written in Nepali but shows an image of the current flag of the party, which is horizontally divided red-white-red with four red stars (1+2+1) in the middle of the white stripe. It is similar to the image shown here, above.
Ivan Sache, 30 January 2003

Variants of the flag

On a 1991 magazine there was a picture taken during the pro-democracy demonstrations: in it there were two flags, apparently two versions of the same flag: horizontal (vertical) red-white-red with four (three) red stars:

[Horz red-white-red] by Antonio Martins

[Vert red-white-red] by Antonio Martins

According to sitaula@panther.middlebury.edu this is the flag of Nepali Congress Party, which is the ruling political party of Nepal

Giuseppe Bottasini

[Horz with blue stars] by Ivan Sache

I have to add my "sand grain" with the NCP flag according to W.Smith (1976).
Horizontal red-white-red, with four *blue* stars in the white stripe.

I have tentative explanation, which is totally uncertified:
In Novermber 1990 Nepal turned from an Absolute Monarchy to Parliamentary Monarchy after violent riots. If the NCP had to abandon it monpolistic situation, it might have had to abandon its monopolistic use of the national colours, and retained only the red, the blue being used by the opposition party(ies)

Ivan Sache, 29 Jul 1999


Mongol National Organisation

[Mongol National Organisation] contributed by Chris Kretowicz, 1 Apr 2001

Source: http://members.tripod.com/GopalGurung/GuBanner.jpg 

The Mongol National Organization demands secularization of the state, equal rights to all religions and nationalities,declaration of the republic with King Birendra as a president for life.

Dr.Gopang Gurung is the leader of Mongol National Organization in Nepal.
Chris Kretowicz, 1 Apr 2001

According to Dr. Susan Hangen, who did a Ph.D. thesis in anthropology in the University of Pittsburgh (USA), the MNO is not officially recognized by the Nepali election committee due to its ethnic affiliation. According to the Constitution of Nepal, no political party may be affiliated with any religious or ethnic group. The real achievements of the MNO are more those of a social movement than a political party. The summary of Susan Hangen's thesis can de read on: http://www.pitt.edu/~pittanth/fall01-2.html

Ivan Sache, 30 January 2003


Maoist Communist Party

[Maoist Communist Party] (variant) by António Martins, 30 November 2001

In 1996 a Maoist insurgency was launched, which now controls a large part of the country. A special police force was formed to cope with this problem, but police brutality has only helped the movement grow. The party's symbolic aim is to fly their flag on the top of Mount Everest. It is a red flag with hammer and sickle. Should the Maoists overthrow the very feudalistic social system, it seems quite inevitable that the flag of Nepal will change.
T. F. Mills, 4 June 2001

The flag of Maoist Communist Party hoisted by guerrillas is available in issue 21 of Flag Report. The hammer and sickle have a specific design and position.
Jaume Ollé, 4 June 2001

Today I read that Maoist guerillas have commenced another round of activities in Nepal following the government's decision to use the military against the rebels. Pertaining to flags, reading today's news reminded me of an image I saw several months ago in one of the large American newspapers. A photograph taken during
negotiations between the government and the Maoists showed two rebels waving a flag in the shape of the Nepalese flag, but solid red with a gold star in the
upper triangle. Although the flag was crudely composed, I presume it was the adopted flag of the Maoist insurgents.
Sean McKinness, 28 November 2001

Recently Spanish TV showed (presumably archive) images of Nepalese Maoist guerrillas flying a red flag with on the canton a yellow star on top of a yellow hammer-and-sickle-like emblem where the sickle's handle had been replaced by a machine gun.
Santiago Dotor, 29 November 2001

Variants of the flag of the Nepal maoists, showing a white hammer and sickle on red (flag format higher than wide); the smaller variant also includes some inscription (party name?) (reported in Süddeutsche Zeitung 28/29 May 2003, p. 11)
Marcus E.V. Schmöger, 15 June 2003


Communist Party of Nepal

[NCP Flag] by Ivan Sache

The flag of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) is shown on the party website. It is horizontally divided red-blue with a white star in the middle.

The Communist Party of Nepal was founded on 22 April 1949 by Pushpa Lal Shrestha. It was banned in 1952 for three years. The Party held its First National Congress on 30 January 1954, with Man Mohan Adhikari as General Secretary. In the parliamentary elections of 1959, the CPN won 4 seats out of 109. In 1960, following a royal coup, the Parliament was dissolved and all political parties were banned. The Partyless Panchayat system lasted until 1990.

In 1971, a radical movement was formed in the Jhapa district. The movement was the root of the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (Marxist-Leninist), founded in 1975. The Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) was formed in 1978. The Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist) seceded in 1986, but both parties merged again in the the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) in 1991. The party broke again in 1998 and was reestablished in March 2002.

In 1991, the CPN-UML won 30% of the voices, earning 69 out of 205 seats in the House of Representatives and 16 out of 60 seats in the National Assembly. In 1994, the CPN-UML won the elections with 31% of the votes and 88 seats. The party formed a minority government in December 1994, with Man Mohan Adhikari as Prime Minister, and was ousted from the government in August 1995. In March 1997, the CPN-UML was involved with two other parties in a coalition government.

Ivan Sache, 30 January 2003

[NCP Flag] by Jaume Ollé

I'm not sure that the red over blue flag with white star is a party flag. I was in contact with a Nepalese who is a party member, and he only know the red flag with the hammer and sickle. Could it perhaps be the flag of one of the organizations or, less probably, the flag after the last reunification on March 2002 There are many photos with red flags, several with the hammer and sickle visible, some with a large hammer and sickle emblem. I have seen a photo with an image of a red flag with a hammer and sickle and a device in the lower fly corner, that must be the (electoral?) emblem, a sun.
Jaume Ollé, 30 January 2003

[NCP Flag] by Jaume Ollé

A variant of the flag of the Nepal communists, showing a white hammer and sickle on red (flag format higher than wide); the smaller variant also includes some inscription (party name?) was reported in Süddeutsche Zeitung 28/29 May 2003, p. 11.
Marcus Schmöger, 15 June 2003


All Nepal Women Asssociation (ANWA)

[NCP Flag] by Ivan Sache

The web site of the All Nepal Women's Asssociation (ANWA) shows its flag.  It also describes the association as "the largest national women's organization in the country. It was founded in 1950. ANWA is the common and independent association of democratic, patriotic and progressive Nepalese women. It organizes women of all sectors and classes nationwide including working women, peasants, youth, students, house-wives, intellectuals, professionals, i.e., civil servants, teachers, nurses, etc. It envisages to build a powerful mass-based women's movement to uplift the status of women in the society. Its main aim is to empower and liberate women."

located by Francisco Manuel Garcia, 28 September, 2001

The site shows an image which includes a flag - horizontal red-white-red with four red stars in diamond formation in the middle strip, like one of the variants of the Nepalese Congress Party flags (shown above), with red stars.

Jonathan Dixon, 28 September 2001