When Nepalis discuss the political dramas of their turbulent country they often refer to the past. It's easy to see why - history here has a habit of repeating itself.
Since 1950, democracy has twice replaced autocratic governments, and twice the palace has regained control. As opposition democratic parties held rallies across the country this past week against an unpopular royal regime, the memory they tried to evoke was of the 'people's spring' of 1990, when a similar government was toppled by mass protests.
A speaker in the Kathmandu suburb of Kirtipur told a cheering audience of thousands: 'The people of this area made a large contribution in 1990. Let's do it again.'
According to a report by the think-tank International Crisis Group: 'The palace has set the scene for a replay of the palace-people showdown [in 1990] by bringing back into power some of the key actors of that period.'
Following the successes of the 1990 movement, a commission was established to discover who was responsible for shooting an estimated 60 to 100 demonstrators. The commission recommended action be taken against eight men who are now in senior positions in the current government, including the home minister, Kamal Thapa, and the chief of the armed police. No charges were ever brought.
Going further back, parallels are often drawn between the coup that brought King Gyanendra to power last year, when he ousted a government of democratic politicians, and a power grab carried out by his father, King Mahendra, in 1950.
