Thousands protest against Parliament's move to declare Nepal a secular state Call for restoration of Hindu kingdom The Associated Press (apwire) Published on 2006-05-24 18:05 (KST) Thousands of Hindus protested in a southern town Wednesday against the Parliament's move to declare Nepal a secular state when it scaled back the king's powers, officials said. The protesters rallied in the town of Birgunj, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the capital Katmandu, burning newspapers and forcing markets and shops to close, said Bhim Tiwari, a government administrator in the area. ''We want a Hindu kingdom! Declare Nepal a Hindu kingdom!'' chanted the protesters as they marched through the main streets of the town near the border with India. The protesters burned tires and blocked key streets and highways, stalling traffic. Tiwari said police were trying to keep control and reopen some of the roads. The protesters also burned 2,000 copies of Kantipur, the country's largest newspaper which recently published an editorial supporting Parliament's moves, according to Sujit Mahat, a reporter with the paper. A resolution passed by Parliament on Thursday included a clause that said Nepal would no longer be formally known as a Hindu country. Nepal's constitution, written in 1990, declared the Himalayan nation a Hindu kingdom and more than 85 percent of the country's 27 million people are Hindus. http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=294221&rel_no=1