By Pushpa Raj Pradhan Thousands of local Newars welcomed former King Gyanendra to attend the Khadga exchange ceremony of the Pachhali Bhairav in Marutole, Kathmandu on Sunday morning. The former King was invited there at the capacity of a King to continue the religious tradition which was halted since the country was declared a secular republic. In 2058 BS, the former King had graced the ceremony as a king and since then, the tradition was stopped after the dethronement of the King. In every 12 years, the Khadka (big knife) has to be exchanged between the King and Pachhali Vhairav. As the tradition was stalled, after 15 years, the local Newar community decided to invite the former King to continue the tradition. Former King Gyanendra had reached Marutole Sunday morning where thousands of people belonging to the Newar community welcomed the former King. They were happy that their tradition was resumed again. It is believed that after exchange of the Khadga, the king will receive divine power which will help him to make the nation prosperous and peaceful. The former king performed pooja of the Ashok Vinayak, Bhimsen and the big vessel of the Pachhali Bhairav and his spouse which has been kept in the house of Thuku Juju (king) Jayaraj Malla. Ashok Binayak is the Ganesh Temple where the Shah kings have performing pooja. When the former king reached the Hanuman Dhoka Durwar Squire, former minister and mayor of the Kathmandu Petropolis PL Singh and others had welcomed the former King. Clear message: The Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley is known to be politically consensus. In every people’s movement, this community has remained a decisive force. This force is seen against the political parties and sided with the monarchy, which they have expressed from its act. When they saw intervention on their tradition and reluctance of the political leaders in power in continuing the tradition, they decided to invite the former king to continue their tradition. Thaku Juju Jayaram Malla, who is assigned as the main person to organize the Pachhali Bhairav festival, informed that in 2058 BS also, King Gyanendra had provided funds to organize the festival and reconstruct the Pachhali Bhairav Vessel. This year also, the former King had provided funds to continue the festival and to construct the Vessel. The clear message is that the people in the capital city were not against the monarchy and they were in trouble on continuation of their tradition after the abolishment of the institution of monarchy as there is the tradition of compulsory presence of the king in such festivals. Now, they have become aware about their tradition and started to invite the deposed king to maintain their tradition. This gives the message that monarchy has not been discarded by the people although the country has been declared a secular republic. This is also a referendum performed by the people in support of monarchy and Hindu kingdom against the decision of the political parties made under the influence of foreign powers. The other message is that the political leaders either in power or in opposition are not representing their voters, rather, they are serving the interests of foreign powers under the influence of dollars they receive from Christians. Meanwhile, the former King is scheduled to inaugurate the international convention of the World Hindu Federation going to be held in Kathmandu from 20 to 22 October. Jagadguru Shankaracharya, Basudebanand Saraswati, Mahanta Yogi Aadityanath Maharaj, Sri Satpaljee Maharaj, Indian MPs Tarun Vijaya, RK Sinha, among others are likely to attend the Convention, it was informed at a press conference organised on Sunday in Kathmandu. As the constitution was promulgated by ending the existence of the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, Nepal has lost its identity, from which, the people having belief in the Hindu religion from all over the world are unhappy, said the organizer of the Convention.