1 Etymology 2 History

Nepal This article is about the country. For other uses, see litical deadlock.[14][15] The election was held success- Nepal (disambiguation). fully and the 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly was sworn in, with Sushil Koirala appointed as the new prime [16][17] Nepal ( i/nəˈpɔːl/ nə-PAWL;[8] Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpal] minister. ( )), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of In 2014, Nepal ranked 145th of 187 countries on the Nepal,[9] is a landlocked country located in South Asia. Human Development Index (HDI) and despite several With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq challenges, Nepal has been making steady progress and mi) and a population of approximately 27 million,[2] the Government of Nepal have made commitment to help Nepal is the world’s 93rd largest country by land mass[10] the nation to graduate towards one of the more developed and the 41st most populous country. It is located in nations by 2022.[18][19] the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People’s Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. Specifically, the Indian states 1 Etymology of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim border Nepal, whereas across the Himalayas lies the Tibet Autonomous Region. Nepal is separated Local legends say that a Hindu sage named “Ne” estab- from Bangladesh by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor. lished himself in the valley of Kathmandu in prehistoric Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and largest metropolis. times and that the word “Nepal” came into existence as the place protected (“pala” in pali) by the sage “Ne”. Ac- The mountainous north of Nepal has eight of the world’s cording to the Skanda Purana, a rishi called “Ne” or “Ne- ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on muni” used to live in Himalaya.[20] In the Pashupati Pu- Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha (सगरमाथा) in rana, he is mentioned as a saint and a protector.[21] He the Nepali language. More than 240 peaks over 20,000 [11] is said to have practised meditation at the Bagmati and ft (6,096 m) above sea level are located in Nepal. The Kesavati rivers[22] and to have taught there.[23] southern Terai region is fertile and humid. Hinduism is practiced by about 81.3% of Nepalis, making it the country with the highest percentage of Hindus. 2 History Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal and is practiced by 9%, Islam by 4.4%, Kiratism 3.1%, Christianity 1.4%,[2] and animism 0.4%. A large portion of the popu- Main article: History of Nepal lation, especially in the hill region, may identify them- selves as both Hindu and Buddhist, which can be at- tributed to the syncretic nature of Hinduism and Bud- dhism in Nepal.[12] 2.1 Ancient A monarchy throughout most of its history, Nepal was Nepal is first mentioned in the late Vedic text, Athar- ruled by the Shah dynasty of kings from 1768 — when vaveda Parisista as a place exporting blankets, and in Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms[1] the post-Vedic Atharva Siras Upanisad.[24] In Samu- until 2008. A decade-long Civil War involving the dragupta’s Allahabad inscription it is mentioned as a bor- Communist Party of Nepal and several weeks of mass dering country. The 'Skanda Purana' has a separate chap- protests by all major political parties led to the 12-point ter known as 'Nepal Mahatmya', which "explains in more agreement[13] of 22 November 2005. The ensuing elec- details about the beauty and power of Nepal." Nepal is tions for the 1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly on 28 also mentioned in Hindu texts such as the Narayana May 2008 overwhelmingly favored the abolition of the Puja.[24] monarchy and the establishment of a federal multiparty representative democratic republic. According to Gopal Vansawali, the genealogy of Nepalese monarchy, the earliest settlers in Nepal were The political parties of Nepal agreed to form an in- Gopalas, followed by Mahispala, followed by Kirata.[25] terim government under the leadership of Chief Justice Tibeto-Burman people probably lived in Nepal 2,500 Khil Raj Regmi in order to hold elections for the Con- years ago.[25] However, there is no archaeologic evi- stituent Assembly by 19 November 2013 to end a po- dence of Gopala, Mahispala or Kirata rulers other than 1 2 2 HISTORY Former royal palace at Basantapur, Kathmandu 2.3 Kingdom of Nepal Main article: Kingdom of Nepal In the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha king, set out to put together what would become present- day Nepal. He embarked on his mission after seeking arms and aid from India and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms. After several bloody battles and Lumbini, listed as the birthplace of Buddha by the UNESCO sieges, notably the Battle of Kirtipur, he managed to con- World Heritage Convention quer the Kathmandu Valley in 1769. A detailed account of Prithvi Narayan Shah’s victory was written by Father Giuseppe who was an eyewitness to the war.[29] later documents (Lichchavi and Malla era) mentioning them.[26] There is a quite detailed description of the kingdom of Nepal in the account of the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim monk Xuanzang, dating from c. 645 CE.[27][28] Stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley are important sources for the history of Nepal. The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late eighth century, probably due to Tibetan dominance, and was followed by Thakuri era, from 879 CE (Nepal Samvat 1), although the extent of their control over the country is uncertain. In the 11th century it seems to have included the Pokhara area. 2.2 Medieval Hindu temples in Patan, capital of one of the three medieval Newar kingdoms Main article: Malla (Nepal) In the early 12th century, leaders emerged in far western The Gorkha dominion reached its height when the north- Nepal whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ern India territories of Kumaon and Garhwal in the west (“wrestler”). These kings consolidated their power and to Sikkim in the east became under Nepal rule. ruled over the next 200 years, until the kingdom splin- At its maximum extent, Greater Nepal extended from the tered into two dozen petty states. Another Malla dy- Tista River in the east, to Kangara, across the Sutlej River nasty, beginning with Jayasthiti, emerged in the Kath- in the west as well as further south into the Terai plains mandu valley in the late 14th century, and much of central and north of the Himalayas than at present. A dispute Nepal again came under a unified rule. However, in 1482 with Tibet over the control of mountain passes and inner the realm was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Tingri valleys of Tibet forced the Chinese Qing Emperor Patan, and Bhaktapur. in Peking (now Beijing) to start the Sino-Nepalese War 2.3 Kingdom of Nepal 3 Nepalese royalty in the 1920s Janaki Mandir, one of the famous temples of Janakpur, Nepal and religious persecution.[31][32] compelling the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy repara- In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy move- tions to Peking. ments and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Com- Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the invasion of Ti- pany over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal bet by China in the 1950s, India sought to counterbal- eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1815–16). ance the perceived military threat from its northern neigh- At first the British underestimated the Nepalese and bour by taking pre-emptive steps to assert more influence were soundly defeated until committing more military re- in Nepal. India sponsored both King Tribhuvan (ruled sources than they had anticipated needing. They were 1911–55) as Nepal’s new ruler in 1951 and a new gov- greatly impressed by the valour and competence of their ernment, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress Party, adversaries. Thus began the reputation of “Gurkhas” as thus terminating Rana hegemony in the kingdom. fierce and ruthless soldiers. The war ended in the Treaty After years of power wrangling between the king and the of Sugauli, under which Nepal ceded recently captured government, King Mahendra (ruled 1955–72) scrapped portions of Sikkim and lands in Terai as well as the right the democratic experiment in 1959, and a “partyless” to recruit soldiers. Madheshis, though having supported Panchayat system was made to govern Nepal until 1989, the British East India Company during the war, had their when the “Jan Andolan” (People’s Movement) forced lands gifted to Nepalese. King Birendra (ruled 1972–2001) to accept constitutional Factionalism inside the royal family led to a period of in- reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament that stability. In 1846 a plot was discovered revealing that took seat in May 1991.[33] In 1991–92, Bhutan expelled the reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Ba- roughly 100,000 Bhutanese citizens of Nepali descent, hadur Kunwar, a fast-rising military leader. This led to most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps the Kot Massacre; armed clashes between military per- in eastern Nepal ever since.[34] sonnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the ex- In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started ecution of several hundred princes and chieftains around a bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a the country. Jung Bahadur Kunwar emerged victorious people’s republic by violent means.

Load more