Nepal — An Overview

Nepal has been a kingdom for at least 1,500 years. During most of that period, the Kathmandu Valley has been Nepal's political, economic, and cultural center. The valley's fertile soil supported thriving village farming communities, and its location along trans-Himalayan trade routes allowed merchants and rulers alike to profit.

For a long period of time since Nepal was united, it stayed closed to the outer world as per the fear of the British government after the order of King Prithvi Narayan. This continued for long till the Late king Mahendra who felt the urge of exploring the outer world and exposing our naturally gifted Heaven like Country to be exposed to the world and become a place of destination for its development and prosperity.

Nepal has gone through a series of changes from kirantis, lichhavi till today's decendents of late king Prithvi Narayan Shah.

Nepal is an economically unstable country but still stands as the best holiday destination due to its vast varieties of monarchy history, art, culture, tradition and natural beauties.

But, no matter what the time or situation be,Nepal is a rich place to be where one can enjoy alot and gain more knowledge.

Reinstitution of Parliament

In a nationally televised address, the then King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev reinstated the old Nepal house of representative on April 24, 2006.The King called upon the Seven Party Alliance to bear the responsibility of taking the nation on the path to national unity and prosperity, and end the civil war while ensuring permanent peace and safeguarding multiparty democracy.

The re-institution of Parliament was accepted by the SPA and declared that Girija Prashad Koirala would lead the new government. The SPA stated that the new parliament will hold elections for a body that would write a new constitution.

The move was rejected by the Maoists leaders and Baburam Bhattarai stated that merely restoring the parliament was not going to resolve the problems and that the rebels planned to continue fighting against government forces. Till date, Maoists demand the formation of a Constituent Assembly and abolition of the monarchy.

On April 27, however, the Maoist  responded to demands by Girija Prasad Koirala and announced a unilateral three-month truce in the Nepalese civil war.In addition to this, on May 1, Bhattarai announced that if "the elections [to a Constituent Assembly] are free and fair, one has to respect the result of the elections. Then of course we will abide by the verdict of the people." This was seen as a large step forward as it shows the first signs of Maoist acceptance of the democratic process.

On May 2, Koirala announced the new government cabinet including himself and three other ministers from the nepali congress: K.P. Sharma Oli from CPN, Gopal Man Shrestha from nepali congress and Prabhu Narayan Chaudhari from the United left form. This was followed on May 12 by the arrest of four ministers from the ousted royalist government and an investigation into alleged human rights voilation by the army during the General Strike.

Nepalese Civil War

The Nepalese Civil War was an armed conflict between government forces and Maoist fighters in Nepal which lasted from 1996 until 2006.

The war was launched by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on 13 February 1996, with the aim of overthrowing the Nepalese monarchy and establishing a 'People's Republic'. It ended with the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed on 21 November 2006.

More than 15000 people were killed (4,500 by Maoists and 8,200 by the government) and an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people were internally displaced as a result of the conflict. This conflict disrupted the majority of rural development activities and led to a deep and complex Left Front which, together with the Nepali Congress, was the backbone of the broad based movement for democratic change. However, communist groups uncomfortable with the alliance between ULF and Congress formed a parallel front, the United National People's Movement.

The UNPM called for elections to a Constituent Assembly, and rejected compromises made by ULF and Congress with the royal house. In November 1990 the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) was formed, including key elements of constituents of UNPM. The new party held its first convention in 1991, the adopted a line of "protracted armed struggle on the route to a new democratic revolution" and that the party would remain an underground party.

The CPN(UC) set up Samyukta Jana Morcha, with Baburam Bhattarai as its head, as an open front ten contest elections. In the 1991 elections, SJM became the third force in the Nepali parliament. However, disagreements surged regarding which tactics were to be used by the party. One sector argued for immediate armed revolution whereas others (including senior leaders like Nirmal Lama) claimed that Nepal was not yet ripe for armed struggle.

1990 People's Movement

The 1990 People's Movement in Nepali -  जनआन्दोलन (Jana Andolan) was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional democracy which also eliminated the system of Panchayat.

The movement was marked by a unity between the various political parties, and not only did various Communist parties group together in the United Left Front, but they also cooperated with parties such as Nepali Congress. 

One result of this unity was the formation of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

In 2006, following the restoration of absolutism in Nepal, the Loktantra Andolan was launched which once again illustrated a unity between various political parties leading some to brand it Jana Andolan-II.

The 1990's People’s Movement drafted the constitution into effect in November 1990. This constitution forced the monarchy of late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev to hand over decisions of government to the Nepali people. Through rallies and protest, King Birendra was convinced to enforce a new constitution of the people, and “identifies the people as the source of political legitimacy . . . and guarantees of basic rights” (Baral). As per that decision, now the Nepalese citizens 18 years of age and up are eligible to vote. But, due to the high illiteracy rates, nearly 40% of the population, political parties are related or associated with symbols. For instance, the Tree represents the Nepali Congress Party, and the Sun represents the Unified Marxist Party.

However, the construction of the constitution faced many difficulties because of the chasm between elites and the typical voter. The leaders of the most prominent parties are typically upper class citizens who are rarely concerned or associate with the larger section of the Nepal population, in which the typical voter had a high probability of being illiterate and high ethnic attachment. This large disparity increased the difficulty of creating a usable system that allowed electoral officials and Nepali citizens create a new system, yet still embrace traditions and beliefs about caste.

List of Shah Kings of Modern Nepal

A total of 12 Kings ruled Nepal from 1799 to 2065 BS

    * Prithivi Narayan Shah(BS Chitra 1799- Magh 1831, 32 Years)
    * Pratap Singh Shah(BS 1831- 1834, 2 Years)
    * Rana Bahadur Shah (BS 1834- 1855, 21 Years)
    * Girvan Yudha Bikram Shah (BS 1955- 1873, 18 Years)
    * Rajendra Bikram Shah (BS 1873- 1904, 31 Years)
    * Surendra Bikram Shah (BS 1904- 1938, 34 Years)
    * Prithivi Bir Bikram Shah (BS 1938- 1968, 30 Years)
    * Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (BS 1968- 2011, 43 Years)
    * Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah (BS 2011- 2028, 18 Years)
    * Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (BS 17 Mag 2028- 19 Jestha 2054, 30 Years)
    * Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (19 Jestha 2054- 22 Jestha, 2058, 54 Hrs. 30 Mins)
    * Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (22 Jestha, 2058 - 15 Jestha, 2065, 7 years) 

Shah Dynasty, Unification of Nepal

King Prithvi Narayan Shah (c 1769-1775), was the one with whom we move into the modern period of Nepal's history. He was the ninth generation descendant of late King Dravya Shah (1559-1570), the founder of the ruling house of Gorkha. King Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father King Nara Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 AD.  Prithvi Narayan Shah was quite aware of the political situation of the Valley kingdoms as well as of the Baise and Chaubise principalities. He foresaw the need for unifying the small principalities as an urgent condition for survival in the future and set him self to the task accordingly.

His assessment of the situation among the hill principalities was correct, and the principalities were subjugated fairly easily. King Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory march began in 1744 with the conquest of Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha. After which he occupied strategic points in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley thus, the communications of valley with the outside world were cut off. The occupation of the Kuti Pass stopped the Valley's trade with Tibet in about 1756 . Finally, King Prithvi Narayan Shah entered the Valley after the victory of Kirtipur. 

King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British and so the East India Company sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain Kinloch in 1767. but the British force was defeated at Sindhuli by King Prithvi Narayan Shah's army. This defeat of the British completely shattered the hopes of King Jaya Prakash Malla. The capture of Kathmandu (September 25. 1768) was dramatic, as the people of Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indrajatra, Prithvi Narayan Shah and his men marched into the city. A throne was put on the palace courtyard for the king of Kathmandu on which Prithvi Narayan Shah sat on and was hailed by the people as the king of Kathmandu. But King Jaya Prakash Malla managed to escape with his life and took asylum in Patan. When Patan was captured a few weeks later, both King Jaya Prakash Malla and the king of Patan, Tej Narsingh Mallal took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was also captured after some time. Thus the Kathmandu Valley was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah and Kathmandu became the capital of the modern Nepal after 1769.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was successful in bringing together diverse religio-ethnic groups under one national. He was a true nationalist in his outlook and was in favor of adopting a closed-door policy with regard to the British. Not only his social and economic views guided the country's socio-economic course for a long time, his use of the imagery, 'a yam between two boulders in Nepal's geopolitical context, formed the principal guideline of the country`s foreign policy for future centuries.

Malla Dynasty

After the fall of the Lichchhavis came the Malla period during which the foundation of the city of Kantipur currently kathmandu was laid. The early Malla rule started with Ari Malla in the 12th century and over the next two centuries grew into a large empire before disintegrating into small principalities which later became known as the Baisi. 

This was more or less coincidental with the emergence of the Chaubisi. The history of these principalities remains shrouded up until the time when they joined other kingdoms, both large and small, to form the unified Kingdom of Nepal.

Jayasthiti Malla, with whom commences the later Malla period in the Kathmandu Valley, reigned towards the end of the 14th century. Though his rule was rather short, his place among the rulers in the Valley is eminent for the various social and economic reforms such as the 'Sanskritization' of the Valley people, new methods of land measurement and allocation etc. Yakshya Malla, the grandson of Jayasthiti Malla, ruled the Kathmandu Valley until almost the end of the 15th century. After his demise, the Valley was divided into three independent Valley kingdom: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan, in about 1484 A.D. This division led the Malla rulers into internecine wars for territorial and commercial gains. Mutually debilitating wars gradually weakened them and by the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shahs invasion of the Valley, they had by themselves reached the brink of political extinction. The last rulers were Jaya Prakash Malla, Tej Narsingh Malla and Ranjit Malla of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur respectively.