History of Nepal
The
History of Nepal is characterized by its isolated position in the
Himalayas and its two dominant neighbors,
India and
China. Even though it was independent through most of its history, it was split in three from the 15th to 18th century. It was united as a monarchy, and experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. Since the 1990s, the country is plagued by a civil war.
The
toponym "
Nepal" may derive from the
Sanskrit nipalaya, which means "at the foot of the mountains" or "abode at the foot," a reference to its location in relation to the
Himalayas. Thus, it may be an Eastern equivalent of the European toponym "Piedmont." It has also been suggested that the name comes from the
Tibetan niyampal, which means "holy land".
Neolithic tools found in the
Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. Documented references reach back to the first millennium BCE, when ancient Indian epics such as the
Mahabharata mention the
Kiratas, the inhabitants of Nepal. It appears that people who were probably of
Tibeto-Burman ethnicity lived in Nepal 2,500 years ago.
Indo-Iranian (
Aryan) tribes began arriving around
1500 BCE from the northwest. Around
1000 BCE, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the region. One of the earliest confederations was that of the
Shakya clan, whose capital was
Kapilavastu, near the present-day border with India. One of its princes was
Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BCE), who renounced his royalty to lead an ascetic life and came to be known as the
Buddha ("the enlightened one"). By
260 BCE, most of
northern India was ruled by the
Maurya Empire. Although there is no evidence that Nepal was ever controlled by the Mauryas, there is evidence of at least the influence of
Ashokaâ€"the ruler of the
Maurya empire from
273 to
232 BCE and a convert to
Buddhismâ€"have been found in the Kathmandu Valley. In the fourth century CE, the area fell under the
Gupta Dynasty. Nepal was never under the direct control of the Guptas, although they influenced its culture.
Between about
400 and
750 AD,
Nepal's present capital
Kathmandu was ruled by the
Licchavi kingdom. Archaeological evidence for this period mainly consists of stonework inscriptions, reckoned on two separate, consecutive eras. The former,
Ã…Å¡aka era has an epoch corresponding to
78 AD, whereas the latter
AṃshuvarmÄ or
MÄnadeva 2 era reckons from
576.
Whilst most such inscriptions list the dates and commissioners of stonework construction, some communicate royal edicts, religious mantras or historical notes. It is through the corroboration of local myths with such evidence that a people prior to the Licchavi have been identified, known as the
Kirata. Of these people very little is known.
The
Licchavi rulers arranged for the documentation of information on politics, society, and the economy in the region. Most of the Licchavi records—written in
Sanskrit—are deeds reporting donations to religious foundations, predominantly Hindu temples; and the last such record was added in
733.
 |
Map of Nepal |
The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late
eighth century and was followed by a
Newari era, from
879, although the extent of their control over the entire country is uncertain. By the late
11th century, southern Nepal came under the influence of the
Chalukaya Empire of
southern India. Under the Chalukayas, Nepal's religious establishment changed as the kings patronised Hinduism instead of the prevailing Buddhism.
By the early
12th century, leaders were emerging whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix
malla ("wrestler").
Arimalla was the first king of this dynasty, which was initially marked by upheaval before the kings consolidated their power over the next 200 years.
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Hindu temples in Patan, the capital one of the three medieval kingdoms |
Thirteenth-century Nepal was occasionally pillaged by the
Delhi Sultanate of
northern India, and was marked by increased militarisation. By the late
14th century much of the country came under the rule of the king
Jayasthitimalla, who managed to unite most of the fragmented power bases. This unity was short-lived: in
1482 the kingdom was carved into three:
Kathmandu,
Patan, and
Bhadgaon.
Modern
Nepal was created in the latter half of the
18th century when
Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small
principality of
Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill states. The country was frequently called the
Gorkha Kingdom. It is a misconception that the Gurkhas took their name from the Gorkha region of Nepal. The region was given its name after the Gurkhas had established their control of these areas. Gurkha, also spelt as Gorkha, are people from Nepal who take their name from the legendary eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. Gurkhas claim descent from the Hindu Rajputs and Brahmins of Northern India, who entered modern Nepal from the west.
After decades of rivalry between the medieval kingdoms,
Prithvi Narayan Shah dedicated himself at an early age to the conquest of the Kathmandu valley and the creation of a single state, which he achieved in
1768. Between 1717 and 1733, the Nepalese in the west and Bhutanese in the east attacked
Sikkim many times, culminating with the destruction of the capital
Rabdentse by the Nepalese. The sikkim king fled to
Tibet. After Shah's death, the Shah dynasty began to expand their kingdom into India. Between 1788 and 1791, Nepal invaded Tibet and robbed
Tashilhunpo Monastery of
Shigatse. Alarmed, the Chinese emperor
Qianlong dispatched a sizeable army that forced the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy repatriations.
After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed.Rivalry between Nepal and the
British East India Company over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the
Anglo-Nepalese War (
1814–
16), in which Nepal suffered a complete rout. The
Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1816, ceding parts of the Terrai and
Sikkim to the British in exchange for Nepalese
autonomy.
 |
Rani (Queen) of Nepal surrounded by her Ladies-in-Waiting, 1920 |
Factionalism among the
royal family led to a period of instability after the war. In
1846, Queen Rajendralakshmi plotted to overthrow
Jang Bahadur, a fast-rising military leader who was presenting a threat to her power. The plot was uncovered and the queen had several hundred princes and chieftains executed after an armed clash between
military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen. This came to be known as the
Kot Massacre. However, Bahadur emerged victorious and founded the
Rana lineage. The king was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Rana regime, a tightly centralized
autocracy, pursued a policy of isolating Nepal from external influences. This policy helped Nepal maintain its national independence during the colonial era, but it also impeded the country's economic development.
The Ranas were staunchly pro-British, and assisted the British during the
Sepoy Rebellion in
1857, and later in both
World Wars.
In
1923 Britain and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal's independence was recognised by the British.
Democratic Reform
In the late
1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese in
1950, India faced the prospect of an expansive military power operating under a radically different political philosophy on its long northern borders, and was thus keen to avoid instability in Nepal. Forced to act, India sponsored both King
Tribhuvan as Nepal's new ruler in
1951, and a new government, mostly comprising the
Nepali Congress Party. After years of power wrangling between Tribhuvan's son, King
Mahendra and the government, Mahendra dissolved the democratic experiment in
1960. In
1962 he declared that a "partyless"
panchayat system would govern Nepal.
Popular dissatisfaction against the family rule of the Ranas had started emerging from among the few educated people, who had been taught in various Indian school and colleges, and from within the Ranas, many of whom were marginalised within the Ruling Rana hierarchy. Many of these Nepalese in exile had actively taken part in the Indian Independence struggle and wanted to liberate Nepal as well from the internal autocratic occupation. The political parties like
The Prajaparishad and
The Nepali Rastriya Congress were already formed in exile by the patriotic minded people who wanted to stage both the military and popular political movement in Nepal to overthrow the autocratic Rana Regime. Among the prominent martyrs to die for the cause executed at the hands of the Ranas were
Dharma Bhakta Mathema,Shukraraj Shastri ,Gangalal Shrestha and Dasharath Chand. This culminated in
1950, King
Tribhuvan, a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fled his "palace prison" to newly independent
India, touching off an armed revolt against the Rana administration. This allowed the return of the Shah family to power and, eventually, the appointment of a non-Rana as prime minister. A period of quasiconstitutional rule followed, during which the monarch, assisted by the leaders of fledgling political parties, governed the country. During the 1950s, efforts were made to frame a constitution for Nepal that would establish a representative form of government, based on a British model.
In early
1959, King
Mahendra issued a new constitution, and the first democratic elections for a national assembly were held. The
Nepali Congress Party, a moderate socialist group, gained a substantial victory in the election. Its leader, B.P.
Koirala, formed a government and served as prime minister.
Democratic Failure
Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure 18 months later, King Mahendra dismissed the Koirala government and promulgated a new constitution on
December 16,
1962. The new constitution established a "partyless" system of panchayats (councils) which King Mahendra considered to be a democratic form of government closer to Nepalese traditions. As a pyramidal structure progressing from village assemblies to a
Rastriya Panchayat (National Parliament), the panchayat system enshrined the absolute power of the monarchy and kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) and the Parliament. One-state-one-language became the national policy and all other langauages suffered at the cost of the official language, "Nepali", which is the king's language.
King Mahendra was succeeded by his 27 year-old son, King
Birendra, in
1972. Amid student demonstrations and anti-regime activities in
1979, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide on the nature of Nepal's government--either the continuation of the panchayat system with democratic reforms or the establishment of a multiparty system. The referendum was held in May 1980, and the panchayat system won a narrow victory. The king carried out the promised reforms, including selection of the prime minister by the Rastriya Panchayat.
People in rural areas had expected that their interests would be better represented after the adoption of parliamentary democracy in 1990.
Jana Andolan forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats and formed the first government in 32 years. In May
1991, Nepal held its first election in nearly 50 years.
When promised land reforms failed to appear, people in some districts started to organize to enact their own land reform, and to gain some power over their lives in the face of usurious landlords. However, this movement was repressed by the Nepali government, in "Operation Romeo" and "Operation Kilo Sera II" which took the lives of many of the leading activists of the struggle. As a result, many witnesses to this repression became radicalized.
Nepal Civil War
In February 1996, one of the
Maoist parties started a bid to replace the
parliamentary monarchy with a so-called people's new democratic republic, through a Maoist revolutionary strategy known as the
people's war, which has led to the
Nepal Civil War. Led by Dr.
Baburam Bhattarai and
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (also known as "Prachanda"), the insurgency began in five districts in Nepal:
Rolpa,
Rukum,
Jajarkot,
Gorkha, and
Sindhuli. The Maoists have declared the existence of a provisional "people's government" at the district level in several locations.
Since then, more than 12,000 people have died and currently 70% of Nepal's countryside is under Maoist rule. The Maoists run a parallel government in the areas they control, and support a 10,000-strong militia. On
June 1,
2001, the Heir Apparent
Crown Prince Dipendra went on a killing spree in the royal palace, a violent response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice of wife. He murdered his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, his brother, sister, two uncles and three aunts, before shooting himself. Following the carnage, the throne was inherited by Birendra's brother
Gyanendra.
2001-2006
In June 2001 Crown Prince
Dipendra went on a shooting-spree assassinating 11 members of the royal family including King
Birendra and Queen
Aishwarya before shooting himself. Due to his survival he temporarily became king before dying of his wounds resulting in Prince
Gyanendra (Birendra's brother) inheriting the throne. Meanwhile, the Maoist rebellion escalated, and in October 2002 the king temporarily deposed the government and took complete control of it. A week later he reappointed another government, but the country is still very unstable because of the civil war with the Maoists, the various political factions, the king's attempts to take more control of the government and worries about the competence of Gyanendra's son and heir, Prince
Paras.
In the face of unstable governments and a Maoist siege on the Kathmandu Valley in August 2004, popular support for the monarchy began to wane. On
2005-02-01, Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers, declaring a "
state of emergency" to quash the Maoist movement. Politicians were placed under
house arrest, phone and internet lines were cut, and freedom of the press was severely curtailed. The king's new regime has made no progress in his stated aim to suppress the insurgents.
King Gyanendra took control once again on February 1, 2005. Municipal elections in February 2006 were described by the European Union as "a backward step for democracy", as the major parties boycotted the election and some candidates were forced to run for office by the army.
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1699935,00.html] In April 2006 strikes and street protests in Kathmandu forced the king to reinstate the parliament. A seven-party coalition resumed control of the government and stripped the king of most of his powers. At present, the future of monarchy remains in question, and it is unclear whether the Maoist parties, which are not part of the new government, will hold true to their cease fire.
