Nepal History
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History[edit | edit source]
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.
The name Nepal is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient India when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rajput Rana dynasty of premiers.
The country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990's and early 2000's resulted in the proclamation of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.
The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, establishes Nepal as a federal secular parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and the People's Republic of China in 1960.
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Timeline[edit | edit source]
1767 -The Battle of Kirtipur is also known for its vicious fighting and intense cruelty
1815 - 1816 The Anglo-Nepalese War was the treaty that established the boundary line of Nepal and was signed between the East India Company and King of Nepal
1923 - The United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship that superseded the Sugauli Treaty of 1816
1924 - Legalized slavery was abolished in Nepal but an estimated 234,600 people are enslaved in modern-day Nepal
1996 - The Communist Party of Nepal started a violent bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's republic. This led to the long Nepali Civil War and more than 12,000 deaths
2007 - 2008 A bill was passed in parliament to amend the constitution – replacing "Provisions regarding the King" by "Provisions of the Head of the State" – declaring Nepal a federal republic
2015 - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal and two weeks later, on 12 May, another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit Nepal, which left more than 8,500 people dead and about 21,000 injured
| Period | Description |
| ca. 563 B.C. | Buddha born in Lumbini; |
| ca. A.D.400-750 | Licchavi kingdom in power in Kathmandu |
| 750-1200 | "Transitional" kingdom in power in Kathmandu Valley |
| 1100-1484 | Khasa Mall kings rule in western Nepal |
| 1200-16 | Arimalla, first monarch of the Malla Dynasty, rules in Kathmandu Valley. |
| 1312 | Khasa king Ripumalla leads raid in Kathmandu Valley |
| 1345-46 | Sultan Shams ud-din Ilyas of Bengal leads raid in Kathmandu Valley. |
| 1382-95 | Jayasthitimalla rules as king of united Malla kingdom in Kathmandu Valley. |
| 1428-82 | Yakshamalla reigns - height of united Malla kingdom. |
| 1484 | Malla kingdom divided; three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Bhadgaon, and Patan established. |
| 1559 | Gorkha kindgom established by Dravya Shah. |
| 1606-33 | Ram Shah of Gorkha reigns; Gorkha kindgom experiences first expansion. |
| 1743 | Prithvi Narayan Shah ascends to throne of Gorkha. |
| 1768-90 | Gorkha conquers Kathmandu and Patan, Bhadgaon, eastern Nepal, and western Nepal. |
| 1775 | Prithvi Narayan Shah dies, first king of united Nepal. |
| 1814-1816 | The Anglo-Nepalese War and the resulting Treaty of Sagauli reduces the territory of Nepal. |
| 1846 | Jang Bahadur Rana takes over as prime minister and establishes hereditary Rana rule. |
| 1946 | The Nepali Congress Party is founded. |
| 1947 | The United States establishes diplomatic relations with Nepal. |
| 1948 | The country's first constitution, the Government of Nepal Act, is promulgated; Prime Minister Padma Shamsher Rana resigns in the wake of opposition to the new constitution from conservative Ranas; Mohan Shamsher becomes prime minister; constitution is suspended. |
| 1950 | Ranas are in open conflict with King Tribhuvan implicated in Nepali Congress Party conspiracy against Rana power, seeks and is granted asylum in India; government troops desert to the rebel side; over 140 Ranas join the dissidents. Treaty of Peace and Friendship and Treaty of Trade and Commerce are signed with India. |
| 1951 | Mohan Shamsher capitulates; King Tribhuvan is restored to the throne; Mohan Shamsher heads new coalition cabinet for 10 months; he is secceeded by Nepali Congress Party leader M.P. Koirala as prime minister; |
| 1952 | Koirala resigns; king assumes direct rule. |
| 1953 | Koirala is recalled as prime minister. |
| 1955 | King Tribhuvan dies and is succeeded by Mahendra; Nepal joins the United Nations; National Police Force is formed; Koirala resigns; Mahendra takes over direct control. |
| 1956 | Tanka Prasad Acharya is named prime minister; Border treaty with China concluded; |
| 1957 | Acharya resigns; K.I. Singh becomes prime minister for a few months. |
| 1958 | USSR opens an embassy at Kathmandu; Subarna Shamsher is named new prime minister. |
| 1959 | United States opens an embassy at Kathmandu; New constitution is promulgated, superseding Constitution of 1951; First general elections are held; Nepal Congress Party wins absolute majority; Tribhuvan University founded; |
| 1960 | B.P. Koirala heads first popular government; Koirala's policies are opposed by the king, and Koirala is abruptly dismissed; all political parties are banned; the king takes over direct control of government; Treaty of Peace and Friendship with China is concluded. |
| 1961 | Kind proclaims guided democracy; Boundary treaty with China renewed. |
| 1962 | New constitution, third since 1951, establishes panchayat form of government; Land Reorganization Act and Mulki Ain, new legal code, are promulgated; anti-Indian riots erupt in Kathmandu over Indian aid to dissidents. |
| 1963 | Emergency is eneded; Panchayat elections begin; National Guidance Council is formed; Tulsi Giri is named prime minister; |
| 1965 | Local government reorganized; Giri resigns; Surya Bahadur Thapa is appointed prime minister; |
| 1969 | Thapa yields ofice to Kirti Nidhi Bista; Indian military mission withdrawn. |
| 1970 | Bista resigns; Raj Bhandari becomes interim prime minister. |
| 1971 | Bista is recalled as prime minister; New trade and transit treaty negotiated with India. |
| 1972 | Mahedra dies and is succeeded by King Birendra; Development regions are established under National Development Council. |
| 1973 | Nagendra Prasad Rijal is named prime minister; Singha Durbar, the seat of government, burns down. |
| 1975 | Rijal resigns; Tulsi Giri is appointed prime minister; King Birendra is crowned; "Go to the Village" campaign is launched. |
| 1976 | B.P. Koirala returns from India and is arrested; Treaty with India expires and is not renewed. |
| 1977 | Tulsi Giri resigns as prime minister in the wake of corruption charges; former prime minister Kirti Nidhi Bista is reinstated as prime minister. |
| 1979 | Following nationwide demonstrations by students, Bista is replaced as prime minister by Surya Bahadur Thapa; king announces referendum on the panchayat form of government. |
| 1980 | In national referendum people vote for continuance of the panchayat form of government and against the reintroduction of political parties. |
| 1982 | B.P. Koirala, Nepali Congress Party leader dies. |
| 1983 | Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is defeated in the Rastriya Panchayat and is replaced by Lokendra Bahadur Chand. |
| 1986 | Second elections to Rastriya Panchayat held; Marich Man Singh Shrestha becomes prime minister. |
| 1989 | Failure to renegotiate trade and transit treaties with India disrupts economy. |
| 1990 | Demonstrations for the restoration of democracy; panchayat system is dissolved; interim government made up of various parties and king's representatives formed; new constitution promulgated. |
| 1991 | Elections to Parliament held; Nepali Congress wins a narrow majority; G.P. Koirala becomes prime minister.President of Nepali Congress and interim prime minister, K.P. Bhattarai, defeated in the polls by the leader of CPN-UML, Madan Bhandari. |
| 1992 | Local elections held; Nepali Congress wins a majority of the seats. |
| 1993 | Madan Bhandari killed in a mysterious car crash. Violent demonstrations by communists to overthrow Koirala's government; devastating floods kill hundreds. |
| 1994 | Prime minister Koirala resigns and calls for new elections afte losing a parliamentary vote due to the abstention of 36 members of his own party. New elections in November results in a hung parliament; CPN-UML, which emerged as the single largest party, formes a minority government. |
| 1995 | The minority goverment of CPN-UML loses power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence. A coalition government of Nepali Congress, RPP and Sadhvabana is formed. |
| 1997 | The NC-RPP coalition government loses power resulting in a UML-RPP coalition. This government itself loses power six months later to another NC-RPP coalition. Ganesh Man Singh, who led the 1990 democracy movement dies. |
| 1999 | The third general elections after restoration of democracy results in Nepali Congress coming back to power with an absolute majority in the House. Krishna P. Bhattarai becomes Prime Minister for the second time. |
Sources: The Third World Encyclopedia; Nepal and Bhutan, Country Studies.
Other Websites[edit | edit source]
Source: Grolier's Encyclopedia