General Info on Nepal
Nepal, officially called The Kingdom of Nepal, is a constitutional monarchy bounded on the north by the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China and on the east, south, and west by India. The area of Nepal is 140,797 sq km. Nepal occupies one of the most mountainous parts of the world, a characteristic that has contributed to its isolation. Because of its landlocked position, however, Nepal relies on the maintenance of friendly relations with the neighbouring nations of China and India.
Land and Resources
Mountains dominate the landscape of Nepal. These physical barriers have isolated the country and hindered development of its natural resources. Of the ten highest mountains in the world, nine including Mount Everest (8848 m), the highest are located entirely or partly within Nepal's borders.
Nepal can be divided into three parallel bands trending north-west to south-east. Closest to China is the Himalaya Range, where average elevations exceed 4570 m. The second band is dominated by the Mahabharat and Churia ranges of the Himalaya; elevations in these systems average about 2500 m. The third and southernmost region is the Terai, an area of plains, swamps, and forests. The alluvial soils of the Terai are fertile, unlike those of the mostly barren uplands. Other than the Terai, the only sizeable area of flat land is the Valley of Kathmandu, a basin in the centre of the country.
Nepal's principal rivers flow generally north to south and empty into the Ganges River. The three major streams crossing the country are the Karnali, Kosi, and Narayani rivers. The country has no sizable lakes. Elevation plays a major role in the climate of Nepal. In the high mountain ranges, temperatures remain cold throughout the year. In the Terai and the Valley of Kathmandu, summers are hot and rainy and winters are cool. Temperatures are highest from late spring to midsummer. The higher mountain elevations are always snow-covered.
Vegetation and Animal Life
The Terai supports extensive hardwood and bamboo forests in areas where clearing for agriculture has not taken place. On the lower slopes of the mountains, pines flourish amid oaks and wild flowers. Firs and shrubs predominate in the higher regions, and only small plants grow at elevations above 3660. The wildlife of the Terai includes tigers, leopards, deer, and elephants, which inhabit humid areas. Wild goats, wild sheep, and wolves live at higher elevations. A creature known as the yeti, or Abominable Snowman, is believed by some to roam the mountain peaks.
Population
Nepal's indigenous population consists of two major groups, the numerically dominant Indo-Nepalese, whose ancestors migrated into the country from the south, and the Tibeto-Nepalese, whose forebears entered Nepal from the north. Much intermingling of the two groups has occurred. Tibeto-Nepalese ethnic groups include the Sherpas, who are noted as guides and porters for mountain-climbing expeditions, and the Gurung, noted as soldiers. The Gurkhas, skilled soldiers of various Nepalese ethnic groups, have served in the British and Indian armed forces. Nepal's population (1990 estimate) was 18,916,000. The overall population density in 1990 was about 134 persons per sq km. Most of the people are concentrated in the Kathmandu region and in the Terai region. The mountain areas in the north are sparsely inhabited.
Language and Religion
The official language of the country is Nepali, an Indo-European tongue used by about half of Nepal's inhabitants. It is similar to Hindi. At least 80 other languages are also spoken in Nepal, from four different language families. Hinduism is the official religion of Nepal and is allegedly professed by about 80% of the population. The Nepalese practice of Hinduism includes elements from Buddhism, which also is an important religion of the country. The Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, probably was born in what is now Nepal. Nepal has never been colonised by another nation, and as such it has developed a self-contained culture and society.
The dominant Hindu religion pervades Nepali culture, along with some Buddhist influence. Pagoda temples and buildings with carved wood trim are found throughout Nepal. The National Museum of Nepal (1928), in Kathmandu, has a variety of collections on the culture and history of the country. The principal libraries also are in Kathmandu.
Economy
In the late 1990s Nepal had one of the world's least developed economies. About 90% of the labour force was employed in agriculture. The gross domestic product was estimated at $4.5 billion, or only $280 per capita. The annual budget called for $388 million in domestic revenue and $813 million in expenditure. About 17% of Nepal's land area is cultivated, primarily in the Terai region. Rice, corn, wheat, potatoes, sugarcane, millet, cotton, jute, and tobacco are grown, and poultry, cattle, goats, sheep, and buffaloes are raised.
History
Forces under a raja of the Rajput military caste, in flight from invading Muslims, overran Nepal in 1324, and his descendants continued to rule until 1768. In the latter year the country was seized by invading Gurkhas. Following consolidation of their power, the Gurkhas attempted (1790) the conquest of Tibet, but they were defeated two years later by a Chinese force, which briefly occupied part of Nepal. Relations between the Gurkhas and the British in India were governed by treaty from 1791 to 1803, when, as a result of frontier disputes, the British withdrew their representative from the Nepalese capital. Friction increased steadily during the next decade, and finally, in November 1814, the British declared war on Nepal. The ensuing conflict ended (1815) in victory for the British. Under the terms of the peace agreement, ratified in 1816, the Nepalese government relinquished an extensive section of the Terai and other border territories. Pro- and anti-British groups in the ruling circles of Nepal contended for power during the next 30 years. In 1846 the pro-British army leader Sir Jung Bahadur of the Rana family seized control of the government and became prime minister. Jung Bahadur initiated a long period of political domination by the Rana family, in which the office of prime minister was made hereditary. In 1854 Jung Bahadur launched a successful invasion of Tibet. By the provisions of the peace treaty in 1856 Tibet granted diplomatic and commercial rights to Nepal and agreed in addition to the payment of a yearly tribute. Nepal rendered valuable assistance to the British during the Sepoy Mutiny (1857-59) and during World War I. The British government reaffirmed the independence of Nepal by the terms of a treaty concluded in 1923. Nepal supported the Allied cause during World War II. Nepal and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1948.
The hereditary Rana regime was subjected to increasing criticism during 1949, particularly by dissidents residing in India. The political-reform movement, which was approved by the Indian government and directed by the newly created Nepalese Congress party, won the support of King Bir Bikram Tribhuvan. Like his predecessors under the Ranas, he possessed purely nominal powers. His intervention in domestic politics deepened the crisis, however, and on November 7, 1950, Prime Minister Maharaja Mohan Shumsher Rana removed him from the throne. A few days later the king fled to India, and Nepalese Congress insurgents began military operations along the southern frontier. The Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, refusing to recognise King Tribhuvan's deposition, requested the reorganisation of the Nepalese government along democratic lines and the election of a constituent assembly.
Prime Minister Rana acceded to Nehru's suggestions on January 8, 1951. Within the next few weeks representatives of the Congress party were installed in the cabinet. The king returned to the Nepalese capital on February 15. Friction between the Rana and Congress party factions culminated on November 16, 1951, in the removal of Prime Minister Rana from power and the formation of a Congress party-Independent cabinet headed by the Congress party leader Matrika Prasad Koirala.
As a first step toward the establishment of constitutional rule, the king convened an advisory assembly at Kathmandu on July 4, 1952. Supporters of the old aristocratic regime opposed the democratic trend, and the new system began to break down. During the remainder of the decade political unrest continued, with several changes of government and intervals in which the king resumed direct rule. King Tribhuvan died in 1955 and was succeeded by his son Mahendra Bir Bikram. In February 1958, the king promulgated the country's first democratic constitution, and the next year the first Nepalese elections were held for a parliament consisting of two houses. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Congress party, and Bisheswar Prasad Koirala, half brother of the former prime minister, formed a government. In December 1960, declaring that the regime had been corrupt and inefficient, King Mahendra dismissed the government and suspended Parliament. The king, considering the parliamentary system unsuited to Nepalese conditions, proclaimed a new constitution in 1962. The government then instituted social reforms, including land reform and modernising the legal code to remove the basis for caste discrimination.
When the king died in 1972, he was succeeded by his son Birendra Bir Bikram, who was formally crowned in 1975. The young king initially exercised strong control over the government, attempting to repress the reform movement led by former prime minister Bisheswar Prasad Koirala. As anti-monarchist sentiments grew in the late 1970s and serious riots challenged his authority, the king relaxed his grip somewhat.
In a 1980 referendum on the form of government, the voters decided to retain the present nonparty Panchayat system with certain modifications. Elections under the new provisions were held in 1981 and 1986. After a new wave of prodemocracy protests in early 1990, the king ended the 30-year ban on political parties, and a multiparty coalition government took office in April. In May 1991 the Nepali Congress party won the country's first democratic election in 32 years.
Since then, Nepal has discovered that establishing a workable democratic system is an enormously difficult task - especially when it is the country's first such system. The situation has been further exacerbated by a wafer-thin economy, massive unemployment, illiteracy and an ethnically and religiously fragmented population that continues to grow at an alarming rate.
On 1 June, 2001 ten members of Nepal's royal family, including King Birendra and Queen Ashwarya, were shot by Crown Prince Dipendra in the worst mass killing of royalty since the 1918 murder of the last tsar of Russia and his family by Bolshevik revolutionaries. Following the killings, Crown Prince Dipendra then shot himself. He died three days after the massacre. A full inquiry of the incident supports this sequence of events though controversy still surrounds the Crown Prince's involvement in the shootings. The Crown Prince is believed to have shot the members of the royal family under the influence of drugs and alcohol and following their refusal to allow him to marry his girlfriend, Devyani Rana, who has a Nepali father and Indian mother.
Prince Gyanendra, King Birendra's brother, is now head of the country. Many questions still surround the incident -- was it an accident or did a bitter division in the family play a part? In the wake of the swift Hindu funerals, heightened emotions among the populace had been directed towards at an unstable government and a political system that did little to inform or protect a now decimated royal clan.
How King Gyanendra handled his "shock" succession to the throne was closely watched by a population which greeted his accession with rude silence followed by violent rioting. Many had regarded Birendra as an anchor of stability in the kingdom, which is racked by political feuding and a bloody Maoist rebellion. Some doubt the new king can command the same respect, and even more are wary of the fact that his son - who is next in line to the throne despite not yet being named crown prince - had a bad reputation compared to his peer and friend, Dipendra. All this is fuelled conspiracy talk, especially outside the capital where the feuding government's hold on power was even more tenuous. Indeed in 2002 the government become embroiled in even more bitter confrontations with the Maoists. However a dramatic change in the situation occurred in early 2003 when the government and Maoists signed a peace accord and agreed to release all prisoners of war and announced guidelines for peace talks. Since then the Maoists have ceased their military campaigns on government targets and the situation is looking more promising, certainly than it has done for some time.
Administrative Boundaries
For administrative purposes, Nepal is divided into 14 zones and 75 districts. These zones and districts are listed on this page in both the Nepali (Devanagari) script and also in correct Indological transliteration following the phonological rules of Nepali. The districts which fall within a particular zone are shown indented slightly to the right.
मेची Mecī
इलाम Ilām
झापा Jhāpā
पाँचथर Pā̃cthar
ताप्लेजुङ Tāplejuṅ
कोशी Kośī
मोरङ Moraṅ
सुनसरी Sunsarī
धनकुटा Dhankuṭā
तेह्रथुम Tehrathum
भोजपुर Bhojpur
संखुवासभा Sãkhuvāsabhā
सगरमाथा Sagarmāthā
सप्तरी Saptarī
सिराहा Sirāhā
उदयपुर Udayapur
खोटाङ Khoṭāṅ
ओखलढुङ्गा Okhalḍhuṅgā
सोलुखुम्बु Solukhumbu
जनकपुर Janakpur
धनुषा Dhanuṣā
महोत्तरी Mahottarī
सर्लाही Sarlāhī
सिन्धुली Sindhulī
रामेछाप Rāmechāp
दोलखा Dolakhā
नारायणी Nārāyaṇī
रौतहट Rautahaṭ
बारा Bārā
पर्सा Parsā
चितवन Citvan
मकवानपुर Makavānpur
बाग्मती Bāgmatī
ललितपुर Lalitpur
काभ्रे Kābhre
भक्तपुर Bhaktapur
काठमाडौं Kāṭhmāḍaũ
धादिङ Dhādiṅ
सिन्धुपाल्चोक Sindhupālcok
नुवाकोट Nuvākoṭ
रसुवा Rasuvā
गण्डकी Gaṇḍakī
तनहुँ Tanahũ
गोरखा Gorkhā
लमजुङ Lamjuṅ
स्याङ्जा Syāṅjā
कास्की Kāskī
मनाङ Manāṅ
लुम्बिनी Lumbinī
नवलपरासी Navalparāsī
रूपन्देही Rūpandehī
पाल्पा Pālpā
कपिलवस्तु Kapilvastu
अर्घाखाँची Arghākhā̃cī
गुल्मी Gulmī
धौलागीरी Dhaulāgīrī
बाग्लुङ Bāgluṅ
पर्वत Parvat
म्याग्दी Myāgdī
मुस्ताङ Mustāṅ
राप्ती Rāptī
दाङ Dāṅ
प्युठान Pyuṭhān
रोल्पा Rolpā
सल्यान Salyān
रूकुम Rūkum
बाँके Bā̃ke
भेरी Bherī
बर्दिया Bardiyā
सुर्खेत Surkhet
जाजरकोट Jājarkoṭ
दैलेख Dailekh
कर्णाली Karṇālī
डोल्पा Ḍolpā
जुम्ला Jumlā
कालिकोट Kālikoṭ
मुगु Mugu
हुम्ला Humlā
सेती Setī
कैलाली Kailālī
अछाम Achām
डोटी Ḍoṭī
बाजुरा Bājurā
बझाङ Bajhāṅ
माहाकाली Māhākālī
कञ्चनपुर Kañcanpur
डडेलधुरा Ḍaḍeldhurā
बैतडी Baitaḍī
दार्चुला Dārculā
adapted and edited by Mark Turin.