Nepal

A valley in Nepal with terraced hillsides for growing rice, and the Annapurna range in the distance. The highest of the Annapurna peaks, Annapurna 1, was first climbed in 1950 by a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog.

Narrow street in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Kathmandu was founded in AD 723 on the pilgrim route from India to Tibet, China, and Mongolia. It is at an altitude of 1,373 m/4,504 ft.

Pagodalike temples and palaces spread out over the Kathmandu valley, Nepal. In the distance is the hill of Swayambhu, a Buddhist shrine which also includes Hindu elements, reflecting the religious tolerance that is traditional in this mountain kingdom.

Women washing clothes outdoors, in the Gurkha region of Nepal.

A village house in Nepal.

Elephant polo being played in Nepal. The World Elephant Polo Association has its headquarters at Chitwan, in the south of the country.

The Himalayan peak Annapurna, as seen from a lowland village in Nepal. The Nepalese government has designated the area around the whole Annapurna range a conservation area.

Rice harvest in Nepal. Rice is the most important cereal crop in Nepal's mainly agricultural economy.

The ancient Buddhist stupa of Swayambhunath, Kathmandu, Nepal. Situated on a hill and visible for many miles from all sides of the valley, it is one of the most important Buddhist sites in Nepal. Although its origins pre-date the arrival of Buddhism in Kathmandu, the stupa was already a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination by the 5th century.

Rice harvesting, Nepal. Agricultural smallholdings provide the livelihood of over 80% of the population. The introduction of small-scale mechanization and improved agricultural practices in recent years has helped to lessen the burden on farmers and their families.

Terraces in Nepal. Creating terraces allows for the transformation of steep slopes and hillsides into usable farmland. Some 85% of Nepalese live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for income.

Landlocked country in the Himalayan mountain range in Central Asia, bounded north by Tibet (an autonomous region of China), east, south, and west by India.

Government

Nepal is a parliamentary democracy in transition. Under the 1990 constitution, Nepal is a pluralist, parliamentary democracy headed by a constitutional monarch. It has a two-chamber legislature, comprising a house of representatives, with 205 members directly elected for five-year terms, and a national council with 60 members, comprising ten appointees of the king, 35 members elected by the lower house, and 15 selected from the country's five development zones. Until 2006, executive power was vested jointly in the king and a council of ministers, headed by a prime minister drawn from the house of representatives' majority party grouping. However, in 2006, the king was forced to give up executive power and became a ceremonial head of state. The constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of expression, press, peaceful assembly, association, and movement.

History

From one of a group of small principalities, the Gurkha people emerged to unite Nepal under King Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1768. In 1816, after the year-long Anglo-Nepali ‘Gurkha War’, a British resident (government representative) was stationed in Kathmandu and the kingdom became a British-dependent buffer state. The country was recognized as fully independent by Britain in 1923 although it remained bound by treaty obligations until 1947, the year of India's independence. Between 1846 and 1951 Nepal was ruled by a hereditary prime minister of the Rana family. The Ranas were overthrown in a revolution led by the Nepali congress, and the monarchy, in the person of King Tribhuvan, was restored to power.

First constitution

In 1959 King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah, who had succeeded his father in 1955, promulgated the nation's first constitution and held elections. The Nepali Congress Party leader B P Koirala became prime minister and proceeded to clash with the king over policy. King Mahendra thus dissolved parliament in December 1960 and issued a ban on political parties in January 1961. In December 1962 he introduced a new, monarch-dominated constitution with an indirectly-elected national assembly and tiered system of panchayats (councils).

Pressure for reform

King Mahendra died in 1972. His son Birendra, faced with mounting agitation for political reform led by B P Koirala, held a referendum on the constitution. As a result, it was amended, and the first elections to the national assembly were held in May 1981. The new, more independently-minded assembly in July 1983 unseated Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, despite his royal support, and installed in office Lokendra Bahadur Chand. The next assembly elections, in May 1986, returned a majority of members opposed to the partyless panchayat system and resulted in the replacement of Prime Minister Chand. During 1988 strict curbs were placed on opposition activity, more than 100 opposition supporters were arrested, and government censorship was imposed.

Foreign affairs

In foreign affairs, Nepal pursued a neutral policy as a member of the non-aligned movement, seeking to create a ‘zone of peace’ in South Asia between India and China. Increased commercial links with China were resented by India who, in March 1989-June 1990, imposed a partial blockade on Nepal's borders as part of a dispute over the renegotiation of expired transit and trade duties.

Democratization process

In April 1990, after mass pro-democracy demonstrations which led to police shooting 150 protesters, King Birendra lifted the ban on opposition parties and abolished the panchayat system. In September 1990, he approved a new constitution that transferred political power from the monarchy to an elected government. In readiness for the 1991 elections, two factions of the Communist Party sank their differences to become the United Nepal Communist Party (UNCP). In May 1991, the Nepali Congress Party (NCP) narrowly secured a majority of seats in the first multiparty elections since 1959, and Girija Prasad Koirala, brother of former prime minister B P Koirala, became prime minister.

Changes to governments

In 1992 there were anti-government communist-led demonstrations in Kathmandu and Pátan. Koirala's government was defeated in parliament in 1994. In the general election in November the UNCP emerged as the biggest party and its leader, Man Mohan Adhikari, became prime minister. It was only a minority government and in September 1995 was ousted on a vote of no confidence. The NCP leader Sher Bahadur Deuba became the new prime minister, heading a centrist coalition which lasted until March 1997. This coalition government was replaced by one led by Lokendra Bahadur Chand, of the small right-wing, pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which was backed by the communists.

In October 1997, Lokendra Bahadur Chand's government was weakened when Surya Bahadur Thapa, a former prime minister, formed a breakaway faction of the RPP. The government lost a confidence motion and Thapa became prime minister, heading a fragile coalition that included members from the RPP, the Nepal Sabdhavana Party (NSP), and the NCP.

Meanwhile, the RPP rebels, led by former prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, formed a New Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (NRPP). In March 1998, the UCPN split, with half its deputies forming a new Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), led by former deputy prime minister Bam Dev Gautam.

Mounting Maoist insurgency

As part of the 1997 coalition agreement, in April 1998 Thapa stepped down as prime minister and was replaced by the NCP leader, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. His minority government sought to tackle the mounting insurgency by the underground Maoist Communist Party of Nepal, which had claimed 1,200 lives since 1996.

Bhattarai faced opposition from within the NCP for his handling of the insurgency and in February 2000 resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Girija Prasad Koirala. He soon also faced criticism within his party and outside for his management of the insurgency crisis and administrative corruption. In April 2001, his government announced that it was ready to hold talks with the rebels, to end the violence.

King murdered

On 1 June 2001, King Birendra of Nepal and seven other members of the royal family were shot dead by Crown Prince Dipendra. Dipendra, who was briefly named the new king, died in hospital three days later from self-inflicted wounds. Another member of the royal family also died from injuries sustained in the massacre. Gyanendra, Birendra's brother, was crowned in the capital, Kathmandu, and promised a full inquiry into the massacre. Curfews were introduced in Kathmandu, after rioting by Nepalese confused by contradictory reports of the killings. The team investigating the murders later officially concluded that Crown Prince Dipendra was the killer. An argument over his choice of bride was widely believed to have provoked the attack.

Maoist insurgencies continue

More than 40 policemen were killed in three separate but coordinated attacks by Maoist gangs on 7 July 2001, the eve of the 55th birthday of King Gyanendra. On 19 July 2001, Prime Minister Koirala stepped down after admitting that he had been unable to subdue the Maoist uprisings. Sher Bahadur Deuba became the new prime minister.

In November 2001, the government declared a state of emergency after Maoist rebels attacked police and army posts, killing around 100 people. However, attacks continued, with 154 Nepalese soldiers, police officers, and civilians being killed in Maoist raids on 16 February 2002, and more than 300 people killed in clashes in April 2002. Things escalated further during 2003 and 2004, with Maoist rebels laying siege to the Kathmandu Valley in August 2004.

King assumes full executive powers

In February 2005, King Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers in the face of the Maoist insurgency. A state of emergency was imposed until April 2005. The royal government vowed to crush the rebels and refused to accept, in September 2005, the Maoists offer of a three-month unilateral ceasefire.

Uprising against Gyanendra

The royal government lost popularity and in 2006 the Maoists, with support of all the parliamentary parties, arranged a mass uprising against the king. This was brutally suppressed, with daytime curfews, and thousands were injured and 21 people killed. Faced with foreign pressure to relent, in April 2006, Gyanendra announced that he would give up absolute power. Parliament was reinstated and it removed the king's power over the military, abolished his title as the descendent of a Hindu god, and required the royal family to pay taxes.

G P Koirala was returned to power as prime minister and his government soon agreed a ceasefire with the Maoist rebels. In April 2007, the Maoists and the parliamentary parties formed an interim government, headed by Koirala, with a view to holding new elections.

Nepal (redirected from Nepaul)