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Nepal

(Redirected from Nepalese)

Nepal, situated in the Himalayas, is the world's only Hindu kingdom. It is in South Asia, sharing borders with China (Tibet Autonomous Region) and India.

नेपाल अधिराज्य (Nepal Adhirajya)
Flag of Nepal
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto:
जननी जन्मभूमिष्च स्वर्गादपि गरियसि
"Ja'nani Jan'mabhumis'hchaa Svar'gadapi Gariyo'shi: The Motherland Is Worth More than the Kingdom of Heaven" (translation from Sanskrit)
image:LocationNepal.png
Official language Nepali
Capital Kathmandu
King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba
Area
 - Total
 - % water
Ranked 94th
147,181 km²
2.8%
Population


 - Total (2000)


 - Density
Ranked 40th


25,284,463
184/km²

Unification 1768
Currency Nepalese Rupee (NPR)
Time zone UTC +5:45
National anthem Rastriya Gaan (May Glory Crown You, Courageous Sovereign)
Internet TLD .NP
Calling Code 977
Contents

History

Main article: History of Nepal

Nepal has a long history. The more recent history of the 19th century is deeply connected with Indian freedom struggle. Around the early 1900s Nepal was being ruled by autocratic rulers with the king as basically a puppet of hereditary prime ministers called 'Ranas'. Nepalese students studying in India during those times organized themselves in the ways of the Indian freedom struggle to overthrow the autocratic regime. Primary amongst them was Dr Dilli Raman Regmi, B. P. Koirala and others. Nepal became free from the Rana’s in 1953 and briefly had an experiment with democracy. In 1958 under Dr Dilli Raman Regmi as the home affairs minister the first multi-party elections in the history of Nepal took place. Regmi lost the elections and the Nepali Congress came to power. But intense squabbling and corruption followed, and King Mahendra dismissed the government and took over as absolute monarch. Till 1990 Mahendra's son King Birendra followed a partyless 'Panchayat System' of government with basically a handpicked government. In 1989, Nepal's resurgent Democracy Movement culminated in the decentralisation of aboslute royal power towards a representational constitutional monarchy. Critics argue that the governmental reforms did not appreciably improve the political order because the new government was also characterised by extreme corruption bordering on kleptocracy. Following the launch of the Maoist insurrection in 1996, only six years into the experiment in democracy, Nepal risks collapsing into a failed state dependent completely on international aid. According to official Nepal government accounts, on June 1, 2001, the Heir Apparent Prince Dipendra went on a killing spree in the royal palace in a violent response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice for a wife. He shot and killed his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, as well as several other royal cousins before turning the gun on himself. His suicide attempt was not immediately successful, however, and although in a comatose state, he was proclaimed the king (in accordance with Nepalese tradition) in his hospital bed. He died a few hours later. Following King Dipendra's death, his uncle (King Birendra's brother) King Gyanendra was proclaimed king on June 4. Nepal remains embroiled in a grinding civil war, the Nepalese People's War, since 1996.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Nepal

The former king, King Birendra, was open to parliamentary democracy, and restored it after a referendum in 1990. King Birendra was widely respected by the people of Nepal. However, quarrels between various political parties and numerous social problems led to the Maoist rebellion which has been escalating since 1996 (see Nepalese People's War). Since the ascension of King Gyanendra, the government has been attempting to excercise more control over the rebels and to accelerate development activities. The nascent move towards democracy has been suspended by King Gyanendra who quickly moved to dissolve parliament and institute martial law in 1997.

Zones

Main article: Zones of Nepal

Nepal is divided into 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural): Bagmati, Bheri , Dhawalagiri , Gandaki , Janakpur , Karnali , Koshi , Lumbini, Mahakali , Mechi , Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti

Geography

Main article: Geography of Nepal

Nepal is landlocked between China and India; total land area 147,181 square kilometers. The terrain is mountainous and hilly, although with physical diversity. Three broad physiographic areas run laterally - lowland Terai Region in the south; central lower mountains and hills constituting the Hill Region ; the high Himalayas, with 8,848-meters-high Mount Everest and other peaks forming Mountain Region in north. Of Nepal's total land area, only 20 percent is cultivatable. Deforestation is a severe problem.

The vista and majesty of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, and the Himalayas, including the eight-thousanders those mountains over 8,000 metres, are rightly both a major tourist attraction and one of the acknowledged Wonders of the world.

Nepal has five climatic zones based on altitude that range from subtropical in the south, to cool summers and severe winters in the north. There is annual rainfall with seasonal variations depending on the monsoon cycle, which provides 60 to 80 percent of the total annual rainfall: 2,500 millimeters in eastern part of country; 1,420 millimeters around Kathmandu; 1,000 millimeters in western Nepal.

Map of Nepal

Economy

Main article: Economy of Nepal

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line (with, as of 2001, a per capita income of just over US$240). Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past three years. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%.

Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements in order to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth.

Demographics and Culture

Main article: Demographics of Nepal

Nepal is a multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society. The data below are derived from the 2002 Nepal Population Report. [1]

Languages: Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from three major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, and indigenous. According to the 2001 national census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal (a 93rd category was "unidentified"). The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali (49%), Maithili (12%), Bhojpuri (8%), Tharu (6%), Tamang (5%), Newari/Nepal Bhasa (4%), Magar (3%), Awadhi (2%), Bantawa (2%), Limbu (1%), and Bajjika (1%). The remaining 81 languages are each spoken as mother tongue by less than one percent of the population.

Nepali, written in Devanagari script, is the official, national language and serves as lingua franca among Nepalis of different ethnolinguistic groups. Hindi is also widely spoken, especially in the southern Terai Region .


Religions: Nepal, constitutionally a Hindu kingdom with long-standing legal provisions prohibiting discrimination against other religions and proselytization, is the only official Hindu country in the world. The 2001 census identified 80.6% of the population as Hindu and Buddhism was practiced by about 11% of the population (although many people labelled Hindu or Buddhist often practice a syncretic blend of Hinduism, Buddhism and/or animist traditions). About 4.2% of the population is Muslim and 3.6% of the population follows the indigenous Kirant religion. Christianity is practiced by less than 0.5% of the population.


Ethnicity: Nepal’s 2001 census enumerated 103 distinct caste/ethnic groups including an "unidentified group". The caste system of Nepal is rooted in the Hindu religion while the ethnic system is rooted in mutually exclusive origin myths, historical mutual seclusion and the occasional state intervention. The major caste/ethnic groups identified by the 2001 census are Chhetri (15.8%) Hill Brahmin (12.7%), Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), Tamang (5.6%), Newar (5.5%), Muslim (4.3%), Kami (3.9%), Rai (3.9), Gurung (2.8%), and &nbspDamai/Dholi (2.4%). The remaining 92 caste/ethnic groups (including the world-famous Sherpa, each constitute less than 2 percent of the population.)



Holidays
Nepal uses three calendars: the Western (Gregorian),the official solar Bikram Sambhat, and the lunar calendar. Dates for many religious Nepalese holidays are set according to the lunar calendar (somewhat like Easter is for Christians), so there are no fixed dates for Nepalese holidays in either the Western or the official calendar. Generally, the two major holidays, Dashain and Tihar, fall in October and November.

Date English Name Local Name Remarks
N/A Dashain Dashain  
N/A Tihar Tihar  

Miscellaneous topics

References

  • CIA World Factbook [2] 2000
  • 2002 U.S. Department of State website
  • Nepal Population Report 2002*http://www.nepalnews.com
  • http://www.nepalitimes.com
  • http://www.himalmag.com
  • http://www.welcomenepal.com
  • http://www.cybernepal.com.np
  • http://www.pokharacity.com
  • http://www.nepalonline.com
  • http://www.thamelonline.com

Further reading

Barbara Crossette. 1995. So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas. New York: Vintage.


Countries in South Asia

Bangladesh | Bhutan | India | Maldives | Nepal | Pakistan | Sri Lanka




Last updated: 11-10-2004 16:05:16