History

Prehistoric times
The discovery of Neolithic tools in the Kathmandu Valley indicates that humans have been living in the Himalayan region for at least eleven thousand years. The Kusunda people are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of Nepal. They were most likely of proto-Australian origin.

Nepal as a country was first mentioned in writing in the late Vedic Atharvaveda Parisista as a place exporting blankets. It is very likely that Tibetan-Birmesian peoples settled in the area 2,500 years ago, although there is no archaeological evidence for Gopal Bansa or Kirati rule. By 500 B.C., small kingdoms and alliances between clans were forming. From one of these, the Shakya government, a prince emerged who later retired to asceticism. His name was Siddharta Gautama, better known as Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. (563-483 B.C.)

250 years later, the southern regions fell under the influence of the Maurya Empire of northern India.

In the third century A.D., the Licchavi kingdom ruled the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions. The Licchavi dynasty was probably overthrown by the Tibetan empire in the late eighth century who were then replaced by the Newar or Thakura era in 879 CE. Around the eleventh century, the Phokara Empire also seems to have fallen under its rule. In addition, the southern part of Nepal came under the rule of the Chalukya dynasty of South India, which was to drastically change Nepal’s religious outlook as Hinduism was revered and spread by the kingdom.

The Middle Ages
In the twelfth century, leaders with the Sanskrit suffix malla emerged in the western parts of the country, uniting their power and ruling over the next 200 years. By 1482, the country was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.

The Kingdom of Nepal (1768-2008)
In the mid-18th century, a Ghorka king named Prithvi Narayan Shah set out to unite what is now known as Nepal. He embarked on his mission by securing the neutrality of the neighboring mountain kingdoms. In 1769, after numerous bloody battles, he conquered the Kathmandu Valley.

In its most glorious days, Nepal stretched from the Teesta River in the east, to Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, across the Sulej in the west, farther south into the Terai plains and farther north of the Himalayas than is the case today. Due to disputes with Tibet over the control of mountain passes and Tingri valleys, the Qing Emperor of China declared the Sino-Nepali War.

Another war, the Anglo-Nepali War (1815-16), was triggered by adversity between the Nepalese kingdom and the East India Company over the annexation of small frontier states of Nepal. The war ended in the Sugauli Agreement, by which Nepal had to give up the recently conquered territories of Sikkim and the Terai as well as the right to recruit soldiers.

Disputes within the royal family led to a period of instability. A fast-rising military leader named Jung Bahadur Kunwar emerged victorious from an armed struggle between the military and troops loyal to the king. He founded the Rana dynasty and later called himself Jung Bahadar Rana. The Ranas were very favorably disposed toward the British and provided crucial support not only during the Indian uprisings of 1857 but also during the two world wars. This support was rewarded with a concession of some territories of the Terai by the Brits. In 1923, the Kingdom of Nepal and the United Kingdom signed an official treaty of friendship, which replaced the Sugauli Agreement of 1816. Although slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924, Rana rule was characterized by tyranny, excess, economic exploitation, and religious persecution.

In the 1940s, new movements formed that were pro-democracy and critical of the Rana dynasty. After several years of infighting between the king and the government, King Mahendra rejected the attempt at democratic government in 1959 and established a non-party panchayat system that held until 1989. Later, the Jan Andolan People’s Movement forced King Birendra to implement constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament, which finally happened in May 1991. Five years later, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched an attempt to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people’s republic by force. This led to the ten-year civil war in which over 12,000 people lost their lives.

Civil war
On June 1, 2001, King Birendra was murdered by the crown prince Dependra in a massacre at the royal palace. The reason for this bloody deed, in which another seven family members died and Dependra subsequently committed suicide, was presumably the parental refusal of his choice of bride. King Birendra’s brother Gyanendra Bir Bikram Sha Dev then succeeded to the throne. After September 11, 2001, the insurgents were branded terrorists, and more lives were lost in the following six months than in the previous six years.

Finally, on May 22, 2002, Parliament was dissolved. On October 4, 2002, King Gyanendra dismissed his prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, for “incompetence.” A new interim government was appointed on October 11, 2002. However, the major parties NC, CPN-UML and parts of the RPP refused to cooperate with this new government because it lacked democratic legitimacy. The new prime minister promised an end to the conflict with the Maoists. However, because the government flatly refused to implement changes in the political structure, an agreement was not possible.

By the end of 2002, the Maoists managed to capture 55 of Nepal’s 75 districts. Although the Maoist party often resorted to violent means in its approach, two-thirds of the dead were on the side of the military and police. A total of 12,700 people lost their lives during the guerrilla war. In 2003, fighting increased once again; starting on August 18, 2004, the Maoists even managed to seal off the capital from the outside world for several days. After the failed peace talks and the end of the cease-fire, hundreds more people were killed. Finally, on February 1, 2005, the entire government was dissolved and the Maoist movement gained full executive power. Prime Minister Deuba and other government members were placed under house arrest. Gyanendra promised the restoration of law and order and a return to democracy within three years. However, the Maoists, as well as a large segment of the population, feared that he would not relinquish power so quickly. Key allies such as India, the United States, and Great Britain criticized the king’s approach. On April 7, 2006, a general strike was finally called by all seven parties originating from the dissolved parliament. After two weeks of general strike, with daily nationwide demonstrations, the king’s power declined.

In response, King Gyanendra felt compelled to relinquish his sovereign power and hand it over to the people. On April 24, 2006, the dissolved government was reinstated. On May 18, 2006, Nepal was declared a secular state, ending its status as a Hindu kingdom. On November 21, 2006, the resolution to end the civil war was signed by the new Prime Minister Korala and Maoist leader Prachanda.

On December 28, 2007, a law was ratified declaring Nepal a federal republic and thus abolishing monarchy. The law came into effect on May 28, 2008, and Ram Baran Yadav was elected the first president. He was succeeded by Bifhya Devi Bhandari in October 2015.

The Federal Republic of Nepal
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won the most seats in the Federal Parliament and formed a coalition with most parties in the Constituent General Assembly.

Nonetheless, political tensions and, as a result, infighting continue. In May 2009, the Maoist government was toppled and a new coalition formed, excluding the Maoists. Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninists) was appointed as prime minister of the government. In February 2011, this government was also overthrown, as was the subsequent one in August 2011.

The political parties were unable to produce a draft constitution.

After a consensus was reached between the two major parties in the General Assembly in February 2014, Sushil Koirala was appointed as prime minister.

On September 20, 2015, a new constitution, “The Constitution of Nepal 2015” was announced by President Ram Baran Yadav in the General Assembly. The General Assembly was transformed into a legislative parliament. The new constitution declares Nepal as a federal democratic republic with seven states.

In October 2015, Bidhya Devi Bhandari became the first female president. Since the civil war, no government has been able to last longer than two years.