Nepal

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सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रीक गणतन्त्र नेपाल Sanghiya Loktantrik Ganatantra Nepāl[1] Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal[2]
Flag Emblem
Motto: "Mother and Motherland are Greater than Heaven"
Anthem: "Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka"
Capital		Kathmandu (Nepal Bhasa: येँ) 27°42′N 85°19′E / 27.7, 85.317
Largest city		Kathmandu
Official languages		Nepali[3]
Recognised regional languages		Maithili, Nepal Bhasa, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Gurung, Tamang, Magar, Awadhi, Sherpa, Kiranti and another 100 different indigenous languages.
Demonym		Nepali
Government		Federal Republic
-	Acting Head of State	Girija Prasad Koirala
-	Prime Minister	Girija Prasad Koirala
Unification
-	Kingdom declared	December 21, 1768
-	State declared	January 15, 2007
-	Republic declared	May 28, 2008
Area
-	Total	147,181 km² (93rd) 56,827 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.8
Population
-	July 2008 estimate	29,519,114 (40th)
-	2003 census	23,151,423
-	Density	184/km² (56th) 477/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$48.18 billion (87th)
-	Per capita	$1,500 (164th)
Gini (2003–04)		47.2 (high)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.534 (medium) (142nd)
Currency		Rupee (NPR)
Time zone		NPT (UTC+5:45)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+5:45)
Internet TLD		.np
Calling code		+977

Nepal (Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpaːl] (help·info)), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रीक गणतन्त्र नेपाल), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, and India to the south, east and west. The Himalaya mountain range runs across Nepal's northern and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, are within its territory.

The modern state was formed with the Unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah on December 21, 1768. Prior to 2006, Nepal was a kingdom and the only nation with Hinduism as its official religion. At present, Nepal is officially and constitutionally a secular country. Its recent history has involved struggles for democratic government with periods of direct monarchic rule. From 1995 until 2006, Nepal suffered from a Civil War between government forces and Maoist guerrillas of the Communist Party of Nepal.

On December 28, 2007, the Interim Parliament passed a bill and declared Nepal to be a Federal Democratic Republic. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly officially implemented that declaration on May 28, 2008.

Nepal is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic and multi religious country. For a relatively small country, Nepal has a diverse landscape, ranging from the humid Terai plains in the south to the mountainous Himalayas in the north, which makes it a major tourist destination. Hinduism is practised by huge majority of the people, but the country also has a strong Buddhist tradition; Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama being located in the Terai, one of the three regions of Nepal.

The capital Kathmandu is the largest city in the country. The official language is Nepali and the state currency is the Nepalese Rupee (NPR). Nepal's Flag is the only national flag in the world that is non-quadrilateral in shape. It is believed that lord Vishnu had organized the Nepali people and given them this flag, with the sun and moon as emblems on it.^[4]

Contents 1 Etymology 1.1 Ne Muni 1.2 Other possible derivations 2 Language 3 History 3.1 Prehistory 3.2 Ancient 3.3 Medieval 3.4 Modern 3.4.1 End of monarchy 4 Geography 5 Subdivisions 6 Neotectonics of Nepal 6.1 Structural and Neotectonic pattern of Nepal 6.2 Present-day deformation of Nepal 7 Government and politics 8 Military and foreign affairs 9 Economy 10 Demographics 10.1 Religion 11 Culture 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Etymology

[edit] Ne Muni

Historians and local traditions say that a Hindu sage named "Ne" established himself at the valley of Kathmandu during prehistoric times and that the word "Nepal" came into existence as the place protected ("pala" in Sanskrit) by the sage "Ne". The etymology of the name Nepal means, "the country looked after by Ne".^[5]

He used to perform religious ceremonies at Teku, the confluence of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers.^[6] He is said by legend to have selected a pious cowherd to be the first of the many kings of the Gopala Dynasty.^[7] These rulers are said to have ruled Nepal for over 500 years.^[8] He selected Bhuktaman to be the first king in the line of the Gopal (Cowherd) Dynasty.^[9] The Gopal dynasty ruled for 621 years. Yakshya Gupta was the last king of this dynasty.However,this mythology can be challenged as no such name as Ne exists in Nepali or other sanskrit derived languages.

According to Skanda Purana, a rishi called "Ne" or "Nemuni" used to live in Himalaya.^[10] In the Pashupati Purana, he is mentioned as a saint and a protector. ^[11] He is said to have practiced penance at the Bagmati and Kesavati rivers^[12] and to have taught his doctrines there too. ^[13]

[edit] Other possible derivations

Another legend ties the name to agriculture; "Ne" means wool in the Tibetan language and "pal" means house or godown.^{[citation needed]}

Others believe the word “Nepal” was derived from the word “Nepa:” which refers to the Newar Kingdom of with Kathmandu Valley as its capital. With Sanskritization, the Newar word Nepa became Nepal^[14]. The Newars, a linguistic community (derived from various ethnicities) of present day Nepal, refer to all the inhabitants of Kathmandu valley and its peripheries (called "Nepa:") before the advent of Shah dynasty. The Nepal Sambat calendar, named after this Newar kingdom and devised 1200 years ago, is still one of the major calendars used in Nepal and testifies to its antiquity.

[edit] Language

All the languages spoken in Nepal are the national languages^[15]. Nepali is the official language of Nepal^[16]. It was originally called Khaskura, but became known as Nepali during the 20th century^[17]. However, all languages spoken in Nepal can be used for official purposes and documentation irrespective of what the official language is ^[18].

[edit] History

Main article: History of Nepal

[edit] Prehistory

Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. It appears that people who were probably of Kirant ethnicity lived in Nepal 2,500 years ago.^[19]

[edit] Ancient

Nepal is mentioned in Hindu scriptures such as the Narayana Puja^[20] and the Atharva Siras (800-600 BC).^[21]Around 1000 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the region. From one of these, the Shakya confederation, arose a prince named Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BC), who later renounced his royalty to lead an ascetic life and came to be known as the Buddha ("the enlightened one").7th Kirata king Jitedasti was on throne in Nepal valley at the time. By 250 BC, the region came under the influence of the Mauryan empire of northern India, and later became a vassal state under the Gupta Dynasty in the fourth century AD. From the late fifth century, rulers called the Licchavis governed the area. There is a good and quite detailed description of the kingdom of Nepal in the account of the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim monk, Xuanzang, dating from c. 645 AD.^[22][23]

The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late eighth century and was followed by a Newari era, from 879, although the extent of their control over the entire country is uncertain. By the late 11th century, southern Nepal came under the influence of the Chalukaya Empire of southern India. Under the Chalukayas, Nepal's religious establishment changed as the kings patronised Hinduism instead of the prevailing Buddhism.

[edit] Medieval

By the early 12th century, leaders were emerging whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ("wrestler"). Initially their reign was marked by upheaval, but the kings consolidated their power and ruled over the next 200 years; by the late 14th century, much of the country began to come under a unified rule. This unity was short-lived; in 1482 the region was carved into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhadgaon.

After centuries of petty rivalry between the three kingdoms, in the mid-18th century Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha King set out to unify the kingdoms. Seeking arms and aid from India, and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms, he embarked on his mission in 1765. After several bloody battles and sieges, he managed to unify Kathmandu Valley three years later in 1768. However, an actual battle never took place to conquer the Kathmandu valley; it was taken over by Prithvi Narayan and his troops without any effort, during Indra Jatra, a festival of Newars, when all the valley's citizens were celebrating the festival. This event marked the birth of the modern nation of Nepal.

[edit] Modern

There is historical evidence that, at one time, the boundary of Greater Nepal extended from Tista River on the East to Kangara, across Sutlej River, in the west. A dispute and subsequently war with Tibet over the control of mountain passes forced the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy reparations. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1815–16). The valor displayed by the Nepalese during the war astounded their enemies and earned them their image of fierce and ruthless "Gurkhas". The war ended the Treaty of Sugauli. This treaty ceded Sikkim and lands in Terai to the Company.

Factionalism inside the royal family had led to a period of instability. In 1846 a plot was discovered, revealing that the reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Bahadur Rana, a fast-rising military leader. This led to the Kot Massacre; armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Jung Bahadur Rana emerged victorious and founded the Rana lineage. The king was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British, and assisted them during the Indian Sepoy Rebellion in 1857 (and later in both World Wars). The decision to help British East India Company was taken by the Rana Regime, then led by Jang Bahadur Rana. Some parts of Terai Region were given back to Nepal by the British as a friendly gesture, because of her military help to sustain British control in India during the Sepoy Rebellion. In 1923, the United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal's independence was recognized by the UK.

Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924.^[24]

In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the assertion of Chinese control in Tibet in the 1950s, India sought to counterbalance the perceived military threat from its northern neighbour by taking pre-emptive steps to assert more influence in Nepal. India sponsored both King Tribhuvan as Nepal's new ruler in 1951, and a new government, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress Party, thus terminating Rana hegemony in the kingdom. After years of power wrangling between the king and the government, the monarch scrapped the democratic experiment in 1959, and a "partyless" panchayat system was made to govern Nepal until 1989, when the "Jan Andolan" (People's Movement) forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament that took seat in May 1991.^[25]

In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started a bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's socialist republic. This led to the long Nepal Civil War and more than 12,000 deaths. On June 1, 2001, there was a massacre in the royal palace; it left the King, the Queen and the Heir Apparent Crown Prince Dipendra among the dead. Prince Dipendra was accused of patricide and of committing suicide thereafter, alleged to be a violent response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice of wife. However, there are lots of speculations and doubts among Nepalese citizens about the person(s) responsible for the Royal Massacre. Following the carnage, the throne was inherited by King Birendra's brother Gyanendra. On February 1, 2005, Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers to quash the violent Maoist movement. In September 2005, the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire to negotiate their demands.

In response to the 2006 democracy movement, the king agreed to relinquish the sovereign power back to the people and reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives on April 24, 2006. Using its newly acquired sovereign authority, on May 18, 2006, the newly resumed House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion to curtail the power of the king and declared Nepal a secular state, abolishing its time honoured official status as a Hindu Kingdom. On December 28, 2007, a bill was passed in parliament, to amend Article 159 of the constitution - replacing "Provisions regarding the King" by "Provisions of the Head of the State" - declaring Nepal a federal republic, and thereby abolishing the monarchy.^[26] The bill came into force on May 28, 2008 as a constituent assembly meeting in the capital, Kathmandu, overwhelmingly voted to abolish royal rule.^[27]

[edit] End of monarchy

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won the largest number of seats in the Constituent Assembly election held on 10 April 2008, and is trying to form a coalition government with some smaller parties. The Maoists had insisted on the abolition of the monarchy and the removal of Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev as King with Nepal becoming a federal democratic state with an elected head of state. The newly-elected Assembly met in Kathmandu on May 28, 2008 and abolished the monarchy that had reigned for 240 years. There was a polling of constituent Assembly members and out of a total of 564 Assembly members, 560 voted to end Nepal's monarchical rule.^[28][29][30] The proposal declared that Nepal had become an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic.^[31]

Nepal's government has announced a public holiday for three days, from May 28 to May 30, to celebrate the country becoming a republic.

The Narayanhity palace removed the royal flag that was flying on its premises and replaced it with Nepal's national flag on 29 May 2008.^[32]

[edit] Geography

Main articles: Geography of Nepal and Geology of Nepal

Geography of Nepal is uncommonly diverse. Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and 200 kilometres (125 mi) wide, with an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi). See List of territories by size for the comparative size of Nepal.

Nepal is commonly divided into three physiographic areas: the Mountain, Hill, Siwalik region and Terai Regions. These ecological belts run east-west and are vertically intersected by Nepal's major, north to south flowing river systems.

The southern lowland Plains bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic plains. They were formed and are fed by three major rivers: the Kosi, the Narayani (India's Gandak River), and the Karnali. This region has a hot, humid climate.

The Hill Region (Pahad) abuts the mountains and varies from 1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300–13,125 ft) in altitude. Two low mountain ranges, the Mahabharat Lekh and Shiwalik Range (also called the Churia Range) dominate the region. The hilly belt includes the Kathmandu Valley, the country's most fertile and urbanised area. Unlike the valleys called Inner Tarai (Bhitri Tarai Uptyaka), elevations above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) are sparsely populated.

The Mountain Region, situated in the Great Himalayan Range, makes the northern part of Nepal. It contains the regions of highest altitude in the world; the world's highest mountain, 8,850 metres (29,035 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) is located here on the border with Tibet. Seven other of the world's ten highest mountains are located in Nepal: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu.

Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres (3,940 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900–7,875 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,875–11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to 4,400 metres (11,800–14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft).

Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. The Himalaya blocks cold winds from Central Asia in winter, and forms the northern limit of the monsoon wind patterns. Once thickly forested, deforestation is a major problem in all regions, with resulting erosion and degradation of ecosystems.

Nepal is a hotspot of mountaineering, containing some of the highest and most challenging mountains in the world, including Mount Everest. Technically, the south-east ridge on the Nepali side of the mountain is easier to climb; so, most climbers prefer to trek to Everest through Nepal.

Until the Sugauli Sandhi (treaty) was signed, the territory of Nepal also included Darjeeling, and Tista to the east, Nainital to the south-west and Kalapani, Susta, Garhwal to the west. However, today these areas are a part of India. As a result, Nepal shares no boundary with Bangladesh now and the two countries are separated by a narrow strip of land about 21 kilometre (13 mi) wide, called the Siliguri Corridor‎ or Chicken's Neck. Efforts are underway to make this area a free-trade zone.^[33]The border dispute between India and Nepal has often been a cause of tension between the two countries.

[edit] Subdivisions

Main articles: Zones of Nepal, Districts of Nepal, and Regions of Nepal

Nepal is divided into 14 zones and 75 districts, grouped into 5 development regions. Each district is headed by a permanent chief district officer responsible for maintaining law and order and coordinating the work of field agencies of the various government ministries. The 14 zones are:

Bagmati Bheri Dhawalagiri Gandaki Janakpur Karnali Kosi

Lumbini Mahakali Mechi Narayani Rapti Sagarmatha Seti

[edit] Neotectonics of Nepal

The collision between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian continent, which started in Paleogene time and continues today, produced the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau, a spectacular modern example of the effects of plate tectonics. Nepal lies completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one third of the 2400km-long Himalayas. ^[34]

The Indian plate continues to move northward relative to Asia at the rate of ~50mm/yr.^[35] Given the great magnitudes of the blocks of the Earth’s crust involved, this is remarkably fast, about twice the speed at which human fingernails grow. As the strong Indian continental crust subducts beneath the relatively weak Tibetan crust, it pushes up the Himalaya mountains. This collision zone has accommodated huge amounts of crustal shortening as the rock sequences slide one over another. Erosion of the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows via great rivers (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra) to the Indian Ocean.^[36]

[edit] Structural and Neotectonic pattern of Nepal

The main structures of Nepal consist of several north-dipping [thrust fault]s; the more important ones are the main frontal thrust (MFT), the main boundary thrust (MBT) and the main central thrust (MCT) (F. Jouanne et al.,2004). These thrust faults lie to the south of the South Tibetan Detachment System( STDS) which is a system of low angle [normal fault]s and is also an important aspect of Nepal Himalayan tectonics.

The thrust faults trend generally 120°N in western Nepal, curving to 90°N in the eastern part of the country (Upreti & Le Fort 1999). These thrust faults, with generally southerly transport directions (Brunel 1986; Pecher 1991; Mugnier et al.,1999), are inferred to branch off the major basal detachment of the Himalayan thrust belt called the main Himalayan thrust (MHT) that localizes the underthrusting of the Indian lithospere beneath the Himalayas and Tibet (Zhao et al., 1993). All the cross-sections made through the Himalayan belt advocate a mid-crustal ramp, below a large-scale antiformal structure of the Lesser Himalayas and to be north of a synformal structure(Schelling & Arita 1991; Srivastava & Mitra 1994; Pandey et al. 1990; DeCelles et al. 1998; Mugnier et al. 2003). Geological, geophysical and structural data indicate that there are lateral variations in the geometry of the MHT (Zhao et al.,1993; Pandey et al.1995,1999), but direct knowledge of the geometry of the MHT is sparse and therefore the validity of the profiles is still in debate. The thrusts are generally younger from north to south (24-21 Ma for the MCT, less than 2 Ma for the MFT) (Hodges et al. 1996; Harrison et al. 1997). On the basis of these faults, the structure of Nepal is generally subdivided into five tectonic zones:

1. Gangetic Plain (Terai) (area on the south of MFT)
2. Sub-Himalayas (Siwaliks)( area between MFT and MBT)
3. Lesser Himalayas (area between MBT and MCT)
4. Higher Himalayas (area between MCT and STDS)
5. Tibetan-Tethys ( area north of STDS)

[edit] Present-day deformation of Nepal

The modern deformation of the Himalayas is characterized by big earthquakes. Almost half of the continuing convergence between India and Eurasia is absorbed by underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere, beneath the Himalayas and Tibet along the MHT, as proposed by seismic investigations (Zhao et al.1993). Three of the big Nepalese earthquakes (1905,1934 and 1950, with magnitudes around 8) were caused by the mid-crustal ramp along MHT (Pandey & Molnar 1989). The territory of Nepal is characterized by very intense microseismic activity, most of which follows approximately the topographic front of the Higher Himalaya (Pandey et al.,1999). Most of the earthquakes cluster between the MCT and MBT (Fig: Seismicity in the Himalayas of Nepal).

Earthquake focal mechanisms indicate that the intermediate magnitude earthquakes are shallow depth (10-20km) beneath the Lesser Himalayas, demonstrating the activation of thrust planes gently dipping to the north (Ni and Barazangi, 1984). Detailed analysis of the Uttarkashi earthquake (Cotton et al. 1996) in the west of Nepal indicates that this event was initiated to the south of the Higher Himalayas front at 12±3 km depth corresponding to the southward propagation of a rupture along this segment of the MHT. A detailed study of the microseismic clusters suggests segmentation of the Himalayan arc (Pandey et al. 1999) and two major discontinuities segment the microseismicity belt at 82.5°E and 86.5°E. The projection along cross sections of the microseismic event (Fig:Cross-section and Projection of Microseimic Activity) reveals a noticeable change in shape of the clusters between central Nepal (rounded clusters are located in the vicinity of the flat-ramp transition of the MHT) and western Nepal (clusters are elongated and nearly horizontal) (F. Jouanne et al.,2004). Similarly, vertical displacement rates, expressed with reference to the Gangetic plain, indicate current uplift of the high Himalayas at 6mm/yr, but also suggest active displacement along frontal thrusts inducing localized uplift (B. Antoine et al., 2004). There is change in maximum elevation between central (8500m) and western (7500m) Nepal and also a big difference in incision between eastern-central Nepal (6000m) and western Nepal (4500m)(B. Antoine et al., 2004). This is reflected in gentler relief in western Nepal and confirms the segmentation of geology and deformation observed with microseismicity and GPS measurements (Fig:Cross-section and Projection of Microseimic Activity).

Conclusion: To summarise, the neotectonic deformation of Nepal is characterised by three major thrust faults (MCT, MBT and MFT) which are inferred to be the splay thrust of MHT that marks the underthrusting of Indian lithosphere beneath the Himalayas. Likewise, there is a sudden change in geometry of the MHT between central and western Nepal, which is also marked in the Himalayan relief. The MHT is the main structure responsible for recent uplift and continuing deformation in Nepal. This hypothesis is reinforced by the observation that Quaternary displacement along the Main Frontal Thrust, southern emergence of the MHT and the convergence rate estimated across the Himalayas by GPS are both estimated at 18-20 mm/yr, which suggests that nearly all the displacement between India and Tibet is today transferred along the MHT (B. Antoine et al., 2004).

[edit] Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Nepal

Nepal has seen rapid political changes during the last two decades. Until 1990, Nepal was an absolute monarchy running under the executive control of the king. Faced with a people's movement against the absolute monarchy, King Birendra, in 1990, agreed to large-scale political reforms by creating a parliamentary monarchy with the king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of the government.

Nepal's legislature was bicameral, consisting of a House of Representatives called the Pratinidhi Sabha and a National Council called the Rastriya Sabha. The House of Representatives consisted of 205 members directly elected by the people. The National Council had sixty members: ten nominated by the king, thirty-five elected by the House of Representatives and the remaining fifteen elected by an electoral college made up of chairs of villages and towns. The legislature had a five-year term, but was dissolvable by the king before its term could end. All Nepali citizens 18 years and older became eligible to vote.

The executive comprised the King and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet). The leader of the coalition or party securing the maximum seats in an election was appointed as the Prime Minister. The Cabinet was appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Governments in Nepal tended to be highly unstable, falling either through internal collapse or parliamentary dissolution by the monarch, on the recommendation of prime minister, according to the constitution; no government has survived for more than two years since 1991.

The movement in April, 2006, brought about a change in the nation's governance: an interim constitution was promulgated, with the King giving up power, and an interim House of Representatives was formed with Maoist members after the new government held peace talks with the Maoist rebels. The number of parliamentary seats was also increased to 330. In April, 2007, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) joined the interim government of Nepal.

On December 28, 2007, the interim parliament passed a bill that would make Nepal a federal republic, with the Prime Minister becoming head of state. The bill was passed by the Constituent Assembly on May 28, 2008.

On April 10, 2008, there was the first election in Nepal for the constitution assembly. The Maoist party led the poll results, but failed to gain a simple majority in the parliament.^[37]

On May 28, 2008, lawmakers in Nepal legally abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic, ending 239 years of royal rule in the Himalayan nation. The newly elected assembly, led by the former communist rebels, adopted the resolution at its first meeting by an overwhelming majority. King Gyanendra has been given 15 days to leave his palace in central Katmandu.^[38]

[edit] Military and foreign affairs

Main articles: Military of Nepal and Foreign relations of Nepal

Nepal's military consists of the Nepalese Army which includes the Nepalese Army Air Service, (the air force unit under it). Nepalese Police Force is the civilian police and the Armed Police Force Nepal^[39] is the paramilitary force. Service is voluntary and the minimum age for enlistment is 18 years. Nepal spends $99.2 million (2004) on its military—1.5% of its GDP. Many of the equipment and arms are imported from India.^{[citation needed]}

Nepal has close ties with both of its neighbours, India and China. In accordance with a long standing treaty, Indian and Nepalese citizens may travel to each others' countries without a passport or visa. Nepalese citizens may work in India without legal restriction. Although Nepal and India typically have close ties, from time to time Nepal becomes caught up in the problematic Sino-Indian relationship. Recently China has been asking Nepal to curb protests in Nepal against China's Tibet policy^[40], and on April 17th, 2008, police arrested over 500 Tibetan protestors^[41] citing a need to maintain positive relations with China.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Nepal

Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2005 was estimated at just over US$39 billion (adjusted to Purchasing Power Parity), making it the 83rd-largest economy in the world. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of Nepal's GDP, services comprise 41% and industry 22%. Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce, services 18% and manufacturing/craft-based industry 6%. Agricultural produce——mostly grown in the Terai region bordering India——includes tea, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, and water buffalo meat. Industry mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce, including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Its workforce of about 10 million suffers from a severe shortage of skilled labour. The spectacular landscape and diverse, exotic cultures of Nepal represent considerable potential for tourism, but growth in this hospitality industry has been stifled by recent political events. The rate of unemployment and underemployment approaches half of the working-age population. Thus many Nepali citizens move to India in search of work; the Gulf countries and Malaysia being new sources of work. Nepal receives US$50 million a year through the Gurkha soldiers who serve in the Indian and British armies and are highly esteemed for their skill and bravery. The total remittance value is worth around 1 billion USD, including money sent from Persian Gulf and Malaysia, who combined employ around 700,000 Nepali citizens. A long-standing economic agreement underpins a close relationship with India. The country receives foreign aid from India, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. Poverty is acute; per-capita income is less than US$ 470.^[42] The distribution of wealth among the Nepalis is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest 10% of households control 39.1% of the national wealth and the lowest 10% control only 2.6%.

The government's budget is about US$1.153 billion, with expenditures of $1.789bn (FY05/06). The Nepalese rupee has been tied to the Indian Rupee at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Since the loosening of exchange rate controls in the early 1990s, the black market for foreign exchange has all but disappeared. The inflation rate has dropped to 2.9% after a period of higher inflation during the 1990s.

Nepal's exports of mainly carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods and grain total $822 million. Import commodities of mainly gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products and fertilizer total US$2 bn. India (53.7%), the US (17.4%), and Germany (7.1%) are its main export partners. Nepal's import partners include India (47.5%), the United Arab Emirates (11.2%), China (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.9%), and Singapore (4%).

Nepal remains isolated from the world’s major land, air and sea transport routes although, within the country, aviation is in a better state, with 48 airports, ten of them with paved runways; flights are frequent and support a sizeable traffic. Hilly and mountainous terrain in the northern two-thirds of the country has made the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. There were just over 8,500 km of paved roads, and one 59 km railway line in the south in 2003. There is only one reliable road route from India to the Kathmandu Valley. The only practical seaport of entry for goods bound for Kathmandu is Kolkata in India. Internally, the poor state of development of the road system (22 of 75 administrative districts lack road links) makes volume distribution unrealistic. Besides having landlocked, rugged geography, few tangible natural resources and poor infrastructure, the long-running civil war is also a factor in stunting the economic growth. ^[44]

There is less than one telephone per 19 people. Landline telephone services are not adequate nationwide but are concentrated in cities and district headquarters. Mobile telephony is in a reasonable state in most parts of the country with increased accessibility and affordability; there were around 175,000 Internet connections in 2005. After the imposition of the "state of emergency", intermittent losses of service-signals were reported, but uninterrupted Internet connections have resumed after Nepal's second major people's revolution to overthrow the King's absolute power.^[45]

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Nepal

Perched on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains, Nepal is as ethnically diverse as its terrain of fertile plains, broad valleys, and the highest mountain peaks in the world. The Nepalese are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet, and North Burma and Yunnan via Assam.

Among the earliest inhabitants were the Kirat of east mid-region, Newar of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharu in the southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups came from India's present Kumaon, Garhwal and Kashmir regions, while other ethnic groups trace their origins to North Burma and Yunnan and Tibet, e.g. the Gurung and Magar in the west, Rai and Limbu in the east, and Sherpa and Bhotia in the north.

In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20% of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the Indo-Aryans of northern India. Indo-Aryan and East Asian looking mixed people live in the hill region. The mountainous highlands are sparsely populated. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost 5% of the population.

Nepal is a multilingual, multireligious and multiethnic society. These data are largely derived from Nepal's 2001 census results published in the Nepal Population Report 2002.

Population Structure

Data	Size
Population	28,676,547 (2005)
Growth Rate	2.2%
Population below 14 Years old	39%
Population of age 15 to 64	57.3%
Population above 65	3.7%
The median age (Average)	20.07
The median age (Male)	19.91
The median age (Females)	20.24
Ratio (Male:Female)	1, 000:1,060
Life expectancy (Average)	59.8 Years
Life expectancy (Male)	60.9
Life expectancy (Female)	59.5
Literacy Rate (Average)	53.74%
Literacy Rate (Male)	68.51%
Literacy Rate (Female)	42.49%

Despite the migration of a significant section of the population to the southern plains or terai in recent years, the majority of the population still lives in the central highlands. The northern mountains are sparsely populated.

Kathmandu, with a population of around 800,000 (metropolitan area: 1.5 million), is the largest city in the country.

[edit] Religion

Nepal religiosity
religion			percent
Hinduism			80.6%
Buddhism			10.7%
Islam			4.2%
Mundhum			3.6%
Christianity			0.5%
Other			0.4%

The main religion of Nepal is Hinduism. Lord Shiva is regarded as the guardian deity of the country.^[46] Nepal is home to the largest Shiva temple in the world, the famous Pashupatinath Temple, where Hindus from all over the world come for pilgrimage. According to mythology, Sita Devi of the epic Ramayana was born in the Mithila Kingdom of King Janaka Raja.^[47] Buddhism was relatively more common among the Newar. But, differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been in general very subtle and academic in nature due to the intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and worship common deities and many of Nepal's Buddhists could also be regarded as Hindus and vice versa. Gurkhas from Nepal are Hindu. Among other natives of Nepal, those most influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, Limbu and Rai. Hindu influence is less prominent among the Gurung, Bhutia, and Thakali groups, who employ Buddhist monks for their religious ceremonies.^[45][19] Most of the festivals in Nepal are Hindu.^[48] The Machendrajatra festival, dedicated to Hindu Shaiva Siddha, is celebrated even by Buddhists and it is the Buddhists' main festival.^[49] As it is believed that Ne Muni established Nepal,^[50] important priests in Nepal are called "Tirthaguru Nemuni".

[edit] Culture

Main article: Culture of Nepal

Nepalese culture is diverse, reflecting different ethnic origins of the people. The Newar community is particularly rich in cultural diversity; they celebrate many festivals, well known for their music and dance.

A typical Nepalese meal is dal-bhat-tarkari. Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over bhat (boiled rice), served with tarkari (curried vegetables) together with achar (pickles) or chutni (spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients).. The Newar community, however, has its own unique cuisine. It consists of non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian items served with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Mustard oil is the cooking medium and a host of spices, such as cumin, coriander, black peppers, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, methi (fenugreek), bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chillies, mustard seeds etc., are used in the cooking. The cuisine served on festivals is generally the best.

The Newari Music orchestra consists mainly of percussion instruments, though wind instruments, such as flutes and other similar instruments, are also used. String instruments are very rare. There are songs pertaining to particular seasons and festivals. Paahan chare music is probably the fastest played music whereas the Dapa the slowest. There are certain musical instruments such as Dhimay and Bhusya which are played as instrumental only and are not accompanied with songs. The dhimay music is the loudest one. In the hills, people enjoy their own kind of music, playing saarangi (a string instrument), madal and flute. They also have many popular folk songs known as lok geet and lok dohari.

The Newar dances can be broadly classified into masked dances and non-masked dances. The most representative of Newari dances is Lakhey dance. Almost all the settlements of Newaris organise Lakhey dance at least once a year, mostly in the Goonlaa month. So, they are called Goonlaa Lakhey. However, the most famous Lakhey dance is the Majipa Lakhey dance; it is performed by the Ranjitkars of Kathmandu and the celeberation continues for one whole week that contains the full moon of Yenlaa month. The Lakhey are considered as the saviors of children.

Folklore is an integral part of Nepalese society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life, tales of love, affection and battles as well as demons and ghosts and thus reflect local lifestyles, cultures and beliefs. Many Nepalese folktales are enacted through the medium of dance and music.

The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main annual holidays include the National Day, celebrated on the birthday of the king (December 28), Prithvi Jayanti, (January 11), Martyr's Day (February 18) and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as dashain in autumn, and tihar in late autumn. During tihar, the Newar community also celebrates its New Year as per their local calendar Nepal Sambat.

Most houses in rural lowland of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs.

[edit] See also

• List of Nepal-related topics

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Shaha, Rishikesh (1992). Ancient and Medieval Nepal. New Delhi: Manohar Publications. ISBN 8185425698. 
• Tiwari, Sudarshan Raj (2002). The Brick and the Bull: An account of Handigaun, the Ancient Capital of Nepal. Himal Books. ISBN 9993343528. 
• Nepal. MSN Encarta. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
• India Nepal Open Border. Nepal Democracy. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
• Football at the heart of the Himalaya. FIFA. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
• Nepal: Information Portal. Explore Nepal. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
• The Best Memoir You Never Heard Of: "Shadow Over Shangri-La". San Francisco Chronicle.
• Nepal: A state under siege. The South Asian: Featured Articles. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
• Nepal: Basic Fact Sheet. Nepal homepage. Retrieved on 2005-09-23.
• Jailed ex-PM in Nepal court plea. BBC News. Retrieved on 2005-09-29.
• Nepal's new emblem. Citizen Journalism Nepal. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
• Gotz Hagmuller (2003). Patan Museum: The Transformation of a Royal Palace in Nepal. London: Serindia. ISBN 0962658X. 
• Kunda Dixit (2006). A people war: Images of the Nepal conflict 1996–2006. Kathmandu: nepa-laya. 
• Barbara Crossette (1995). So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas. New York: Vintage. ISBN 0679743634. 
• Bista, Dor Bahadur (1967). People of Nepal. Dept. of Publicity, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of Nepal. ISBN 9993304182. 
• Michael Hutt, ed., Himalayan 'people's war' : Nepal's Maoist rebellion, London: C. Hurst, 2004
• Peter Matthiessen (1993). The Snow Leopard. Penguin. ISBN 0002720256. 
• Joe Simpson (1997). Storms of Silence. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0898865123. 
• Samrat Upadhyay (2001). Arresting God in Kathmandu. Mariner Books. ISBN 0618043713. 
• Joseph R. Pietri (2001). The King of Nepal. ISBN 061511928X. 
• Maurice Herzog (1951). Annapurna. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1558215492. 
• Dervla Murphy (1968). The Waiting Land: A Spell in Nepal. Transatlantic Arts. ISBN 0719517451. 
• Rishikesh Shaha (2001). Modern Nepal: A Political History. Manohar Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 8173044031. 

[edit] External links

Find more about Nepal on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Wikimedia Atlas of Nepal topics
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• Wikia has a wiki on this subject: Nepal topics
• Planet Nepal Encyclopedia Project
• Library of Congress — Nepal
• United States Department of State Profile of Nepal
• Nepal topics entry at The World Factbook
• Languages of Nepal from the Ethnologue
• National Geographic Country Profile: Nepal

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Coordinates: 26°32′N, 86°44′E