Contents:-
I. INTRODUCTION
II. LAND AND RESOURCES
A. Physiographic Regions
B. Rivers and Lakes
C. Climate
D. Natural Resources
E. Plant and Animal Life
III. POPULATION
A. Population Characteristics
B. Principal Cities
C. Religion
D. Language
E. Education
F. Culture
IV. ECONOMY
A. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
B. Mining
C. Manufacturing
D. Energy
E. Currency and Banking
F. Commerce and Trade
G. Transport
H. Communications
V. GOVERNMENT
A. Executive and Legislature
B. Judiciary
C. Health and Welfare
D. Defence
E. International Relations
VI. HISTORY
A. War with Britain
B. Independence Reaffirmed
C. Towards Constitutional Rule
D. Coalition Government
1. NCP Forms One-Party Government
Description:-
I INTRODUCTION
II 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 (8,848 m/ 29,028 ft), the highest—are located entirely or partly within Nepal’s borders.
A Physiographic Regions
Nepal can be divided into three parallel bands running from the north-west to the south-east. Closest to China is the Great Himalaya Range, where average elevations exceed 4,570 m (15,000 ft). The second band is dominated by the Mahabharat and Siwalik ranges of the Himalaya; elevations in these systems average about 2,500 m (8,200 ft). The third and southernmost region is the Tarai, an area of plains, swamps, and forests. The alluvial soils of the Tarai are fertile, unlike those of the mostly barren uplands. Other than the Tarai, the only sizeable area of flat land is the Valley of Kathmandu, a basin in the centre of the country.
B Rivers and Lakes
Nepal’s principal rivers flow generally north to south and empty into the River Ganges. The three major rivers crossing the country are the Ghaghara (Karnali), Kosi, and Narayani. The country has no sizeable lakes.
C Climate
Elevation plays a major role in the climate of Nepal. In the high mountain ranges, temperatures remain cold throughout the year. In the Tarai 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.
D Natural Resources
Because of Nepal’s inaccessible terrain, the mineral wealth of the country has not been thoroughly charted. Deposits of mica, copper, iron ore, ochre, lignite, and cobalt are, however, known to exist.
E Plant and Animal Life
The Tarai 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 3,660 m (12,000 ft).
The wildlife of the Tarai includes tigers, leopards, deer, and elephants, which inhabit humid areas. Wild goats, wild sheep, and wolves live at higher elevations. A mysterious creature known as the yeti, which became known as the Abominable Snowman, is believed by some to roam the mountain peaks.
III POPULATION
Nepal’s indigenous population consists of two major groups, the numerically dominant Indo-Nepalese, whose ancestors migrated to 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, highly skilled soldiers drawn from various Nepalese ethnic groups, have long served in the British and Indian armed forces.
A Population Characteristics
Nepal has a population of 25.3 million (2001 estimate), giving an overall population density of about 172 people per sq km (445 per sq mi). Life expectancy at birth is 58 years. Most of the people are concentrated in the Kathmandu region and in the Tarai region. The mountain areas in the north are sparsely inhabited; only about 12 per cent of the population is urban.
B Principal Cities
Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, has the largest population, at 533,000 (1995 estimate). Other urban centres are Biratnagar, population 130,129 (1991), in the south-east; Patan, population 117,203 (1991), near Kathmandu; and Bhaktapur, population 61,122 (1991), also near Kathmandu.
C Religion
Hinduism is the official religion of Nepal and is professed by about 90 per cent of the population. The Hinduism practised by the Nepalese includes elements from Buddhism, which is also an important religion of the country.
D Language
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 30 other languages are also used.
E Education
School attendance is required of all Nepalese children between the ages of six and ten. Many more boys than girls attend school. In 1994-1995 enrolment in primary schools was about 3.2 million and in secondary schools about 944,000. The country’s principal institution of higher education, Tribhuvan University (1959), in Kathmandu, had an enrolment of some 93,800 in 1995-1996. Only about 61 per cent of the Nepalese population aged 15 or over is literate.
F Culture
Nepal has never been colonized 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 influences. Pagoda temples and buildings with carved wooden 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 are in Kathmandu.
IV ECONOMY
Nepal’s gross national product is estimated (World Bank estimate; 1999) at about US$5,173 million, or only US$220 per capita, making Nepal one of the world’s least developed economies. Over 90 per cent of the labour force is employed in agriculture, which accounts for about 42 per cent of gross domestic product. The annual budget in 1998 was estimated at US$475.5 million in domestic revenue and US$788 million in expenditure.
Growth of the economy is hampered by the country’s remoteness, its inhospitable, mountainous terrain, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The new coalition government has tried to speed up reforms, focusing primarily on raising revenues to develop the rural sector by increasing taxation and privatization, and on cutting the vast government expenditure of the former Communist incumbents. Around 62 per cent of Nepal’s developmental budget comes from international donor aid. As a result of improved fiscal stability achieved by the new government, a World Bank loan of $993 million was made in 1996-1997.
Production of textiles, hand-crafted clothing and headgear, and carpets has expanded and accounted for 85 per cent of foreign exchange earnings in 1994. Agricultural production in the late 1980s grew by about 5 per cent, as compared with an annual population growth of 2.6 per cent.
A Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
About 21 per cent of Nepal’s land area is cultivated, primarily in the Tarai region. Rice, corn, wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, millet, cotton, jute, and tobacco are grown, and poultry, cattle, goats, sheep, and buffaloes are raised. The annual roundwood harvest in 1999 was around 21.5 million cu m (758 million cu ft).
B Mining
Mining has not been pursued on a major scale because of transport problems. Some lignite and mica, however, have been extracted.
C Manufacturing
Most of Nepal’s manufacturing activity is based on the natural resources and agricultural products of the country. Cotton textiles, clothing, pulp and paper, construction materials, processed food, cigarettes, and footwear are among Nepal’s products.
D Energy
Nepal’s great hydroelectric power potential has not been extensively developed because of the high cost of constructing facilities. A major hydroelectric project, the Kali Gandaki A facility, was begun in 1997, funded by foreign aid. The first smaller plants constructed as part of the project are expected to begin generating power by the end of 2001. In 1999 only about 1.3 billion kWh of electricity were generated in Nepal.
E Currency and Banking
The monetary unit of Nepal is the Nepalese rupee of 100 paisa (74.70 rupees equal US$1; 2001). The Nepal Rastra Bank (1956) is the government bank of issue. The Nepal Bank and the Rastriya Banijya Bank are the country’s main commercial banks. The currency’s value was fixed at a rate of 1.60 per 1 Indian rupee in 1993.
F Commerce and Trade
Clothing, carpets, foodstuffs, and leather goods are exported by Nepal, and consumer goods, transport equipment, fertilizer, petroleum products, and chemicals are imported. Nepal usually imports more than it exports each year; in 1999 imports cost about US$1,390 million, and exports earned about US$600 million. India is by far the leading trade partner. The earnings abroad of Gurkha soldiers provide foreign exchange, and tourism is an increasingly important source. About 492,000 tourists visited Nepal in 1999, earning the country an estimated US$78 million.
G Transport
Porters and pack animals still carry much of the freight within Nepal. The country has about 7,700 km (4,785 mi) of roads, of which about 42 per cent are paved. Roads have been completed across the country and from Kathmandu to Tibet. Two short railway lines operate between Nepal and India. The government operates Royal Nepal Airlines; airports serve Kathmandu and Biratnagar. A 42-km (26-mi) cable railway carries freight between Hetauda and Kathmandu.
H Communications
Radio broadcasting began in Nepal in 1951. Government-controlled Radio Nepal broadcasts in Nepali and English, and an increasing number of independent commercial radio stations are now available. In January 2001 private FM radio stations were prohibited from broadcasting news reports, although this decision was contested. Television transmissions only began in 1986. About 840,000 radios and 130,000 television sets were in use in 1997. Nepal has some 80 daily newspapers, of which at least 20 are published in Kathmandu. An influential daily, and Nepal’s oldest newspaper, isstate-owned Gorkapatra, issued in Kathmandu.
V GOVERNMENT
Nepal is governed under a constitution promulgated in 1962 and reaffirmed by referendum in 1980; substantial amendments were also made in 1980. The government operates according to a system called Panchayat democracy, that is, guided democracy relying on consensus. A new constitution providing for a limited monarchy was drafted in 1990.
A Executive and Legislature
The head of state and chief executive of Nepal is the monarch. The monarch is assisted by a council of ministers, appointed from the elected House of Representatives and the National Council and headed by the prime minister.
Below the national level, Nepal has a pyramidal, three-tier system of panchayats, or councils. In ascending order of importance are village, district, and zone panchayats. Village panchayats are directly elected, and members of councils at the two higher levels are predominantly chosen by the panchayat at the next level down. The parliament is bicameral and is located in Kathmandu. The National Council has 60 members, who serve six-year terms. 35 members are elected by the House of Representatives, 10 members are appointed by the monarch, and 15 members are elected by an electoral college. The House of Representatives has 205 members, who are elected to five-year terms by popular vote. Although political parties were banned from 1960 until 1990, the Nepali Congress Party (NCP) and other groups have been permitted to function since the mid-1980s.
B Judiciary
The highest tribunal in Nepal is the Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), composed of a chief justice and up to six other judges. The country also has 4 regional, 15 zonal, and 75 district courts.
C Health and Welfare
No organized social welfare system operates in Nepal. Christian missionaries, however, have established hospitals and clinics in the country. In the mid-1990s Nepal had only about 870 doctors (less than 1 per 12,000 people) and 3,600 hospital beds. Infant mortality in 2001 was 74 per 1,000 live births.
D Defence
Military service in Nepal is voluntary. In 1997 the country’s army had about 46,000 personnel and the air force about 200.
E International Relations
Nepal joined the UN in 1955. Nepal is also a member of the Colombo Plan.
VI HISTORY
Forces under a Rajput ruler, in flight from invading Muslims, overran Nepal in 1324. His descendants continued to rule Nepal until 1768, when the country was seized by invading Gurkhas. Following consolidation of their power, the Gurkhas attempted the conquest of Tibet (1790), but they were defeated two years later by a Chinese force, which briefly occupied part of Nepal.
A War with Britain
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 in victory for the British (1815). Under the terms of the peace agreement, ratified in 1816, the Nepalese government relinquished an extensive section of the Tarai 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.
B Independence Reaffirmed
Nepal supported the British during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) 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.
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 (NCP), won the support of King Bir Bikram Tribhuvana. 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 NCP insurgents began military operations along the southern frontier. The Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, refused to recognize King Tribhuvana’s deposition, and requested the reorganization 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 NCP were installed in the Cabinet. The king returned to the Nepalese capital on February 15. On November 16, 1951, friction between the Rana and NCP factions culminated in the removal of Prime Minister Rana from power and the formation of an NCP-Independent Cabinet headed by the NCP leader, Matrika Prasad Koirala.
C Towards Constitutional Rule
As a first step towards 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 during which the king resumed direct rule. King Tribhuvana 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 NCP, 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 the modernization of the legal code to remove the basis for caste discrimination.
When the king died in 1972, he was succeeded by his son Bir Bikram Birendra, 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 control.
In a 1980 referendum on the form of government, the voters decided to retain the present non-party panchayat system with certain modifications. Elections under the new provisions were held in 1981 and 1986.
D Coalition Government
After a new wave of pro-democracy protests in early 1990, the king ended the 30-year ban on political parties, and a multi-party coalition government took office in April. In May 1991 the NCP won the country’s first democratic election in 32 years, and the party’s general secretary, Girija Prasad Koirala, the brother of Bisheswar Prasad Koirala, became prime minister of a caretaker government. Koirala resigned in July 1994, and the king subsequently dissolved parliament and set elections for later that year.
The elections, held on November 15, 1994, were won by the United Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN). On June 13, 1995, the king controversially dissolved parliament once more in response to requests from the UCPN, and invited the UCPN Cabinet to continue interim government pending elections in November; critics charged that this was a UCPN ploy to avoid a confidence vote in parliament.
In September 1995, a parliamentary coalition of the NCP, the Rastriya Prajantra Party, and the Nepal Sadbhavana Party voted against Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari; Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the NCP, then formed the new government and was appointed the new prime minister by the king. In March 1996 violence erupted in western Nepal, resulting in 11 deaths and new police security measures. In March 1997, a new government took power, backed by the centre-right and Communist parties. In October Surya Bahadur Thapa was sworn in as prime minister. In December 1998 the king appointed a new coalition government under Girija Prasad Koirala after the previous coalition collapsed.
D1 NCP Forms One-Party Government
A general election was held in May 1999, and gave the NCP a decisive victory, with an absolute majority in the House of Representatives, promising an end to five years of unstable coalition government. The new prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, a senior NCP leader, promised to improve Nepal's relations abroad, particularly with China and India, and to tackle issues such as poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment at home. However, in March 2000, Bhattarai resigned after his nine-month old government was plunged into crisis by a rebellion in the party, in which dissident members moved a motion to replace him, accusing him of failing to keep election promises. He was replaced by Girija Prasad Koirala, previously prime minister twice before.
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