Canada
Nepal Travel and Trekking Guide
CULTURE
Overview
At once a time machine and a magic carpet, Nepal sweeps you along crooked, ancient streets flanked by dazzling, multi-roofed pagodas, gold-topped stupas and arcane stone sculptures, and into low-ceilinged rooms cluttered with horror-eyed masks, spinning prayer wheels, Buddhist thangka scrolls and Tibetan carpets. Muttered chants and Nepali flute music hang in the air and animal sacrifices add an extra shade of red to the crimson tika powder thrown around at temples and shrines.
Pre 20th Century History
Nepal's recorded history began with the Kiratis, who arrived in the 7th or 8th century BC from the east. Little is known about them, other than their skill as sheep farmers and their fondness for knives. It is generally assumed that they followed a mixture of Hindu and Tantric beliefs. During the same period, a new religion arrived in Nepal - Buddhism, created by Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha and the prince of the kingdom of Kapilavastu, near Lumbini. By 200 AD, Buddhism was on the decline. The Licchavis invaded from northern India and overthrew the last Kirati king, re-imposing Hinduism and the caste system (which still continues today) and ushering in a golden age of Nepali art and architecture.
By 879, the Licchavi era had petered out and was succeeded by the Thakuri dynasty. A grim period of instability and invasion often referred to as the 'Dark Ages' followed, but Kathmandu Valley's strategic location ensured the kingdom's survival and growth. Several centuries later, the Thakuri king, Arideva, founded the Malla dynasty, kick-starting another renaissance of Nepali culture. Despite earthquakes, the odd invasion and feuding between the independent city-states of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, the dynasty flourished, reaching its zenith in the 15th century under Yaksha Malla.
The rulers of the western city-state of Gorkha had always coveted the Mallas' wealth and under the inspired leadership of Prithvi Narayan Shah the Gurkhas launched a campaign to conquer the Kathmandu Valley. In 1768 - after 27 years of fighting - they triumphed and moved their capital to Kathmandu. From this new base the kingdom's power expanded, borne by a seemingly unstoppable army, until progress was halted in 1792 by a brief and chastening war with Tibet. The courage of the Gurkhas under fire is legendary. Many fighting forces around the world still maintain Gurkha regiments, including the British Army.
Further hostilities followed in 1814, this time with the British. After years of skirmishes over the ownership of the Terai, The Nepali forces were eventually brought to heel and compelled to sign the 1816 Sugauli Treaty, which surrendered Sikkim and most of Terai, establishing Nepal's present eastern and western boundaries. Some of the land was eventually restored in return for Nepalese help in quelling the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
The Shah dynasty continued in power during the first half of the 19th century until the ghastly Kot Massacre of 1846. Taking advantage of the intrigue and assassinations that had plagued the ruling family, Jung Bahadur seized control by butchering several hundred of the most important men. He took the more prestigious title Rana, proclaimed himself prime minister for life, and later made the office hereditary. For the next century, the Ranas and their offspring luxuriated in huge Kathmandu palaces, while the remainder of the population eked out a living in medieval conditions. The borders of Nepal were sealed to foreigners until after WWII and the country receded into myth and legend.
Modern History
The Rana's antiquated regime came to an end soon after WWII. In 1948, the British withdrew from India, and with them went the Ranas' chief support. Isurrectional movements emerged and the Ranas, at the behest of India, reluctantly agreed to negotiations. King Tribhuvan was anointed ruler in 1951 and struck up a government comprised of Ranas and members of the newly formed Nepali Congress Party. The borders were also finally re-opened.
But the political harmony was shortlived. Tribhuvan's son, King Mahendra had the elected cabinet arrested and assumed control of the government.
Cronyism, corruption and the creaming-off of lucrative foreign aid into royal coffers continued even as Mahendra was succeeded by his son. The Nepalis rose up in popular protest and though the authorities cracked down hard, killing hundreds of protestors, King Birendra eventually bowed to pressure, dissolved his cabinet, legalised political parties and invited the opposition to form an interim government.
The changeover to democracy proceeded in an orderly, if leisurely, fashion, and in May 1991 the Nepali Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal shared most of the votes.
But the political waters remained turbulent, with a general strike in 1992 resulting in a number of deaths and a midterm election called in 1994. A resulting tripartite coalition did nothing to calm the volatility and the late 1990s were littered with dozens of broken coalitions, dissolved governments and sacked politicians. In 1996 the Maoists (of the Communist Party of Nepal), fed up with government corruption, the failure of democracy to deliver improvements to the people, and the dissolution of the Communist government, declared a 'people's war'.
The 2001 massacre of the royal family by Crown Prince Dipendra was not enough to shock the country out of its turmoil. Gyanedra become monarch but prime ministers came and went like mayflies while the Maoists made and unmade truces and ceasefires.
Recent History
Nepal's 12-year experiment with democracy faced a major setback in October 2002 when King Gyanendra, frustrated with the political stalemate and the continued delay in holding national elections, dissolved the government. Gyanendra again dissolved the government in February 2005, amid a state of emergency.
Following days of mass demonstrations, parlimentary democracy was grudgingly restored by the king in April 2006, whereupon the parliament reduced the king to a figurehead, ending powers the royal Shah lineage had enjoyed for over 200 years. A peace deal brokered with the Maoists saw them joining an interim government and a possible end to the grisly internal fighting that had cost more than 10,000 lives. Unfortunately, this partnership has followed a typical pattern of Nepalese politics and appears to have broken down, leaving the country in an uneasy, though familiar, limbo.
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