नेपालको इतिहास

The History of नेपाल is characterized by its isolated position in the हिमालयs र its two dominant neighbors, भारत र चीन. Even though it was independent through most of its history, it was split in three from the 15th to 18th century. It was united as a monarchy, र experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. Since the 1990s, the country is in civil strife.

शब्दको उत्पत्ति

The toponym "नेपाल" may derive from the संस्कृत 'निपालय, which means "at the foot of the mountains" or "abode at the foot," a reference to its location in relation to the हिमालय. Thus, it may be an Eastern equivalent of the European toponym "Piedmont." It has also been suggested that the name comes from the [[तिब्बती भाषा] niyampal, which means "holy land". A third theory suggests that Nepal came from the word NE which means wool र PAL means tented house. Long time ago, Nepal used to produce a lot of wool र the houses were used to store the wool, hence the word NE-PAL

प्राचिन ईतिहास

Neolithic tools found in the काठमाण्डौ उपत्यका indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. Documented references reach back to the first millennium BCE, when ancient Indian epics such as the महाभारत mention the किराँत, the inhabitants of Nepal. It appears that people who were probably of भोट-बर्मेली ethnicity lived नेपालमा 2,500 years ago. Ramayana, which refers to the era before Mahabharat, states Mithila, which is currently known as Janakpur नेपालमा, as the birth place of goddess Sita. Also, the presence of historical sites, e.g., Valmik ashram, indicates the presence of Aryan culture नेपालमा at that period.

बौद्ध धर्मको सुरूवात

Indo-Aryan tribes began arriving around 1500 BCE from the northwest. Around 1000 BCE, small kingdoms र confederations of clans arose in the region. One of the earliest confederations was that of the Shakya clan, whose capital was Kapilavastu, near the present-day border with India. One of its princes was Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BCE), who renounced उनका royalty to lead an ascetic life र came to be known as the Buddha ("the enlightened one"). By 260 BCE, most of northern India was ruled by the Maurya Empire. Although not all of Nepal was under Maurya rule, there is evidence of at least the influence of Ashoka the Great—the ruler of the Maurya Empire from 273 to 232 BCE र a convert to Buddhism—have been found in the काठमाडौं Valley. In the fourth century CE, the area fell under the Gupta Empire. Though all of Nepal wasn't under the direct control of the Guptas, they have had an influence on its culture.

लिच्छवी काल

मुख्य लेख: Licchavi

Between about 400 र 750 AD, Nepal's present capital काठमाडौं was ruled by the Licchavi kingdom. Archaeological evidence for this period mainly consists of stonework inscriptions, reckoned on two separate, consecutive eras. The former, Åšaka era has an epoch corresponding to 78 AD, whereas the latter Aṃshuvarmā or Mānadeva 2 era reckons from 576.

Whilst most such inscriptions list the dates र commissioners of stonework construction, some communicate royal edicts, religious mantras or historical notes. It is through the corroboration of local myths with such evidence that a people prior to the Licchavi have been identified, known as the Kirata. Of these people very little is known.

The Licchavi rulers arranged for the documentation of information on politics, society, र the economy in the region. Most of the Licchavi records—written in Sanskrit—are deeds reporting donations to religious foundations, predominantly Hindu temples; र the last such record was added in 733.

Map of Nepal

The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late eighth century र 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.

१२औं शताब्दी

By the early 12th century, leaders were emerging whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ("wrestler"). Arimalla was the first king of this dynasty, which was initially marked by upheaval before the kings consolidated their power over the next 200 years.

मध्यकालीन तीन राज्य

Hindu temples in Patan, the capital one of the three medieval kingdoms

Thirteenth-century Nepal was occasionally pillaged by the Delhi Sultanate of northern India, र was marked by increased militarisation. By the late 14th century much of the country came under the rule of the king Jayasthitimalla, who managed to unite most of the fragmented power bases. This unity was short-lived: in 1482 the kingdom was carved into three: काठमाडौं, Patan, र Bhadgaon.

गोरखाको उदय

Modern Nepal was created in the latter half of the 18th century when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill states. The country was frequently called the Gorkha Kingdom. It is a misconception that the Gurkhas took their name from the Gorkha region of Nepal. The region was given its name after the Gurkhas had established their control of these areas. Gurkha, also spelt as Gorkha, are people from Nepal who take their name from the legendary eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. Gurkhas claim descent from the Hindu Rajputs र Brahmins of Northern India, who entered modern Nepal from the west.

After decades of rivalry between the medieval kingdoms, Prithvi Narayan Shah dedicated himself at an early age to the conquest of the काठमाडौं valley र the creation of a single state, which he achieved in 1768. Between 1717 र 1733, the Nepalese in the west र Bhutanese in the east attacked Sikkim many times, culminating with the destruction of the capital Rabdentse by the Nepalese. The Sikkim king fled to Tibet. After Shah's death, the Shah dynasty began to expand their kingdom into India. Between 1788 र 1791, Nepal invaded Tibet र robbed Tashilhunpo Monastery of Shigatse. Alarmed, the Chinese emperor Qianlong dispatched a sizeable army that forced the Nepalese to retreat र pay heavy repatriations.

After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed. Rivalry between Nepal र the British East India Company over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16), in which Nepal suffered a complete rout. The Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1816, ceding parts of the Terrai र Sikkim to the British in exchange नेपालको लागिese autonomy.

राणा शासन

Rani (Queen) of Nepal surrounded by उनको Ladies-in-Waiting, 1920

Factionalism among the royal family led to a period of instability after the war. In 1846, Queen Rajendralakshmi plotted to overthrow Jang Bahadur, a fast-rising military leader who was presenting a threat to उनको power. The plot was uncovered र the queen had several hundred princes र chieftains executed after an armed clash between military personnel र administrators loyal to the queen. This came to be known as the Kot Massacre. However, Bahadur emerged victorious र founded the Rana lineage. The king was made a titular figure, र the post of Prime मन्त्री was made powerful र hereditary. The Rana regime, a tightly centralized autocracy, pursued a policy of isolating Nepal from external influences. This policy helped Nepal maintain its national independence during the colonial era, but it also impeded the country's economic development.

The Ranas were staunchly pro-British, र assisted the British during the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, र later in both World Wars.

२०औं शताब्दी

In 1923 Britain र Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal's independence was recognised by the British.

प्रजातान्त्रिक अभ्यास

मुख्य लेख: Democracy movement नेपालमा

In the late 1940s. Meanwhile, with the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1950, India faced the prospect of an expansive military power operating under a radically different political philosophy on its long northern borders, र was thus keen to avoid instability नेपालमा. Forced to act, India sponsored both King Tribhuvan as Nepal's new ruler in 1951, र a new government, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress Party. After years of power wrangling between Tribhuvan's son, King Mahendra र the government, Mahendra dissolved the democratic experiment in 1960. In 1962 he declared that a "partyless" panchayat system would govern Nepal.

Popular dissatisfaction against the family rule of the Ranas had started emerging from among the few educated people, who had been taught in various Indian school र colleges, र from within the Ranas, many of whom were marginalised within the Ruling Rana hierarchy. Many of these Nepalese in exile had actively taken part in the Indian Independence struggle र wanted to liberate Nepal as well from the internal autocratic occupation. The political parties like The Prajaparishad र The Nepali Rastriya Congress were already formed in exile by the patriotic minded people who wanted to stage both the military र popular political movement नेपालमा to overthrow the autocratic Rana Regime. Among the prominent martyrs to die for the cause executed at the hands of the Ranas were Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Shukraraj Shastri, Gangalal Shrestha र Dasharath Chand. This culminated in 1950, King Tribhuvan, a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fled उनका "palace prison" to newly independent India, touching off an armed revolt against the Rana administration. This allowed the return of the Shah family to power and, eventually, the appointment of a non-Rana as prime minister. A period of quasiconstitutional rule followed, during which the monarch, assisted by the leaders of fledgling political parties, governed the country. During the 1950s, efforts were made to frame a constitution नेपालको लागि that would establish a representative form of government, based on a British model.

In early 1959, King Mahendra issued a new constitution, र the first democratic elections for a national assembly were held. The Nepali Congress Party, a moderate socialist group, gained a substantial victory in the election. Its leader, B.P. Koirala, formed a सरकार र served as prime minister.

प्रजातन्त्रको असफलता

Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure 18 months later, King Mahendra dismissed the Koirala सरकार र promulgated a new constitution on December 16, 1962. The new constitution established a "partyless" system of panchayats (councils) which King Mahendra considered to be a democratic form of सरकार closer to Nepalese traditions. As a pyramidal structure progressing from village assemblies to a Rastriya Panchayat (National Parliament), the panchayat system enshrined the absolute power of the monarchy र kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) र the Parliament. One-state-one-language became the national policy र all other langauages suffered at the cost of the official language, "Nepali", which is the king's language.

King Mahendra was succeeded by उनका 27 year-old son, King Birendra, in 1972. Amid student demonstrations र anti-regime activities in 1979, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide on the nature of Nepal's government--either the continuation of the panchayat system with democratic reforms or the establishment of a multiparty system. The referendum was held in May 1980, र the panchayat system won a narrow victory. The king carried out the promised reforms, including selection of the prime minister by the Rastriya Panchayat.

People in rural areas had expected that their interests would be better represented after the adoption of parliamentary democracy in 1990. Jana Andolan forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms र to establish a multiparty parliament. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats र formed the first सरकार in 32 years. In May 1991, Nepal held its first election in nearly 50 years.

In 1992, in a situation of economic crisis र chaos, with spiralling prices as a result of implementation of changes in policy of the new Congress government, the radical left stepped up their political agitation. A Joint People's Agitation Committee was set up by the various groups. A general strike was called for April 6.

Violent incidents began to occur on the evening ahead of the strike. The Joint People's Agitation Committee had called for a 30-minute 'lights out' in the capital, र violent erupted वाहिर Bir Hospital when activists tried to enforce the 'lights out'. At dawn on April 6, clashes between strike activists र police वाहिर a police station in Pulchok (Patan) left two activists dead.

Later in the day, a mass rally of the Agitation Committee at Tundikhel in the capital काठमाडौं was attacked by police forces. As a result riots broke out, र the Nepal Telecommunications building was set on fire. Police opened fire at the crowd, killing several persons. The Human Rights Organisation of Nepal estimated that 14 people, including several on-lookers, had been killed in police firing.

When promised land reforms failed to appear, people in some districts started to organize to enact their own land reform, र to gain some power over their lives in the face of usurious landlords. However, this movement was repressed by the Nepali government, in "Operation Romeo" र "Operation Kilo Sera II" which took the lives of many of the leading activists of the struggle. As a result, many witnesses to this repression became radicalized.

नेपाली गृहयुद्ध

मुख्य लेख: Nepalese Civil War

In February 1996, one of the Maoist parties started a bid to replace the parliamentary monarchy with a so-called people's new democratic republic, through a Maoist revolutionary strategy known as the people's war, which has led to the Nepalese Civil War. Led by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai र Pushpa Kamal Dahal (also known as "Prachanda"), the insurgency began in five districts नेपालमा: Rolpa, Rukum, Jajarkot, Gorkha, र Sindhuli. The Maoists declared the existence of a provisional "people's government" at the district level in several locations. At one point, 70% of Nepal's countryside was under Maoist rule.

नारायणहिटी संहार

जून २००१ अर्थात् १८ जेठ २०५८ राती नारायणहिटी दरवारभित्र भएको रक्तपातपूर्ण गोलीकाण्डमा राजा बीरेन्द्रको परिवारका सबैजनाको हत्या भयो। तत्कालिन युवराज दीपेन्द्रले गरेको भनिएको सो हत्याकाण्डमा राजा बीरेन्द्र, रानी ऐश्वर्य, युवराज दीपेन्द्र (एक दिन पछि मृत्यु भएको भनिएको), राजकुमारी श्रुती, राजकुमार निराजन लगायत राजपरिवारका धेरैजनाको मृत्यु भएको थियो। घटनामा सबै दोष युवराज दीपेन्द्रलाई थोपरिए तापनि सो घटनामा दरवारमै उपस्थित रहेका ज्ञानेन्द्र पुत्र पारसले हत्या गरेको र यसमा ज्ञानेन्द्रको पनि संलग्नता रहेको ठहर नेपालीहरूले गरेका छन्। अरू सबैको विभत्स हत्या हुनु र ज्ञानेन्द्र परिवार मात्र सकुशल बाँच्नुले यो कुराको थप पुष्टि गरेको छ।

In June 2001 Crown Prince Dipendra went on a shooting-spree assassinating 11 members of the royal family including King Birendra र Queen Aishwarya before shooting himself. Due to उनका survival he temporarily became king before dying of उनका wounds resulting in Prince Gyanendra (Birendra's brother) inheriting the throne. Meanwhile, the Maoist rebellion escalated, र in October 2002 the king temporarily deposed the सरकार र took complete control of it. A week later he reappointed another government, but the country is still very unstable because of the civil war with the Maoists, the various political factions, the king's attempts to take more control of the सरकार र worries about the competence of Gyanendra's son र heir, Prince Paras.

In the face of unstable governments र a Maoist siege on the काठमाडौं Valley in August 2004, popular support for the monarchy began to wane. On 2005-02-01, Gyanendra dismissed the entire सरकार र assumed full executive powers, declaring a "state of emergency" to quash the Maoist movement. Politicians were placed under house arrest, phone र internet lines were cut, र freedom of the press was severely curtailed. The king's new regime made little progress in उनका stated aim to suppress the insurgents.

King Gyanendra took control once again on February 1, 2005. Municipal elections in February 2006 were described by the European Union as "a backward step for democracy", as the major parties boycotted the election र some candidates were forced to run for office by the army. In April 2006 strikes र street protests in काठमाडौं forced the king to reinstate the parliament. A seven-party coalition resumed control of the सरकार र stripped the king of most of उनका powers. At present, the future of monarchy remains in question, र it is unclear whether the Maoist parties, which part of the interim government, will hold true to their cease fire. As of 15 January 2007 Nepal is governed by an unicameral legislature under an interim constitution.

सन्दर्भ सामग्री

• नेपाल साप्ताहिक
• गोरखापत्र दैनिक

अन्य लिंकहरू

• मानव अधिकार आयोग