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A Brief History of Nepal

A Brief History of Nepal. Kiratis and Buddhist Beginnings. Licchavis , Thakuris , Then Darkness. In 602 the first Thakuri king, Amsurvarman , came to power. He consolidated that power to south by marrying his sister to an Indian prince.

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A Brief History of Nepal

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  1. A Brief History of Nepal

  2. Kiratis and Buddhist Beginnings

  3. Licchavis, Thakuris, Then Darkness

  4. In 602 the first Thakuri king, Amsurvarman, came to power. • He consolidated that power to south by marrying his sister to an Indian prince. • He consolidated his power to the north by marrying his daughter, Bhrikuti, to the Tibetan King, SongstenGompo. Together with the Tibetan king’s Chinese wife, Wengcheng, they converted the king to Buddhism around 640.

  5. The Golden Age of the Mallas • In 1200, the Malla kings (wrestlers) came to power in the Kathmandu Valley. • Their rule stretched over 550 years. • 1225 a huge earth quake killed over 1/3 for the Nepalese population • An invasion from Muslim Bengal less than a century later plundered Hindu and Buddhist shrines. • After the death of YakshaMalla in 1482, the Kathmandu Valley was divided among his three sons into separate kingdoms: Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan.

  6. Bhaktapur Durbar Square

  7. Kathmandu Durbar Square

  8. Patan Durbar Square

  9. HunamanDhoka Palace

  10. Unification under the Shahs • 1768 PrithviNarayan Shah, ruler of Gorkha (halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara) took Kathmandu. • He snuck in while everyone was drunk during IndraJatra. • A year later he took Kirtipur, hacking off the noses and lips of Kirtipur’s residents. • In 1769 he unified Nepal, establishing the Shah dynasty.

  11. The Ranas • The Kot Massacre in 1846 was engineered by a young Chhetri nobleman, Jung Bahdur, and catapulted his family to power. • Fifty-five of the most important noblemen in the kingdom were assassinated and 6,000 members of their families exiled. • Jung Bahdur took the title of prime minister and changed his name to Rana. He later declared the prime ministry hereditary. • The Shah kings became figureheads, requiring permission to leave their palace.

  12. Restoration of the Shahs • 1951 King Tribhuvan returned to the throne to set up a new government composed of demoted Ranas and members of the Nepali Congress Party • King Tribhuvan was succeeded in 1955 by his son, Mahendra • In 1960 King Mahendra renounced his ceremonial role and the democratic government lead by BP Kiorala • 1962 Panchayat established

  13. People Power • 1989 Nepali opposition parties formed a coalition to fight for multiparty democracy with the king as constitutional head • Jana Andolan, People’s Movement • 1990 riots, curfews, etc. the government was forced to back down but 300 lives were lost • April 9, 1990 King Birendra announced he was lifting a ban on political parties • May 21, 1990 20 parties contested for election to a 205-seat parliament. • Nepali Congress won power; CPN-UML second

  14. The People’s War • 1996, the Maoists, a communist party splinter group, declared a ‘people’s war’ • The insurgency began in Rolpa, a district in midwest Nepal • November 2001 the Maoists broke their ceasefire and attacked an army barrack west of Kathmandu

  15. The Royal Massacre • June 1, 2001 Crown Prince Dipendra gunned down almost every member of the royal family during a get together at the palace. • Gyanendra succeeded his brother Birendra after the Crown Prince died of self inflicted wounds. • In 2005 Gyanendra dissolved the government, amid a state of emergency, promising a return to democracy within 3 years. • A total of 9 governments were established in the course of ten years.

  16. April, 2006 • King Gyanendra was forced to restore parliament and his role was reduced to that of a figurehead. • The price of a cease fire with the Maoists was the removal of the king. • The Maoists obtained a majority in elections held in 2008 and the monarchy was abolished by a vote of 560 to 4. • May 2010 was established as the deadline to approve a new democratic constitution.

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