The Khukuri is the traditional weapon and tool of the Gurkhas.David Ochterlony and the political agent William Fraser were quick to recognise the potential of Gorkha soldiers in British service. During the war the British were keen to use defectors from the Gorkha army and employ them as irregular forces. His confidence in their loyalty was such that in April 1815 he proposed forming them into a battalion under Lieutenant Ross called the Nasiri regiment. This regiment, which later became the 1st King George’s Own Gurkha Rifles, saw action at the Malaun fort under the leadership of Lieutenant Lawtie, who reported to Ochterlony that he "had the greatest reason to be satisfied with their exertions".
About 5,000 men entered British service in 1815, most of whom were not ‘real’ Gorkhas but Kumaonis, Garhwalis and other Himalayan hill men. These groups, eventually lumped together under the term Gurkha, became the backbone of British Indian forces.
As well as Ochterlony’s Gurkha battalions, William Fraser and Lieutenant Frederick Young raised the Sirmoor battalion, later to become the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles; an additional battalion, the Kumaon battalion was also raised eventually becoming the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. None of these men fought in the second campaign.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Demise of the protagonists
Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, with the support of the queen regent Tripura Sundari, remained in power despite the defeat of Nepal. Other ruling families, particularly the Pandes, decried what they saw as Bhimsen Thapa’s submissive attitude towards the British. The prime minister however had been able to retain power by maintaining a large, modernised army and politically dominating the court during the minority of King Rajendra Bikram Shah, (reigned 1816–1847). Additionally, he was able to freeze out the Pandes from power by appointing members of his own family into positions of authority.
When queen Tripura Sundari died in 1832, Bhimsen Thapa began to lose influence. In 1833, Brian Hodgson became British resident, openly favouring Bhimsen Thapa’s opponents, and in 1837 the king announced his intention to rule independently, depriving the prime minister and his nephew of their military powers. After the eldest son of the queen died, Bhimsen Thapa was falsely accused of attempting to poison the prince. Although acquitted, the Thapas were in turmoil. When the head of the Pande family, Rana Jang Pande, became prime minister, he had Bhimsen Thapa re-imprisoned; Bhimsen Thapa committed suicide in August 1839.
For his part, David Ochterlony received thanks from both Houses of Parliament and became the first officer in the British East India Company to be awarded the GCB. Lord Moira also reinstated him as Resident at Delhi and he lived in the style appropriate to a very senior figure of the Company. However, after Lord Moira left India – succeeded by Lord Amherst as Governor-General in 1823 – Ochterlony fell out of favour.
In 1825 the Raja of Bharatpur died and the six-year-old heir to the throne, whom Ochterlony supported, was usurped by his cousin Durjan Sal. When Durjan Sal failed to submit to Ochterlony’s demands to vacate the throne, the British general prepared to march on Bharatpur. He did not receive the backing of the new Governor-General however, and after Amherst countermanded his orders, Ochterlony resigned, as Amherst had anticipated. This episode badly affected the ailing general who died shortly after on 14 July 1825. A 165-foot-high memorial was later erected in Calcutta in his memory; however, Sir David Ochterlony’s greatest legacy is the continuing recruitment of Gurkhas into the British and Indian armies.
Soon after Ochterlony's resignation Amherst was himself obliged to do what Ochterlony had prepared to do, and laid siege to Bharatpur.
When queen Tripura Sundari died in 1832, Bhimsen Thapa began to lose influence. In 1833, Brian Hodgson became British resident, openly favouring Bhimsen Thapa’s opponents, and in 1837 the king announced his intention to rule independently, depriving the prime minister and his nephew of their military powers. After the eldest son of the queen died, Bhimsen Thapa was falsely accused of attempting to poison the prince. Although acquitted, the Thapas were in turmoil. When the head of the Pande family, Rana Jang Pande, became prime minister, he had Bhimsen Thapa re-imprisoned; Bhimsen Thapa committed suicide in August 1839.
For his part, David Ochterlony received thanks from both Houses of Parliament and became the first officer in the British East India Company to be awarded the GCB. Lord Moira also reinstated him as Resident at Delhi and he lived in the style appropriate to a very senior figure of the Company. However, after Lord Moira left India – succeeded by Lord Amherst as Governor-General in 1823 – Ochterlony fell out of favour.
In 1825 the Raja of Bharatpur died and the six-year-old heir to the throne, whom Ochterlony supported, was usurped by his cousin Durjan Sal. When Durjan Sal failed to submit to Ochterlony’s demands to vacate the throne, the British general prepared to march on Bharatpur. He did not receive the backing of the new Governor-General however, and after Amherst countermanded his orders, Ochterlony resigned, as Amherst had anticipated. This episode badly affected the ailing general who died shortly after on 14 July 1825. A 165-foot-high memorial was later erected in Calcutta in his memory; however, Sir David Ochterlony’s greatest legacy is the continuing recruitment of Gurkhas into the British and Indian armies.
Soon after Ochterlony's resignation Amherst was himself obliged to do what Ochterlony had prepared to do, and laid siege to Bharatpur.
Aftermath
The Treaty of Sugauli
The Treaty of Sugauli 4 March 1816. It suited Ochterlony to bring the campaign to a speedy conclusion because of the approach of the dreaded aul-fever season but also because a number of his European troops were suffering from dysentery.The Treaty of Sugauli was ratified on 4 March 1816. Nepal lost Sikkim, the territories of Kumaon and Garhwal, and most of the lands of the Tarai; the British East India Company would pay 200,000 rupees annually to compensate for the loss of income from the Tarai region. However, the Tarai lands had proved difficult to govern and some of them were returned to Nepal later in 1816 and the annual payments abolished.
The Mechi river became the new eastern border and the Mahakali river the western boundary of Nepal. Kathmandu was also forced to accept a British Resident – a hateful symbol of its reduction to client status in relation to the British administration in Calcutta.
The Treaty of Sugauli 4 March 1816. It suited Ochterlony to bring the campaign to a speedy conclusion because of the approach of the dreaded aul-fever season but also because a number of his European troops were suffering from dysentery.The Treaty of Sugauli was ratified on 4 March 1816. Nepal lost Sikkim, the territories of Kumaon and Garhwal, and most of the lands of the Tarai; the British East India Company would pay 200,000 rupees annually to compensate for the loss of income from the Tarai region. However, the Tarai lands had proved difficult to govern and some of them were returned to Nepal later in 1816 and the annual payments abolished.
The Mechi river became the new eastern border and the Mahakali river the western boundary of Nepal. Kathmandu was also forced to accept a British Resident – a hateful symbol of its reduction to client status in relation to the British administration in Calcutta.
Second campaign
After Ochterlony’s successful campaign, the Kathmandu durbar failed to ratify the peace agreement signed on 28 November 1815. This reticence to sign soon led to the second campaign. Unsurprisingly, Lord Moira placed Ochterlony in command of the 20,000 strong invasion force of Nepal.
While General Ochterlony advanced towards Makwanpur, simultaneous operations by the chogyal (king) of Sikkim drove the Nepalese army from the east. Amar Singh Thapa took no part in the campaign – he had retired to a temple, and died shortly after the war ended.
After the decisive Battle of Makwanpur on 28 February 1816 and the fall of the neighbouring fort of Hariharpur (after Ranjur Singh abandoned his post), the situation became very critical for Nepal. The British threat to the capital Kathmandu compelled the Nepalis to ratify the treaty without any further delay.
First campaign
The initial British campaign was an attack on two fronts across a frontier of more than 1,500 km (930miles). In the eastern front, Major-General Bennet Marley and Major-General John Sullivan Wood led their respective columns across the Tarai towards the heart of the valley of Kathmandu. Further east, on the Sikkim border, Captain Latter led a small force in a primarily defensive role. Major-General Rollo Gillespie and Colonel David Ochterlony commanded the two columns in the western front. These columns were pitted against the cream of the Gorkha army under the command of Amar Singh Thapa. All four columns were composed mainly of Indian troops, though Ochterlony’s was the only column without a single British infantry battalion. The Commander-in-Chief of the British forces was Lord Moira.
The campaign started badly for the British. A day before the Governor-General officially declared war on 1 November 1814, General Gillespie had been killed trying to take the weakly-defended fort at Kalanga at the Battle of Nalapani. In the interval before Gillespie’s successor Major-General Gabriel Martindell took over command, Colonel Sebright Mawby managed to take Kalanga by cutting off its water supplies. Soon after Martindell arrived however, the British suffered further setbacks at the hands of Ranjur Singh Thapa(Amar Singh Thapa’s son), at the Battle of Jaithak. Martindell eventually reduced Jaithak to rubble with his guns but, even with vastly superior numbers, he failed to occupy it for fear of counter-attack.
The generals in the east mirrored this pusillanimity, with both Wood and Marley reluctant to face the enemy. After two attempts to advance on Butwal, Wood, with superior numbers, feebly retreated and took up a defensive posture at Gorakhpur. His compatriot, Major-General Marley, whose 8,000 strong force was supposed to provide the main striking force on Kathmandu, showed even more timidity. After his advance posts at Samanpore and Persa were wiped out due to lack of support, he was reduced to abject inactivity and, on 10 February 1815, deserted, "unable to endure the irksomeness of his situation ... took the sudden and extraordinary resolution in leaving the camp".
The company’s hopes now rested on the abilities of Colonel Ochterlony’s force of around 10,000 troops. Unlike the other generals, Ochterlony showed determination, skill and an ability to adapt to the circumstances. Although there were no initial decisive encounters, Ochterlony slowly pushed Amar Singh’s army higher and higher into the mountains until, in April 1815, the Gorkha general had been forced back into his main fort at Malaun.
The ensuing Battle of Dionthal was decisive. Attempts by Amar Singh’s most able lieutenant, Bhakti Thapa, to dislodge the British from the Dionthal ridge overlooking the Malaun fort failed. Although Bhakti Thapa was killed in the action on 16 April, the fort held out for a while. However, when news arrived announcing that Almora had fallen to Colonel Jasper Nicolls’ 2,000 strong force of regular sepoys on 26 April, Amar Singh Thapa realized the hopelessness of the situation and, threatened by the British guns, surrendered. In recognition of their heroic defences of their respective forts of Malaun and Jaithak, Ochterlony allowed Amar Singh and his son Ranjur (who had joined him at Malaun) to return home with their arms and men. During the campaign Ochterlony was promoted to major general.
The campaign started badly for the British. A day before the Governor-General officially declared war on 1 November 1814, General Gillespie had been killed trying to take the weakly-defended fort at Kalanga at the Battle of Nalapani. In the interval before Gillespie’s successor Major-General Gabriel Martindell took over command, Colonel Sebright Mawby managed to take Kalanga by cutting off its water supplies. Soon after Martindell arrived however, the British suffered further setbacks at the hands of Ranjur Singh Thapa(Amar Singh Thapa’s son), at the Battle of Jaithak. Martindell eventually reduced Jaithak to rubble with his guns but, even with vastly superior numbers, he failed to occupy it for fear of counter-attack.
The generals in the east mirrored this pusillanimity, with both Wood and Marley reluctant to face the enemy. After two attempts to advance on Butwal, Wood, with superior numbers, feebly retreated and took up a defensive posture at Gorakhpur. His compatriot, Major-General Marley, whose 8,000 strong force was supposed to provide the main striking force on Kathmandu, showed even more timidity. After his advance posts at Samanpore and Persa were wiped out due to lack of support, he was reduced to abject inactivity and, on 10 February 1815, deserted, "unable to endure the irksomeness of his situation ... took the sudden and extraordinary resolution in leaving the camp".
The company’s hopes now rested on the abilities of Colonel Ochterlony’s force of around 10,000 troops. Unlike the other generals, Ochterlony showed determination, skill and an ability to adapt to the circumstances. Although there were no initial decisive encounters, Ochterlony slowly pushed Amar Singh’s army higher and higher into the mountains until, in April 1815, the Gorkha general had been forced back into his main fort at Malaun.
The ensuing Battle of Dionthal was decisive. Attempts by Amar Singh’s most able lieutenant, Bhakti Thapa, to dislodge the British from the Dionthal ridge overlooking the Malaun fort failed. Although Bhakti Thapa was killed in the action on 16 April, the fort held out for a while. However, when news arrived announcing that Almora had fallen to Colonel Jasper Nicolls’ 2,000 strong force of regular sepoys on 26 April, Amar Singh Thapa realized the hopelessness of the situation and, threatened by the British guns, surrendered. In recognition of their heroic defences of their respective forts of Malaun and Jaithak, Ochterlony allowed Amar Singh and his son Ranjur (who had joined him at Malaun) to return home with their arms and men. During the campaign Ochterlony was promoted to major general.
war
While the Gorkhas had been expanding their empire – into Sikkim in the east, Kumaon and Garhwal in the west and into the British sphere of influence in Oudh in the south – the British East India Company had consolidated its position in India from its main bases of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. This British expansion had already been resisted in India, culminating in three Anglo-Maratha wars as well as in the Punjab where Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire had their own aspirations. It was therefore imperative to the British that the Gorkha War was quickly and successfully concluded.
When the Kathmandu durbar solicited Gorkha chiefs’ opinions about a possible war with the British, Amar Singh was not alone in his opposition, declaring that – "They will not rest satisfied without establishing their own power and authority, and will unite with the hill rajas, whom we have dispossessed." This contrasts sharply with the prime minister Bhimsen Thapa – " ... our hills and fastness are formed by the hand of God, and are impregnable." The Gorkha prime minister realised the Nepalese had several advantages over the British including knowledge of the region and recent experience fighting in the mountainous terrain. However, the British had numerical superiority and far more modern weapons.
Gorkha War
The Shah era of Nepal began with the invasion of Kathmandu valley, which consisted of the capitals of Malla confederacy that ruled Nepal during the medieval era of Nepal.
In 1767, a request to the British for help by the Nepalese Malla confederacy under threat from Gorkha invasion resulted in an ill-equipped and ill-prepared expedition numbering 2,500 led by Captain Kinloch. The expedition was a disaster; the Gorkha army easily overpowered those who had not succumbed to malaria or desertion. This ineffectual British force provided the Gorkhas with firearms and filled them with suspicion, causing some to underestimate their future opponents.
The invasion of Nepal resulted with Gorkha kingdom being renamed as Nepal and the shift of the capital of the kingdom from Gorkha to Kathmandu. Also, the invasion of economically sound medieval Nepal provided the Gurkha army economic support for furthering their martial practices throughout the region. The martial campaign in eastern region was largely a failure. After a number of defeats by the Limbuwan army, the Gurkha army finally made peace treaty with Limbuwan and incorporated the Limbuwan states into Nepal under a mutual pact. In the west, all rulers as far as the Kali River had submitted or been replaced by 1790. Farther west still, the Kumaon region and its capital Almora had also succumbed to the Gorkhas.
To the north however, aggressive raids into Tibet (concerning a long-standing dispute over trade and control of the mountain passes) forced the Chinese emperor in Peking to act. In 1792 he sent a huge army, expelling the Nepalese from Tibet to within 5 km of their capital at Kathmandu. Acting regent Bahadur Shah, (Prithvi Naryan’s son), appealed to the British Governor-General of India, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Lord Moira for help. Anxious to avoid confrontation with the Chinese, Lord Moira sent Captain Kirkpatrick as mediator, but before he arrived the war with China had finished. The Nepalese were forced into signing a humiliating treaty revoking their trading privileges in Tibet and requiring them to pay tribute to Peking every 5 years.
The Tibet affair had postponed a previously planned attack on the Garhwal Kingdom, but by 1803 Raja of Garhwal Pradyuman Shah had also been defeated. He was killed in the struggle in January 1804, and all his land annexed. Further west, general Amar Singh Thapa overran lands as far as the Kangra – the strongest fort in the hill region – and laid siege to it (although by 1809, Ranjit Singh the ruler of the Sikh state in the Punjab, had intervened and driven the Nepalese army east of the Sutlej river).
The British were also expanding their sphere of influence. The recent acquisition of the Nawab of Awadh's lands by the British East India Company brought the region of Gorakhpur into the close proximity of the raja of Palpa – the last remaining independent town within the Gorkha heartlands. Suspicion of the raja’s collusion with the British led first to his imprisonment by the Gorkhas, then to his assassination. Bhimsen Thapa, Nepalese Prime Minister from 1806 to 1837, installed his own father as governor of Palpa, leading to serious border disputes between the two powers.
These disputes arose because there was no fixed boundary separating the Gorkhas and the British. A border commission imposed on Nepal by the Governor-General failed to solve the problem. Gorkha raids into the flatlands of the Terai, a much prized strip of fertile ground separating the Nepalese hill country from India, increased tensions – the British felt their power in the region and their tenuous lines of communication between Calcutta and the northwest were under threat. Since there was no clear border, confrontation between the powers was inevitable.
Timeline
1996
13 February: Initiation of "the peoples war" by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Kathmandu: A soft-drink bottling factory owned by a multi-national company is attacked and the building torched.
Gorkha District
A foreign liquor factory is completely destroyed.
The office of the Small Farmer's Development Programme of the state-owned Agricultural Development Bank in Chyangli VDC (Village Development Committee) is ransacked.
Kavre District: A moneylender's house is raided at night, properties and cash reportedly worth 1.3 million rupees seized, and loan documents worth several million rupees reportedly destroyed. 7 members of the moneylender's family are killed , all shot to death.
Rolpa, Rukum & Sindhuli Districts: One police outpost raided in each district. The outpost at Holeri, Rolpa has its stores seized, including a substantial amount of high explosives. Athbiskot-Rari, Rukum is also raided. The Sindhuligarhi post in Sindhuli is reportedly raided without . 17 Police personnel are killed in total , and only one Maoist guerilla is killed in retaliation.
2001
January: The government creates the Armed Police Force to fight the insurgents.
28 May: Chairman Prachanda gives an interview with the Communist journal A World to Win.
1 June: Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly kills King Birendra and most of the royal family in the Nepali royal massacre. Dipendra, comatose after a failed suicide attempt or assassination attempt by palace guards, is crowned king, according to tradition. He dies on 4 June, Gyanendra is crowned King.
3 August: The first round of peace talks begin.
23 November: Peace talks collapse when the Maoists withdraw and launch a ferocious attack Police and Army posts in 42 districts, in which 186 Army and Police personnel and 21 Maoists are killed.
26 November: The government of Sher Bahadur Deuba declares a Nationwide State of Emergency and employs the Nepal Army in attacking the Maoists.
2002
The United States Congress approves US$12 million to train Royal Nepal Army officers and supply 5,000 M16 rifles.
May: Peace talks collapse.
May: Large battle fought between Army and Maoist forces at Lisne Lekh along boundary between Pyuthan and Rolpa districts.
11 May: A photograph is discovered by Nepal government soldiers in western Nepal. The photograph depicts Nepal's Maoist rebel leaders Baburam Bhattarai, Hisila Yami, Ram Bahadur Thapa (alias Badal), and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (alias Prachanda).
22 May: King Gyanendra, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, dissolves Parliament and orders new elections. The reason given for the dissolution is opposition to the state of emergency.
11 July: Information leaks out that the Belgian weapon manufacturer FN Herstal is allowed to deliver 5,500 M249 Minimi rifles to the Nepali monarchy, a decision made by all coalition parties. Minister of External Affairs Louis Michel speaks of "a country in a pluralistic democracy."
4 October: King Gyanendra deposes Prime Minister Deuba and the entire Council of Ministers, assumes executive power, and cancels the elections for the dissolved House of Representatives, which had been scheduled for 11 November.
11 October: King Gyanendra appoints Lokendra Bahadur Chand as Prime Minister.
2003
January: The United States hold exercises with the Nepali army. Maoist insurgents kill the Inspector General of Armed Police, Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and his bodyguard, Head Constable Subhash Bahadur Gurung of the Armed Police Force Nepal, while on their morning walk, as they used to do on Sunday mornings, intending to represent general safety to fellow citizens. The Inspector General and his wife, who was a teacher at an international school in the capital, were both unarmed. They were riddled with bullets from Type 56 Rifles and G3 rifles used by the Maoists.
29 January: A second ceasefire is established and peace talks begin.
13 May: Code of conduct jointly declared by the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for the mutually agreed period of cease-fire[11]
17 August: Nepali Military and Police forces kill 39 Maoist rebels in the Ramechhap District of central Nepal during an offensive launched jointly by the Army, Police, and Air Force of Nepal. 7 Soldiers of the Nepali Army and 5 Constables of the Armed Police are also killed in the operation.
24 August: The Maoists set an ultimatum, threatening to withdraw from the cease-fire if the government does not agree within 48 hours to include the question of the Maoists participating in the Constituent Assembly.
26 August: The Maoist ultimatum expires.
27 August:
Strike: The Maoist call for a three-day strike to denounce the Army's attacks on their cadres
The Maoists unilaterally withdraw from the 29 January cease-fire. Prachanda's statement revives the rebels' demand for an end to monarchic rule in favor of a people's republic, stating, "Since the old regime has put an end to the forward-looking solution to all existing problems through the cease-fire and peace talks, we herein declare that the rationale behind cease-fire...and peace process has ended."
27 September: "Fifteen people including 8 Rebels and 4 Policemen were killed on Saturday and suspected Maoists bombed five government utilities despite the guerrillas' plans for a nine day truce from 2 October, officials said. Eight Maoists were killed in a gun battle with security forces at Chhita Pokhara in the Khotang District, 340 kilometres east of Kathmandu, a police officer said. 4 Policemen were also martyred. Elsewhere in eastern Nepal, the Maoists killed two Policemen,Constable Purna Prasad Sharma and Head Constable Radha Krishna Gurung, and a woman selling beetle nuts, Kali Tamang, in the Jaljale-Gaighat area, an official said. 'A group of seven Maoists descended from a public bus when police were checking the passengers and suddenly opened fire from automatic pistols, killing the three and wounding two others,' said Sitaram Prasad Pokharel, the chief administrator for the region. In Janakpur, an industrial hub on the Indian border 260 kilometres south-east of Kathmandu, the Maoists under the direct command of Prachanda carried out five early morning bombings that disrupted telephone service and power, police said. No one was killed directly by the blasts but an elderly man died of a heart attack after hearing the explosions, Police Deputy Superintendent Bharat Chhetri said. He said the sites that were bombed included the offices of the roads department and the Nepal Electricity Authority and a telecommunications tower. Police personnel and Maoists traded fire for nearly 40 minutes after the blasts but the rebels escaped and 37 people were injured, Mr Khadka said."
13 October: At least 42 Police Recruits and 9 Maoists are killed when an estimated 3,000 Maoists attempt to storm a Police Training Center in Bhaluwang. "'The rebels had snapped telephone cables, set up roadblocks by felling trees or blowing up highway bridges to prevent reinforcements from coming,' a witness, Krishna Adhikary, told Reuters."
27 October: " Colonel Adrian Griffith and six Nepali nationals were freed last week 42 hours after being taken captive in Baglung, 300 km (190 miles) west of Kathmandu, while on a drive to recruit young Gurkha soldiers to serve in the British army." Party chief Prachanda said, "We are sorry for the incident that took place against the policy of the party."
11 November: The government Defence Ministry accuses the Maoists of abducting twenty-nine 9th- and 10th-grade students from Riva Secondary School in Mugu District, western Nepal during the previous week.
19 November: According to a Nepal army official, four people were caught at the Chinese Khasa border point, 114 kilometers northeast of Kathmandu, smuggling weapons from Tibet into Nepal. The official named Hirala Lal Shrestha and Gyaljen Sherpa and said they were taken for interrogation in the Tibetan town of Xigatse.
2004
5 February: An Army raid is carried out by the Bhairavnath Battalion on a village in Bhimad, Makwanpur District. Reports emerge that 45 suspected Maoist rebels and two civilians were executed after being captured. Amnesty International later wrote a letter to Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and Brigadier-General Nilendra Aryal, Head of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) human rights cell, demanding an immediate inquiry.
10 February: Two central committee members of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Matrika Yadav and Suresh Paswan, are reported to have been handed over by India to Nepal. They were reportedly arrested in Lucknow after Nepal provided information.
13 February: Ganesh Chilwal leads an anti-Maoist protest on this day, the ninth anniversary of the commencement of the revolution.
15 February: Ganesh Chilwal is shot dead in his Kathmandu office by two suspected Maoists.
15 February: Fighting erupts at a Maoist jungle base in Kalikot District, 360 km west of Kathmandu. The base is said to hold 5000 Maoist troops. On 17 February, a security official says that a private helicopter flying troops to Kalikot was hit by Maoist fire but that it returned safely to Kathmandu. On 18 February 65 Maoists are reported to have been killed, though this conflicts with other reported death tolls of 35 and 48.
15 February and 16: Nepalese state radio reports that 13 Maoist rebels were killed in seven separate small clashes with security forces across the country.
18 February: Lawmaker Khem Narayan Faujdar, a member of the parliament dissolved by King Gyanendra in 2002, is shot dead by two suspected Maoists riding a motorcycle in the Nawalparasi District, 200 km southwest of the capital, according to the police.
2 April: The largest rallies since 1990 begin in Kathmandu. They are variously labelled "pro-democracy" and "anti-monarchy."
3 April: More than 12 trucks are burnt while waiting at a western Nepal border post to pick up petrol from India. India condemns the attacks and vows to fight terrorism.
4 April: "Some 150 demonstrators were struck during a police baton charge" during demonstrations in Kathmandu
4 April "Hundreds of Maoist rebels" attack a Police outpost in Yadukuwa, Jadukhola. 13 policemen are killed, 7 wounded, and 35 are listed as missing. 8-9 Maoists are also killed. "Witnesses said more than 500 rebels attacked the Police post and began firing Assault Rifles and RPG-7 rockets. at around 9 p.m. (1515 GMT) on Sunday night. The fighting lasted two to three hours." Other reports state 400 rebels.
4 April: In the west of the country three Indian traders are shot and injured and have their vehicles burned.
5 April: A three day national strike begins, called by CPN(M) and opposed by an "alliance of five political parties" who are protesting in Kathmandu against the monarchy and say the strike will hamper the movement of demonstrators in Kathmandu. Prachanda said, "The time has come to win a united struggle against the feudal forces as the king is trying to take the nation back to the 18th century."
5 April: In the morning, 3 soldiers are killed and 7 injured by a CPN(M) landmine activated by their vehicle at Dhalkhola, 50 km east of Kathmandu.
5 April: At least 140 people are injured in clashes in Kathmandu as "about 50,000" demonstrators confront the police. Demonstrators try to break through a police barricade close to the royal palace. The police respond with tear gas and protesters are reportedly injured by police batons. Rocks and bricks are thrown by both sides. Demonstrations also occur in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Meanwhile, king Gyanendra has reportedly been away touring villages in western Nepal.
5 April: The Indian government announces that it will no longer provide police escorts to Indian officials shopping in Nepal, as a means to discourage such trips. Fears are based on the CPN(M) targeting Indians. "We are worried about possible reprisals here if the Maoists continue to target Indians inside Nepal," said a senior police official.
16 August: The Soaltee Hotel, a popular luxury hotel in Kathmandu, is bombed, after refusing a demand from the Maoists that the hotel close.
18 August: A bomb explodes in a marketplace in southern Nepal. The blast kills a 12-year-old boy and wounds six others, including three policemen. In addition, Maoist rebels, demanding the release of captured guerrillas, stop all road traffic near Kathmandu by threatening to attack vehicles. Some Nepal businesses are shut down because of threats.
10 September: A bomb explodes at the United States Information Service office in Kathmandu.
13 September: U.S. Peace Corps suspends operations and non-essential U.S. Embassy personnel are evacuated from Nepal.
9 November: 36 people were injured when suspected Maoist rebels exploded a powerful bomb at a under-construction government office complex,the Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh Office Complex in the heart of Nepalese capital Kathmandu Tuesday.
15 December: Twenty government security personnel are killed in the western district of Arghakhanchi when the Maoists mount a surprise attack.
16 December: Sixteen Maoist rebels are killed in clashes with Nepali security forces in the western district of Dailekh.
23 December: Maoist forces launch blockade of Kathmandu.
26 December: Over 15,000 hold peace rally in Kathmandu.
2005
2 January: Nepali media falsely reports two children being killed in Dailekh District by a Maoist bomb.
4 January: Three government security personnel and between two and twenty-four Maoist rebels reported killed in fighting.
8 January: Maoists detain and later release 300 passengers from six buses that defy their blockade of Kathmandu.
10 January: Prime Minister Deuba said he would increase defense spending to fight the Maoists unless they come forward for talks with the government.
11 January: Protests and blockades over the government fuel price increases of between 10% and 25%.
15 January: Maoists allegedly detain 14 Indian Gurkhas from Chuha village in Kailali.
1 February: King Gyanendra dissolves the Deuba government and bans all news reports. The army begins arresting senior political leaders, journalists, trade unionists, human rights activists and civil society leaders. All telephone and internet connections are cut.
6 June: Badarmude bus explosion: Some 38 civilians are killed and over 70 injured after a packed passenger bus runs over a rebel landmine in Chitwan District.
9 August: Maoist rebels kill 40 security men in midwestern Nepal.
3 September: The Maoists declare a three-month unilateral ceasefire to woo opposition political parties.
19 November: After negotiations, the Maoist rebels agree to work with opposition politicians in a common front against the rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal.
2006
2 January: Rebels decide not to extend a four month ceasefire saying that the government had broken the ceasefire with numerous attacks on Maoist villages.
14 January: Maoists launch coordinated attacks of five military and paramilitary targets in the Kathmandu Valley. The first demonstration of their ability to organize violence within the Valley, prompting curfews at night for the next several days.
14 March: Nepali rebels extend road blockade; nationwide strike called for 3 April.
5 April: General strike begins with Maoist forces promising to refrain from violence.
6 April 7: Protesters clash with police, hundreds arrested, dozens injured.
8 April: A curfew is imposed in Kathmandu from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. The king orders protesters violating the curfew to be "shot on sight."
9 April: General strike scheduled to end. Government extends curfew, BBC reports. Three dead in two days of unrest, as thousands of demonstrators defy curfews.
27 April: Maoist insurgents, responding to a demand by the newly appointed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, announce a unilateral three-month truce after weeks of pro-democracy protests in Kathmandu, and encourage the formation of a new constituent assembly tasked with rewriting the nation's constitution.
3 May: Nepal's new cabinet declares a ceasefire. The cabinet also announces that the Maoist rebels will no longer be considered a terrorist group. Rebels are also encouraged to open peace talks.
21 November: Peace talks end with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist leader Prachanda. The deal allows the Maoists to take part in government, and places their weapons under UN monitoring.
2007
date? YCL kidnap a doctor and medical college directors Dr. Gyanendra Giri, Nawaraj Pandey, Umesh Pandey, Aditya Khanal/Janak Rizal and Santosh Mani Neupane; luckily the other two partners Hari R.Acharya and Asha Bashat were saved.
13 February: Initiation of "the peoples war" by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Kathmandu: A soft-drink bottling factory owned by a multi-national company is attacked and the building torched.
Gorkha District
A foreign liquor factory is completely destroyed.
The office of the Small Farmer's Development Programme of the state-owned Agricultural Development Bank in Chyangli VDC (Village Development Committee) is ransacked.
Kavre District: A moneylender's house is raided at night, properties and cash reportedly worth 1.3 million rupees seized, and loan documents worth several million rupees reportedly destroyed. 7 members of the moneylender's family are killed , all shot to death.
Rolpa, Rukum & Sindhuli Districts: One police outpost raided in each district. The outpost at Holeri, Rolpa has its stores seized, including a substantial amount of high explosives. Athbiskot-Rari, Rukum is also raided. The Sindhuligarhi post in Sindhuli is reportedly raided without . 17 Police personnel are killed in total , and only one Maoist guerilla is killed in retaliation.
2001
January: The government creates the Armed Police Force to fight the insurgents.
28 May: Chairman Prachanda gives an interview with the Communist journal A World to Win.
1 June: Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly kills King Birendra and most of the royal family in the Nepali royal massacre. Dipendra, comatose after a failed suicide attempt or assassination attempt by palace guards, is crowned king, according to tradition. He dies on 4 June, Gyanendra is crowned King.
3 August: The first round of peace talks begin.
23 November: Peace talks collapse when the Maoists withdraw and launch a ferocious attack Police and Army posts in 42 districts, in which 186 Army and Police personnel and 21 Maoists are killed.
26 November: The government of Sher Bahadur Deuba declares a Nationwide State of Emergency and employs the Nepal Army in attacking the Maoists.
2002
The United States Congress approves US$12 million to train Royal Nepal Army officers and supply 5,000 M16 rifles.
May: Peace talks collapse.
May: Large battle fought between Army and Maoist forces at Lisne Lekh along boundary between Pyuthan and Rolpa districts.
11 May: A photograph is discovered by Nepal government soldiers in western Nepal. The photograph depicts Nepal's Maoist rebel leaders Baburam Bhattarai, Hisila Yami, Ram Bahadur Thapa (alias Badal), and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (alias Prachanda).
22 May: King Gyanendra, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, dissolves Parliament and orders new elections. The reason given for the dissolution is opposition to the state of emergency.
11 July: Information leaks out that the Belgian weapon manufacturer FN Herstal is allowed to deliver 5,500 M249 Minimi rifles to the Nepali monarchy, a decision made by all coalition parties. Minister of External Affairs Louis Michel speaks of "a country in a pluralistic democracy."
4 October: King Gyanendra deposes Prime Minister Deuba and the entire Council of Ministers, assumes executive power, and cancels the elections for the dissolved House of Representatives, which had been scheduled for 11 November.
11 October: King Gyanendra appoints Lokendra Bahadur Chand as Prime Minister.
2003
January: The United States hold exercises with the Nepali army. Maoist insurgents kill the Inspector General of Armed Police, Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and his bodyguard, Head Constable Subhash Bahadur Gurung of the Armed Police Force Nepal, while on their morning walk, as they used to do on Sunday mornings, intending to represent general safety to fellow citizens. The Inspector General and his wife, who was a teacher at an international school in the capital, were both unarmed. They were riddled with bullets from Type 56 Rifles and G3 rifles used by the Maoists.
29 January: A second ceasefire is established and peace talks begin.
13 May: Code of conduct jointly declared by the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for the mutually agreed period of cease-fire[11]
17 August: Nepali Military and Police forces kill 39 Maoist rebels in the Ramechhap District of central Nepal during an offensive launched jointly by the Army, Police, and Air Force of Nepal. 7 Soldiers of the Nepali Army and 5 Constables of the Armed Police are also killed in the operation.
24 August: The Maoists set an ultimatum, threatening to withdraw from the cease-fire if the government does not agree within 48 hours to include the question of the Maoists participating in the Constituent Assembly.
26 August: The Maoist ultimatum expires.
27 August:
Strike: The Maoist call for a three-day strike to denounce the Army's attacks on their cadres
The Maoists unilaterally withdraw from the 29 January cease-fire. Prachanda's statement revives the rebels' demand for an end to monarchic rule in favor of a people's republic, stating, "Since the old regime has put an end to the forward-looking solution to all existing problems through the cease-fire and peace talks, we herein declare that the rationale behind cease-fire...and peace process has ended."
27 September: "Fifteen people including 8 Rebels and 4 Policemen were killed on Saturday and suspected Maoists bombed five government utilities despite the guerrillas' plans for a nine day truce from 2 October, officials said. Eight Maoists were killed in a gun battle with security forces at Chhita Pokhara in the Khotang District, 340 kilometres east of Kathmandu, a police officer said. 4 Policemen were also martyred. Elsewhere in eastern Nepal, the Maoists killed two Policemen,Constable Purna Prasad Sharma and Head Constable Radha Krishna Gurung, and a woman selling beetle nuts, Kali Tamang, in the Jaljale-Gaighat area, an official said. 'A group of seven Maoists descended from a public bus when police were checking the passengers and suddenly opened fire from automatic pistols, killing the three and wounding two others,' said Sitaram Prasad Pokharel, the chief administrator for the region. In Janakpur, an industrial hub on the Indian border 260 kilometres south-east of Kathmandu, the Maoists under the direct command of Prachanda carried out five early morning bombings that disrupted telephone service and power, police said. No one was killed directly by the blasts but an elderly man died of a heart attack after hearing the explosions, Police Deputy Superintendent Bharat Chhetri said. He said the sites that were bombed included the offices of the roads department and the Nepal Electricity Authority and a telecommunications tower. Police personnel and Maoists traded fire for nearly 40 minutes after the blasts but the rebels escaped and 37 people were injured, Mr Khadka said."
13 October: At least 42 Police Recruits and 9 Maoists are killed when an estimated 3,000 Maoists attempt to storm a Police Training Center in Bhaluwang. "'The rebels had snapped telephone cables, set up roadblocks by felling trees or blowing up highway bridges to prevent reinforcements from coming,' a witness, Krishna Adhikary, told Reuters."
27 October: " Colonel Adrian Griffith and six Nepali nationals were freed last week 42 hours after being taken captive in Baglung, 300 km (190 miles) west of Kathmandu, while on a drive to recruit young Gurkha soldiers to serve in the British army." Party chief Prachanda said, "We are sorry for the incident that took place against the policy of the party."
11 November: The government Defence Ministry accuses the Maoists of abducting twenty-nine 9th- and 10th-grade students from Riva Secondary School in Mugu District, western Nepal during the previous week.
19 November: According to a Nepal army official, four people were caught at the Chinese Khasa border point, 114 kilometers northeast of Kathmandu, smuggling weapons from Tibet into Nepal. The official named Hirala Lal Shrestha and Gyaljen Sherpa and said they were taken for interrogation in the Tibetan town of Xigatse.
2004
5 February: An Army raid is carried out by the Bhairavnath Battalion on a village in Bhimad, Makwanpur District. Reports emerge that 45 suspected Maoist rebels and two civilians were executed after being captured. Amnesty International later wrote a letter to Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and Brigadier-General Nilendra Aryal, Head of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) human rights cell, demanding an immediate inquiry.
10 February: Two central committee members of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Matrika Yadav and Suresh Paswan, are reported to have been handed over by India to Nepal. They were reportedly arrested in Lucknow after Nepal provided information.
13 February: Ganesh Chilwal leads an anti-Maoist protest on this day, the ninth anniversary of the commencement of the revolution.
15 February: Ganesh Chilwal is shot dead in his Kathmandu office by two suspected Maoists.
15 February: Fighting erupts at a Maoist jungle base in Kalikot District, 360 km west of Kathmandu. The base is said to hold 5000 Maoist troops. On 17 February, a security official says that a private helicopter flying troops to Kalikot was hit by Maoist fire but that it returned safely to Kathmandu. On 18 February 65 Maoists are reported to have been killed, though this conflicts with other reported death tolls of 35 and 48.
15 February and 16: Nepalese state radio reports that 13 Maoist rebels were killed in seven separate small clashes with security forces across the country.
18 February: Lawmaker Khem Narayan Faujdar, a member of the parliament dissolved by King Gyanendra in 2002, is shot dead by two suspected Maoists riding a motorcycle in the Nawalparasi District, 200 km southwest of the capital, according to the police.
2 April: The largest rallies since 1990 begin in Kathmandu. They are variously labelled "pro-democracy" and "anti-monarchy."
3 April: More than 12 trucks are burnt while waiting at a western Nepal border post to pick up petrol from India. India condemns the attacks and vows to fight terrorism.
4 April: "Some 150 demonstrators were struck during a police baton charge" during demonstrations in Kathmandu
4 April "Hundreds of Maoist rebels" attack a Police outpost in Yadukuwa, Jadukhola. 13 policemen are killed, 7 wounded, and 35 are listed as missing. 8-9 Maoists are also killed. "Witnesses said more than 500 rebels attacked the Police post and began firing Assault Rifles and RPG-7 rockets. at around 9 p.m. (1515 GMT) on Sunday night. The fighting lasted two to three hours." Other reports state 400 rebels.
4 April: In the west of the country three Indian traders are shot and injured and have their vehicles burned.
5 April: A three day national strike begins, called by CPN(M) and opposed by an "alliance of five political parties" who are protesting in Kathmandu against the monarchy and say the strike will hamper the movement of demonstrators in Kathmandu. Prachanda said, "The time has come to win a united struggle against the feudal forces as the king is trying to take the nation back to the 18th century."
5 April: In the morning, 3 soldiers are killed and 7 injured by a CPN(M) landmine activated by their vehicle at Dhalkhola, 50 km east of Kathmandu.
5 April: At least 140 people are injured in clashes in Kathmandu as "about 50,000" demonstrators confront the police. Demonstrators try to break through a police barricade close to the royal palace. The police respond with tear gas and protesters are reportedly injured by police batons. Rocks and bricks are thrown by both sides. Demonstrations also occur in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Meanwhile, king Gyanendra has reportedly been away touring villages in western Nepal.
5 April: The Indian government announces that it will no longer provide police escorts to Indian officials shopping in Nepal, as a means to discourage such trips. Fears are based on the CPN(M) targeting Indians. "We are worried about possible reprisals here if the Maoists continue to target Indians inside Nepal," said a senior police official.
16 August: The Soaltee Hotel, a popular luxury hotel in Kathmandu, is bombed, after refusing a demand from the Maoists that the hotel close.
18 August: A bomb explodes in a marketplace in southern Nepal. The blast kills a 12-year-old boy and wounds six others, including three policemen. In addition, Maoist rebels, demanding the release of captured guerrillas, stop all road traffic near Kathmandu by threatening to attack vehicles. Some Nepal businesses are shut down because of threats.
10 September: A bomb explodes at the United States Information Service office in Kathmandu.
13 September: U.S. Peace Corps suspends operations and non-essential U.S. Embassy personnel are evacuated from Nepal.
9 November: 36 people were injured when suspected Maoist rebels exploded a powerful bomb at a under-construction government office complex,the Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh Office Complex in the heart of Nepalese capital Kathmandu Tuesday.
15 December: Twenty government security personnel are killed in the western district of Arghakhanchi when the Maoists mount a surprise attack.
16 December: Sixteen Maoist rebels are killed in clashes with Nepali security forces in the western district of Dailekh.
23 December: Maoist forces launch blockade of Kathmandu.
26 December: Over 15,000 hold peace rally in Kathmandu.
2005
2 January: Nepali media falsely reports two children being killed in Dailekh District by a Maoist bomb.
4 January: Three government security personnel and between two and twenty-four Maoist rebels reported killed in fighting.
8 January: Maoists detain and later release 300 passengers from six buses that defy their blockade of Kathmandu.
10 January: Prime Minister Deuba said he would increase defense spending to fight the Maoists unless they come forward for talks with the government.
11 January: Protests and blockades over the government fuel price increases of between 10% and 25%.
15 January: Maoists allegedly detain 14 Indian Gurkhas from Chuha village in Kailali.
1 February: King Gyanendra dissolves the Deuba government and bans all news reports. The army begins arresting senior political leaders, journalists, trade unionists, human rights activists and civil society leaders. All telephone and internet connections are cut.
6 June: Badarmude bus explosion: Some 38 civilians are killed and over 70 injured after a packed passenger bus runs over a rebel landmine in Chitwan District.
9 August: Maoist rebels kill 40 security men in midwestern Nepal.
3 September: The Maoists declare a three-month unilateral ceasefire to woo opposition political parties.
19 November: After negotiations, the Maoist rebels agree to work with opposition politicians in a common front against the rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal.
2006
2 January: Rebels decide not to extend a four month ceasefire saying that the government had broken the ceasefire with numerous attacks on Maoist villages.
14 January: Maoists launch coordinated attacks of five military and paramilitary targets in the Kathmandu Valley. The first demonstration of their ability to organize violence within the Valley, prompting curfews at night for the next several days.
14 March: Nepali rebels extend road blockade; nationwide strike called for 3 April.
5 April: General strike begins with Maoist forces promising to refrain from violence.
6 April 7: Protesters clash with police, hundreds arrested, dozens injured.
8 April: A curfew is imposed in Kathmandu from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. The king orders protesters violating the curfew to be "shot on sight."
9 April: General strike scheduled to end. Government extends curfew, BBC reports. Three dead in two days of unrest, as thousands of demonstrators defy curfews.
27 April: Maoist insurgents, responding to a demand by the newly appointed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, announce a unilateral three-month truce after weeks of pro-democracy protests in Kathmandu, and encourage the formation of a new constituent assembly tasked with rewriting the nation's constitution.
3 May: Nepal's new cabinet declares a ceasefire. The cabinet also announces that the Maoist rebels will no longer be considered a terrorist group. Rebels are also encouraged to open peace talks.
21 November: Peace talks end with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist leader Prachanda. The deal allows the Maoists to take part in government, and places their weapons under UN monitoring.
2007
date? YCL kidnap a doctor and medical college directors Dr. Gyanendra Giri, Nawaraj Pandey, Umesh Pandey, Aditya Khanal/Janak Rizal and Santosh Mani Neupane; luckily the other two partners Hari R.Acharya and Asha Bashat were saved.
Use of child soldiers
To achieve their goals of removing the king and establishing a secular communist republic, the Maoists resorted to underage recruitment, particularly of young students, usually between 12 and 16 years old. At the conclusion of the war, an estimated 12,000 Maoist soldiers were below 18 years of age, and Human Rights Estimates that the majority of the current militia joined as minors. The United Nation Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has verified nine thousand child soldiers currently in Maoist cantonment training camps.
Maoists used children as soldiers, messengers, cooks, porters and suppliers. Regardless of role, all children received rudimentary military training concerning explosives, so they would be able to recognize and avoid land mines. The Maoists, however, continue to deny that any soldiers were less than 18 years of age. They claim that they have cared for orphans of adult soldiers killed in the war, and that these children were not placed in danger.
Children, including girls, were deployed in combat situations, often to help provide ammunition or assist with evacuating or caring for the wounded. A 16-year-old boy from Dang district in Western Nepal reported that he was forced to carry wounded Maoist combatants to India for treatment. He revealed how he and six others of the same age managed to run away. A 14-year-old girl explained how arms training took place by torchlight during the night.
nepal war
More than 12,800 people were killed (4,500 by Maoists and 8,200 by the government)[1] and an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people were internally displaced as a result of the conflict. This conflict disrupted the majority of rural development activities and led to a deep and complex Left Front which, together with the Nepali Congress, was the backbone of the broadbased movement for democratic change. However, communist groups uncomfortable with the alliance between ULF and Congress formed a parallel front, the United National People's Movement. The UNPM called for elections to a Constituent Assembly, and rejected compromises made by ULF and Congress with the royal house. In November 1990 the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) was formed, including key elements of constituents of UNPM. The new party held its first convention in 1991, the adopted a line of "protracted armed struggle on the route to a new democratic revolution" and that the party would remain an underground party. The CPN(UC) set up Samyukta Jana Morcha, with Baburam Bhattarai as its head, as an open front ten contest elections. In the 1991 elections, SJM became the third force in the Nepali parliament. However, disagreements surged regarding which tactics were to be used by the party. One sector argued for immediate armed revolution whereas others (including senior leaders like Nirmal Lama) claimed that Nepal was not yet ripe for armed struggle.
In 1994 CPN(UC)/SJM was split in two. The militant sector later renamed itself the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The Maoists labeled the government forces and included in this accusation the monarchy and the mainstream political parties. The armed struggle began soon afterwards with simultaneous attacks on remote police stations and district headquarters. Initially, the Nepali government mobilized the Nepal Police to contain the insurgency. The Royal Nepal Army was not involved in direct fighting because the conflict was regarded as a matter for the police to sustain control. Furthermore, controversy grew regarding the army not assisting the police during insurgent attacks in remote areas. The popularly-elected prime minister resigned his post, due to the refusal of the Royal Army to take part in the conflict. This situation changed dramatically in 2002 when the first session of peace talks failed and the Maoists attacked an army barracks in Dang District in western Nepal. Overnight, the army was unleashed against the insurgents. At the same time, the king of Nepal maintained a puppet democratic government which depended upon him for their status to remain legitimate. Under the aegis of the global War on Terrorism and with the stated goal of averting the development of a "failed state" that could serve as a source of regional and international instability, the United States, European Union, and India, among other nations, have provided extensive military and economic aid to the Nepali government. This material support to the Nepali government dried up after King Gyanendra seized full control in February 2005 to get rid of civil war for once and all.
The government responded to the rebellion by banning provocative statements about the monarchy,[3] imprisoning journalists, and shutting down newspapers accused of siding with the insurgents. Several rounds of negotiations, accompanied by temporary cease-fires, have been held between the insurgents and the government. The government has categorically rejected the insurgents' demand for an election to the constituent assembly; it would result in the abolition of the monarchy by a popular vote. At the same time, the Maoists have refused to recognize the installation of a constitutional monarchy. In November 2004, the government rejected the Maoists' request to negotiate directly with the King Gyanendra rather than via the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba; their request for discussions to be mediated by a third party, such as the United Nations was dismissed.
Throughout war, the government controlled the main cities and towns, whilst the Maoist dominated the rural areas. Historically, the presence of the Nepali government has been limited to town and zonal centers. The only state apparatus present in most small villages, where most of the inhabitants of Nepal live, were a health post, a government school, a village council, and a police booth. Once the insurgency began, the schools were all that remained, indicating that the Maoists had seized control of the village. The Royal government powerbase is located in the zonal headquarters and the capital Kathmandu. Unrest reached Kathmandu in 2004 when the Maoists announced a blockade of the capital city.
Three maoist rebels are waiting on top of a hill in the Rolpa district to get orders to relocate to another location.Intense fighting and civic unrest continued well into 2005, with the death toll rising to 200 in December 2004. On 1 February 2005, in response to the inability of the relatively democratic government to restore order, King Gyanendra assumed total control of the government. He proclaimed, "Democracy and progress contradict one another… In pursuit of liberalism, we should never overlook an important aspect of our conduct, namely discipline."
On 22 November 2005, the joint CPN(M)-United People's Front conference in Delhi issued a 12-point resolution, stating that they "…completely agree that autocratic monarchy is the main hurdle" hindering the realisation of "democracy, peace, prosperity, social advancement and a free and sovereign Nepal." In addition, "It is our clear view that without establishing absolute democracy by ending autocratic monarchy, there is no possibility of peace, progress, and prosperity in the country."[4]
An understanding had been reached to establish absolute democracy by ending monarchy with the respective forces centralizing their assault against monarchy thereby creating a nationwide storm of democratic protests. This marked a departure from the previous stance of the CPN(M), which had so far vehemently opposed the gradual process of democratization advocated by the UPF.
As a result of the civil war, Nepal's greatest source of foreign exchange, its tourism industry, suffered considerably. iExplore, a travel company, published rankings of the popularity of tourist destinations, based on their sales, which indicated that Nepal had gone from being the tenth most popular destination among adventure travelers, to the twenty-seventh.[5]
The conflict has forced the young and able to seek work abroad in order to avoid the Human Rights Violations committed by the Government forces and the crimes committed by the Maoists. These labourers work predominantly in the Gulf (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc.) and Southeast Asia (Malaysia etc.). The regular flow of remittances from these labourers has permitted the country to avoid serious economic crisis or economic bankruptcy. The economy of Nepal is heavily dependent on the infusion of foreign income from the labouring class (similar to the Lebanese economy during its civil war).
What to See
Lumbini lies in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. The site is a large garden with a grove of pipal trees. The area around Lumbini is entirely Hindu, but many Buddhist temples and shrines from various nations are scattered around the holy site itself.
The most important temple at Lumbini is the Maya Devi Temple, which enshrines the traditional site of the Buddha's birth. The current temple stands on the site of earlier temples and stupas, including the stupa built by Ashoka.
The modern temple consists mainly of simple white building that protects ancient ruins, with the exact spot of the Buddha's birth identified. The delicate sandstone sculptures discovered here are now in the National Musuem in Kathmandu.
Atop the temple is a small square tower of the type seen in Kathmandu, with Buddha eyes on each side and a golden pinnacle on top.
On the south side of the temple is a sacred pool (see top photo), where it is said Maya Devi bathed before giving birth, and where the newborn Buddha was washed by two dragons.
The Maha Devi temple is surrounded by the brick foundations of ancient temples and monasteries. All around Lumbini, long lines of colorful prayer flags are strung between trees. They carry prayers and mantras heavenward as they flap on the breeze.
The other main sight of interest at Lumbini is Ashoka's Pillar, near the temple. It is protected by a small fence, which is decorated with prayer flags and banners from the faithful. Around the courtyard containing the pillar are bowls for incense sticks, and there is room to sit in front of the pillar for contemplation.
The most important temple at Lumbini is the Maya Devi Temple, which enshrines the traditional site of the Buddha's birth. The current temple stands on the site of earlier temples and stupas, including the stupa built by Ashoka.
The modern temple consists mainly of simple white building that protects ancient ruins, with the exact spot of the Buddha's birth identified. The delicate sandstone sculptures discovered here are now in the National Musuem in Kathmandu.
Atop the temple is a small square tower of the type seen in Kathmandu, with Buddha eyes on each side and a golden pinnacle on top.
On the south side of the temple is a sacred pool (see top photo), where it is said Maya Devi bathed before giving birth, and where the newborn Buddha was washed by two dragons.
The Maha Devi temple is surrounded by the brick foundations of ancient temples and monasteries. All around Lumbini, long lines of colorful prayer flags are strung between trees. They carry prayers and mantras heavenward as they flap on the breeze.
The other main sight of interest at Lumbini is Ashoka's Pillar, near the temple. It is protected by a small fence, which is decorated with prayer flags and banners from the faithful. Around the courtyard containing the pillar are bowls for incense sticks, and there is room to sit in front of the pillar for contemplation.
History
Lumbini is the traditional birthplace of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who was born in the 7th or 6th century BC.
According to Buddhist tradition, Maya Devi (or Mayadevi) gave birth to the Buddha on her way to her parent's home in Devadaha in the month of May in the year 642 BC. Feeling the onset of labor pains, she grabbed hold of the branches of a shade tree and gave birth to Siddharta Gautama, the future Buddha. The Buddha is said to have announced, "This is my final rebirth" as he entered the world. Buddhist tradition also has it that he walked immediately after his birth and took seven steps, under each of which a lotus flower bloomed.
In 249 BC, the Buddhist convert Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini and constructed four stupas and a stone pillar. Ashoka's Pillar bears an inscription that translates as: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected to the Bhagavan ["blessed one"] having been born here. Lumbini village was taxed reduced and entitled to the eight part (only)".
Monasteries and temples were built at Lumbini until the 9th century, but Buddhism declined in the area after the arrival of Islam and later Hinduism. All that remained was a sculpture, revered by local women as a fertility symbol. The garden of the Buddha's birth was lost for a thousand years.
The site was rediscovered in 1895, when a German archaeologist came upon Ashoka's Pillar, identified by its inscription. Records made by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian were also used in the process of identifying this religiously acclaimed site. Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
According to Buddhist tradition, Maya Devi (or Mayadevi) gave birth to the Buddha on her way to her parent's home in Devadaha in the month of May in the year 642 BC. Feeling the onset of labor pains, she grabbed hold of the branches of a shade tree and gave birth to Siddharta Gautama, the future Buddha. The Buddha is said to have announced, "This is my final rebirth" as he entered the world. Buddhist tradition also has it that he walked immediately after his birth and took seven steps, under each of which a lotus flower bloomed.
In 249 BC, the Buddhist convert Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini and constructed four stupas and a stone pillar. Ashoka's Pillar bears an inscription that translates as: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected to the Bhagavan ["blessed one"] having been born here. Lumbini village was taxed reduced and entitled to the eight part (only)".
Monasteries and temples were built at Lumbini until the 9th century, but Buddhism declined in the area after the arrival of Islam and later Hinduism. All that remained was a sculpture, revered by local women as a fertility symbol. The garden of the Buddha's birth was lost for a thousand years.
The site was rediscovered in 1895, when a German archaeologist came upon Ashoka's Pillar, identified by its inscription. Records made by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian were also used in the process of identifying this religiously acclaimed site. Lumbini was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Lumbini
Lumbini (Sanskrit for "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site located at the Nepalese town of Kapilavastu, district Rupandehi, near the Indian border.
Lumbini is one of four Buddhist pilgrimage sites based on major events in the life of Gautama Buddha. Interestingly, all of the events occurred under trees.
The other three sites are in India: Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first discourse), and Kushinagar (death)
Lumbini is one of four Buddhist pilgrimage sites based on major events in the life of Gautama Buddha. Interestingly, all of the events occurred under trees.
The other three sites are in India: Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first discourse), and Kushinagar (death)
What to See
Pashupati Temple stands in the center of the town of Deopatan, in the middle of an open courtyard. It is a square, two-tiered pagoda temple built on a single-tier plinth, and it stands 23.6 meters above the ground. Richly ornamented gilt and silver-plated doors are on all sides.
On both sides of each door are niches of various sizes containing gold-painted images of guardian deities. Inside the temple itself is a narrow ambulatory around the sanctum. The sanctum contains a one-meter high linga with four faces (chaturmukha) representing Pashupati, as well as images of Vishnu, Surya, Devi and Ganesh.
The priests of Pashaputinath are called Bhattas and the chief priest is called Mool Bhatt or Raval. The chief priest is answerable only to the King of Nepal and reports to him on temple matters on a periodic basis.
The struts under the roofs, dating from the late 17th century, are decorated with wood carvings of members of Shiva's family such as Parvati, Ganesh, Kumar or the Yoginis, as well as Hanuman, Rama, Sita, Lakshman and other gods and goddesses from the Ramayana.
Pashaputi Temple's extensive grounds include many other old and important temples, shrines and statues. South of the temple, for instance, is Chadeshvar, an inscribed Licchavi linga from the 7th century, and north of the temple is a 9th-century temple of Brahma. On the south side of Pashupati temple is the Dharmashila, a stone where sacred oaths are taken, and pillars with statues of various Shah kings.
In the northeast corner of the temple courtyard is the small pagoda temple of Vasuki, the King of the Nagas. Vasuki has the form of a Naga (mythical snake) from the waist upwards, while the lower parts are an intricate tangle of snakes' bodies. According to local belief, Vasuki took up residence here in order to protect Pashupati. One can often see devotees circumambulating and worshipping Vasuki before entering the main sanctum.
The Bagmati River, which runs next to Pashaputinath Temple, has highly sacred properties. Thus the banks are lined with many ghats (bathing spots) for use by pilgrims. Renovating or furnishing these sites has always been regarded as meritorious.
Arya Ghat, dating from the early 1900s, is of special importance because it is the only place where lustral water for Pashupatinath Temple can be obtained and it is where members of the royal family are cremated. The main cremation site is Bhasmeshvar Ghat, which is the most-used cremation site in the Kathmandu Valley. The preferred bathing spot for women is the Gauri Ghat, to the north.
Across the Bagmati River are 15 votive shrines, the Pandra Shivalaya, which were built to enshrine lingas in memory of deceased persons between 1859 and 1869.
History
It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath was founded. Tradition says it was constructed by Pashupreksha of the Somadeva Dynasty in the 3rd century BC, but the first historical records date from the 13th century. The ascetic Pashupata sect was likely related to its foundation.
Pashupati was a tutelary deity of the ancient rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; in 605 AD, Amshuvarman considered himself favored by his touching of the god's feet.
By the later Middle Ages, many imitations of the temple had been built, such as in Bhaktapur (1480), Lalitpur (1566) and Benares (early 19th century). The original temple was destroyed several times until it was given its present form under King Bhupalendra Malla in 1697.
According to a legend recorded in local texts, especially the Nepalamahatmya and the Himavatkhanda, the Hindu god Shiva once fled from the other gods in Varanasi to Mrigasthali, the forest on the opposite bank of the Bagmati River from the temple. There, in the form of a gazelle, he slept with his consort Parvati. When the gods discovered him there and tried to bring him back to Varanasi, he leapt across the river to the opposite bank, where one of his horns broke into four pieces. After this, Shiva became manifest as Pashupati (Lord of Animals) in a four-face (chaturmukha) linga.
Pashupati was a tutelary deity of the ancient rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; in 605 AD, Amshuvarman considered himself favored by his touching of the god's feet.
By the later Middle Ages, many imitations of the temple had been built, such as in Bhaktapur (1480), Lalitpur (1566) and Benares (early 19th century). The original temple was destroyed several times until it was given its present form under King Bhupalendra Malla in 1697.
According to a legend recorded in local texts, especially the Nepalamahatmya and the Himavatkhanda, the Hindu god Shiva once fled from the other gods in Varanasi to Mrigasthali, the forest on the opposite bank of the Bagmati River from the temple. There, in the form of a gazelle, he slept with his consort Parvati. When the gods discovered him there and tried to bring him back to Varanasi, he leapt across the river to the opposite bank, where one of his horns broke into four pieces. After this, Shiva became manifest as Pashupati (Lord of Animals) in a four-face (chaturmukha) linga.
Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath, or Pashupati, is a Hindu temple on the banks of the Bagmati River in Deopatan, a village 3 km northwest of Kathmandu. It is dedicated to a manifestation of Shiva called Pashupati (Lord of Animals). It attracts thousands of pilgrims each year and has become well known far beyond the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is barred to non-Hindus, but a good view of the temple can be had from the opposite bank of the river.
site information
Site Information
Names: Kumari Ghar; House of the Living Goddess
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Faiths:Original/Primary: Buddhism
Current/Secondary: Hinduism
Denomination: Nepalese
Dedication: Durga
Category: Buddhist Temples
Date: 1757
Status: active
Visitor Information
Address: Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal
Coordinates: 27.70382° N, 85.306671° E (view on Google Maps)
Lodging: View hotels near this location
Names: Kumari Ghar; House of the Living Goddess
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Faiths:Original/Primary: Buddhism
Current/Secondary: Hinduism
Denomination: Nepalese
Dedication: Durga
Category: Buddhist Temples
Date: 1757
Status: active
Visitor Information
Address: Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal
Coordinates: 27.70382° N, 85.306671° E (view on Google Maps)
Lodging: View hotels near this location
Festivals and Events
The most important festival for the Kumari is Indra Jaatra, a celebration of the harvest held in late August or early September. On the third day of the festival, the Kumari Devi is carried around Durbar Square in a chariot. The chariot is kept next door to the Kumari Ghar and the great wooden yokes from past years are laid out nearby.
In a tradition established by King Jaya Prakash Malla (builder of the temple), the Kumari also bestows a tika (mark of blessing) on the forehead of the king who would reign in the coming year. This tradition was used against the king within a year: he was driven into exile on the even of Indra Jaatra in 1768, allowing the conqueror to take the tika and become the rightful king.
In a tradition established by King Jaya Prakash Malla (builder of the temple), the Kumari also bestows a tika (mark of blessing) on the forehead of the king who would reign in the coming year. This tradition was used against the king within a year: he was driven into exile on the even of Indra Jaatra in 1768, allowing the conqueror to take the tika and become the rightful king.
What to See
Overlooking the south side of Durbar Square, the Kumari Ghar is a three-story brick building richly decorated with wood-carved reliefs of gods and symbols.
Tourists can enter the courtyard, where there are more beautiful reliefs over the doors, on the pillars and around the windows. Photos are permitted in the courtyard, but it is strictly forbidden to photograph the Kumari.
The Living Goddess sometimes appears in one of the first-floor windows, especially if her handlers are paid well enough, and is said to answer devotees' questions with the expressions on her face. She is most likely to appear in the morning or late afternoon.
Tourists can enter the courtyard, where there are more beautiful reliefs over the doors, on the pillars and around the windows. Photos are permitted in the courtyard, but it is strictly forbidden to photograph the Kumari.
The Living Goddess sometimes appears in one of the first-floor windows, especially if her handlers are paid well enough, and is said to answer devotees' questions with the expressions on her face. She is most likely to appear in the morning or late afternoon.
History
The Kumari Ghar, or House of the Living Goddess, was built in 1757 by King Jaya Prakash Malla. Known for his paranoia and weakness, the king offended a Kumari in some way (various stories speak of an act of sexual indiscretion or not believing a particular girl to be the goddess) and was so overcome by guilt that he built a home for her as an act of atonement. The temple was renovated in 1966.
Kumari
The Kumari is a young girl who is believed to be the incarnation of the demon-slaying Hindu goddess Durga. Dating back at least to the Middle Ages, the cult of the Kumari is popular among both Hindus and Nepalese Buddhists - another notable example of the mingling of religious traditions in Nepal. There are about 11 kumaris across Nepal, but the Kumari Devi (or Raj Kumari - royal goddess) in Kathmandu is the most important.
The selection process for finding the Kumari Devi resembles that of the Tibetan lamas, who are believed to be reincarnations of their predecessors. She is chosen from girls aged three to five in the Buddhist Shakya clan. Elders meet with hundreds of girls, approving only those with 32 auspicious signs of divinity (mostly to do with natural perfection and symbolically significant features). The girls' horoscopes are also checked to ensure they are compatible with those of the current king.
The small group of would-be goddesses are then placed in a darkened room with freshly severed buffalo heads and dancing men wearing demon masks. This is certainly frightening to ordinary girls under five years old, but the goddess would not be frightened. Therefore the girl who shows no fear is likely to be the incarnation of Durga. In one final test, the girl must be able to pick out the clothing of her predecessor.
Thus discovered, the Kumari moves into the Kumari Ghar and is worshipped as a living goddess. Her needs and those of her caretakers are paid in full by the Nepalese government and she spends most of her time studying and performing religious rituals. She only leaves the temple a few times a year during festivals and her feet must never touch the ground.
The Kumari's reign comes to an end when she menstruates or bleeds for any other reason, including just a minor scratch. The girl reverts to mortal status and the search for her replacement begins. She is given a modest state pension, but may find it difficult to marry - tradition has it that a man who marries an ex-Kumari will die young.
The selection process for finding the Kumari Devi resembles that of the Tibetan lamas, who are believed to be reincarnations of their predecessors. She is chosen from girls aged three to five in the Buddhist Shakya clan. Elders meet with hundreds of girls, approving only those with 32 auspicious signs of divinity (mostly to do with natural perfection and symbolically significant features). The girls' horoscopes are also checked to ensure they are compatible with those of the current king.
The small group of would-be goddesses are then placed in a darkened room with freshly severed buffalo heads and dancing men wearing demon masks. This is certainly frightening to ordinary girls under five years old, but the goddess would not be frightened. Therefore the girl who shows no fear is likely to be the incarnation of Durga. In one final test, the girl must be able to pick out the clothing of her predecessor.
Thus discovered, the Kumari moves into the Kumari Ghar and is worshipped as a living goddess. Her needs and those of her caretakers are paid in full by the Nepalese government and she spends most of her time studying and performing religious rituals. She only leaves the temple a few times a year during festivals and her feet must never touch the ground.
The Kumari's reign comes to an end when she menstruates or bleeds for any other reason, including just a minor scratch. The girl reverts to mortal status and the search for her replacement begins. She is given a modest state pension, but may find it difficult to marry - tradition has it that a man who marries an ex-Kumari will die young.
Kumari (children)
Kumari Devi, is the tradition of worshipping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in South Asian countries. Kumari literally means virgin in Sanskrit, Nepali and other Indian languages and is a name of the goddess Durga as a child.[1] In Nepal a Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya clan of the Nepalese Newari community. The Kumari is revered and worshiped by some of the country's Hindus as well as the Nepali Buddhists, though not the Tibetan Buddhists. In India a Kumari is generally chosen for one day and worshipped accordingly on certain festivals like Navaratri or Durga Puja. In the Indian state of Bengal this is a particularly prevalent practice.
While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. The current Royal Kumari, Matina Shakya, aged four, was installed in October 2008 by the Maoist government that replaced the monarchy. Chanira Bajracharya, as the Kumari of Patan is the second most important living goddess[2]
A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju (the Nepalese name for Durga) until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Jungle Safari in Nepal
The southern belt of Nepal is known as the Terai. It is a lowland covered with dense subtropical forest. Here you will find some of National Parks in Nepal. The national parks and game reserves of the Terai offer some of the finest Wildlife experiences in Asia, and it definitely is the ultimate in sub-tropical adventure.
Endangered species such as one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, and Gharial crocodiles abound on the ground, while uncountable species of birds and butterflies dominate the air. The indigenous Tharu ethnic group lives in the lowland Terai areas around the parks areas, and provide a surprising cultural contrast to the mountain peoples of the north. Nepal's parks and reserves offer incredible Wildlife viewing opportunities just choose the best one to suit your time and interests. You will be going into deep jungle on elephant back or four-wheel drive to view wild animals in their natural habitat. The activity of Nepal Jungle Safari includes canoeing, nature walks, bird watching, excursions, and visit to an ethnic Tharu village in the Jungle Safari Park. There are 14 national parks and wildlife reserves in the Kingdom. Royal Chitwan National Park, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, and Royal Bardiya National Park are most famous and popular.
Endangered species such as one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, and Gharial crocodiles abound on the ground, while uncountable species of birds and butterflies dominate the air. The indigenous Tharu ethnic group lives in the lowland Terai areas around the parks areas, and provide a surprising cultural contrast to the mountain peoples of the north. Nepal's parks and reserves offer incredible Wildlife viewing opportunities just choose the best one to suit your time and interests. You will be going into deep jungle on elephant back or four-wheel drive to view wild animals in their natural habitat. The activity of Nepal Jungle Safari includes canoeing, nature walks, bird watching, excursions, and visit to an ethnic Tharu village in the Jungle Safari Park. There are 14 national parks and wildlife reserves in the Kingdom. Royal Chitwan National Park, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, and Royal Bardiya National Park are most famous and popular.
It is located in the Hanuman Dhoka Palace. This palace was the main seat of the Shah kings for many years. Here is an exhibit that highlights the life of King Tribhuvan. King Tribhuvan is best remembered for his valiant efforts in liberating the nation from the rule of the Rana prime min isters. You may also wish to look out over Kathmandu from the Basantapur Tower in the complex. It is said that a benevolent king used to keep watch over his people from this window to make sure that food was being cooked in every home (the smoke coming from the roof-tops told him whether or not a cooking fire was on in every house). You may also wish to see the section that carries the mementos of King Mahendra and observe the Malla architecture and carvings.
Timings:From 10:30 am to 3 pm, except Tuesdays.
From 10:30 am to 2 pm, on Fridays
Timings:From 10:30 am to 3 pm, except Tuesdays.
From 10:30 am to 2 pm, on Fridays
The National Museum
The National Museum located on the way to Swayambhunath Hill is most popular among the Kathmandu people. It holds not only ancient artifacts, but also interesting mementos of recent kings and recently used firearms. A visitor to the museum will understand much about the way wars were fought in this part of the world and the type of firearms that were used to conquer Nepal and later to protect it from the British Raj. Other artifacts include ancient statues, paintings, and murals. You may be interested in the doll collection as well as the stuffed animals there. The collection of coins in the complex includes coins going back to the second century BC as well as excellent samples from dynasties that ruled Nepal after the birth of Christ.
Timings:
From 10:30 am to 3 pm, except on Tuesdays and govt. holidays.
From 10:30 am to 2 pm, on Fridays.
Who killed the royal family of Nepal?
There is something not quite right in the agency reports regarding the mysterious deaths of the royal family of Nepal. First, there is the curious story that the crown prince, Dipendra, having massacred his entire family, then tried to kill himself. He might have succeeded, except he contrived to shoot himself in the back of the head. This appears rather difficult to do, especially with an assault rifle. So then who shot him? And the latest story is that an Uzi assault rifle "exploded". Very strange, that an explosion should have precisely targeted all these people.
Second, there was the immediate certificate of non- involvement given to China by that self-proclaimed expert on the affairs of the Indian subcontinent, Barbara Crossette of The New York Times, thanks to reader Sanjai who pointed this out to me. The Hindu newspaper, despite its name a left-wing paper, said the same thing: that the "so-called" Maoists had nothing to do with this, thanks to reader Suresh. Said Crossette:
"More recently, as democratically elected governments of left and right run by a few upper-caste families with little grassroots contact have stumbled, a powerful radical leftist movement, usually described as Maoist but not thought to be backed by China, has been on the march in the Nepalese countryside. The rebels [are] gradually encircling Kathmandu and severely damaging its economically important tourist industry."
Methinks the woman [and The Hindu too] doth protest too much. Did anybody accuse China yet? But here is Crossette, a consistent China-lover, instantly asserting that China was not at fault: suspicious, isn't it? And this is China's modus operandi -- stoke Maoist insurgencies as part of its missionary activity. Indonesia some time ago, Sri Lankan too, and ongoing activities in India. These are all part of the general empire-building tactics intended to result in the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, the only catch being that all the prosperity will belong to China.
A Maoist insurrection right next door to occupied Tibet, just like the insurrections in India's Nagaland, Myanmar, etc -- the Chinese have nothing to do with these either, so horrified they would be at the suggestion, innocent and peace-loving as they are!
Wait, there's more: it is not China, it's India behind this outrage. Actually it's those darn Hindus; note the casual mention of caste in the above. As if the hoi polloi proletariat are running things in America: WASP elite do. Says Crossette:
"Underlying all the other tensions, the Nepalese continue to nurse a long-held fear that neighboring India may be behind the country's political problems. Leaders of Nepal's Congress Party, which was once banned but returned to political leadership a decade ago at the vanguard of the democracy movement, have acknowledged that they had considerable Indian support.
"India, which blockaded landlocked Nepal a decade ago to punish it for buying weapons from the Chinese, has again recently accused Nepal of growing too close to China and also of allowing Pakistani agents to operate from its territory."
Ah, a mere accusation regarding Pakistani agents. A Pakistani embassy official was caught with incriminating evidence about his involvement in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight that ended up in Kandahar. No, facts do not deter Crossette. One of these days I wish someone would explain to me why the NY Times keeps her on their staff.
So it's all India's fault. (Why isn't this the Sonia Gandhi Congress Party's fault? After all they were the ones who did all this.) Anyone remember Crossette's gem a few months ago where she explained that you see, true democracy is practised not in India, but in Pakistan and China? I wonder, is this woman related to Katherine Mayo, infamous author of that "gutter-inspector's report", Mother India? Why are some white women so anti- India? Like that Robin Raphel? I do have theories, but that's for another day.
Further, says Crossette, omniscient as usual (yes, she did write a book on the Himalayan kingdoms, which I suspect is as banal and meaningless as her book on India), goes on to implicitly suggest that Queen Aishwarya was a bad person whose death was no loss:
"Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom, experienced a huge political upheaval in 1990, when a democracy movement threatened the future of the monarchy, but stopped short of forcing the abdication of the king, who was widely accepted by the Nepalese to be a reincarnation of the god Vishnu. Nepal then accepted King Birendra as a constitutional monarch. But there was always far less sympathy for the queen, and the king withdrew significantly from public life after that...
The British Broadcasting Corporation's correspondent for South Asia reported from Kathmandu, the capital, that the crown prince had quarrelled with his mother over his choice of a bride. Queen Aishwarya had long been associated in the minds of Nepal's democrats with a rigid, outdated penchant for absolute monarchy and social conservatism. Dipendra had made efforts to appear more open to the Nepalese people."
Yes, wicked queen, indeed: off with her head. How dare she have an opinion on her son's wife-to-be? I wonder what Crossette thought of the British queen's opinion of her daughter-in-law Princess Diana -- was she entitled to one?
And more on what a terrible person King Birendra was:
"Birendra inherited from his father a system of partyless rule through rubber-stamp local and regional councils known as panchayats. The system afforded only the barest facade of democracy and was a constant irritant to the people of Nepal, who saw in it not only unbridled royal privilege but also the source of corruption and the abuse of political power by royal favorites who had no interest in the development of this mountainous country, still one of the poorest in the world."
Yes, good thing the king was killed: let us bring on egalitarian Maoist rule, as in Tibet!
The overthrow and murder of a royal dynasty is standard practice for Marxists: witness what happened in Russia. (The Hindu was magisterial about this issue: there is no comparison between the royal massacres in Russia and Nepal, they declared. Really? And why is that?) So why not do this in Nepal too, to put even more pressure on India, as part of the continuing Chinese encirclement of India?
The first response to the Indian warming up to the US was the lease for the port of Gwadar in Pakistan, with the intent of also building roads to link it to the Karakoram Highway across Pakistani-occupied Kashmir.
When the dust settles, I suspect we will find that poor King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and most of their family were massacred not because of their son's love-life or what an astrologer said, but simply and cold-bloodedly as part of the Sino-Islamic attack on Hindu civilization. There are Judases everywhere who will betray their own to the enemy. It is a bloody coup d'etat, and this is the second Chinese response to India's support for US positions. Didn't Chinese strongman Zhu Rongji just visit Nepal two weeks ago? And The Hindustan Times suggests that the new regent, Gyanendra, is close to the Pakistanis.
I have noticed that Marxists kill Hindus with no compunctions: for instance this has been going on in Kerala's Kannur district for some time. Every person killed by the Marxists there is a Hindu, and that is of course not news. But when they started killing Muslims, this became big news; there was outrage in the 'secular' media. Naturally, the Christian-Muslim-Marxist alliance to destroy Hindu civilization has to be preserved at all costs!
I remember reading somewhere recently that there are also massive conversion activities going on in Nepal by both Pakistan and the Christians. And so the war goes on, for the total annihilation of the only civilization that has withstood the thrust of the Semites for all these centuries.
Second, there was the immediate certificate of non- involvement given to China by that self-proclaimed expert on the affairs of the Indian subcontinent, Barbara Crossette of The New York Times, thanks to reader Sanjai who pointed this out to me. The Hindu newspaper, despite its name a left-wing paper, said the same thing: that the "so-called" Maoists had nothing to do with this, thanks to reader Suresh. Said Crossette:
"More recently, as democratically elected governments of left and right run by a few upper-caste families with little grassroots contact have stumbled, a powerful radical leftist movement, usually described as Maoist but not thought to be backed by China, has been on the march in the Nepalese countryside. The rebels [are] gradually encircling Kathmandu and severely damaging its economically important tourist industry."
Methinks the woman [and The Hindu too] doth protest too much. Did anybody accuse China yet? But here is Crossette, a consistent China-lover, instantly asserting that China was not at fault: suspicious, isn't it? And this is China's modus operandi -- stoke Maoist insurgencies as part of its missionary activity. Indonesia some time ago, Sri Lankan too, and ongoing activities in India. These are all part of the general empire-building tactics intended to result in the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, the only catch being that all the prosperity will belong to China.
A Maoist insurrection right next door to occupied Tibet, just like the insurrections in India's Nagaland, Myanmar, etc -- the Chinese have nothing to do with these either, so horrified they would be at the suggestion, innocent and peace-loving as they are!
Wait, there's more: it is not China, it's India behind this outrage. Actually it's those darn Hindus; note the casual mention of caste in the above. As if the hoi polloi proletariat are running things in America: WASP elite do. Says Crossette:
"Underlying all the other tensions, the Nepalese continue to nurse a long-held fear that neighboring India may be behind the country's political problems. Leaders of Nepal's Congress Party, which was once banned but returned to political leadership a decade ago at the vanguard of the democracy movement, have acknowledged that they had considerable Indian support.
"India, which blockaded landlocked Nepal a decade ago to punish it for buying weapons from the Chinese, has again recently accused Nepal of growing too close to China and also of allowing Pakistani agents to operate from its territory."
Ah, a mere accusation regarding Pakistani agents. A Pakistani embassy official was caught with incriminating evidence about his involvement in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight that ended up in Kandahar. No, facts do not deter Crossette. One of these days I wish someone would explain to me why the NY Times keeps her on their staff.
So it's all India's fault. (Why isn't this the Sonia Gandhi Congress Party's fault? After all they were the ones who did all this.) Anyone remember Crossette's gem a few months ago where she explained that you see, true democracy is practised not in India, but in Pakistan and China? I wonder, is this woman related to Katherine Mayo, infamous author of that "gutter-inspector's report", Mother India? Why are some white women so anti- India? Like that Robin Raphel? I do have theories, but that's for another day.
Further, says Crossette, omniscient as usual (yes, she did write a book on the Himalayan kingdoms, which I suspect is as banal and meaningless as her book on India), goes on to implicitly suggest that Queen Aishwarya was a bad person whose death was no loss:
"Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom, experienced a huge political upheaval in 1990, when a democracy movement threatened the future of the monarchy, but stopped short of forcing the abdication of the king, who was widely accepted by the Nepalese to be a reincarnation of the god Vishnu. Nepal then accepted King Birendra as a constitutional monarch. But there was always far less sympathy for the queen, and the king withdrew significantly from public life after that...
The British Broadcasting Corporation's correspondent for South Asia reported from Kathmandu, the capital, that the crown prince had quarrelled with his mother over his choice of a bride. Queen Aishwarya had long been associated in the minds of Nepal's democrats with a rigid, outdated penchant for absolute monarchy and social conservatism. Dipendra had made efforts to appear more open to the Nepalese people."
Yes, wicked queen, indeed: off with her head. How dare she have an opinion on her son's wife-to-be? I wonder what Crossette thought of the British queen's opinion of her daughter-in-law Princess Diana -- was she entitled to one?
And more on what a terrible person King Birendra was:
"Birendra inherited from his father a system of partyless rule through rubber-stamp local and regional councils known as panchayats. The system afforded only the barest facade of democracy and was a constant irritant to the people of Nepal, who saw in it not only unbridled royal privilege but also the source of corruption and the abuse of political power by royal favorites who had no interest in the development of this mountainous country, still one of the poorest in the world."
Yes, good thing the king was killed: let us bring on egalitarian Maoist rule, as in Tibet!
The overthrow and murder of a royal dynasty is standard practice for Marxists: witness what happened in Russia. (The Hindu was magisterial about this issue: there is no comparison between the royal massacres in Russia and Nepal, they declared. Really? And why is that?) So why not do this in Nepal too, to put even more pressure on India, as part of the continuing Chinese encirclement of India?
The first response to the Indian warming up to the US was the lease for the port of Gwadar in Pakistan, with the intent of also building roads to link it to the Karakoram Highway across Pakistani-occupied Kashmir.
When the dust settles, I suspect we will find that poor King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and most of their family were massacred not because of their son's love-life or what an astrologer said, but simply and cold-bloodedly as part of the Sino-Islamic attack on Hindu civilization. There are Judases everywhere who will betray their own to the enemy. It is a bloody coup d'etat, and this is the second Chinese response to India's support for US positions. Didn't Chinese strongman Zhu Rongji just visit Nepal two weeks ago? And The Hindustan Times suggests that the new regent, Gyanendra, is close to the Pakistanis.
I have noticed that Marxists kill Hindus with no compunctions: for instance this has been going on in Kerala's Kannur district for some time. Every person killed by the Marxists there is a Hindu, and that is of course not news. But when they started killing Muslims, this became big news; there was outrage in the 'secular' media. Naturally, the Christian-Muslim-Marxist alliance to destroy Hindu civilization has to be preserved at all costs!
I remember reading somewhere recently that there are also massive conversion activities going on in Nepal by both Pakistan and the Christians. And so the war goes on, for the total annihilation of the only civilization that has withstood the thrust of the Semites for all these centuries.
Narayanhity Palace Museum
The Narayanhity Palace Museum, or Narayanhity Durbar(formerly Narayanhity Royal Palace), is a palace in Nepal which long served as a primary residence for the country's monarchs.[1] The original palace was constructed under order of the Shah dynasty in the 18th century and destroyed in an earthquake in 1934. It was rebuilt in a contemporary style in the 1960s on the design of Architect Benjamin Polk(Chatterjee & Polk). On 1 June 2001, the palace was the site of the Nepalese royal massacre, where King Birendra of Nepal and Queen Aiswarya were shot dead along with seven other members of the Royal Family
Narayanhity Museum
The historical palace was turned into a public museum immediately after the country was declared a republic. It is open to national and international visitors on weekdays. The very valuable Throne and the Crown are not yet on public display due to security reasons.
The Narayanhity Royal Palace, former home of the Royal Family. Following the abdication of the king and the founding of a republic, the building and its grounds have been turned into a museum.
Location Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal
Date June 1, 2001
about 21 hrs (UTC+5:45)
Target The Nepalese Royal Family
King Birendra of Nepal
Attack type Fratricide, patricide,
sororicide, regicide,
matricide, avunculicide,
mass murder, murder-suicide,massacre
Death(s) 10 (including the perpetrator)
Injured 5
Belligerent(s) Crown Prince Dipendra Bir bikram shah
Nepalese royal massacre
The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on Friday, June 1, 2001, at a house in the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, then the residence of the Nepalese monarchy, when Crown Prince Dipendra shot and killed several members of his family. As a result of the shooting, ten people died and five were wounded. The dead included King Birendra of Nepal and Queen Aiswarya, Dipendra's father and mother. Prince Dipendra became de jure King of Nepal upon his father's death and died whilst in a coma three days after the act.
Kingdom of Nepal
Gorkha rule
The old king's palace on a hill in GorkhaAfter decades of rivalry between the medieval kingdoms, 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. Prithvi Narayan Shah dedicated himself at an early age to the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley and the creation of a single state, which he achieved in 1768.
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. The Gurkha, also spelled 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 and Brahmins of Northern India, who entered modern Nepal from the west.
After Shah's death, the Shah dynasty began to expand their kingdom into what is present day North India. Between 1788 and 1791, Nepal invaded Tibet and robbed Tashilhunpo Monastery of Shigatse. Alarmed, the Chinese emperor Qianlong appointed Fu Kangan commander-in-chief of the Tibetan campaign and Fu not only defeated the Gurkha army but also conquered Tibet. The Gurkhas were forced to accept surrender on China terms.
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 and the British East India Company - over the princely states bordering Nepal and India - 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 large parts of the Nepali territories of Terrai and Sikkim, (nearly one third of the country), to the British, in exchange for Nepalese autonomy.
As the ceded territories were not restored to Nepal by the British when freedom was granted to the people of British India, these have become a part of the Republic of India (see Greater Nepal) even though it was mentioned that the treaties on behalf of the East India Company or British India would not be valid anymore. The Kingdom of Sikkim, which had already lost its Darjeeling region to British India in 1853, was annexed by the post-colonial Republic of India in April 1975 and, in the following month, Sikkim's people voted to join the Indian Union.
Royal coup by King Mahendra Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure, King Mahendra carried out a royal coup 18 months later, in 1960. He dismissed the elected Koirala government, declared that a "partyless" panchayat system would govern Nepal, and promulgated another new constitution on December 16, 1960.
Subsequently, the elected Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and hundreds of democratic activists were arrested. (In fact, this trend of arrest of political activists and democratic supporters continued for the entire 30 year period of partyless Panchayati System under King Mahendra and then his son, King Birendra).
The new constitution established a "partyless" system of panchayats (councils) which King Mahendra considered to be a democratic form of government, closer to Nepalese traditions. As a pyramidal structure, progressing from village assemblies to a Rastriya Panchayat (National Parliament), the panchayat system constitutionalised the absolute power of the monarchy and kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) and the Parliament. One-state-one-language became the national policy in an effort to carry out state unification, uniting various ethnic and regional groups into a singular nepali nationalist bond.
King Mahendra was succeeded by his 27 year-old son, King Birendra, in 1972. Amid student demonstrations and 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, and 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. The Nepali Congress with support of "Alliance of leftist parties" decided to launch a decisive agitational movement, Jana Andolan, which forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament. In May 1991, Nepal held its first parliamentary elections in nearly 50 years. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats and formed the first elected government in 32 years.
[edit] 20th century
In 1923 Britain and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal and India (which was under British Rule at that time) negotiated and ended up exchanging some cities.
Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924.
History of Nepal
The history of Nepal (नेपालको इतिहास) is characterized by its isolated position in the Himalayas and its two dominant neighbors, India and China.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
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