A Brief History of Nepal

Kiratis and Buddhist Beginnings

Licchavis, Thakuris, Then Darkness

In 602 the first Thakuri king, Amsurvarman, came to power.

He consolidated that power to south by marrying his sister to an Indian prince.

1) He consolidated his power to the north by marrying his daughter, Bhrikuti, to the Tibetan King, Songsten Gompo. Together with the Tibetan king’s Chinese wife, Wengcheng, they converted the king to Buddhism around 640.

The Golden Age of the MallasIn 1200, the Malla kings (wrestlers) came to

power in the Kathmandu Valley.Their rule stretched over 550 years.

1225 a huge earth quake killed over 1/3 for the Nepalese population

An invasion from Muslim Bengal less than a century later plundered Hindu and Buddhist shrines.

After the death of Yaksha Malla in 1482, the Kathmandu Valley was divided among his three sons into separate kingdoms: Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Patan Durbar Square

Hunaman Dhoka Palace

Unification under the Shahs1768 Prithvi Narayan Shah, ruler of Gorkha

(halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara) took Kathmandu.

He snuck in while everyone was drunk during Indra Jatra.

A year later he took Kirtipur, hacking off the noses and lips of Kirtipur’s residents.

In 1769 he unified Nepal, establishing the Shah dynasty.

The RanasThe Kot Massacre in 1846 was engineered by a

young Chhetri nobleman, Jung Bahdur, and catapulted his family to power.

Fifty-five of the most important noblemen in the kingdom were assassinated and 6,000 members of their families exiled.

Jung Bahdur took the title of prime minister and changed his name to Rana. He later declared the prime ministry hereditary.

The Shah kings became figureheads, requiring permission to leave their palace.

Restoration of the Shahs1951 King Tribhuvan returned to the throne

to set up a new government composed of demoted Ranas and members of the Nepali Congress Party

King Tribhuvan was succeeded in 1955 by his son, Mahendra

In 1960 King Mahendra renounced his ceremonial role and the democratic government lead by BP Kiorala

1962 Panchayat established

People Power1989 Nepali opposition parties formed a coalition

to fight for multiparty democracy with the king as constitutional head

Jana Andolan, People’s Movement1990 riots, curfews, etc. the government was

forced to back down but 300 lives were lostApril 9, 1990 King Birendra announced he was

lifting a ban on political partiesMay 21, 1990 20 parties contested for election to

a 205-seat parliament. Nepali Congress won power; CPN-UML second

The People’s War1996, the Maoists, a communist party

splinter group, declared a ‘people’s war’The insurgency began in Rolpa, a district in

midwest NepalNovember 2001 the Maoists broke their

ceasefire and attacked an army barrack west of Kathmandu

The Royal MassacreJune 1, 2001 Crown Prince Dipendra gunned

down almost every member of the royal family during a get together at the palace.

Gyanendra succeeded his brother Birendra after the Crown Prince died of self inflicted wounds.

In 2005 Gyanendra dissolved the government, amid a state of emergency, promising a return to democracy within 3 years.

A total of 9 governments were established in the course of ten years.

April, 2006King Gyanendra was forced to restore

parliament and his role was reduced to that of a figurehead.

The price of a cease fire with the Maoists was the removal of the king.

The Maoists obtained a majority in elections held in 2008 and the monarchy was abolished by a vote of 560 to 4.

May 2010 was established as the deadline to approve a new democratic constitution.