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History, People & Language of Nepal. |
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History
Nepal has a long glorious history. Its civilization can be
traced back to thousands of years before the birth of Christ.
Modern Nepal is an amalgamation of a number of principalities,
which had independent entities in the past. Before the campaign
of national integration launched by King Prithivi Narayan Shah
the Kathmandu Valley was ruled by the Malla Kings, whose
contribution to art and culture are indeed a great. In the
Kathmandu Valley were the Gopalas the Abhiras and were succeeded
by the Thakuris and Mallas. In 1768 A.D. the Shah dynasty
ascended the throne of this unified kingdom. King Gyanendra Bir
Bikram Shah is the eleventh king in the Shah dynasty.
The revolution of November 1950 brought to an end of Rana regime
that ruled the country for 104 years since 1846 A.D. After the
fall of Rana regime in Feb.1951, Nepal saw the dawn of
democracy. The parliamentary government under the multi party
system was adopted for some years, which was followed by
Panchayat System since 1960. The popular democratic revolt of
1990 has reinstated the multi party democratic system since
April. The new democratic constitution of the Kingdom was
promulgated on November 9, 1990. Recently in April 2006 people
once again pay their great rebellion and martyrdom to end the
autocratic rule of the king.
Nepal is one of the founder members of South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) of which third summit was held
in Kathmandu in Nov. 1987.
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People
Nepal has a population more than 26 million, made of different
races and tribes, living in different regions wearing different
costumes and speaking different languages and dialects. The
Gurungs and Magars live mainly in the west and in the mountain
area. The Rais, Limbus and Sunuwars inhabit the slopes and
valleys of the eastern mid hills. The Sherpas also known as "
the Tigers of the Snow" live in the Himalayan region up to an
average altitude of 4570 m. The Newars constitute an important
ethnic group in the capital valley Kathmandu. There are Tharus,
Yadavas, Satar, Rajvanshis and Dhimals in the Terai region. The
Brahmans, Chhetris and Thakuris are spread generally over most
parts of the kingdom.
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Language
Different ethnic groups have their own language or dialects, but
Nepalese is the national language. The script is called
Devanagari. English is widely understood in urban centers.
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