What is the history of Nepal?

Here's the preview for the answer in this links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal#History

" Terai News writes, "Nepal has been highlighted for the last several centuries in Indian Sanskrit literature like 'Skand Purana'. 'Skanda Purana' has a separate volume known as 'Nepal Mahatmya', which explains in more details about the beauty and power of Nepal."[19] Nepal is also mentioned in Hindu scriptures such as the Narayana Puja[20] and the Atharva Siras (800-600 BC). "

Hi,

Its a long history.

But it has nothing to do with India. It has certain influence in terai greatly, but few in city areas, like bollywood, MP3's. Many indians come to kathmandu city and set business like restaurants. And hence nepalese also like them. But Nepal has its own, tribes, and culture which are far different in not comparable to Indians.

Nepal is located in the laps of China and India. and It has 8 highest peaks in the world, several World Heritage Sites, lots of adventure sports, like Elephant Polo, so many.

Just don;t compare with India or Indian, Nepal has nothing to do with them.

The history of modern unified Nepal starts in 1879, the year King PN Shah unified the country.Incidentally, this was the year the Prussian empire under Bismarck unified Germany.

The history of Nepal 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.

Prehistory

Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. It appears that people who were probably of Kirant ethnicity lived in Nepal more than 2,500 years ago. The Kirant are a tribe of jungle and mountain people who migrated from various parts of India and the Himalayas.

[edit] Legends and Ancient times

Though very little or sporadic things are known about the early history of Nepal, Asia, legends and documented references, like the following, reach back to the first millennium BCE:

Also, the presence of historical sites, e.g., Valmiki ashram, indicates the presence of Sanatana (ancient) Hindu culture in Nepal at that period.

The epic Mahabharata mentions the Kiratas among the inhabitants of Nepal. Kirati king Yalambar had the dubious honor of being slain in the battle of the Mahabharata, in which gods and mortals fought alongside each other. Legend credits him with meeting Indra, the lord of heaven, who ventured into the Valley in human guise. It is said that during the battle of Mahabharata, Yalamber went to witness the battle with a view to take the side of the losing party. Lord Krishna, knowing the intention of Yalamber and the strength and unity of the Kiratas, thought that the war would unnecessarily be prolonged if Yalamber sided with the Kauravas. So, by a clever stroke of diplomacy, Lord Krishna cut off Yalamber's head.

According to some of the chronicles, the successors of Ne were the gopālavaṃśi or "Cowherd family", whose names often end in -gupta and are said to have ruled for some 491 years. They are said to have been followed by the mahaiṣapālavaṃśa or "Buffalo-herder Dynasty", established by an Indian Rajput named Bhul Singh.[2]

inscriptions found on archeological stoneworks, which list mostly the dates and commissioners of these constructions, also communicate royal edicts, religious mantras or historical notes sometimes and, through the corroboration of local myths with such evidence, a people prior to the Licchavi have been identified, known as the Kirata.

The word Nepal is derived from Nepa (नेपा:); the old name of Kathmandu valley was Nepa in Nepal Bhasa, the language of Newars, who were the early inhabitants of the valley, long before the unification of Nepal. The fact that Nepal Sambat, one of the three main calendars of Nepal, existed long before the unification of Nepal proves this historical fact.

Other toponym theories include:

"Nepal" may be derived from the Sanskrit nipalaya, which means "at the foot of the mountains" or "abode at the foot", a reference to its location in relation to the Himalayas. Thus, it may be an Eastern equivalent of the European toponym "Piedmont."

It has also been suggested that the name comes from the Tibetan niyampal, which means "holy land".

A third theory suggests that Nepal came from compounding the words NE, which means wool, and PAL, which means a tented house; a long time ago, Nepal used to produce a lot of wool and the houses were used to store the wool - hence the word NE-PAL.

The name Nepal is also supposed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "NEP"(नेप), with the suffix "AL" (आल) added to it; though still under controversy, NEP were the people who use to be cow herders - the GOPALS (गोपाल) - who came to the Nepal valley for the first time from the Ganges plain of India.

According to Nepali scholar Rishikesh Shaha, the ancient chronicles report that a sage (muni) named Ne became the protector (pāla) of this land and the founder of its first ruling dynasty. The name of the country, Ne-pāla, therefore originally meant the land 'protected by Ne

Well, He was born in India and one day he accidentally fell off the himalayas and as he was falling he planted himself and made a land there

Nepal's kingdoms were unified in 1769 by Prithvi Narayan Shah, an ancestor of Nepal's present-day king.

Nepal's 18 million inhabitants belong to dozens of different ethnic groups. They can be divided roughly into Hindu peoples (who live mainly in the lowlands) and Buddhists, who live in mountain villages close to Tibet. Hindus, who make up 90 percent of the population, dominate political and religious life. But Buddhism has a special connection to Nepal: Siddhartha Gautama, who was later revered as the Buddha, was born in the Terai in 543 BC. Perhaps the most well-known Buddhist ethnic group are the Sherpa, who have long been associated with Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. The vast majority of Nepal's population makes a living from subsistence agriculture.

Here's a Chronology of Important Events In Nepal .

Period Description

ca. 563 B.C. Buddha born in Lumbini;

ca. A.D.400-750 Licchavi kingdom in power in Kathmandu

750-1200 "Transitional" kingdom in power in Kathmandu Valley

1100-1484 Khasa Mall kings rule in western Nepal

1428-82 Yakshamalla reigns - height of united Malla kingdom.

1743 Prithvi Narayan Shah ascends to throne of Gorkha.

1768-90 Gorkha conquers Kathmandu and Patan, Bhadgaon, eastern Nepal, and western Nepal.

1775 Prithvi Narayan Shah dies, first king of united Nepal.

1814-1816 The Anglo-Nepalese War and the resulting Treaty of Sagauli reduces the territory of Nepal.

1846 Jang Bahadur Rana takes over as prime minister and establishes hereditary Rana rule.

1946 The Nepali Congress Party is founded.

1947 The United States establishes diplomatic relations with Nepal.

1948 The country's first constitution, the Government of Nepal Act, is promulgated

Ranas; Mohan Shamsher becomes prime minister; constitution is suspended.

1955 King Tribhuvan dies and is succeeded by Mahendra; Nepal joins the United Nations; National Police Force is formed; Koirala resigns; Mahendra takes over direct control.

1956 Tanka Prasad Acharya is named prime minister; Border treaty with China concluded;

1958 USSR opens an embassy at Kathmandu; Subarna Shamsher is named new prime minister.

1959 United States opens an embassy at Kathmandu; New constitution is promulgated, superseding Constitution of 1951; First general elections are held; Nepal Congress Party wins absolute majority; Tribhuvan University founded;

1960 B.P. Koirala heads first popular government; Koirala's policies are opposed by the king, and Koirala is abruptly dismissed; all political parties are banned; the king takes over direct control of government; Treaty of Peace and Friendship with China is concluded.

1961 Kind proclaims guided democracy; Boundary treaty with China renewed.

1962 New constitution, third since 1951, establishes panchayat form of government; Land Reorganization Act and Mulki Ain, new legal code, are promulgated; anti-Indian riots erupt in Kathmandu over Indian aid to dissidents.

1963 Emergency is eneded; Panchayat elections begin; National Guidance Council is formed; Tulsi Giri is named prime minister;

1970 Bista resigns; Raj Bhandari becomes interim prime minister.

1971 Bista is recalled as prime minister; New trade and transit treaty negotiated with India.

1972 Mahedra dies and is succeeded by King Birendra; Development regions are established under National Development Council.

1975 Rijal resigns; Tulsi Giri is appointed prime minister; King Birendra is crowned; "Go to the Village" campaign is launched.

1980 In national referendum people vote for continuance of the panchayat form of government and against the reintroduction of political parties.

1983 Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is defeated in the Rastriya Panchayat and is replaced by Lokendra Bahadur Chand.

1986 Second elections to Rastriya Panchayat held; Marich Man Singh Shrestha becomes prime minister.

1992 Local elections held; Nepali Congress wins a majority of the seats.

1994 Prime minister Koirala resigns and calls for new elections afte losing a parliamentary vote due to the abstention of 36 members of his own party. New elections in November results in a hung parliament; CPN-UML, which emerged as the single largest party, formes a minority government.

1999 The third general elections after restoration of democracy results in Nepali Congress coming back to power with an absolute majority in the House. Krishna P. Bhattarai becomes Prime Minister for the second time.