Which books do you suggest to learn about nepals economy and. His book describes the 18thcentury legend surrounding prithvi narayan shah, the first leader to rule nepal as a unified kingdom. History of nepal records mention the gopalas and mahishapalas believed to have been the earliest rulers with their capital at matatirtha, the southwest corner of the kathmandu valley. Jun 22, 2008 born on 7 july 1947, gyanendra bir bikram shah dev was the last king of nepal, from 2001 to 2008. Aug 22, 2012 forget kathmandu by manhushree thapa gives a good and succinct overview of nepal s history.
The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by a prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan and bhaktapur into a single state under his shah dynasty. Feb 17, 2005 this book is the most comprehensive and accessible englishlanguage onevolume history of nepal. History of nepal ministry of foreign affairs nepal mofa. The visionary king prithvi narayan shah, the king of gorkha was the one who unified the small states into a single nation called nepal. Forget kathmandu by manhushree thapa gives a good and succinct overview of nepals history. King birendra bir bikram shah dev and queen aishwarya, killed in 2001. Whelpton portrays a country of extraordinary contrasts, whose history has been buffeted constantly by its neighbors, china and india. Sep 18, 2011 the earthquake of june 7, 1255 ad 10 bs is the first recorded earthquake in the history of nepal. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of kathmandu, patan, and bhaktapur into a single state under his shah dynasty. This brief survey is intended as a list of works which i have found especially useful myself or which i think would be particularly suitable for readers wanting to follow up topics necessarily treated very cursorily in my recent onevolume history. This set a precedent for what became the normal pattern thereafterhindu kings claiming highcaste indian origin ruling over a population much of which was. With strong diplomatic support from new delhi, the rebels accepted a settlement with the ranas under which the sovereignty of the crown was restored and the revolutionary forces, led by the nepali congress nc party.
Relations with britain were cordial, however, and in 1923 a britishnepalese treaty expressly affirmed nepals full sovereignty. Historiography of nepal heritage tale ecsnepal the. Madhu raman acharya geeta sharma, 1986 history 192 pages. However, only two longer chronicles have so far been translated into english and thus remained, in a. Before the campaign of national integration launched by king prithivi narayan shah the first shah king of nepal, kathmandu valley was ruled by the malla kings, whose contribution to arts and culture are indeed great and the malla era is considered to be the golden age of nepal. Nepal is a small landlocked himalaya country which has different history. These books give overview of nepalese art, culture, history, religion and festivals. King yalambar the first of their 29 kings is mentioned in the mahabharata, the hindu epic, but little more is known about them. Nepal historical information royal family king and queen.
Feb 17, 2005 a history of nepal will be of interest to any student of south asian studies, since it fills a serious lacuna in scholarship on the region. A few more important books on the history of nepal were published in 1928. Anthropologist and linguist mark turin, a professor at the university of british columbia. Aishwarya was killed in the palace massacre on 1 june 2001. With strong diplomatic support from new delhi, the rebels accepted a settlement with the ranas under which the sovereignty of the crown was restored and the revolutionary forces, led by the nepali congress. Arriving from the east around the 7th or 8th century bc, these mongoloid people are the first known rulers of the kathmandu valley.
Nepals untold story a king is murdered, but the real. Ari malla reigned 120016 was the first king to be so called, and the practice of adopting such a name was followed regularly by rulers in nepal until the eighteenth century. The mahabharata, for example, tells about several events wich took place in the himalayas and in the nepalese terai, like in janakpur, the holy city, where in ancient times sita, wife of the god ram was born, or the gaurishankar mountain, home to the god shiva and his consort. However, from 1846 until the revolution of 1951, the. The history of nepal, as often happens, is lost in the ancient myths. Some of the books on nepali economy and politics are here below. Nepal s recorded history kicks off with the hindu kiratis. There is no shortage of great literature about nepal written in english. External relations, 17501950 royal family, led by king tribhuvan reigned 191155, and launched a revolution in november 1950. He was overthrown by the people of nepal in 2008 after he tried and imposed the absolute monarchy in 2006. Life before the drug wars paperback march 19, 2010. Ajatsatrus descendents came over to nepal and established their domain. Thakuri dynasty rule of thakuri kings thakuri dynasty was a rajput dynasty after aramudi, who is mentioned in the kashmirian chronicle, the rajatarangini of kalhana 1150 ce, many thakuri kings ruled over.
If you are travelling to nepal, spend some time reading these books. The king of nepal was nepals head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. He handed over executive power to a prime minister selected by the political parties themselves. Both in the light of recent nepalese politics and the historiography of south asia, john whelptons a history of nepal is a timely introductory textbook. Beginning in the early twelfth century, leading notables in nepal began to appear with names ending in the term malla, wrestler in sanskrit, indicating a person of great strength and power. It is a combination of history and geography culminating into a rich mosaic of. Ancient nepal, the early kingdom of the licchavis, transition to the medieval kingdom, the.
King birendra, she notes, was the focus of a sharp debate over whether or not to mobilize the army against the maoists. Two rebel women of nepal, is the history of two rural women who campaigned for womens rights and against corruption in the early part of the 20th century. They have very good material specially from the period 19502007. While john whelptons history of nepal focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 195051, the early chapters are devoted to the origins of the kingdom and the evolving relations of its diverse peoples. Which is why, studying about your destinations are important. Politics in nepal after 2007 till today2016, i believe has just seen change in prime ministers a. The documented history of nepal begins with the changu narayan temple inscription of king manadeva i c. He served as the head of the nepalese monarchy shah dynasty. The kingdom of nepal was founded on 25 september 1768 by prithvi narayan shah, a.
Published in nepal, it can be ordered at or from the author. Egli wrote in his 2014 book the sunuwar of nepal and their sense of communication that people of nepal is a classic. He has worked and traveled extensively in nepal, and has written numerous articles and books on the subject. The earthquake magnitude at that time is believed to be around 7. Jan 01, 2008 relations with britain were cordial, however, and in 1923 a britishnepalese treaty expressly affirmed nepal s full sovereignty. Queen komals older sister aishwarya was married to king birendra of nepal, the brother of gyanendra. He succeeded his nephew king dipendra after his death as no member of his brothers family survived the cruel massacre. In 1999, onesto spent several months moving through the guerrilla zones in nepal s mountainous regions, a visit arranged by the communist maoist party of nepal. Earthquake history of nepal historical photos nepali. Much of kathmandu valleys history around this time was recorded by capuchin friars from. Founded by king prithvi narayan shah, a gorkhali monarch of rajput origin from. This book was commissioned by pm chandra shumsher rana. List of books and articles about nepalese history online. It provides a sketch of nepal based on the progress made by various kings, therefore, a historical political narrative.
A history of nepal will be of interest to any student of south asian studies, since it fills a serious lacuna in scholarship on the region. Two volumes of a wellresearched and thorough work, nepal, were published by percival landon. It starts with how nepal, initially a collection of small idependant kingdoms, was unified by prithvi narayan shah and brings you up to speed with events u. Whether its about nepal, its people and their manners, its mountains, hills and villages, stories set in the country youre visiting will provide you with a new perspective and add another layer of excitement into planning your actual trip. While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 1950 51, the early chapters are devoted to the origins of the kingdom and the evolving relations of its diverse peoples. But he was defeated by ajatsatru, the powerful magadha king, in the 5th century b. Among the killed were the king of kathmandu valley, abahya malla. The modern nepal is formed by the king prithvinarayan shah. People power in the philippines, burma, tibet, china, taiwan, bangladesh, nepal, thailand and indonesia 19472009 george katsiaficas 5. On april 21, 2006, the thenking gyanendra of nepal announced the restoration of the elected parliament he had prorogued earlier. Whelptons text is the first accessible overview of nepals political history published by a university press in english.
The most spoken language of nepal is nepali followed by several other ethnic languages. There are usually both buddhist and brahmanic hindu versions of these various legends. Nepal historical information royal family king and. This he did as a popular revolt, or jan andolan, against the. Born on 7 july 1947, gyanendra bir bikram shah dev was the last king of nepal, from 2001 to 2008.
Which books do you suggest to learn about nepals economy. But then this isnt so much a standard history as an amiable ramble around nepals past. Queen komal was born in bagmati, kathmandu into the rana family, the daughter of kendra shumsher jang bahadur rana 19271982 and his wife shree rajya lakshmi devi shah 19282005. Nepal supplied many troops for the british army in both world wars. People of nepal contains his ethnographic notes from the visit university of zurich professor werner m. I edition preface nepal has possibly the largest collection of chronicles in south asia. The history of nepal is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of south asia and east asia. While john whelptons history focuses on the period since the overthrow of the rana family autocracy in 19501, the early chapters are devoted to. There are many books about nepal art, culture, history, festivals and we pick the best off the shelves for you. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his father, pratap singh shah. Nepal emerged as a unified state over two hundred years ago, centred on the kathmandu valley with its two thousand years of urban civilisation.
This book history of ancient and medieval nepal does not claim to be a. From discussions of corruption in the maoist insurgency to the brutal counterinsurgency, to the controversial and still unresolved episode of king gyanendra shahs military coup and subsequent overthrow, this collection is essential for anybody wishing to. Reading about a country you will soon explore will make your adventures rich as knowledge makes it more fulfilling. He shifted his capital from yalung to thankot after conquering central nepal and his kingdom extended from river trisuli in the west to river teesta in the east of bhutan the epic mahabharata mentions the kiratas as a. Apr 24, 2016 but then this isnt so much a standard history as an amiable ramble around nepals past. It is a multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual country. Nepals rich prehistory consists mainly of the legendary traditions of the newar, the indigenous community of nepal valley now usually called kathmandu valley. The earthquake of june 7, 1255 ad 10 bs is the first recorded earthquake in the history of nepal.
Ari malla reigned 120016 was the first king to be so called, and the practice of adopting such a name was followed. Merrell, then charge daffaires at new delhi, presented the legion of merit to prime minister the maharaja padma shumshere jung bahadur rana in recognition of the role played by gurkha soldiers from nepal in. The journey begins with the infamous hippie hash trail that led from london and amsterdam overland to nepal where, prior to the early1970s, hashish was legal and smoked freely in nepal, india, afghanistan, and laos. These vamsavalis became popular after the saba 1 dynasty conquered the kathmandu valley in 176869 and can be regarded as part of the nation building process promoting nepali as the lingua franca. The history of nepal has always been closely linked to the legends of the hindu and buddhist pantheon, kings and generals, until todays century. John whelpton, who works as a teacher in hong kong, is an historian and linguist. In this collection of political essays, manjushree thapa documents the dramatic and turbulent history of nepal from 1990 until 2009. Both versions are accepted indiscriminately in the festivals associated with legendary events, a tribute to the. Landlocked and isolated by the himalayas, nepal is bordered on the west, south, and east by india, and on the n by the tibet region of china. The last ruling king of the shah dynasty in nepal, king gyanendra was born in 1947. The 24th descedant of king supushpa, jaya dev ii, reestabslished the rule of lichchhavis in. Thanks for watching for more videos pleases subscribe my channel.
Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers. Komal sustained bullet injuries as a result of the palace shooting and spent four weeks recovering in hospital. Born on poush 27, 1779 bs to king narabhupal shah, he conquered the small kingdoms and expanded his territory until he died at the age of fifty six. Books about nepalese art culture, religion, festivals, history. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his nephew prince dipendra, who was king for only three days while in a coma, following the massacre of the preceding king gyanendras brother, birendra and other members of the royal family. Ancient origins articles related to nepal in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends. In this video show about the kings of kingdom of nepal 1768 2008 good for history lesson. One among these was the kingdom of gorkha ruled by a shah king.
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