1.
Nepal
–
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked central Himalayan country in South Asia. Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 75 districts and 744 local units including 4 metropolises,13 sub-metropolises,246 municipal councils and 481 village and it has a population of 26.4 million and is the 93rd largest country by area. Bordering China in the north and India in the south, east, Nepal does not border Bangladesh, which is located within only 27 km of its southeastern tip. It neither borders Bhutan due to the Indian state of Sikkim being located in between, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the worlds ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. It is a nation with Nepali as the official language. The territory of Nepal has a history since the Neolithic age. The name Nepal is first recorded in texts from the Vedic Age, the era which founded Hinduism, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal became known as Nepal proper because of its complex urban civilization. It was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala, the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valleys traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture, by the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, the country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and Colonial India. In the 20th century, Nepal ended its isolation and forged ties with regional powers. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was suspended by Nepalese monarchs in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War resulted in the proclamation of a republic in 2008, modern Nepal is a federal secular parliamentary republic. Nepal is a nation, ranking 144th on the Human Development Index in 2016. The country struggles with the transition from a monarchy to a republic and it also suffers from high levels of hunger and poverty. Despite these challenges, Nepal is making progress, with the government declaring its commitment to elevate the nation from least developed country status by 2022
2.
Singha Durbar
–
Singha Durbar is a palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex lies in the centre of Kathmandu, to the north of the Babar Mahal and Thapathali Durbar and this palace was built by Chandra Shumsher JBR in June 1908. It was built by Shumsher immediately after accession to the post of Prime Minister and it was initially a small private residence, but grew bigger during the construction. Immediately after construction Shumsher sold this property to the Government of Nepal for 20 million Nepali rupee as the residence of Prime minister. After his death in 1929, it was used as the residence of prime ministers of Rana dynasty except Padma Shumsher JBR. The last Rana Prime minister to occupy Singha Durbar was Mohan Shumsher JBR, even after the fall of Rana Dynasty in 1951, Mohan used this place, but in 1953 he was ordered by His Majestys Government to leave the palace which became a National Property. The structure was designed by Kumar Narsingh Rana, Kishor Narsingh Rana, the architecture of the palace is a unique example of merging building traditions, including Palladian, Corinthian, Neoclassical mansions along with Baroque architecture. Before the fire of 1973, Singha Durbar had 7 courtyards and 1700 rooms with marbled floor, painted ceilings, silver furniture, the State Hall is the largest and the most decorated room in this palace. Chandra Shumsher built a theater and named it Gallery Baithak. It is used as a parliament building, after the end of the hereditary Prime Minister system, the government of Nepal used this palace compound to house government offices. The palace compound is occupied by both chambers of the Parliament of Nepal and it holds 20 ministries and government offices. Singh Darbar is also the headquarters of Radio Nepal and Nepal Television, on Monday,9 July 1973, a huge fire broke out in Singha Durbar engulfing all three wings of the palace except the front facing wing. To prevent the front wing from catching fire, cannon destroyed three wings facing North, South and West, after the fire was put out, the whole area was rebuilt on the old foundation. Singha Durbar was seriously damaged during the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and it was designated unsafe and was condemned. Babar Mahal Thapathali Durbar Rana palaces of Nepal
3.
Kathmandu
–
Kathmandu is the capital city of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the largest Himalayan state in Asia. Kathmandu is also the largest metropolis in the Himalayan hill region, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres above sea level in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley of central Nepal. The valley is termed as Nepal Proper and has been the home of Newar culture. The city was the capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and hosts palaces. It has been home to the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation since 1985, today, it is the seat of government of the Nepalese republic established in 2008, and is part of the Bagmati Zone in Nepalese administrative geography. Kathmandu has been the center of Nepals history, art, culture and it has a multiethnic population within a Hindu and Buddhist majority. Religious and cultural festivities form a part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Tourism is an important part of the economy as the city is the gateway to the Nepalese Himalayas, there are also seven casinos in the city. In 2013, Kathmandu was ranked third among the top ten upcoming travel destinations in the world by TripAdvisor, historic areas of Kathmandu were devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April 2015. Nepali is the most spoken language in the city, while English is understood by the citys educated residents, the city of Kathmandu is named after Kasthamandap temple, that stood in Durbar Square. In Sanskrit, Kāṣṭha means wood and Maṇḍap means covered shelter and this temple, also known as Maru Satal in the Newar language, was built in 1596 by Biseth in the period of King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The two-story structure was entirely of wood, and used no iron nails nor supports. According to legend, all the used to build the pagoda was obtained from a single tree. The structure collapsed during the earthquake on 25 April 2015. The colophons of ancient manuscripts, dated as late as the 20th century, the city is called Kāṣṭhamaṇḍap in a vow that Buddhist priests still recite to this day. Thus, Kathmandu is also known as Kāṣṭhamaṇḍap, during medieval times, the city was sometimes called Kāntipur. This name is derived from two Sanskrit words – Kānti and pur, Kānti is a word that stands for beauty and is mostly associated with light and pur means place. Thus, giving it a meaning as City of light, among the indigenous Newar people, Kathmandu is known as Yeṃ Deśa, and Patan and Bhaktapur are known as Yala Deśa and Khwopa Deśa
4.
Khadga Prasad Oli
–
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, more commonly known as K. P. Oli, is a Nepali politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 October 2015 to 3 August 2016. A member of the Communist Party of Nepal, he was the second Prime Minister under the newly adopted Constitution of Nepal, Oli began his political career in 1966. He joined the Communist Party of Nepal in February 1970 and he became involved in subversive politics in opposition to the party-less Panchayat System in place at the time. For his activities, he was arrested for the first time in 1970, a year later he became the District committee member of the party and soon the Chief of the Jhapa Movement Organizing Committee in 1972. Oli was arrested and imprisoned for 14 consecutive years for murders from 1973 to 1987, the murders were attributed to Murkatta revolution, beheading political opponents and landlords. After escaping from jail in 1987, he became a committee member of UML as an in-charge for Lumbini Zone until 1990. He then went on to hold the post of chief of the department of the CPN in 1992. Oli also became the Founder President of the National Democratic Youth Federation of Nepal and he was elected as a member of parliament in the House of Representatives from Jhapa districts electorate no.6 in 1991. Soon he became the chief of the department of publicity, in the ever changing political situation of Nepal, Oli served as Minister of Home Affairs in 1994–1995. He was re-elected to the House of Representatives from Jhapa electorate no.2 in 1999, Oli was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister as part of the interim government in 2006. He was also assigned to look into the death of fellow politician Madan Bhandari, from April 2006 to 2007, Oli was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Oli stood as a candidate in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, five years later, he won the Jhapa–7 seat in the 2013 Constituent Assembly election as a CPN-UML candidate. He was designated as the Chief of the International Department of the CPN-UML Parliamentary Party, Oli was elected as leader of the CPN-UML Parliamentary Party in the Second Constituent Assembly on 4 February 2014, defeating party chairman Jhala Nath Khanal by a vote of 98 to 75. Oli was subsequently elected as the chairman of CPN-UML in July 2014 and he was elected as Prime Minister in a parliamentary vote on 11 October 2015, receiving 338 votes out of 597. Olis PM candidacy was supported by the UCPN-Maoists, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal and he was sworn in on 12 October. But CPN-UMLs decision to discuss filed no confidence led to a three-day parliament meeting of the concerned parties. During the process, two major parties, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Madhesi Rights Forum-Democratic, also removed their support from the coalition. On the third day,24 July 2016, after his answering to the held by the opposition parties
5.
Prime Minister of Nepal
–
The position of Prime Minister of Nepal in modern form was called by different names at different times of Nepalese history. Since the inception of the Shah dynasty, the Mul-Kajis served the function of Prime Ministers, in 1806, the position of Mukhtiyar was created by Rana Bahadur Shah, and the title was subsequently adopted. Mukhtiyar is formed from two words, Mukhya and Akhtiyar, Mukhya means Chief and Akhtiyar means Authority. Altogether it means the Executive Head of the State, during the Rana Dynasty, the Prime Minister was also Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Nepal and Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Nepal. Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa was the first person to be referred to as Prime Minister by the British, however, the first Mukhtiyar to title himself as Prime Minister, as per the British convention, was Bhimsens nephew, Mathabar Singh Thapa. Few of Nepalese Prime Ministers have carried a democratic mandate, the first elected Prime Minister was Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, in 1959. After he was deposed and imprisoned, Nepal did not have a government until 1990. The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the Constituent Assembly, the current Prime Minister is Prachanda, since 4 August 2016. Http, //opmcm. gov. np/en/ King of Nepal President of Nepal
6.
Politics of Nepal
–
The politics of Nepal function within a framework of a republic with a multi-party system. Currently, the position of President is occupied by Bidhya Devi Bhandari, the position of Prime Minister is held by Puspa Kamal Dahal. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and his cabinet, until May 28,2008, Nepal was a constitutional monarchy. On that date, the constitution was altered by the Constituent Assembly to make the country a republic, although he never regained consciousness before dying, Crown Prince Dipendra was nonetheless the king under the law of Nepalese royal succession. After his death two days later, the late Kings surviving brother Gyanendra was proclaimed king, on 1 February 2005 King Gyanendra suspended the Parliament, appointed a government led by himself, and enforced martial law. The King argued that politicians were unfit to handle the Maoist insurgency. Telephone lines were cut and several political leaders were detained. Other opposition leaders fled to India and regrouped there, Nepalese from various walks of life and the international community regarded the MOU as an appropriate political response to the crisis that was developing in Nepal. As per the 12-point MOU, the SPA called for a protest movement, and this led to a countrywide uprising called the Loktantra Andolan that started in April 2006. All political forces including civil society and professional organizations actively galvanized the people and this resulted in massive and spontaneous demonstrations and rallies held across Nepal against King Gyanendras autocratic rule. The peoples participation was so broad, momentous and pervasive that the king feared being overthrown, on 21 April 2006, King Gyanendra declared that power would be returned to the people. This had little effect on the people, who continued to occupy the streets of Kathmandu and other towns, finally King Gyanendra announced the reinstatement the House of Representatives, thereby conceding one of the major demands of the SPA, at midnight on 24 April 2006. Following this action the coalition of political forces decided to call off the protests, twenty-one people died and thousands were injured during the 19 days of protests. On 19 May 2006, the parliament assumed total legislative power, names of many institutions were stripped of the royal adjective and the Raj Parishad was abolished, with his duties assigned to the Parliament itself. The activities of the King became subject to scrutiny and the Kings properties were subjected to taxation. Moreover, Nepal was declared a secular state abrogating the previous status of a Hindu Kingdom, however, most of the changes have, as yet, not been implemented. On 19 July 2006, the minister, G. P. Koirala. On 23 December 2007, an agreement was made for the monarchy to be abolished, a federal republic was established in May 2008, with only four members of the 601-seat Constituent Assembly voting against the change, which ended 240 years of royal rule in Nepal
7.
Constitution of Nepal
–
Nepal is governed according to the Constitution which came into effect on Sept 20,2015, replacing the Interim Constitution of 2007. The Constitution was drafted by the Second Constituent Assembly following the failure of the First Constituent Assembly to produce a constitution in its mandated period, the constitution was endorsed by 90% of the total lawmakers. Out of 598 CA members,538 voted in favor of the constitution while 60 voted against it, the Interim Constitution provides for a Constituent Assembly, which was charged with writing Nepals permanent constitution. Under the terms of the Interim Constitution, the new constitution was to be promulgated by April 28,2010, on May 25,2011, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled that the 2010 extension of the Interim Constitution was not right. Since May 29,2011 the Constituent Assembly repeatedly extended the Interim Constitution, new elections were held on November 19,2013 to the Second Nepalese Constituent Assembly and political leaders pledged to draft a new constitution within a year. The new assembly expressly committed that the new constitution would be promulgated on January 22,2015, the constitution is largely written in gender neutral term. Some of the important aspects of the include the following. The Constitution has divided the nation into seven states and finalized the march of the Nation towards republicanism from constitutional monarchy, bicameral parliamentary system has been created with two houses at the Center and unicameral parliamentary system in each state. Recognizing the rights of women, the constitution of Nepal explicitly states that “women shall have equal ancestral right without any gender-based discrimination. ”Bans any acts leading to conversions from one religion to another and it also prohibits acts that undermine or jeopardize the religion of another. At the same time it declares the nation to be secular, Nepal also has continued to abolish the death penalty. Nepal had abolished death penalty in 1990 after the promulgation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, the Constitution defines wide range human rights as fundamental rights. Previous constitutions of Nepal were enacted in 1948,1951,1959,1962,1990 and 2007, in 1948, the Government of Nepal Act was enacted. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the country had been a monarchy where the prime ministers, the 1948 document introduced limited democratic elements, but the experiment was not successful due to the misgivings of the Rana rulers to give away power. The Interim Government of Nepal Act 1951 was promulgated after the Revolution of 1951 that the end of the Rana period, the CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF NEPAL,1959 followed the previously mentioned interim text. The democratic experiment was short-lived, as in 1962 a new constitution came in to political parties. In this model, panchayats were councils organized at the local level, however, the king exercised much stronger authority than in the 1959 regime. And could modify the constitution or suspend it in case of emergency, in 1990, the first Jana Andolan, Popular Revolt, brought multi-party democracy back to Nepal. OF THE KINGDOM OF NEPAL lifted the ban on parties, described a democratic representative system where the authority of the king was curtailed
