A Long dynastic rule of the Shahs was established by Prithivi Narayan Shah in Nepal at the start of the early Modern times (1768). The Shah dynasty continued to rule the country, with varying degrees of authority, till the early Twenty-First Century. For over a century, during this time, they were overshadowed by the overbearing Prime Ministers of the Rana Dynasty from 1846 to 1953. The last six decades of the Shah rule in Nepal were marked by constant struggle for power between the Kings and the popular forces. The final corollary of this power struggle was a ferocious leftist insurgency which toppled the Shah Monarchy in 2008. This page discusses the various dimensions of the History of Nepal. These discussions shall not be limited to debates on the Modern History of Nepal alone. It shall focus on the history of the Nepalis who practised and promoted humanism, tolerance and respect for human beings and nature. You can join our fascinating debates by posting your articles, research papers, podcasts and video clips on these subjects on our website.
An Introductory Chronology of the History of Nepal
1559–1570 Dravya Shah, Father of the ruling house of the Gorkhas.
1723–1775 Prithivi Narayan Shah with whom we move into the modern period of Nepal’s history, was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah. He was ruler of Gorkha principality.He conquered Nepal Valley; moved capital to Kathmandu and established present-day Hindu nation of Nepal.
1743 Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father Nara Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha.
1767 King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British and so the than East India Company sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain Kinloch. The British force was defeated at Sindhuli by King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s army. This defeat of the British completely shattered the hopes of King Jaya Prakash Malla.
September 25, 1768 As the people of Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indrajatra, Prithvi Narayan Shah and his men marched into the city. A throne was put on the palace courtyard for the king of Kathmandu. Prithvi Narayan Shah sat on the throne and was hailed by the people as the king of Kathmandu. Jaya Prakash Malla somehow managed to escape with his life and took asylum in Patan. When Patan was too captured a few weeks later, both Jaya Prakash Malla and the king of Patan;Tej Narsingh Malla took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was also captured after some time.
By 1769 The Kathmandu Valley was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah and Kathmandu became the capital of the modern Nepal. King Prithvi Narayan Shah was successful in bringing together diverse religio-ethnic groups under one nation. He was a true nationalist in his outlook and was in favor of adopting a closed-door policy with regard to the British. Not only his social and economic views guided the country’s socio-economic course for a long time, his use of the imagery, ‘a yam between two boulders’ in Nepal’s geopolitical context, formed the principal guideline of the country’s foreign policy for future centuries. But in the modern days this saying is to be modify as a ‘link between two giant countries’ and Nepal can be able to get benefit from both countries.
1788-91 Sino-Nepalese War, Nepal invaded Tibet and robbed Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse. Alarmed, the Qianlong Emperor of the Chinese Qing Dynasty appointed Fuk’anggan commander-in-chief of the Tibetan campaign; Fuk’anggan signed treaty to protect his troops thus attaining a draw. The draw was later converted to victory by Nepali forces sent on commands of PM Jung Bahadur Rana.
Early 19th Century The heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over the princely states bordering Nepal and British-India eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16), in which Nepal suffered a heavy defeat.
1806-37 Bhimsen Thappa Prime Minister of Nepal
1814-16 Anglo-Neplaese War.
4 March 1816 Treaty of Sugauli. As per the treaty, Nepal lost all Sikkim (including Darjeeling), the territories of Kumaon and Garhwal and western terai. The Mechi River became the new eastern border and the Mahakali river the western boundary of the kingdom. The British East India Company would pay 200,000 rupees annually to compensate for the loss of income from the Terai region. The British set up Resident. The fear of having a British Resident in Kathmandu ultimately proved to be unfounded, as the rulers of Nepal managed to isolate the Resident to such an extent as to be in virtual house arrest.
First Half 19th Century Nepal’s rulers and would-be rulers fell into a series of power struggles. Jung Bahadur, a military officer of the Rana family, rose to power during these struggles and ruled in the name of the Shah dynasty beginning in 1846. He ruled for three decades and monopolized power.
1846-1951 Rana Dynasty of hereditary Prime Ministers.
1846 Jung Bahadur Rana comes in to power as a Prime Minister.
1854-56 Nepal-China War on the Tibetan frontier. Nepal wins
1857 Jung Bahadur helps the English during the Sepoy Rebellion. This military aid began a period of close cooperation between Nepal and Britain, which recruited Nepali troops for the British army.
1877 Jang Bahadur died. He was succeeded by his son Ranodipp Singh who was constantly a target of plots.
1885 Coup d’état of, the nephews of Jung Bahadur and Ranodip Singh murdered Ranodip Singh and the sons of Jung Bahadur, stole the name of Jung Bahadur and took control of Nepal. Nine Rana rulers took the hereditary office of Prime Minister. All were styled (self-proclaimed) Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski. Ranodipp Singh assassinated. He was succeeded by Bir Shumsher, the son of Jung Bahadur’s youngest brother. He purged his enemies.
1901 Bir Shumsher was eventually forced to resign. He was succeeded by Chandra Shumsher Rana.
1901-29 Chandra Shumsher Rana ruled as Prime Minister. The Ranas kept Nepal almost completely isolated from the outside world and established few modern administrative institutions, public utilities, or industries during their tenure.
1914-1918 Nepal helped Britain in World War I
1923 Anglo-Nepal Treaty that confirmed Nepal’s independence. A British resident (colonial official acting as an adviser to the ruler of a protected state), stationed in Kathmandu, controlled Nepal’s foreign relations.
1924 Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924 under premiership of Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana.
1932-45 Juddha Shumsher’s rule. He repressed attempts to form political parties.
1939-45 Nepal supported the Allied cause, with the contribution of Gurkha soldiers, during World War II.
Late 1940s The Rana autocracy was increasingly criticized.
1945-48 Padma Shumsher’s rule. He tried to implement reforms before he was forced to resign.
1948-51 Mohan Shumsher’s rule. He tried to repress all opposition.
A political reform movement led by the newly created Nepali Congress Party won the support of King Bir Bikram Tribhuvana.
1948 Nepal and the US established diplomatic relations.
1950 Mohan Shumsher removed King Bir Bikram Tribhuvana.
1950 Insurrection starts with King Tribhuvan, a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fleeing from his “palace prison” to India, touching off an armed revolt against the Rana administration.
1950 and 1951 The Congress Party coordinated armed insurrections.
1951 Revolution. It started when dissatisfaction against the family rule of the Ranas had started emerging from among the few educated people, who had studied in various South Asian schools and colleges, and also from within the Ranas, many of whom were marginalized within the ruling Rana hierarchy. The political parties such as The Prajaparishad and Nepali Congress were already formed in exile by leaders such as B. P. Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Subarna Sumsher Rana, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Girija Prasad Koirala, and many other patriotic-minded Nepalis who urged the military and popular political movement in Nepal to overthrow the autocratic Rana Regime. Thus Nepali congress formed a military wing Nepali Congress’s Liberation Army. Among the prominent martyrs to die for the cause, executed at the hands of the Ranas, were Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Shukraraj Shastri, Gangalal Shrestha, and Dasharath Chand who were the members of Praja Parisad. Ranas allowed members of the Congress Party into the cabinet and King Tribhuvana was returned to power. Friction between the Congress Party and the Ranas led to their dismissal and the end of the era of the Rana Dynasty.
November 1951 Prime Minister Rana was removed from power and the NCP formed a government headed by Matrika Prasad Koirala. This eventually ended in the return of the Shah family to power and the appointment of a non-Rana as prime minister according to a tri-partite agreement signed called ‘Delhi Compromise’. A period of quasi-constitutional rule followed, during which the monarch, assisted by the leaders of fledgling political parties, governed the country.
1950s Efforts were made to frame a constitution for Nepal that would establish a representative form of government, based on a British model. There was a 10 member cabinet under Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher having 5 members of Rana and 5 of Nepali congress party. This government drafted a constitution called ‘Interim Government Act’ which was the first constitution of Nepal. But this Government doomed as Ranas and Congressmen were never on good terms. So, on 1 Mangsir 2008 BS, the king formed a new government of 14 ministers. which was also dissolved. Later on Sharawan 2009 BS King formed 5 members’ councilors government which also failed.
After the Rana autocracy ended, Nepal embarked on a mission of economic and social development. However, political parties organizing the government during the 1950s were not effective. Political instability continued.
1955 King Mahendra crowned.
1960 King Mahendra seized absolute control after a decade of political unrest.
16 December 1960 Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure, King Mahendra carried out a royal coup. He dismissed the elected Koirala government, declared that a “partyless” system would govern Nepal, and promulgated another new constitution.
1962 The King proclaimed a new constitution that banned the formation of political parties and allowed for the autocratic rule of the king through a non-party system of councils, or panchayats. The government then instituted social reforms, including land reforms and modernization of the legal code, which helped alleviate some caste discrimination. Subsequently, the elected Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and hundreds of democratic activists were arrested. (In fact, this trend of arrest of political activists and democratic supporters continued for the entire 30-year period of party-less Panchayati System under King Mahendra and then his son, King Birendra).
The new constitution established a “party-less” system of panchayats (councils) which King Mahendra considered to be a democratic form of government, closer to Nepalese traditions. As a pyramidal structure, progressing from village assemblies to the Panchayat system constitutionalized the absolute power of the monarchy and kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) and the Parliament. One-state-one-language became the national policy in an effort to carry out state unification, uniting various ethnic and regional groups into a singular Nepali nationalist bond.
1967 The ‘Gaun Pharka Aviyan’ launched in 1967, was one of the main rural development programs of the Panchayat system.
1972 King Mahendra died. He was succeeded by his 27-year-old son Birendra Bir Bikram.
1975 Birendra Bir Bikram was formally crowned. The young king initially exercised strong control over the government, attempting to repress the reform movement led by former prime minister Bisheswar Prasad Koirala.
Late 1970s As antimonarchist sentiments grew and serious riots challenged his authority, the king relaxed his control.
1979 Amid student demonstrations and anti-regime activities, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide on the nature of Nepal’s government: either the continuation of the panchayat system along with democratic reforms or the establishment of a multiparty system.
May 1980 Referendum on the form of government. With a small majority the voters decided to retain the nonparty panchayat system with certain modifications. Among the reforms was a constitutional amendment providing for the king to appoint a prime minister upon the recommendation of the National Assembly. The king carried out the promised reforms, including selection of the prime minister by the Rastriya Panchayat.
Elections 1981 and 1986 Although all candidates ran as independents, reports indicated that Marxist-Leninist members of the Communist Party won a number of seats in parliament.
1990 The Nepali Congress with the support of “Alliance of leftist parties” decided to launch a decisive agitation movement, Jana Andolan, which forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament. Following a wave of pro-democracy protests spearheaded by Nepal’s banned political parties, Birendra agreed to allow political activity. An interim government drafted a new constitution that provided for multiple political parties.
November 1990 With the adoption of a constitution stating the powers of the monarch, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy.
May 1991 Nepal held its first parliamentary elections in nearly 50 years. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats and formed the first elected government in 32 years. The Nepali Congress Party (NCP) won the country’s first democratic election in 32 years, and the party’s general secretary, Girija Prasad Koirala, brother of former prime minister Bisheswar Prasad Koirala, became Prime Minister.
1992 In a situation of economic crisis and chaos, with spiraling prices as a result of the implementation of changes in policy of the new Congress government, the radical left stepped up their political agitation. A Joint People’s Agitation Committee was set up by the various groups. A general strike was called for April 6.
April 6, 1992 Strike and violence. The Joint People’s Agitation Committee had called for a 30-minute ‘lights out’ in the capital, and violence erupted outside Bir Hospital when activists tried to enforce the ‘lights out’. At dawn on clashes between strike activists and police, outside a police station in Pulchok (Patan), left two activists dead. Later in the day, a mass rally of the Agitation Committee at Tundikhel in the capital Kathmandu was attacked by police forces. As a result, riots broke out and the Nepal Telecommunications building was set on fire; police opened fire at the crowd, killing several persons. The Human Rights Organization of Nepal estimated that 14 persons, including several onlookers, had been killed in police firing. When promised land reforms failed to appear, people in some districts started to organize to enact their own land reform and to gain some power over their lives in the face of usurious landlords.
However, this movement was repressed by the Nepali government, in “Operation Romeo” and “Operation Kilo Sera II”, which took the lives of many of the leading activists of the struggle. As a result, many witnesses to this repression became radicalized.
1994 Girija Prasad Koirala resigned after his coalition government lost its parliamentary majority.
1994-95 In new elections the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) branch of Nepal’s Communist Party won the majority of seats. The UML remained in power less than a year before a coalition government replaced it.
February 1996 The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started a bid to replace the parliamentary monarchy with a people’s new democratic republic, through a Maoist revolutionary strategy known as the people’s war, which led to the Nepalese Civil War. Led by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (also known as “Prachanda”), the insurgency began in five districts in Nepal: Rolpa, Rukum, Jajarkot, Gorkha, and Sindhuli. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) established a provisional “people’s government” at the district level in several locations.
The Communist Party of Nepal—Maoist (CPN-M) was unhappy with the pace and direction of change. It launched a “people’s war” aimed at overthrowing the government, abolishing the monarchy, and establishing a people’s republic. Incidents of violence were at first confined to remote mountain regions but by the late 1990s had spread to more than half the country.
A period of political instability followed the declaration of the “people’s war” in 1996. One Prime Minister succeeded another in a series of unstable coalition governments. Internal fighting weakened the coalitions, as did their inability to control the Maoist rebellion.
June 1, 2001 Prince Dipendra, went on a shooting-spree, assassinating 9 members of the royal family, including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, before shooting himself. Due to his survival he temporarily became king before dying of his wounds, after which Prince Gyanendra (HMG King Birendra’s brother) inherited the throne, as per tradition. An official investigation of the massacre concluded that Crown Prince Dipendra had killed his family members in a drunken rage and then committed suicide. Birendra’s younger brother, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, succeeded to the throne.
July 2001 Girija Prasad Koirala resigned after scandals and failures. He was succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba, a former Prime Minister known for his willingness to work with opposition parties. Deuba began a series of reforms, including distribution of land to the poor, and introduced plans to criminalize discrimination against Dalits (“Untouchables”) and to end the caste system. Deuba also initiated peace talks with the Maoist rebels, and both sides agreed to a ceasefire.
November 2001 The ceasefire ended in November 2001 after Deuba rejected Maoist demands for a new constitution that would abolish the monarchy. Fighting renewed and as the violence continued, King Gyanendra declared emergency rule, which enabled him to send the royal army to fight the insurgency.
October 2002 Gyanendra dismissed Deuba, dissolved parliament, and assumed full power over the government before appointing a new Prime Minister.
January 2003 The government and the Maoists agreed to a ceasefire and renewed negotiations. However, the ceasefire collapsed in August, after seven months.
June 2003 During this time the political parties, which had been excluded from the government after the dissolution of parliament, led demonstrations in the capital, and in June 2003 Deuba was reappointed Prime Minister.
After August 2003 The Maoist rebels intensified their insurgency after the ceasefire collapsed. They refused to enter peace negotiations with Deuba, insisting on direct talks with the king, and staged two week-long blockades of Kathmandu.
August 2004 In the face of unstable governments and a siege on the Kathmandu Valley, popular support for the monarchy began to wane.
1 February 2005 Gyanendra again imposed a state of emergency. He assumed full executive power, dismissing Deuba and his government. The king also suspended many constitutional rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and the press.
February 2006 Municipal elections. They were described by the European Union as “a backward step for democracy”, as the major parties boycotted the election and some candidates were forced to run for office by the army.
April 2006 Massive protests took place against direct rule by the king. In Kathmandu street demonstrations drew hundreds of thousands of people, and government forces responded by firing into crowds, killing more than a dozen people. The protests were spearheaded by a seven-party opposition alliance that included the Maoist insurgents. Faced with daily protests, a general strike, and road blockades that cut off Kathmandu from fuel and food supplies, Gyanendra announced that he would restore parliament, which he had dissolved four years earlier. On the recommendation of the seven-party alliance, Gyanendra named Koirala as Prime Minister. The newly reinstated parliament soon began to strip the king of his powers.
A seven-party coalition resumed control of the government and stripped the king of most of his powers.
The Maoist rebels declared a three-month truce and began talks with Koirala.
November 2006 The Maoist rebels reached a peace agreement with the Nepalese government, ending a decade-long revolt during which an estimated 13,000 people were killed. Under United Nations supervision, the Maoists turned over their weapons and confined their troops in camps. As part of the agreement, a government commission was set up to investigate human rights abuses by both sides in the long conflict. Koirala assigned 5 of the 22 cabinet posts in the interim government to Maoists.
By 15 January 2007 Nepal was governed by a unicameral legislature under an interim constitution.
April 2007 The Maoists joined the government. The government planned to nationalize the monarch’s assets while allowing Gyanendra to keep property he owned before he came to the throne. Elections for a constituent assembly, chosen by the people, were scheduled for June 2007. The assembly was to rewrite Nepal’s constitution and decide whether Nepal would remain a monarchy or become a republic. The Maoists, who had been pushing for an end to the monarchy, agreed to abide by the constituent assembly’s decision. However, the elections were subsequently postponed due to two new demands made by the Maoists: the abolition of the monarchy ahead of the elections, and the implementation of a proportional system of voting for the elections. The new demands contradicted the earlier agreement and created a political deadlock.
September 2007 The Maoists withdrew from the governing coalition in September 2007, and the elections were further delayed. However, the Maoists rejoined the interim government after all of the main parties agreed to abolish the monarchy immediately after the elections, which were scheduled for April 2008.
24 December 2007 Seven parties, including the former Maoist rebels and the ruling party, agreed to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a Federal Republic.
10 April 2008 Elections. the Maoists secured a simple majority, with the prospect of forming a government to rule the proposed ‘Republic of Nepal’.
May 28, 2008 The newly-elected Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy. The motion for the abolition of the monarchy was carried by a huge majority: out of 564 members present in the assembly, 560 voted for the motion while 4 members voted against it.
11 June 2008 Ex-King Gyanendra left the palace.
June 23, 2008 Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress became the first President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
August 15, 2008 The Constituent Assembly elected Pushpa Kamal Dahal (popularly known as Prachanda) of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as the first republican Prime Minister, favoring him over Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress Party.
May 25, 2009-February 6, 2011 Madhav Kumar Nepal was the Prime Minister of Nepal.
May 28, 2012 After failing to draft a constitution before the deadline, the existing Constituent Assembly was dissolved.
2013-14 Interim Government formed under the Prime-Ministership of the Chief Justice of Nepal, Supreme Court judge Khil Raj Regmi.
November 2013 In the Constituent Assembly election the Nepali Congress won the largest share of the votes but failed to get a majority. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN (UML)) and the Nepali Congress negotiated to form a consensus government.
February 2014 Sushil Koirala of the Nepali Congress was elected as Prime Minister (February 2014) with support from the CPN (UML).
September 20,2015 A new constitution comes into force. Minority ethnic groups like Madhesi and Tharu have protested vigorously against the constitution. They point out that their concerns have not been addressed and there are few explicit protections for their ethnic groups in the document. At least 56 civilians and 11 police died in clashes over the draft constitution. In response to the Madhesi protests, India suspended vital supplies to landlocked Nepal, citing insecurity and violence in border areas.
August 2016 Pushpa Kamal Dahal was elected for a second stint as Prime Minister of Nepal. Prachanda became the 24th Prime Minister since Nepal’s adoption of multi-party democracy in 1990 and the eighth since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.
24 May, 2017 Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned from the post of Prime Minister.
June 2017 Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress became the Prime Minister of Nepal.
