Nepal

Nepal is one of the youngest republic nations in the world .Shah dynasty ruled over the country until recently. Prithivi Narayan Shah unified the nation in 1768.During Shah dynasty’s rule in 1846 a sepoy leader Bahadur Rana rose to power starting a hereditary Prime Ministership leading to 104 years long Rana regime .The Ranas maintained good relations with the British and extended support to them against the Sepoy Rebellion and during both World Wars. In 1923, the United Kingdom and Nepal Formally signed as agreement of friendship, in which Nepal’s independence was recognized by the UK.

Rana hegemony came to an end in 1951 following pro-democracy movement from the political parties .However, in 1959 king Mahendra seized absolute power and started a “Party less” Panchayat system. More struggle continued in favor of democracy. The 1990 People’s movement brought in constitutional reforms and establishment a multiparty parliament.

In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started vouching for a people’s socialist republic .The following armed conflict left more than 12000 dead over a course of a decade. Fate of monarchy underwent serious incident on June 1, 2001.17 members of the Royal family including the entire family of the reigning king were killed. The royal massacre report said that Crown Prince Dipendra, agitated over refusal of his choice of wife, went on killing his family members and later the same evening committed suicide. King Birendra‘s brother Gyanendra inherited the throne thereafter .On February 1,2005 .King Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed full executive powers .A broad alliance against the royal takeover ,called the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), came up after the Maoists declared a three month unilateral ceasefire in September 2005.In December SPA and the Maoists signed 12- Point understanding .SPA called for a 4 day nationwide general strike with overwhelming support of the general public evolved into April movement .On April 21.King Gyanendra made a compromising call on SPA to nominate a new Prime Minister .The Parties put forward three demands the next day –reinstitution of the old parliament, formalities of an all party government and election to a constitution Assembly.

An Interim Parliament was formed on January 15,2007 after the SPA signed Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the CPN-Maoists. In April 2006, Girija Prasad Koirala was nominated the Prime Minister Through political consensus. Nepal was declared a Federal Republic under a 23 point agreement signed by the SPA and the Maoists on DEC 23, 2007. According to the agreement the declaration would be confirmed by a simple majority at the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Constituent Assembly election was held on April 10, 2008 and a Maoist –Led coalition government was formed. The First President of Nepal ,Dr Ram Baran Yadav was sworn in on 23 July .2008 whereas Puspa Kamal Dahal , Prachanda became the first Prime Minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal .The bill of December 2007 came into force on May 28,2008 as the constituent assembly meeting overwhelmingly voted for it. In May recently Madhav Kumar Nepal succeeded Prachanda as Prime minister.

Tourism in Nepal:
Nepal has always allured visitors by its unparallel natural beauty and rich cultural heritage .Located in South Asia, Nepal-a land Locked country had Tibet –China to its North and India to its East, West and South as immediate neighbours. Nepal has always remained a sovereign state throughout its history .The country opened its doors to the foreigners in 1949 when Himalayan mountaineering expeditions were allowed for the first rime from Nepal. The successful ascent of Annapurna (8091m) and Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachaenal in 1950 and later the successful ascent of Mt Everest (8848m) the highest peak in earth by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgey Sherpa in 1953 gave Nepal instant publicity across the world. The period 1950-196 is termed as golden era of climbing in Himalayas when all the highest 8000 meter peaks were climbed .The account of the early mountaineering and explorers caught world attention and soon tourism started flourishing in Nepal. Initially it was the trekkers who followed the trails pioneered by the early mountaineers .Later fascinated by the accounts of great cultural and geographical diversity people with varied interest started making Nepal as their choice for a holiday destination. Highest mountain in the world, thundering Himalayan rivers green valleys, mid hills and Terai plains makes Nepal one of the most bio –diversity rich countries in the world.19.70% of the total area of the country Nepal is covered by protected areas that include nine national parks, three wildlife reserves, one hunting reserve and three conservation area and eleven buffer Zones .Among these Sagarmatha National Parks in Himalayas and Chitwan National Park in Terai are the world heritage areas.

Kathmandu Valley 9with 7 world heritage sites), Lumbini –birth place of Lord Buddha , Pokhara –the lake city and Chitwan National Park are the Popular tourist places among several others. Nepal is fast emerging as great holiday destinations .The warm hospitality of the Nepalese people has drawn praises from visitors across the globe .A total of 5, 26,705 tourists visited Nepal during 2008 representing as increase of 37.2% over the previous year .Tourist arrivals to Nepal for 2007 were largely from Asia (57.8%) ,Western Europe (3.2%), Australia and Pacific (2.8%),South and Central America (1.2%) and from Africa (0.3%) .The highest number of arrivals is from India comprising 18.2% of the total .Average length of stay was recorded to be 11.96 days .The gross foreign exchange from tourism in 2008 stood at USD 230.6 million, which represented an increase of 41.7% over 2006.

With new tourism policy recently launched, Nepal is all set to offer the visitors wide range and experienced in different parts of the country assuring safety and quality.