The+People

Federal Republic of Nepal - The People

Demographics In July 2008, Nepal’s population was at 29,519,114. Average age groups in Year 2005: Under 14: total population 39 % Ages 15- 64: total population 57.3 % Over 65: total population only 3.7%  According to the 2001 national census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal.  Nepali is the most common language spoken with 57% of total population speaking it  The next most common are: Maithili (10%) Bhojpuri (7%), Tharu (4%), Tamang (5%), Newari/Nepal Bhasa (3%), Magar (2%), Awadhi (2%), Rai (2.79%), Limbu (1%), and Bajjika (1%). Nepali is written in Devanagari script which is recognisable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together.  Many Nepali in government and business speak English as well. ||  || 
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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">History <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Evidence of settlement in the Kathmandu valley has been found dating as far back as 9000 years ago. Today majority of the residents of Nepal are descendants of migrants from Tibet, Central Aisia and India. These people moved to the richer soils in the land that is now known as Nepal. The boundaries of Nepal have change significantly over the thousands of years of settlements and was once only as small as the city of Kathmandu.

Around the 2nd or 3rd century BC migrants from northern India began to dominate the area, bringing with them their culture and Hindu religion. With the mixing of Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions, Nepal now experiences a unique combination of the two.

Gorkha in the 19th century [] ||  || Nepal was once comprised of up to 50 small kingdoms which competed against each other to rule the whole area. The first major growth in society in Nepal began in the 13th century and lasted for as long as the 18th under the rule of the Malla Dynasty. The Newars, an old cultural group of Nepal, flourished and grew in size. In 1768 through defeat of the Malla kings by Gorkha, Nepal became a fully unified country and began to grow in size. During 1814 -1826 Nepal was embattled with Britain, fighting for possession of the Southern Plains along the boarder of Nepal and India. In victory, Britain moved Nepal's borders further North and saw an opportunity to use Nepal as a major trade route between India and Tibet. ||
 * [[image:http://beacononline.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2-gorkhas-soldiers-in-their-native-clothes-early-1900s.jpg width="368" height="255"]]


 * Because of the British Invasion, until 1951 the Nepalese Monarchy did not allow foreigners into the country. The boarders were closed and guarded by the strong Nepalese Army. The British allowed the Shah Dynasty to rule the land. However the country was in turmoil and in 1846 Jung Bahadur Rana declared himself Prime Minster and proclaimed more power than the Shah Dynasty. For more than 100 years the Rana Family controlled the country and resisted colonization which limited the influence from the outside world. This had a major effect on the development of the country.

King Jung Bahadur Rana as a young Man [] ||  ||  ||


 * [[image:http://www.nepalassociation.org/images/Coat_of_arms_of_Nepal.png width="350" height="294"]] || In 1950 King Tribhuvan of Shah decent, escaped the palace in which the Shah Dynasty had been confined to and sought help from India to gain back the power that was taken from them by the Rana's. In 1951 King Tribhuvan had regained full Monachal power and paved the way for a democratic government. King Tribhuvan died in 1955, however his son King Mahendra called the first democratic election of Nepal, in hope to fulfil his fathers desires for Nepal to become a republic. Only 2 short years after the Nepali Congress Party won the election, the King declared the democracy a failure and took over claiming that the European based government did not work for Nepal and instilled the Monarchy. Although there was much conflict and unrest the Monarchy Structure existed until 2008 when Nepal became the Federal Republic of Nepal.

Nepalese Coat of Arms [] ||

One of the most important events outside of politics was the race to lay claim to the domination of Mt Everest as the worlds Highest Mountain. On May 29th, 1953 the race was won by the now infamous Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. This achievement allowed the New Zealander Hillary, claim the title for Britain as he and his Sherpa Norgay of Nepal were climbing for the British climbing team lead by John Hunt and organised by the Joint Himalayan Committee. [] || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[[image:http://flagspot.net/images/n/np.gif]]

Nepal is also quite unique as it has the only globally recognised official flag that is not rectangular in shape. The flag was first documented as being recognised as the flag of Nepal in 1928 by M. Lupant. The current form of the flag was officially adopted on the 12 December 1962. ||

Nepal is also quite unique as it has the only globally recognised offical flag that is not rectangular in shape. The flag was first documented as being recognised as the flag of Nepal in 1928 by M. Lupant. The current form of the flag was officially adopted on the 12 December 1962.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Links to Australia <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There are several links to Australia due to the migration of Nepalese to Australia. There is a Non-Resident Nepali Association which strives to aid those Nepalese living abroad and to help aid in the raising the livelihood and profile of the Nepalese people. They have a website which anyone can access to find out what the current issues are. []

There is a blog that has been established by a Nepalese student which is updated with information about all things Nepalese in Australia and people can add to this blog writing about their opinions and thoughts. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[]

The Fred Hollows foundation has been an excellent provider for the people of Nepal for many years. Each year the foundation aids the people in Nepal through their Eye hospital, which restores the sight of people who otherwise could not afford to seek medical help. Australian residents can fundraise for the foundation and take part in the See The World Tour. In 2003 I completed the challenge and raised $5000 this helped save the eyesight of approximately 85 people. The following is a presentation that I developed in 2006.

Back Forward References <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;">This unit was developed by Nicole Lewis, Amanda McGregor and Jason Horton