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Portal:Nepal

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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's 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, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.

The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms the country as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. (Full article...)

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Actors dressed up as Ajima mother goddesses take part in New Year's Day parade in Kathmandu.

Nepal Sambat (Newar: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐳𑐩𑑂𑐧𑐟, nepāla samvat, meaning "Nepal Era") is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newar people of Nepal. It was the official calendar of Nepal since its inception on 20 October 879 till the end of the Malla dynasty in 1769. During the period, Nepal Sambat appeared on coins, stone and copper plate inscriptions, royal decrees, chronicles, Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts, legal documents and correspondence. After the conquest of Nepal by the Shahs in 1769, the official calendar of the country was replaced with Shaka era and then later by the Vikram Samvat.

The calendar still holds cultural significance in Nepal, especially among the Newar people, whose festivals are based on this calendar system. Owing to its cultural and historical significance, the government of Nepal declared to include Nepal Sambat in official government documents alongside Vikram Sambat since 11 November 2023. (Full article...)

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The Seven Mother Goddesses (Matrikas) flanked by Shiva (left) and Ganesha (right)

Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṝkā, lit. "mothers") also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers). However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). In the Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of (different major Hindu) gods corresponding to their names." They are associated with these gods as their spouses or their energies (Shaktis). Brahmani emerged from Brahma, Vaishnavi from Vishnu, Maheshvari from Shiva, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya, Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda from Chandi. and additionals are Narasimhi from Narasimha and Vinayaki from Ganesha.

Originally believed to be a personification of the seven stars of the star cluster the Pleiades, they became quite popular by the seventh century and a standard feature of goddess temples from the ninth century onwards. In South India, Saptamatrika worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrika are venerated in Nepal, among other places. (Full article...)

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Kathmandu Durbar Square in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


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Deuba in New Delhi

Sher Bahadur Deuba (Nepali: शेरबहादुर देउवा, pronounced [seɾ baːduɾ deu̯ba] ; born 13 June 1946, Ashigram, Kingdom of Nepal) is a Nepali politician and former prime minister of Nepal. He has also been serving as the president of the Nepali Congress since 2016. Deuba has served five terms as prime minister (1995–1997, 2001–2002, 2004–2005, 2017–2018 and 2021–2022) and is the Member of Parliament for the parliamentary constituency of Dadeldhura 1.

Born and raised in Ashigram, a remote village in Dadeldhura, Deuba completed his primary education there and his secondary education in Doti. He completed his higher education at Tri-Chandra College In 1991, he was elected to the House of Representatives and served as the Minister of Home Affairs in the cabinet led by Girija Prasad Koirala. Deuba became prime minister after Manmohan Adhikari tried to dissolve the parliament for the second time in two years in 1995. He oversaw the signature of the Mahakali treaty with India during his first term. His second premiership started in July 2001 amidst the rise of the Maoists and he later declared a state of emergency and listed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a "terrorist organisation". He was dismissed by King Gyanendra in October 2002, but after a public backlash, he was reappointed prime minister in June 2004. He was arrested after the 2005 coup d'état by King Gyanendra, and released in February 2006 after the Supreme Court declared his arrest unlawful. (Full article...)

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"Lāgwa" meatball (center right) and "lāpi" meat patty (center left) on a large ceremonial plate.

Chunlā (Newar: चुंला, "ground meat") is a traditional meat dish of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. It is meat finely chopped by a chopping knife or meat grinder. Chunlā is a popular dish in Newar cuisine and is similar to Qeema found in other parts of South Asia. (Full article...)

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Wiki Loves Nepal

The following pages at Wikimedia Commons contain a plethora of images taken in Nepal.
Suspension bridge over he Kali Gandaki river near Tatopani.: Wiki Loves Earth 2017 3rd Price Winner Gokyo Lakes This image won the 2nd prize in the national contest of Nepal in Wiki Loves Earth 2017: Sunrise near Samagauon village – Manaslu trek area.

Wiki Loves Earth is an international photographic competition to promote natural heritage sites around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons).


Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photographic competition to promote cultural monuments around the World through Wikimedia projects (mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

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Below is a clickable map of Nepal's Provinces

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