Nepal's story, from 1769 to today

Nepal held new elections on March 5, 2026, earlier than normally scheduled, because of the 2025 protests. The new government gave the public a chance to choose different leaders. Young voters came out in large numbers. No single party won enough seats to run the government alone, so parties had to n…

Who it touched: All Nepali voters. 43 new independent MPs. Traditional party machines reshuffled. Youth voter cohort now permanently mobilised as an electoral force.

Balen Shah — the independent engineer who became Kathmandu's mayor in 2022 — won a landslide election and became Prime Minister on 27 March 2026. His party won more seats than all old parties combined. Nepal's political history changed completely in one night.

Who it touched: Every Nepali citizen — RSP campaigned on ending government corruption, building road and electricity infrastructure, meritocratic civil service reform, and renegotiating aid depend…

Balen Shah — the engineer who became Kathmandu's mayor in 2022 — led his party to win more seats than all other parties combined in the 2026 election. He became Prime Minister on March 27, 2026. Nepal's old political parties were effectively swept away in one election. Nepal's political history chan…

Who it touched: Every Nepali citizen. The traditional political establishment which lost power. Nepal's diaspora which voted in record numbers for RSP. Civil servants facing reform. Foreign govern…

Hundreds of thousands of young Nepalis took to the streets to demand honest government, real jobs, and an end to corruption. The government banned social media to stop protesters communicating — but this made international headlines and was widely condemned. People died during the unrest; the exact …

Who it touched: Every Nepali under 35 (roughly half the population). Deaths were reported; the toll rose from early official counts to above 70 as bodies were recovered and investigations continue…

On 25 April 2015, a massive earthquake hit Nepal. Nearly 9,000 people died and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Historic temples that had stood for centuries collapsed. Help came from all over the world. But reconstruction was slow and many people were still living in temporary shelter…

Who it touched: 8,856 families lost members. 2.8 million people displaced. 700,000+ households affected across 14 districts. Nepal's tourism industry collapsed temporarily. World Heritage sites da…

After Nepal passed its new constitution, India blocked goods at the border for 135 days. Hospitals ran out of medicine. Reconstruction from the April earthquake stalled. Nepal had to ask China for emergency fuel. Many Nepalis never forgave India for this.

Who it touched: Every Nepali household (cooking gas shortage), hospitals (medicine shortage), reconstruction workers (fuel shortage), businesses. Approximately 28 million people affected.

In 2015, after years of debate, Nepal finally got its permanent constitution. Nepal became a federal country with 7 provinces, like how India has states. Nepal officially stopped being a Hindu kingdom and became a secular country. Women were guaranteed at least 33% of seats in government. This is st…

Who it touched: All 28 million Nepalis. 7 new provincial governments and their populations. Women who gained mandated representation. Madhesi and Tharu communities who protested the province bound…

On May 28, 2008, Nepal's parliament voted to end the kingdom. Nepal's 240-year monarchy was over. King Gyanendra quietly left the palace. Nepal became a republic — a country ruled by elected people, not a king. This was one of the biggest moments in Nepal's entire history.

Who it touched: All 29 million Nepalis via republican governance. The Shah royal family who lost their status. Nepal's Hindu nationalist groups who lost the Hindu state. The new President and repu…

Nepal had a civil war for 10 years (1996-2006) between the government and the Maoist rebels. 17,000 people died. In 2006, both sides finally agreed to stop fighting and work together. The Maoists would put down their guns and join regular politics. This deal changed Nepal completely.

Who it touched: 17,000 families who lost members. 19,000 Maoist combatants. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people. Rural Nepal's damaged infrastructure. Nepal's political system.

In April 2006, millions of Nepalis rose up against King Gyanendra, who had seized direct control of the country in 2005. After 19 days of massive protests — the biggest in Nepal's history — the king gave in. Parliament was restored. This was the beginning of the end for the Nepali monarchy.

Who it touched: All 27 million Nepalis via political transformation. The royal family which lost power. 21 families who lost members. Nepal's political parties which returned to power. The Maoist …

On June 1, 2001, most of Nepal's royal family was killed in a shooting inside the palace. The government said the Crown Prince killed them in a rage before shooting himself. Many Nepalis didn't believe this story. The king's brother Gyanendra became the new king — and he turned out to be much more a…

Who it touched: The royal family (9 killed). All 23 million Nepalis in collective shock. The institution of monarchy which lost public legitimacy. The political system which lost its popular arbit…

On 13 February 1996, a communist group called the Maoists declared war on the Nepali government. They fought for 10 years across Nepal's countryside. Over 17,000 people died. Schools and health posts were destroyed. Many families fled to cities. The war finally ended in 2006 when the Maoists agreed …

Who it touched: 17,000 dead. Hundreds of thousands internally displaced. Rural communities across 75 districts. Nepal's security forces (thousands killed). The civilian population caught between M…

In 1990, millions of Nepalis took to the streets demanding democracy. Protests spread across the country for months. Police killed at least 50 people. But the movement was so powerful that King Birendra finally gave in and agreed to allow political parties and democracy. Nepal became a real democrac…

Who it touched: All 18 million Nepalis via restored democracy. 50+ families who lost members to security force violence. Political parties that were legalised. The Panchayat political class which …

After months of street protests in 1990, King Birendra agreed to give Nepal back its democracy. Nepal got a new constitution that allowed political parties, free elections, and a parliament. The king stayed as a symbol but had to share power with elected leaders. Nepal was finally a real democracy —…

Who it touched: All 18 million Nepalis via restored fundamental rights. Political prisoners released. Nepali Congress, UML, and other parties freed from underground. Civil society, press, trade un…

On December 15, 1960, King Mahendra suddenly arrested the elected Prime Minister B.P. Koirala while he was asleep, dissolved parliament, and cancelled all political parties. Koirala spent 7 years in prison. Nepal went from democracy back to royal dictatorship in one night.

Who it touched: B.P. Koirala and cabinet ministers who were imprisoned. All 11 million Nepalis denied democratic rights for 28 years. Hundreds of political activists who fled to India. Nepal's civ…

King Tribhuvan secretly fled to the Indian Embassy and then to India to escape the Rana rulers. With India's help, he made a deal that ended the Rana family's 104-year grip on power. When he came back to Kathmandu on 15 February 1951, millions celebrated. Democracy had arrived in Nepal.

Who it touched: All 8 million Nepalis via political liberation. Political prisoners released. Nepali Congress party which entered government. Rana families who lost near-total power. The emerging …

This 1950 treaty between Nepal and India created the open border we know today — Nepalis and Indians can move freely between the two countries without passports. But the treaty also means Nepal has to check with India before buying weapons from other countries. Many Nepalis think this gives India to…

Who it touched: Every Nepali and Indian citizen via the open border. Nepal's 3.5 million workers in India. India's security and strategic establishment. Nepal's foreign policy options. The 1,758 k…

After losing the war with the British, Nepal had to sign this treaty in 1816. Nepal gave up a huge amount of land — areas that are now parts of northern India and Sikkim. But Nepal kept its freedom and was not made a colony. This treaty still causes arguments today because the exact location of Nepa…

Who it touched: All inhabitants of the ceded territories — Kumaon, Garhwal, Sikkim — who came under British rule. Nepal's court lost political influence over these regions. Generations of border c…

Before 1769, Nepal did not exist as a single country. There were many small kingdoms across the hills and valleys. Prithvi Narayan Shah, the king of a small place called Gorkha, spent his whole life conquering and uniting these kingdoms into one country called Nepal. He is Nepal's founding father.

Who it touched: The entire population of the Himalayan hill kingdoms — roughly 3 million people at the time. The three Malla kingdoms of the valley lost their independence. Gorkha military culture…