Nepal

Nepal Conquered by the Gurkhas in 1769, it was successively ruled by a number of aristocratic families, of which the Rana family emerged as the most influential. Gurkha rule was recognized by the British colonial government in neighbouring India in 1816, though the country effectively came under British influence. Many Gurkhas enlisted in the British army in India, which became the country's most important source of revenue during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By 1846 the Rana family had secured its predominance, and ruled through a system of hereditary prime ministers. Internal dissatisfaction with this archaic system of government grew until a coup led to the restoration of the monarchy, albeit a constitutional one, under King Tribhuyan (1951–5) and King Mahendra (1955–72). First parliamentary elections were held in 1959, and were won by the Nepali Congress Party. However, the King dissolved government in 1960, and in 1962 proclaimed a new Constitution. In the new system of panchayat, substantial powers were given to local government through elected village councils, while the King's own central powers were removed from democratic control. King Mahendra's policies were continued under his son, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, who succeeded his father in 1972.

In the 1980s, popular opposition to the King began to mount, under the leadership of the outlawed Nepal Congress Party (NCP). After futile attempts to suppress the growing movement, he gave in to popular demands and in 1990 lifted the ban on political organizations and appointed the Congress leader, Krishna Prashad Bhattarai, to head an interim government.

The elections of 1991 were won by the NCP, which was soon accused of corruption and mismanagement. As a result, the oppositional United Marxist Left gained ground, won the 1994 elections, and formed a minority government. The government struggled to establish its authority over parliament and within the country at large. Its greatest challenge was the opposition of the rebel movement of the Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist (CPN-M), which engaged in a guerrilla war from 1996. By 2002 it controlled over 50 per cent of the territory, with all attempts at realizing a political solution having failed. In 2001 disaster struck the royal family: Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on his family, killing his father, nine other members of the royal family, and himself. In response, Birenda's brother, Prince Gyanendra, was proclaimed King.