Timeline of Nepalese history

This is a timeline of Nepalese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Nepal and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Nepal. See also the list of monarchs of Nepal.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

6th century BC

Year	Date	Event
563 BC		The Gautama Buddha was born in Kapilvastu, Lumbini (present-day in Nepal)

3rd century BC

Year	Date	Event
268 BC		Ashoka establishes empire in north India (to 231 BC)

4th century

Year	Date	Event
353		Samudragupta establishes empire in north India
400		Licchavi kingdom in power in Kathmandu Valley (to 750)

8th century

Year	Date	Event
750		"Transitional" kingdom in power in Kathmandu Valley (to 1200)

11th century

Year	Date	Event
1100		Malla kings rule in western Nepal (to 1484)

12th century

Year	Date	Event
1200		Aridev malla, first monarch of the Malla Dynasty, rules in Kathmandu Valley (to 1216)

14th century

Year	Date	Event
1312		Newar king Ripumalla leads raid in Kathmandu Valley
1345		Sultan Shams ud-din Ilyas of Bengal leads raid in Kathmandu Valley (to 1346)
1382		Jayasthitimalla rules as king of united Malla kingdom in Kathmandu Valley (to 1395)

15th century

Year	Date	Event
1428		Yakshamalla reigns – height of united Malla kingdom (to 1482)
1484		Malla kingdom divided; three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Bhadgaon, and Patan expand

16th century

Year	Date	Event
1526		Mughal Empire established in north India
1559		Gorkha kingdom established

17th century

Year	Date	Event
1606		Ram Shah of Gorkha reigns; Gorkha kingdom experiences first expansion (to 1633)

18th century

Year	Date	Event
1743		Prithvi Narayan Shah ascends to throne of Gorkha
1764		British East India Company gains control of Bengal
1768		Gorkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays foundations for unified kingdom.
1769		Conquest of Chaudandi and Majh Kirant states.
1792		Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at hands of Chinese in Tibet.

19th century

Year	Date	Event
1806		Bhimsen Thapa becomes prime minister
1809		Nepalese troops lay siege to Kangra, farthest extent of Gurkha empire
1814		Anglo-Nepalese War; culminates in treaty which establishes Nepal's current boundaries. (to 1816)
1837		Bhimsen Thapa falls, beginning unstable period in court politics
1846		Nepal falls under sway of hereditary chief ministers known as Ranas, who dominate the monarchy and cut off country from outside world.
		Kot Massacre takes place
1855		War waged with China (to 1856)
1856		Royal decree gives absolute power to prime minister and his family
1857		Sepoy Rebellion waged against British in north India; Nepal aids British (to 1858)
1858		Jang Bahadur receives title of Rana
1877		Jang Bahadur Rana dies
1885		Ranoddip Singh Rana assassinated; Bir Shamser Rana becomes prime minister

20th century

Year	Date	Event
1901		Dev Shamsher Rana forced to abdicate; Chandra Shamsher Rana becomes prime minister
1914		Thousands of Nepalese citizens fight as soldiers for British in World War I (to 1918)
1923	21 December	Treaty with Britain affirms Nepal's sovereignty.
1935		Praja Parishad established, first political party in Nepal
1939		Tens of thousands of Nepalese citizens fight as soldiers for British in World War II (to 1945)
1947		Nepali National Congress established through merger of former All-India Nepali National Congress with Nepalese Society of Banaras and Gorkha Congress of Calcutta
1948		Prime Minister Padma Shamsher Rana announces first constitution of Nepal, then resigns; his replacement, Mohan Shamsher Rana, represses opposition
1950		Anti-Rana forces based in India form alliance with monarch.
1951		End of Rana rule. Sovereignty of crown restored and anti-Rana rebels in Nepalese Congress Party form government
1952		King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev ascends throne
1953	29 May	New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1955		Nepal joins the United Nations.
		King Tribhuwan dies, King Mahendra ascends throne.
1959		Multi-party constitution adopted; first general elections in Nepal bring to power Nepali Congress Party with B.P. Koirala as prime minister
1960		King Mahendra seizes control and suspends parliament, constitution and party politics after Nepali Congress Party (NCP) wins elections with B. P. Koirala as premier.
1962		New constitution provides for non-party system of councils known as "panchayat" under which king exercises sole power. First elections to Rastrya Panchayat held in 1963.
1972		King Mahendra dies, succeeded by Birendra.
1980		Constitutional referendum follows agitation for reform. Small majority favours keeping existing panchayat system. King agrees to allow direct elections to national assembly – but on a non-party basis.
1985		NCP begins civil disobedience campaign for restoration of multi-party system.
1986		CAPT LALIT CHAND WAS BORN IN MAHENDRANAGAR.
1989		Trade and transit dispute with India leads to border blockade by Delhi resulting in worsening economic situation.
1990		Pro-democracy agitation co-ordinated by NCP and leftist groups. Street protests suppressed by security forces resulting in deaths and mass arrests. King Birendra eventually bows to pressure and agrees to new democratic constitution. This protest time is called Jana Andolan I.
1991		Nepali Congress Party wins first democratic elections. Girija Prasad Koirala becomes prime minister.
1994		Koirala's government defeated in no-confidence motion. New elections lead to formation of Communist government.
1995		Communist government dissolved.
		Radical leftist group, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), begins insurrection in rural areas aimed at abolishing monarch and establishing people's republic, sparking a conflict that would drag on for over a decade.
1997		Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba loses no-confidence vote, ushering in period of increased political instability, with frequent changes of prime minister.
2000		GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10 years.

21st century

Year	Date	Event
2001	1 June	King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed allegedly in shooting.
	4 June	Prince Gyanendra crowned King of Nepal .
	Jul	Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Prime Minister GP Koirala quits over the violence; succeeded by Sher Bahadur Deuba.
	Nov	Maoists end four-month-old truce with government, declare peace talks with government failed. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts.
	Nov	State of emergency declared after more than 100 people are killed in four days of violence. King Gyanendra orders army to crush the Maoist rebels. Many hundreds are killed in rebel and government operations in the following months.
2002	May	Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political confrontation over extending the state of emergency. Sher Bahadur Deuba heads interim government, renews emergency.
	Oct	King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections set for November. Lokendra Bahadur Chand appointed as PM.
2003	Jan	Rebels, government declare ceasefire.
	May	Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigns as PM; king appoints his own nominee Surya Bahadur Thapa as new premier (to June)
	Aug	Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month truce. The following months see resurgence of violence and frequent clashes between students/activists and police.
2004	Apr	Nepal joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
	May	Royalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa resigns following weeks of street protests by opposition groups.
	Jun	King Gyanendra reappoints Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister with the task of holding elections.
2005	1 February	King Gyanendra dismisses Prime Minister Deuba and his government, declares a state of emergency and assumes direct power, citing the need to defeat Maoist rebels.
	30 April	King lifts the state of emergency amid international pressure.
	Nov	Maoist rebels and main opposition parties agree on a programme intended to restore democracy.
2006	Apr	King Gyanendra agrees to reinstate parliament following weeks of violent strikes and protests against direct royal rule. GP Koirala is appointed as prime minister. Maoist rebels call a three-month ceasefire. Some times this period is called Jana Andolan-II.
	May	Parliament votes unanimously to curtail the king's political powers. The government and Maoist rebels begin peace talks, the first in nearly three years.
	16 June	Rebel leader Prachanda and PM Koirala hold talks – the first such meeting between the two sides – and agree that the Maoists should be brought into an interim government.
	Nov	The government and Maoists sign a peace accord, declaring a formal end to a 10-year rebel insurgency. The rebels are to join a transitional government and their weapons will be placed under UN supervision.
2007	Jan	Maoist leaders enter parliament under the terms of a temporary constitution. Violent ethnic protests erupt in the south-east; demonstrators demand autonomy for the region.
	Apr	Former Maoist rebels join interim government, a move that takes them into the political mainstream.
	May	Elections for a constituent assembly pushed back to November.
	May	A US offer to resettle thousands of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal has raised hopes but has also sparked tension in the camps, says Human Rights Watch.
	Sep	Three bombs hit Kathmandu in the first attack in the capital since the end of the Maoist insurgency.
	Sep	Maoists quit interim government to press demand for monarchy to be scrapped. This forces the postponement of November's constituent assembly elections.
	Oct	UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges Nepal's parties to sink their differences to save the peace process.
	Dec	Parliament approves abolition of monarchy as part of peace deal with Maoists, who agree to re-join government.
2008	Jan	A series of bomb blasts kill and injure dozens in the southern Terai plains. Groups there have been demanding regional autonomy.
	Apr	Former Maoist rebels win the largest bloc of seats in elections to the new constituent assembly, but fail to achieve an outright majority.
	28 May	Nepal becomes a republic.
	Jun	Maoist ministers resign from the cabinet in a row over who should be the next head of state.
	21 July	Two months after the departure of King Gyanendra, Ram Baran Yadav becomes Nepal's first president.
	15 August	The Constituent Assembly elects the Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the first Prime Minister of federal democratic republic Nepal.
2009	4 May	Caught in row over dismissal of Nepal's army chief, country's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, has resigned citing obstacle in government functioning as the main reason.(arvind,cneb news)
2015	25 April 2015	Nepal is devastated by powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 ritcher scale followed by above 200 powerful quakes |
2015	20 September 2015	Promulgation of a new constitution 2072 by president Dr. Ram Baran Yadav |

See also

• Timeline of Kathmandu

References

• Library of Congress, A Country Study: Nepal, Chronology of Important Events: online

Further reading

• John S. Bowman, ed. (2000). "Nepal". Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. Columbia University Press. p. 393+. ISBN 978-0-231-50004-3. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
• Ian Preston, ed. (2001). "Nepal". Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia. Political Chronologies of the World. Europa Publications. p. 201+. ISBN 978-1-135-35680-4. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
• John Whelpton (2005). "Key Events". A History of Nepal. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-80470-7. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)

External links

• BBC News. "Nepal Profile: Timeline".