Major political parties include the Nepali Congress Party (NCP), a reform-oriented centrist party, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML. Both of these parties operated illegally in Nepal from exile in India until the 1990 reforms lifted the ban on political parties. The royalist National Democratic Party (NDP) was formed prior to the first democratic elections in 1991. In 1998 a faction within the CPN-UML broke away to form a new party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-ML. Also that year, the NDP split into two rival factions with the creation of the NDP (Chand). In 2002 a breakaway faction of the NCP formed the Nepali Congress Democratic (NCD).
D
Social Services
Nepal has significant health care problems and receives aid through foreign agencies and religious groups. Diseases and chronic infections have been particularly prevalent in rural areas, including goiter, tuberculosis, and dysentery. Cases of leprosy continue to exist in some areas. Another chronic problem in Nepal is malnutrition, which is particularly severe in hill and mountain regions where people often experience food shortages.
E
Defense
In 2004 Nepal’s defense force consisted of an army of about 69,000. There is no air force, although the army operates a small military wing. Military service is not compulsory.
Although Nepal emerged in history in the first millennium bc, it was only in the 18th century that Nepal developed as a country of the present size. Archaeological remains suggest that areas of Nepal have been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. The Kirant hill tribe people are thought to be the first rulers of the Kathmandu area. The earliest undisputed Nepali dynasty is the Licchavi dynasty, which was established in about ad 400. The Licchavi dynasty, which probably migrated from present-day Vaishāli, India, was centered in the Kathmandu Valley. The Licchavi dynasty expanded its influence to the Kali Gandaki River in the west and Sun Kosi River in the east. The Licchavi period, as well as the Malla period that followed, was deeply influenced by Indian culture.
The Licchavi dynasty came to an end in the late 9th century and was followed by the medieval period. The early medieval era was unstable and poorly documented. It culminated in the Malla period (1200 to 1769) when three separate dynasties, divided into three kingdoms in the late 15th century, were conquered by the Shah dynasty in 1769, led by King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nepal’s southward expansion under the Shah dynasty resulted in a clash with the English East India Company. The Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816) reduced the country to its current size, although Nepal retained its independence.
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