****** got this on my e mail and thought it was interesting ****


1768 - Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays foundations
for unified kingdom.
MOUNT EVEREST

Known in Nepal as "Sagarmatha"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/events03/special/everest/everest.ramEverest
conquered: 50 years on
1792 - Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at hands of Chinese in Tibet.
1814-16 - Anglo-Nepalese War; culminates in treaty which establishes Nepal's
current boundaries.
1846 - Nepal falls under sway of hereditary chief ministers known as Ranas, who
dominate the monarchy and cut off country from outside world.
1923 - Treaty with Britain affirms Nepal's sovereignty.
Absolute monarchy
1950 - Anti-Rana forces based in India form alliance with monarch.
1953 EVEREST EXPEDITION

Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary; first to the top of the
world
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/39108000/rm/_39108322_sherpatenzing.ram1978:
Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (in Nepali)

On This Day 1953: Everest conquered
1951 - End of Rana rule. Sovereignty of crown restored and anti-Rana rebels in
Nepalese Congress Party form government.
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.
1955 - King Tribhuwan dies, King Mahendra ascends throne.
1959 - Multi-party constitution adopted.
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.
Multi-party politics
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 - New elections boycotted by NCP.
KING MAHENDRA


http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/39166000/rm/_39166013_nepalmahendra.ram1960:
King Mahendra in London (in Nepali)
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.
1991 - Nepali Congress Party wins first democratic elections. Girija Prasad
Koirala becomes prime minister.
Political instability
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.
1997 - Continuing political instability as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is
defeated and replaced by Lokendra Bahadur Chand. Chand is then forced to resign
because of party splits and is replaced by Surya Bahadur Thapa.
MAOIST REBELLION

Rebels demand an end to constitutional monarchy

2004: Who are Nepal's Maoist rebels?
1998 - Thapa stands down because of party splits. GP Koirala returns as prime
minister heading a coalition government.
1999 - Fresh elections give majority to Nepali Congress Party. Krishna Prasad
Bhattarai becomes prime minister.
2000 - Prime Minister Bhattarai steps down after revolt in Nepali Congress
Party. GP Koirala returns as prime minister, heading the ninth government in 10
years.
2001 April - General strike called by Maoist rebels brings life in much of the
country to a virtual standstill; police arrest anti-government demonstrators,
including some opposition leaders, in Kathmandu.
Palace killings
ROYAL FAMILY

Nepal's royals, pictured before the 2001 palace killings

In depth: Nepal palace killings
On This Day 2001: Nepal royal family massacred
2001 1 June - King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed in
shooting spree by drunken Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shoots himself.
2001 4 June - Prince Gyanendra crowned King of Nepal after the late King
Birendra's son, Dipendra - who had been declared king on 2 June - died of
injuries sustained during the palace shooting.
2001 July - Maoist rebels step up campaign of violence. Sher Bahadur Deuba
becomes prime minister, heading the 11th government in 11 years, after Girija
Prasad Koirala quits over the violence.
2001 July - Deuba announces peace with rebels, truce begins.
2001 November - Maoists say peace talks have failed, truce is no longer
justified. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts.
Emergency
2001 November - 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.
GIRIJA PRASAD KORIALA

Prime minister for much of the 1990s

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1445000/audio/_1447035_nepal15_mynott.ram2001:
Koirala resigns over Maoist uprising
2002 February - Maoists kill 127 in weekend raids on several government targets.
2002 April - Maoist rebels order five-day national strike, days after hundreds
are killed in two of bloodiest attacks of six-year rebellion.
2002 May - Intense clashes between military and rebels in the west. Rebels
declare one-month ceasefire, rejected by government.
Deuba visits Britain and other states, seeking help in the war against Maoist
rebels. US President George W Bush pledges $20 million.
2002 May - Parliament dissolved, fresh elections called amid political
confrontation over extending the state of emergency. Deuba expelled by his
Nepali Congress party, heads interim government, renews emergency.
2002 October - Deuba asks king to put off elections by a year because of Maoist
violence. King Gyanendra dismisses Deuba and indefinitely puts off elections set
for November. Lokendra Bahadur Chand appointed to head government.
2003 January - Rebels, government declare ceasefire.
2003 May/June - Lokendra Bahadur Chand resigns as prime minister. King appoints
his own nominee Surya Bahadur Thapa as new premier.
End of truce
2003 August - Rebels pull out of peace talks with government and end seven-month
truce. Rebels call three-day general strike in September.

Kathmandu: Capital has been subject to rebel blockades
late 2003 onwards - Political stalemate; clashes between students/activists and
police; resurgence of violence.
2004 April - Nepal joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
2004 May - Royalist Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa resigns following weeks
of street protests by opposition groups.
2004 June - King Gyanendra reappoints Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister.
2004 August - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of Kathmandu, stopping
supplies from reaching the city.
Twelve Nepalese hostages in Iraq are murdered by their captors, sparking violent
protests in Kathmandu.
2004 December - Maoist rebels stage week-long blockade of capital.
2005 February - King Gyanendra dismisses Prime Minister Deuba and his
government, assumes executive power, declares state of emergency.