NEPALI
Excerpts from Wikipedia.org
Perched on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountain, State of Nepal is as ethnically diverse as its terrain of fertile plains, broad valleys, and the highest mountain peaks in the world. The Nepalese are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet, and North Burma and Yunnan via Assam.
Among the earliest inhabitants were the Kirat of east mid-region, Newar of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharu in the southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups came from India Kumaon, Garwal and Kashmir, while other ethnic groups trace their origins to North Burma and Yunnan and Tibet, e.g. the Gurung and Magar in the west, Rai and Limbu in the east, and Sherpa and Bhotia in the north.
In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20% of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the Indo-Aryans of northern India. Indo-Aryan and East Asian looking mixed people live in the hill region. The mountainous highlands are sparsely populated. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost 5% of the population.
Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian and various indigenous language isolates. According to the 2001 national census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal (a 93rd category was "unidentified"). The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali (49%), Maithili (12%), Bhojpuri (8%), Tharu (6%), Tamang (5%), Newari/Nepal Bhasa (4%), Magar (3%), Awadhi (2%), Bantawa Rai (2%), Limbu (1%), and Bajjika (1%). The remaining 81 languages are each spoken as mother tongue by less than one percent of the population.
Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali is related to the Indian language Hindi and written in Devanagari script. Nepali is the official, national language and serves as lingua franca among Nepalis of different ethnolinguistic groups. Hindi is also widely spoken, especially in the southern Terai Region. Many Nepalese in government and business also speak English.
Nepal’s 2001 census enumerated 103 distinct castes and ethnic groups including an "unidentified group". The caste system of Nepal is rooted in the Hindu religion while the ethnic system is rooted in mutually exclusive origin myths, historical mutual seclusion and the occasional state intervention.
The major caste/ethnic groups identified by the 2001 census are Chetri (15.8%), Hill Brahmin (12.7%), Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), Tamang (5.6%), Newar (5.5%), Muslim (4.3%), Kami (3.9%), Rai (2.7%), Gurung (2.5%), and Damai/Dholi (2.4%). The remaining 92 caste/ethnic groups (including the world-famous Sherpa) each constitute less than 2 % of the population
History of Nepal
Modern Nepal was created in the latter half of the 18th century when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill states.
After decades of rivalry between the medieval kingdoms, Prithvi Narayan Shah dedicated himself at an early age to the conquest of the Kathmandu valley and the creation of a single state, which he achieved in 1768. Between 1717 and 1733, the Nepalese in the west and Bhutanese in the east attacked Sikkim many times, culminating with the destruction of the capital Rabdentse by the Nepalese. The Sikkim king fled to Tibet. After Shah's death, the Shah dynasty began to expand their kingdom into India. Between 1788 and 1791, Nepal invaded Tibet and robbed Tashilhunpo Monastery of Shigatse. Alarmed, the Chinese emperor Qianlong dispatched a sizeable army that forced the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy repatriations.
After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16), in which Nepal suffered a complete rout. The Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1816, ceding parts of the Terrai and Sikkim to the British in exchange for Nepalese autonomy.
Religion
The main religion of Nepal is Hinduism.
Differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been in general very subtle and academic in nature due to the intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and worship common deities and many of Nepal's Hindus could also be regarded as Buddhists and vice versa. Gurkhas are from Nepal. Buddhism was relatively more common among the Newar. Among the other natives of Nepal, those most influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, Limbu and Rai. Hindu influence is less prominent among the Gurung, Bhutia, and Thakali groups, who employ Buddhist monks for their religious ceremonies
Political Status
On December 28, 2007, the government proposed to amend Article 159 of the constitution and declare Nepal a federal republic, thereby abolishing the monarchy. As per the amendment, Article 159 of the interim constitution was amended - replacing "Provisions regarding the King" by "Provisions of the Head of the State."
If the parties present in current ruling coalition win the election for constituent assembly scheduled for April 2008, the current king, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev shall give up the title and throne, making him the last ruling monarch. Nepal would then be a federal democratic state with an elected head of state. However, the Interim Government and the Parliament has not decided the format of the would be elected government. It is not clear whether the format of the Federal Republic would be like as some European Countries, where the king still exists or would it be like Presidential system.
UNICEF: Orlando Bloom with Children in Nepal (video)
Sikkim
Today the majority of Sikkim's residents are of Nepali ethnic-national origin who came to the province in the 19th century. The native Sikkimese consist of the Bhutias, who migrated from the Kham district of Tibet in the 14th century (Upon annexation of Tibet by China, the name of the region was changed to Xikang Province - 西康省), and the Lepchas who are believed to have migrated from the Far East. Tibetans reside mostly in the northern and eastern reaches of the state. Immigrant resident communities not native to the state include the Marwaris, who own most of the shops in South Sikkim and Gangtok; the Biharis, most of whom are employed in blue collar jobs; and the Bengalis.
Originally known as Suk-Hem, which in the local language means "peaceful home", Sikkim was an independent kingdom till the year 1974, when it became a part of the Republic of India.
In 1973, anti-royalty riots in front of the palace led to a formal request for protection from India. India worried that an unstable Sikkim would invite Chinese to act on its claims that Sikkim was part of Tibet, and therefore part of China. The Indian Government appointed a Chief administrator, Mr. B. S. Das, who effectively wrested control of the country away from the Chogyal.
The capital of Sikkim is Gangtok. Sikkim is the land of Orchids and mystic culture and colorful tradition. Sikkim is well known among trekkers and adventure lovers, as West Sikkim has a lot to give them. Places near Sikkim include Darjeeling also know as the Queen of hills and Kalimpong.
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India, and the second-smallest in area after Goa. The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Chinese-administered Tibet to the north and east, and Bhutan in the southeast. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south. The official languages are Hindi, Bhutia, Nepali, Lepcha, Limbu, and English. The language of almost all written transactions is English. The predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Hinduism is the majority religion in the state with 60.9% of the population adhering to the religion. Buddhism forms a large minority with 28.1% of the population following the religion. Christians form 6.7% of the population, consisting mostly of people of Lepcha origin, converted to the faith after British missionaries started preaching in the region in the late 19th century. The state has never had inter-religious strife. Mosques in downtown Gangtok and Mangan also serve the Muslim population, which numbers at 1.4% of the population.
Nepali is the lingua franca of Sikkim. English and Hindi are also spoken and understood in most of Sikkim.
As India's least populous state, Sikkim has only 540,493 inhabitants, with 288,217 males and 252,276 females. It is also one of the least densely populated states with only 76 persons per square kilometre. The per capita income stands at Rs. 11,356, which is one of the highest in the country.
Sikkim is situated in an ecological hotspot of the lower Himalayas, one of only three among the Ecoregions of India. The forested regions of the state exhibit a diverse range of fauna and flora. Owing to its altitudinal gradation, the state has a wide variety of plants, from tropical to temperate to alpine and tundra, and is perhaps one of the few regions to exhibit such a diversity within such a small area.
Bhutias
The Bhutias are people of Tibetan origin, who migrated to Sikkim, other parts of India and Bhutan some time after the 15th century. They migrated through the different passes ("La" in Tibetan) in the Himalayas.
The language spoken by the Bhutias in Sikkim is Sikkimese, which is 65% intelligible with either Tibetan or Dzongkha, the language of Bhutan, although in recent times Nepali is more widely spoken. Most Bhutias practice the Nyingmapa school, followed by the Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Bhutias are spread out over Nepal, Bhutan, and in the northern West Bengal, especially in the towns of Kalimpong and Darjeeling.
Bhotey is also often used as a derogatory term, used by people of Nepali heritage to describe people of Tibetan heritage, although most Bhutias are better off economically and educationally among the various Himalayan communities including the Nepalese.
Lepcha People
The Lepcha (population: 50,000) are the aboriginal inhabitants of present day Sikkim. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, the Ilam District of eastern Nepal and even the hills of West Bengal. They are also known as the Rong, Rongke, or Rongpa.
The origin of the Lepcha is obscure. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which some classify as Himalayish. Based on this some anthropologists suggest they emigrated directly from Tibet to the north, while others suggest a more complex migration that started in southeast Tibet, migrated to either Thailand or Burma, then navigated the Ayeyarwady River and Chindwin rivers, crossed the mighty Patkoi range coming back west, and finally entered into ancient India. While migrating westward through India they are surmised to have passed through southern Bhutan before reaching their final destination near Kanchenjunga.
