TERRITORY: HYDROGRAPHY
According to itypeusa, the glacial tongues confluent in the high longitudinal valleys form gigantic valley glaciers that feed mighty rivers; adapting to the structural motifs of the relief, the waters flow into the longitudinal basins of the Middle Himalayas, but due to the considerable overall steepness of the southern Himalayan side they tend to flow towards the Gangetic plain, opening their definitive passage through the hilly area of the Siwalik. The territory is drained by three main hydrographic systems, all tributaries of the Ganges: most of the water courses that constitute them, including the most significant, originate in Tibet, since the main watershed runs N of the highest peaks. AW the waterways, including the Karṇālī and the Bheri, lead to the Ghāghara (Gogra) which crosses the Siwalik and then flows into the Ganges; in the center the waters are collected by the Gandak, which reaches the Ganges at Patna, and to the E of the SaptaKośī.
HISTORY: FROM INDEPENDENCE TO THE CENTURY. XXI
With the independence of India (1947), the Rana lost the support of the British and anti-Rana insurgent movements arose in the country, such as the Nepalese Congress Party. In 1951, with a coup d’état and with the support of the Nepalese Congress Party, the king of Gorkhali lineage, Tribhuvana Vir Vikram (1911-55), returned from exile, proclaimed the constitutional monarchy. When he died in 1955, he was succeeded by his son Mahendra Vir Vikram (1920-72), who approved a new Constitution, in the light of which parliamentary elections were held for the first time in the country in 1959. The transition from feudal structures to democratic systems was difficult: the first disagreements arose between the sovereign and the prime minister elected by the people, BP Koirala, in December 1960 the king dissolved Parliament, revoked most of the concessions made with the Constitution of the 1959, and, in 1962, after suppressing political parties, he introduced a regime of protected, non- partisan democracy called Panchāyat. When his son Birendra Vir Vikram (1945-2001) ascended the throne (1972), the first protests against the corrupt system of the Rashtriya Panchāyat arose in Nepal (National Assembly) and in 1979 violent clashes developed that induced the king to hold a referendum, with which however the Panchāyat regime was confirmed. Meanwhile, in 1980 an amendment to the Constitution introduced the direct election of the Rashtriya Panchāyat, still leaving the sovereign as the effective holder of political power. Neutral in foreign policy, Nepal, also following the Indian annexation of Sikkim (1975), loosened its relations with India by strengthening those with China; the repression of the Tibetan revolt (1987) and the authoritarian involution of Chinese politics, however, changed the relations between the two countries. In Nepal, protests against the absence of human rights and democracy increased, especially the Nepalese Congress Party, and King Birendra in 1990 decided to launch a new Constitution with which the last feudal residues were swept away. the Panchāyat. Thus the constitutional monarchy was inaugurated in that year, with the establishment of the elective Parliament formed by the Chamber of Deputies and the National Council and the assignment of executive power to the king and the government. The first consultations, held in 1991, were won by the Nepalese Congress Party (NCP), the moderate center force, whose leader Girija Prasad Koirala took over the premiership. On this occasion, however, the Communists (UCPN) were also highlighted, particularly strong in the capital Kathmandu. A period of strong political instability began, made more serious by the formation, in 1996, of a Maoist-type armed resistance movement, the popular Maobadi movement (Mao’s path), which started a real civil war in that part of the country, to establish a democratic republic. In the following years Nepal, in addition to the problem of guerrilla warfare in the western regions, was forced to face sudden governmental crises. The political stability of Nepal even seemed to waver on June 1, 2001, when the heir to the throne, Dipendra Vir Vikram, in a moment of madness, exterminated the royal family, including the sovereign and Queen Aishwarya. After Dipendra’s suicide, King Birendra’s younger brother, Prince Gyanendra Vir Vikram, ascended to the throne who, advocate of absolute monarchy, was received hostile by the population. Following the growing protests and tensions between Maoist rebels and the government, in July 2001 Sher Bahadur Deuba became prime minister, who decreed a ceasefire. Negotiations between the parties followed in which the Maoist rebels demanded the repeal of the constitution and the creation of a Constituent Assembly for the birth of the republic: the abandonment of the negotiations by the government however caused the resumption of violence and the king declared the state of emergency. Parliament dissolved (May 2002), the king appointed Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the new permier. Although in March 2004 Nepal became part of the abandonment of the negotiations by the government, however, provoked a resumption of violence and the king declared a state of emergency. Parliament dissolved (May 2002), the king appointed Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the new permier. Although in March 2004 Nepal became part of the abandonment of the negotiations by the government, however, provoked a resumption of violence and the king declared a state of emergency. Parliament dissolved (May 2002), the king appointed Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the new permier. Although in March 2004 Nepal became part of the WTO, in February 2005, the king dismissed the government and assumed, together with a few loyal ones, all the powers: the main opposition parties called for a general strike, which lasted 19 days, to ask for the restoration of political freedoms. The king responded by first imposing a curfew and sending the army to the streets against the demonstrators, then after 5 days of bloody clashes, he was forced to yield and allow the reopening of Parliament. After years of violence and thousands of victims, the peace agreement between Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government was signed on 21 November 2007. In January 2007, the Parliament approved the provisional Constitution, which revoked all the powers of the king, and the government of national unity was formed, including the Maoists, which remained in office until the elections for the Constituent Assembly. In March, parliament approved a new government, led by Congress Party leader Koirala. In December, a constitutional amendment abrogated the monarchy and laid the foundations for a transformation of the country into a federal republic. In April 2008 the elections for the Constituent Assembly were held, won by the Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as “Prachanda” and the following month King Gyanendra left the royal palace to move to a private residence. On May 28 the monarchy was officially abolished. In July Ram Baran Yadav was elected by parliament as the first president of the republic after the monarchy, while Prachanda was elected premier. The former Maoist rebels decided not to participate in the formation of the government as a protest for not being able to elect their candidate. In May 2009, the premier resigned in disagreement with President Yadav and with the army chief R. Katawal; in June Madhav Kumar Nepal was appointed, who remained in office until June 2010. In February of the following year the parliament elected the new prime minister, the leader of the Communist Party, Nath Khanal. In 2013 the election of the new Constituent Assembly took place, which saw the prevalence of the Nepalese Congress and the moderates of the Communist Party of Nepal, which in 2014 formed a coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. In the’ Kathmandu. In October of the same year the parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari (Communist Party of Nepal) as president of the republic, the first woman to hold this office.
