The 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. The country was frequently called the Gorkha Kingdom, the source of the term "Gurkha" used for Nepalese soldiers. After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal. A period of internal turmoil followed, heightened by Nepal's defeat in a war with the British from 1814 to 1816. Stability was restored after 1846 when the Rana family gained power, entrenched itself through hereditary prime ministers, and reduced the monarch to a figurehead. The Rana regime, a tightly centralized autocracy, pursued a policy of isolating Nepal from external influences. This policy helped Nepal maintain its national independence during the colonial era, but it also impeded the country's economic development.
In 1950, King Tribhuvan, a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fled his "palace prison" to newly independent India, touching off an armed revolt against the Rana administration. This allowed the return of the Shah family to power and, eventually, the appointment of a non-Rana as prime minister. A period of quasi-constitutional rule followed, during which the monarch, assisted by the leaders of fledgling political parties, governed the country. During the 1950s, efforts were made to frame a constitution for Nepal that would establish a representative form of government, based on a British model.

http://www.worldrover.com/history/nepal_history.html

The Beginning of Democracy

In early 1959, King Mahendra, who had succeeded his father Tribhuvan in 1955, issued a new constitution and the first democratic elections for a national assembly were held. The Nepali Congress Party, a moderate socialist group, gained a substantial victory in the election. Its leader, B.P. Koirala, formed a government and served as Prime Minister.
Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure eighteen months later, King Mahendra dismissed the Koirala government and promulgated a new constitution on December 16, 1962. The new constitution established a "partyless" system of panchayats (councils), which King Mahendra claimed was a democratic form of government closer to Nepalese traditions. As a hierarchical structure progressing from village assemblies to a Rastriya Panchayat (National Parliament), the Panchayat system enshrined the absolute power of the monarchy and kept the King as head of state with sole authority over all governmental institutions, including the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) and the Parliament.
King Mahendra was succeeded by his 27-year-old son, King Birendra, in 1972. Amid student demonstrations and anti-regime activities in 1979, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide the nature of Nepal's government--either the continuation of the Panchayat system with democratic reforms or the establishment of a multiparty system. The referendum was held in May 1980, and the Panchayat system won a narrow victory. The King carried out the promised reforms, including selection of the prime minister by the Rastriya Panchayat.


http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5283.htm

The Kot Massacre

The Kot massacre was a bloodbath in 1846, when the Queen of Nepal and her nobles clashed with the seven unsuspecting Rana brothers. Approximately 85-90 noblemen died with the seven Rana brothers wounded but victorious. This led to the loss of power by King Rajendra Bikram Shah and the Shahi family, resulting in a puppet monarchy under Surendra Bikram Shah and the establishment of the Rana autocracy.
After three months of squabbling, a coalition ministry was formed in September 1845, again headed by Fateh Jang Chautaria. The real power behind the throne was the secret lover and favorite of Queen Lakshmidevi, Gagan Singh, who controlled seven regiments in the army compared to the three under the prime minister. Abhiman Singh and Jung Bahadur also served as commanders, each with three regiments. Plots and counterplots continued until Gagan Singh was found dead on the balcony of his palace during the night of September 14, 1846. The queen was beside herself at the death of her lover, whom she had hoped to use to elevate her own son to the throne. She commanded Abhiman Singh to assemble the entire military and administrative establishment of Kathmandu immediately at the courtyard of the palace armory (kot).
Emotions ran high among the assembled bands of nobles and their followers, who listened to the Queen give an emotional harangue blaming the Ranas and demanding that the prime minister execute the Ranas whom she suspected for the death of Gagan Singh. While Abhiman Singh hesitated, fighting broke out between the nobles and the seven Rana brothers, and Abhiman was wounded.
During the free-for-all that followed, swords, pistols, muskets and knives were used on all sides to dispatch opponents. Jung Bahadur and his six brothers battled all the nobles to come out victorious. When the struggle subsided, the courtyard was strewn with the bodies of dozens of leading nobles, the cream of the Nepalese aristocracy. The Pandey and Thapa families in particular were devastated during this slaughter.
The Kot Massacre took place because of the queen's miscalculations and underestimation of the Rana brothers. She is at fault for becoming a victim of her emotions and calling an assembly together without forewarning her nobles of what she had planned to do, instead whipping it into a frenzy of a disorganised brawl. The king was notably absent when the fighting began and Jung Bahadur was the only leader who was ready for trouble since he had gotten word that the Queen knew he was responsible for her lover's death. The extent of the carnage was apparently unexpected. Jung Bahadur and his six brothers were the only true beneficiaries of the massacre and became the sole military leaders in a position of strength in the capital. The next day, Jung Bahadur became prime minister and immediately launched a purge that killed many of his aristocratic competitors and drove 6,000 people into exile in India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kot_massacre