Nepal

This is a landlocked state of 25 million between India and China. Some 90% of the population are Hindu, the rest mostly being Buddhist and Muslim. The area of people’s dwelling also plays a role in defining identities and political loyalties (mountains, lowlands, etc.). Nepal began its first steps towards unity in the 18th century under the principality of the Gorkhas. Ambitious Gorkha plans brought them into conflict with the British East India Company in India. The Treaty of Sugauli of 1816 brought an end to the war, whereupon the British began recruiting Gorkha (Gurkha) fighters into their Indian army (they still serve in the British and Indian armies). India’s influence in Nepal is significant, periodically supporting one ruling caste against the other. The People’s Republic of China also maintains an influence through the various communist formations of Nepal, the first one being founded in 1949, and through investment projects, particularly in the railway sector. The pattern of governance in the country since the Second World War has been unstable, authoritarian and subject to violent challenges. Thus, the communists maintain a base of support and often launch insurgencies, the last large one being in 1996. The communists argued, not unreasonably, that the Government promotes an uneven type of economic development, leaving the western provinces of the country lagging far behind in terms of modernization projects, schooling, job creation and communication networks. The communist armed opposition had similarities to and, allegedly, links with other Maoist insurgent groups in India, although whether this would persist after it joined the Government of Nepal in 2007 remained to be seen.