Introduction

This book focuses on nationalism, ethnicity, resistance, and change in Nepal, the world’s only Hindu state. As an officially Hindu kingdom, Nepal’s political culture and recent history have been very different from its officially secular neighbour, the Republic of India, with which it otherwise shares so much. Just what it means to live in a Hindu polity varies a great deal depending on who you are. Nepal itself has also changed considerably over the last 200 years, and these changes are examined in detail throughout this book, from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives.