History of Nepal Timeline

From the beginning to the mid of the 18th century, the Thapas and Pandes had extreme dominance over Nepalese Darbar politics, alternatively contesting for central power amongst each other.

The rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over princely states bordering Nepal and British India led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16), in which Nepal suffered substantial losses due to lack of guns and ammunition against British-Indian forces with advanced weapons.

Image source: Anglo-Nepalese War

The Treaty of Sugauli was signed in 1816, ceding large parts of the Nepalese controlled territories to the British following the Anglo-Nepalese War.

Image source: Treaty of Sugauli

In the coup d'état of 1846, the nephews of Jung Bahadur and Ranodip Singh murdered Ranodip Singh and the sons of Jung Bahadur, adopted the name of Jung Bahadur, and took control of Nepal, beginning Rana family rule.

Image source: Jung Bahadur Rana

The Ranas were staunchly pro-British and assisted the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and later in both World Wars, cementing ties with Britain.

Image source: Indian Rebellion of 1857

In 1860 some parts of western Terai, known as Naya Muluk (new country), were restored to Nepal in recognition of its support to the British.

At the same time, despite Chinese claims, the British supported Nepalese independence at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In December 1923, Britain and Nepal formally signed a 'treaty of perpetual peace and friendship' superseding the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 and upgrading the British resident in Kathmandu to an envoy.

Image source: Nepal–United Kingdom relations

Slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924 under the premiership of Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, a landmark social reform.

Image source: Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana

Following the German invasion of Poland, the Kingdom of Nepal declared war on Germany on 4 September 1939, joining the Allies in World War II.

Image source: Nepal in World War II

Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father Nara Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 CE, setting the stage for the unification of Nepal.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory march began with the conquest of Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha, in 1744, marking the start of his campaign of expansion.

The occupation of the Kuti Pass in about 1756 stopped the valley's trade with Tibet, weakening the Kathmandu valley kingdoms economically ahead of their conquest.

Image source: Prithvi Narayan Shah

After the victory in Kirtipur, King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British, and the East India Company sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain Kinloch in 1767, which failed to relieve the valley.

The modern day Kingdom of Nepal was established in 1768 and started a campaign of unifying what would form the modern territories of Nepal under Prithvi Narayan Shah.

Image source: Kingdom of Nepal

On 25 September 1768, as the people of Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indra Jatra, the Gorkhali army marched into the city, capturing it and establishing the modern Kingdom of Nepal.

When Patan was captured a few weeks after Kathmandu, both Jaya Prakash Malla and Tej Narsingh Malla took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was captured on the night of 25 November 1769, completing the conquest of the valley.

Between 1788 and 1791, during the Sino-Nepalese War, Nepal invaded Tibet and robbed Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, provoking Chinese intervention.

Image source: Sino-Nepalese War

In the Sino-Nepalese war, the conflict ended with both victories and losses, with the kingdom ultimately accepting tributary status with the Qing dynasty of China from 1792 to 1865.

After 1800, the heirs of Prithvi Narayan Shah proved unable to maintain firm political control over Nepal, leading to instability at court.

This turmoil culminated in King Tribhuvan, a direct descendant of Prithvi Narayan Shah, fleeing from his 'palace prison' in 1950 to India, touching off an armed revolt against the Rana administration.

Image source: Tribhuvan of Nepal

The revolution of 1951 started when dissatisfaction against the family rule of the Ranas emerged from educated people and marginalized Ranas alike, ultimately ending Rana dominance.

Image source: 1951 Nepalese revolution

On 16 November 1951, the king formed a new government of 14 ministers under Matrika Prasad Koirala, which was later dissolved.

Image source: Matrika Prasad Koirala

The first democratic elections were held in 1959, bringing B.P. Koirala's Nepali Congress to power in Nepal's first experiment with parliamentary democracy.

Image source: 1959 Nepalese general election

Declaring parliamentary democracy a failure, King Mahendra carried out a royal coup 18 months after the elections, dismissing the elected Koirala government, declaring that a 'partyless' system would govern Nepal, and promulgating a new constitution on 16 December 1960.

Image source: 1960 Nepal coup d'état

The Back to Village Campaign, launched in 1967, was one of the main rural development programs of the Panchayat system.

King Mahendra was succeeded by his 27-year-old son, King Birendra, in 1972, who would later face growing demands for democracy.

Image source: Birendra of Nepal

Amid student demonstrations and anti-regime activities in 1979, King Birendra called for a national referendum to decide whether to continue the Panchayat system with democratic reforms or establish a multiparty system.

Image source: 1980 Nepalese governmental system referendum

The referendum was held in May 1980, and the Panchayat system gained a narrow victory, delaying multiparty democracy by another decade.

In May 1991, Nepal held its first parliamentary elections in nearly 50 years after the restoration of democracy in 1990, with expectations high in rural areas that interests would be better represented.

Image source: 1991 Nepalese general election

In 1992, in a situation of economic crisis and chaos, with spiraling prices resulting from policy changes of the new Congress government, the radical left stepped up their political agitation.

From 1996 to 2006, the civil war resulted in approximately 13,000 deaths, devastating communities across the country.

Image source: Nepalese Civil War

In March 1997, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started a bid to replace the parliamentary monarchy with a new people's democratic republic through a Maoist revolutionary strategy known as the people's war, which led to the Nepalese Civil War.

On 1 June 2001, 'The Royal Massacre' occurred in the royal palace, killing the King, Queen, Prince, and other members of the family, shocking the nation.

Image source: Nepalese royal massacre

Meanwhile, the rebellion escalated, and in October 2002 the king temporarily deposed the government and took complete control of it.

Image source: Gyanendra of Nepal

In the face of unstable governments and a siege on the Kathmandu Valley in August 2004, popular support for the monarchy began to wane.

On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers, declaring a state of emergency to quash the revolution.

Image source: State of emergency

Municipal elections in February 2006 were described by the European Union as 'a backward step for democracy', as the major parties boycotted the election and some candidates were forced to run for office by the army.

Image source: Nepalese Civil War

In April 2006, strikes and street protests in Kathmandu forced the king to reinstate the parliament, restoring democratic governance.

Image source: 2006 Nepalese revolution

In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, the Nepalese parliament voted to abolish the monarchy in June 2006.

On 24 December 2007, seven parties, including the former Maoist rebels and the ruling party, agreed to abolish the monarchy and declare Nepal a federal republic.

In the elections held on 10 April 2008, the Maoists secured a simple majority, with the prospect of forming a government to rule the proposed 'Republic of Nepal'.

On 28 May 2008, the newly elected Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy and formally renaming the country the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, ending the 200-year-old reign of the Shah monarchs.

Image source: Nepal

On 11 June 2008, the deposed King Gyanendra left the palace, symbolically ending the monarchy's presence in Nepalese governance.

Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress became the first President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on July 23, 2008.

Image source: Ram Baran Yadav

The Constituent Assembly elected Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as the first Prime Minister of the republic on 15 August 2008, favoring him over Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress.

After failing to draft a constitution before the deadline, the existing Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the government on 28 May 2012 and a new interim government was formed under the premiership of Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi.

In the Constituent Assembly election of November 2013, the Nepali Congress won the largest share of the votes but failed to get a majority.

On 25 April 2015, a devastating earthquake of moment magnitude 7.8 killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000. It was the worst natural disaster since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, destroying centuries-old buildings including UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu valley.

Image source: April 2015 Nepal earthquake

A major aftershock occurred on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 NST with a moment magnitude of 7.3, killing more than 200 people, injuring over 2,500, and leaving many homeless.

Image source: May 2015 Nepal earthquake

The Constitution of Nepal was finally adopted on 20 September 2015, creating a federal structure; however, minority ethnic groups like Madhesi and Tharu protested vigorously against the constitution which came into effect that day.

Image source: Constitution of Nepal

In June 2017, Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal, succeeding Pushka Kamal Dahal. Deuba had previously been Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005.

Image source: Sher Bahadur Deuba

In November 2017, Nepal had its first general election since the civil war ended and the monarchy was abolished.

Image source: 2017 Nepalese general election

The alliance of communists won the election, and UML leader Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was sworn in February 2018 as the new Prime Minister. He had previously been Prime Minister since 2015 until 2016.

Image source: K. P. Sharma Oli

In March 2018, President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the candidate of the then-ruling Left alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre), was re-elected for a second term.

Image source: Bidya Devi Bhandari

In July 2021, Prime Minister Oli was replaced by Sher Bahadur Deuba after a constitutional crisis.

Image source: 2015–16 Nepal blockade

In December 2022, former Maoist guerilla chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda became Nepal's new prime minister after the general election.

Image source: Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Party leaders agreed to take turns as prime ministers for 18 months each until the next general elections in 2027.

Image source: Politics of Nepal

In March 2023, Ram Chandra Paudel of Nepali Congress was elected as Nepal's third president to succeed Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Image source: Ram Chandra Paudel

From 8–9 September 2025, a widespread riot broke out caused by economic corruption and the banning of social media. In September 2025, a ban on numerous social media platforms was met by widespread protests that also came to be directed against corruption by ruling politicians.

Image source: 2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests

On 27 March 2026, Balendra Shah was sworn in as Nepal's prime minister after a landslide victory of his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), in the March general election.

Image source: Balen Shah