Education Zone
This newsletter’s education zone looks at the four things which
Nepal is most well known for, and for which it is usually - or historically
has been - in the news for: Mt. Everest, the Gurkhas, the ‘People’s
War’ and the 2001 Royal massacre.
Mount Everest
 Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain and
officially stands at 8,848 metres, although a
recent survey shows an increase to 8,850m. It is located in a remote part
of the Himalayan
Kingdom in Eastern Nepal in the Solu Khumbo District.
Known as Sagathmatha in Nepal, meaning ‘Head of the Earth’, many
local Sherpa people view the mountain as sacred. The Tibetan's refer to Mount
Everest
as Tschoumou-Lanckma meaning Goddess Mother of
the World. The first climbers begun attempting to climb Mount Everest in
the early 1900s.
However, the first successful summit was made
by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary who reached the top of Everest on 29
May 1953. Since
then there have been more than 1500 successful
summits and 200 failed attempts. The local Sherpa people living in Khumbu
village view these
deaths superstitiously as revenge of the goddess
mountain for challenging nature and disturbing peace. According to the traditional
Sherpa legend,
Everest and the Himalayas are home to the infamous
Yeti, who has been sighted on nearby mountain slopes.
The Gurkhas
 The Nepalese Gurkhas are known as one of the
extraordinarily brave, highly trustworthy and dedicated Brigades
of the British Army.
The word Gurkhas is derived from Gorkha the
name of the place of origin and first capital of the Hindu Shah
dynasty, who united and ruled
the area of today’s Nepal since the 18th century. Their Sanskrit
derived language, known as Gorkhali, became the most widely spoken
and the national language in modern Nepal.
Since the Brigade’s establishment in the early 19th century,
and though until recently mainly based in the far-East, the Gurkhas
were involved in numerous conflicts and wars around the world, including
the first and second world wars where they suffered 43,000 casualties.
More recently, they participated in peace-keeping missions in Kosovo,
the Balkans and East Timor as well as in Sierra Leone. During their
prolonged service and throughout their missions the Gurkhas proved so
crucial that their name became a synonym for distinction and utmost
loyalty. There are currently about 3,400 Gurkhas serving in the British
Army.
Many young Nepalese wish to join the Gurkhas, hoping to alleviate the
poverty of their families and each year there are over 30,000 applicants
for approximately 300 new places in this prestigious unit.
The ‘People’s War’
 Since 1996, this once peaceful Himalayan kingdom,
known in Western imagination as one of last
remaining ‘Shangri-las’,
became the locus of a bloody civil war, which is locally known as
the Maoist ‘People’s War’. So far, more than 12,000
Nepalese have lost their lives, and the tragedy is further magnified
by the hundreds of thousands of other people who were either injured,
were forced to leave their homes and become refugees in their own
country or have been badly affected in one way or another. The war
exposed the true social and political maladies that have been lurking
behind the unrealistic past ideal image of Nepal.
Today, more than at any time in the past, Nepal relies on its income
from tourism for its efforts to heal its wounds. So far, foreigners
living or visiting Nepal have been relatively unaffected by the cycle
of violence and no immediate danger appears to await the tourist, visitor
or volunteer coming to Nepal. However, a number of safety guidelines
are in order. First, it is recommended to avoid the main Maoists’ strongholds
(particularly in West Nepal) and any visit to rural areas out of the
Kathmandu valley must be made after consultation with the British Embassy.
Trekking areas are usually regarded safe, but trekkers need to be prepared
to pay a (nominal) ‘pass fee’ or ‘donation’ while
going via Maoist controlled areas.
The Royal Massacre
 On 1st June 2001, the then Crown Prince Dipendra,
in a drunken and drugged rage, allegedly shot
his parents King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya and seven other members
of the royal family, before
killing himself. Tradition in Nepal states
that the death of a king is followed closely by the coronation of
a new one and no time is
lost in naming the new king. In keeping with
this tradition, the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, found itself three
monarchs within four days. The
first succession to the death of King Birendra
was Crown Prince Dipendra who lay in a coma, and later died the
same day. The late King Birendra's
brother, was the next succession to ascend
the throne. Despite a formal enquiry into the tragic events, many
Nepali are in disbelief over
the findings and there is much conspiracy on
what really took place on that dreadful night.
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