South Asia: Pakistan and the Himalayan States - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 204

and heroism. Gurkha regiments would fight for Britain
in many battles, which contributed to the granting of
Nepal' s independence in 1924.
Gurkha regiments stationed overseas have con-
tributed significant remittances to Nepal. However, the
return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and pullbacks
from other areas of the world have reduced British
Gurkha troops by thousands. While they are still sta-
tioned in Singapore and elsewhere, most Gurkhas now
fight for the Indian army . Remittances have been severely
reduced, and many older Gurkhas, dismissed without
pension, live in poverty .
In recent years Nepal has been mired in political
problems. Several contentious elections were held in
the 1990s. In 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra grabbed an
AK-47 and murdered his parents and five other mem-
bers of his family because he was not given permission
to marry the woman of his choice. The king' s brother
was hastily installed but brought nothing except addi-
tional political strife.
Meanwhile, a dissident group of communist
Maoists, who were opposed to the monarchy and the
corruption and oppression of the poverty-stricken
masses, began to take over the country . Inspired by
Mao' s revolution in China (see Chapter 11), the Naxalite
movement in India (see Chapter 8) and the extremist
Shining Path movement in Peru, they started their
guerilla activities in 1996.
They began by exacting “fees” from the rural popu-
lation and trekkers in order to “protect” them. A reign of
terror ensued with gruesome torture, maiming, and exe-
cution of thousands. The Royal Nepali Army didn't do

Figure 7-15
This photo of Kathmandu shows a Hindu temple backed by a mod-
ern office building. Notice the cloth market held on the temple steps.
Shawls, scarves, and rugs are woven in factories and small, back-
alley shops and homes. Photograph courtesy of B. A. Weightman.

Figure 7-16
This is a Tharu house in the T Terai region of Nepal.
The Tharu migrated here from India many years
ago. The house is of wattle and daub (reeds and
mud) with few openings, to repel insects. The inside
of the house is very dark, but this is not so impor-
tant because most work is done out of doors. The
roof is a convenient place to air bedding and dry
clothes. Photograph courtesy of B. A. Weightman.