Nepal is a Hindu kingdom. Despite that it is not a theocratic state. The Rajput-Brahmin combine has been ruling the country since long. Nepal has its distinct language namely Nepali. The festivals of Nepal are almost the same as are prevalent among Indian Hindus. The temples and holy shrines of Nepal are very famous and revered the world over. The literacy rate in Nepal is not very high, but there is a sizable section of a people who are highly educated and trained in various skills. Various facets of Nepalese culture have been competently analysed and presented in this book. Thus, this will prove a reliable reference work on cultural history of Nepal.

Nepal is one of the developing societies to have started the process of modernization in the aftermath of the industrial revolution in Europe and the world war II. Till recently Nepal has been in the list of the least developed countries of the world. The monarchy freed itself from the clutches of the Rana family and thus started a process of political modernization. Nepal has embarbed upon a planned economic development by adopting the five year plans. Around 1947 there was hardly any university in Nepal. Most of its colleges were affiliated to Patna University. But now a reasonable development of education in Nepal has taken place. The Panchayat Sytem has given place to multiparty democracy in Nepal under the District Development Committee Act, 1992 has decided to divide the areas of 75 District Development Committee (DDC) of the kingdom of Nepal into the minimum of nine and maximum of seventeen at Ilakas. In this book, the process of modernization in its historical perspectives has been analysed.

Nepal is a landlocked country and surrounded by India on South East, by Bangladesh in the east and by China in the north. Since 1951 the monarchy has been exercising absolute powers in foreign policy matters. In the recent past, the multiparty system has taken over some powers from the king. Most of the foreign policy decisions were taken by the successive kings of Nepal. In this book foreign policy declarations by the present king Bir Bikram Shah have been analysed. Nepal is a member of the U.N. and is also a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. The king had rightly and recently that the present Government did have a sense of commitment to national interests and independence and values of democracy and human rights. The Government would strive for the development of friendly relations with the countries of the world in accordance with the ideals of the United Nations. In this connection, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's recent visits to India and China, Nepal's two friendly neighbours, have been described important by the king. In spite of Nepal's heavy dependence on India in economic matters, it has been trying to maintain equidistance from India and China, which has been an irritant some times in Indo-Nepal relations. With the introduction of multi-party democracy in Nepal with Indian support, things are now changing in foreign policy matters of Nepal.