Geographical Division of Nepal (Short Notes) / नेपालको भौगोलिक विभाजन

The following contents have been solely based on the Nepal Parichya (नेपाल परिचय), published by Depatment of Infromation and Broadcasting, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (GON), which has the comprehensive lists and description of the country. The prepared notes are supposed to be helpful for general readers, students, or anyone interested in grasping the general (very brief) information of the geographical division of the country Nepal.

~ Based on the Topographical Features (धरातलीय स्वरुपका आधारमा)

1. HIMALAYAN REGION (15% of total land of Nepal, 3000 m above sea level, famous 28 mountain ranges extends from east to west)

20 districts from east to west region: Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Rasuwa, Manang, Mustang, Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Kalikot, Bajura, Bajhang, Dharchula, Dhading, Ramechhap, Gorkha, Rukum (East).

1.1 Main Himalayas:  (mountains over 8000 m, 8 out of 10 tallest mountain range lie in this region)

1.2 Inner Himalya Region: snow covered valleys (2400 to 5000m, conifereous forest and human population is rarer

1.3. Frontier Himalayas: 6000 to 7000m, Himalayan Desert, areas such as Manang, Mustang,

2. HILLY REGION (middle part of the country, 300 to 3000m, 68% of total area,

29 districts: Ilam, Panchthar, Tehrathum, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Kavrepalanchok, Nuwakot, Tanahu, Lamjung, Kaski, Syangja, Parbat, Palpa, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Myagdi, Baglung Pyuthan, Rolpa, Rukum (west), Salyan, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Achham, Doti, Dadeldhura and Baitadi

2.1 Chure Hill Range: (610m to 1872m, parallel to Mahabharat ranges from west to Koshi river, beyond Koshi river - fragmented land)

• also called Shiwalik
• tall in west, and lowers to east

2.2 Mahabharat Range: around 3000m, four big rivers Karnali, Kaligandaki, Trishuli, Koshi have made gorges, pleateaus and vallyes are found)

• also called Lesser Himalayas

2.3 Midlands (29.5 % of Nepal, big valleys, flat fertile land created by the rivers, population is dense, terrace farming common)

• Rocks: Precambrian, Phyllites, Quartzite, Mica, Schist and Granite
• Ethnicities: Kirant (Rai, Limbu), Tamang, Magar, Gurung, Bahun, Chhetri, Newar,

3. TERAI REGION (60 to 600m, flat land east to west towards south, head of the Terai:Bhabhar and Chure)

18 districts: Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West), Rupandehi, Kapilbastu, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur

3.1 Proper Terai: Someshwor mountain range (south of Chitwan) and Dunduwa mountain range (south of Deukhuri) have intersected the Terai - dividing into three parts (Eastern, Central and Western).

3.2 Bhabar Area: (380 m above sea level, south of Chure mountain range, 4.5% of total land mass)

3.3 Inner Madesh: plain surrounded by Chure and Mountain Range (upto 610m, 8.5% of total land mass) 

• Udayapur and Sindhuli (eastern inner madesh)
• Makwanpur, Chitwan, Nawalparasi (mid inner madesh)
• Dang, Deukhuri (western inner madesh)
• Surkhet Valley (mid western inner Madesh)

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स्थानिय सरकार सञ्चालन ऐन २०७४ का आधारमाः

Based on Local Governance Operation Act 2074

हिमाली जिल्लाः 21 ~ mountainous districts

पहाडी जिल्लाः 28 ~ Hilly districts

भित्री मधेशका जिल्लाः 7 ~ inner terai

तराईका जिल्लाः 18 ~ terai

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• Nepal latitude 26° 22' to 30° 27'  longitude 80° 4' to 88° 12' east.
• Nepal 0.03% of the total land of the world, 0.3% of Asia, 3% of the South Asia. 
• ~ 1,127 km away from the sea/bay of Bengal. 
• ~ The total area of Nepal 147,181 ( currently 147,516 - 335 disputed) square kilometers, 56,827 square miles. 
• ~ west and east: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh: south, Uttarakhanda: west and West Bengal and Sikkim: east; and by Tibet: the autonomous region of China, in the north. 

• Nepal Standard Time: basis of the longitude 86° 15' (through Mt. Gaurishankar, Dolkha district)~ introduced in Nepal from Baishakh 1, 2042 BS. 
• Himalayas. Tropical, Meso-thermal, Micro-thermal, Tiaga and Tundra climates are found

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Units of Nepalese Measurement

Here, is the list of commonly followed system of measurements in Nepal. The listed units, although considered obsolete, are still applied and used in daily applications. However, most of the units may not be used extensively, as SI system are mostly preferred. 

Different resources or links have been provided for the comprehensive list for the interested individuals. 

Weights:

1 Dhak (१ ढक):	5 kg (५ किलो)
1 Dharni (धार्नी)	2.5 kg
1 Bisauli	0.5 Dharni
1 Bori (बोरी)	0.25 Dharni

प्रचलित उखान "दुई तोलाको जिब्रो फड्काल्नु भन्दा डेढ धार्नीको टाउको हल्लाउनु बेश"  

अर्थः बोल्नु भन्दा नबोल्नु बेश

Volume:

~ differs in terms of dry and liquid capacity:

10 muthi (मुठ्ठी)	1 mana (roughly 400gm)
8 mana (माना)	1 pathi ‍= 4.54596 litre
20 pathi (पाथी)	1 muri (मुरी)
1 muri	4 feet tall, 1 ft diameter

Area

1 Ropani	16 Aana = 74*74 feet
16 Aana	508.72 m2
1 Bigha	20 Kattha = 13.31 ropani
20 Kattha	400 dhur (1 dhur = 16.93 m2 )

Ropani-Ana-Paisa-Dam system = Hilly Region

Ropani-Ana-Paisa-Dam system = Tereai Region

Length

1 angul	0.75 inch, 4 angul = 3 in
1 haath	1.5 ft, 4 haath = 6ft
1 kosh	2.25 miles
4 kosh	9 miles = 14.48 km

 

Resources:

• Nepal units of capacity (sizes.com)

• Measure Conversion Table (nepalhelp.dk): contains all the comprehensive list of all the units of measurement used in Nepal

• Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology (NBSM): नेपाल गुणस्तर तथा नापतौल विभाग (बेभसाइट)

• स्टाण्डर्ड नाप र तौल ऐन, २०२५ (Standard Measurement Act, 2025): in Nepali from Nepal Law Commission

• ManaPathi (Nepali Unit Converter) : App for conversion of Nepalese units to international units and others

• Nepalese customary units of measurement: Wikipedia Article

• Statistical Office of the United Nations (1966), World Weights and Measures. Handbook for Statisticians, New York: United Nations, ST/STAT/SER.M/21/Rev.1.

MNEMONICS: CONSTITUTION OF NEPAL

ARE YOU STUDYING CONSTITUTION OF NEPAL? WE MAKE IT EASIER!

Hello  Everyone,

Are you aware of Constitution of Nepal?

If you are not, then this is for you. Even if you are, you will find some topic to master. In this post, we are trying to make you aware about the Constitution of Nepal in very concise way (not in elaborative process, however).

So let's begin.

The very first number you should remember while studying Nepalese Constitution of Nepal is 3 5 3 0 8 9. Why so? What's in the number? As we said earlier, this post is just to help you learn. You see, this number is very informative 353089. How?

Our constitution of Nepal has 35 parts, 308 articles and 9 schedules. So, you get it. Always, remember the number 353089, and you will never have the problem memorizing them. Speaking of another number, the other number we should remember is 2009-2015? Why is there another number? Well, it makes more sense.

Our constitution came into effect in Sept 20, 2015. To make it easier we can easily remember it as 2009-2015; the year is 2015, the day is 20, and the year is 09 (September). So, 2009-2015.

So, there are two important numbers for you.

·         353089

·         2009-2015 

       6-3-2072

And the last number for Ashoj 3, 2072: important nepali date.

We just emerged ourselves in the Constitution of Nepal and we just learned there are 35 parts in the constitution. We dive deep in the memorization of 35 parts. 35 seems a long list of numbers. But, visualize it as a class of students and you are the class teacher—all 35 parts are your students. Yes, technical folks, you read it right. You are now a class teacher. There are 35 students in your class. And the roll number and the students' names are as follows:

Roll 1 to 5: your talented learners. You have to know their names by heart.

Memorize them:

1 is Preliminary,

2 is Citizenship

3 is Fundamental rights and duties

4 is Directive Principles, Policies and Obligations of the State

5 is Structure of State and Distribution of State Power

Here is the better story in Nepali:  पहिला मा पहिला, दोस्रोमा बनाउँछु नागरिकता, तेस्रोमा मौलिक अधिकार र कर्तब्य बुझ्छु, चौथोमा राज्यको सिद्धान्त र पाँचौँमा जान्नेछु राज्यको संरचना बाँड्फाँड ।

Yes, you are the teacher.

And roll no. 6 is very shy but has girlfriend. So Roll no 6 is President and his girl friend is Vice-President.

Then, Roll 7 to Roll 10 is Federal Club, the gang members are E, L, Lp, Fp. Make sure you memorize it as E, L, Lp, Fp in that order.

Their names are Federal Executive, Federal Legislature, Federal Legislative Procedures, Financial Procedures. Remember them as F gang, 7 to 10. F gang is respected by S and L gang, which we will come later.

Roll 11 and Roll 12 are twins. They are helpful and are disciplined, and they have both been made class monitors. They are Judiciary and Attorney General.

Roll 13 to 16 is S gang, similar to F gang, S gang also has the similar names as F gang but as State as their surname: State Executive, State Legislature, State Legislative Procedures, State Financial Procedures,

Then the L gang: E L and Fp in Roll 17, 18 and 19 as Local Executive, Local Legislature and Local Financial Procedures.

So, to repeat again:

Roll 6 – a shy student. His name President and has girl friend Vice President.

Roll 7 to 10: F gang ~ Federal Gang

Roll 11 and 12: Class Monitors: Judiciary and Attorney General

Roll 13 to 16: S gang ~ State Gang

Roll 17, 18, 19: L gang ~ Local Gang

And do you know your student roll 20? An interesting fellow as he is member of all F, S and L gang. He is interrelated to all the 3 gangs F, L and S. Roll 20 sure is interesting fellow.

Now, roll 21 to 27: The group of investigators and researchers. They are the Group of Commissions (21 to 27).

21 hates abuses and investigates such abuse.

22 audits and works on finance,

23 works on public service,

24 supports on election,

25 think more on human rights,

26 work on natural resources and fiscal commission.

27 work on other topics.

Roll 28, 29 and 30 gambles a lot. Remember them as the Gamblers as they work only on special/extreme conditions. They provide provisions to National Security, Political Parties and Emergency Power.

Roll 31 – 35 belong to very different but gifted students:

Roll 31 edits/amends,

Roll 32 is miscellaneous.

Roll 33 has transitional provisions.

Roll 34 defines, interprets.

Roll 35 has short title and knows about the previous student groups.

After, going through this post, try visiting lawcommission.gov.np for constitution-of-nepal for studying them and try visualizing them as your students (all your 35 students).

For now, we only shared these.

We will further explore and continue our study of Constitution of Nepal. Any comments of yours are welcomed.

 

 

Treaty of Sugauli and disputes (brief)

Background:

Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-16)
Treaty of Sugauli: 2nd Dec 1815 (Signed)
Ratified: 4 March 1816

Impact: Nepal lost about 1/3rd territory of Nepal to East Indian Company,
Jumau, Gadwal, to India
West of River: Sulej, Kankada of HimalChal Pradesh

Treaty of Sugauli revision: 1857, Major part of Terai to Nepal,

Fresh dispute:

State of Jammu and Kashmir: divided into two Union Territories: Political Map of India redrawn: 2nd Nov. 2019, New Political Map of India

Kalapani 

• India's Uttarakhand, Pithoragh district according to India,
• Nepal's Darchalu District's area

Kalapani Region and its dispute:

Kalapani is valley, route to Kailash - Mansarovo (3600 m).
1962 Indo-China War: ITBP (Indo - Tibetan Border Police) controlled area after the war. Now
under Indian administration as part of Pithoragarh district in the Uttarakhand state.Kalapani region: the origin of Mahakali river, western boundary between Nepal and India.
The source of the river was undefined. And the river changes its path fluctuating the boundaries between the countries.

During  colonial period, the British surveyor redrew the map defining the different sources of the river.

Nepal says:
6th Nov. 2019:
disputed area,
final agreement not defined yet,
bilateral talks

India says:
believes in bilateral talks,
in existing mechanism, map was redrawn.

India's concern:
tri-junction; altitude strategic advantage for India.

Source: thewire.in

Notes based after watching Wifistudy upsc (link)

Constitutionalism

Paper II, Sec B 2.1
Vocabulary.com defines Constitutionalism as

to describe the belief that a government's authority is dictated by a specific law or group of laws — a constitution. 

Merriam Webster  defines it as

adherence to or government according to constitutional principlesalso : a constitutional system of government

Concept:

• principle that the government is limited by fundamental law; limitation of the government by the constitution under higher law
• check and balance of the system, 
• make the government responsible

Elements of Constitutionalism as listed in Maru Bazezew (2009):

•  Popular sovereignty
•  Separation of Powers
•  Responsible and accountable government 
•  Rule of law
•  An independent judiciary
•  Respect for individual rights
•  Respect to self-determination 
•  Civilian control of the military 
•  Police governed by law and judicial control

Further Reading:

• Legal services India.com
• Constitutions and constitutionalism (Law); e-PGPathsala @Youtube
• What is constitutionalism? - Martin van Staden PODCAST @Youtube
• Bellamy, Richard. (2010). Constitutionalism. INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, B. Badie, D. Berg-Schlosser and L. Morlino, eds., IPSA/Sage, Forthcoming. (link)

Public / Citizen Service Charter

Paper II. Sec. C, 3.7
Initiation from British politics by the then PM John Major (22 July 1991).
Here, public office publishes their services, their description, and their cost, time and officials responsible.
In Nepali, Public Service Charter is called नागरिक बडापत्र.

Objectives

• to let the public know about the services making it public friendly, and easy delivery of the services
• for right to information, communication, accountability and transparency,
• for developing the trust of public service provider in the public,
• to shorten the work duration to the public,
• for promoting good governance,

Principles

• Public Interest
• Maintaining Standards
• Information
• Accountability
• Courtesy and Helpfulness
• Neutrality
• Quality Of Service
• Non-discrimination
• Affordability

1. link  2.link

In Nepal

Citizen Charter introduced in Nepal 2056 BS, implementation in 2061 BS.
Good Governance Act 2064 BS
Right to information Act 2064 BS
Citizen Charter with Compensation Management Directive 2069 BS

LIST OF CITIZEN CHARTERS OF MINISTRIES IN NEPAL (LINK)

An Example of Citizen Charter

Helpful Resource

• S. Kharel, Public service delivery of local government in Nepal in 2015. Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies, 2018

BIMSTEC, SAARC (notes)

BIMSTEC:

• Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
• BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), also referred to as mini SAARC.

Members:

Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Myanmar
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Thailand

• 6 June 1997 (first name: BIST-EC)
• Nepal and Bhutan: Feb 2004
• 31 July 2004 name changed to BIMSTEC
• Headquarter: Dhaka, opened by 13 Sept 2014

Objective:

• technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. (14 sectors)

1. Trade & Investment
2. Transport & Communication
3. Energy
4. Tourism
5. Technology
6. Fisheries
7. Agriculture
8. Public Health
9. Poverty Alleviation
10. Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime
11. Environment & Disaster Management
12. People-to-People Contact
13. Cultural Cooperation
14. Climate Change

Chairmanship: 

• Nepal (2014 - till date)

Summit 

• 31 July 2004 (Thailand)
• 13 Nov 2008 (India)
• 4 March 2014 (Myanmar)
• Oct 2016 (India)

SAARC

The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka (Bangladesh), on December 7 and 8 in 1985 AD; established South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, endorsed SAARC Charter.

SAARC secretariat is in Kathmandu

Members (8)

• Bangladesh, 
• India, 
• Nepal, 5th largest country in SAARC (already orhanized 1st, 8th and 19th South Asian Games)
• Pakistan, 
• Bhutan,
• Sri Lanka, 
• Maldives,
• Afghanistan, 3rd April 2007

Observer Country (9): Australia, China, EU, Japan, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, S. Korea, USA

After 3 conference:

• Asian Relation Conference, New Delhi 1947
• Bagulo Conference, Philippines 1950
• Powers Conference SriLanka 1954

Regional Centers

• Ag. information: Dhaka
• TB: Ktm
• Information: Ktm.
• Documentation: New Delhi
• Energy: Islamabad
• Metrological: Dhaka
• Disaster Mangement Centre: Islamabad
• Forestry Center- Colombo

Logos have been used for educational purposes

United Nations

• established on 24th October, 1945 AD.
• 193 countries, newest South Sudan
• forerunner of UN: League of Nations (1919) under the Treaty of Versailles, also ILO
• activities of UN: maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian aid, upholding international law

           

Main Organs: 

General Assembly

• 193 members

Security Council

• Five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States)
• 10 non permanent members (cannot vote, elected for two years by General Assembly)
• Nepal was elected as a non-permanent membership for 2 times,1969-70 and 1988-89 AD.

UN Secretariat

• headed by the secretary-general, secretary-general acts as the  spokesperson

International Court of Justice

• composed of 15 judges who serve 9-year terms

Economic and Social Council

• 54 members, which are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term.

Specialized agencies

Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations
No.	Acronym	Agency	Headquarters		Established in
1	FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization	Rome, Italy		1945
2	IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency	Vienna, Austria		1957
3	ICAO	International Civil Aviation Organization	Montreal, Quebec, Canada		1947
4	IFAD	International Fund for Agricultural Development	Rome, Italy		1977
5	ILO	International Labour Organization	Geneva, Switzerland		1946 (1919)
6	IMO	International Maritime Organization	London, United Kingdom		1948
7	IMF	International Monetary Fund	Washington, D.C., United States		1945 (1944)
8	ITU	International Telecommunication Union	Geneva, Switzerland		1947 (1865)
9	UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	Paris, France		1946
10	UNIDO	United Nations Industrial Development Organization	Vienna, Austria		1967
11	UNWTO	World Tourism Organization	Madrid, Spain		1974
12	UPU	Universal Postal Union	Bern, Switzerland		1947 (1874)
13	WBG	World Bank Group	Washington, D.C., United States		1945 (1944)
14	WFP	World Food Programme	Rome, Italy		1963
15	WHO	World Health Organization	Geneva, Switzerland		1948
16	WIPO	World Intellectual Property Organization	Geneva, Switzerland		1974
17	WMO	World Meteorological Organization	Geneva, Switzerland		1950 (1873)

Dates of Obtaining Membership of the UN's Specialized
Agencies by Nepal

S.
No. Agency Date
1 United Nations Organization (UNO) 14 December, 1955

2 International Labor Organization (ILO) 1966

3 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 27 November, 1951

4 United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1 May, 1953

5 World Health Organization (WHO) 10 May, 1954

6 International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD) 6 September, 1961

7 International Development Association (IDA) 6 March, 1963

8 International Finance Corporation (IFC) 7 January, 1966

9 International Monetary Fund (IMF) 6 September, 1961

10 International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) 29 July, 1956

11 Universal Postal Union (UPU) 11 July, 1956

12 International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) 5 December, 1957

13 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 5 May, 1978

14 International Maritime Organization (IMO) 31 January, 1979

15 International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) 5 May, 1978

16 United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) 7 December, 1983

17 Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency (MIGA)September 23,1992

For Deep Study
United Nations (Wikipedia)