Nepal, which nestles in the loftty terrains of the Himalayas, had an area of 1,47,181 sq kms and an estimated population of 18.25 million in 1991. In the north the majestic Everest and other high mountains separate it from Tibet, but in the south the Nepalese Tarai is distinguished from the Gangetic plains only by the boundary pillars along the boundary from extreme East to extreme West. And all Nepalese rivers flow down ultimately to join the Ganges,?sacred?to?the?Napalese?and?the?Indians? alike.

The social history part of the book examines the impact of several social factors on...