9781422278888

N E P A L

Nepal: An Introduction

N epal sitsquite literallyat the topof theworld. TheHimalayaMountains stretch across its northern boundary, with the snow-capped peak of the tallest mountain in the world, Sagarmartha (known as Mount Everest in English), towering over the country. At 56,827 square miles (147,200 sq km), Nepal is a long, narrowcountrywith an area roughly the size of Iowa, but within its borders are some 31 million people linked by a jumble of languages, religions, and cultures. India cradles Nepal on the east, south, and west, while Tibet lies to the north. Sandwiched in between the two, Nepal has long been a buffer zone—and sometimes a battleground—for the political wrestling of its Words to Understand caste  one of several classes of people, each of which has a distinct position and status in society dynasty  a family with a succession of rulers who control a country for a long time faction  a group of people within a whole, often in dissension or conflict infrastructure  buildings, roads, services, and other things that are necessary for a society to function

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