Sudurpashchim Province ( ne, सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश, ''Sudurpashchim Province'') (''Far-West Province'') is one of the seven
provinces established by the
new constitution of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
which was adopted on 20 September 2015.
It borders the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
to the north,
Karnali Province and
Lumbini Province to the east, and the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
's
Kumaon to the west and
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
to the south. The province covers an area of 19,539 km
2 - about 13.22% of the country's total area. Initially known as Province No. 7, the newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Sudurpashchim Province as the permanent name for the province in September 2018.
The province is coterminous with the former
Far-Western Development Region, Nepal
The Far-Western Development Region (Nepali: सुदुर पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, ''Sudur Pashchimānchal Bikās Kshetra'') was one of Nepal's five development regions. It was located at the w ...
. The three major cities in terms of population and economy are Dhangadhi, Bhimdutta (Mahendranagar), and Tikapur.
History
Doti was an
ancient kingdom in the far western region of
Kumaon which was formed after the disintegration of the
Katyuri Kingdom of
Kumaon around the 13th century. Doti was one of eight different
princely states the Katyuri Kingdom was divided into eight for their eight prince's and became different independent kingdoms;
Baijnath-Katyuri,
Dwarahat, Doti, Baramandal,
Askot,
Sira, Sora, Sui (Kali Kumaon). Later on, the whole land between
Ramganga
Ramganga is a tributary of the river Ganges, originating in Uttarakhand state, India.
Ramganga West
Ramganga West River originates from Dudhatoli or Doodhatoli ranges
Course
The Ramganga River originates in the southern slopes of Dudha ...
on the west (
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
) and the
Karnali on the east (which divides the far western region from other parts of Nepal), came under the Raikas after the origin of Raikas of
Katyuris in Doti. "Brahma Dev Mandi" at
Kanchanpur District of
Mahakali Zone was established by Katyuri king Brahma Dev.
Before the announcement of new provinces in Nepal, the area of this province was known as
Far-Western development region of Nepal. There were no changes made in this province when this province was made.
Raikas of Doti
Niranjan Malla Dev was the founder of Khas Doti
Kingdom around the 13th century after the fall of the
Katyuri Kingdom. He was the son of Last Katyuris of united
Katyuris kingdom.
Kings of Doti were called Raikas (also Rainka Maharaj). Later on Raikas, after defeating the
Khas
Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historicall ...
Malla of Karnali Zone, were able to establish the strong Raikas Kingdom in Far Western Region and
Kumaon which was Doti.
Mughal invasion
During the period of
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
's rule in the 16th century, the
Mughals had attacked the Raikas of Doti. They invaded Ajemeru, the capital of the Raika Kingdom. Ajemeru is now in
Dadeldhura District of the far western region of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
. Hussain Khan, army chief of Akbar residing in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...
had led the attack. According to
`Abd al-Qadir Badayuni (c. 1540 - 1615), Indo-Persian historian during
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, Mughal Army chief of Lucknow, Hussian Khan, lured by the wealth and treasures of the kingdom of the Raikas, wanted to plunder the region, this being the motive behind the assault, but they did not succeed.
Conflict with Gorkha
The historic place of war between the Khas Doti Kingdom and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
(
Khas Gorkha kingdom) during the period of Gorkha/Khas Expansion in 1790, according to the history of Nepal, is Nari-Dang, on the bank of the
Seti River. The Dumrakot was the base of the Khas Doti Kingdom for fighting against the Own Khas
Gorkhalis.
Khairgarh-Singhai State
Raja Deep Shahi was expelled from Nepal in 1790 A.D and on arriving at
Terai
, image =Terai nepal.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal
, map =
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption =
, biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm
, global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
of
Oudh
The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...
(now Lakhimpur Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh of India) he established Khairgarh-Singhai State in Khairigarh under
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Kanchanpur Praganna (present
Kanchanpur and
Kailali districts) was also the parts of his State or ''Zamindari''. He succeeded in defeating the Banjaras rural of Khairigarh and establishing himself in that Pargana and in parts of Bhur. His state was merged with India In 1947 after Indian Independence.
Government and administration
The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Dipayal High Court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are
Ganga Prasad Yadav
Ganga Prasad Yadav ( ne, गंगा प्रसाद यादव) is a former Governor of Sudurpashchim Province. He was appointed Governor, as per the Article 163 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal by the President Bidya Devi Bhandari on the ...
(governor),
Trilochan Bhatta (chief minister) and Yagya Prasad Basyal. The province has 53
provincial assembly constituencies and 16
House of Representative constituencies.
Sudurpashchim Province has a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
legislature, like all of the other provinces in Nepal. The term length of the provincial assembly is five years. The
Provincial Assembly of Sudurpashchim Province
The Provincial Assembly of Sudurpashchim Pradesh also known as the Sudurpashchim Pradesh Sabha, (Nepali: सुदूरपश्चिम प्रदेश सभा) is a unicameral governing and law making body of Sudurpashchim Province, one o ...
is temporarily housed at the District Coordination Committee Hall in
Dhangadhi.
Administrative subdivisions
The province is divided into nine districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the
District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one sub-metropolitan city and 33 municipalities. There are 54 rural municipalities in the province.
#
Achham District
#
Baitadi District
#
Bajhang District
#
Bajura District
#
Dadeldhura District
#
Darchula District
#
Doti District
#
Kailali District
#
Kanchanpur District
Demographics
The province has a population of 2,552,517 which is 9.63% of the total population of Nepal. The population density is about 130 persons per square kilometer. The province has a population growth rate of 1.53%. The sex ratio is 912 males for 1000 females, with a total of 1,217,887 males and 1,334,630 females recorded in 2011. The urban population of the region is 1,504,279 (58.9%) and the rural population is 1,048,238 (41.1%).
Ethnic groups
The
Khas/ Chhetri are the largest Indigenous group, making up 44.09% of the population. The
Tharu are the second largest, making up 17.15%. Other Khas groups including
Hill Brahmin,
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
,
Thakuri,
Damai,
Sarki,
Lohar and Sanyasi make up 11.90%, 7.22%, 4.40%, 2.56%, 1.67%, 1.17% and 1.01% of the population. There are some
Magars (2.18%) as well.
Languages
The vast majority of the population speaks language varieties closely related to
Nepali
Nepali or Nepalese may refer to :
Concerning Nepal
* Anything of, from, or related to Nepal
* Nepali people, citizens of Nepal
* Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
, if not mutually intelligible. Eastern dialects such as Bajauri and Achhami are closer to the Khas Bhasha spoken in Karnali province. The main dialect in the province is
Doteli, spoken in the central part of the province, which gradually gets closer to Kumaoni spoken on the Indian side of the border. Nearly the entire Terai population spoke
Tharu until the 1950s, when many Doteli and Nepali speakers from the hills migrated to the Terai. The local Tharu variant has influence from Nepali and the
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
dialects spoken in the plains to the south across the border. The largest Sino-Tibetan language is
Magar, although there are still some speakers of
Byangsi in the higher mountain regions near Tibet.
The
Language Commission of Nepal has recommended
Dotyali and
Tharu as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Baitadeli, Achhami, and Bajhangi to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.
Religion
See also
*
Provinces of Nepal
The provinces of Nepal ( ne, नेपालका प्रदेशहरू, translit=Nepālkā Pradeśharū) were formed on 20 September 2015 in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Constitution of Nepal. The seven provinces were formed by g ...
*
List of districts in Nepal
References
{{Authority control
Provinces of Nepal
2015 establishments in Nepal
States and territories established in 2015