The Far-Western Development Region () was one of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

's five development regions. It was located at the western end of the country and had its headquarters in

Dipayal Dipayal Silgadhi () is a municipality and the district headquarters of Doti District in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. Previously, it also served as the headquarters of the Far-Western Development Region. It lies in the Lesser Himalayas on the ...

. The Far-Western Region covered square kilometers. It had nine districts with the regional headquarters at Dipayal,

Doti district Doti District ( ), part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 List of districts of Nepal, districts of Nepal. This district, with Dipayal Silgadhi, Silgadhi as its headquarters, covers an area of with a population of 207,066 in 2001 and in ...

. The Far-Western Region was remote and developmentally challenged. Some 44% of people in the Far West ''Hills'' and 49% in the '' Himalayan'' districts lived below the poverty line. The region had limited basic services. The difficult

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

complicated development. The region had complex socio-economic structures along with widespread gender- and

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

-based discrimination. Traditional systems associated with religion, culture and customs had limited overall development. It comprised two

zones Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...

: *

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various tantras and Puranas. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal po ...

Seti Seti or SETI may refer to: Astrobiology * SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ** SETI Institute, an astronomical research organization *** SETIcon, a former convention organized by the SETI Institute ** Berkeley SETI Research Cent ...

The region was sometimes called the

Doti Doti (), also known as Dotigarh (डोटीगढ़) or the Far-Western Development Region was a development region of Nepal situated between River Kali bordering Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, India in the west and the Karnali river on t ...

region, which some believe originated from 'Dovati' meaning land between two rivers. Others believed it originated from the Hindu god Dev and Aatavi, meaning the place of re-creation. History went back to the 13th century when Niranjan Malldeo founded the Doti Kingdom following the fall of the

Katyuri Kings The Katyuri kingdom also known as Katyuri dynasty was a medieval ruling kingdom that ruled over the regions in Uttarakhand in India and western Nepal from 500 to 1200 CE. or 700 to 1200 CE. The founder of this dynasty, King Vasu Dev was origin ...

. Dotiyali and

Khas language Khasa Prakrit (also known as Khas Prakrit, Sanskrit Khasa, Himalayan Prakrit, Northern Prakrit, Khas Kura) is a Prakrit language of medieval South Asia and a common ancestor language of the Pahari languages, which includes Nepali, Kumaoni, ...

were spoken there. Deuda, Jhoda, Chhpeli, Chhaliya, Bhada etc. were traditional regional dances and

Gaura ''Gaura'' was a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, native to North America. The name was derived from Greek Language, Greek ''(gaûros)'' meaning "superb" and named in reference to the stature and floral display of some specie ...

/Gamara is the biggest festival.

History

was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

kingdom of the Far-Western region of Nepal which was formed after disintegration of the Katyuri kingdom of Kumaon and the Far-Western region during the 13th century. Doti was one of eight princely states formed after the Kurmanchal Kingdom broke up. The others were Baijnath-Katyuri,

Dwarahat Dwarahat is a town in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, India. Situated at an elevation of 1,510 meters (4,950 feet) in the Kumaon region, Dwarahat is known for its cultural heritage and historical significance, particularly related to the an ...

, Doti, Baramandal,

Askot Askot or Askote is a small Himalayan town in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand in India. It is the part of Kanalichhina development Block and Didihat Tehsil. The place is also famous for the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary dedicated to the conservat ...

, Sira, Sora and Sui (Kali kumaon). The kingdom broke up because of the invasion of

Khas Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, (; ) popularly known as Khashiya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian stat ...

kings Ashoka challa and Krachalla from

Karnali Zone Karnali Zone () was one of the fourteen zones located in the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. The headquarters of Karnali Zone was Jumla. Karnali Zone was one of the poorest and most remote regions of Nepal, not very accessible by roa ...

(Dullu) of Nepal in 1191 and 1223 respectively. Later on, the 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 Dudhato ...

on the west (Uttarakhand) and the Karnali on the east bicame under Raikas after the origin of Raikas of Katyuris in Doti. "Brahma Dev Mandi" at

Kanchanpur District Kanchanpur District ( ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province in the Terai plain, is one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bhimdatta as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 134,868 in 2001 and ...

Mahakali Zone Mahakali ( ) was one of the fourteen List of zones of Nepal, zones located in the Far-Western Development Region, Nepal, Far-Western Development Region of Nepal, covering an area of 7449.28 km2 in the westernmost part of the country. It stre ...

was established by Katyuri king Brahma Dev.

Raikas

Niranjan Malla Dev founded Doti Kingdom around the 13th century after the fall of Katyuris Kingdom. He was the son of Last Katyuris of united Katyuris kingdom. Kings of Doti were known as Raikas (also known as Rainka Maharaj). The Raikas, after the overthrow

Malla of Karnali Zone, formed a Raikas Kingdom in the Far-Western Region and Kumaun that was called Doti. So far, the historical evidence for the following Raikas has been discovered:

Niranjan Malla Dev (Founder of Doti Kingdom), Nagi Malla (1238), Ripu Malla (1279), Nirai Pal (1353 ''may be of Askot and historical evidence of him from 1354 AD has been found in Almoda''), Nag Malla (1384), Dhir Malla (1400), Ripu Malla (1410), Anand Malla (1430), Balinarayan Malla (''not known''), Sansar Malla (1442), Kalyan Malla (1443), Suratan Malla (1478), Kriti Malla (1482), Prithivi Malla (1488), Medini Jay Malla (1512), Ashok Malla (1517), Raj Malla (1539), Arjun Malla/Sahi (not known but he was ruling Sira as Malla and Doti as Shahi), Bhupati Malla/Shahi (1558), Sagaram Shahi (1567), Hari Malla/Shahi (1581 ''Last Raikas King of Sira and adjoining part of Nepal''), Rudra Shahi (1630), Vikram Shahi (1642), Mandhata Shahi (1671), Raghunath Shahi (1690), Hari Shahi (1720), Krishna Shahi (1760), Deep Shahi (1785), Prithivi pati Shahi (1790, 'he had fought against the Nepali Ruler (Gorkhali Ruler) with British in 1814 A.D').

The historic place of war between the Doti Kingdom and Nepal (Gorkha kingdom) during the period of Gorkha 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 Doti Kingdom for fighting against Gorkhali.

Mongol/Mughal invasion

During the period of

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, 16th century, Mongols (

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

) attacked the Raikas. They invaded Ajemeru, capital of the Raikas Kingdom. Ajemeru is now in Dadeldhura District in the Far-Western region. According to Indo-Persian historian Abd-ul-Qadir Bada'uni (c. 1540 – 1615), Army Chief of Akbar, Khan, lured by the wealth and treasury of the Raikas state, attempted to plunder the state, but did not succeed.

Major cities

Dhangadhi Dhangadhi () is a sub-metropolitan city and the district headquarters of Kailali District in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. It shares a border with India in the south, Godawari and Gauriganga Municipality in the North, Kailari Rural Munici ...

is a sub metropolitan city in Far-Western Nepal (

Sudurpashchim Province Sudurpashchim Province () is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces established by the Constitution of Nepal, new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September 2015. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, ...

) is located in

Kailali District Kailali District (), a part of Sudurpashchim Province in Terai plain, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhangadhi as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population of 911,155 (2021 census) and (775,709 ...

of Seti Zone. Mahendranagar is the headquarters of the

. It is located nearby

Mahakali River The Sharda River is the downstream of Kāli River (or Mahakali River) that originates in the northern Uttarakhand state of India in the Great Himalayas on the eastern slopes of Nanda Devi massif, at an elevation of in the Pithoragarh distr ...

, 6 km north of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

border, and is inhabited by the indigenous

Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group living in the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official ethnicity by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost in Uttara ...

and other groups.

Tikapur Tikapur () is a Municipality in Kailali District in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal that was established in January 1997. Tikapur Municipality was further expanded on 10 March 2017 through merger with the two former Village development committee ...

is another biggest city in the Far-Western region. It was popular for tourism and trade as it serves the best transit point for Nepal-India border in the Far-Western region. Dipayal-Silgadhi Municipality is the headquarters of

Doti District Doti District ( ), part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the 77 List of districts of Nepal, districts of Nepal. This district, with Dipayal Silgadhi, Silgadhi as its headquarters, covers an area of with a population of 207,066 in 2001 and in ...

and the Far-Western Region. It was within trekking distance of

Khaptad National Park Khaptad National Park is a national park in the Far-Western Region, Nepal that was established in 1984. Stretching over the four districts of Bajhang, Bajura, Achham and Doti it covers an area of and ranges in elevation from . History Khap ...

. Dipayal was also the name of the valley encompassing the

Seti River The Seti River is an important tributary of the Karnali river system that drains western Nepal. Course The Seti originates from the snow fields and glaciers around the twin peaks of Api and Nampa in the south-facing slopes of the main Hima ...

. Amargadhi was the headquarters of Dadeldhura District.

Major National Highways

Akhand Sudurpaschim

Akhand Sudurpaschim (अखण्ड सुदूरपश्चिम) is a movement orchestrated by the natives of Far Western Region aiming to create a separate province and self-determination rights for the native population. Natives have claimed two districts of

Madhesh Madhesi, or variants, may refer to: *Madesi tribe, an indigenous group of Native Americans *Madheshi people, several Nepali people *Madhesh Province Madhesh Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal in the Terai region with an are ...

plain region: Kailali and Kanchanpur, while

Madheshi Madheshi people () is a term used for several ethnic groups in Nepal living in the Terai region of Nepal. It has also been used as a political pejorative term by the Pahari people (Nepal), Pahari people of Nepal to refer to Nepalis with a no ...

based parties want a separate

province along with the two districts that geographically lie in the Terai-

Plains. A movement against the central State “half-blood behavior" began on 26 April 2012, effectively halting state services, and ended upon the dissolution of the constitutional assembly on 28 May 2012.

References

External links

Farwesternnepal.com

Un.org.np

Thegreathimalayatrail.org

Farwesternnepal.org
{{coord, 29, 16, N, 80, 56, E, type:adm1st_source:itwiki, display=title Regions of Nepal Former subdivisions of Nepal 2015 disestablishments in Nepal