page_title: Nepal Bhasa movement
section_title: Shah/Rana era
hierarchical_section_title: Nepal Bhasa movement / Shah/Rana era
caption_attribution_description: English: Potrait of Nepalese Buddhist monk Dhammalok Mahasthavir (1890-1966).
context_page_description: Nepal Bhasa movement refers to the struggle for linguistic rights by Newar speakers in Nepal in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbors. The campaign aims to increase the use of Nepal Bhasa in the home, education, government and business. Despite a high level of development, Newar culture and language are both under threat.
  Newars have been fighting to save their language from the time of the repressive Rana regime till today, and activists have been jailed, exiled and tortured. Opponents have even petitioned the Supreme Court to have its use barred. The history of Nepal Bhasa since the late 18th century has been marked by constant struggle against state repression and a hostile environment.
  The movement arose against the suppression of the language by the state that began with the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768 AD, and intensified during the Rana regime and Panchayat system. Moreover, hostility towards the language from neighbors grew following mass migration into the Kathmandu Valley, leading to the indigenous Newars becoming a minority in their homeland.
context_section_description: Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkha language became the court language of Nepal, and Nepal Bhasa was replaced as the language of administration. Open suppression began in 1906 with documents in Nepal Bhasa being declared not admissible in court. In the subsequent years, authors were fined, whipped, imprisoned or expelled and their books confiscated. It was illegal to sing hymns in Nepal Bhasa or speak it on the telephone. As a result, development of the language and literature was stifled.
  During the period 1909 to 1941 known as the Renaissance era, a few authors braved official disapproval and started writing, translating, educating and restructuring the language. Writers Nisthananda Bajracharya, Siddhidas Mahaju, Jagat Sundar Malla and Yogbir Singh Kansakar are honored as the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. Shukraraj Shastri and Dharmaditya Dharmacharya were also at the forefront of the movement.
  In 1909, Bajracharya published the first printed book using movable type. Shastri wrote a grammar of the language entitled Nepal Bhasa Vyakarana which was published from Kolkata, India in 1928. Dharmacharya published the first magazine in Nepal Bhasa Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa from Kolkata in 1925. Also, the Renaissance marked the beginning of the movement to get official recognition for the name "Nepal Bhasa" in place of the Khas imposed term "Newari".
caption: Dhammalok Mahasthavir and seven other Buddhist monks were expelled from Nepal in 1944 for writing books on Buddhism.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Windows", "Image DateTime": "2012:05:05 22:14:20", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "302", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4818", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1050", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1350"}