HISTORY OF POKHARA

Pokhara History


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Pokhara lies on an important old trading route between Tibet and India. In the 17. century it was part of the influential Kingdom of Kaski which again was one of the Chaubise Rajaya (24 Kingdoms of Nepal) ruled by a branch of the Shah Dynasty. Many of the mountains around Pokhara still have medieval ruins from this time. In 1752 the King of Kaski invited Newars from Bhaktapur to Pokhara to promote trade. Their heritage can still be seen in the architecture along the streets in Bagar (Old Pokhara). Hindus, again, brought their culture and customs from Kathmandu and settled in the whole Pokhara valley. In 1786 Prithvi Narayan Shah added Pokhara into his kingdom. It had by then become an important trading place on the routes from Kathmandu to Jumla and from India to Tibet.
From 1959 to 1962 some 300,000 refugees came to Nepal from neighbouring Tibet, which had been annexed by China. Four refugee camps were established in the Pokhara valley: Tashipalkhel, Tashiling, Paljorling and Jambling. These camps have evolved into settlements. Because of their different architecture, prayer flags, gompas and chorten, these can easily be distinguished from the other settlements.
Until the end of the 1960s the town could only be reached by foot and it was considered even more a mystical place than Kathmandu. The first road was finished in 1968 after which tourism set in and the city grew rapidly. The area long the Phewa Lake developed into one of the major tourism hubs of Nepal.
The history of Pokhara city shows that proper settlement in Pokhara was initiated from Bindabasini (Presently Ward No. 2) and Batulechour (Presently Ward No. 16). During the settlement period of that time mainly people were Thakuri (the ruling class people), Brahman, Chettri & Occupational caste group such as Kami, Kami, Sarki, Gaine, Newars. The trader caste followed in later on. It was only after eradication of malarial fever from the valley in mid 1960s and subsequent urbanization process such as development of transport and communication, health, education, trade, commerce, industries etc., gave rise to immigration of people from abroad which ultimately converted the homogeneous town into heterogeneous in nature.
The people of Nepal are the outcome of successive wave of migration of Mongoloids and Cancasoid from the two major Asiatic civilizations. Therefore, the people of Pokhara represent both of them and Austrolaid & Protogurtofoid stocks in minority as wee. Approximately 95% of the city’s population has its origin in hills, people of Terai mountain are 3% and 2% respectively. The 1991 census has recognized 60 ethnic and caste-groups. Of these, 29 are from Hill, 29 from Terai and 2 from Mountain region whereas the census of 2001 has recorded 70 diverse groups out of which 27 are from Hill, 35 from Terai, 4 from Mountain & 4 from mixed & unidentified categories. However, this classification includes four religious groups i.e. Chaurete, Marwari, Muslim and Sikh as well as Bengali linguistic group. Thus, the population of Pokhara is made up of numerous ethnic and caste groups, a number of classes and creeds as well as linguistic heterogeneity. It means pokhara city is highly diversified. Hence it is a cultural cradle of different ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. People are of different religious beliefs, but they are mostly Hindus and Buddhists. A marginal number of people follow Christianity, Jainism, Islam, Sikhs etc. The religious secularism, tolerance and co-existence are the unique characteristics of cultural components. Hence, no untoward incident has ever occurred. Nepali is the primary language of majority as well as its linguafranca. Newari, Gurung, Magar, Chaurete, Maithili, Thakali, Tamang, Bhojpuri etc. are other local dialects of Pokhara. Brahmans form the majority group and it is followed by Gurung, Newar and Chhetri groups. The Kami, Sarki, Damai, Thakali, Chaurete etc. are minority groups. The temples, gombas, churches, mosques are located in different localities of the city.
As being a cultural cradle of Western Region, Pokhara is the land of festivals with rich cultural heritage of the people of Indo-Aryan as well as Mongoloid stocks. From the very beginning pokhara city was able to attract the people with in the country as well as the tourists. More than 90 percent cultural ceremonies and activities have religious origin. Out of these, Buddhajayanti, Shrawan Shakranti, Nagpanchami, Janaipurnima, Teej, Bada Dashain etc. are totally religious. During the celebration of Lakhe Nach, Gaijatra, Bhairabjatra, Loshar cultural activities such as dancing and singing, repeating lores and legends are preformed as ceremonial rites and rituals. These are the most fascinating cultural phenomena of this cosmopolitan society. Apart from Hindu and Buddhist festivals, Id, Ramzan, Christmas Day, Easter Sunday, Good Friday etc are also observed by minority Muslim and Christian cultural groups.
In respects of cultural heritage, Pokhara is one of the richest cultural bowls in Nepal. It was a meeting point of several tribes, races, ethnos, castes and creeds from the very beginning. Now it has been converted into the homeland of several castes, creeds, tribes, races and cultural groups. Therefore, the different lifestyles of these people in aggregate reflect the cultural significance of the town.