Sandwiched between India and Tibet and ringed about by the towering Himalayas, Nepal long was as remote as a country could get. Underneath its hibiscus and gardenia blossoms, its whitewashed stupas and tinkling bells, its 8,500,000 people were among the most backward in Southeast Asia, beset by malaria, illiteracy and preyed upon by landlords and moneylenders. In 1951 a revolution backed by India toppled the ruling Rana family, who for a hundred years had kept successive Kings virtual prisoners, and King Tribhuvan was restored to power. When the ailing Tribhuvan died in 1955, rule passed to his young (34)...
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