Throughout the rule of the successive dynasties before the last ruling Shah dynasty, that is to say during the rules of Kirat rulers, the Lichhavi Kings and the Malla rulers, the Newah people, although subjugated under the exploitation of feudal rulers and even without
Encouragement and assistance from the rulers, steadily developed their language, literature and culture, but the year 888 ( three 8 ) of Nepal Era (1768A.D.) marked the beginning of the suffering and misfortune of the Newah people (becaue of which the Newahs have still a belief and even a strong superstition that the number 8 means distress). In the course of expansion of Gorkha Kingdom, when Prithvi Narayan Shah annexed all the three Malla
Kingdoms and brought the entire territory of the present-day Nepal under Shah rule (or Gorkha Kingdom) in this year 888 , the Newah people turned from subjects of Malla Kings into subjects of Shah King Prithivi Narayan Shah who openly declared his objective of establishing a genuine Hindustan (or a true Hindu land) and imposed “Khas language, Aryan culture and Hindu religion” upon all other communities openly and savagely suppressing the language, religion and culture of all non-Hindu, non-Khas indigenous communities of Nepal. During the successive rule of different monarchial dynasties before the establishment of Prithivi Narayan Shah’s rule, the indigenous communities including the Newah suffered only from feudal and harsh economic exploitation, but the establishment of Shah rule added on them one more domination a more serious suppression which was a severe kind of racial discrimination and the people belonging to all the indigenous communities other than the Khas community became colonial subjects in their own land. The non-Khas people were linguistically suppressed by being imposed Khas language on them and non-Hindu population were suppressed and persecuted by the newly established Hindu Gorkha Kingdom, in reality a Gorkha empire. The most severe suppression was imposed on the Newah people who inhabited the capital and surrounding places. They were deprived of their language, religion and culture in their own land. With the establishent of the rule of Prithivi Narayan Shah, innumerable Newah families were exiled, all the Newah Christians were ordered to leave the country simply for being Christians, those who could not leave were all put to death including the infants and the aged invalids. This linguistic and religious persecution policy of Prithvi Narayan Shah was all the more savegely implemented during the Rana rule.
Newah Organization of America July 14th, 2015
