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Perceval Landon’s Nepal vol.1 treats the inward and outward politics of the land from when it grew into a national entity. He examines Nepal in the political, religious and historical context vis-à-vis the reality of the twentieth century. Nepal — which he describes as ‘full of antiquities and relics of the past’ — is unique because it has never suffered the repercussions of the Christian or the Moslem expansion.
In vol. II Perceval Landon concentrates on the people and politics of the land. The towns, rulers, races and rchitecture of Nepal are dwelt upon by the author as seen through his discerning eyes of a journalist. He examines the role of Buddhism in Nepal, and taking Asoka’s dictum as his foundation, gives us an incontrovertible basis on which to build. According to the author, ‘Buddhism and Hinduism have carried on relations partly of hostility and partly of sympathy which are almost unparalleled in the history of comparative religion’.
Well researched and well documented, the book also focuses on the Chinese invasion of Nepal and the tussle between the two regarding Tibet. The keynote of the book, however, is the absorbing patriotism that comes to the surface by way of the subsequent rulers managing to secure their beautiful kingdom from foreign threat.
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