Editing Newar language (section)

===Dark age===

Newar began to be sidelined after the [[Gorkha Kingdom|Gorkha]] conquest of Nepal and the ouster of the [[Malla (Nepal)|Malla dynasty]] by the [[Shah dynasty]] in the late 18th century. Since then, its history has been one of constant suppression and struggle against official disapproval.<ref name="Shrestha">{{cite news|last=Shrestha|first=Bal Gopal|title=The Newars: The Indigenous Population of the Kathmandu Valley in the Modern State of Nepal|url=http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_26_01_04.pdf|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=CNAS Journal|date=January 1999|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054744/http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_26_01_04.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkhali language became the court language,<ref>Levy, Robert I. (1990) ''Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal.'' Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. {{ISBN|81-208-1038-4}}. Page 15.</ref> and Newar was replaced as the language of administration.<ref>Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Pal, Pratapaditya (1985) ''Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection.'' University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-05407-3}}. Page 19.</ref> However, Newar continued to remain in official use for a time as shown by the 1775 treaty with Tibet which was written in it.<ref name="Lienhard, Siegfried 1992 Page 3"/> A few of the new rulers cultivated the language. Kings [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]], [[Rana Bahadur]] and [[Rajendra Bikram Shah]] composed poetry and wrote plays in it.

Newar suffered heavily under the repressive policy of the [[Rana dynasty]] (1846–1951&nbsp;AD) when the regime attempted to wipe it out.<ref>{{cite news|last=Singh|first=Phatte Bahadur|title=Nepali Biharya Aitihasik Pristabhumi ("Historical Background of Nepali Bihar") |newspaper=Jaa|publisher=Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Pala, Tri-Chandra Campus|date=September 1979}} Page 186.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Hutt|first=Michael|title=Diversity and Change in the Languages|url=http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_14_01_01.pdf|access-date=20 March 2011|newspaper=CNAS Journal|publisher=Tribhuvan University|date=December 1986|archive-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728105255/http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_14_01_01.pdf|url-status=live}} Page 10.</ref> In 1906, legal documents written in Newar were declared unenforceable, and any evidence in the language was declared null and void.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tumbahang|first=Govinda Bahadur|title=Process of Democratization and Linguistic (Human) Rights in Nepal|url=http://tujournal.edu.np/index.php/TUJ/article/viewFile/18/16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724190136/http://tujournal.edu.np/index.php/TUJ/article/viewFile/18/16|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2011|access-date=1 March 2011|newspaper=Tribhuvan University Journal|date=September 2009}} Page 8.</ref> The rulers forbade literature in Newar, and writers were sent to jail.<ref name="Lienhard, Siegfried 1992 Page 4">Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). ''Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns.'' New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. {{ISBN|81-208-0963-7}}. Page 4.</ref> In 1944, Buddhist monks who wrote in the language were expelled from the country.<ref>LeVine, Sarah and Gellner, David N. (2005). ''Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal.'' Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0674019083}}, 9780674019089. Pages 47–49.</ref><ref>Hridaya, Chittadhar (1982, third ed.) ''Jheegu Sahitya'' ("Our Literature"). Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Parisad. Page 8.</ref>

Moreover, hostility towards the language from neighbours grew following massive migration into the Kathmandu Valley leading to the indigenous Newars becoming a minority.<ref>{{cite news |last=Manandhar |first=T |date=7 March 2014 |title=Voice Of The People |url=http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2014/03/06/letters/voice-of-the-people/260095.html |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171011122143/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2014-03-06/voice-of-the-people-260095.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2017 |newspaper=The Kathmandu Post |access-date=7 March 2014 }}</ref> During the period 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the valley population speaking Newar dropped from 74.95% to 43.93%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-occupation-of-the-kathmandu..pdf |title=The Occupation of the Kathmandu Valley and its Fallout |last=Malla |first=Kamal P. |page=3 |access-date=16 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108161716/http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-occupation-of-the-kathmandu..pdf/ |archive-date=8 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Nepal Bhasa movement]] arose as an effort to save the language.