Editing Newar language (section)

==History and development==

=== Origin ===
<timeline>
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PlotArea   = left:0 right:150 bottom:250 top:10
AlignBars  = early

DateFormat = yyyy
Period     = from:-2500 till:2100
TimeAxis   = orientation:hor
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:400 start:-2400

# there is no automatic collision detection,
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Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar

PlotData=
  bar:Age color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:start  till:-2200   shift:(-20, 0) text:Antiquity
  from:-2200    till:400  shift:($dx, 0) color:yellow text:Proto Newari
  from:400   till:2000  shift:($dx, 0) color:green text:Historical Age
  at:2000  shift:(10, -140) text:AD
  at:-2200  shift:(0, -150) text:←Proto-Newari diverges from Proto-Chepangi
  at:-200  shift:(-160, -165) text:Arrival of Charumati in the Valley→
  at:-200  shift:(0, -180) text:←start of Indo-Aryanization through Magadhi Prakrit?
  at: 200  shift:(-190, -195) text:Ascension of Lichhavi King Jayavarma-I→
  at: 200  shift:(0, -210) text:←start of Sanskritization?
  at: 1300  shift:(-181, -225) text:Arrival of last Karnat King Nanyadeva→
  at: 1300  shift:(0, -240) text:←start of Maithali influence
 at: 1400  shift:(0, -255) text:←start of Persian/Arabic influence
  at: 1600  shift:(-135, -270) text:start of Khas Bhasa influence→
  at: 600  shift:(-240, -285) text:Rise of Songtsen Gampo and influence of Tibetan→
  at: 1920  shift:(0, -300) text:←Hindi and English influence

  bar:Era5 color:blue width:18 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:-200  till:1980   shift:(0, 0) text:Indo-Aryanization period
  from:1980  till:2000   shift:(0, 0) text:←Recent attempts to de-Sanskritize

  bar:Era color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:400  till:1200   shift:(-20, 0) text:Ancient Era
  from:1200 till:1850  shift:(-20, 0) color:yellow text:Medieval era
  from:1850 till:1940  shift:(7, 0) color:black text:Dark era

  bar:Era2 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:1909 till:1940  shift:(5, 0) color:blue text:Renaiassance

  bar:Era3 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:1950 till:2000  shift:(5, 0) color:green text:Modern Era

  bar:Era4 color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S
  from:1960 till:1990  shift:(2, 0) color:black text:Dark era
</timeline>According to the Linguist Glover, Newar and [[Chepang language]] must have diverged around 2200 BC. It is estimated that Newar shares 28% of its vocabulary with Chepang. At the same time, a very large and significant proportion of Newari vocabulary is Indo-European in origin, by one estimate more than 50%, indicating an influence of at least 1,600 years from Indo-European languages, first from Sanskrit, Maithili, Persian, and Urdu and today from Hindi, Nepali and English.<ref>David N. Gellner (1986). ''Language, caste, religion and territory: Newar identity ancient and modern'', European Journal of Sociology, p.102-148</ref>
===Licchavi Dynasty===
The [[Sanskrit|Sanskrit language]] stone inscriptions of the [[Licchavis of Nepal|Licchavi period]] (approximately 400–750) contains frequent use of [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] words especially for proper nouns.<ref name=":4" /> Almost 80 percent of the names of places, taxes and merchandise used in the inscriptions are [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] in origin.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Levy |first1=Robert Isaac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ngacsMPGJPcC |title=Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal |last2=Rājopādhyāya |first2=Kedar Rāj |date=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06911-4 |pages=36 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":p1">{{Cite book |last=Shrestha |first=Purushottam Lochan |url=https://archive.org/details/TripurRaYuthunimamRajkulPurushottamLochanShrestha |title=Tripura ra Yuthunimama Durbara |publisher=Bhaktapur Offset Prints |year=2001 |isbn=99933-622-0-4 |page=2 |language=ne |trans-title=The Royal Houses of Tripura and Yuthunimama}}</ref>{{Sfn|Tuladhar|2000|p=19}} It suggests that Newar existed as a vernacular language since at least the [[Licchavis of Nepal|Lichhavi Dynasty]].<ref name=":4" /> According to the [[Gopal Raj Vamshavali]], a 14th century Newar language history book, before the [[Licchavis of Vaishali]] conquered [[Nepal Mandala|Nepal]], it was ruled by the [[Kirata]] and the language they spoke, which is referred by historians such as Shrestha as Kiranti, is believed to be the old form of the Newar language.<ref name=":p1" /> For instance, in an inscription from 594 located in present day [[Bhaktapur]], the area is referred as ''khopṛiṅa'' which closely resmbles the [[Classical Newar|classical]] and modern Newar name for the [[Bhaktapur|city]], ''khopa.<ref name=":p2">{{Cite book |last=Shrestha |first=Purushottam Lochan |url=https://archive.org/details/TripurRaYuthunimamRajkulPurushottamLochanShrestha |title=Tripura ra Yuthunimama Durbara |publisher=Bhaktapur Offset Prints |year=2001 |isbn=99933-622-0-4 |page=4 |language=ne |trans-title=The Royal Houses of Tripura and Yuthunimama}}</ref>''
===Medieval era===
{{Main articles|Classical Newar}}
[[File:MS Indic 1936, Appeasement of the Grahas Wellcome L0031358.jpg|thumb|A page from a [[Hindu astrology|Astrology]] book from 1480 written in Newar.]]
[[File:A Nepalese Expenditure Book from 1681.jpg|thumb|A expenditure book written in the Newar Language from 1681.]]
It is during this period that the earliest dated document written entirely in [[Classical Newar|Newar]] was written, a [[palm-leaf manuscript]] preserved in Uku Bāhā, a [[Bahal, Nepal|Buddhist monastery]] in [[Lalitpur, Nepal|Lalitpur]], which dates from 1114.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last=Malla |first=Kamal P |title=The Earliest Dated Document in Newari: The Palmleaf from Uku Bahah NS 234/AD 1114 |url=http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/kailash_16_0102_02.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108161716/http://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/kailash_16_0102_02.pdf/ |archive-date=8 January 2016 |access-date=9 February 2012 |newspaper=Kailash}} Pages 15–25.</ref> Following is a line from the document which mostly deals with business transaction.<ref name=":3" /> 
{|
!Original
!English Translation
|-
|chīna ḍhākō tr̥saṃghaṣa paribhōga, chu pulēṃga kītya bipāra vastra 
bivu mikhā tivu maduguna chu sāta duguna valhe
|The community should keep an eye on what remains and 
replace for what is lost, with a remaining object or gift rightly
sold out, give some clothes.
|}
The first inscription written entirely in Newar set up by the royal family also dates from this period; a stone inscription from [[Bajrayogini Temple]] of Rudra Malla from 1127 ([[Nepal Sambat|NS]] 293).<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Vaidya |first=Dr. Janak Lal |date=4 November 1994 |title=nepāla bhāṣā sāhityayā dhāḥ |trans-title=The Literature of Nepal Bhasa |url=https://archive.org/details/nepalbhashasahityayaitihascompiledbyjanaklalvaidya/mode/1up |work=Kheluita |pages=58 |language=new |volume=16}}</ref>

The Newar language of the Medieval era (879 to 1769 CE) is referred as [[Classical Newar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Turin |first=Mark |date=2000 |title=Shared words, shared history? The case of Thangmi and Late Classical Newar |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03083397/document |journal=The Journal of Newar Studies |publisher=Newâh Vijñâna |volume=3 |issue=9–17}}</ref> It is further classified into Early Classical Newar, used from 879 to 1482, when the [[Malla dynasty (Nepal)#Period of three kingdoms|period of three kingdom started]] and Late Classical Newar, from 1482 to 1769, when the [[Battle of Bhaktapur|Malla dynasty ended]].

In the 14th century, Newar was given the status of national language by [[Jayasthiti Malla]].<ref name=":2" /> Since then, most of royal decrees, official proclamations and public notices set up by the monarchs appeared in Newar.<ref name="Lienhard, Siegfried 1992 Page 3" /> [[Jayasthiti Malla]] himself commissioned many works in Newar like the [[Gopal Raj Vamshavali]], a manuscript about the history of Nepal dating to 1389.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vajracarya |first1=Dhanavajra |url=https://archive.org/details/GopalarajaVamsavaliDhanavajraVajracaryaAndKamalP..Malla |title=The Gopalarajavamsavali |last2=Malla |first2=Kamal P. |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GMBH |year=1985 |isbn=3-515-04349-7}}</ref> From the 14th century onwards, an overwhelming number of [[stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley]], where they are a ubiquitous element at heritage sites, are in Newar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gutschow |first=Niels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQp_957RRtAC&q=The+Nepalese+Caitya: |title=The Nepalese Caitya: 1500 Years of Buddhist Votive Architecture in the Kathmandu Valley |publisher=Edition Axel Menges |year=1997 |isbn=9783930698752 |page=25 |access-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323054535/https://books.google.com/books?id=IQp_957RRtAC&q=The+Nepalese+Caitya: |archive-date=23 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Bajracharya, Chunda (1985). ''Mallakalya Chhun Sanskriti'' ("Some Customs of the Malla Period"). Kathmandu: Kashinath Tamot for Nepal Bhasa Study and Research Centre.</ref>

The period from 1428 to 1769 is considered a Golden Age for [[Newar literature|Newar Literature]]. Many monarchs of the Malla dynasty themselves started composing hymns and dramas in Newar. Noted royal writers include [[Mahendra Malla|Mahindra Malla]], [[Siddhi Narasimha Malla|Siddhi Narsingh Malla]], and [[Ranajit Malla]].  Still, there are numerous works of literature from this period with anonymous authors. Some non royal authors include Keshav Udās, Brisabhānanda and Biladātāsingha.{{Sfn|Vaidya|2002|p=180}} 

Some notable women who wrote literature in Newar during this period include, Jagatakeshari from [[Banepa]], [[Briddhi Lakshmi]] (queen consort of [[Kingdom of Bhaktapur|Bhaktapur]]), Riddhi Lakshmi (mother of [[Bhupalendra Malla]]), Jaya Lakshmi (queen consort of [[Yoga Narendra Malla]]).{{Sfn|Vaidya|2002|p=189}} Among them, Riddhi Lakshmi is considered to be the first woman to publish literature in Nepal as her poems are the earliest dated literature in Nepal authored by a woman.{{Sfn|Vaidya|2002|p=119}} 

An example of the language used during this period is provided by the following lines from a poem written by [[Briddhi Lakshmi]].{{Sfn|Vaidya|2002|p=124}}
{|
!Original{{Sfn|Vaidya|2002|p=124}}
!English Translation<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dhaubhadel |first=Om Prasad |date=September 2020 |title=''Ranajita Malla ra satbahale rajkumara haru'' |url=https://www.bhaktapurmun.gov.np/sites/bhaktapurmun.gov.np/files/documents/BKT-286%20A.pdf |work=Bhaktapur |publisher=Bhaktapur Municipality |pages=33–38 |language=Ne |volume=286}}</ref>
|-
|''kokila kokha o tī bhatu gilakhā va ati uti dhaka thva jugasa jula'' 
''dukha hāṅā hāṅā parabata jina lhvaneṅa maphuta,'' ''madata vipatiyā udhāra''
|This is the age, where the crow and cuckoo are considered equal, where the owl and the parrot are considered the same

I can no longer bear the mountain of grief; there is no salvation for the grieved
|}

===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.

===''Nepal Bhasa'' movement===
[[File:Black day sit-in 2013 June 1.jpg|thumb|200px|Sit-in outside the prime minister's residence to mark Black Day on 1 June 2013.]]
{{Main|Nepal Bhasa movement}}

Newars have been fighting to save their language in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbours from the time of the repressive [[Rana dynasty|Rana regime]] till today.<ref name="Hoek, Bert van den and Shrestha, Balgopal"/> The movement arose against the suppression of the language that began with the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768&nbsp;AD, and intensified during the Rana regime (1846–1951) and [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat]] system (1960–1990).<ref>{{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>

At various times, the government has forbidden literature in Newar, banned the official use and removed it from the media and the educational system.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gurung |first=Kishor |date=Nov–Dec 1993 |title=What is Nepali Music? |url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/himal/pdf/Himal_6_6.pdf |journal=Himal |page=11 |access-date=4 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071120/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/himal/pdf/Himal_6_6.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Opponents have even petitioned the Supreme Court to have its use barred.

Activism has taken the form of publication of books and periodicals to public meets and protest rallies. Writers and language workers have been jailed or expelled from the country, and they have continued the movement abroad. The struggle for [[linguistic rights]] has sometimes combined with the movement for religious and political freedom in Nepal.

===Renaissance era===
[[File:Buddha dharma magazine cover 1929.jpg|thumb|200px|Cover of ''Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa'' ("Buddhism and Nepalese") magazine dated 1929.]]
[[Image:Aesop book cover.jpg|right|thumb|200px|'[[Aesop's Fables]]' in Newar by Jagat Sundar Malla, first published in 1915.]]
{{Main|Nepal Bhasa renaissance}}

The period between 1909 and 1941 is considered as the renaissance era of Newar.<ref>शुक्रराज अस्पताल स्मारिका २०५७, Page 52, नेपालभाषाको पुनर्जागरणमा शुक्रराज शास्त्री by सह-प्रा. प्रेमशान्ति तुलाधर</ref> During this period, a few authors braved official disapproval and started writing, translating, educating and restructuring the language. Writers [[Nisthananda Bajracharya]], [[Siddhidas Mahaju]], [[Jagat Sundar Malla]] and [[Yogbir Singh Kansakar]] are honored as the [[Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa]]. [[Shukraraj Shastri]] and [[Dharmaditya Dharmacharya]] were also at the forefront of the Renaissance.

In 1909, Bajracharya published the first printed book using movable type. Shastri wrote a grammar of the language entitled ''Nepal Bhasa Vyakaran'', the first one in modern times. It was published from [[Kolkata]] in 1928. His other works include ''Nepal Bhasa Reader'', Books 1 and 2 (1933) and an alphabet book ''Nepali Varnamala'' (1933).<ref>Bajracharya, Phanindra Ratna (2003). ''Who's Who in Nepal Bhasha.'' Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. Page 27.</ref>

Mahaju's translation of the [[Ramayana|Ramayan]] and books on morals and ethics, Malla's endeavours to impart education in the native language and other literary activities marked the renaissance. Dharmacharya published the first magazine in Newar ''[[Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa]]'' ("Buddhism and Nepalese") from [[Kolkata]] in 1925. Also, the Renaissance marked the beginning of the movement to get official recognition for the name "Nepal Bhasa" in place of the [[Khas]] imposed term "Newari".

Some of the lines of Mahaju read as follows:

<blockquote>
:सज्जन मनुष्या संगतनं मूर्ख नापं भिना वै
:sajjana manuṣyā saṃgatanaṃ mūrkha nāpaṃ bhinā vai
:पलेला लपते ल वंसा म्वति थें ल सना वै
:palēlā lapatē la vaṃsā mvati thēṃ la sanā vai
</blockquote>

The verse states that even a moron can improve with the company of good people just like a drop of water appears like a pearl when it descends upon the leaves of a lotus plant.

===Modern Newar===

====Jail years====

The years 1941–1945 are known as the jail years for the large number of authors who were imprisoned for their literary or political activities. It was a productive period and resulted in an outpouring of literary works.

[[Chittadhar Hridaya]], [[Siddhicharan Shrestha]] and [[Phatte Bahadur Singh]] were among the prominent writers of the period who were jailed for their writings. While in prison, Hridaya produced his greatest work [[Sugata Saurabha (epic)|''Sugata Saurabha'']],<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/religion/9780195341829/toc.html |title=Sugata Saurabha: An Epic Poem from Nepal on the Life of the Buddha by Chittadhar Hridaya |publisher=Oxford Scholarship Online |access-date=24 January 2012 |date=13 November 2009 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195341829.001.0001 |isbn=9780199866816 |last1=Lewis |first1=Todd T. |last2=Tuladhar |first2=Subarna Man |archive-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715030935/http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/religion/9780195341829/toc.html |url-status=live }}</ref> an epic poem on the life of [[Gautama Buddha]].<ref name="Lienhard, Siegfried 1992 Page 4"/> Shrestha wrote a collection of poems entitled ''Seeswan'' ("Wax Flower", published in 1948) among other works. Singh (1902–1983) was sentenced to life imprisonment for editing and publishing an anthology of poems by various poets entitled ''Nepali Bihar''.<ref>Shrestha, Siddhicharan (1992). ''Siddhicharanya Nibandha ("Siddhicharan's Essays").'' Kathmandu: Phalcha Pithana. Page 73.</ref>

The efforts of Newar authors coincided with the revival of [[Theravada]] Buddhism in Nepal, which the rulers disliked equally. In 1946, the monks who had been exiled by the Ranas in 1944 for teaching [[Buddhism]] and writing in Newar were allowed to return following international pressure. Restrictions on publication were relaxed, and books could be published after being censored. The monks wrote wide-ranging books on Buddhism and greatly enriched the corpus of religious literature.<ref>LeVine, Sarah and Gellner, David N. (2005). ''Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal.'' Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-01908-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-674-01908-9}}. Pages 47–49.</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Tewari | first = Ramesh Chandra | url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache%3A-D1GwWzwnb0J%3Aarchiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Fjiabs%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F8607%2F2514+ven+aniruddha+nepal&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi7UvGTqtWcxhGkkXX0xYcBDKBG7i9cWlbDEc0A3Q37914n_D60UF3BGD69oA-lM4ITV9uiU7nFvR_RR_wOrOZalFzx7PONG1_9tZ_WkVbGZQlS0l2-9lB7yESd7JGJngX1_MRx&sig=AHIEtbTPapjCajNSZPIauHNVQ7QpgBWI4w | title = Socio-Cultural Aspects of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal | work = The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies | year = 1983 | access-date = 19 April 2012 | archive-date = 5 October 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131005064552/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache%3A-D1GwWzwnb0J%3Aarchiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Fjiabs%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F8607%2F2514+ven+aniruddha+nepal&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi7UvGTqtWcxhGkkXX0xYcBDKBG7i9cWlbDEc0A3Q37914n_D60UF3BGD69oA-lM4ITV9uiU7nFvR_RR_wOrOZalFzx7PONG1_9tZ_WkVbGZQlS0l2-9lB7yESd7JGJngX1_MRx&sig=AHIEtbTPapjCajNSZPIauHNVQ7QpgBWI4w | url-status = live }} Pages 89–90.</ref>

Outside the [[Kathmandu Valley]] in the 1940s, poets like [[Ganesh Lal Shrestha]] of [[Hetauda]] composed songs and put on performances during festivals.<ref>Bajracharya, Phanindra Ratna (2003). ''Who's Who in Nepal Bhasha.'' Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. {{ISBN|99933-560-0-X}}. Page 225.</ref>

===The 1950s===
[[File:Nepal bhasa patrika fp.jpg|thumb|200px|''Nepal Bhasa Patrika'' daily newspaper dated 5 November 1960.]]
Following the overthrow of the [[Rana dynasty]] and the advent of democracy in 1951, restrictions on publication in Newar were removed. Books, magazines and newspapers appeared. A daily newspaper ''[[Nepal Bhasa Patrika]]'' began publication in 1955.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://npi10month.blogspot.com/2010/02/history-of-nepali-journalism.html| title = History of Nepali Journalism| publisher = Nepal Press Institute| date = 15 February 2010| access-date = 21 April 2012| archive-date = 9 August 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180809032149/http://npi10month.blogspot.com/2010/02/history-of-nepali-journalism.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Textbooks were published and Newar was included in the curriculum. Nepal Rastriya Vidhyapitha recognised Newar as an alternative medium of instruction in the schools and colleges affiliated to it.

Literary societies like Nepal Bhasa Parisad were formed and Chwasa: Pasa returned from exile.<ref name="Shrestha"/> In 1958, Kathmandu Municipality passed a resolution that it would accept applications and publish major decisions in Newar in addition to the Nepali language.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sandhya Times|newspaper=Sandhya Times|date=1 July 1997 }}</ref>

====Second dark age====

Democracy lasted for a brief period, and Newar and other languages of Nepal entered a second Dark Age with the dissolution of parliament and the imposition of the [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat]] system in 1960. Under its policy of "one nation, one language", only the Nepali language was promoted, and all the other languages of Nepal were suppressed as "ethnic" or "local" languages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Whelpton |first=John |title=A History of Nepal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoNT6tjk9mQC&q=1946 |access-date=3 July 2013 |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521804707 |page=183 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323054458/https://books.google.com/books?id=KoNT6tjk9mQC&q=1946 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1963, Kathmandu Municipality's decision to recognize Newar was revoked. In 1965, the language was also banned from being broadcast over Radio Nepal.<ref>{{cite news|last=Timalsina|first=Ramji|title=Language and Political Discourse in Nepal|url=http://koshistjames.edu.np/journal/CET_Journal_Vol3_No1.pdf|access-date=28 February 2012|newspaper=CET Journal|publisher=Itahari: Itahari Research Centre, Circle of English Teachers (CET)|date=Spring 2011|archive-date=15 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215035441/http://koshistjames.edu.np/journal/CET_Journal_Vol3_No1.pdf|url-status=dead}} Page 14.</ref> Those who protested against the ban were put in prison, including Buddhist monk [[Sudarshan Mahasthavir]].

The New Education System Plan brought out in 1971 eased out Nepal's other languages from the schools in a bid to diminish the country's multi-lingual traditions.<ref>{{cite web| last =Hangen| first =Susan| url =http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/ps034.pdf| title =Creating a "New Nepal": The Ethnic Dimension| publisher =Washington: East-West Center| year =2007| access-date =19 February 2012| archive-date =11 October 2017| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20171011121202/https://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/ps034.pdf| url-status =dead}}</ref> Students were discouraged from choosing their native language as an elective subject because it was lumped with technical subjects.<ref name="Hoek, Bert van den and Shrestha, Balgopal">{{cite news|author1=Hoek, Bert van den|author2=Shrestha, Balgopal|name-list-style=amp|title=Education in the Mother Tongue: The Case of Nepal Bhasa (Newari)|url=http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_22_01_06.pdf|access-date=22 April 2012|newspaper=CNAS Journal|date=January 1995|archive-date=22 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322193940/http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_22_01_06.pdf|url-status=live}} Page 75.</ref> Nepal's various languages began to stagnate as the population could not use them for official, educational, employment or legal purposes.

Birat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi (Grand Nepal Bhasa Literary Conference Trust), formed in 1962 in Bhaktapur, and [[Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala]], founded in 1979 in Kathmandu, are some of the prominent organizations that emerged during this period to struggle for language rights. The names of these organizations also annoyed the government which, on one occasion in 1979, changed the name of Brihat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi in official media reports.<ref>{{cite web| last =Maharjan| first =Harsha Man| url =http://www.socialinclusion.org.np/new/contentResources| title =They' vs 'We': A Comparative Study on Representation of Adivasi Janajati Issues in Gorkhapatra and Nepal Bhasa Print Media in the Post Referendum Nepal (1979–1990)| publisher =Social Inclusion Research Fund| year =2009| access-date =26 May 2012| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120926014004/http://socialinclusion.org.np/new/contentResources| archive-date =26 September 2012| url-status =dead}} Page 34.</ref>

Some lines by the famous poet [[Durga Lal Shrestha]] of this era are as follows:<ref>{{lang|new|नेपालभाषाया न्हूगु पुलांगु म्ये मुना ब्वः१}}</ref>
<blockquote>
:घाः जुयाः जक ख्वइगु खः झी
:स्याःगुलिं सः तइगु खः
:झी मसीनि ! झी मसीनि !
:धइगु चिं जक ब्वैगु खः

:We are crying because we are wounded
:We are shouting because of the pain
:All in all, we are demonstrating
:That we are not dead yet.
</blockquote>

====Post-1990 People's Movement====

After the [[1990 People's Movement]] that brought the Panchayat system to an end, the languages of Nepal enjoyed greater freedom.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eagle|first=Sonia|title=The Language Situation in Nepal|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/57090514/19/Newari-language-and-revitalisation|access-date=28 February 2012|newspaper=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development|publisher=Scribd|year=1999|archive-date=23 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323054434/https://www.scribd.com/document/57090514/Language-Nepal|url-status=live}} Page 310.</ref> The 1990 constitution recognized Nepal as a multiethnic and multilingual country. The Nepali language in the Devanagari script was declared the language of the nation and the official language. Meanwhile, all the languages spoken as native languages in Nepal were named national languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/documents/national_laws/constitution1990.htm#1|title=Constitution of Nepal 1990|publisher=Nepal Democracy|access-date=19 February 2012|year=2001|archive-date=19 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219173640/http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/documents/national_laws/constitution1990.htm#1|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1997, [[Kathmandu Metropolitan City]] declared that its policy to officially recognize Nepal Bhasa would be revived. The rest of the city governments in the Kathmandu Valley announced that they too would recognize it. However, critics petitioned the Supreme Court to have the policy annulled, and in 1999, the Supreme Court quashed the decision of the local bodies as being unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite news|last=Limbu|first=Ramyata|title=Attempt to Limit Official Language to Nepali Resented|url=http://ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=79142|publisher=IPS|access-date=21 April 2012|date=21 June 1999}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

====Post-2006 People's Movement====

A second People's Movement in 2006 ousted the Shah dynasty and Nepal became a republic which gave the people greater linguistic freedom. The 2007 Interim Constitution states that the use of one's native language in a local body or office shall not be barred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccd.org.np/new/resources/interim.pdf|title=The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063 (2007)|publisher=UNDP Nepal|page=56|access-date=19 February 2012|date=January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219220657/http://www.ccd.org.np/new/resources/interim.pdf|archive-date=19 February 2012}}</ref> However, this has not happened in practice. Organizations with names in Newar are not registered, and municipality officials refuse to accept applications written in the language.<ref>{{cite news|title= State affairs
 |url= http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2013/07/06/letters/letter-to-the-editor/250875.html |access-date=14 May 2014|newspaper= The Kathmandu Post |date=7 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jigu Nan Dhayegu Du |url=http://esandhyanhipau.com/epaper-archive.php |access-date=14 May 2014 |page=2 |newspaper=Sandhya Times |date=18 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202030913/http://esandhyanhipau.com/epaper-archive.php |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref>

The restoration of democracy has been marked by the privatization of the media. Various people and organizations are working for the development of Newar. Newar has several newspapers, a primary level curriculum, several schools, several FM stations (selected time for Newar programs), regular TV programs and news (on Image TV Channel), Nepal Bhasa Music Award (a part of Image Award) and several websites (including a [[Wikipedia]] in Nepal Bhasa<ref>{{cite web|url=http://new.wikipedia.org/|title=Nepal Bhasa Wikipedia|publisher=new.wikipedia.org|access-date=6 December 2008|archive-date=14 February 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050214105531/http://new.wikipedia.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>).

The number of schools teaching Newar has increased, and Newar is also being offered in schools outside the Kathmandu Valley.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rai|first=Ganesh|title=९७ विद्यालयमा नेपालभाषा पढाइने ("Nepal Bhasa to be taught in 97 schools")|url=http://202.166.193.41/kantipur/news/news-detail.php?news_id=268100|access-date=21 April 2012|newspaper=Kantipur|date=11 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023111557/http://202.166.193.41/kantipur/news/news-detail.php?news_id=268100|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Outside Nepal Mandala===
Inscriptions written in Newar occur across [[Nepal Mandala]] and outside.

In [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]], the Bhairav Temple at Pokharithok Bazaar contains an inscription dated [[Nepal Sambat]] 704 (1584&nbsp;AD), which is 185 years before the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley by the [[Gorkha Kingdom]]. The Palanchowk Bhagawati Temple situated to the east of Kathmandu contains an inscription recording a land donation dated Nepal Sambat 861 (1741&nbsp;AD).<ref>Hridaya, Chittadhar (ed.) (1971). ''Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Jatah.'' Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Parisad. Page 113.</ref>

In [[Bhojpur, Nepal|Bhojpur]] in east Nepal, an inscription at the Bidyadhari Ajima Temple dated Nepal Sambat 1011 (1891&nbsp;AD) records the donation of a door and [[tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]]. The Bindhyabasini Temple in [[Bandipur]] in west Nepal contains an inscription dated Nepal Sambat 950 (1830&nbsp;AD) about the donation of a tympanum.<ref>''Jhee'' (February–March 1975). Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Bikas Mandal. Page 9.</ref>

Outside Nepal, Newar has been used in [[Tibet]]. Official documents and inscriptions recording votive offerings made by [[Newar]] traders have been found in [[Lhasa]].<ref>Hridaya, Chittadhar (ed.) (1971). ''Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Jatah.'' Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Parisad. Pages 255–256.</ref> A copper plate dated Nepal Sambat 781 (1661&nbsp;AD) recording the donation of a tympanum is installed at the shrine of Chhwaskamini Ajima (Tibetan: [[Palden Lhamo]]) in the [[Jokhang]] Temple.<ref>Hridaya, Chittadhar (ed.) (1971). ''Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Jatah.'' Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Parisad. Page 47.</ref>