this is a very thought-provoking post, saajha! but i have to say, that i also think nepal would have been, if not part of india, much more like it. yeah, perhaps some good would have come out of it- particularly with regards to infrastructure and road construction/maintenance (one of the country's best roads, dharan-dhankuta, was built by the british), but nepal would have an entirely different identity today. and i am, for one, grateful that nepal was never a colony. i think nepalis should take a great sense of pride in that fact. just like in se asia, thailand was the only country to have never been colonized by a european country. of course, thailand has been blessed with an effective government that actually cares about its people. THAT is what nepal needs, not to have been colonized.... and considering the british effectively invaded india and tibet, i would like to think that they were defeated by nepal! i mean, they must be recruiting all those gurkhas for a reason, hoina?