Collecting and publishing information
In 2003 the MFI started to setup the MFI Academic Board. As part of the Muktinath Knowledge Base Project the MFI Academic Board supports collecting and publishing background information on Muktinath Chumig Gyatsa and helps to enable the preservation of the cultural heritage connected to this special place.

Historical and cultural studies
Chairman of the MFI Academic Board is Dr. Ramesh K. Dhungel, prominent scholar in the international scientific field of historical and cultural studies of South Asia and specialized in Nepali culture and history. After getting his first Masters degree in 1981 at the Tribhuvan University in Nepal (M.A. Nepalese History, Culture and Archaelogy), he got three more Masters degrees in the United States ( M.A. History in 1991 - M.A. Middle East and Asian Languages & Cultures in 1993 and M. Phil. Asian Languages & Cultures in 1995). In 1998 at Columbia University he wrote his Ph.D. thesis called "History of the Kingdom of Lo/Mustang".*

University of London
Currently Dr. Ramesh is working at the University of London, as a Research Fellow in the Department of Languages and Cultures of South Asia, as well as in Kathmandu, as a Senior Lecturer in History, Culture and Himalayan Studies at Tribhuvan University. See for backgrounds on his research in London, NepalNews.Com.

Research historical sites
Mastering Nepali, English, Hindi and several local Nepali languages and reading Sanskrit, Tibetan, Urdu and Pali, Dr. Dungel has an extensive fieldwork experience in historical and cultural research on many historical sites in Nepal. Some of his Scientific publications about the Muktinath region are: "Context of Religious Tolerance in Mukti-Chetra" (1988, Saiva Bhumi, vol. 3, no. 3)**; "Muktinath, a Hindu Temple in North-Western Nepal: Some Historical Facts (1988, Ancient Nepal, no. 102); "Historical Outline of Mustang: The Kingdom of Lo-Bo (1996, Newsletter of Southern Asian Institute, Columbia University, vol. 20) and "The Kingdom of Lo: A Historical Study (2002, Kathmandu).

Some of Dr. Dhungel's research works are currently under progress for publication in book form, for instance: "The 'Lost' Heritage: A Survey of Nepali Arts Deposited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York".

(See for more details the CV of Dr. Dhungel.)

* Muktinath is situated in the Mustang District.
** Text in Nepali, soon available in English via the MFI.

( back to top)

Annapurna - Muktinath Map - Muktinath History - Muktinath Lama Wangyal - Travel Info - Nuns - Picture Gallery - Site Map - MFI Recommendations -
Support us with a donation