<P> Adherents of the country's many religious groups generally coexisted peacefully and respected places of worship, although there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief or practice . Those who converted to another religious group at times faced violence and occasionally were ostracized socially but generally did not fear to admit their affiliations in public . But overall, Nepal is viewed as a religiously harmonious place for its state of development . </P> <P> The country has an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of 28 million . Hinduism is reported to be the religion of 81.34% of the population followed by Buddhism (9.04%), Islam (4.38%), Kirant (3.04%), Christianity (1.41%) practitioners of Kirant (an indigenous animist religion), 0.1 percent; and Christians, 0.6 percent . There are adherents to many other religious groups, whose proportion is small . According to the chairman of the Madrassah Islamiyah Association, there are almost 2,500 madrassahs . Twenty thousand Tibetan Buddhist refugees reside in the country . </P> <P> The Interim Constitution provides for freedom of religion and permits the practice of all religious groups; however, there are some restrictions . The Interim Parliament declared the country a secular state in the Interim Constitution in January 2007 . The previous constitution described the country as a "Hindu Kingdom," although it did not establish Hinduism as the state religion . Article 23 of the Interim Constitution protects the rights of all religious groups by guaranteeing the individual the right "to profess and practice his / her own religion as handed down to him / her from ancient times having due regard to traditional practices ." It also states "no person shall be entitled to convert another person from one religion to another and shall not take actions or behave in a way that would create disturbance in another's religion ." </P> <P> The Interim Constitution maintains the stipulation from the 1990 constitution that no one can be discriminated against based on caste . In 2002 the previous government constituted a National Dalit Commission charged with protecting and promoting Dalit (formerly called "untouchable") rights and ensuring active participation of the Dalit community in the development of the country . Before the People's Movement in April 2006, which led to removal of the King and his government, the Commission devised legal and policy arrangements for Dalit rights, made recommendations to implement international conventions to which the country is a party, monitored and coordinated non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on efforts to uplift Dalits, and launched programs on social awareness to end social discrimination and untouchability . After the success of the People's Movement, many members of the Commission were accused of being royalist and resigned, and the Commission was unable to function . The Interim Government nominated 16 members to the Commission on June 3, 2007 . </P>

When was nepal declared as secular state in bs