After the demarcation decision made by the then federal government on August 8th 2015, Karnali was merged into Sudurpaschim. This prompted strong protests for 13 days, resulting in the martyrdom of individuals such as Hari Bahadur Kunwar from Jumla, and Gopal Singh Rajwar, Tikaram Gautam, and Yam Bahadur Bisi from Surkhet.
Following the 13-day movement and their martyrdom, the then government announced province no. 6 by combining five districts of former Karnali zone, three districts of Bheri and two districts of Rapti.
The province's name is derived from the Karnali River, which flows through the province. A meeting of the provincial assembly on 25 February 2018 adopted the name Karnali for the province.
