Significant Events in Nepal's History

Social Research Paper

Submitted to the Social studies department Ullens School

Submitted by Prayush Basnet

Pranjal Poudel

February 2023
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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………………………… 1

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………….2

OBJECTIVE……………………………………………………………………………………………….3

METHODS……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

FINDINGS…………………………………………………………………………………………………5

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

ANNEX……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

REFRENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………...
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to several people who have supported me during the completion

of this research project. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor,Miss Bipana Kharel,

for her guidance, encouragement, and constructive feedback throughout the research process.

I am also grateful to my English literature teacher Mis.sikha , who provided valuable insights and

suggestions that helped me refine my research questions and methodology. In addition, I would like

to thank the participants who generously gave their time and expertise to participate in this study.

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INTRODUCTION

The American Psychological Association uses the APA style of source documentation. This kind of

research paper writing is most frequently employed in the social sciences, such as psychology,

anthropology, and sociology, as well as in the disciplines of education and other things.

Background

Nepal is a landlocked country situated in South Asia, bordered by China to the north and India to the

south, east, and west. The country has a long history of monarchy, which lasted for more than two

centuries. The Nepalese monarchy was overthrown in 2008 after a decade-long civil war and

replaced by a federal democratic republic. This seminar paper report will explore the history of the

Nepalese monarchy, the events that led to its downfall, and its impact on the country.

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OBJECTIVE:

● Why was KING MAHENDRA respected all over the world?

● That Fight Between King Mahendra and BP Koirala that Changed everything?

● DASDHUNGA HATYAKANDA - How Madan Bhandari was K*lled?

● Durbar Hatya Kanda ?

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METHODS:

Primary:

Interviews

Rookmangud katawal-Former General of Nepal Army, served as Chief of Nepal Army Staffformer

chief justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya

Taranath Ranabhat

Rishi kattel

Secondary:

Online searches

Reports

Articles

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FINDINGS

Why was KING MAHENDRA respected all over the world?

King Mahendra was the former king of Nepal who ruled from 1955 to 1972. While he was well-

respected in Nepal, it is not accurate to say that he was respected all over the world. However,

there were some factors that contributed to his popularity and reputation during his reign.

One of the key reasons for King Mahendra's popularity in Nepal was his efforts to modernize the

country and improve its infrastructure. During his reign, Nepal saw significant improvements in

areas such as education, healthcare, and transportation. He also promoted national unity and

worked to bring together the diverse ethnic and linguistic groups that make up Nepal's

population.

In addition, King Mahendra was known for his strong leadership and his commitment to the

welfare of his people. He was widely regarded as a champion of democracy and was

instrumental in establishing Nepal as a constitutional monarchy.

Furthermore, King Mahendra was respected for his role in promoting Nepal's culture and

traditions on the world stage. He was a patron of the arts and supported the development of

Nepali literature, music, and dance. He also worked to showcase Nepal's rich cultural heritage to

the rest of the world, which helped to raise the country's profile on the global stage.

Overall, while King Mahendra was not universally respected all over the world, he was highly

regarded in Nepal for his leadership, modernization efforts, commitment to democracy, and

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promotion of Nepali culture.(In depth Story Youtube Channel,Sudip Bhai Subedi,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrtHhKhUVfo )

King Mahendra ascended the throne on March 13, 1955. After the death of King Tribhuvan,

Mahendra pursued more vigorously for UN membership and finally on December 14, 1955,

Nepal secured the membership of the United Nations. King Mahendra played a major role for

admission of Nepal. Nepal’s new identification prevented direct Indian intervention in Nepal. If

Nepal had failed to become a member of the United Nations, the country’s existence could well

be uncertain. (Enepalese Published on: June 8, 2020

https://www.enepalese.com/2020/06/274875.html )

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● That Fight Between King Mahendra and BP Koirala that Changed everything?

On 15 December 1960 (पुस १) roughly 63 years ago, King Mahendra ordered the jailing of Prime

Minister BP Koirala and other political figures, many of whom the Nepali people had put in

power 18 months earlier in Nepal’s first-ever election.

Ending a decade of democratic experimentation, Mahendra decided to rule the country directly.

After his death in 1972 his son Birendra took power. Many of today’s top political leaders cut

their political teeth in years of underground opposition to the monarchy.

The US had a less positive view of Mahendra. He was seen as anti-communist and as a

‘stabilizing and unifying force’ but seemed less forceful, and less consequential. An internal

memo discounted him as ‘a conscientious man of simple tastes and austere habits … rather naive

politically and not particularly forceful as a ruler … awkward socially, and indecisive’.(Tom

Robertson

December 12, 2020 - https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/america-nepal-and-the-royal-coup/ )

King Mahendra and Prime Minister BP Koirala met at the palace for dinner a few days before

the putsch. The King had just returned from a four-month trip to Japan, the United States and

UK, and top secret plans were already in place for the coup d’état.

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Years later, Koirala related how towards the end of that meal, Mahendra (wearing trademark

shades even though it was dark inside the room) gestured to Queen Ratna to leave and told him:

“There cannot be two lions in a cage.”

BP writes in his memoir that he had a ‘love hate’ relationship with Mahendra, who appreciated

his work ethic, but was increasingly jealous of his popularity.

The King’s aversion to political parties was well known, zamindars hated BP’s new land reform

bill, and Mahendra sensed that Nehru’s India and Mao’s China, for different reasons, could live

with a coup, as long as it did not make Nepal unstable.

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So, on पुस १, २०१७ (first day of the month of Pous 2017) the King made his move. In a speech he

accused the Nepali Congress government of “failure to maintain law and order, being anti-

national, corrupt and unaccountable”. The Swiss Ambassador was visiting Kathmandu from New

Delhi on 15 December, and wrote a long cable to Berne about how BP Koirala had earlier talked

about the difficulty of maintaining Nepal’s neutrality amidst Cold War tensions.

US Ambassador Henry E Stebbins had met King Mahendra on 9 December in which he was

given no hints of what he was planning, even though preparations must have been at an advanced

stage.

After the coup, Stebbins wrote to President Eisenhower: ‘…we feel that the King’s motives in

taking the precipitate action he did were guided less by the issues of corruption and Communism

than by a growing fear that his own personal position and prestige were dwindling and that if he

did not act soon, it might be too late . . . the real motive behind the move was the preservation of

the monarchy and the Shah dynasty in its absolute form.’ (‘Pousch Ek’ ,Kunda Dixit,December

11, 2020 https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/putsch-ek/ )

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Durbar Hatya Kanda ?

Rookmangud Katwal on The Royal Massacre of Nepal

Q - The royal family of a country was destroyed. But how is that possible?

It looks impossible and you must have read in my book that is what I said, who were the duty

officers of the king's security. After someone fired three or four times in the room where the king

was sitting, they should have broken down the door or the wall to go inside the Tribhuvan sadan

room . There was such a big mistake as saying that no one can enter the king's personal room , and I

think that there is a bit of trouble between King Dipendra and his mother, not because of devyani but

since the beginning of king dipendras childhood.-Rookmangud Katwal

The two-man committee of supreme court chief justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya and house
speaker Taranath Ranabhat presented the findings at a news conference in Kathmandu, the
Nepalese capital.

Mr Ranabhat said the panel found no cartridges at the scene of the crime other than those used by
Dipendra. He told reporters that Dipendra came to the dinner at the royal palace at 7.30pm on June 1
after drinking his favorite Famous Grouse whiskey.

Dipendra then asked an aide for cigarettes laced with opium. The aide, Gajendra Bohra, told the
panel that the crown prince had been smoking opium cigarettes for a year.

Dipendra was taken to his room in an inebriated state by four relatives at the dinner. He then made a
call from his mobile phone to his girlfriend, Devyani Rana, in Kathmandu, Mr Ranabhat said.

Mr Ranabhat added that the girlfriend telephoned some aides of Dipendra within minutes, telling
them that the crown prince was slurring his speech and was probably sick.

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The aides went looking for the crown prince and found him sprawled on the floor of his room, trying
to take off a headband. They helped him to his feet and took him to the bathroom. But he ordered
them to leave, Mr Ranabhat said. Shortly afterward, Dipendra made two more calls to his girlfriend
on his mobile phone.

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○ DasDhunga hatya kanda -How madan bhandari was k*lled ?

About how madan bhandari was killed In dasdhunga , former “ U M L '' general secretary Madan

bhandari and Jeevraj Ashrit were traveling to Chitwan from Pokhara . They were three people

including Amar lama . When they were traveling , they had a break of chiya and offer that when

they arrived dasdhunga , the vehicle falls of the cliff and the leaders were found dead , but

surprisingly the driver Amar lama was saved , some communists say this is accident and some say

this was a murder . The communists leaders like kp sharma oli , Bidya Devi bhandari , Madhav

kumar Nepal etc reached in the higher post in the politics after this incident . When the

communists , police asked Amar lama about what happened ? Then he said that suddenly he lost

control of the car and we fell in the trisuli and I swimmed the trisuli and I survived. Some

communists also say that this was a big planned murder, but before Madan Bhandari's death an

foreign media had posted that “Karl Marx is still alive in Nepal” . He was the only person who

challenged royal families to come into politics in the Election ground with him and he had lots of

confidence in him , he was the best person for politics . Also some people say that Amar lama and

other people had planned this accident and when the car crashed and hitted the tree and a big stone

came and crushed the car and because of that stone the car slipped and fell into the trisuli river

according to a fisherman named- ( Surya bahadur magar) and kp Sharma oli and others like his

wife bidya devi bhandari say that this is a muder . Also from my research I also found that the

people who had researched this incident all have been killed. So , this murder or accident is a big

and not solved mystery in nepal. After this incident Amar lama is in jail for 6 years.!! (In depth

Story Youtube Channel,Sudip Bhai Subedi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9p69J8L92o )

Rishi Kattels Opinion of Dasdhunga Hatyakanda

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“Driver Lama was very close to Bhandari. Bhandari trusted him. So, we did not pay attention to the

activities of Lama when we were in Pokhara and while traveling. Neither we thought about the reason

behind why the driver looked serious before the incident occurred,” he remembers.

“Lama himself had made Bhandari fasten the seat belt when he said it was not necessary because the

trip was not long.”

“The door where Bhandari had seated was locked. The windshield was not broken. Ashrit, who was in

the back seat when I left, was in the same position but lying lifeless when the crane pulled up the jeep

from the river.”

“But, there was no sign of Madan Bhandari. After searching for three days, his dead body was found

lying in the river bank in Gajapur, some 32 kilometers from the accident site.”

“I myself had reached there to identify his body. The body was said to have swept away by the river.

But, surprisingly, there was not even a single scratch on his body except a small bruise on his face.”

“The body was obviously missing the pant Bhandari was wearing, which he had tightened using a

belt. But his underwear was still on the body.”

“Also, there was no chance Bhandari could have swept away by the river.”

“All the facts lead to a conclusion that it was a murder.”

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the reign of King Mahendra in Nepal was marked by a series of political and social

changes that shaped the country's history. His decision to abolish the democratic system of

governance and establish the Panchayat system led to a period of authoritarian rule that lasted for

decades. The death of Madan Bhandari, a prominent Nepalese politician, is a subject of controversy and

mystery. On May 16, 1993, Bhandari and his colleague, Jeev Raj Ashrit, were traveling from Hetauda to

Kathmandu when their vehicle reportedly went off the road and fell into a ravine near Dasdhunga. The Royal

Massacre of Nepal was a tragic event that had a significant impact on Nepali society and politics.

The brutal murders of King Birendra and his family members sent shockwaves throughout the

country and the world. Despite extensive investigations and multiple theories, the exact motives

behind the massacre remain unclear to this day. The aftermath of the massacre led to political

instability in Nepal, with the monarchy losing much of its legitimacy and power.

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ANNEX

Interview Questions:

Why was KING MAHENDRA respected all over the world?

Fight Between King Mahendra and BP Koirala?
Who killed king Birendra
The royal family of a country was destroyed. But how is that possible?
What happened on the night of June 1 2001 in Narayanhiti Palace ?
How was madan bhandari killed ?
Fight Between King Mahendra and BP Koirala?

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REFERENCES

● (In depth Story Youtube Channel,Sudip Bhai Subedi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=LrtHhKhUVfo )

● (Enepalese Published on: June 8, 2020

https://www.enepalese.com/2020/06/274875.html )

● .(Tom Robertson December 12, 2020 - https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/america-

nepal-and-the-royal-coup/ )

● (‘Pousch Ek’ ,Kunda Dixit,December 11, 2020

https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/putsch-ek/ )

● (Rookmangud Katwal on The Royal Massacre of Nepal |

Sushant Pradhan--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5D4gkZauzU )

● (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jun/14/nepal )

● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9p69J8L92o

● (-Rishi kattel-https://nepalireporter.com/2019/05/255666 ,17 May, 2019)

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