Shah Dynasty

Preamble

The former royal family of Nepal claims descent from the Sisodia dynasty of Chittor, later ruling at Udaipur. Ajaya Simha claims himself as Prince of Nayakot, Lambjang, Kaski, and Tanhun in ca. 1495. Later on, historians of Bahun ethnicity claimed his descent from the

Sisodia dynasty of Chittor. His successor, Jagdeva, conquered the principality of Kaski and was awarded the title of Shah from the Emperor of India during the sixteenth century. Drabya Shah, great-grandson of Jagdeva, conquered Gorkha, establishing himself as the founder of the fortunes of the dynasty. His descendant, Prithvi Narayan, entered the Kathmandu valley and defeated the Malla dynasty, becoming King in 1768. His successors conquered all the remaining petty principalities and unified the kingdom.

Beginning of Shah dynasty

In the sixteenth century Yashobramha Shah gained the ruling title over the principality of Kaski.

The rulers of neighboring Kingdom of Gorkha were Magar people. They had a tradition of choosing a ruler every fall by way of a running match open to everyone. Whoever won the race was to become the ruler for a year.

However, when Dravya Shah tricked his way to the win and eventually gotten away with the tradition of choosing a ruler every fall. He ruled with an iron fist and executed anyone who suggested the reinstatement of the very tradition of choosing a ruler by which he himself became a ruler

Dravya Shah himself was not a physically robust man. He, however, had the backing of the Bhattarai, Aryal, Adhikari and Acharya clans of Bahun to propel him to the throne by defeating Magar aspirants to the throne by trickery and cheating instead of pure physical perfection as was the norm. Once he became the king, however, he discontinued the race that was essential among the Magar to anoint the ruler for the next year. By the time of his death in 1570, Dravya Shah had managed to erase the memory of the tradition of choosing the ruler by way of running a match open to everyone. He was a shrewd politician, and with the backing of the above mentioned clan of Bahun, he additionally sought the help of the Pant clan of Bahun. He was a totalitarian king who ruled with an iron fist to silence any dissent. He used the power and might of the multi-ethnic army to increase the size of the kingdom to include some of the neighbouring states. His successors continued to increase the kingdom's territory.

Modern period (1768–1990)

In 1743 Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded to the throne of Gorkha and set out for the unification of Nepal. By September 1768, he became the King of Nepal.

In 1815 the Gurkha War broke out between Nepal and the British East India Company. By the end of the war in 1816 Nepal had lost one third of its territory.

During the mid-19th century the Shah dynasty lost control of Nepal to the Rana dynasty, who reduced the King of Nepal to a figurehead while they ruled the country through hereditary government positions.

It wasn't until 1951 that the Shah dynasty regained control with the resignation of Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the last Rana prime minister.

Constitutional monarchy (1990–2008)

In 1990 King Birendra turned Nepal into a constitutional monarchy. On June 1, 2001, a number of members of the Shah dynasty were murdered by Crown Prince Dipendra. Among the dead were the Crown Prince's father King Birendra and his brother Prince Nirajan. Following the death of Birendra, the comatose Dipendra was declared king but only reigned for a few days until his eventual death, at which point his uncle Prince Gyanendra succeeded him. In February 2005 King Gyanendra dismissed Parliament and took over control of the government.

Birendra believed in the consensus between the absolute power of the monarchy and open democratic governance. However, his brother Gyanendra of Nepal and his wife consort Aishwarya of Nepal staunchly opposed this view.

The Nepalese Constituent Assembly came to fruition on December 24, 2007 when it was announced that the monarchy would be abolished in 2008 after the Constituent Assembly elections;and on May 28, 2008, Nepal was declared a Federal Democratic Republic and the dynasty was removed from power.

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Kings of Nepal (1768-2008)

List of Kings of Nepal (1768-2008)

Shah dynasty

• Prithvi Narayan Shah (25 September 1768 - 11 January 1775) (ruler of Gorkha from 1743)
• Pratap Singh Shah (11 January 1775 - 17 November 1777)
• Rana Bahadur Shah (17 November 1777 - 23 March 1799) (abdicated)
• Girvan Yudha Bikram Shah (23 March 1799 - 20 November 1816)
• Rajendra Bikram Shah (20 November 1816 - 12 May 1847) (abdicated)
• Surendra Bikram Shah (12 May 1847 - 17 May 1881)
• Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah (17 May 1881 - 11 December 1911)
• Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (1st reign) (11 December 1911 - 7 November 1950) (in exile in India from 7 November 1950 until 7 January 1951)
• Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (1st reign) (7 November 1950 - 7 January 1951)
• Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (2nd reign) (7 January 1951 - 13 March 1955)
• Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah (14 March 1955 - 31 January 1972)
• Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (31 January 1972 - 1 June 2001) (assassinated in the Nepalese royal massacre)
• Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (1 June 2001 - 4 June 2001) (three days, incapacitated)
• Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (2nd reign) (4 June 2001 - 28 May 2008) (deposed, suspended from 15 January 2007)

Prithvi Narayan Shah was the first ruler of "unified" Nepal. However, prior to 1768, the modern-day Nepal consisted of various small kingdoms, among which Shah Kings continued to rule in a few of them (notably in Gorkha). So the actual history of the Shah dynasty dates much before Prithvi Narayan Shah.

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Nepalese monarchy

The King of Nepal was traditionally known as the Mahārājādhirāja (श्री 5 महाराजधिराज); his queen was known as the Badāmahārānī (श्री ५ बडामहारानी). The monarchy was founded in 1768 and was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the Nepalese Constituent Assembly. [1] The subnational monarchies in Mustang, Bajhang, Salyan, and Jajarkot were also abolished in October

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Jang Bahadur

Maharaja Jung Bahadur Rana (or Jang Bahadur Kunwar), GCB, GCSI, (Nepali: जंग बहादुर राणा June 18, 1816, Kathmandu, Nepal -February 25, 1877, Kathmandu) was a ruler of Nepal and founder of the Rana dynasty of Nepal. His real name was Bir Narsingh Kunwar but he became famous by the name Jang Bahadur, given to him by Mathebar Thapa, his maternal uncle. During his lifetime, he eliminated the factional fighting at the court, introduced innovations into the bureaucracy and the judiciary, and made efforts to "modernize" Nepal. He remains one of the most important figures in Nepalese history, though modern historians have also blamed Jang Bahadur for setting up the dictatorship that repressed the nation for more than 100 years and left it in a primitive economic condition. Others exclusively blame his nephews, the Shumsher Ranas, for Nepal's dark period of history.

Early life

Jang Bahadur's great-grandfather was an important military leader under King Prithvi Narayan Shah in the eighteenth century, and during the war with China (1791-1792) his grandfather was also a military leader, who became one of the four chief administrators (kaji) of the Gorkha-Nepalese state. His father, Bal Narsingh Kunwar (aka Bala Narsingh Kunwar), was in court the day Rana Bahadur Shah was murdered and killed the murderer Sher Bahadur Shah on the spot. For this action, he was rewarded with the position of Kaji, which was made hereditary in his family,also he was the only person allowed to carry weapons inside the court. Jang Bahadur Kunwar joined the military service in 1832-33 at the age of sixteen. As maternal grandson of Bhimsen Thapa, he lost his job and his property when the latter fell. After wandering in north India for several years, he returned to Nepal as a captain in the artillery in 1840. In November 1841, he was asked by the king to join his bodyguard, and in January 1842 he began work as Kaji in the palace. When Mathbar Singh, Jang Bahadur's maternal Uncle, returned to power, Jang Bahadur rose with him but Mathbar Singh disliked his ambition and had him removed to a lesser position on the staff of the heir apparent. When Fateh Jang Chautaria came to power, Jang Bahadur became fourth in the hierarchy of the coalition government and took pains to flatter the queen while showing no signs of ambition to Gagan Singh. A career opportunist, he was ready and waiting when the time came to act at the Kot Massacre. Queen Lakshmidevi, the favourite wife of King Rajendra Bikram Shah was not pleased by the new prime minister. She conspired to eliminate Jang Bahadur Kunwar and elevate her son to the throne. The Basnyat Conspiracy, so called because many of its participants belonged to one of the last leading noble families, the Basnyat's, was betrayed, and its ringleaders were rounded up and executed in 1846 at Bhandarkhal Parva. A meeting of leading notables packed with Rana supporters found the queen guilty of complicity in the plot, stripped her of her powers, and sent her into exile in Banaras along with King Rajendra. The king still had delusions of grandeur and began plotting his return from India. In 1847 Jang Bahadur informed the troops of the exiled king's treasonous activities, announced his dethronement, and elevated Rajendra's son to the throne as Surendra Bikram Shah (1847-81). Rajendra was captured later that year in the Tarai and brought back as a prisoner to Bhadgaon, where he spent the rest of his life under house arrest. By 1850 Jang Bahadur had eliminated all of his major rivals, installed his own candidate on the throne, appointed his brothers and cronies to all the important posts, and ensured that major administrative decisions were made by himself as prime minister. At this point, he took the unprecedented step of travelling to Britain, leaving from Calcutta in April 1850 and returning to Kathmandu in February 1851. Although he unsuccessfully tried to deal directly with the British government while he was there, the main result of the tour was a great increase in goodwill between the British and Nepal. Recognizing the power of industrialized Europe, he became convinced that close cooperation with the British was the best way to guarantee Nepal's independence. From then on, European architecture, fashion, and furnishings became more prevalent in Kathmandu and among the Nepalese aristocracy in general.

Muluki Ain

Statue of Maharaja Sir Jung Bahadur Rana (location near Tundikhel, Katmandu

As part of his modernization plans, Jang Bahadur Kunwar commissioned leading administrators and interpreters of texts on dharma to revise and codify the legal system of the nation into a single body of laws, a process that had not been carried out since the seventeenth century under Ram Shah of Gorkha. The result was the 1,400-page Muluki Ain of 1854, a collection of administrative procedures and legal frameworks for interpreting civil and criminal matters, revenue collection, landlord and peasant relations, intercaste disputes, and marriage and family law. In contrast to the older system, which had allowed execution or bodily mutilation for a wide range of offences, the Muluki Ain severely limited-- without abolishing--corporal punishment. For example, the old system gave wide scope for blood vengeance by aggrieved parties, such as cuckolded husbands, but the Muluki Ain restricted such opportunities. Substitutions included confiscation of property or prison terms. Torture to obtain confessions was abolished. Strict penalties were set down for the abusers of judicial positions and also for persons maliciously accusing judges of corruption. There were statutes of limitations for judicial actions. Caste-based differences in the degree of punishments remained throughout, with higher castes (for example, Brahmans) exempt from the corporal punishments and heavy fines that lower-caste members incurred for the same crimes. This distinction was in keeping with the traditional approach of the dharma shastras, or ancient legal treatises.

Control of Nepal

After his return from Europe, Jang Bahadur took steps to increase his hold over the country. He reduced the king to a prisoner in his own palace, surrounded by agents of the prime minister and restricted and supervised at all times. No one outside the king's immediate family could see the king without permission from the prime minister. All communications in the name of the king were censored, and he was allowed to read only approved literature. In 1856 the king issued a royal decree (sanad) that formalized the dominance of the Kunwar family. There were three main provisions in this crucial document. First, the prime minister had complete authority over all internal administration, including civil, military, and judicial affairs, and all foreign relations, including the powers to make war and peace. Second, Jang Bahadur was made great king (maharajah) of Kaski and Lamjung districts, in effect serving as their independent ruler. The Shah king retained the title of maharajadhiraja (supreme king) and the right to use the honorific term shri five times with his name. The prime minister could use shri three times with his name. In this way, Jang Bahadur stopped short of taking the throne outright but elevated his family to a level second only to the royal house, which remained as a symbol of the nation. Finally, provisions were established for hereditary succession to the post of prime minister. Brothers and then sons would inherit the position in order of seniority. These provisions meant that the dictatorship of the Kunwar family, a virtual monarchy within the monarchy, would be passed down in the family for generations, with no legal mechanism for changing the government. Later, Jang Bahadur established official Rolls of Succession that ranked all his descendants in relation to their hereditary rights to the office of prime minister.

Jang Bahadur sealed the arrangement with the Shah Dynasty by arranging marriages between his heirs and the royal house. In 1854, his eldest son Jagat Jang (aged eight) married the eldest daughter (aged six) of Surendra Bikram Shah. In 1855 his second son married the second daughter of the king. The ultimate test was passed in 1857, when heir apparent Trilokya Bir Bikram married two daughters of Jang Bahadur. A son of this union, Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah, ascended to the throne in 1881.

Foreign Relations

Nepal began to experience some successes in international affairs during the tenure of Jang Bahadur. To the north, relations with Tibet had been mediated through China since Nepal's defeat in 1792, and during the early nineteenth century embassies had to make the arduous journey to Beijing every five years with local products as tribute to the Qing emperor. By 1854, however, China was in decline and had fallen into a protracted period of disturbances, including the Taiping Rebellion (1851-64), revolts by Muslim ethnic groups north of Tibet, and war with European powers. The Nepalese mission to Beijing in 1852, just after the death of the sixth Panchen Lama, was allegedly mistreated in Tibet. Because of this slight, the Nepalese government sent a protest letter to Beijing and Lhasa outlining several grievances, including excessive customs duties on Nepalese trade. In 1855 Nepalese troops overran the Kuti and Kairang areas. Hostilities lasted for about a year, with successes and failures on both sides, until a treaty negotiated by the Chinese resident and ratified in March 1856 gave Nepalese merchants duty-free trade privileges, forced Tibet to pay an annual tribute of 10,000 rupees to Nepal, and allowed a Nepalese resident in Lhasa. In return, Nepal gave up territorial gains and agreed that it, as well as Tibet, would remain a tributary state subject to China. As the Qing Empire disintegrated later in the century, this tributary status was allowed to lapse, and even Tibet began to shake off its subordination.

The outbreak of disorder to the south also allowed the Nepalese army to take a more active role in international affairs. The Indian Rebellion of 1857, beginning in May 1857, was a series of related uprisings throughout north India that threatened to topple the power of the British East India Company. The uprisings began with widespread mutinies in the company's army and spread to include peasant revolts and alliances of the old Mughal aristocracy against the foreigner. Most of the major cities west of Bengal fell into rebel hands, and the aged Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was proclaimed the leader of a national revolution. Initially there was some fear in British circles that Nepal would side with the rebels and turn the tide irrevocably against the British East India Company, but Jang Bahadur proved to be a loyal and reliable ally. At that point, immediately following hostilities in Tibet, the army of Nepal had grown to around 25,000 troops. Jang Bahadur sent several columns ahead and then marched with 9,000 troops into northern India in December 1857. Heading an army of 15,000 troops, he fought several hard battles and aided the British in their campaigns around Gorakhpur and Lucknow. The prime minister returned to Nepal triumphantly in March 1858 and continued to aid the British in rooting out "rebels" who had been dislocated during the chaos and sought refuge in the Tarai. After the Sepoy Rebellion had been crushed and Britain had abolished the British East India Company and taken direct control of India in 1858, Nepal received a reward for its loyalty. Western sections of the Tarai that had been ceded through the Treaty of Sagauli in 1816 were returned. Henceforth, the British were firm supporters of Jang Bahadur's government, and Nepal later became an important source of military recruits for the British army.[2] In 1858 King Surendra bestowed upon Jang Bahadur Kunwar the honorific title of Rana, an old title denoting martial glory used by Rajput princes in northern India. He then became Jang Bahadur Rana, and the later prime ministers descended from his family added his name to their own in honor of his accomplishments. Their line became known as the house of the Ranas. Jang Bahadur remained prime minister until 1877, suppressing conspiracies and local revolts and enjoying the fruits of his early successes. He exercised almost unlimited power over internal affairs, taking for his own use whatever funds were available in the treasury. He lived in the high style of an Anglicised native prince in the British Raj, although unlike the Indian princes he was the ruler of a truly independent nation, an ally rather than a subordinate of the British.

Lineage Presently if someone carries the name Shumshere Jang Bahadur Rana, then they come from Dhir Shumshere's lineage (Jang Bahadur's younger brother) whose son Bir Shumshere committed the coup d'etat of 1885 murdering most of Jang Bahadur's sons and forcing the remaining sons, as well as, Prince General Dhoj Narsingh Rana (son of Sri Teen Maharaja Ranodip Singh) to seek refuge in India. The descendants of Jang and Ranodip live today in North India (mainly Dehra Dun, Allahabad and Udaipur) and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some did return to Nepal and live in Kathmandu, Nepalgunj and Pokhara. Another branch of descendants of Jung Bahadur are from two of his sons Ranabir Jung and Padmabir Jung who fled to Allahabad. Ranabir Jung later attempted to reclaim his position, after having raised an army, but was thwarted and finally killed in battle. Ranabir Jungs descendants with the title Bir Jung Bahadur are very widespread, and live in Kathmandu, Dehra Dun, Delhi, Kolkata, Australia and The UK.

Titles

• 1817-1835: Jang Bahadur Kunwar
• 1835-1840: Second Lieutenant Jang Bahadur Kunwar
• 1840-1841: Captain Jang Bahadur Kunwar
• 1841-1845: Kaji Captain Jang Bahadur Kunwar
• 1845-1848: Kaji Major-General Jang Bahadur Kunwar
• 1848-1856: Kaji Major-General Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana
• 1856-1857: Kaji Commanding-General Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski
• 1857-1858: His Highness Commanding-General Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski
• 1858-1872: His Highness Commanding-General Sir Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski, GCB
• 1872-1873: His Highness Commanding-General Sir Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, T'ung-ling-ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski, GCB
• 1873-1877: His Highness Commanding-General Sir Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, T'ung-ling-ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski, GCB, GCSI

Honours

• Sword of Honour from Napoleon III-1851
• India General Service Medal-1854
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)-1858
• Indian Mutiny Medal-1858
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)-1873
• Prince of Wales's Medal-1876

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Sugauli Treaty

The Sugauli Treaty (also spelled Segowlee and Segqulee) was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between the British East India Company and Nepal, which was a kingdom during that era. This ended the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816). The signatory for Nepal was Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra aided by Chandra Sekher Upadhyaya and the signatory for the Company was Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw. The treaty called for territorial concessions (areas which Nepal attacked and captured from India) on the part of Nepal, the establishment of a British representative in Kathmandu, and allowed Britain to recruit Gurkhas for military service. Nepal also lost the right to deploy any American or European employee in its service (earlier several French commanders had been deployed to train the Nepali army). Under the treaty, about one-third of Nepalese territory was lost, including Sikkim (whose Chogyals supported Britain in the Anglo-Nepalese War); territory to west of the Kali River like Kumaon (present Indian state of Uttarakhand), Garhwal (present Indian state of Uttarakhand); some territories to the west of the Sutlej River like Kangra (present day Himachal Pradesh); and much of the Terai Region. Some of the Terai Region was restored to Nepal in 1816 under a revision of the treaty and more territory was returned in 1865 to thank Nepal for helping to suppress the Indian rebellion of 1857. The British representative in Kathmandu was the first Westerner allowed to live in the kingdom. The first representative was Edward Gardner, who was installed at a compound north of Kathmandu. That site is now called Lazimpat and is home to the British and Indian embassies. The Sugauli Treaty was superseded in December 1923 by a "treaty of perpetual peace and friendship," which upgraded the British resident to an envoy. A separate treaty was signed with India (independent by now) in 1950 which restored fresh relations between the two as independent countries.

Until the Sugauli Sandhi (treaty)

Until the Sugauli Sandhi (treaty) was signed, the territory of Nepal also included Darjeeling, and Tista to the east, Nainital to the south-west and Kumaun, Garwal and Bashahar to the west. However, today these areas are a part of India. As a result, Nepal shares no boundary with Bangladesh now and the two countries are separated by a narrow strip of land about 21 kilometres (13 mi) wide, called the Siliguri Corridor‎ or Chicken's Neck. A huge majority of Nepalese still live there (almost 2 million). Efforts are underway to make this area a free-trade zone.[28] The border dispute between India and Nepal has often been a cause of tension between the two countries.

Unequal Treaty

Sigauli Treaty is known as an unequal treaty because this treaty made Nepal suffered only losses and British India gained a huge territorial advantage. The British got the facilities of corridor in the east and in the west, also it got all the facilities and benefits. No provision of facility and concession was made for Nepal. The territory of Nepal that had been unified and expanded to Teesta in the east, Kangara Fort in the West and nearly to the confluence of Ganga and Jamuna in the south, was curbed on all the three sides. So far as the international treaty is concerned, any treaty should be done on the basis of equality, mutual goodwill and understanding, but the British forced Nepal into the treaty under compulsion and duress. Therefore, experts on international treaty view that Nepal may not be forced to recognize the Sugauli treaty as a sound treaty.

The treaty was not signed willingly by Nepal

1. The British East India Company prepared the draft of the treaty with the signature of Lieutenant Colonel Paris Bradshaw on December 2, 1815. It was sent to Nepal with a 15-day ultimatum for counter-signature and asked to return it to them. Nepal did not like the terms and conditions of the treaty, so it did not sign within that period. The British then spread rumour that they were launching attack on the capital, Kathmandu, and even carried out troop movement to show Nepal that it was serious. When Nepal thought that the attack on the capital was inevitable, it was forced to accept the treaty.

2. As it was a treaty imposed on Nepal, the King and high ranking officials did not want to sign it. But as Nepal was under duress to accept its terms, Chandrashekhar Upadhyaya, who had accompanied Pandit Gajaraj Mishra to the British camp at Sugauli, put his signature on March 4, 1816 and gave it to them.

3. As Nepal had signed the treaty under coercion after 93 days against the 15-day ultimatum, the treaty came into effect from that day.

Validity of the treaty

1. Article 9 of the treaty says that the treaty shall be approved by the King of Nepal, but there isn't any record of the treaty being approved by King Girwana Yuddha Bikram Shah.

2. The British had feared that Nepal might not implement the treaty signed on March 4, 1816 by Chandrashekhar Upadhyaya. Therefore, Governor General David Octerloni, on behalf of the British Government, ratified the treaty the same day and the counterpart treaty was handed over to Upadhyaya.

Therefore, the treaty, which was signed by Chandrashekhar Upadhyaya for Nepal and by Parish Bradshaw for the Company Government, was approved only by Governor General Octerloni. As the treaty was not approved by the King of Nepal, there can be question and curiosity on the legality of the treaty.

Boundary conflict

As the treaty was not clear about the boundary delimitation, its effects have persisted even to the present time:

1. The treaty failed to mention clearly in so many sections where the borderline would actually pass through. There have been problems in demarcating the boundary line and in erecting border pillars at several places. Now the area of such disputed places has been estimated at around 60,000 hectares. In many of these areas, there are still claims, counter-claims, discussions, controversies and arguments from both sides.

2. The result is that even today there are accusations of encroachment and disputes at 54 places of the Nepal-India borderline. The prominent areas have been identified as Kalapani- Limpiyadhura, Susta, Mechi area, Tanakpur, Sandakpur, Pashupatinagar, Hile Thori etc.

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