- By Uttam B. Khatri
The unification of modern Nepal was started by King
Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Great, in 1744 A.D. Ancient Nepal has hundreds,
perhaps thousands of years old history. The young King of a small Kingdom of Gorkha
began the unification campaign when the colonization of small kingdoms by the Westerners
was taking momentum, during the eighteenth century. There were a total of 46 small states in
Gandaki and Karnali provinces, many more hilly states in east of Kathmandu
valley as well as three kingdoms of Makwanpur, Bijayapur and Chaudandi in the
South-Eastern Tarai. Prithvi Narayan Shah brought most of the tiny kingdoms together
and had them unified with a minimum loss of life and properties. He used force
only against those who refused to come under his domain. The states that
accepted the
During the unification process he did not indulge in
atrocities as fear tactics except some “alleged cutting off of nose and lips”
meted out to the people of Kirtipur. This could well be the rumor spread out in
retaliation by the western missionaries who were defeated and then expelled out
of the kingdom by Prithvi Narayan Shah. Because no proof of the said mutilation
have been found except some story based on rumors.
The Gorkha king started the campaign with a conviction
that if he did not unify the numerous states into one strong Nation, the
aggressive colonial power would conquer all the small states and turn them as
part of the colony like the rest of kingdoms in the south. By and large,
Prithvi Narayan’s campaign for unification was for “survival of the fittest” during
the ruthless colonial era.
After the untimely demise of Prithvi Narayan Shah at an early
age of fifty two. Prince Bahadur Shah, an able son of the deceased King,
continued his father’s mission in the unification process. During his short
period of leadership, the Prince brought so many other small kingdoms together that
were scattered as far as Sutlej river in the west, Nagarkatta, about seventy
kilometers beyond Mechi river in the east and almost as far as Ganga and
Bramhaputra rivers at most places in the south. There was no” India” at that
time. No offence to present day India, but that is the historical truth. The
British gave the name India after they consolidated the colonies in present shape.
During the unification, Prince Bahadur Shah ruled as a
regent of the infant Crown Prince Rana Bahadur Shah for about ten years. Unfortunately,
the intrigues, power struggle and he conspiracies caused the untimely death of
Prince Bahadur Shah in 1797. After Bahadur Shah’s death, the power vacuum grew
further and the unification stopped. The Prince had unified Nepal into a big
and a powerful Nation with a huge geography from east to west and from north to
south having more than 300,000 square kilometer area. None of the kingdoms that
were unified under the Greater Nepal had ever been a part of today’s India. They
were just like any other kingdoms that came under Greater Nepal during the
unification process. Therefore, India has no right to occupy Nepal’s land that
was looted by the British well before India was created.
After the demise of Bahadur Shah, a power struggle caused
a lot of political confusion and instability in the country. In the meantime,
Bhimsen Thapa rose to power as Prime minister. The cunning Britts of the East
India Company took advantage of Nepal’s internal conflicts and taking advantage
of the situation, declared war on Nepal on November 1, 1814. Financially
depleted by Tibet-Nepal war and politically divided Nepal was probably not
prepared to fight the British. Bhimsen Thapa, although considered a nationalist
who was an ardent adversary of the colonial power could not prove himself
capable of conducting the war and lead the country into victory.
After the war, the East India Company tricked to annex
about half of Nepal's territory and merged them into the colony. In fact, the
colonialist coerced Nepal into the status of a semi-independent country after
the so-called treaty of Sugauli. One of the important terms of the treaty
prohibited Nepal from having foreign relations with overseas countries such as
France, America and other Europeans. Nepal became landlocked on three sides
from the colony. On the north, lay the formidable Himalayan mountain range and
Tibet. Thus Nepal became isolated and landlocked from rest of the World.
After the Kot massacre of 1846, Jung Bahadur became the de
facto ruler, with the Kings just like a ceremonial Monarch. Almost thirty years
had elapsed since the war, the East India Company had grown much organized and
militarily more advanced and stronger than Nepal. During the interim,
British colonialist had defeated most of the small
kingdoms of the area and had created a much bigger colony of India. Under those
circumstances,
Jung Bahadur knew that it would be suicidal for Nepal to
fight the British in an attempt to regain the land that was lost to them. As
such, Jung Bahadur did not plan to wage war against the British to get back the
lost territories. Instead, he decided to protect Nepal which had already been
reduced to the length within Mechi and Mahakali rivers. Jung Bahadur was smart
enough to change Nepal's foreign policy towards British India. The relation
with British India was changed from an
adversarial one to that of friendly neighbors. As a result, Jung Bahadur
tactfully regained some of the lost territories of western Tarai districts of
Banke, Bardia, Kailali, and Kanchanpur from the British.
Although Jung Bahadur is responsible for the establishment
of 104 years long autocratic Rana rule, he maintained political stability in
the country. If the Ranas had not developed a friendly and mutual relationship
with the British, and if the political condition had remained fluid and
unstable, the British would actively play in Nepali politics, influence the
then politics of Nepal, pursue their famous divide and rule policy and
eventually merge rest of Nepal into their Empire. The Rana regime probably stopped
this kind of tragedy from happening. However, they did not make serious efforts
in developing the country. During the British raj in India, the Ranas could not
dare to raise question on Nepal’s occupied land with the British either .
Some points to
ponder
Nepal had the best opportunity to claim the rest of the lost land that the
British had kept and merged in India since the conclusion of Anglo-Nepal War. The
British should have returned Nepal’s land before they divided the colony of
India in two countries, India and Pakistan. If there had been a strong National
leadership at the time of partition, Nepal would have a very strong and
legitimate ground in claiming the lost territories back. Because, If the
British had the full authority and power to create a separate country, Pakistan
out of the colony, why would not they decolonize Nepal's land and return them
to its previous owner? This is a timid and dishonest act on the part of the British
colonialism and a shameful decision on the part of Indian leaders. What an
irony, the so-called freedom fighters, who fought for decolonization of their
land and conspired to keep occupying Nepal’s land. One of the main reason why
the question was not raised officially by Nepal was, there were no strong
representative to fight who could stand and speak up for Nepal.
Unfortunately, everyone from Nepal at that time had their
own vested interest. The then PM of Nepal, Mohan Shumsher Rana and his cronies
were only interested to save their regime at the cost of National interest. The
Ranas would not speak out because they were afraid of Indian leaders like
Gandhi, Nehru, and Patel etc. for fear of retaliation. Mohan Shumsher apparently
wanted to cling to power rather than negotiate with the British and later with
Indian leadership. Besides, the Ranas were worried about the potential
activities down the road by dissident Nepalis who were educated and smart and
who could instigate and lead Nepali people for democracy. Those people had
already seen the taste of freedom while in exile in India. Those Nepali leaders
exiled in India were a direct threat to the Rana regime.
Furthermore, the Ranas had foreseen the end of their
regime along with the end of British rule in India. And also, they knew that
they had to please the Indian leaders by all means in order to stay in power.
Therefore, they would rather sacrifice the claim for Nepal's lost territories
for their own interest. They had to bring their wealth to India because they
knew that they eventually would be driven out of power. More than likely, the
Ranas could not afford to antagonize the Indian leadership for the fear of
losing privileges for transfer of wealth and the eventual residence in India.
On the other hand, Bisweshor P. Koirala, Subarna S. Rana
and some other political leaders of Nepali origin who were living in India at
that time had their own interest. They were looking at the opportunities of
taking advantage of the political changes that was taking shape in Nepal.
During that period, those Nepalis were just the followers of Indian
independence leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, and others. They were supporting the
Indian freedom fighters. Later, as situation began to change, they saw the
opportunities in Nepali politics and sought to take the leadership in Nepal.
The Nepali Congress Party was born in India just about the same time that India
gained independence from the British. BP Koirala, Subarna Shumsher and few
others did not dare to raise the question for the lost land. Again, their
self-interest was greater than the National interest of Nepal. If they had
spoken for the restoration of Nepal 's Indian occupied land from Tista to
Sutlej, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel etc. would stood against the idea and they
obviously thought that they would be deprived of the assistance they would seek
from Indian leaders in overthrowing the regime in Nepal. They knew that without
the support and assistances from the Indian leadership they could not come into
power after the Ranas were gone. The self-centered Nepali leaders were simply
overcome by their own interest over the National interest of Nepal. Naturally,
they could not dare to claim Nepal’s lost territories because of the fear from
their Indian political mentors.
Last but not the least, King Tribhuvan could not raise the
question of lost land either. The King must have felt obliged to Prime Minister
Nehru and his fellow political colleagues for helping him. In fact, the Indians
were the main instigators for the forthcoming political changes in Nepal. King
Tribhuvan was probably forced to keep quite on the matter of Nepal’s lost land.
The king wanted to get rid of the Ranas and take his throne back. He was
looking for Indian assistance on his plan. The king as well could not afford to
displease the Indian leadership.
Moreover, if the Nepali political leaders that were living
in exile in India during the partition period, the then ruling Rana regime
and King Tribhuvan himself had come
together and negotiated with the British Government for returning the
territories lost by Nepal after the treaty of Sugauli, they would be obliged to
listen to the request seriously. Nepal would have a strong and legitimate case.
More than likely, the British would have supported the idea and probably would
have agreed to return the land, if not all, at least the areas like Darjeeling,
Sikkim, Doars etc. Even Pakistan would have supported and endorsed this move
because they would prefer Nepal benefit from the land deal rather than India.
Thus, Nepal lost a golden opportunity to regain the lost land.
After the Indian Independence in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru,
other Indian leadership and the administration influenced the politics of Nepal
to a great extent. The Indians took advantage of King Tribhuvan's exile and his
will to overthrow the Rana regime. The king wanted his power back. The Indians
assisted the King and Nepali Congress leaders to unseat Mohan Shumsher
Rana and his regime from the power. King Tribhuvan returned to Nepal from exile
in India in1951. Nepal was declared a democratic country under the monarchy, once
again. However, India in a way, blackmailed the King, the Rana regime and the
newly formed Nepali congress leaders. None of the negotiating parties could
dare raise the question of returning Nepal’s colonized land for the restoration
of Greater Nepal.
Furthermore, a new political chapter began in Nepal in
1951. Ever since the political change, Nepal has seen numerous political
upheavals from transitional democracy, Panchayat democracy, a multi-party
system of democracy, direct rule of the King to so-called communist rule under
the Federal system of the current Government. Ironically, however, Nepal has
been suffering from unstable Government, rampant all-round corruption and violence.
Since the first non-Rana Prime minister, Matrika Prasad Koirala down to the
Prime Minister KP Oli, Nepal has seen more than twenty Prime Minister. By and
large, India remotely plays a major role in installing and dismantling the
Government. Hardly any Prime Minister or any political leader can challenge the
Indian leadership. Most of the political leaders are bought by India. No wonder, any leader could not show the
courage to talk about Nepal’s lost land. None of them have proved to have
become a successful leader with good governance.
Many major rivers of Nepal like Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali,
Mahakali, Arun and many others have been sold to India or leased them out on
India’s terms, conditions and interest, one after another. Many major changes
took place in Nepal. The Maoist, apparently were instigated, trained and
financed by India in order to do away with the Monarchy. The insurgency caused
tremendous loss of infrastructure, economy, and industries. They have pushed
back the country decades away. The country is facing the biggest balance of
trade deficit, millions of productive youth population is out of the country
and working for others. The state of economy of the is in shambles. The rampant
corruption in the Government, such as Gold smuggling, Melamchi water project, syndicate
in the transportation system, purchase of the wide-body, narrow body plane, N cell,
shameful security system, to name a few are some of the examples towards a
failed State. The current Communist Government of PM Oli is in accomplish on
the rampant corruption in the country, can do nothing except defend and save
their cadres and party workers for their crimes.
Why no Government can function in Nepal? Because every Government, no matter
which party comes to power have failed miserably. They are remotely controlled
by outsiders, mostly from the southern neighbor. Without the blessings from the
foreigners and especially from India, no PM of Nepal seems to be able to
function on his own. They seem to have two choices, either do what India wants
or lose the position of the PM. It seems the PMs and the ministers opt to stay
in power and enrich themselves rather than disobey the outside powerhouse and
lose the position. The vicious cycle goes on with each and every PM and
administration of Nepal. The Indian plans are for making Nepal a bankrupt and
failed State and eventually bring the country in its control. This kind of
situation has become more prevalent especially after signing of the 12 point
agreement that took place in New Delhi some twelve years ago.
The Indians have continued to practice neo-colonialism in Nepal
Since India was decolonized 1n 1947. They still want to
look at Nepal as their colony as the British treated them. If the leaders of
Nepal hesitate to carry out their order, they indirectly threaten to cause hardship
in Nepal. The examples are the economic blockade India imposed on Nepal from
time to time. Therefore, Nepal has to get out of the Indian hegemony by all
means. One of the most important steps Nepal should take is to bring out “The
Greater Nepal” issue effectively and forcefully. As long as Nepal is fully
dependent on Indian mercy in trade and transit, Nepal can never be independent
and develop. When Nepal gets back the lost territory from India, Nepal will
share a common border with Bangladesh.
India has fought border territorial war with Pakistan,
China, and Bangladesh. Formerly a colony itself, India has encroached Nepali
borders at more than seventy places and has occupied thousands of hectors of
land at Susta, Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiadhura. .
In seventy years history, after the Indian independence,
the present Government of Oli finally raised the question of Indian occupation
of Nepali territories. Last year in November, India blatantly published a
political map showing Nepali land inside India. The Nepali people whole heartedly
supported the Oli’s Government and rallied against the Indian move. Unfortunately,
however the Government seems to have accomplished nothing on the border issue. Instead,
Prime minister Oli, publicly made the statement that India had been trying to oust
him and dismantle his Government by by using other top leaders such as Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, Madhav Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal etc from his own ruling communist
party CPN. What a shame for the Prime minister of a country.
Homage to the
Great King
On Push 27 (January 11), Nepal will celebrate the 298th
Birth Anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Great. If Prithvi Naryan
Shah had not envisioned the colonial threat to the small kingdoms across the
south of the Himalayan range some 250 years back, probably there would no
country which we are proud to call Nepal, today. After the gradual fall of the
Moghul Empire in the south, the European colonialist entered the South East
Asia in huge numbers as traders and then colonization of hundreds of kingdoms
began.
Nepal had shrunk and had been limited to Kathmandu valley
with some surrounding hill areas. There were several dozen kingdoms spread east
to west and north to south from Assam in the east to Kashmir in the west and
also Ganga river and Bramhaputra river in the south. Somewhere in the vast
Himalayan region, a king of a tiny Kingdom of Gorkha realized that the threat
of the foreign invaders. Prithvi Narayan Shah at an early age of twenty started
the campaign of unifying dozens of dozens of small Kingdoms in order to create
a strong and powerful Nation to fight the enemies. Prithvi Narayan spend 33
years of his prime life in creating and unifiying Nepal. If Prithvi Nararayan
had not risked his entire life and saved Nepal from the British Colonialist,
more than likely there would be no Nepal and we would not speaking Nepali
today. The British would have merged all the small kingdoms into the colony of
India and all the Nepali, languages, culture and traditions would have been swallowed
and wiped out by thevast population from the south. Therefore, all the people
whether inside the present day Nepal or outside and anywhere in the world
should be thankful and pay homage to Prithvi Narayan Shah, the creator of “The
Greater Nepal. “
Conclusion:
In seventy years history since 1951 Nepal saw many
political changes. Unfortunately, India has played a major role in those
changes. The Indian role in Nepali politics occurs due to the Geographic
situation of Nepal. After the Anglo War of 1614-1616, the British colonialist
looted about half of Nepali land of unified Greater Nepal. The British merged the
looted land into their newly created colony India. After the so-called treaty
of Sugauli, Nepal happened to be land locked by India from all three sides
east, west and south. India instead of returning the colonized Nepali land has
continued to occupy them. On top of that India has encroached on Nepali borders
at more than seventy places. And India has occupied Nepali territories, in
Kalapani, Lipulekh, Limpiadhura and Susta as well.
India has been treating Nepal as if she its colony. It has
been taking advantage of Nepal’s landlocked position. India wants to control
all the water and natural resources of Nepal. Whenever Nepali Government
disagrees on Indian orders, India retaliates with Economic blockades. Nepal has
already endured three major Blockades in the past few decades. Landlocked by
India is the major reason why India behaves so inhumanly on Nepal. Now time has
come, Nepal must claim the” Greater Nepal”s lands that the British merged into
the colony of India. Unified Greater Nepal’s territories never belonged to
India. Because there was no India some two hundred years ago in the present
shape and size. Once Greater is restored, Nepal will have a common border with
Bangladesh and Nepal will not be India locked any more. After that Nepal will
start development.
- ukhatri@aol.com
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