Page 71 - Heart of India

As Britain gained power in India in the early 1800s, they sought control of the Terai, a strip
of land at the base of the Himalayas. The British forced Nepal to sign the 1816 Sugauli Treaty,
which surrendered Sikkim, today a small independent Indian state, and most of Terai. Some of
this land was returned to Nepal after they helped the British subdue the 1857 Indian Mutiny.

And so the Shah’s dynasty maintained its rule until 1846, when Jung Bahadur overthrew the
leader with a violent takeover that was so bloody it came to be known as the Kot Massacre.
He named himself Rana, considered a more ennobled title, and prime minister for life—and
decreed that his title would be hereditary. Through World War II, the Ranas savored their
lavish Kathmandu palaces, while the Nepalese barely survived in horrid conditions. The Ranas
sealed Nepal’s borders, and the country faded away, eventually taking on a mythic image
likened to Shangri-la.

Modern History

British support was critical to Rana’s regime. So after the former withdrew from India after
World War II, opposition toward their rule grew. India engaged them in negotiation, King
Tribhuvan was crowned, and a government was formed that included the Rana alongside the
newly formed Nepali Congress Party. After 100 years, Nepal’s borders were re-opened.

But harmony would not last. Tribhuvan’s son, King Mahendra, demanded that the elected
cabinet be arrested and he wrested control of the government. Favoritism and corruption
continued even into the next generation with Mahendra’s son. After a long period of uprisings,
punctuated by hundreds dead, King Birendra gave in, disassembled his cabinet, and even
requested that the opposition form an interim government.

The transition to democracy was slow. It wasn’t until a 1991 election that the Nepali Congress
Party and the Communist Party of Nepal shared most of the votes. Still, Nepal’s citizens
remained unsettled. A general strike in 1992 led to several deaths and another election in
1994. Still, the government could not resolve the disputes bureaucratically, even by forming a
tripartite coalition. In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (also called “the Maoists”) declared
a “people’s war.”

Five years later, in a power play that shocked the world and could have been torn from the
pages of Shakespeare, Crown Prince Dipendra massacred the royal family, and then shot
himself. But Nepalese leadership didn’t hear this brutal wake-up call to end the turmoil. After
Dipendra’s uncle (and the murdered king’s brother), Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, became
king, his cabinet members came and went while the Maoists made and broke truces.

Recent History

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massacre, the dream of a democratic government seemed to be nearing an end. In February
2005, King Gyanendra dissolved the elected parliament to gain complete control. After a year
of mass strikes and demonstrations, he grudgingly restored the parliament, whereupon its
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