Bhim Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (Maharaj Bhim Shumsher) ruled
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
from 26 November 1929 until his death on 1 September 1932. He was born on 16 April 1865.
Bhim Shumsher held the following titles: T'ung-ling-ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang (Republic of China), Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski (Nepal),
GCSI
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
# Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)
# Knight Commander ( KCSI)
# Companion ( CSI)
No appointments ...
(1 January 1931),
GCMG
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(22 December 1931),
KCVO (24 December 1911), and Supradipta Manyabara (Commander-in-Chief). Before becoming ruler of Nepal, Bhim Shumsher was the heir apparent (with the rank of field marshal) from 1907 to 1929.
Family
Bhim Shumsher was the sixth son of
Dhir Shamsher Rana
Dhir Shumsher Kunwar (1828 – 1884 Kathmandu) after 1848 known as Dhir Shumsher Kunwar Ranaji ( ne, धीर शम्शेर कुँवर राणाजी) or Dhir Shumsher Jang Kunwar Ranaji or shortly Dhir Shumsher Rana posthumously ...
, the youngest brother of
Rana dynasty
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
founder
Jung Bahadur Rana
Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...
.
[Prakash A Raj, "Maharaj Bhim Shumsherko Jiwani," Nabin Publications, , page 11] Bhim Shumsher's son,
Padma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Field Marshal His Highness Sri, Shree Sri, Shree Sri, Shree Maharaja Sir Padma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana ( ne, पद्म शम्शेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा) (5 December 1882 – Kolkata, Calcutta, India, 11 Apri ...
, ruled Nepal from 29 November 1945 to 30 April 1948; his other sons held prominent state positions until 1951.
Rise to power
Bhim Shamsher joined the Nepalese Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1868. He became a colonel in 1879, northern commanding general from 1885 to 1887, the eastern commanding general from 1887 to 1901, senior commanding general of the western command and chief of army staff from 1901 to 1907, and heir apparent and commander-in-chief from 1907 to 1929. Bhim Shamsher was ''
aide-de-camp'' to King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
during his visit to Nepal in December 1911, and he was crowned ruler of Nepal on 26 November 1929.
![Coronation of Maharaj Bhim Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana with wife Her Highness Sri 3 Sita Bada Maharani Deela Kumari Devi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Coronation_of_Maharaj_Bhim_Shumsher_Jang_Bahadur_Rana_with_wife_Her_Highness_Sri_3_Sita_Bada_Maharani_Deela_Kumari_Devi.jpg)
Bhim Shumsher became Field Marshal of Nepalese Army on 26 November 1929, Honorary Major General of the British Army on 4 April 1930, Honorary Colonel of the
4th Gorkha Rifles on 4 April 1930, and Honorary General of the Chinese Army on 23 February 1932. He received the Grand Master award of the Most Refulgent
Order of the Star of Nepal
The Most Refulgent Order of the Star of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल तारा ''Nepal Taradisha'') is an award of Nepal.
History
It was instituted by King Tribhubhan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 19 November 1918. Attached to the order is a medal ( ...
.
Rule
Although Bhim Shamsher was considered an autocrat, he introduced several reforms such as making Saturdays a holiday, fixing working hours from 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays, protecting tenant farmers from land-reform, abolishing duties on cotton and salt, ending the pasture tax, and abolishing capital punishment. His wife Sita Bada Maharani Deela Kumari Devi played a central role in these reforms. Bhim Shamsher built several district hospitals, extended the drinking-water pipelines in eastern Nepal, and built public roads and bridges. Bhim Shamsher oversaw the expansion of waterworks for
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
and the
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
region during his reign. His most-notable bridge, Kalo Pul (Black Bridge, over the
Bagmati River
, "Tiger Gate")
, source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, mouth = Confluence with Kamala River
, mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India
, mouth_coord ...
in Kathmandu) remains in operation, and he upgraded the middle schools of
Bhaktapur
, motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture
, image_map ...
and Kathmandu's Patan district to high-school standards.
Foreign relations
Bhim Shumsher was allied with
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
China in the north and the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in India in the south, both of whom had interests in Nepal. He received the
Delhi Durbar Medal
Delhi Durbar Medals were instituted by the British Raj, United Kingdom to commemorate the Delhi Durbar where the new Emperor of India was proclaimed, in 1903 for Edward VII, and in Delhi Durbar Medal (1911), 1911 for George V. On both occasions t ...
from Britain in 1911 and the
Order of the Sacred Tripod
The Order of the Sacred Tripod (寶鼎勳章), also referred to as the Order of the Precious Tripod or Pao Ting, is a military award of the Republic of China. It was created on 15 May 1929 by Chiang Kai-shek for significant contributions to nation ...
(寶鼎勳章) on 23 February 1932 from the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
Bhim Shumsher contained the British interests in Nepal to economic support in exchange for
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
soldiers for the British Army. He invited
William Birdwood
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...
, commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, to Kathmandu in 1930. Bhim Shumsher visited
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1931 to meet with viceroy
Lord Irwin
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior Conservative Party (UK), British Conservat ...
about their relations with
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, since the British wanted to develop a trade route with Tibet via Nepal. Relations between Tibet and Nepal were deteriorating, however, and the British wanted to mediate the dispute. After his visit to India, he was honored by Indian and Chinese governments.
[British envoy in Nepal to GOI, 9 September 1930, IOR, L/P&S/10/1078]
The threat of an armed Tibetan-Nepalese conflict arose in the spring of 1930. Relations between Tibet and Nepal had soured since August 1929 because of what Bhim Shumsher saw as
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
's maltreatment of S. Gyalpo, a Tibetan-Nepalese who was arrested in the city; Bhim Shumsher's diplomats said that Gyalpo was a Nepalese subject, and the Tibetans disagreed. Gyalpo escaped from custody, and sought shelter at the Nepalese embassy in Lhasa. Tibetan police entered the embassy and took Gyalpo away; the move outraged Bhim Shumsher, who ordered the mobilization of troops in preparation for war against Tibet in February 1930.
[Tibet and Nationalist China's Frontier: Intrigues And Ethnopolitics, 1928-49 (Contemporary Chinese Studies) by Hsaio-ting Lin; Publisher: UBC Press (6 October 2006); ]
Tensions between the countries placed a heavy burden on Tibetan military defense, and
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
informed the
13th Dalai Lama of his willingness to send troops and officials to assist the Tibetans in their fight against the Nepalese. Although the Dalai Lama tactfully declined what he saw as the entry of Han Chinese troops (and officials) into Tibet, Chiang Kai-shek continued to display goodwill towards the Tibetans by promising to exercise diplomatic pressure on British India and Nepal in the Tibetan-Nepalese dispute.
The head of the
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) was a ministry-level commission of the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China. It was disbanded on 15 September 2017.
History
The first model was created during the Qing dynasty in 1636 a ...
and Chiang Kai-Shek's key deputy,
Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang (, Xiao'erjing: , French romanization: Ma-Fou-hiang or Ma Fou-siang; 4 February 1876 – 19 August 1932) was a Chinese military and political leader spanning the Qing Dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the po ...
, arranged for a diplomatic initiative with Nepal on behalf of Chiang. Chiang's officials reached Kathmandu via India in September 1930 to meet Bhim Shumsher, who was informed that they came to "offer the services of the Chinese government to settle the dispute."
The delegation presented Bhim Shumsher with gifts from Chiang Kai-Shek which included porcelain, ancient Chinese textiles, lacquerware, jade, ivory, and other Chinese artifacts.
[Song Hua, "Ni-po-er Fan Zang," 7; Da Gong Bao, 1 April 1930, 13.] Bhim Shumsher repudiated the Chinese government's claims of involvement in any issue between Tibet and Nepal, however, and noted that British-led mediation had already helped reach a peaceful settlement. The result suggested to China that Chiang Kai-shek's efforts led to the peaceful resolution between Tibet and Nepal, and he had protected Chinese sovereignty.
Bhim Shumsher continued to develop diplomatic relations with Kuomintang politicians during his rule, and balanced relations with the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in India. He also developed diplomatic relations with Japan and several European powers.
[ "National China Re-establishes Relations with the Kingdom of Nepal," The China Weekly Review (Shanghai), 20 December 1930, 4–5.]
Ancestry
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Bhim Shamsher Jung Bahadur
1865 births
1932 deaths
Field marshals
Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Nepalese rulers
Prime ministers of Nepal
20th-century prime ministers of Nepal
Nepalese Hindus