Commanding General
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
Shree 3 Maharaja Sir Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (10 December 1852 – 5 March 1901) was the 11th
World Statesmen
/ref> Prime Minister of Nepal
The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of ...
. He is remembered as a statesman who made reforms and infrastructure improvements. Bir Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana was known as ''Kailay'' in his childhood; this name was given by Jung Bahadur. His mother was daughter of Pahalman Singh Basnyat and sister of Lalitman Singh Basnyat. His mother died at his birth and he was taken care of by Putali Maharani, wife of Jung Bahadur. He spent his childhood at Thapathali Durbar
Thapathali Durbar ( ne, थापाथली दरवार) was a palace complex in Kathmandu, the capital of the Nepal. Thapathali means abode of the Thapas. It was initially built by Nain Singh Thapa of the Thapa dynasty but was later occupi ...
.
Birth
Bir was born to the chief of the Army Dhir Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana, younger brother of 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 ...
. His mother was sister of lalitman Singh Basnyat and daughter of Pahalman Singh Basnyat. The Nepalese PM Jung Bahadur Rana was asked for help by the British Raj in dealing with the mutiny, and Pahalman Singh Basnyat was Brigadier Colonel of the troops deployed from Nepal. He was given the title of Shree 1 Maharaja of Khaptad and was commonly known as Khaptadi Raja.
Career
His uncle Prime minister Renaudip Singh Bahadur was assassinated by his nephews (Khadga Shumsher, Bhim Shumsher, and Dambar Shumsher) during a coup d'état in 1885. Thus he succeeded as Prime minister.
He then served from 1885 to 1901 and was invested as ''Tung-ling-ping-ma-kuo-kang-wang'' in 1889. During his tenure, he received Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England.
The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...
, and the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
. His successor for three months, at his death in 1901, was his progressive brother Deva Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Sri Maharaja, Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (17 July 1862 – 20 February 1914) was the Prime Minister of Nepal for 114 days in 1901. He was also the King of Lamjung and Kaski.
Family and early life
He was the fourth of 17 sons born to Chief ...
.
There were many reforms during Bir Shumsher's time. Water pipes were laid, English was taught in schools and hospitals were built. He reorganized land tax and created a better administrative body. He sent a large number of troops to the British. The British gave him the title of Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
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 appointmen ...
on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...
.
He started a new line of succession to the Prime Ministership of Nepal, excluding all others except the legitimate sons of Dhir Shumsher. He established Durbar High School
Durbar High School () or Bhanu Higher Secondary School, opened in 1854 is the oldest modern school in Nepal located near Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu. The school was originally built to teach sons of Ranas exclusively but was opened to public citizens i ...
, Bir Hospital
Bir Hospital (बीर अस्पताल) is the oldest and one of the busiest hospitals in Nepal. It is located at the center of Kathmandu city. The hospital is run by the National Academy of Medical Sciences, a government
A g ...
, Bir Tower (Ghanta Ghar), Pathshala (School) and a sanitary system. He provided a good supply of drinking water to the towns of Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
in 1891 and Bhadgaon in 1895. He established the Bir Library for the collection and preservation of valuable books and manuscripts, the postal system was reformed and many roads of Kathmandu were broadened.
Popular Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narasingha KC's great-grandfather, Avivarnaman Singh, married Rana's sister-in-law. Singh was the captain of the Nepali Army and Rana was so appalled by the tall stature and appearance of Captain Khatri that he proposed marriage between his sister-in-law and Singh.
Maharaja Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana died in 1901, after ruling the country for over 15 years.
Ancestors
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur
Prime ministers of Nepal
1852 births
1901 deaths
Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
People from Kathmandu
Rana regime
Rana dynasty
20th-century prime ministers of Nepal
19th-century prime ministers of Nepal
19th-century Nepalese nobility
Nepalese Hindus