Field-Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
Sri Teen Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (8 July 1863 – 26 November 1929) was the
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 N ...
from the
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 ...
. He served in this capacity from 27 June 1901 to his death in 1929, after he successfully deposed his liberal and reformist brother
Dev Shamsher. Although generally perceived as despotic and conservative, he is credited with several reforms including the abolition of slavery and the
Nepal-Britain Treaty of 1923, which recognized Nepal as an independent nation and an ally of Britain.
Family and early life
![Chandra Shamsher family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Chandra_Shamsher_family.jpg)
Chandra Shumsher was the sixth of the seventeen sons of Dhir Shumsher Rana (the youngest 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 ...
) through his Thapa wife Nanda Kumari, of whom he was the third son.
He was educated in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and thus became the first Nepalese Prime Minister who had passed
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
examination. In the convocation address of 1884, the then Vice Chancellor of
Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...
praised him as: "a gentleman who has shown he can handle pen as efficiently as sword."
''Seto Bagh'', a historical novel set on the early days of Chandra Shumsher, depicts him as an ambitious and cunning young man with an excellent command of the English language.
Rise to power
He along with his brothers Khadga Shumsher and
Bhim Shumsher orchestrated the murder of his uncle
Sri Teen Maharaja Ranodip Singh in order to rise in the line of succession for the hereditary Rana Prime Minister of Nepal. After the demise of his eldest brother Bir Shamsher in March 1901, he became the Commander in Chief of the Nepalese Army under the premiership of his brother
Dev Shamsher. Dev Shamsher, however, was a liberal and fearing the rise in public awareness and eventual democratisation that his short rule had brought, Chandra Shamsher orchestrated
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
and seized the power for himself in June 1901. Although opposed to reforms and public education, he would later bring numerous reforms, most of them unwillingly, after his visit to Europe, as he found Nepal to be far more backwards than Europe.
In Chandra Shumsher's regime, Sardar RamMani Acharya Dixit was one of the mandarins to wield enormous influence by virtue of his proximity. Chandra used Ram Mani's native genius to keep the Mahila Gurujyu in check and ran the country with the advice of these two brilliant brahmins. With their help, Chandra amassed a fortune by making deals with the British over the recruitment of Gurkha soldiers and the mercenary services rendered by the Royal Nepali Army on the side of the British Empire.
Rule
During the 28 years of his rule, Chandra Shumsher held the firm control of domestic as well as the foreign policy of Nepal. His ADC (Assistant Deputy Commissioner) was Nar Narayan Shah. He went to Britain under the guidance of his ADC. Nar Narayan Shah worked as ADC for 20 years.
After his return from the European tour, he is said to have been embarrassed by the backwardness of his country, so he executed some noteworthy reforms. He abolished
Sati custom, and made it illegal for a person to be killed for witchcraft. He was counseled by Sardar RamMani Acharya Dixit, which further assured him to ban the ritual suicide, and make additional reforms such as abolishing slavery with the money from the treasury of
Pashupatinath temple
Pashupatinath Temple ( ne, श्री पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is located in Kathmandu, Nepal.
This temple was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979. This "extensive ...
. He built the first college of Nepal,
Tri-Chandra College
Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, more colloquially known as Tri-Chandra College, is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Found in 1918 by Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Ne ...
in 1975 B.S. He established several canals in Terai region and established hospitals throughout Nepal. The first railway service in Nepal,
Nepal Government Railway
The Nepal Government Railway (NGR) ( ne, नेपाल गभर्मेन्ट रेलवे) was Nepal's first railway in Nepal. Established in 1927 and closed in 1965, it linked Amlekhganj with Raxaul across the border in India in the s ...
from
Raxaul
Raxaul is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated at the India-Nepal border with Birgunj city (Nepal). Raxaul is a major railway junction.
The Indian border town of Raxaul has become on ...
to
Amlekhganj
Amlekhganj (''also'' Amlekhgunj) (Nepali:अमलेखगंज) is a town and Village Development Committee (now Sub Metropolitan City) in Bara District in the Narayani Zone of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had ...
, started its service in his tenure. These reforms, however, were mostly brought for the benefit of his family.
He was the second Nepalese prime minister to visit Britain and tour Europe after
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 ...
. In Britain, he stayed in
Mortimer house and was entertained by His Majesty
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
. He also observed naval exercises of British Royal navy and in one of the warships, he met the French President under the arrangement of
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
. On 24 June, the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
conferred the honoris causa degree of Doctor of Civil Laws on him. On his departure, the Daily Telegraph wrote:
During the last few years this country has been visited by an unexampled succession of foreign personages, but none of them has been more interesting and few more important than the Prime Minister of Nepal.
He provided monetary and military assistance to Britain in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as a result of which Nepal received a huge sum of monetary assistance and the friendship became even more cordial after the successful conclusion of the
Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923
The Nepal–Britain Treaty was first discussed in 1921 and the final treaty was signed on 21 December 1923 in Singha Durbar. The treaty was the first formal acknowledgement by the British that Nepal, as an independent nation, had the right to c ...
, which recognised Nepal as an independent nation and an ally of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
.
Legacy
![Chandra george 1911](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Chandra_Shamsher_Jang_Bahadur_Rana_and_George_V_in_1911.jpg)
Chandra Shamsher suffered from tuberculosis and followed a strict diet regimen of rice and black lentils exclusively, as a result he was extremely thin and is sometimes called "Phistey Maharaj". A popular quote "चन्द्रे हाँस्यो त नास्यो" suggests that he seldom laughed and his laughter was rather an ominous one.
He abolished Sati custom and slavery from Nepal. TriChandra Campus,
Tribhuwan Chandra Military Hospital, Chandra Jyoti Hydro Power at Pharping still bears his name as he established them.
Singha Durbar
Singha Durbar ( ne, सिंहदरवार, lit=Lion's Palace) is a palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex lies in the centre of Kathmandu, to the north of the Babar Mahal and Thapathali Durbar and east of Bhadrak ...
, then the largest palace in Asia with over 1200 rooms, was built by him. Chandra Nahar, the oldest canal of Nepal located in Saptari, was built by him as well. The city of
Chandranigahpur in Rautahat district was named after him.
Descendants
![Rana couple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Rana_couple.jpg)
Chandra Shamsher's descendants are still among the most prominent members of the Rana family. They are scattered all over
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
s of the Indian subcontinent. Since Chandra Shamsher ruled Nepal for a period of 28 years and had the exclusive control of the national economy, he accumulated immense wealth and built lavish palaces for his sons. His descendants are the richest in all of the Rana dynasty.
Given below is the list of Chandra Shamsher's children:
* Khagaraja Divyeshwari Rajya Laxmi (1880–19?), married to Raja
Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh
Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh (23 August 1877 – 15 October 1940), was a humanist, peace advocate, writer and social activist from Nepal. He devoted his life to social welfare and world peace. He is known mainly for humanitarianism, peace advocacy a ...
of
Bajhang
Bajhang District ( , a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Chainpur, that is part of Jaya Prithvi Municipality, as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a populatio ...
.
*
Field-Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Mohan Shamsher,
GCB,
GCIE
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:
#Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)
#Knight Commander ( KCIE)
#Companion ( CIE)
No appoi ...
,
GBE, (23 December 1885 – 6 January 1967) who succeeded to the title of the 9th Rana
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 N ...
. The century-old family
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
of the Ranas came to an end during the reign of Mohan Shamsher.
*
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 ...
HH Sir
Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana
Sir Baber Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, GCVO, GBE, KCSI, KCIE (27 January 1888 – 12 May 1960) was a member of the Rana dynasty who served as the Minister of Defence of Nepal in 1951. A prominent member of the Rana oligarchy, he fought valiant ...
,
GCVO
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
,
GBE,
KCSI,
KCIE (27 January 1888 – 12 May 1960), ''desc''. Senior Rana during the Mohan Shamsher premiership, Sir Baber was the Mukthiyar and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Nepalese Army.
Minister of Defence in the Congress Rana Cabinet.
* Field-Marshal
HH Sir
Kaiser Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Field Marshal Sir Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GBE (8 January 1892 – 7 June 1964) was a field marshal in the Royal Nepalese Army. He was the third son of Maharaja Sir Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO the fifth ...
,
GBE (8 January 1892 – 7 June 1964), ''desc''. Married Lakshmi Rajya Lakshmi, the then heir apparent of king Prithvi of Nepal.
* Commanding General
HH Singha Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana,
KBE (23 December 1893 – 19?), ''desc''. He was the Ambassador to India (1948–1951).
* Commanding General
Krishna Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Lieutenant general, Lieutenant-General Sir Krishna Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana ( ne, कृष्ण शमशेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा; 1900–1977) was Nepalese diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of Nepal to ...
,
KCSI,
KBE (28 February 1900 – 19 May 1977), ''desc''. In 1909, he married Princess Tara Rajya Laxmi Devi, the third daughter of King
Prithvi of Nepal
Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (18 August 1875 – 11 December 1911) was King of Nepal from 1881 until 1911. Among the mos ...
. He died in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, India in 1977.
*
Major-General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Vishnu Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana (13 November 1906 – 4 February 1946). Exiled, died in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
having had one son - Rajkumar Pitamber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1931–2005). Removed from the line of succession.
* General
Shanker Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana,
GBE (1909 – 4 June 1976), ''desc''. Nepal's Representative to the
Court of St. James
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...
.
* Lt.-Gen.
Madan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1909–1955), ''desc''.
* Khagaraja Divyeshwari Rajya Laxmi (1918–1999), ''desc''.
* Major-General Maharajkumar Badri Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, ''desc''.
Honours
*
Empress of India Medal
The Empress of India Medal, also referred to as KIH Medal, was a commemorative medal awarded to mark the occasion of the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1877. It was the first wearable medal issued to mark a commemorative o ...
- 1877
*
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...
Medal - 1902
* T'ung-ling-ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang (Truly valiant Prince, Commander-in-chief of foot and horse) - 1902
*
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
(GCB) - 1905
*
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 ...
(GCSI) -1905
*
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
(GCVO) - 1911
*
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...
Medal - 1911
*
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
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 ...
(GCMG) - 1919
* Grand Officer of the
Legion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
-1925
* Grand Cross of the
Legion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
- 1929
Ancestry
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur
1863 births
1929 deaths
Prime ministers of Nepal
Nepalese military personnel
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Honorary Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Rana regime
Rana dynasty
20th-century prime ministers of Nepal
20th-century Nepalese nobility
19th-century Nepalese nobility
Nepalese Hindus