Nepal Democratic Congress () was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. It was formed by
Subarna Shamsher Rana,
Surya Prasad Upadhyaya,
Mahendra Bikram Shah and others from Rana-Shah family.
It merged with the
Nepali National Congress
Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal. It was formed by B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi and others.
It merged with the Nepal Democratic Congress l ...
led by
BP Koirala
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala ( ne, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), (Nepali: 1971 B.S. Bhadra 24 - 2039 B.S Shrawan 6)better known as B. P. Koirala ( ne, बीपी ...
and others on 27 Chaitra(?) 2006 to form present day
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...
.
History
Nepali Congress formation, 1946–1950
The Nepali Congress Party was formed by the merger of Nepali National Congress and Nepal Democratic Congress. The Nepali National Congress was founded by
Matrika Prasad Koirala
Matrika Prasad Koirala ( ne, मातृका प्रसाद कोइराला ; 1 January 1912 – 11 September 1997) was the Prime Minister of Nepal for two terms from 16 November 1951 to 14 August 1952 and again from 15 June 1953 to ...
in
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on 25 January 1946. The Nepal Democratic Congress was founded by
Subarna Shumsher Rana in Calcutta on 4 August 1948. The two parties merged on 10 April 1950 to form the Nepali Congress and Koirala became its first president.
The party called for an armed revolution against the
Rana regime
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 ...
.
During the Bairgania Conference in
Bairgania
Bairgania is a town and notified area in the Sitamarhi district in the state of Bihar, India. Bairgania is one of the blocks of Sitamarhi districts and is a border of India that links Nepal via Rautahat District through a custom checkpoint. Bairg ...
,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, on 27 September 1950 the Nepali Congress announced an armed revolution against the
Rana regime
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 ...
. The president of the party also announced the liquidation of operations in India and that the party would operate only inside Nepal.
After King
Tribhuvan took refuge inside the Indian Embassy on 6 November 1950. The Congress Liberation Army decided to take this opportunity to launch attacks against the regime before the King "left Nepalese soil". Matrika and Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala and
Subarna Shamsher Rana flew to
Purnia
Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar.
Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...
, Bihar. They called the commanders posted at different locations inside Nepal to prepare for armed strikes near the Nepal-India border.
On 11 November 1950, at midnight
Birgunj
Birgunj ( ne, वीरगञ्ज) is a metropolitan city in Parsa District in Madhesh Province of southern Nepal. It lies south of the capital Kathmandu, attached in the north to Raxaul in the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an entr ...
was attacked, and by 12 November it fell to the Nepali Congress and the first "People's Government" was declared.
The liberation army was able to control most of the eastern hills of Nepal and the town of
Tansen
Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pr ...
in
Palpa. After pressure by the
Indian government
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
and the mass movement by the Nepali Congress and other political parties, the
Rana government finally submitted to their demands and King Tribhuvan returned to the throne, replacing
King Gyanendra
Gyanendra Shah ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह, born 7 July 1947) is a former monarch who was the last King of Nepal, reigning from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuva ...
, who had been crowned king after King Tribhuvan left for India.
See also
*
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...
*
Nepali National Congress
Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal. It was formed by B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi and others.
It merged with the Nepal Democratic Congress l ...
*
Subarna Shamsher Rana
References
Political parties in Nepal
Defunct political parties in Nepal
Nepali Congress
{{Nepal-party-stub