Rana dynasty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Rana Dynasty)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Template:Infobox dynasty Template:Ranas of Nepal The Rana dynasty (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA"., Script error: No such module "IPA".) was a ChhetriTemplate:Refn dynasty that[1] imposed authoritarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making the Prime Minister and other government positions held by the Ranas hereditary. The Rana dynasty is historically known for their iron-fisted rule in Nepal.[2] This changed after the Revolution of 1951 with the promulgation of a new constitution, when power shifted back to the monarchy of King Tribhuvan.[3]

The Rana dynasty were descended from the Kunwar family, a nobility of the Gorkha Kingdom.Template:Sfn Due to their marital lineages with the politically reigning Thapa dynasty (of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa) from the early 19th century, the Ranas gained entry to central Darbar politics.Template:Sfn[4] The Ranas were also linked to a minor faction of the Pande dynasty of Gorkha through the Thapa dynasty.[4]

Genealogy

Please note that the following genealogy by Daniel Wright was most likely fabricated during the nineteenth century, and there is no historical evidence before that time to back it up.[5]

Chronicler Daniel Wright has published the genealogy of Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana. The genealogy begins with Tattā Rāṇā as Raja (King) of Chittaurgarh.Template:Sfn His nephew Fakht Siṃha Rāṇā had a son named Rāma Siṃha Rāṇā, who came to the hills after the siege of Chittaur.Template:Sfn He was employed by a hill Raja for ten or twelve months who wanted to retain Rāma Siṃha in his country. The hill Raja asked for the daughter of the Raja of Bīnātī, a Bagāle Kṣetrī, and married her to Rāma Siṃha.Template:Sfn They had six sons over 10–12 years, one of whom was recognized by the title of Kum̐vara Khaḍkā for bravery displayed in the battle against Raja of Satān Koṭ.Template:Sfn The title was used by his descendants. Rāma Siṃha was suddenly met by his younger brother who requested him to return Chittaur for once, and Rāma Siṃha died reaching there.Template:Sfn The hill Raja made Rāma Siṃha's son Rāut Kunwar a nobleman (Sardār) and commandant of the army.Template:Sfn Ahirāma Kunwar, a son of Rāut Kunwar, was invited by the King of Kaski and was made a nobleman with a birta or jagir of Dhuage Saghu village.Template:Sfn The King of Kaski asked for the hand of Ahirāma's daughter, who was a great beauty, through only Kalas Puja, to which Ahirāma replied to give his daughter only through lawful marriage.Template:Sfn The King brought his troops and tried to take on the village by force.Template:Sfn Ahirāma was supported by the villagers belonging to the Parājulī Thāpā caste and a war was initiated.Template:Sfn On the same day, Ahirāma took his immediate family including two sons namely; Ram Krishna Kunwar and Jaya Krishna Kunwar, to the King of Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah where the lands of Kunwar-Khola were given to them as birta.Template:Sfn

John Whelpton opines that the Kunwar origin legend which states that the first of their ancestors to enter the hill married a daughter of Bagale Kshetri might have directed their family links to Bagale Thapa, the clan of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa.Template:Sfn

The Rana dynasty descended from Kunwar Kumbhakaran Singh, younger brother of Guhila King of Mewar, Rawal Ratnasimha. During the first siege of Chittorgarh in 1303 A.D., Kumbhakaran Singh's descendants left Mewar to the north, towards the Himalayan foothills, according to the book "Rana's Of Nepal" where the preface is written by Arvind Singh Mewar.[6][7] The Rana dynasty claimed to be Rajputs of western Indian origin, rather than the native Khas Kshatriyas despite the fact that they spoke Khas language and attempted to disassociate from their Khas past.Template:Sfn Also, many historians are of the opinion that ruling families in Nepal often claim Indian Rajput descent for political purposes.[8] The Ranas claimed the Vatsa gotra.Template:Sfn

Historical background

Template:See

File:Ram Krishna Kunwar.jpg
Sardar Ram Krishna Kunwar, prominent male ancestor of Ranas of Nepal

The founder of this dynasty was Jang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, who belonged to the Kunwar family,Template:Sfn which was then considered a noble family of Kshatriya status.Template:Sfn Jang Bahadur was a son of Gorkhali governor Bal Narsingh Kunwar and nephew of Mathabarsingh Thapa,Template:Sfn the reigning Prime Minister of Nepal (1843–1845) from the Thapa dynasty.Template:Sfn Bal Narsingh Kunwar was the son of Kaji Ranajit Kunwar and grandson of Sardar Ram Krishna Kunwar,Template:Sfn who was prominent military general of King Prithvi Narayan Shah.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Ram Krishna Kunwar was born to Ahiram Kunwar.Template:Sfn There were ample of rewards and recognitions received by Sardar Ram Krishna Kunwar from the Gorkhali monarch Prithvi Narayan.Template:Sfn His grandson Bal Narsingh was initially a follower of the renounced King Rana Bahadur Shah and Kaji Bhimsen Thapa, and followed the King in his exile to Banaras on 1 May 1800.Template:Sfn On the night of 25 April 1806, King Rana Bahadur was killed by step-brother Sher Bahadur in desperation after which Bal Narsingh immediately killed the King's assassin.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was a close ally of the influential minister Bhimsen Thapa,Template:Sfn who initiated a great massacre at Bhandarkhal garden following the chaos from the King's murder.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Following closeness to Mukhtiyar Bhimsen, he became the son-in-law of Bhimsen's brother Kaji Nain Singh Thapa of Thapa dynasty.[4] The close relatives and supporters of Thapa faction replaced the old courtiers and administrators.Template:Sfn The Kunwar family came to power being relatives of powerful Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa. Similarly, Kunwars were related to Pande dynasty by their maternal grandmother Rana Kumari Pande who was daughter of Mulkaji Ranajit Pande.[4]

Rise of Jung Bahadur

File:Jang Bahadur Ranaji.jpg
Portrait of Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, founder of Rana dynasty

Bal Narsingh's son Kaji Jung Bahadur Kunwar became a significant person in the central politics of Nepal during the prime ministership of his uncle Mathabar Singh Thapa.Template:Sfn On 17 May 1845 around 11 pm, Mathabar Singh was summoned to the royal palace and was assassinated in a cold blood by Jung Bahadur on the royal orders.Template:Sfn He was considered to have been merciless, ruthless and fatal due to his association with Mathabar Singh.Template:Sfn Jung Bahadur was made a Kaji (equivalent to minister) after following the order of assassination of Mathabar.Template:Sfn

On the night of 14 September 1846, Queen Rajya Lakshmi Devi summoned the courtiers on the mysterious murderer of her aide General Kaji Gagan Singh, to which courtiers hurried to the Kot quickly.Template:Sfn Many of the courtiers were unarmed except for a sword, as they had responded immediately to the royal summons. The armies allocated by Jung Bahadur Rana also had taken most of the arms of courtiers who had managed to bring them. Queen Rajya Lakshmi Devi and King Rajendra Bikram Shah were also present in the Kot.Template:Sfn Queen Rajya Lakshmi demanded the execution of Kaji Bir Keshar (Kishor) Pande on alleged suspicion to which General Abhiman Singh Rana Magar looked towards King for confirmation. Jang misinformed Queen that Abhiman Singh's troops were arriving for overpowering the Queen's faction and demanded an immediate arrest.Template:Sfn Abhiman tried to force his way out and was killed by Jung's soldier. In the chaos followed, Jung and his brothers began bloodshed and many rival nobles and courtiers were eliminated by them.Template:Sfn The letter to British Resident Henry Montgomery Lawrence stated that there were 32 Bharadars (courtiers) killed in the massacre.Template:Sfn

Kot massacre episode

Template:See When Jang Bahadur refused the Junior Queen's request to place Prince Ranendra in the place of Crown Prince Surendra, the Queen secretly contacted the victims of Kot and conspired to assassinate Jung Bahadur in the royal Bhandarkhal garden. After receiving a command from the Queen to come to Bhandarkhal, Jang Bahadur took his fully armed troops and headed towards the garden. The troops killed the chief conspirator, Birdhwaj Basnyat on the way, and marched towards Bhandarkhal where seeing Jang Bahadur approach fully armed with his troops, the other conspirators started to flee. 23 people were killed in the massacre while 15 escaped.[9] In the 23rd of September 1846, all officers of military and bureaucracy were called upon to their respective offices within 10 days. Then, Jung Bahadur appointed his brothers and nephews to the highest ranks of the government.[10] He consolidated the position of premiership after conducting Kot massacre (Kot Parva) and Bhandarkhal Parva[11] on the basic templates provided by his maternal grand-uncle Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa.Template:Sfn

Rana Regime; Rule of Jang

After the massacres of Kot and Bhandarkhal, the Thapas, Pandes, Basnyats and other citizens had settled in Banaras. Similarly, some citizens had gone to settle in Nautanwa and Bettiah. Chautariya Guru Prasad Shah too had gone to live with the King of Bettiah. After knowing about the presence of the King and the Queen in Benaras, Guru Prasad went there and started to congregate an army and a plan to execute Jung Bahadur started to be formed.[10]

Battle of Alau

On 12 May 1847, Jung Bahadur gave a speech in Tundikhel. There he accused the King of the attempted assassination of the Prince and the Prime Minister. The Council then decided to dethrone King Rajendra deeming him mentally ill, and on the same day Surendra was crowned as the new king of Nepal. Hearing the news of the coronation of Surendra, Rajendra decided to take the responsibility of removing Jung Bahadur upon himself and declaring himself as the leader of the army, he left Benaras. Rajendra then appointed Guru Prasad Shah as the Chief of the Army for the operation of removal of Jung Bahadur Rana from Nepal and started to accumulate weapons and training the troops. Antagonism from the British-India Company forced Rajendra and his troops to enter Nepal. On 23 July, the troops reached a village called Alau in Bara and set a camp there. One spy group of the Government of Nepal was keeping close eyes on the event of the rebel groups at Bettiah. They sent the news to Jung Bahadur, immediately after which he sent a troop in the leadership of Sanak Singh Tandon to Alau. They were told to suppress the rebellions, arrest Rajendra and bring him to Kathmandu. On 27 July, the Gorakhnath Paltan (Gorakhnath Battalion) reached and rested in a village called Simraungadh, not too far from Alau. The battle of Alau was a decisive one between the forces of King Rajendra and Jang Bahadur. The King lost significantly in the battle. If the massacre of Kot had established Jung Bahadur as a dictator, the battle of Alau had helped him strengthen his dictatorship. Rajendra was imprisoned in an old palace in Bhaktapur.[10]

Rise to royalty

On 15 May 1848, a lal mohar (royal seal) was issued, issued claiming descent for the Kunwars/self-style Ranas from Ranas of Mewar and authorizing the Kunwar family of Jang Bahadur to style themselves as Kunwar Ranaji.Template:Sfn On 6 August 1856, Jang Bahadur Kunwar (now Ranaji) was conferred the title of Maharaja (Great King) of Kaski and Lamjung, two former hill principalities, by King of Nepal, Surendra Bikram Shah. This was done through indirect control of the king via his wife Queen Trailokya, and through threats against the king.Template:Sfn Before this, the Ranas had merely been regarded as Khas-Chhetris, and had had no pretensions to any kind of royal origin.[5]

Rana Regime; Rule of the Shamshers

File:Bir Shamsher JBR.jpg
Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the first Shumsher Rana ruler

In 1885, the Shumsher family, the nephews of Jung Bahadur Kunwar Rana, murdered many of the sons of Jung Bahadur and took over Nepal in a military coup d'état thus bringing in the rule of the Shumsher Rana family also known as the Satra Bhai (17 brothers) Rana family. They murdered Ranodip Singh Kunwar and occupied the hereditary throne of Prime Minister. After this they added Jang Bahadur to their name, although they were descended from Jang's younger brother Dhir Shumsher.[4]

Kunwar family tree

Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".Script error: No such module "Tree chart".

Rana Prime Ministers

Nine Rana rulers took the hereditary office(s) of Prime Minister, Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Grand Master of the Royal Orders. All were crowned as the Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski.

Template:Tree list

Template:Tree list/end

Succession

Succession to the role of the Prime Ministers and the title of Shree Teen Maharaja of Nepal and Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski was by agnatic seniority, by which the oldest male heir among the sons of equal (a-class) marriages in a generation would succeed. The order of succession was determined by seniority, with each eligible male heir holding a military command, as follows:

  1. Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief (Mukhtiyar the Heir Apparent, with the rank of Field Marshal).
  2. Western Commanding-General.
  3. Eastern Commanding-General.
  4. Southern Commanding-General.
  5. Northern Commanding-General.

Notable Rana members

Other notable connected members

Gallery

See also

References

Footnotes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Notes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Bibliography

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Further reading

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

Template:Country topics Template:Chhetri communities

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Rana_dynasty&oldid=2527612"