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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Historical Profile of Shah Kings of Nepal (2)

10.
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah DevGenerally seen as a benevolent monarch, King Birendra ruled absolutely for 18 years before being shot to death by his son, Crown Prince Dipendra, in a massacre that nearly wiped out the entire royal family. His wife, Queen Aiswarya; their daughter, Princess Shruti; and another son, Prince Nirajan, were also killed. Dipendra died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was born on December28, 1945 at the Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu. His Majesty was the eldest son of The king Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah and The Late Crown Princess Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah.Birendra, believed to be the reincarnation of Vishnu, acceded to the throne in 1972. In 1990, a pro-democracy movement led to the first free election in three decades and a new role for Birendra as constitutional monarch. His 18 years of rule under the Panchayat dispensation were those many years of development neglect. Most importantly, the self-esteem of the Nepali people was slowly sanded down to cynicism and apathy, which afflicts Kathmandu's elite even today. If Nepal lacks brilliance in social, economic or political spheres, it can be attributed to the intellectual stagnation fostered during that period by a regime incapable of looking beyond the security of the crown. King Birendra, who was both the fount and executor of all power in those decisive years, must be considered responsible for the lost decades, and for its legacy today.






















Dipendra was kind of King of Nepal by default for three days in 2001. On June 1, he murdered his family at a royal dinner, including his father who was the King of Nepal at the time. The story is that Dipendra was angry that his mother would not let him marry the bride of his choice due to ages-long feuding between the two families. After killing his parents, brother and sister, he turned the gun on himself. He lingered in a coma for three days and was officially proclaimed King of Nepal in his hospital bed. He died three days later and his uncle, Prince Gyanendra, became King. Some people believe that Gyanendra actually slaughtered the whole family so he could become King. His wife and son were in the same room as the royal family during the massacre, but managed to escape without mortal wounds.




11. Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev






So had the Shah dynasty died out on schedule?According to the fable, Gorakh Nath took on the form of a sadhu and met Prithvi Narayan, the first Shah King. The King gave him some curd as bhiksha.The sadhu vomited the curd and asked the King to eat it as prasad. Unsurprisingly, the King refused.In some versions of the story, the vomit fell on his feet. In all versions, what happened next remains the same: the sadhu was revealed to be Gorakh Nath and he told the King that his line would last only for ten generations (in some versions: because it fell on his ten toes) as a consequence of the insult to the sadhu.If you exclude the Queens who ran Nepal as Regents and the Kings who reigned under the thumb of the Ranas, then, on some calculations, Birendra was the tenth Shah King. So had the Shah dynasty died out on schedule? It's beginning to look that way.

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King GyanendraBorn on 7 July 1947, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the last King of Nepal, from 2001 to 2008.He was also been made a king in his childhood. That was in November 1950 AD





He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his nephew Prince Dipendra, who was King for only three days while in a coma, following the massacre of the preceding king (Gyanendra's brother, Birendra) and other members of the royal family. Gyanendra has been skeptically and persistently viewed as a culprit of this massacre although Dipendra was officially declared responsible for all those killings in a rage, over Queen's refusal to his choice of bride. .In February 2005 King Gyanendra finally took complete control of the government, after dismissing the elected parliament and a series of prime ministers. This move accelerated the Maoist movement, who had been fighting to replace monarchy with a Communist Republic since 1996.Royal coup also raised concerns among the international community, who criticised his actions. The United States, Britain and India responded by stopping the supply of arms to the Royal Nepalese Army, others suspended aid commitments and pressurised the king to reconcile with political parties to resolve the country's political crisis.Following opposition to his direct rule he was forced to return power to parliament in April 2006, which in turn reduced the king's status to that of a ceremonial monarch. He continued as such until May 28, 2008 when he was peacefully deposed and Nepal became a federal republic.His business interests - which will become much more important to him now he is no longer king - have included a hotel in Kathmandu, a tea estate in the east of Nepal and a cigarette factory. The deposed king is a leading figure in the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation in Nepal and has worked closely with the World Wildlife Fund. Father: Mahendra Bir Bikram ShahMother: Indra Rajya Laxmi DeviWife: Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi ShahBorn: B.S.23 Ashad 2004 (7th July 1947 A.D.)Ruled: 22 Jestha 2058-till dateMajor Works And Events * He has been crowned twice.He was declared King by then Rana Prime Minister in 7th November 1950 till 7 January, 1951, at the age of four after King Tribhuvan and then Crown Prince Mahendra secretly left Kathmandu for India to return in 1951. * Studied in St. Josheph College, Darjeeling, India and Graduated from Tribhuwan University on 2026 B.S. * Married Queen Komal on B.S 2027(1970 AD). * One Son(Paras Shah) and One Daughter(Prerana Rajya laxmi Shah). * King Gyanendra is well known in Nepal for his conservation works. * He is a leading figure in the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and has worked closely with the World Wildlife Fund. * King Gyanendra is known as G. Shah in the literary world






Faces of the last king





Tha End.

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