Mahendra of Nepal
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepali: महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 1955 to 1972. Mahendra was born on 11 June 1920 to King Tribhuvan of Nepal. Although Tribhuvan was nominally king since 1911, the royal family had been held captive in Narayanhity Palace since the rise of the prominent Rana dynasty. In 1940, he married Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi, daughter of General Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. Mahendra had three sons, Birendra, Gyanendra, and Dhirendra and three daughters Shanti, Sharada, and Shobha. Crown Princess Indra died in 1950. In 1952, Mahendra married Indra's younger sister, Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi. This marriage produced no children as King Mahendra had married on the condition his personal life should not hinder his national duties and the queen agreed to be childless.
Contents
- 1 Reign
- 1.1 1960 coup d'etat
- 1.2 Panchayat system (1962–72)
- 1.3 Development policy
- 1.4 British Field Marshal
- 1.5 King Mahendra and Queen's visit to US
- 2 Offsprings
- 3 Hobbies
- 4 Death and succession
- 5 Honors
- 6 Ancestry
- 7 Notes
- 8 Regnal *les
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Reign
King Mahendra and Queen Ratna in 1957Mahendra succeeded Tribhuvan as King of Nepal. He was crowned on 2 May 1956.
1960 coup d'etat
Main article: 1960 Nepal coup d'étatOn 15 December 1960, the then King Mahendra suspended the cons*ution, dissolved the elected parliament, dismissed the cabinet, imposed direct rule and imprisoned the then-prime minister B. P. Koirala and his closest government colleagues. Mahendra ins*uted a Panchayat hierarchical system of village, district and national councils, a variant of guided democracy. He pursued a foreign policy of neutrality between China and India.
Panchayat system (1962–72)
In 1960, King Mahendra used his emergency powers and took charge of the State once again claiming that the Congress government had fostered corruption, promoted party above national interest and failed to maintain law and order. Political parties were outlawed and all prominent political figures, including the Prime Minister were put behind bars. Civil liberties were curtailed and press freedom muzzled. King Mahendra then promulgated a new cons*ution in December 1962 introducing the Panchayat system. The Panchayat System was a party-less "guided" democracy in which the people could elect their representatives, while real power remained in the hands of the monarch. Dissenters were called anti-national elements.
At first, the Nepali Congress leadership propounded a non-violent struggle against the new order and formed alliances with several political parties, including the Gorkha Parishad and the United Democratic Party. Early in 1961, however, the king had set up a committee of 4 officials from the Central Secretariat to recommend changes in the cons*ution that would abolish political parties and subs*ute a "National Guidance" system based on local panchayat led directly by the king.
Development policy
Mahendra implemented a land reform policy, which provided land to many landless people. The Mahendra Highway (also called East-West Highway) that runs along the entire Terai belt in southern Nepal was constructed during his reign. He launched the Back to the Village National Campaign in 1967 which was one of his largest rural development efforts. He also played a key role in making Nepal a member of the United Nations in 1955.
British Field Marshal
King Mahendra was appointed as a British Field Marshal in 1962.
King Mahendra and Queen's visit to US
Main article: Mahendra's state visit to the USAKing Mahendra and Queen Ratna visited the US in 1960 and 1967. In 1960 they were greeted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and in 1967 they were greeted by President Lyndon B Johnson and Mrs. Johnson in Washington DC in 1967. The royal couple of Nepal was greeted with the 'guard of honor'.
Offsprings
Hobbies
Mahendra went in for various activities like noblemen of his era and subsequent eras. King Mahendra wrote songs and poems. He is also called the first lyricist of Nepal by some sources. He penned Lolayeka Tee, Gajalu Tee Thula Thula Aakha, Garchin Pukar Aaama, Aakashma Tirmire, Kina Kina Timro Tasbir, etc. which were later sung by Gulam Ali and Lata Mangeshar.
Death and succession
Mahendra suffered a m*ive second heart attack whilst on a winter hunting trip in Chitwan where he was attended to by his trusted Physicians Dr Mrigendra Raj Pandey and Dr Sachey *ar Pahari. King Mahendra was in a stable but critical condition and eventually breathed his last at Diyalo Bangala, the royal palace in Bharatpur on 31 January 1972. The King's body was subsequently flown to Kathmandu by helicopter in preparation for the State Funeral.
His son Birendra ascended the throne on 24 February 1975 but perished in the Nepalese royal m*acre on 1 June 2001.
Honors
National- Sovereign of the Order of Nepal Pratap Bhaskara
- Sovereign of the Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
- Sovereign of the Order of Nepal Taradisha
- Sovereign of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta
- Sovereign of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu
- Most Glorious Mahendra Chain (26 February 1961)
- Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Tribhuvan (11 December 1936)
- Iran: Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi, 3 July 1960
- Iran: Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire, 14 October 1971.
- :*an: Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 19 April 1960
- :Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint James of the Sword, 13 July 1960
- :France: Grand Cross of the Order of Legion of Honour, 24 February 1956
- :Finland: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose, 1958
- :Belgium: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II, 1964
- :Germany: Grand Cross Special Cl* of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1964
- :Kingdom of Laos: Collar of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, 1970
- :Pakistan: Nishan-e-Pakistan, 1970
- :Netherlands Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 25 April 1967.
- :United Kingdom: Royal Victorian Chain, 26 February 1961
- :Philippines: Collar of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Raja, 1971.
Ancestry
Notes
- ^1 Possibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911.
Regnal *les
References
External links
- Biography portal
- Nepal portal
- Monarchy portal
- Hinduism portal
- Media related to Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev at Wikimedia Commons
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