Born in 1723 as heir to the throne of Gorkha in central Nepal, PNS was crowned when he was 20. Even at that age, the great visionary, statesman and patriot had foreseen that the only chance to save Nepal from a takeover by East India Company, which was fast making inroads into various Indian states, was an early unification of the nation—the country that was one till the end of Kirat dynasty had fragmented into tiny princely states known as baise-chaubise which, he envisaged, were easy preys to any foreign power, colonial or native. He therefore decided to step up his efforts to conquer the teeny-weeny princedoms, one by one.
In sharp contrast to the brand of royals who are happy in the lap of luxury, PNS – a man of purpose, determination and gallantry – chose for him a life full of dangers and hardships of battle that continued till his last breath. In his single-minded pursuit of an early unification, he applied a host of strategies that ranged from launching attacks to forming nuptial ties with a would-be enemy. Often, he would play weaker kings or states off against the stronger ones. Never tired for a moment, never looking back on achievements and never defeated or demoralized by occasional setbacks, the great warrior finally succeeded in conquering and unifying nearly half of the territories of the present day Nepal before his death at the age of 52.
The unfinished mission, especially in the eastern part of the country, was later accomplished under the able leadership of his younger son Bahadur Shah. Nepali people are and will ever remain grateful to PNS, Bahadur Shah and other patriots who contributed to the unification, defense and expansion of their territories at any given time in history.
PNS also laid down several norms of good governance, social justice, public policy and foreign relations much of which are still relevant and pertinent. His dictums (Dibyopadesh) had served as guiding principles of governance for successive rulers. His timeless maxim “Nepal is a yam between two boulders” was reminder of the delicate geo-political position of the country for rulers in posterity, which the likes of Gyanendra and Prachanda failed to understand. He respected and recognized socio-cultural norms and traditions of local communities in places where he conquered; moreover, he officially adopted the important ones (for instance the custom of Kumari and Indra Jatra in Kathmandu).
But the republican leaders of the post-2006 era have tried to portray the founder of the nation as a Khas monopolistic autocrat who imposed Khas culture on other communities. The reasons behind this twist are twofold; one, to avenge upon the monarchy, and two, to woo/appease the handful of ethno-lingual-regional elites and secessionist elements, who have never been happy, albeit clandestinely, with the unification of the nation.
Prithvi Narayan Shah is just too great to be dismissed as any monarch – known or unknown – buried in history. He created history. A monarch may not have place in a republic, but a hero will always have. And he is a hero and will remain one as long as Nepal remains one.
Some politicians and ethno-lingual rights activists argue that PNS was not perfect. Agreed, but for that matter nobody from Bismarck to Gandhi was. The greatnesses of leaders can be measured only when they are compared to their contemporaries and in perspective of their times, something the communists find difficult to understand as they believe more in ideological fantasies than in historical realities. That is why the so-called champions of inclusive sociopolitical system cannot appreciate PNS even when he says ‘Nepal char varna chatis jat ko sajha fulbari ho’(Nepal is a common garden of all races, ethnicities and people).
PNS also used to say ‘mera sana dukkha le arjyako muluk hoina’ meaning my modest efforts alone have not made the unification possible (implying that others too greatly contributed to the process). Compare this statement with the self-aggrandizement and arrogance of the leaders of today. Communists aside, the role of Nepali Congress (NC), a party that boasts the legacy of B P Koirala’s nationalism, has been no better in this regard. It was the coalition government headed by NC leader Girija Prasad Koirala that decided to do away with the birthday memorial of PNS.
Although poor or biased in their knowledge of history, our leaders are conversant about the political events of neighboring India. Therefore, I would like to draw their attention to some events in living memory of Indian history. Didn’t the BJP-led coalition government of Atal Bihari Bajpayee that came to power defeating the Congress government continue to mark the birth anniversary of Gandhi as National Day despite the fact that Mahatma was the founder of the contending Congress party? They did so because they were not poorly-educated or narrow-minded the way our politicians are; they maintained that the Mahatma was too great to be labeled as leader of any single party. Great leaders admire the greatness of even their opponents while the small-minded ones criticize the good qualities of even their own comrades. This is exactly what is happening in Nepal right now.
PNS is just too great to be dismissed as any monarch – known or unknown – buried in history. He created history. A monarch may not have place in a republic, but a hero will always have. And he is a hero and will remain one as long as Nepal remains one. Yes, he may not, if ever the nation disintegrates, for whatever reason, the strongest being the federalization madness, especially the one based on ethno-lingual-regional divisions of the center stage actors of “New Nepal”. The term, proudly coined by them, has however now become a political joke due to their own disappointing performances. Now, the disgraced phrase appears only in commercials that promote building materials like cement and iron rods, and not in the speeches of the republicans.
This is the 21st century and gone are the days when victors used to write history. For patriotic Nepali people, it is simply not acceptable that PNS be insulted or avenged for the misdeeds of his descendants of 10th and 11th generation, namely Mahendra and Gyanendra. PNS should be assessed as the founder, unifier and builder of Nepal, and not as a forefather of some autocratic monarchs. If he were not born, the nation-state of Nepal might NEVER have been born as the teensy baise-chaubise would have been easily colonized by the British only to be merged into the Indian Union by a Ballav Bhai Patel. Anyone spared would have been later annexed by an Indira Gandhi.
PNS is to this nation what Bismarck is to Germany, what George Washington or Thomas Jefferson is to the US and what Ballav Bhai Patel is to India. Overcome by hate and vendetta, the republican leaders may have succeeded in obliterating PNS from their official documents but they will never be able to remove him from the hearts and minds of the Nepali people.
jeevan1952@hotmail.com
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