Remembering Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of Nepal, is Nepal’s pride. He was born in Gorkha 290 years ago. Since 1768, Nepal became a common shelter for all Nepalese people. This is the motherland for all Nepalese people regardless of where they are scattered around the world. Almost 100 years before Germany and Italy were unified and the Meiji dynasty was restored (1868) in Japan, Prithvi Narayan Shah had unified 54 small fiefdoms to build a large, expanded and strong Nepal.

It is remarkable that American citizens never forget the contribution of Gorge Washington who freed them from British imperialism and united all the states to form the United States of America almost 30 years after the Nepalese unification (1768).

Unification drive

The British Empire that was expanding in Asia and had gotten a toehold in India, had eyed the mountainous region, i.e., Nepal. It was no easy task to fight against the British imperialistic forces in mid 18th century. As the culture, religion and nationality of the entire mountain belt were in danger, it compelled Prithvi Narayan Shah to unify the small principalities into a Greater Nepal, including the many small Hindu states, while protecting Buddhism and other religions.

The creator of this nation, Prithvi Narayan Shah, had pointed out in a message: "This is not a nation gained by my trifle efforts, this is the garden of all kinds of flowers, and may all be aware of this." So, each and every citizen of Nepal is an equal owner of this country.

But, after the uprising of 2006, the so-called revolutionaries smashed the statues of Prithvi Narayan Shah, and insulted him and called off celebrating the birth anniversary of the late king as a day of national unity. Some destructive groups vandalised the statue of Prithvi Narayan Shah in Pokhara and replaced it with the statue of Lakhan Thapa.

The Gorkha king declared Kathmandu as the capital and Nepal as a kingdom and not Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah not only brought caste- and ethnicity-based states under the umbrella of Nepal, but also laid the solid foundation for a modern state.

Nepal, he said, was a "yam between two boulders", suggesting the need for a delicate balance of relationship between its two big neighbours, a fundamental rule of Nepal’s foreign policy even now. And Prithvi Narayan Shah had stated, "Both the bribe givers and takers are enemies of the state," something to mull over in modern-day Nepal.

History chronicles that after the capture of Kirtipur, an English platoon of 2,400 troops under the leadership of Col. Killok was chased away from Sindhuli with the support of Commander Ram Krishna Kunwar, Dev Narayan Magar and others. Then, Prithvi Narayan Shah came to Kathmandu in the course of creating a Greater Nepal.

After taking over Kathmandu, he sat on the royal throne at Hanuman Dhoka with the help of Jhyagal Gurung after receiving the ‘tika’ from the Kumari (Shakya Living Goddess). To maintain the pride of this place, he did everything to create a Greater Nepal. With the support of all the different castes - Magar, Gurung, Sherpa, Bahun, Chhetri, Newar, Kami, Damai, Sarki and others - Prithvi Narayan Shah extended this nation to Tista in the east, Kangada in the west and Ganges in the south.

Prithvi Narayan Shah’s policy of ‘rights of inheritors over the land’ (jagga mathi raitiko adhikar) heralded tremendous influence over the people. The culture, tradition, religion, rituals, language and attire of all the ethnic groups of the nation were accepted as common property for their co-existence after the unification.

The Nepali language had become extensive among the people of other castes, so it was transformed as the government’s official language and common language of use among the Nepalese. Instead of Gorkha, the name - Kingdom of Nepal - was proclaimed. There were no forcible acts to this effect. Prithvi Narayan was a common leader of Hindus and Buddhists alike, castes and tribes.

A strong unitary sovereign nation was created with the involvement of the indigenous people. The indigenous people should accept the existence of a unitary state to remain protected from the danger posed by our northern and southern neighbours. All the traditions and culture remain intact that tie the indigenous tribes together to survive in harmony.

Geographical conditions

It is notable that the very exercise of Nepal as an independent country was made possible only because of the geographical situation existing in the region by Prithvi Narayan Shah alongside the committed, dedicated and trusted ministers and generals belonging to the various ethnic groups. Surprisingly, Nepal was able to stand its ground as an independent, unique and powerful multi-ethnic state on the lap of the Himalayas, even during colonial encroachment in South Asia. People of different ethnic backgrounds seemed to have united under the umbrella of the newly emergent Nepal. In many cases, a practical policy, offering more autonomy to some small friendly principalities was adopted by the great King Prithvi Narayan Shah.