Gautam Banerjee

On 14 October 1884, Commander In Chief Dhir Sumshere Rana, the youngest brother of Jung Bahadur and the second man in the hierarchy for Prime Minister died. A pheasant bone impaled his throat and he died a very painful death as Nepal lacked proper medical facilities in those days.

For seven years, he ruled the country with an iron hand; sometimes even overruling the prime minister. His main aim was to bring his sons closer to the role of prime ministership. In the process, .he left a legacy of divided rulership, an unsolvable political jigsaw and an enmity between cousins.

The eldest son of Jung Bahadur, Jagat Jung Rana, was removed from the prime ministerial rollcall in 1881 and was in self-exile in India. Ranoddip intended to reinstate Jagat Jung as the prime minister after him and settle himself in Varanasi. Hence, after the death of Dhir, both Jagat Jung and Narendra Bikram Shah were granted a pardon and called back to Kathmandu.

Crown Prince Trailokya was married to the two daughters of Jung Bahadur and one daughter of Jagat Sumshere. The Royal family was divided into two camps. Tara Kumari was childless and was supporting the Jungs, Lalit Rajeswori, actual mother of King Prithvi, supporting Sumsheres and the third wife Somgarva, daughter of Jagat Sumshere with no power base. At the helm of leading the group was Prime Minister Ranoddip Singh, a soft-hearted person far removed from dirty politics.

Ranoddip had brought the child, King Prithvi, from Hanuman Dhoka to a wing of the Hiti Durbar on the pretext of providing him with security. The King's mothers, Tara and Lalit Kumari followed the king to Hiti Durbar while Som Garva was left behind at Hanuman Dhoka.

Ranoddip Singh then got the eldest Queen Mother Tara Kumari who was Jagat Jung's sister to write an order stating that the re-appointment of Jagat Jung should be acceptable by all. Everyone signed except for Bir Sumshere and his brothers. This was an unthinkable action and was construed as a direct rebellion against the Royal family. In reply, the Queen Mother had the Sumshere brothers locked up in the guard quarters of Hiti Durbar for 10 hours. They were released at the order of Lalit Kumari.

After this ordeal, Bir Sumshere learned his lessons and was now confident that he and his brothers would be fated to an exile out of Kathmandu for a life full of poverty. He was also at times briefed by his spies about the comments made by the Jung brothers during their evening drinking sessions.

As the Sumsheres were on their father's mourning period, they used to be dressed in white and were nicknamed white cranes. A popular jibe among the Jungs was how great the Khari ko bot (The tree situated in the middle of Tundikhel) would look with 17 white cranes dangling from the branches.
The Sumshere brothers now had only one goal: the assassination of Ranoddip and the removal of the Jungs. During his tenure, Dhir Sumshere had built up a base of loyal army officers and this was the support base that the Sumshere brothers now wanted to exploit.

During the Indra Jatra, the prime minister would spend seven days in the Hanuman Dhoka Palace. A plan was made by the Sumshere brothers to assassinate Ranoddip at Hanuman Dhoka itself but they could not carry out their plan because of Ranbir Jung, as he proved to be too sharp for the Sumsheres.
Ranoddip Singh, still unable to reinstate Jagat Jung as the second in command now hatched another plan. On 14 October 1885, the customary one-year mourning period for the sons of Dhir Sumshere ended. British India had requested an army contingent from the Government of Nepal for a parade in Delhi. There was a rumour that Russia would be attacking India and this military parade was to reassure the British Allies that Britain was still capable of defending them.

The command of the 2000 army destined for Delhi was handed to Bir Sumshere and Ranoddip's plan was to declare Jagat Jung as his next heir as soon as Bir Sumshere and his brothers were out of the valley.
The Sumsheres had a different plan. They wanted to use this force of 2000 soldiers for a coup and as such started training the troops and all officers were chosen based on their loyalty to the Sumshere family.
The departure date to Delhi was purposely delayed on the excuse of an auspicious day and time. They were busy taking out the auspicious hour for the murder of their uncle, which came on 22 November, between 09 and 10 pm.
On 22 November 1885, the Sumshere brothers met Ranoddip for a formal farewell for departure the following day at 4 am. Their request for arms and ammunition was rejected by Ranbir Jung, who gave a terse reply that all ammunition would be given at Chisapani Gadi.

Bir Sumshere then sent Laxmi Bhakta Poudyal to meet Ranoddip with a letter stating the injustice of the Jungs towards Sumshere brothers. Ranoddip then wrote a firm order stating that the arms and ammunition are to be given right away, an order which Ranbir Jung could not disobey.
The weapons were immediately distributed to the troops with instructions that there would be no bugle played on departure. A flute will be played in front of their tent and upon hearing the sound soldiers were to assemble with arms. Fatya Sumshere was left behind in Tundikhel and the other brothers assembled at their residence in Hiti.

The Assassination
The assassination plan was scheduled for the same evening. At about 9 pm, Bir Sumshere left with his brothers Dambar, Khadga and Bhim. Chandra Sumshere stayed behind on the excuse that his wife was pregnant and he would not do any killing for a superstitious reason. He was left guarding the main door of Hiti Durbar.
Waiting for them in the doorway was Hajuria Colonel Gambhir Singh Katuwal, who had sent his guards away on different errands.  With Katuwal's help, the Sumshere brothers got easy access to the palace. As Bir Sumshere headed straight for the wing of King Prithvi and Lalit Kumari, the other three brothers headed for the bedroom of Ranoddip, where he was getting his feet massaged while writing the name of Lord Ram on a bundle of paper as a religious activity.

The sudden appearance of three brothers in greatcoats wielding revolvers was a shock for Ranoddip and all he could say was 'how and why did you come?' In reply, Dambar Sumshere, who was supposed to shoot, first aimed the gun but could not fire. Khadga Sumshere immediately fired, and the bullet hit the jaw of Ranoddip and his head burst with the explosion. Dambar and Bhim fired simultaneously, which was irrelevant, as the first bullet had already done the job. 

The 2000 soldiers camped in Tundikhel heard the flute and assembled there. Bir Sumshere with child King Prithvi and mother Lalit Kumari driving in the Royal Stagecoach. From the legendary Khari ko bot, the Queen mother ordered the soldiers that as per Royal order, Bir Sumshere was appointed Prime Minister and the soldiers are now to follow his orders.
The officers in command, all Sumshere loyalists, ordered the soldiers to fire in salutation, which they did. Bir Sumshere returned to Hiti Durbar and his first proclamation was henceforth only the Sumshere clan would have the right to the role of prime minister hierarchy.

Aftermath
It did not take much time for the news of the coup to reach Thapathali. Ranbir Jung and Padma Jung collected their valuables and headed for the British Residency. Juddha Pratap Jung, who had come empty-handed went back for valuables despite his uncles Ranbir and Padma warning him not to go.
"We will take care of you. Don't go back," was their request to the nephew but Juddha Pratap Jung went back anyway. He was shot dead by an army patrol while returning. Jagat Jung Rana was shot dead in his palace in Manohara. Commander in chief Jit Jung Rana was away in India on medical grounds and didn't dare return.

The British Residency was full of asylum seekers and the prominent among them was Hari Priya Devi, the wife of Ranoddip Singh. They were duly sheltered and sent to India with British help.
Khadga Sumshere, the man who changed the destiny of the Sumsheres with a single bullet, would himself be a victim of a coup by his brother, Bir Sumshere some years later. He was exiled to Palpa.
As the days passed, Bir Sumshere became paranoid for his safety. Changing bedrooms in the middle of the night, having his brothers searched before meeting them from a distance, was the norm.

His junior Queen Tope Kumari once commented, " Maharaj, I don't understand why you are so scared. You have Faud Singh Khatri as your Hajuria Colonel, you have loyal brothers who set you up here, you have a whole company of soldiers as your bodyguard and every nook and corner of Lal Durbar palace is guarded. So what are you afraid of?"
Bir gave a wry smile and replied, "Don't forget that all these people were with Thaila Buwa (Ranoddip) too". (Concluded)

(A trade and travel entrepreneur, Banerjee has a keen interest in Nepali history)