Jung Bahadur Became More Powerful After Alau Battle

The Bhandarkhal massacre was over. Twenty-three soldiers were beheaded, and the ones who surrendered were destined for a prison sentence. Jung Bahadur had the King sign a paper stating that all power henceforth was bequeathed to Jung Bahadur, withdrawing the special powers bestowed on Queen Rajyalaxmi. She and her two sons, Ranendra and Birendra Bikram Shah, were destined for exile in Varanasi.

However, at the last moment, the King decided that he too would accompany the Queen, despite the pleading of Jung Bahadur. The king refused to stay back without his queen. Under the circumstances, a new contract was drawn, allowing Rajendra to come back in three months, failing which his son Surendra would be declared the bona fide king. After this, Rajyalaxmi was sent to a small house in Bhotahity, as she had no right to be in the palace. They left the next day. All expenses of travel were borne by the government, and Jung Bahadur also added his staff to spy on the king. Captain Kabir Khatri, Captain Khadga Bahadur Shah, and Subba Siddhiman Singh were included in the team as bodyguards and secretaries. They were given strict instructions to ensure that the king returned on time as per the contract.

 Varanasi 

A sad and tired King and his Queen arrived in Varanasi. After a few weeks, the exiled and escapee Nepali communities of Pande, Basnyat, Shah, and Thapa started to meet the King. Chief among them was Guru Prasad Shah, brother of the late Fate Jung Shah. Thirsting for revenge, these people started to entice the royal couple to return to Kathmandu and overthrow Jung Bahadur. The example was ex-King Rana Bahadur Shah, who forcibly returned to Kathmandu, and the army sent to stop him joined him and finally overthrew Damodar Pandey. 

They expected a similar response from the army, and King Rajendra believed this. The king and the queen started to gain back their lost confidence and finally decided that the only way to rid the country was a confrontation with Jung Bahadur. A training and recruiting camp were set up and financed by Rajyalaxmi by selling her jewels. All these happenings did not escape Jung Bahadur, as he was continuously being briefed by his spy.

Battle of correspondence

The three-month holiday of the King was slowly coming to an end, and a letter was sent to the king on behalf of Crown Prince Surendra to his father requesting his return. Rajendra sent back a letter stating that he would only return if his Queen Rajyalaxmi was permitted to accompany him as well. This was refused outright by Jung Bahadur, who called up a meeting of courtiers. The members consisted of his brothers and his supporters, who wrote a strong letter saying that if Rajendra was unwilling to return, the citizens of Nepal would be forced to declare the crown prince Surendra as the bona fide king.

 Rajendra's team then drew up a public notice asking the citizens to rise against Jung Bahadur. These were to be distributed in Kathmandu. Shermardan Hamal and Dambar Singh Bista were deputed to carry these leaflets and distribute them in Kathmandu. However, they were caught in Thankote and arrested. A detailed search revealed a revolver as well, which they were carrying for self-defence. Jung Bahadur called his courtiers and declared Surendra Bikram as the king, from the Khari ko bote in Tundikhel. A letter was sent to Rajendra stating that, as he failed to return in three months, his son, Crown Prince Surendra, has been declared the King. Hamal and Bista were publicly beheaded in Tundikhel after the declaration. King Rajendra was now convinced that a showdown with Jung Bahadur was the final answer and moved to Alau, a village in Parsa, Nepal.

Alau battle

Jung Bahadur, now ready for the showdown, moved his forces. One company from the Purano Gorakh battalion, commanded by Sanak Singh Tandon and Bal Bahadur Majhi, was at the forefront. Three hundred soldiers commanded by Ranoddip Singh were in support, and with them was Upendra Bikram, the brother of Crown Prince Surendra. Sending Mahila Sahebjyu with the army was Jung. Bahadur's idea is to show that he has royal support.

At the twilight of dawn, when King Rajendra's troops were fast asleep, Sanak Singh's troop attacked. Caught unprepared, the untrained Rajendra's troops were no match against Sanak Singh's trained forces. The ferocity of the attack was so harsh that Rajendra's troops started fleeing instead of facing the enemy. King Rajendra, who was trying to escape on an elephant, was also arrested. Guru Prasad Shah, the architect of this plan, fled to Sugauli. The skirmish ended in less than an hour, with Rajendra's troops in total disarray. King Rajendra had a woman with him. She was branded as a devil, her ornaments confiscated, and she was sent back to India. A total of 124 people, including 35 civilians, lost their lives. Only four people were wounded on Jung Bahadur's side, and that is also not very serious.

Aftermath

The Alau incident made Jung Bahadur the most powerful prime minister in the history of Nepal and left him unchallenged until he died in 1877. King Rajendra was put in a palanquin and taken to the village of Kewalpur in Dhading, where he was kept as a prisoner, guarded by 300 soldiers from Pakhe Company. After some time, he was moved to Bhaktapur and was kept under house arrest inside the Bhaktapur palace. He died in 1882 at the age of 68, outsurviving Jung Bahadur, his son Surendra Bikram, and his grandson Crown Prince Trailokya. It was Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah who was the reigning monarch at the time of his death. Rajyalaxmi was never allowed to return and died in Varanasi.

(The author is a travel trade entrepreneur.)