Kot massacre
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| Kot Massacre | |
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Jang Bahadur Rana, Bam Bahadur Kunwar, Bhaktabir Kunwar, Badri Narsingh Kunwar, Jaya Bahadur Kunwar, Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, Ranodip Singh Kunwar , Jagat Shamsher Kunwar, Dhir Shamsher Kunwar) Jang supporters:Rana Mehar Adhikari, Bhotu Ghale |
The Kot massacre (
The Kot meeting was called upon by Queen
Background
At the peak of instability in Nepalese politics, a coalition ministry was formed in September 1845, headed by Fateh Jang Chautaria, but the real power behind the throne was General
Gagan Singh Khawas was found dead on the balcony of his palace during the night of 16 September 1846. The queen commanded Bahadur, who happened to be ready with his regiments, to assemble the entire administrative establishment of the country immediately at the courtyard of the palace armoury. Following the queen's orders, Jang Bahadur ordered his men to let people inside the Kot but not to let them out without Queen's or his own orders.
Overview
Following the Queen's order, courtiers hurried to the Kot as soon as they heard a royal summons. Many of the courtiers were unarmed except for a sword, as they had responded immediately to the royal summons. The armies allocated by Jung Bahadur also had taken most of the arms of courtiers who had managed to bring them. Queen Laxmi Devi and King Rajendra Bikram Shah were also present in Kot.[1]
At almost midnight, most of the courtiers were present at Kot. Everyone there was full of fears and skeptical thoughts. General Abhiman Singh Rana Magar spoke to the King about the possibility of a massacre. His presence had relieved some of the members present. Abhiman Singh also fetched three troops under his control to Kot.
Prime Minister Chautariya Fateh Jung Shah had still not arrived. Jung Bahadur Rana called his younger brother Bam Bahadur to fetch Fateh Jung. Emotions ran high among the assembled bands of nobles and their followers, who listened to the Queen give an emotional harangue blaming the
Meanwhile, at Kot, surrounded by Jang Bahadur's regiments, tension grew high as most of the nobles and Prime Minister Fateh Jang Shah gathered there. Seeing a high possibility of bloodshed, Jang Bahadur, Fateh Jang and Abhiman Singh Rana decided that Jang Bahadur and Fateh Jang should try to calm the Queen, and
Aftermath
Jang Bahadur was made Prime Minister by the queen immediately after the massacre. Feeling he presented a threat to her power, the Queen conspired to eliminate Jang Bahadur and elevate her son to the throne. The Basnyat Conspiracy—so called because many of its participants belonged to one of the last leading noble families, the Basnyat—was betrayed and its ringleaders were rounded up and executed at Bhandarkhal Parva. A meeting of leading notables, packed with Rana supporters, found the Queen guilty of complicity in the plot, stripped her of her powers, and sent her into exile at Varanasi, along with King Rajendra. The King began plotting his return from India. In 1847, Jang Bahadur informed the troops of the exiled King's activities, announced his dethronement, and elevated Rajendra's son to the throne as Surendra Bikram Shah. King Rajendra Bikram was captured later that year in the Terai and brought back as a prisoner to Bhadgaon, where he spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Jang Bahadur then established the Rana dynasty, which ruled Nepal for more than a century.
See also
Further reading
References
- ISBN 978-0-143-41637-1.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 0520006224.
Notes
- ^ He is also referred to as Gagan Singh Bhandari in certain texts.
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