Subarna Shamsher Rana
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Major General Subarna Shamsher Rana | |
|---|---|
Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1910 Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Died | 9 November 1977 (aged 66–67) |
Subarna Shamsher Rana (
He is one of the most revered leaders of Nepali Congress. He died in Calcutta on 9 November 1977. Sashi Sumsher and Yog Prasad Upadhyay brought his ashes back to Nepal.
Democratic movement
Subarna Shamsher played a crucial role during the movement to attain democracy in Nepal and to remove the Rana rule. He had initially founded the Nepalese Democratic Congress in March, 1948. Its main agenda was to destabilize the Rana regime and to introduce a multi-party democratic system in Nepal
Its operations were run mainly from the
The only barrier to this was that the Nepalese National Congress, which was the party Koirala headed, did not accept violence as a method to achieve democracy while the Nepalese Democratic Congress did. After a string of talks and negotiations Subarna Shamsher made Koirala realize that violence will be needed and thus, the two parties came to together to form the Nepali Congress.
After the merger he spearheaded the movement and enabled it to arm and train a small army which then began destabilizing the Rana government in eastern parts of Nepal. The financing for all the activities of the Nepai Congress was done by Subarna Shamsher through his own personal funds.
In late 1950, there was a general mobilization with violent protests and attacks taking place in Birgunj and Biratnagar. With situation getting worse for the Rana governor, the Royal Army eventually retreated from most of eastern Nepal which then came on the control of the Nepali Congress.
This victory was short-lived as the new reinforced Rana forces overpowered the weaker forces of the Nepli Forces and drove them out of Nepal. But the struggle in Easter Nepal had the desired effect and all over Nepal people started rising against the Rana regime. By late 1951, the Rana Prime Minister
Interim government
In 1951, he became the
As finance minister, he played a vital role in forming the Economic policies of Nepal. These policies are to be said to have garnered appreciation from various world leaders including
Nepalese Legislative Election 1959
Elections were finally held in 1959. Subarna Shaamsher stood up from Birgunj which was a Congress stronghold at the time. The Nepali Congress had a landslide victory, winning all over Nepal including in Subarna Shamsher's constituency Birgunj. In total, it won 74 out 109 seats.
After the results were announced, the then King of Nepal
Coup d'état
In 1960
All his property in
Multiple occasions after the coup, King Mahendra called Subarna Shamsher back to Nepal and promised the position of Prime Minister and all his property which was seized by the Nepalese Government but as Subarna Shamsher never compromised on his political principles and he always turned the offer down. Till his death in 1977, he continued the struggle of the Nepali Congress from Calcutta.
