1806 Bhandarkhal massacre

1806 Nepalese political massacre the massacre in 1806 the 1846 massacre of the same name 1846 Bhandarkhal massacre June 2019 Bhandarkhal Massacre Bhandarkhal Garden, Basantapur Durbar, Kathmandu and bank of Bishnumati River, Kathmandu, Nepal Up to 2 weeks after 25 April 1806 political assassination (death penalties on accusation of high treason) Talwar, Khunda, rifle, Khukuri 93 people including Kaji Tribhuvan Khawas (Pradhan) Chautariya Bidur Shah Kaji Narsingh Gurung King Prithvi Pal Sen of Palpa Bhimsen Thapa and faction; aides of Government of Nepal The Bhandarkhal massacre (ne भण्डारखाल पर्व) was a political massacre that occurred in Bhandarkhal garden of Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu, Nepal in 1806. The chief perpetrator of the massacre was then Kaji Bhimsen Thapa. Bhimsen instigated the massacre as investigation and trial upon the death of then reigning Mukhtiyar and former King Rana Bahadur Shah. It began when Tribhuvan Khawas (Pradhan), a member of Sher Bahadur's faction, was imprisoned on the re-opened charges of conspiracy with the British that led to Knox's mission and finally convicted with a death penalty on the charge of treason. After the implication, Tribhuvan decided to reveal everyone that was involved in the dialogue with the British on his house meeting on the night of 25 April 1806. The confession implicated Sher Bahadur Shah, Rana Bahadur's half brother and he began to harass his half brother. In desperation, Sher Bahadur killed Rana Bahadur and triggered the massacre which lasted for two weeks. The number of deaths occurred was ninety-three people (16 women and 77 men). Background After returning to Kathmandu, in complicity with Rana Bahadur Shah, Bhimsen Thapa indulged in appropriating the palaces and properties of deposed members of Shah dynasty,note Bhimsen Thapa blinded three Shah infants (Bir Bhadra Shah, Bhim Pratap Shah, Bhim Rudra Shah) who were heirs to Bagh Durbar, a palace with large garden and compound near Tundikhel, which he appropriated for himself. He also blinded another Shah infant (Kul Chandra Shah), who was an heir to a palace at Indra Chowk, which he gave to Ranganath Poudyal. The blinding of Shah infants was done to ensure that King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah's status would not be challenged by other Shah contenders for the throne, since according to the custom of that time, a physically disabled person was not allowed to be a king.Acharya 2012 57–59Nepal 2007 60 which he shared between himself and his supporter Ranganath Poudyal.Acharya 2012 57–59 This aroused resentment and jealousy among Sher Bahadur Shah (Rana Bahadur's step-brother) and his faction, since they did not receive any portion of this confiscated property, despite their help in reinstating Rana Bahadur to power.note Sher Bahadur Shah had switched his allegiance at the crucial moment which had allowed Damodar Pande to be arrested at Thankot.Acharya 2012 45–56 Acharya 2012 59 They were also wary of Bhimsen's growing power.Nepal 2007 60 By this time, Rana Bahadur was a nominal figure and Kaji Bhimsen Thapa was single-handedly controlling the central administration of the country, being able to implement even unpopular reforms like Baisathi Haran.Acharya 2012 60 For almost two years after returning to Kathmandu, Rana Bahadur had no official position in the government – he was neither a king, nor a regent, nor a minister – yet he felt no qualms in using the full state power.Acharya 2012 60 Not only did Rana Bahadur carry out the Baisathi Haran under Bhimsen's advice, he was also able to banish all non-vaccinated children, as well as their parents, from the town during a smallpox outbreak, in order to prevent King Girvan from catching that disease.Nepal 2007 61 Now, after almost two-years, Rana Bahadur was suddenly made Mukhtiyar (chief authority) and Bhimsen tried to implement his schemes through Rana Bahadur.Nepal 2007 60–61 Bhimsen had also secretly learned of a plot to oust Rana Bahadur.Pradhan 2012 27 Tribhuvan Khawas (Pradhan), a member of Sher Bahadur's faction, was imprisoned on the re-opened charges of conspiracy with the British that led to the Knox's mission, but for which pardon had already been doled out, and was ordered to be executed.Nepal 2007 61Acharya 2012 63 Tribhuvan Khawas decided to reveal everyone that was involved in the dialogue with the British.Nepal 2007 61Acharya 2012 63 Among those implicated was Sher Bahadur Shah.Nepal 2007 61Acharya 2012 63 Night meeting at Khawas's house On the night of 25 April 1806, Rana Bahadur held a meeting at Tribhuvan Khawas's house with rest of the courtiers, during which he taunted and threatened to execute Sher Bahadur.Acharya 2012 64–66Nepal 2007 62 At around 10 pm, Sher Bahadur in desperation drew a sword and killed Rana Bahadur Shah before being cut down by nearby courtiers, Bam Shah and Bal Narsingh Kunwar, also allies of Bhimsen.Acharya 2012 67Nepal 2007 62–63 Incident The assassination of Rana Bahadur Shah triggered a great massacre in Bhandarkhal (a royal garden east of Kathmandu Durbar) and at the bank of Bishnumati river.Acharya 2012 68–71Nepal 2007 63–64 That very night, members of Sher Bahadur's faction – Bidur Shah, Tribhuvan Khawas and Narsingh Gurung – and even King Prithvipal Sen of Palpa, who was under house arrest in Patan Durbar, were swiftly rounded up and killed in Bhandarkhal.Acharya 2012 70Nepal 2007 63 Their dead bodies were not allowed funeral rites and were dragged and thrown by the banks of Bishnumati to be eaten by vultures and jackals.Acharya 2012 70Nepal 2007 63 The next few days, all the sons of Sher Bahadur Shah, Bidur Shah, Tribhuvan Khawas and Narsingh Gurung, aged 2 to 15 were beheaded by the bank of Bishnumati; their wives and daughters were given to the untouchables, their bodyguards and servants were also put to death, and all their property seized.Acharya 2012 70Nepal 2007 63–64 Bhimsen managed to kill everyone who did not agree with him or anyone who could potentially become a problem for him in the future. In this massacre that lasted for about two weeks, a total of ninety-three people (16 women and 77 men) lost their lives.Acharya 2012 70Nepal 2007 64 Aftermath thumb|Picture of Bhimsen Thapa standing beside a horse in the Nepalese military uniforms Almost one and half months before the massacre, upon Bhimsen's insistence, Rana Bahadur, then 31 years old, had married a 14-year-old girl named Tripurasundari on 7 March 1806, making her his fifth legitimate wife.note While it is generally believed that Tripurasundari was from a Thapa family,Karmacharya 2005 86 Baburam Acharya further conjectured that Tripurasundari was possibly the daughter of Bhimsen's brother Nain Singh Thapa.Acharya 2012 3Acharya 2012 62 Taking advantage of the political chaos, Bhimsen became the Mukhtiyar (1806–37), and Tripurasundari was given the title Lalita Tripurasundari and declared regent and Queen Mother (1806–32) of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah, who was himself 9 years old.Acharya 2012 71 Thus, Bhimsen became the first person outside the royal household to hold the position of the Mukhtiyar. All the other wives (except SubarnaprabhaKarmacharya 2005 80) and concubines of Rana Bahadur, along with their handmaidens, were forced to commit sati.Nepal 2007 64Acharya 2012 163 Bhimsen obtained a royal mandate from Tripurasundari, given in the name of King Girvan, commanding all other courtiers to be obedient to him.Acharya 2012 71 Bhimsen further consolidated his power by disenfranchising the old courtiers from the central power by placing them as administrators of far-flung provinces of the country. The courtiers were instead replaced by his close relatives, who were mere yes-men.Pradhan 2012 28 On the spot where Rana Bahadur Shah drew his last breath, Bhimsen later built a commemorative Shiva temple by the name Rana-Mukteshwar.Acharya 2012 72 See also List of massacres in Nepal References Footnotes note Notes Sources Acharya Baburam Acharya Shri Krishna Janaral Bhimsen Thapa : Yinko Utthan Tatha Pattan Kathmandu 2012 228 Nepali Education Book House 9789937241748 Karmacharya Ganga Queens in Nepalese politics: an account of roles of Nepalese queens in state affairs, 1775–1846 Educational Pub. House 185 2005 Kathmandu 9789994633937 Nepal Gyanmani Nepal ko Mahabharat Sajha Nepali 2007 3rd 314 Kathmandu 9789993325857 Pradhan Kumar L. Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839 Concept Publishing Company 2012 9788180698132 New Delhi 278 https://books.google.com/books?id=7PP1yElRzIUC&q=the+assassination+of+rana+bahadur+shah Further reading Acharya Baburam The Fall of Bhimsen Thapa and the Rise of Jung Bahadur Rana Regmi Research Series 3 1 13–25 January 1, 1971a 1962 http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/regmi/pdf/Regmi_03.pdf Dec 31, 2012 7 August 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190807045836/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/regmi/pdf/Regmi_03.pdf dead 27.705582 85.306918 title Category:April 1806 Category:May 1806 Category:Massacres in Nepal Category:Massacres in 1806 Category:1806 in Nepal Category:History of Kathmandu Category:Bhimsen Thapa Category:1806 murders in Asia Category:Politicides