The Nepalese Royal Massacre

in #history7 years ago


It has been 17 years since the royal family of Nepal was slaughtered. At that time Nepal was already at brink of a civil war between the Maoists and the government. The rebellion was launched by the CPN-M on 13 February 1996 with the main aim of overthrowing the monarchy system and establishing a people's republic.
King Birendra-
King Birendra was one of the most popular king that ruled Nepal. He was the first Nepali monarch to receive a formal education. He studied abroad in India, England and Japan. He even studied political theory at Harvard University (1967 - 1968). He was married to Aishwarya Rana and had three children- Prince Dipendra, Princess Shruti and Prince Nirajan. He was named king after his father King Mahendra's demise in 1972.

The widely known story- Prince Dipendra was a bit troubled ,prone to drinking with a keen interest in all things military and a short temper. Not long before the massacre, Dipendra had been arguing with his parents over the choice of his bride. Dipendra wanted to marry his girlfriend Devyani Rana.
Dipendra and Devyani
On the night of June 1 the royal family was having a dinner party at the Narayanhiti palace. The royal relatives were present as well as other highborns. Prince Dipendra had been drinking a lot and was misbehaving so King Birendra commanded him to leave. Prince Dipendra was escorted to his room by his brother Prince Nirajan and Prince Paras (Son of Gyanendra,Birendra's brother)(Gyanendra was not preset during the dinner party that night). An hour later Dipendra returned in military fatigues with an MP5K and M16 . He started shooting in the room killing his Father the King, his sister and other relatives. The Queen and the little prince had escaped the room but when they confronted the prince in the gardens they were both shot brutally. The queens face was so damaged that her face was covered with a mask during the cremation ceremony. Before any guards arrived the prince shot himself.

Prince Dipendra survived his suicide and was named King while he was still in a coma and Gyanendra was named regent for the three days, then ascended the throne himself after Dipendra died. The country went through a period of national mourning—many people including King Gyanendra—shaved their heads as a symbol of death in their family, since the king was the “father” of the nation and revered as a god. The country was already embroiled in a civil war, and now they were without a symbolic figurehead.
Conspiracy theories- Many Nepalese believe that Gyanendra was to be blamed as he was profited the most with his brother's and nephews death. Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, the chairman of the Nepalese Maoist party, in a public gathering claimed that the massacre was planned by the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or the American CIA. Promoters of these ideas allege Gyanendra had a hand in the massacre so that he could assume the throne himself. His ascension to the throne would only be possible if both of his nephews Dipendra and Nirajan were eliminated. Moreover, Gyanendra and especially his son Prince Paras were very unpopular with the public. On the day of the massacre he was in Pokhara whilst other royals were attending a dinner function. His wife Komal, Paras and daughter Prerana were in the room at the royal palace during the massacre. While the entire families of Birendra and Dipendra were wiped out, nobody in Gyanendra's family died: his son escaped with slight injuries, and his wife sustained a life-threatening bullet wound but survived.
Though whatever anyone says we won't really get the truth. Only if i were the three eyed raven( just Game Of Thrones things) i would know for sure what exactly happened that night.

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Very interesting story about this piece of Nepalese history. Good post.

I knew there was a civil war once in Nepal but this post really helped me understand it. Keep up the good work! Which side would've you like to see govern?

Very cool original content! Thanks for this! If it was a little more current, I would resteem it.