Biography of King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah

“म मरे पनि मेरो देश बाचिरहोस्।” (May my country live forever, though I die.)

Did you know this line was actually coined by King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah? And that happened to be at a time while he was breathing his last minutes of life. While the statement depicts his love for the nation, which he is popular for, he also faces criticism due to the undemocratic seizure of power.

Birth date, Childhood, and Education

King Mahendra, son of King Tribhuwan Bir Bikram Shah and Queen Kanta Rajya Laxmi Devi, was born in 1977 BS, Jestha 30.  During this time, there was the Rana regime that was holding all ruling powers in Nepal and though King Tribhuwan was the official King, he was treated similarly to a captive in his own Narayanhitti palace by the Ranas. King Tribhuwan, had to depend on the mercy of Ranas for even his basic expenditures. And at many instances, it had happened that his request for funds had been denied. Due to this reason, the crown prince Mahendra too had to face many difficulties during his childhood. Even his education suffered from many Rana restrictions. He wasn’t allowed higher education and was denied opportunities to study abroad too. Despite all the obstacles, he was a determined scholar and he did learn Politics, Economics, and Nepali within the palace.

As the King of Nepal

Coronation

When the Rana rule was overthrown in 2007 B.S., an agreement was done between the Ranas, King Tribhuwan, and the Nepali Congress that returned many of the powers of the King. When King Tribhuwan died during his treatment after 6 years, the responsibility of the crown fell to Mahendra. He inherited the throne in an official ceremony on Baisakh 20, 2013 B.S.

The coup of Poush 1, 2017 B.S.

After ascending the royal throne of Nepal in 2013 B.S., King Mahendra found the political condition deteriorating day by day. It had only been 18 months since democracy was properly organized by a democratic election of power holders. Though the citizens seemed happy about the changes brought by democracy, Mahendra had somewhere been hurt by its popularity. Additionally, some decisions taken by the elected government were controversial and viewed by Mahendra as a risk to national sovereignty. There were some conflicts going on between him and the government’s cabinet of ministers. Because of this, the King designed a coup to regain all the powers. He ordered and arrest of most of the ministers and popular leaders including then Prime Minister B.P. Koirala on Poush 1, 2017 B.S., and established a direct rule after dismissing the parliament. It had only been 10 that the people of Nepal had gotten rid of the autocratic Rana rule when they had to face another autocratic system. King Mahendra established a new system called the ‘Panchayat System’ after dismissing the democratic system.

Developmental works

Though Mahendra had seized power in his hands, there were many steps taken by him toward the development of Nepal. He divided the administrative area of Nepal into different districts and zones for better administration and execution of the law. He even introduced the National Planning Commission. The aim of the National Planning Commission was to involve Nepal in the socioeconomic development and the overall development of the nation. He believed that the development of Nepal is in the flourishing of the village and rural parts of Nepal and so started a national movement called ‘Gaun Farka Abhiyan’. This movement was started in BS 2024 and aimed at moving people from cities to villages. Since Nepal is an agricultural country, King Mahendra wanted to make people conscious about the development possibility in the village itself. Because of the 103 years of Rana rule, Nepal was in a very backward state of development and it was because of King Mahendra that Nepal could take significant steps towards development. The Mahendra highway has been a passage to international affairs and has led to trade globally. Tribhuwan University, established during his time, has become one of the most remarkable educational institutions.

Married life

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah was married to Indra Rajya Laksmi, the daughter of General Hari Shumsher Rana. But even before he got married, he was engaged in a physical relationship with his mistress named Geeta Gurung, who gave birth to a child named Rabindra Shah. Rabindra was not accepted officially as a part of the royal family.

Indra Rajya Laxmi died in 2007 B.S. in the Narayanhiti durbar. After her death, Mahendra married Ratna Rajya Laxmi, the sister of Indra Rajya Laksmi. He was strictly distinctive of his personal and political works. He put forward a condition before marrying Ratna Rajya Laxmi, that their personal life should not hinder his responsibilities to the nation. Mahendra and Ratna also agreed to remain childless, to avoid any possible conflicts in the future. Up to his time, there was a tradition of the King marrying more than one wife in the same period. He broke the tradition and chose to remain married to a single wife at a time.

Death

King Mahendra was passionate about hunting and used to visit Chitwan often for this purpose. During his visit, he stayed in the palace named ‘Diyalo Durbar’ that he had there. He had a cardiac arrest while he was on his hunting and died in Diyala Durbar in 2023 B.S. The famous line ‘म मरे पनि मेरो देश बाचिरहोस्’ (May my country live forever, though I die), is said to his final words before his death.

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