Birendra of Nepal

Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव) (December 28, 1945 – June 1, 2001) was King of Nepal from 1972 until 2001, and the son of King Mahendra, whom he succeeded. He was made a British Field Marshal in 1980. He is the most internationally well-known Nepalese king in modern history due largely to his highly publicised death.

Early life

Son of Crown Prince (from 1955, King) Mahendra and Crown Princess Indra Rajya Laxmi, Birendra was educated at St. Joseph's College in Darjeeling, India, and at Eton College (1959-64), the University of Tokyo (1967), and Harvard University (1967-68). King Birendra was married to Aiswarya from the Rana family on February 27 1970, they had three children.

• Prince Dipendra (June 27, 1971 – June 4, 2001)
• Princess Shruti (October 15, 1976 - June 1, 2001)
• Prince Nirajan (November 6 1977–June 1 2001)

Reign

Birendra continued the autocratic tradition of his father, who had dissolved the elected parliament in 1960 and banned political parties in the constitution of 1962; indeed, for a time, Birendra was one of the world's few remaining absolute monarchs. He managed to defend Nepal's independence against encroaching influences by India, China, and the Soviet Union. In 1990 a popular prodemocracy movement erupted into bloody riots between police and demonstrators. On April 8, Birendra acceded to the opposition's demand to lift the ban on political parties, and on November 9 he promulgated a new constitution that preserved his status as chief of state but confirmed multiparty democracy, a separation of powers, and the protection of human rights. Later on, Birendra was more open to parliamentary democracy than his father, and granted a democratic government after a people's movement in 1990. However, the quarrels between various political parties and numerous social problems led to the Nepalese Civil War, a conflict between Maoist rebels and monarchist government forces, which lasted from 1996 until 2006. He is widely considered to be best king to ever reign in Nepal, and was seen as a symbol of National unity by his subjects (with the exception of the maoists, of course).

Death

Main article: Nepalese royal massacre

Nepal's stability was threatened even more when he and most of his family (including Queen Aiswarya) were massacred at a royal dinner on 1 June 2001 allegedly by Crown Prince Dipendra. A section of Nepalese people believed that King Gyanendra (Birendra's brother) was the main conspirator.^[1] However, according to published reports from eyewitnesses and the results of an investigation carried by a two man committee made up of the Chief of the Supreme Court Keshav Prasad Upadhaya and the speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat,^[2] his eldest son and heir, Dipendra, was the gunman.^[3] The motive given for Dipendra's actions were a clash with his mother over his wish to marry Devyani Rana. Dipendra also had a history of alcohol and illegal drugs abuse and had also suffered from depression in the past. ^[4] Dipendra was proclaimed king but died a few days later of self inflicted gunshot wounds. King Birendra's brother, Gyanendra, then became king.

References

1. ^ Death of a dynasty
2. ^ Nepal massacre inquiry begins, at long last
3. ^ Prince blamed for Nepal massacre
4. ^ Madness of psychiatry