''Kaji'' ( ne, काजी) was a title and position used by

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing s ...

(1559–1768) and

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu king ...

between 1768 and 1846. Many other contemporary kingdoms used the same title for their ministers.

Etymology

Historian Mahesh Chandra Regmi suggests that ''Kaji'' is derived from Sanskrit word ''Karyi'' which meant functionary.

History

Ganesh Pande was the first Kaji under King

Dravya Shah Dravya Shah ( ne, द्रव्य शाह; 1559–1570) was the king of the Gorkha Kingdom in Nepal. He was the father of Purna Shah, king of Gorkha. Dravya Shah's accomplices were Bhagirath Panta, Ganesh Pandey, Narayan Arjyal, Sarveshwar Kha ...

. He helped Dravya Shah to become King of Gorkha and was later appointed Kaji of Gorkha in 1559 A.D. Another significant Kaji of Gorkha was

Kalu Pande Vamshidhar Pande ( ne, वंशीधर पाँडे) known by Alias Kalu Pande ( ne, कालु पाँडे) was a Nepalese politician and military general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. i ...

born in the family of Ganesh Pande. He was son of Bhimraj Pande who was also a Kaji during the reign of King

Nara Bhupal Shah Nara Bhupal Shah ( ne, नरभूपाल शाह) (1697–1743) was a king of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lies in modern day Nepal; and the father of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nara Bhupal Shah was the son of Birbhadra Shah, the grandson of Prithvi ...

. Kalu Pande led Gorkhalis in the Battle of Kirtipur. He had set up a base on Naikap, a hill on the valley's western rim, from where they were to mount their assaults on Kirtipur. He was killed in the battle after being surrounded by enemy forces. The ministers and officials of Kantipur Kingdom also had the title of Kaji. Kashiram Thapa was a Kaji and army commander in the reign of King Jaya Prakash Malla. Both as per

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist, and botanist whil ...

and

Dilli Raman Regmi Dilli Raman Regmi ( ne, डिल्लीरमण रेग्मी) (17 December 1913 – 30 August 2001) was a scholar, iconic political figure and historian of Nepal. He dedicated his life to research, study, writing and politics. He was one ...

, there were 4 Kajis forming the government in Nepal. In the rule of King Rana Bahadur Shah, 4 Kajis were appointed and were to work under the direction of King and Chautariya. The number of officers including Kajis changed after King Rana Bahadur abdicated in favour of his minor son Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah. During the reign of

Bhimsen Thapa Bhimsen Thapa ( ne, भीमसेन थापा (August 1775 – 29 July 1839)) was a Nepalese statesman who served as the ''Mukhtiyar'' (equivalent to prime minister) and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the ...

, there were inner and outer circle of Kajis who acted as decision-making body and military commander and governors respectively. Kaji along with Chautariya and Bada Hakim were appointed to run the administration as governors. No single family had full dominance in the position of inner circle of government. All Thapas, Pandes and Basnets held similar shares in the inner circle.

Mulkaji

Chief (''Mul'') Kaji was considered equivalent to

Prime Minister of Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of ...

before King Rana Bahadur Shah created the position of ''Mukhtiyar'' in 1806 and carried executive powers of nation to completely control Nepalese administration. In 1794, King Rana Bahadur Shah came of age and appointed Kirtiman Singh Basnyat as Chief (''Mul'') Kaji among the newly appointed four Kajis though

Damodar Pande Damodar Pande ( ne, दामोदर पाँडे) (1752 – March 13, 1804) was the Mulkaji of Nepal (equivalent to Prime Minister of Nepal) from 1803 to 1804 and most influential Kaji since 1794 to his death on March 13, 1804. He is al ...

was the most influential Kaji. Kirtiman had succeeded Abhiman Singh Basnyat as Chief Kaji. Kirtiman was secretly assassinated on 28 September 1801, by the supporters of Raj Rajeshwari Devi and his brother Bakhtawar Singh Basnyat, was then given the post of Chief (''Mul'') Kaji. Later

was appointed by Queen Rajrajeshwari as Chief Kaji. After the execution of Mulkaji

in March 1804, Ranajit Pande was appointed as Mulkaji (Chief Kaji) along with

as second Kaji,

Sher Bahadur Shah Sher Bahadur Shah ( ne, शेरबहादुर शाह; January 1778 – 25 April 1806) was a Nepalese noble who served as Chautaria from 1794 until his assassination in 1806. He was the son of King Pratapsingh Shah and the 3rd dynasty r ...

as Mul Chautariya and

Ranganath Paudel Ranga Nath Poudyal Atri ( ne, रङ्गनाथ पौड्याल) popularly known as Ranganath Pandit was the Mukhtiyar of Nepal from 1837 December to 1838 August and in 1840 November for about 2–3 weeks. He was the first Brahmin Prime ...

as Raj Guru (Royal Preceptor).

List of people with title Kaji

* Abhiman Singh Basnet (Mulkaji) * Abhiman Singh Rana Magar (Kaji Mulki Dewan) * Amar Singh Thapa (Sanukaji) * Amar Singh Thapa Chhetri (Badakaji) * Bakhtawar Singh Basnyat (Mulkaji) * Bal Narsingh Kunwar (Kaji) * Bamsa Raj Pande (Dewan Kaji) *

(Kaji later Mukhtiyar) *

Biraj Thapa Magar Kaji Biraj Thapa Magar (died 1721) played an important role in the Gorkha Kingdom. His leadership, prudence and courage all exhibit he was one of the important Gorkha Bhardars (गोरखाली भारदार) that helped Narbaupal Shah ...

(Kaji of Gorkha) *

(Mulkaji) * Dhokal Singh Basnyat (Kaji) * Gagan Singh Bhandari (Kaji) * Gajianesh Pandey (Kaji of Gorkha) *

Jung Bahadur Rana Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...

(Kaji later Prime Minister) *

(Kaji of Gorkha) * Kashiram Thapa (Kaji of Kantipur) *

Kehar Singh Basnyat Kehar Singh Basnyat ( ne, केहरसिंह बस्न्यात) or Kehar Singh Basnet was a Nepalese military commander and warhero who led down his life in the Unification battles of Nepal. He was born in the illustrious clan of Shr ...

(Kaji) * Kirtiman Singh Basnyat (Mulkaji) *

Mathabarsingh Thapa Mathabar Singh Thapa ( ne, माथवरसिंह थापा, born 1798, Borlang, Gorkha17 May 1845, Basantapur, Kathmandu), also spelled Mathbar, Mathawar, Mathavar, variantly called Matabar Singh Thapa ( ne, मातवरसिं� ...

(Kaji later Mukhtiyar) *

Nain Singh Thapa Nain Singh Thapa or Nayan Singh Thapa ( ne, नैनसिंह थापा/नयनसिंह थापा) (died late 1806 or early 1807) was a Nepalese Kaji (minister) and a military general. He died in the offensive campaign of Kangra f ...

(Kaji General) *

Ram Krishna Kunwar Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar ( ne, रामकृष्ण कुँवर; IAST: ''Rāmakr̥ṣṇa kum̐vara'') was military commander (Sardar) of Gorkha Kingdom during the Unification of Nepal at the reign of King Prithvi Narayan ...

(Kaji Jethabudha) * Ranabir Singh Thapa (Kaji General) *

Ranadhoj Thapa Ranadhoj Thapa or Ranadhwaj Thapa ( ne, रणध्वज थापा) was deputy Kaji to Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister) of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa. Family and Life He was the eldest son of Bada Kaji Amar Singh Thapa, supreme commander of Western front ...

(Kaji) *

Rana Jang Pande Rana Jang Pande ( ne, रणजङ्ग पाँडे) was the 3rd Prime Minister of the government of Nepal and the most powerful person in political scenario in three decades from the aristocratic Pande clan. He was one of the sons of Mukhti ...

(Kaji later Mukhtiyar) * Sarbajit Rana Magar (Mulkaji) * Shivaram Singh Basnyat (Senapati Kaji) * Swarup Singh Karki (Kaji later Dewan)

List of people with name Kaji

Kaji was also used as given name and middle name. Notable Nepalese people with first name and middle name Kaji: * Chin Kaji Shrestha, Nepalese politician * Kaji Man Samsohang, Nepalese politician *

Narayan Kaji Shrestha Narayan Kaji Shrestha ( ne, नारायणकाजी श्रेष्ठ), alias Prakash, is a Nepali communist politician. He has been affiliated with a number of communist parties throughout his political career, holding leadership po ...

, Nepalese politician *

Nati Kaji Amrit Lal Shrestha (25 December 1925 – 2 November 2003), better known as Nati Kaji (), was a Nepali singer and songwriter. Kaji was a prominent music director and singer of his time having composed and sung such evergreen songs as Nepali Hami ...

, Nepalese singer *

Purna Kaji Tamrakar Purna Kaji Tamrakar ( ne, पूर्णकाजी ताम्रकार) (1920 - 2009) was a Nepalese merchant, author and journalist who worked to develop Nepal Bhasa at the time when writers were being persecuted by the government. Pages ...

, Nepalese merchant and journalist *

Raju Kaji Shakya Raju Kaji Shakya ( ne, राजुकाजी शाक्य) is a Nepalese former professional footballer who captained the Nepal national football team, and holds the record for most appearances with 91. Born in July 1960 in Dharan, Nepal, ...

, Nepalese footballer and coach

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaji Government of Nepal Positions of authority 16th-century neologisms Political history of Nepal Social history of Nepal