Bakhtawar Singh Thapa (), also spelled Bhaktawar, was a Nepalese military commander, politician, and governor. He acted as an aide of his brother ''

Mukhtiyar Mukhtiyar () was the position of head of government, head of executive of Kingdom of Nepal between 1806 and 1843. It was equivalent to Prime Minister of Nepal. There were 7 Mukhtiyars appointed between 1806 and 1843. Meaning ''Mukhtiyar'' is for ...

Bhimsen Thapa Bhimsen Thapa ( (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 List of Prime Ministers of Nepal, l ...

and was appointed the commander of Samar Jung Company. He commanded the Bijayapur-Sindhuli Gadhi Axis in the first campaign of

Anglo-Nepalese War The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War or Nepal-Company War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the forces of the British East India Company ...

and Makwanpur Gadhi Axis in the second campaign. Later, he became the governor of Palpa and died in the office.

Early life

Bakhtawar Singh Thapa was born to military officer ''Kaji'' Amar Singh Thapa (sanu) and Satyarupa Maya. He was the brother of

and had three brothers -

Nain Singh Thapa Nain Singh Thapa or Nayan Singh Thapa () (died late 1806 or early 1807) was a Nepalese Kaji (minister) and a military general. He died in the offensive campaign of Kangra from bullet injury. He was the owner of the Thapathali Durbar temple compl ...

, Amrit Singh Thapa, and

Ranabir Singh Thapa Ranabir Singh Thapa () also spelled Ranbir, Ranavir or Ranvir also known by the late ascetic name Swami Abhayananda () was a Nepalese army general, prominent politician and minister of state. In 1837, he became acting Mukhtiyar (equivalent to Prim ...

. From his step-mother, he had two brothers—Ranbam and Ranzawar. His ancestors were members of

Bagale Thapa Ethnicity of Bagale Thapa The surname Bagale Thapa is historically associated with the Chhetri ethnic group, specifically the Bagale sub-caste, which is one of the indigenous communities of Nepal. The Chhetri people are known for their prominent ...

clan from Jumla who migrated eastwards. His grandfather was

Bir Bhadra Thapa Bir Bhadra Thapa or Birabhadra Thapa () also spelled Virabhadra or Virbhadra, was a politician, courtier and military officer in the Gorkha Kingdom during the 18th century. Born in the medieval Tanahun Kingdom, he left his ancestral property ther ...

, a courtier in the army of Gorkha king

Prithvi Narayan Shah Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...

Career

Commander of the Palace

After the Bhandarkhal Massacre of 1806, the ''Samar Jung Company'' was selected as royal palace guards by Mukhtiyar

. Bakhtawar Singh was appointed the commander of the company to be camped inside the palace for the protection of King

Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah (; 19 October 1797 – 20 November 1816) also called Girvanyuddha Bikrama Shah, was King of Nepal. Although he was not the legitimate heir to the throne his father, King Rana Bahadur Shah, made him the heir for being t ...

and

Queen Tripurasundari of Nepal Tripurasundari (; 1794 – 6 April 1832), also known as Lalit Tripura Sundari Devi, was a queen consort of Nepal by marriage to King Rana Bahadur Shah of Nepal. Widowed at a very young age and childless, she served as regent of the kingdom for a ...

. In the maturity of King

and

, Kaji Bakhtawar slowly gained confidence of both for his role as their protector. The death of King

and his two queens in 1816 had dashed his hopes. After the end of

Anglo-Nepalese war The Anglo-Nepalese War (1 November 1814 – 4 March 1816), also known as the Gorkha War or Nepal-Company War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal (present-day Nepal) and the forces of the British East India Company ...

, Kaji Bakhtawar was suspected by his brother

to have joined the enemy factions. At the time, he was living in the same family with his brother without the division of their ancestral property. Bhimsen slowly brought Kaji Bakhtawar under his control but their mother pleaded only a light punishment for Bakhtawar. He was dismissed from his position and was imprisoned in the Nuwakot prison and the Bakhtawar's Samar Jung Company was heavily disfavored by the Mukhtiyar.

Anglo-Nepalese War

Bakhtawar was the commander of Bijaypur-Sindhuli Gadhi axis during the first campaign of the

. He was stationing the fort and the region by 2000 soldiers. In the second campaign, he was commanding his headquarter at Makwanpur Gadhi. He sent the final ratified document of

Sugali Treaty The Treaty of Sugauli (also spelled Sugowlee, Sagauli and Segqulee), the treaty that established the boundary line of Nepal, was signed on 4 March 1816 between the East India Company and Guru Gajraj Mishra following the Anglo-Nepalese War of ...

to the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

after the Hitaura camp of Major General

David Ochterlony Major-General Sir David Ochterlony, 1st Baronet, GCB (12 February 1758 – 14 July 1825) was a Bengal Army officer who served as the British resident to the Mughal court at Delhi. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he spent most of his life on ...

on 4 March 1816.

Governor of Palpa

A letter dated March 1824 to his brother

shows Bakhtawar Singh as the governor of Palpa. Members of the

Thapa dynasty Thapa dynasty or Thapa noble family ( ) also known as Dynasty of Borlang was a Chhetri political family that handled Nepali administration affairs from 1806 to 1837 A.D. and 1843 to 1845 A.D. as Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister). This was one ...

were appointed as the governor of Palpa because it controlled over 4 battalions of the

Nepalese Army The Nepali Army (), also referred to as the Gorkhali Army (; see ''Gurkha, Gorkhas''), formally known as "Royal Nepal Army" is the Ground warfare, land Military branch, service branch of the Nepalese Armed Forces, Nepali Armed Forces. After t ...

. Bakhtawar Singh died in his office of Chief Administrator of Palpa in 1832 A.D.

Family

Son

His son Trivikram Singh Thapa became Acting Chief Administrator of Palpa in 1832 A.D. on death of his father. However,

did not trust Trivikram Singh and instead appointed his brother

as Chief Administrator of Palpa in March 1833. Trivikram Singh was affectionately referred as ''Kaji Mama'' ("Kaji Uncle") by the Shamsher Ranas. After the

Kot Massacre The Kot massacre () took place on 14 September 1846 when then Kaji Jang Bahadur Kunwar and his brothers killed about 30-40 civil officials, military officers and palace guards of the Nepalese palace court including the Prime Minister of Nepal ...

, he occupied the

Lazimpat Durbar Lazimpat Durbar, Aka Agni Bhawan is a palace complex in Kathmandu, the capital of the Nepal. Initially build and occupied by ''Kaji'' Bir Keshar Pande but later palace area was occupied by Bir Shumsher JBR, as prime minister the executive head ...

for 28 years until he left for

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

in 1875.

Wife

The widow of Bakhtawar Singh on 1839 presented evidences against the former

and her brother-in-law

claiming the former Mukhtiyar responsible for poisoning of King

, whom it was widely known to have died from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

References

Books

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thapa, Bakhtawar Singh Year of birth missing 1832 deaths People of the Anglo-Nepalese War Bagale Thapa Gurkhas Nepalese military personnel People from Gorkha District