Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) () was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

movement in the country, but later turned into a

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

. Rayamajhi hails from a landlord

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...

family in

Tansen Rāmtanu ( – 26 April 1589), popularly referred to as Mian Tānsen (), or Sangeet Samrāt (), was a Hindustani classical musician. Born into a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family in Gwalior, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest regio ...

Palpa district Palpa District (, a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Tansen as its headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2021) of 245,027. Palpa ...

.Rawal p. 105. In 1947 Rayamajhi became a founding member of the Nepalese 'Marxist Study Circle' in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. In 1948, the group was reconstructed as the 'Progressive Study Circle' and Rayamajhi became its secretary. During his stay in Calcutta, Rayamajhi's political mentor was the CPI leader Ratna Lal Brahmin.Rawal p. 28. At the first congress of the

Communist Party of Nepal The Communist Party of Nepal (), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism, and imperialism. The founding general secretary ...

, held in 1954, Rayamajhi was elected to the Central Committee of the party.Rawal p. 43. In September 1956, the general secretary of the party, Manmohan Adhikari, travelled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to take part in the congress of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

. As

Pushpa Lal Shrestha Pushpa Lal Shrestha () (1924 – 22 July 1978) was a Nepali politician, considered to be the father of Nepali communism. He was the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal.web.archive.org/web/20140113180735/http://www.gorkhap ...

and

D.P. Adhikari DP may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre * ''Danny Phantom'', an animated television series * David Production, a Japanese animation studio * Director of photography, a job in filmmaking * Digital Playground, an A ...

declined to take the role of acting general secretary, Rayamajhi expressed his interest in taking over as acting general secretary of the party.Rawal p. 46. Directly after Rayamajhi became acting general secretary of the party,

groupism Groupism is a theoretical approach in sociology that posits that conformity to the laws/norms of a group such as family, kinship, race, ethnicity, religion and nationality brings reciprocal benefits such as recognition, right, power and security. ...

began to appear amongst the party ranks. The party became divided into a reformist camp (led by Rayamajhi) and a revolutionary camp (led by Pushpa Lal Shrestha).Rawal p. 48-49. During the second party congress held in 1957, Manmohan Adhikari was undergoing treatment for skin disease in China. In his absence, Rayamajhi was elected general secretary of the party. At the congress, Rayamajhi argued for supporting

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

. Soon after the congress, accusations that Rayamajhi had secret links to the royal palace began to surface within the party. Rayamajhi was one of the CPN candidates that contested the 1959 parliamentary election, but was defeated in his constituency. In the election the party got less than 4% of the seats in the parliament. Rayamajhi received severe criticism for the electoral defeat of the party after the election. In November 1960 Rayamajhi travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to take part in the

International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties The International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) is an annual conference attended by communist and workers' parties from several countries. It originated in 1998 when the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) invited communist an ...

. During Rayamajhi's stay in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

the King retook direct rule in Nepal. Rayamajhi sent a message from Moscow stating that the dissolution of the parliament was a 'progressive step'. Under the new order in Nepal the CPN was banned. After his return to Nepal in January 1961, Rayamajhi called for lifting the ban on political parties. But at the same time he continued for argue in favour of guided democracy and constitutional monarchy. In March 1961 a plenum of the party was held in

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

(

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). The plenum decided to remove Rayamajhi from the position as general secretary. Instead a central secretariat consisting of Rayamajhi, D.P. Adhikari and Shambhuram Shrestha was formed to run the party. In April 1962 the sector of CPN led by

Tulsi Lal Amatya Tulsi Lal Amatya (; May 1916 – August 1997) was a Nepalese politician. Biography Amatya was born in May 1916 in Lalitpur, Nepal to Riddhinarsimha Malla Amatya and Yog Maya Awnatya. In 1962, he served as the general secretary of the Commun ...

and Pushpa Lal Shrestha held a third party congress, which the sector around Rayamajhi did not recognize. The congress decided to expel Rayamajhi from the party. Rayamajhi and his followers continued to function as a party though. Effectively the CPN was divided into two separate parties, a CPN led by Amatya and a CPN led by Rayamajhi. The Rayamajhi group held its own third party congress in 1967, and elected Rayamajhi as general secretary. In 1979 a section of the party, led by Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar, revolted against Rayamajhi's membership in the royal Rajsabha and his soft line towards the monarchy. Manandhar eventually left the party in 1981, taking a large section of its membership with him. Two years later the party held its fifth congress, which elected Rayamajhi chairman and

Krishna Raj Burma Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

general secretary. In September 1983 Rayamajhi was expelled from the party by Burma for being a royalist. Rayamajhi then reorganised his followers into a new CPN, in which he was elected general secretary. Eventually this new CPN also expelled him around 1986. Rayamajhi was included in the interim government after the 1990

Jana Andolan The 1990 People's Movement () was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy. It also eliminated the Panchayat system. The movement was marked by the unity between the ...

('People's Movement') as Minister of Education. He was also appointed to the three-member Cabinet Committee to oversee the constitutional proposal of the Constitution Recommendations Commission, representing the King. Rayamajhi contested the

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

-3 constituency in the 1991 parliamentary election, on behalf of his new party Janata Dal (Samajbadi Prajatantrik). Rayamajhi finished eight in the constituency.

chairman of the Royal Privy Council

Rayamajhi went on to become the chairman of the Royal Privy Council. In his function as chairman of the council, Rayamajhi oversaw the dramatic change in the royal house that followed the

Nepalese royal massacre The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on the night of 1 June 2001, at the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, the residence of the House of Shah, the Shah dynasty, royal family of Nepal. During a private gathering of the royal family, Crown Princ ...

and the coronation of

Gyanendra Shah Gyanendra Shah (born 7 July 1947) is the final monarch of Nepal, ruled from 2001 until 2008, when the monarchy was overthrown. He briefly held the throne as a child between 1950 and 1951, when his grandfather Tribhuvan and his family fled to In ...

. On November 13, 2002, Maoist rebels carried out an armed attack on the residence of Rayamajhi. In November 2003, Maoists attacked his ancestral home.Local News [The Kathmandu Post (Nepal)]
2003-11-02.

Notes

References

*Rawal, Bhim. ''The Communist Movement in Nepal: Origin and Development''.

: Accham-Kathmandu Contact Forum, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayamajhi, Keshar Jung 1919 births 2012 deaths People from Palpa District Nepalese communists Communist Party of Nepal (original) politicians Defunct communist parties in Nepal Janata Dal (Samajbadi Prajatantrik) politicians Government ministers of Nepal Nepalese expatriates in India