Marshall Julum Shakya ( ne, मार्शल जुलुम शाक्य; 9 October 1939 – 6 May 2017) was a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese politician, belonging to the

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party o ...

. He was a founder member of

Nepal Student Union Nepal Student Union ( NSU) is one of the major student political wings in Nepal. The Nepal Student Union represents the Nepali Congress, currently the ruling party of Nepal. During the autocratic King's rule (''Panchayati Byawastha''), the unio ...

established in March 1970. He spent 15 years in prison during the panchayat regime. As of 1988, he was the president of the

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

District of Nepali Congress.
Human rights violations in Nepal
'. New York, NY: Asia Watch Committee, Human Rights Watch], 1989. pp. 73-74 During the 1990

Jana Andolan The 1990 People's Movement ( ne, २०४६ जनआन्दोलन, 2046 Jana Andolan) was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy. It also eliminated the Panch ...

he was the convenor of the Central Action Committee of Nepali Congress, and one of the most prominent party leaders not under arrest.

Early life

Marshall Julum Shakya was born on 9 October 1939 in Om Bahal to Tej Bahadur Shakya and Hasina Devi as their only son. He belonged to an ordinary family, his father worked for Himalaya Shumsher Rana, in His palace. He has one daughter Shivani Shakya, from his second wife. Marshall Julum Shakya was first arrested on 15 December 1960 under the Public Security Act, immediately after

King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...

staged a coup which removed the democratically elected government of the Nepali National Congress Party. A founder member and executive committee member of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

's Nepal Section, Mr. Shakya was again in prison from 1961 to 1967, and for one month in 1970. He was re-arrested in May 1973 in connection with a meeting organized by

Ram Raja Prasad Singh Ram Raja Prasad Singh ( ne, राम राजा प्रसाद सिंह) (1936 – 12 September 2012) was a Nepalese politician. In July 2008, Singh was proposed by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), a Nepalese political party which ...

. Mr Shakya had reportedly been arrested at least nine times under the Public Security Act which provided for detention without charge or trial for up to 3 years. Mr Shakya studied political science at

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is t ...

, Kathmandu. He took an arts degree in economics in prison. Altogether he was imprisoned for 14 years and spent 2 years of his life underground in various parts of the country including Kathmandu valley. He was declared Prisoner of Conscience for 3 years while imprisoned in Nakhu Jail by

, Ontario Section of Canada.

Voice against the Coup

His contribution to the foundation of democracy in Nepal is exemplary. Immediately after the coup staged by

he started chanting slogans against the King and His actions from his jeep in New Road; he was only 20 years old then. At that time he was given the task of arranging the upcoming central action committee meeting. As he was driving from Thapathali to Tripureshwor, the Prime minister's quarter was already surrounded by the army. He returned to Thapathali and saw that the stage set for the central committee meeting was already under army's control, he then returned to New Road. He fixed some audio equipments like mike, amplifier and battery to his jeep from a local vendor. It was Friday around 2 p.m. and the government office was closed for the day, the employees had already started gathering in New Road. The shelter of Pipal tree was full of people and so was New Road. People from outside the valley coming to Kathmandu used to gather there. He started miking against the coup from his jeep from Pipal tree to then Royal Nepal Airlines office and then back and forth. He slept at Thapathali that night. Next morning he again chanted slogan against the King in the streets of Kathmandu driving through Ason, Indrachowk, Lainchur, Bagbazar and other various places. He was arrested by the police forces at Khicha Pokhari while he was driving towards Patan along with his friend Shankar Joshi, driver Hari Narayan, the jeep numbered 821 was also confiscated. He was kept at Hanuman Dhoka for few days and then later jailed in Nakhu.

Political career

His political career was not so successful due to well established groupism and nepotism within

; the fact which confirmed his defeat in various internal elections within the party. He had to face three defeats in the parliamentary elections, defeat in leadership election of

and incessant defeats in the elections for the central membership of

. He was first to voice for secularism in the government then formed by

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai Krishna Prasad Bhattarai ( Nepali: कृष्णप्रसाद भट्टराई; 13 December 19244 March 2011) also known as Kishunji was a Nepalese political leader. He was one of the main leaders involved in transitioning Nepal from ...

, he wanted to include secularism in the constitution of 2047 BS. His dream for secularism was finally fulfilled by the

2006 democracy movement in Nepal The 2006 Democracy Movement ( ne, text=लोकतन्त्र आन्दोलन, translit=Loktantra Āndolan) is a name given to the political agitations against the direct and undemocratic rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal. The movement ...

. He is well known for his altruistic form of politics and his sacrifices for the greater good; differing from the current scenario in politics dogged by self interests. He was one of the founding members of

(NSU), the sister organization of

, established in the 1970s. He served as the chairperson of District Committee of

in the 1990s. During the democratic movement of 1990, he also played the role of convener of Central Action Commission(CEC) of

. He also served as Minister for Commerce and Supplies in the interim government led by

in the 1990s.

Death

He suffered from

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

and was admitted to Norvic International Hospital at Thapathali on 3 March 2017. Later, he was shifted to the Tokha-based Grande International Hospital. He succumbed to

aspiration pneumonia Aspiration pneumonia is a type of lung infection that is due to a relatively large amount of material from the stomach or mouth entering the lungs. Signs and symptoms often include fever and cough of relatively rapid onset. Complications may inclu ...

acute decompensated heart failure Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a sudden worsening of the signs and symptoms of heart failure, which typically includes difficulty breathing (dyspnea), edema, leg or feet swelling, and Fatigue (medical), fatigue. ADHF is a common and ...

and refractory

septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International Con ...

at the final stage at 9:07 am on 6 May 2017. Last rites were performed by his daughter as per the Shakya tradition at Teku Dovan; the merging point of rivers Bagmati and Bishnumati.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakya, Marshall Julum 1939 births 2017 deaths Nepali Congress politicians from Bagmati Province Nepalese prisoners and detainees Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Nepal Amnesty International people