Nepal Praja Parishad
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The Nepal Praja Parishad ( Nepali: नेपाल प्रजा परिषद) was the first attempt to form an organization to lead the revolution against the Rana dynasty in Nepal. Led by
Tanka Prasad Acharya Tanka Prasad Acharya (Nepali: टंक प्रसाद आचार्य; 11 February 1912 – 23 April 1992) also known as Jeudo-Shahid(living martyr), was a Nepali politician who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Nepal from 1956 to 1957 ...
, the group was founded in 1936, and is seen as the first political party in Nepal. The organisation collapsed after their plot to assassinate multiple members of the Rana regime was discovered, and some of its key members were executed.


History

The idea of the Nepal Praja Parishad was proposed by
Dashrath Chand Dasharath Chand Thakuri (; 1903 – 28 January 1941) was a martyr of the Nepalese Democratic Movement and a politician of Nepal who was active in starting a political revolution in Nepal during the Rana rule. He was born at Baskot of Baitadi dist ...
and
Tanka Prasad Acharya Tanka Prasad Acharya (Nepali: टंक प्रसाद आचार्य; 11 February 1912 – 23 April 1992) also known as Jeudo-Shahid(living martyr), was a Nepali politician who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Nepal from 1956 to 1957 ...
in a hotel in
Bhimphedi Bhimphedi (), is a Village development committee (Nepal), village located in the Bhimphedi Rural Municipality of Makwanpur District of Bagmati Province of Nepal. This village is known for its bazaar (marketplace). Bismuth ore is mined here. Bhim ...
,
Makwanpur District Makwanpur District (; ), in Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The city of Hetauda serves as the district headquarters and also as the provincial headquarters. The district covers a ...
of Nepal. Following many years of dictatorial rule from the Ranas as hereditary
Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
, people in Nepal began to support their overthrow. However, that sentiment was mostly exclusive to rich high class intellectuals, with the uneducated peasantry unable and unwilling to help. The Nepal Praja Parishad was formed in 1936, after Acharya and Chand received support from other aristocrats and intellectuals. The group was led by Tanka Prasad Acharya, and the organization's head office was kept in Dharma Bhakta Mathema's house in Om Bahal,
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 ...
.


Anti-Rana activities

Initially, the Nepal Praja Parishad distributed hand-written pamphlets among the people and wrote articles against the Rana Dynasty in Nepal in an Indian socialist paper "Janata" and another paper published 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 ...
named "Advance". Later, Tanka Prasad Acharya brought a printing machine from India, and the organization started to distribute pamphlets, print articles in newspapers and draw wall posters against the Rana dynasty to enlighten the people against their rule. The Nepal Praja Parishad also later planned the assassination of multiple high ranking politicians in the Rana regime. However, they were unsuccessful in their plot, and were discovered after a member of the group informed the Rana government.


Dissolution

After the Rana government found out about the assassination plot of the Nepal Praja Parishad, Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher had the leading members of the group arrested. In 1941, senior leaders of the group Dharma Bhakta Mathema,
Dashrath Chand Dasharath Chand Thakuri (; 1903 – 28 January 1941) was a martyr of the Nepalese Democratic Movement and a politician of Nepal who was active in starting a political revolution in Nepal during the Rana rule. He was born at Baskot of Baitadi dist ...
,
Gangalal Shrestha Ganga Lal Shrestha (Devanagari: गङ्गालाल श्रेष्ठ; 1919 –h 28 January 1941) was a Nepalese revolutionary who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty, Rana regime. He is honoured as one of the four martyrs of ...
and
Tanka Prasad Acharya Tanka Prasad Acharya (Nepali: टंक प्रसाद आचार्य; 11 February 1912 – 23 April 1992) also known as Jeudo-Shahid(living martyr), was a Nepali politician who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Nepal from 1956 to 1957 ...
were sentenced to death, but Acharya was not executed, as the Nepali law at the time forbade the killing of
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s. Following their execution, and Acharya's sentence changed to life imprisonment, the Nepal Praja Parishad was dissolved in January 1941. Mathema, Chand and Shrestha, along with
Shukraraj Shastri Shukra Raj Shastri Joshi(Nepali language, Nepali: जाेशी) (born Shukra Raj Joshi) (1894–24 January 1941) was a Nepalese social activist from Newar community, an intellectual and fighter for democracy who was executed by the autocra ...
, another anti-Rana intellectual who was not involved with the Praja Parishad, are now recognized as the 4 Martyrs of Nepal.


1950s Reactivation

Following the events of the 1951 Revolution, the Ranas were removed from power and parliamentary democracy was established in Nepal. Tanka Prasad Acharya was released from prison, and had at this point been a senior member of the
Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ; Abbreviation, abbr. NC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal and the largest party in the country ...
. However, following disagreements with the Nepali Congress, Tanka Prasad Acharya and
Bhadrakali Mishra Bhadrakali Mishra (; 6 February 1920 – 1 June 2006) was a Nepali politician. In a political career lasting more than 50 years, several of which he spent in exile, he held numerous ministerial portfolios and was also the Chairman of King Biren ...
, another senior politician of the Nepali Congress, split off from the party and reactivated the Nepal Praja Parishad in the 1950s. The party served in the government of
Matrika Prasad Koirala Matrika Prasad Koirala ( ; 1 January 1912 – 11 September 1997) was the Prime Minister of Nepal for two separate terms from 16 November 1951 to 14 August 1952 and again from 15 June 1953 to 11 April 1955. Personal life Koirala was born to Kri ...
in 1953, and remained a notable political party in opposition to the Nepali Congress. Tanka Prasad Acharya was even made Prime Minister by
King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972. He led the 1960 Nepal coup d'état, 1960 coup d'état, in which he dismissed the government, jailed other political ...
in 1956. However, in 1959, Acharya and Mishra contested the elections separately, and were recognized as different political parties: the
Nepal Praja Parishad (Acharya) The Nepal Praja Parishad ( Nepali: नेपाल प्रजा परिषद) was the first attempt to form an organization to lead the revolution against the Rana dynasty in Nepal. Led by Tanka Prasad Acharya, the group was founded in 19 ...
and the
Nepal Praja Parishad (Mishra) The Nepal Praja Parishad (Nepali language, Nepali: नेपाल प्रजा परिषद) was the first attempt to form an organization to lead the revolution against the Rana dynasty in Nepal. Led by Tanka Prasad Acharya, the group wa ...
. Acharya's faction of the party won 2 seats in the election, whereas Mishra's faction won 1. In 1961, following King Mahendra's implementation of the
Panchayat system Panchayat ( Nepali: पञ्चायत) was a political system in Nepal from 1961 to 1990. It banned political parties and placed all governmental power, including power over the Council of Ministers and Federal Parliament, under the sole aut ...
, the party rejoined the Nepali Congress.


Members

The Nepal Praja Parishad consisted of many Nepali revolutionaries of the time. The leaders of the group included
Ram Hari Sharma Nepal Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
, Dharma Bhakta Mathema,
Dashrath Chand Dasharath Chand Thakuri (; 1903 – 28 January 1941) was a martyr of the Nepalese Democratic Movement and a politician of Nepal who was active in starting a political revolution in Nepal during the Rana rule. He was born at Baskot of Baitadi dist ...
,
Tanka Prasad Acharya Tanka Prasad Acharya (Nepali: टंक प्रसाद आचार्य; 11 February 1912 – 23 April 1992) also known as Jeudo-Shahid(living martyr), was a Nepali politician who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Nepal from 1956 to 1957 ...
and
Gangalal Shrestha Ganga Lal Shrestha (Devanagari: गङ्गालाल श्रेष्ठ; 1919 –h 28 January 1941) was a Nepalese revolutionary who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty, Rana regime. He is honoured as one of the four martyrs of ...
. Dharma Bhakta Mathema was also the gym instructor of
King Tribhuvan Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev (), (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal. Born in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, he ascended to the throne at the age of five, upon the death of his father, Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah, and was cr ...
, and the motives of the organization were known to and also supported by him. Other members of this organization included Chudaprasad Sharma, Govinda Prasad Upadhya(Poudyal), Puskar Nath Upreti, Mukunda Nath Rimal, Bal Bahadur Pandey, Druba Prasad Dawade, Fadindra Nath Satyal, Hari Krishna Shrestha, Chakra Bahadur Khatri,
Ganesh Man Singh Ganesh Man Singh ( Nepali: गणेशमान सिंह; November 9, 1915 – September 18, 1997) was a Nepali politician who was leader of the 1990 Nepalese revolution. He is considered the Father of Democracy and the Iron-man of Nepal ...
, Keshav Khatri, Ramji Shrestha, Chandraman Shrestha, and also King Jaya Prithivi Bahadur Singh of Bajhang.


Electoral performance


Leadership


Prime Minister of Nepal


References

{{Political parties in Nepal Political parties in Nepal Rebel groups in Nepal Rana regime 1941 disestablishments in Nepal 1936 establishments in Nepal Political parties disestablished in 1941