Rishikesh Shah (May 16, 1925 – November 13, 2002) was a

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

ese writer, politician and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist.Rishikesh Shah, 77 - Nepali Times

Career

Political

Shah was a member of the

Nepal Prajatantrik Party Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China t ...

from 1948 to 1949. Between 1951 and 1953, he was the general secretary of the

Nepali Rastriya Congress Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal that was founded in 1947. The party was founded to protest the Rana rule in Nepal, Rana rule in Nepal. Dilli Raman Regmi, B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krish ...

. He then became general secretary of the joint

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 ...

-Nepali Rashtriya Congress front until 1956. Shah was

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1960 to 1962. In 1962 he became chair of the Constitution Drafting Commission. Between 1967 and 1971 he represented the graduate constituency in the National Panchayat. In the Panchayat, he was one of the most prominent advocates of democratic reforms.

Diplomatic

Shah was the Nepalese ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the first Permanent Representative of Nepal to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

between 1956 and 1960. In 1961 Shah was elected by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

to chair the International Commission to investigate the death of UN Secretary General

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

, who had suffered an air crash over Congo. Shah was one of the candidates to succeed Hammarskjöld, but was defeated by

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

. In 1962, Shah was appointed special ambassador.

Academic

Shah lectured in English and Nepali at

Tri-Chandra College Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus () is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Founded in 1918 by Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Nepal. E ...

1945–1948. During the period 1947–1948 he served as Chief Inspector of Schools. Shah served as visiting professor at the School of International Studies,

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

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 ...

in 1970. In 1971 he served as Regents' Professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, USA. He was a Fellow at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Shah authored several works about Nepalese politics and history.

Organizational

Shah was president of the Nepal Council of World Affairs and in 1988 he became the founding president of the

Human Rights Organisation of Nepal Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligenc ...

(HURON). Later, he left HURON.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaha, Rishikesh 1925 births 2002 deaths Nepali Congress politicians from Karnali Province Ministers of finance of Nepal Government ministers of Nepal Ambassadors of Nepal to the United States Permanent representatives of Nepal to the United Nations Nepalese human rights activists