Shukra Raj Shastri Joshi( Nepali: जाेशी) (born Shukra Raj Joshi) (1894–24 January 1941) 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 social activist from Newar community, an intellectual and fighter for democracy who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty. He is one of the four

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s of the Nepalese revolution that toppled the Rana regime. The other three are

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 ...

, Dharma Bhakta Mathema and

Ganga Lal 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 ...

. Shastri was also a social reformer and author who wrote a number of books in Nepali and

Nepal Bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

Early life

Shastri was born in

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 ...

, India where his father Madhav Raj and mother Ratna Maya Joshi were living in forced exile due to political reasons. Madhav Raj was a leader of the

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s. Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...

in Nepal. The Joshis were originally from Lalitpur. Shukra Raj was schooled in India, and acquired the title Shastri after earning a Shastri degree from

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. He became better known by this title than his actual surname Joshi.

Democracy fighter

Returning to Nepal, Shastri joined the democracy struggle. During a demonstration organized at Indra Chok,

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 ...

by the Citizens' Rights Committee, he spoke out strongly against the Rana regime and demanded the people's rights. For this act, he was arrested and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He was subsequently sentenced to death, and on 24 January 1941, he was hanged from a tree on the side of the road at Pachali, Teku,

. The Ranas were eventually overthrown in February 1951, and democracy was established in Nepal. The Rana oligarchy ruled Nepal from 1846 until 1951. During this time, the Shah king was reduced to a figurehead and the prime minister and other government positions were hereditary.

Jang Bahadur Rana Jung Bahadur Rana, , was born Bir Narsingh Kunwar (1817-1877). His mother, Ganesh Kumari, was the daughter of Kaji Nain Singh Thapa, the brother of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa from the prominent Thapa dynasty. During his lifetime, Jung Bahadur eli ...

established the Rana dynasty in 1846 by masterminding 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 ...

in which about 40 members of the nobility including the prime minister and a relative of the king were murdered. Tyranny, debauchery, economic exploitation and religious persecution characterized Rana rule. The 104 years of Rana regime have been called as one of the darkest periods of Nepalese history.

Writer

Shastri was one of the leaders of the

Nepal Bhasa renaissance Nepal Bhasa renaissance (Nepal Bhasa: नेपालभाषा पुनर्जागरण) was the movement to revive and modernize the Nepal Bhasa language during the period 1909 to 1941. The movement was spontaneous and not orchestrated. ...

. He wrote a grammar of the language entitled ''Nepal Bhasa Vyakaran'' which was published from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in 1928. He was the first to produce children's literature. His other works include ''Nepal Bhasa Reader'', Books 1 and 2 (1933) and ''Nepali Varnamala'' (1933). It is believed that Shastri was executed more for his work in social reform and efforts to develop his mother tongue Nepal Bhasa than his involvement in politics. Shastri did not belong to any political party unlike the other three martyrs who were members of

Nepal Praja Parishad 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 ...

Legacy

Shastri and the other martyrs are honoured on Martyrs Day which is observed annually on Magh 16 (29 or 30 January) across the country. Shukra Path, a street in downtown Kathmandu, is named after him. Shastri's statues have been erected at a number of places, and the Postal Service Department has issued commemorative postage stamps depicting his image. A monument known as Shahid Gate containing the busts of the four martyrs and King Tribhuvan was built in central Kathmandu in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Shukra Raj 1894 births 1941 deaths Newar people Linguists from Nepal Nepal Praja Parishad politicians Newar-language writers 20th-century linguists Martyrs of Nepal Executed Nepalese people People executed by Nepal by hanging Nepal Bhasa movement Nepalese rebels Social reformers Nepalese expatriates in India Politicians from Varanasi Nepalese exiles

Early life

Democracy fighter

Writer

Legacy

See also

References