The Devil's Discus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Devil's Discus'' is an investigation into the death of King
Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol (20 September 19259 June 1946) was the eighth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly of Thailand, National ...
(Rama VIII) of Siam (later
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
) by English-
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n author Rayne Kruger.


Book summary

The book comprises four main sections which are each further divided into chapters. The section "Before" serves as an introduction to King Ananda's death, to Siam and to King Ananda's background. The next section "The Life and Death of Ananda" is ten chapters in length and details the main events of King Ananda's life, from his birth in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
in 1925 to his death by a single gunshot in mysterious circumstances at Bangkok's Royal Palace on 9 June 1946. This section introduces the main characters surrounding Ananda throughout his life and who subsequently become subjects for investigation following his death. The third section "The Trial" has eight chapters and summarises the events and arguments of the subsequent regicide trial against three Palace officials, including two appeals the trial lasted more than six years and resulted in the execution of all three defendants in 1955. The final section "Who Killed Ananda?" is Kruger's own analysis of the evidence surrounding Ananda's death, leading him to the conclusion that the only satisfactory explanation is suicide. He supports this theory with the revelation of a love affair between the young King and a fellow law student in Switzerland, Marylene Ferrari, a relationship which would not have been acceptable to Siam's royalist institutions.


Publication history

''The Devil's Discus'' was first published in 1964 by Cassell. The Thai government banned the book as soon as it was published and Kruger was banned from further entry to Thailand. A Thai translation of the book titled ''Kongchak Pisat'' (Thai: กงจักรปีศาจ) by Chalit Chaisithiwet (Thai: ร.อ.ชลิต ชัยสิทธิเวช) was produced for submission as evidence in a 1970 defamation lawsuit brought by
Pridi Banomyong Pridi Banomyong (, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham (), was a Thai lawyer, professor, activist, politician, and senior statesman. He served in multiple ministerial posts, as regent, and as pri ...
against MR
Kukrit Pramoj Mom Rajawongse Kukrit Pramoj (, , ; 20 April 1911 – 9 October 1995) was a Thai politician, author, scholar and professor. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand between 1973 and 1974. He was the thirteenth Prime Minister o ...
and his newspaper
Siam Rath ''Siam Rath'' (, , ; lit.: 'Siamese State') is a Thai newspaper founded on 25 June 1950. It was one of the most politically influential newspapers during the latter half of the twentieth century, and was closely associated with former prime minis ...
. The translator was the elder brother of Pridi's secretary, Vacharachai Chaisithiwet. It was secretly published by two Thammasat students in 1974 and reprinted in 1977, and circulated behind closed doors in Thailand. A local printing house involved with this Thai edition was burnt down. This translation was eventually officially banned in May 2006. In 2016, the Supreme Court of Thailand ruled that selling this book constituted an offence of ''
lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...
'' under section 112 of the Thai Penal Code and sentenced a 67-year-old man to two-year imprisonment on account thereof. Through the organisation Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT), the English text was reprinted in November 2009 by DMP Publications, Hong Kong.


Critical discussion

In 2011, journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall published an online article in which he describes the genesis of ''The Devil's Discus:''THAILAND’S MOMENT OF TRUTH, A SECRET HISTORY OF 21ST CENTURY SIAM, #THAISTORY , PART THREE OF FOUR , VERSION 1.0 , 241011 http://www.zenjournalist.com "Krueger wrote it on the suggestion of Prince Subhasvasti, brother of
Prajadhipok Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941) was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the 1932 Siamese revolution. He i ...
’s wife Queen Rambhai..... ubhasvasticame to trust and respect Pridi as a result of their wartime cooperation...... He believed – that Pridi did something to do with Ananda’s death. ''The Devil’s Discus'' was envisaged as a way of rehabilitating Pridi’s reputation in the hope that he would be able to return from exile and play a leading role in Thai politics once again." Marshall's view is that an explanation of Ananda's death is by Pridi, hence he goes on to say "Krueger’s book, published in 1964 after extensive research and considerable assistance from Subhasvasti, in his opinion had the purpose of demolishing the case against Pridi. The problem was that an alternative explanation for Ananda’s death had to be provided. And to conclude that Bhumibol was responsible was, of course, totally unacceptable to the royalist establishment – the book was supposed to enable détente between
Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
and Pridi, not to declare full-scale war. So Krueger had to find a way to discard the likeliest explanation – that Bhumibol shot his brother – and promote the only credible alternative conclusion, suicide."


See also

* Censorship in Thailand


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Discus 1964 non-fiction books Cassell (publisher) books Censored books Non-fiction books about crime Books about murder Censorship in Thailand