Chandra Shamsher Rana

Written by: Sona Roka Magar

 Chandra Shumsher was the 5th Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty. He was born on 8 july 1863. He was 13th Prime Minister of Nepal and Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski. Chandra Shumsher JBR is credited with several reforms including the abolition of slavery and the Nepal-Britain Treaty of 1923, which recognized Nepal as an independent nation and an ally of Britain.

Family life and early life 

Chandra Shumsher was the 6th of the 17 sons of Dhir Shumsher Rana (the youngest brother of Jung Bahadur Rana) through his wife Nanda Kumari,. He became to be the first Nepalese Prime Minister who had passed matriculation examination.  

After the demise of his eldest brother Bir Shamsher in March 1901, he became the Commander in Chief of the Nepalese Army under the premiership of his brother Dev Shamsher. Chandra Shamsher was afraid about the rise in public awareness and the demand of democracy by Nepalese people due to the liberal policy of Dev Shamsher. Hence, Chandra Shamsher orchestrated the plan to seize the power for himself in June 1901. Although, Chandra Shamsher opposed the reforms of Dev Shamsher, later on, he himself willingly and unwillingly brought many reforms in Nepal after he visited Europe.

Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana had 11 children: 

1) Khagaraja Divyeshwari Rajya Laxmi 

2) Field Marsha Mohan Shumsher 

3)Baber Shamsher  

 4)Kaiser Shamsher 

5)Singha Shamsher 

6) Commanding General Krishna Shamsher 

7)Major-General Vishnu Shamsher 

8)General Shanker Shamsher  

9) Lt.-Gen. Madan Shumsher  

10) Khagaraja Divyeshwari Rajya Laxmi 

11) Maharajkumar Badri Shumsher 

Major Achievement Of Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 

During the 28 years of his rule, Chandra Shumsher held the firm control of domestic as well as the foreign policy of Nepal.Seto Bagh, a historical novel set on the early days of Chandra Shumsher, depicts him as an ambitious and cunning young man with an excellent command upon English language.

After his return from the European tour, he is said to have been embarrassed by the backwardness of his country, so he executed some noteworthy reforms. He abolished Sati custom and made it illegal for a person to be killed for witchcraft. He also abolished slavery with the money from the treasury of Pashupatinath temple. He built the first college of Nepal, Tri Chandra College in 1975 B.S. He established several canals like Chandra Nahar, the oldest canal of Nepal located in Saptari and established hospitals throughout Nepal. He built Singha Durbar, the largest palace in Asia with over 1200 rooms. , was built by him as well. The city of Chandranigahpur in Rautahat district was named after him.

The first railway service in Nepal, Nepal Government Railway from Raxaul to Amlekhganj, started its service in his tenure. These reforms, however, were mostly brought for the benefit of his family.

He was the second Nepalese Prime Minister to visit Britain and tour Europe after Jung Bahadur Rana. In Britain, he stayed in Mortimer house and was entertained by His Majesty Edward VII. He also observed naval exercises of British Royal navy and in one of the warships, he met the French President under the arrangement of Edward VII. On 24 June, the University of Oxford conferred the honoris causa degree of Doctor of Civil Laws on him.He provided monetary and military assistance to Britain in the First World War, as a result of which Nepal received a huge sum of monetary assistance and the friendship became even more cordial after the successful conclusion of the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which recognised Nepal as an independent nation and an ally of the British Empire.

Award Received 

1) Empress of India Medal - 1877

 2) Delhi Durbar Medal - 1902

 3) T'ung-ling-ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang (Truly valiant Prince, Commander-in-chief of foot and horse) - 1902

 4) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) - 1905

 5) Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) -1905

 6) Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) - 1911

 7)Delhi Durbar Medal - 1911

 8) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) - 1919

 9)Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur -1925

 10)Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur - 1929

Causes of Death 

Chandra Shamsher suffered with tuberculosis and followed a strict diet regimen of rice and black lentils exclusively, as a result he was extremely thin and is sometimes called "Fiste Maharaj". At the age of 66, he suffered from diseases and died on 26 November 1929.

Adopted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra_Shumsher_Jang_Bahadur_Rana