The death of King Mahendra occurred on January 31, 1972, in Chitwan. After this, Birendra became King. Birendra, who had received higher education in Western countries like Britain and America, held different views than his father. Where Mahendra practiced a system of governance without political parties, Birendra practiced a democratic system. Mahendra had greater diplomatic shrewdness. Therefore, foreign powerful nations could not be fully confident in Mahendra. But Birendra held clear views. Thus, his popularity was greater in the international community.

Birendra became King at the age of 26. If any country was most influenced by his personality, it was China. The disarmament of the Khampa rebellion happened during his reign. About two years after becoming King, he made his first state visit to China.

It was during this visit that Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai expressed concern, stating that anti-China activities were intensifying from the Nepali border.

Birendra, who held a conversation lasting about one and a half hours with Mao Zedong, the supreme leader of the Chinese Communist Party, then had an intensive conversation with Zhou.

At this time, Zhou, pointing towards India, said: “China supports Nepal in its just struggle against foreign interference.” Between 1960 and 1972, the CIA, the American intelligence agency, was intensifying the flow of the Khampa rebellion.

Furthermore, after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, India also became active. The first clash against the Chinese military in Tibet from Mustang was in September 1961.

The CIA dropped the first arms shipment in Tibet, 10 kilometers outside the Mustang border, using a Hercules aircraft in the month of April. The second time was in December. At this time, the jeep carrying the Assistant Commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was ambushed.

This campaign was named, Blue Rachet Red. In which the Khampas achieved great success. They were successful in seizing many secret documents from the Commander of the People’s Liberation Army.

Even though the CIA ran a covert operation from Mustang, it was revealed by this very incident. The famous American magazine, the New York Times, published a news report quoting Tulsi Giri, Nepal’s then Foreign Minister: “An unidentified airplane dropped weapons to the Khampas, who numbered approximately 4,000.” Indian newspapers wrote, “Anti-China Army Construction. China may advance military action on Nepal’s northern border.”

IGP Pahal Singh Gurung, who was the then Chief of Nepal Police at that time, told Brigadier Gordon Richardson of the British-Gurkha Army recruitment center in Dharan, ” Some 6,000 to 8,000 Khampas are residing in the Mustang region. We believed they were conducting activities in Tibet using guerrilla tactics, staying near the border. But for the last six months, they have been looting and robbing inside Nepal. The Government of Nepal does not have enough security personnel to control them. A difficult situation is being created.”

China was rapidly building a road connecting Aksai Chin, which borders the northwest Indian border, with Tibet and Xinjiang province. This road is considered strategically very important. Therefore, the Chinese Embassy expressed a strong reaction to the Government of Nepal regarding this incident. The Mustang region became very disturbed after the arrival of the Khampa fighters.

The fighters went on operations at night. During the day, they slept in the jungle and isolated places. They had also made Nepali traders a major ‘target’. They feared that Nepali traders going to Tibet for business might leak their information to the Chinese military. Therefore, on suspicion of being an informant, they killed the trader Lok Bahadur Thakali of Nechung in the jungle in October 1960. In January 1968, another trader, Dawa Dorje Gurung of Lete, was also murdered.

A committee was formed during B.P. Koirala’s time to plan the development of the Northern border areas. But B.P.’s government was overthrown before that committee could submit its report.

After Mahendra took over the reins of government, he established the Remote Area Development Committee under the chairmanship of Surendra Bahadur Shah in 1970.

The objective of establishing that committee was not only to implement development plans but also to collect information on the disturbances happening in the Northern border areas.

But it could not work as effectively as thought. Later, King Birendra established four Northern Administrative Control Centers under the Remote Area Development Committee. This did work somewhat effectively. During Birendra’s time, the Northern Administrative Control Centers were established in Olangchungola of Taplejung, Namche of Solukhumbu, Soru of Humla, and Jomsom of Mustang.

Later, this center successfully completed the task of collecting the names of Tibetan refugees residing in remote areas and providing information about the fighters.

After suffering a severe setback from China in the 1962 war, India also gathered Tibetan fighters and formed another separate group. It was named Establishment-22. Which is now known as the Special Frontier Force (SFF). Its training camp is located in Chakrata, Dehradun, India.

During the Maoist conflict, India was also accused of training some Maoist fighters in this very place. On the special request of Bhola Nath Mullik, the then Chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of the Indian Army, and Biju Patnaik, a World War II veteran, Prime Minister Nehru consented to establish this group. The CIA was also involved in providing modern weapons and training to this group.

Earlier, America had been training Khampa fighters in Colorado. A large amount of money was being spent on this work. The CIA felt greatly relieved when India decided to prepare the fighters in Dehradun itself.

Earlier, the CIA was running an anti-China campaign alone in Mustang. Now, with India also involved in this, the situation in Mustang became even more dire. King Mahendra was unable to stop the American influence. This was because it was estimated that America might stop aid when he overthrew the democratic government in 1960.

But Eisenhower greatly favored Mahendra’s move by providing an economic package of $15 million. The 1962 India-China war had alienated the Soviet Union from China. Furthermore, after the nuclear weapons test in 1964, Nikita Khrushchev criticized China, saying, “A competing communist power in the international chess game.”

Initially, the then Mustang King also tacitly approved the activities of the Khampas, who were conducting guerrilla warfare from within his sphere of influence against China. But when the CIA started providing money as an allowance to the fighters, the relationship between the locals and the Khampas started deteriorating. The Khampas began to influence simple girls by flaunting their money.

This started having a bad effect not only in Tibet but also on the Nepali side. Immediately after returning from China, King Birendra initiated a secret campaign to launch the Khampa disarmament operation. For this, the Nepali Army was first ordered to prepare a study report.

The head of the campaign was Lieutenant Colonel Sachchit Shamsher Rana. Birendra had started the campaign in March 1974, within three months of returning from China.

Under this, the names of Tibetan refugees residing in Nepal were collected, and their places of residence were confirmed. According to the report released by the Home Ministry on November 3, 1974, at least 6,387 people had taken refugee identity cards. And, the Home Administration stated that the process of application was still ongoing. The then His Majesty’s Government was working on the peaceful resolution of the Khampa rebellion in three ‘phases’:

First) Identifying Tibetan refugees.

Second) Arranging relief packages for resettlement and livelihood in accessible areas.

Second) Providing loans at concessional rates from banks and financial institutions.

According to the government policy, refugees residing in accessible places including Kathmandu had taken identity cards. The Chief District Officer’s office stated that 958 Tibetan refugees had taken identity cards in Kathmandu alone on July 24, 1974.

It was revealed that Tibetan refugees were living and working in various occupations in the Swoyambhu, Dallu, Boudhha, Jhochhen, Chhetrapati, Votahity, and Thamel areas. After it was revealed that refugees living in the Swoyambhu and Boudhha areas were producing excellent carpets, the government invested in it. Those residing in other areas were working as hotel/restaurant staff and taxi drivers.

The ordinary citizens who came from Tibet were happy with the government’s resettlement policy. But this made the Khampa fighters uncomfortable.

This was because world politics was also turning a corner. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tilt towards the Soviet Union was causing ripples in South Asian politics. At this time, America was severely entangled in the ‘Vietnam War’.

With Soviet backing, Indira had already brought about the creation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan. Again, a border dispute had started between China and the Soviet Union over the confluence of the Ussuri River in Manchuria. China’s vast population had long attracted America.

In such a situation, America suddenly joined hands with China, concluding that it would be easier to expand its commercial empire worldwide. And, after the visit of US President Richard Nixon to China in 1972, the CIA withdrew its hand from the Khampa rebellion that had started from Mustang. It even cut the allowance it was providing to the fighters.

The Khampa rebels, who were bewildered by this incident, were further confused by the Nepal government’s disarmament campaign. They disobeyed the Nepal government’s instructions. One year after returning from China, King Birendra visited the Khampa affected area. Birendra, who reached Mustang on December 1, 1974, met the rebel commander Gyalo Wangdi and ordered him to cooperate with the government’s work. In his meeting with the Khampas, he had made it clear that he would not allow activities that would inconvenience neighbors from the territory of his country.

He said that Tibetan refugees had the freedom to utilize everything, but violence was unacceptable. King Birendra had known Wangdi before. While studying at St. Xavier’s School in Darjeeling, Wangdi had also stayed there for some time to study the English language.

Wangdi had also met the King in Kathmandu. In the conversation with the Government of Nepal, Wangdi seemed to agree to surrender his weapons. Therefore, the government had given the Khampa rebels time until July 20, 1974, to surrender their weapons. The Khampas were conducting a guerrilla war by making Mustang their area of operation.

At that time, the Khampa unit was in the Mustang region itself. The Nepali Army was deployed from Pokhara. The Shree Shreenath Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Sachchit Shamsher in Pokhara took charge of the entire operation. An temporary brigade headquarters was also established in Jomsom for this purpose.

The Nepal government, sensitive to the possible clash with the Khampas, had temporarily restricted seven teams on Himalayan treks from going to Dolpa, Manang, and Mustang. At that time, Dutch and Japanese teams were preparing to climb Annapurna Mountain.

Similarly, Italian and Austrian teams were on an expedition to climb Dhaulagiri Mountain. Amidst all these events, Khampa rebel commander Wangdi asked for an extension until July 26 to surrender his weapons. The army accepted his proposal. By that time, the Nepali Army had reached Mustang from Pokhara.

When the Nepal Army was stationed in front of the Khampas’ headquarters, Kaisang Camp, Wangdi requested further time until July 31, stating that it was difficult to convince the other fighters. He had set the deadline for midnight, 12 o’clock. King Birendra had clear instructions for the Nepal Army: only to disarm the Khampa rebels, not to kill them.

Therefore, the Nepali Army again gave Wangdi an extension of five days. Prime Minister Nagendra Prasad Rijal gave this information in the Rastriya Panchayat, stating: “The deadline for the Khampas to surrender their weapons has been postponed until July 31.”

But Wangdi fled from Kaisang Camp with some of his companions without surrendering his weapons. After the Khampa rebels did not surrender their weapons by midnight on July 31, the Nepali Army forcibly entered the camp in the morning. At this time, the message of the Dalai Lama was read out to the Khampa rebels. After the government started the Khampa disarmament campaign, the Dalai Lama’s message ‘tape’ was brought through the active efforts of Home Secretary Sher Bahadur Shahi.

In it, the Dalai Lama had said: Support and cooperate with the decision of the Government of Nepal. But Wangdi’s rebellion complicated the disarmament campaign, which was about to be completed peacefully. Questions were raised in the Rastriya Panchayat regarding the government’s work style.

On this matter, the then Home Minister Hom Bahadur Shrestha had to read out a public statement of importance in the Rastriya Panchayat on September 11.

After the Home Minister’s clarification, various Panchayats, class organizations, and social institutions across the kingdom welcomed the step taken by His Majesty’s Government to disarm the Khampas. Among those who welcomed this were the District Panchayats of Mustang as well as Kaski, Palpa, Nawalparasi, Arghakhanchi, Dolpa, Rolpa, Chitwan, Rasuwa, Baglung, Tehathum, Taplejung, Bara, Parsa, Makwanpur, Tibrkot, Rukum, Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj, Jumla, Lamjung, Pyuthan, and Kavrepalanchok.

The joint meeting of various Muslim organizations, ‘Bazme Adat’ Nepal’s office, expressed happiness that His Majesty’s Government had peacefully resolved the Khampa problem and resolved to be involved in the work for the national interest. Similarly, the Mustang District Panchayat meeting passed a resolution stating that the step taken by His Majesty’s Government to disarm the Khampas by seizing their illegal weapons and eradicating the atrocities and misconduct of the Khampas who were refugees was extremely welcome, and it decided to provide full cooperation to His Majesty’s Government in this work.

Home Minister Shrestha, while answering the question raised by 15 Rastriya Panchayat members, said, “At the time we were on the path to a peaceful resolution of the Khampa issue, Khampa commander Wangdi took advantage of the government’s peace policy and fled without surrendering his weapons.” He stated that the Nepali Army was actively engaged in the search operation despite the geographical difficulties and adverse weather conditions where the Khampas were residing, 18,000 feet above sea level, and was confident of success.

But this statement by the Home Minister received a sharp reaction in the Rastriya Panchayat. Eighteen members raised questions about security, saying, “This incident started on around mid-August), but it is a matter of sadness that for 23 to 24 days, the Khampas openly looted villages and moved from one zone to another without the government even knowing.”

After Wangdi successfully tricked the Nepali Army and escaped from Kaisang Camp, the Government of Nepal took the additional help of Baba Hishi to capture him. When the CIA moved the headquarters of the Khampa rebellion from Kalimpong to Mustang in 1960, its commander was Baba Hishi. But after he was accused of misappropriating money, he was removed from the post of military commander and replaced by Gyalo Wangdi. Hishi was dissatisfied with this incident.

His understanding was that a big conspiracy was hatched against him and its leader was Wangdi. Lately, he was almost inactive.

And, he had been residing in Kathmandu. When Home Secretary Sher Bahadur Shahi requested his cooperation to catch Wangdi, he became more active. The government had been secretly taking his cooperation from the beginning for the Khampa disarmament campaign.

The international community was also keenly interested in how Nepal would suppress the Khampa rebellion. It was at this time, on September 9, 1974, that Wangdi was killed in a Nepali Army ‘operation’ while trying to enter the Indian border at Tinkar, Lipulek area of Darchula district.

The government provided complete information about the incident on September 15. Home Minister Hom Bahadur Shrestha confirmed the news of Wangdi’s death in the Rastriya Panchayat, saying, “Gyalo Wangdi, the leader of the Khampa group who was attempting to flee westward with an armed entourage, was killed in an encounter with our security team in Tinkar Lipu of Darchula district.”

Chinese Ambassador Cao Chi said, “The hardworking and brave Nepali people have a glorious tradition of opposing outside aggression and interference. Under the leadership of His Majesty Birendra, Nepal has consistently pursued the policy of independence, self-determination, peace, neutrality, and non-alignment. It has opposed peace, politics, and spheres of influence.”

On the day Wangdi was killed, Foreign Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki met with Indian Home Minister Uma Shankar Dixit in Delhi. Karki was on his way to attend the 29th session of the United Nations General Assembly. On October 7, Karki also had a conversation of about one hour with US Acting Foreign Minister Robert Ingersoll in Washington.

After Nepal suppressed the Khampa rebellion, King Birendra inspected the Kaisang Camp in Mustang on December 1, 1974. That day coincided with the day one year earlier when King Birendra had started his visit to China. And, he had assured the Chinese government. He fulfilled his commitment within one year of his visit to China.

Two years after the Khampa disarmament, on June 5, 1976, King Birendra and his family left for a formal visit to Lhasa. He is the first head of state in the world to visit Lhasa after China occupied Tibet. He visited China nine times. If anyone was China’s most trusted friend before the Royal Palace Massacre in 2001, it was King Birendra.

(An excerpt from Kunwar’s book, ‘Nepali Dristikonma Khampa Bidroha’)