April 12, 1951. The residence of the then-Home Minister in Tripureshwar. Members of the Gorkha Dal, led by Bharat Shumsher Rana, arrived with khukuris and swords around 3:30 PM with the intention of killing the then-Home Minister BP Koirala. They had already reached BP’s bedroom, but BP stopped them and said, ‘Speak good words, and I will listen. Go back, I do not want to kill.’

The establishment of democracy in the country was not at all palatable to the Ranas. As a reaction to this, the Gorkha Dal was formed under the leadership of Rana courtiers and was carrying out flashy protests against the Nepali Congress. On April 13, it even attempted to attack then-Home Minister BP himself.

That day, the members of the Gorkha Dal, who came in a mob of 40/50 people, had vandalized most of the rooms in the Home Minister’s quarters. They were preparing to gather all the items, including sacks of rice, containers of ghee and oil, and sleeping beds, in one place and set them on fire. Slogans were being chanted—’Down with Bishweshwar Prasad!’ and ‘We won’t leave without cutting off his head!’

Those protesters severely beat Mir Subba Kalicharan, who was at the Home Minister’s residence, right at the door. Vandalizing one room after another, the protesters reached BP’s bedroom. At that time, BP was conversing with leaders including the Minister of Commerce and Trade, Ganesh Man Singh.

A young man, intoxicated with alcohol, advanced, gnashing his teeth and carrying a khukuri, to strike BP. BP had a ‘Point Two’ pistol with him. He aimed that pistol at the youth. The youth collapsed to the floor.

After this audacious incident by Bharat Shumsher, its impact on Nepali politics lasted for a long time.

Because of that very incident, the ‘power’ of the Army Chief was curtailed for the first time. Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher Rana had to abandon his permanent residence in Singha Durbar. The work to strengthen the role of the police began.

When an attempt was made to attack then Home Minister BP, the Nepali Army unit under the command of Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher did not come forward for security and rescue. King Tribhuvan had to send the military unit under his command from the palace to the Home Minister’s residence. This army unit arrested the Gorkha Dal protesters and handed them over to the Nepal Police (the then Raksha Dal or Defense Force). The Raksha Dal also detained Bharat Shumsher.

The next day, on April 14, the meeting of the Council of Ministers, held in the presence of King Tribhuvan, made several important decisions.

These included banning the activities of the Gorkha Dal, bringing Bharat Shumsher within the legal framework, publicly making the Defense Minister (Babar Shumsher) and the Army Chief (Kesar Shumsher) apologize and condemn the action, assigning the responsibility of the Deputy Chief of the Army to Kiran Shumsher Rana, reducing the number of Prime Minister’s guards, and providing weapons and logistical supplies from the army to the Liberation Army, as it had proved its necessity and effectiveness.

Due to this very decision of the Council of Ministers, ten days after the incident, Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher left his long stay at Singha Durbar and moved with his family to Laxmi Niwas in Maharajgunj on April 22, 1951. Shree 3 Maharaj Chandra Shumsher had built Singha Durbar as his private residence in 1847. Later, he sold this building to the country, and it began to be used as the residence and office of the subsequent Rana Prime Ministers.

After Mohan Shumsher left the residence, Singha Durbar was made the country’s main administrative center. Singha Durbar was also opened to the public. Starting from April 24, 1951, it was opened for four hours daily, from 8 AM to 10 AM and from 4 PM to 6 PM.

After the success of the 1950 revolution, Mohan Shumsher had appointed his own brothers, Babar Shumsher, as Defense Minister and Kesar Shumsher as Army Chief from the Rana quota. During the Delhi Agreement between the Ranas, the King, and the Nepali Congress in 1950, it was agreed to form an interim government comprising five members from the Ranas’ side and five from the Nepali Congress’s side.

Bharat Shumsher was the grandson of Babar Shumsher, who headed the Defense Ministry in that very cabinet. Due to Bharat Shumsher’s audacity in attempting to kill the Home Minister less than two months after the establishment of democracy, Babar Shumsher had to lose his position within four months.

On June 2, 1951, a group called the ‘Virangana Dal’ took out a procession near the main gate of the Royal Palace, chanting objectionable slogans to free Bharat Shumsher from jail. The pressure on Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher, caused by the procession that started at 4 PM, was so immense that he had to issue a clarification to the public four days later.

In the statement released on June 6, he had to say: ‘Various rumors are being heard about the Gorkha Dal and similar organizations. And it is said that the Ranas have helped such organizations.

As you all know, the government declared the Gorkha Dal illegal after its violent attack on the Home Minister and its communal activities. Therefore, I want to appeal to my relatives and countrymen to keep the welfare of their country in high regard and not to support any communal party or organization or violent action. We have all now adopted democratic principles.’

Even as he said this, the Gorkha Dal did not bring any improvement to its activities. It spread violent activities not only in the capital, Kathmandu, but also in Western Nepal.

Lila Prasad Lohani, a 103-year-old eyewitness to the attempted attack on BP, says, “The Rana rulers were unable to digest the establishment of democracy in Nepal. That bitterness remained in them for a long time.”

Within three months of the incident, Home Minister BP unexpectedly decided to release Bharat Shumsher, who had tried to take his life. King Tribhuvan was not pleased with this decision. Hemanta Rana, former professor of history at Tribhuvan University, says, “He (Tribhuvan) was angry that he was not consulted even once about releasing the person who had committed such a huge crime.”

However, BP’s view was that in a democracy, the individual is secondary, but the ideology he adopts is great. Therefore, in a democratic system, everyone should be allowed to express their views without violence.

After Bharat Shumsher’s group attempted to take his life, BP gave a message to the public on April 18, 1951, saying: ‘Opposition parties emerge in democracy and should emerge. However, its basis should not be personal hatred. One must honestly think and find the path.

If attempts are made to change the government by inciting violence, filling feelings of enmity between castes and communities, and creating unrest, then democracy will never be established.

Autocratic systems are established through violence, secret organizations, or communal hatred. We must clearly understand this.

I must say with sadness that there is no clear basis for the various parties or groups that have been formed so far, which would necessitate the formation of different parties. First, we must responsibly consider whether there is a need to form new parties. If there is, on what basis, and only then, if parties are formed, will political parties work responsibly and a democratic environment will be maintained in the country.’

After being released from jail, Bharat Shumsher’s activities were not as destructive as before. His Nepal Rashtrawadi Gorkha Parishad also participated in the first general election in 1959. While the Nepali Congress became the first party by winning 74 seats, the Gorkha Parishad became the main opposition party by winning 19 seats.