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| Rana dynasty राणा वंश Ranas of Nepal | |
|---|---|
 | |
.svg) | |
| Parent family | Kunwar family |
| Country | Kingdom of Nepal |
| Founded | 1846 |
| Founder | Bir Narsingh Kunwar(Jung Bahadur Rana) |
| Current head | Pashupati Shumsher Rana |
| Final ruler | Mohan Shumsher Rana |
| Titles | Shree Tin Maharaja of Nepal, Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski |
| Motto | |
| Properties | Rana palaces of Nepal |
| Dissolution | 1951 |
TheRana dynasty (Nepali:राणा वंश,romanized: Rāṇā vaṃśa,Sanskrit:[raːɳaːʋɐ̃ɕɐ],Nepali:[raɳabʌŋsʌ]) was aChhetri[note 1] dynasty that[6] imposedauthoritarianism in theKingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing theShah monarch to a figurehead, and making thePrime Minister and other government positions held by the Ranas hereditary. The Rana dynasty is historically known for their iron-fisted rule in Nepal.[7] This changed after theRevolution of 1951 with the promulgation of a new constitution, when power shifted back to themonarchy ofKing Tribhuvan.[8]
The Rana dynasty were descended from theKunwar family, a nobility of theGorkha Kingdom.[9] Due to their marital lineages with the politically reigningThapa dynasty (ofMukhtiyarBhimsen Thapa) from the early 19th century, the Ranas gained entry to centralDarbar politics.[10][5] The Ranas were also linked to a minor faction of thePande dynasty of Gorkha through the Thapa dynasty.[5]
The genealogy ofJang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, a prominent figure of the Rana dynasty, was documented by 19th-century chronicler Daniel Wright. According to his account, the lineage begins with Tattā Rāṇā, described as a king ofChittaurgarh.[11] This account has been regarded by historians such as John Whelpton as likely fabricated, lacking corroborative historical evidence prior to the nineteenth century.[11]
Wright claims that Fakht Siṃha Rāṇā, the nephew of Tattā Rāṇā, had a son named Rāma Siṃha Rāṇā who migrated to the Himalayan foothills after the siege of Chittaur.[4] Rāma Siṃha was employed by a local hill raja and later married the daughter of the Raja of Bīnātī, a BagāleKṣetrī.[4] They had six sons over a span of 10–12 years, one of whom earned the titleKum̐varaKhaḍkā for his role in a battle against the Raja of Satān Koṭ.[4] This title was inherited by his descendants.
Rāma Siṃha reportedly returned to Chittaur at his brother's request and died shortly thereafter.[12] His son, Rāut Kunwar, became a nobleman (Sardār) and military commander under the local ruler.[12] Rāut Kunwar's son, Ahirāma Kunwar, was later invited by the King of Kaski, who granted him land at Dhuage Saghu asbirta (tax-free grant).[12] When the King of Kaski attempted to seize Ahirāma's daughter by force after he refused to marry her off through informal rites, a conflict ensued. With the help of villagers from the Parājulī Thāpā caste, Ahirāma resisted the King's forces.[12]
Following this, Ahirāma migrated with his sons, includingRam Krishna Kunwar and Jaya Krishna Kunwar, toGorkha, wherePrithvi Narayan Shah granted them lands known as Kunwar-Khola asbirta.[13]
HistorianJohn Whelpton suggests that the Kunwar origin story, involving a marriage into the Bagāle Kshetri lineage, may have been constructed to imply connections with the influentialBagale Thapa clan of MukhtiyarBhimsen Thapa.[14]
According to The Ranas of Nepal, the dynasty traced its descent from Kumbhakaran Singh, younger brother of Guhila king RawalRatnasimha ofMewar. During thesiege of Chittorgarh in 1303 CE, his descendants are said to have migrated north toward the Himalayas.[15][16] This version of the genealogy is included in works endorsed by Arvind Singh Mewar, but its historical accuracy remains debated.[citation needed]
The Rana dynasty was a hereditary line ofprime ministers who ruledNepal from 1846 until the early 1950s. The family established a de facto oligarchic rule, reducing theShah monarchs to ceremonial figures. The dynasty was founded byJung Bahadur Rana following theKot Massacre in 1846, which marked a turning point inNepalese politics.
The Ranas claimed descent from theRajput aristocracy ofwestern India, specifically theGuhila dynasty ofMewar. According to family lore and publications such asThe Ranas of Nepal, the dynasty descended fromKumbhakaran Singh, the younger brother of Rawal Ratnasimha, theGuhila ruler ofChittorgarh during the siege of 1303 CE.[17][18] However, several historians argue that such genealogical claims were politically motivated and part of a broader pattern inSouth Asia where ruling families adopted prestigious lineages to legitimize their authority.[19]
Although the Ranas identified asRajputs, they spoke theKhas language and had strong cultural and social ties to the localKhas people.[20] The family belonged to theVatsagotra, a Brahminical lineage identifier that they adopted to reinforce their social standing.[2]
The founder of this dynasty wasJang Bahadur Kunwar Rana, who belonged to theKunwar family,[9] which was then considered a noble family ofKshatriya status.[9] Jang Bahadur was a son of Gorkhali governorBal Narsingh Kunwar and nephew ofMathabarsingh Thapa,[10] the reigningPrime Minister of Nepal (1843–1845) from theThapa dynasty.[21] Bal Narsingh Kunwar was the son of KajiRanajit Kunwar and grandson ofSardarRam Krishna Kunwar,[22] who was prominent military general of KingPrithvi Narayan Shah.[23][24] Ram Krishna Kunwar was born to Ahiram Kunwar.[22] There were ample of rewards and recognitions received bySardar Ram Krishna Kunwar from the Gorkhali monarch Prithvi Narayan.[25] His grandson Bal Narsingh was initially a follower of the renounced KingRana Bahadur Shah and KajiBhimsen Thapa, and followed the King in his exile toBanaras on 1 May 1800.[26] On the night of 25 April 1806, King Rana Bahadur was killed by step-brother Sher Bahadur in desperation after which Bal Narsingh immediately killed the King's assassin.[27][28][29] He was a close ally of the influential minister Bhimsen Thapa,[27] who initiated a great massacre at Bhandarkhal garden following the chaos from the King's murder.[30][31][32] Following closeness to Mukhtiyar Bhimsen, he became the son-in-law of Bhimsen's brotherKajiNain Singh Thapa ofThapa dynasty.[5] The close relatives and supporters of Thapa faction replaced the old courtiers and administrators.[30] The Kunwar family came to power being relatives of powerful Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa. Similarly, Kunwars were related toPande dynasty by their maternal grandmother Rana Kumari Pande who was daughter ofMulkajiRanajit Pande.[5]
Bal Narsingh's sonKajiJung Bahadur Kunwar became a significant person in the central politics of Nepal during the prime ministership of his uncleMathabar Singh Thapa.[23] On 17 May 1845 around 11 pm, Mathabar Singh was summoned to the royal palace and was assassinated in a cold blood by Jung Bahadur on the royal orders.[23] He was considered to have been merciless, ruthless and fatal due to his association with Mathabar Singh.[23] Jung Bahadur was made aKaji (equivalent to minister) after following the order of assassination of Mathabar.[9]
On the night of 14 September 1846, QueenRajya Lakshmi Devi summoned the courtiers on the mysterious murderer of her aideGeneral KajiGagan Singh, to which courtiers hurried to the Kot quickly.[33] Many of the courtiers were unarmed except for a sword, as they had responded immediately to the royal summons. The armies allocated byJung Bahadur Rana also had taken most of the arms of courtiers who had managed to bring them. Queen Rajya Lakshmi Devi and KingRajendra Bikram Shah were also present in the Kot.[34] Queen Rajya Lakshmi demanded the execution of Kaji Bir Keshar (Kishor) Pande on alleged suspicion to which GeneralAbhiman Singh Rana Magar looked towards King for confirmation. Jang misinformed Queen that Abhiman Singh's troops were arriving for overpowering the Queen's faction and demanded an immediate arrest.[9] Abhiman tried to force his way out and was killed by Jung's soldier. In the chaos followed, Jung and his brothers began bloodshed and many rival nobles and courtiers were eliminated by them.[35] The letter to British ResidentHenry Montgomery Lawrence stated that there were 32 Bharadars (courtiers) killed in the massacre.[36]
When Jang Bahadur refused the Junior Queen's request to place Prince Ranendra in the place of Crown PrinceSurendra, the Queen secretly contacted the victims of Kot and conspired to assassinate Jung Bahadur in the royal Bhandarkhal garden. After receiving a command from the Queen to come to Bhandarkhal, Jang Bahadur took his fully armed troops and headed towards the garden. The troops killed the chief conspirator, Birdhwaj Basnyat on the way, and marched towards Bhandarkhal where seeing Jang Bahadur approach fully armed with his troops, the other conspirators started to flee. 23 people were killed in the massacre while 15 escaped.[37] On 23 September 1846, all officers of military and bureaucracy were called upon to their respective offices within 10 days. Then, Jung Bahadur appointed his brothers and nephews to the highest ranks of the government.[38] He consolidated the position of premiership after conductingKot massacre (Kot Parva) and Bhandarkhal Parva[39] on the basic templates provided by his maternalgrand-uncleMukhtiyarBhimsen Thapa.[10]
After the massacres of Kot and Bhandarkhal, theThapas,Pandes,Basnyats and other citizens had settled inBanaras. Similarly, some citizens had gone to settle inNautanwa andBettiah.Chautariya Guru Prasad Shah too had gone to live with the King of Bettiah. After knowing about the presence of the King and the Queen in Benaras, Guru Prasad went there and started to congregate an army and a plan to execute Jung Bahadur started to be formed.[38]
On 12 May 1847, Jung Bahadur gave a speech inTundikhel. There he accused the King of the attempted assassination of the Prince and the Prime Minister. The Council then decided to dethrone King Rajendra deeming him mentally ill, and on the same daySurendra was crowned as the new king of Nepal. Hearing the news of the coronation of Surendra, Rajendra decided to take the responsibility of removing Jung Bahadur upon himself and declaring himself as the leader of the army, he left Benaras. Rajendra then appointed Guru Prasad Shah as the Chief of the Army for the operation of removal of Jung Bahadur Rana from Nepal and started to accumulate weapons and training the troops. Antagonism from theBritish-India Company forced Rajendra and his troops to enter Nepal. On 23 July, the troops reached a village calledAlau in Bara and set a camp there. One spy group of the Government of Nepal was keeping close eyes on the event of the rebel groups atBettiah. They sent the news to Jung Bahadur, immediately after which he sent a troop in the leadership of Sanak Singh Tandon to Alau. They were told to suppress the rebellions, arrest Rajendra and bring him to Kathmandu. On 27 July, theGorakhnath Paltan (Gorakhnath Battalion) reached and rested in a village calledSimraungadh, not too far from Alau. The battle of Alau was a decisive one between the forces of King Rajendra and Jang Bahadur. The King lost significantly in the battle. If the massacre of Kot had established Jung Bahadur as a dictator, the battle of Alau had helped him strengthen his dictatorship. Rajendra was imprisoned in an old palace in Bhaktapur.[38]
On 15 May 1848, alal mohar (royal seal) was issued, issued claiming descent for the Kunwars/self-style Ranas fromRanas of Mewar and authorizing the Kunwar family of Jang Bahadur to style themselves asKunwar Ranaji.[40] On 6 August 1856, Jang Bahadur Kunwar (now Ranaji) was conferred the title ofMaharaja (Great King) ofLamjang and Kaski, two former hill principalities, by King of Nepal,Surendra Bikram Shah. This was done through indirect control of the king via his wifeQueen Trailokya, and through threats against the king.[41] Before this, the Ranas had merely been regarded as Khas-Chhetris, and had had no pretensions to any kind of royal origin.[11]
In 1885, the Shumsher family, the nephews ofJung Bahadur Kunwar Rana, murdered many of the sons ofJung Bahadur and took over Nepal in a militarycoup d'état thus bringing in the rule of the Shumsher Rana family also known as the Satra Bhai (17 brothers) Rana family. They murderedRanodip Singh Kunwar and occupied the hereditary throne of Prime Minister. After this they addedJang Bahadur to their name, although they were descended from Jang's younger brother Dhir Shumsher.[5]
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| Ram Krishna Kunwar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranajit Kunwar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal Narsingh Kunwar | Balaram Kunwar | Rewant Kunwar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bhakta Bir Kunwar | Jang Bahadur Kunwar | Bam Bahadur Kunwar | Badri Narsingh Kunwar | Jaya Bahadur Kunwar | Krishna Bahadur Kunwar | Ranauddip Singh Kunwar | Jagat Shamsher Kunwar | Dhir Shamsher Kunwar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nine Rana rulers took the hereditary office(s) of Prime Minister, Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Grand Master of the Royal Orders. All were crowned as the Maharaja ofLamjung andKaski.
I. Shrī TīnJung Bahadur Kunwar RanaGCB,GCSI (18 June 1816 – 25 February 1877). Prime Minister and C-in-C 15 September 1846 to 1 August 1856 and from 28 June 1857 until his death. Granted the hereditary title ofRana on 5 May 1848, as a suffix to the male members of his family. Granted the hereditary title ofMaharaja of Lamjung and Kaski (to be enjoyed ‘offspring to offspring’, and the hereditary offices of Prime Minister and C-in-C (to be enjoyed in succession by his surviving brothers, his sons, then his nephews), 6 August 1856. Received asalute of 19 guns from theBritish.II. Shrī TīnRanodip Singh Kunwar (aka Ranodip Singh Rana)KCSI (3 April 1825 – assassinated 22 November 1885). Ruled 25 February 1877 to 22 November 1885.III. Shrī TīnBir Shumsher Jung Bahadur RanaGCSI (10 December 1852 – 5 March 1901). Ruled 22 November 1885 to 5 March 1901.IV. Shrī TīnDev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (17 July 1862 – 20 February 1914). Ruled 5 March to 27 June 1901, when as a result of his progressive nature, he was deposed by his relatives andexiled to India.V. Shrī TīnChandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur RanaGCB,GCSI,GCMG,GCVO (8 July 1863 – 26 November 1929). Ruled 27 June 1901 to 26 November 1929.IX. Shrī TīnMohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur RanaGCB,GCIE,GBE (23 December 1885 – 6 January 1967). Ruled 30 April 1948 to 18 February 1951, at which date he was divested of his titles and later went toIndia.VI. Shrī TīnBhim Shumsher Jang Bahadur RanaGCSI,GCMG,KCVO (16 April 1865 – 1 September 1932). Ruled 26 November 1929 to 1 September 1932.VIII. Shrī TīnPadma Shumsher Jung Bahadur RanaGCSI,GCIE,GBE, (5 December 1882 – 11 April 1961). Ruled 29 November 1945 to 30 April 1948, whereupon heabdicated in favor of his cousin.VII. Shrī TīnJuddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur RanaGCB,GCSI,GCIE (19 April 1875 – 20 November 1952). Ruled 1 September 1932 to 29 November 1945, whereupon heabdicated in favour of his nephew.Succession to the role of the Prime Ministers and the title ofShree Teen Maharaja of Nepal and Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski was byagnatic seniority, by which the oldest male heir among the sons of equal (a-class) marriages in a generation would succeed. The order of succession was determined by seniority, with each eligible male heir holding a military command, as follows:
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