Thebanishment of Buddhist monks from Nepal was part of a campaign by the Rana government to suppress the resurgence ofTheravada Buddhism inNepal in the early 20th century. There were two deportations ofmonks fromKathmandu, in 1926 and 1944.
The exiled monks were the first group of monks to be seen in Nepal since the 14th century.[citation needed] They were at the forefront of a movement to reviveTheravada Buddhism, which had disappeared from the country more than five hundred years before.Newar Buddhism is traditionallyVajrayana based. TheRana dynasty disapproved of Buddhism and theNewar language. It saw the activities of the monks and their growing following as a threat. When police harassment and imprisonment failed to deter the monks, all of whom wereNewars, they were deported.
Among the charges made against them were preaching a new faith, convertingHindus, encouraging women to renounce and thereby undermining family life, and writing books in Newari.[1][2]
In 1926, five monks along with their Tibetan guru Tsering Norbu were expelled from the country. These five monks, whoseDharma names wereBauddha Rishi Mahapragya, Mahaviryya, Mahachandra, Mahakhanti and Mahagnana, had been ordained under theTibetan Buddhist tradition.
The government objected to Mahapragya, who was born aHindu, converting toBuddhism and the monks making alms rounds in Kathmandu. The police arrested the monks and jailed and questioned them. The case went up to the prime minister,Chandra Shumsher JBR, who ordered their banishment. They were given a few days to beg for provisions under the condition that they return to the police station to sleep. Then they were marched to the Indian border under police escort. The five monks and their teacher first went toBodh Gaya,India, from where they scattered, some of them going toBurma andTibet.[3]
In 1944, another group of eight monks were sent into exile. TheirDharma names werePragyananda Mahasthavir,Dhammalok Mahasthavir, Subhodhananda, Pragyarashmi, Pragyarasa, Ratnajyoti, Agga Dhamma andKumar Kashyap Mahasthavir.[4] This time they were accused of encouraging women to renounce Hinduism and writing in Nepal Bhasa. The monks were summoned before the prime ministerJuddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and ordered to sign a pledge that they would stop their activities. When they refused, they were ordered out of the country.[5]
The monks went toKushinagar and thenSarnath in India. There they founded Dharmodaya Sabha (Society for the Rise of the Teaching) which worked to promote Buddhism and published religious literature from exile. Some of the monks remained inIndia while others went toTibet,Bhutan andSri Lanka.[6]Bhaju Ratna Kansakar, a Nepalese merchant based inKalimpong, was one of their largest supporters in exile.
In 1946, aSri Lankan goodwill mission visitedKathmandu and interceded on behalf of the monks. The delegation emphasized that Nepal was the birthplace ofBuddha, and that his followers should be free to practice their faith in the country where he was born. Subsequently, the ban was lifted and the monks returned and devoted themselves to spreading the faith with greater energy.[7][8]
In 1951, the Rana regime was ousted by a revolution anddemocracy established in Nepal. With democracy, overt persecution of Buddhists ended.[9][10]
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