Bhimsen Thapa was a Nepalese statesman who served as the Mukhtiyar and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the longest-serving prime minister of Nepal and was inducted into the "National heroes of Nepal" by King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah.
The prime minister of Nepal is the head of government of Nepal. Together with their Council of Ministers, the prime minister exercises executive power in the country.
Mathabar Singh Thapa was the Prime Minister of Nepal and the Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese Army from 25 December 1843 – 17 May 1845, until he was murdered by his nephew Jung Bahadur Rana. He was the first Mukhtiyar to title himself as a Prime Minister, as per the British convention. He was the nephew of Bhimsen Thapa, who was sentenced to prison after falsely being accused of killing King Rajendra's six months old son. Mathabar Singh Thapa fled to Shimla after the execution of Bhimsen Thapa, to avoid his own execution as he was Bhimsen's nephew. Four years later, the second queen of Rajendra, Queen Rajya Lakshmi, called him back and installed him as the Mukhtiyar, paving the way for him to eventually title himself as the Prime Minister. Mathabar Singh, however, enraged the queen by refusing to make her son, Ranendra Bikram, the king. The queen, in turn, had him shot by his own nephew Janga Bahadur Rana and thereby making him the last dynast of the Thapa dynasty. Mathabir Singh Thapa was killed by his own nephew.
Bal Narsingh Kunwar or Balanarsingh Kanwar posthumously referred as Bal Narsingh Kunwar Rana was a Kaji, military officer and governor in the Kingdom of Nepal.
Tripurasundari, also known as Lalit Tripura Sundari Devi, was a queen consort of Nepal by marriage to King Rana Bahadur Shah of Nepal. Widowed at a very young age and childless, she served as regent of the kingdom for a long period. She was regent for her stepson Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah in 1806–1819, and for her step-grandson Rajendra in 1819–1832. She was the first woman to publish literature in Nepal.
Ranga Nath Poudyal Atri popularly known as Ranganath Pandit was the Mukhtiyar of Nepal from 1837 December to 1838 August and in 1840 November for about 2–3 weeks. He was the first Brahmin Prime Minister of Nepal.
Rana Jang Pande was the 3rd Prime Minister of the government of Nepal and the most powerful person in political scenario in three decades from the aristocratic Pande clan. He was one of the sons of Mukhtiyar Kaji Damodar Pande. He served as the Prime Minister for two terms, serving 1837–1837 and 1839–1840 AD. He became powerful after Bhimsen Thapa was arrested, and was declared Mukhtiyar and Commander in Chief. He was a grandson of Kaji Kalu Pandey who was the commander of King Prithvi Narayan Shah and the Mulkaji of Gorkha and a notable figure during the unification campaign of Nepal.
Bakhtawar Singh Thapa also spelled Bhaktawar, was a Nepalese military commander, politician, and governor. He acted as an aide of his brother Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa and was appointed the commander of Samar Jung Company. He commanded the Bijayapur-Sindhuli Gadhi Axis in the first campaign of Anglo-Nepalese War and Makwanpur Gadhi Axis in the second campaign. Later, he became the governor of Palpa and died in the office.
Ranabir Singh Thapa also spelled Ranbir, Ranavir or Ranvir also known by the late ascetic name Swami Abhayananda was a Nepalese army general, prominent politician and minister of state. In 1837, he became acting Mukhtiyar of Nepal for a brief period. He was a prominent member of Thapa dynasty. He later turned ascetic and was known by the Sanyasi name Swami Abhayananda.
Bir Bhadra Thapa or Birabhadra Thapa also spelled Virabhadra or Virbhadra, was a politician, courtier and military officer in the Gorkha Kingdom during the 18th century. Born in the medieval Tanahun Kingdom, he left his ancestral property there and migrated to the uprising Gorkha Kingdom. He got entry into the minor ranks of military of King Prithvi Narayan Shah due to being a nephew of Sura Prabha, the wife of military commander Shivaram Singh Basnyat of the Basnyat dynasty. Thereafter, he took part in the various battles of Unification of Nepal throughout his life. Among his grandsons, Bhimsen Thapa went on to become the Mukhtiyar of Nepal for 31 years and founder of Thapa dynasty.
Thapa dynasty or Thapa noble family also known as Dynasty of Borlang was a Chhetri political family that handled Nepali administration affairs between 1806 and 1837 A.D. and 1843 to 1845 A.D. as Mukhtiyar. This was one of the four noble families to be involved in the active politics of the Kingdom of Nepal, along with the Shah dynasty, Basnyat family, and the Pande dynasty before the rise of the Rana dynastyor Kunwar family. At the end of 18th century, Thapas had extreme dominance over Nepalese Darbar politics alternatively contesting for central power against the Pande family. Bir Bhadra Thapa was a Thapa of Chhetri group and leading Bharadar during Unification of Nepal. His grandson Bhimsen Thapa became Mukhtiyar of Nepal and established Thapa dynasty to the dominating position of central court politics of Nepal.
Ranajit Pande was a Nepalese politician, military personnel and courtier in the Kingdom of Nepal. He was a member of the Gora Pande clan of Gorkha. He became Mulkaji of Nepal for a brief period in 1804 A.D.
The Pande family or Pande dynasty was a Rajput-Chhetri political family that directly ruled Nepali administration affairs from the 16th century to 19th century as Mulkaji and Mukhtiyar. This dynasty/family was one of the four noble families to be involved in active politics of Nepal together with Shah dynasty, Basnyat family and Thapa dynasty before rise of Rana dynasty. Pande dynasty is the oldest noble family to hold the title of Kaji. This family was decimated from political power in 1843 CE in the political massacre by Prime Minister Mathabar Singh Thapa as a revenge for his uncle Bhimsen's death in 1839.
Mukhtiyar was the position of head of executive of Kingdom of Nepal between 1806 and 1843. It was equivalent to Prime Minister of Nepal. There were 7 Mukhtiyars appointed between 1806 and 1843.
Dalbhanjan Pande or Dalabhanjan Pande was a Nepalese minister, politician and military officer of the aristocratic Pande family. He had held ministerial positions and military offices. He jointly headed the military administration of Nepal in 1837 along with Mukhtiyar Rana Jang Pande.
The Kunwar family was a noble Khas-Chhetri family in the Gorkha Kingdom and the Kingdom of Nepal. Kunwars were linked to the Thapa dynasty and family of Amar Singh Thapa by marital lineages and, thus, to Pande dynasty through the Thapa dynasty. Three branches of the Kunwars; Ramakrishna, Jayakrishna and Amar Singh Kunwar were formed with opposite political aspirations. Bal Narsingh Kunwar supported Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa while Chandrabir Kunwar supported Bada Kaji Amar Singh Thapa due to their marital relations with those families. Later, the Ramakrishna section of the family including Amarsingh established the Rana dynasty of Nepal and styled themselves as Rana Rajputs while Jayakrishna most section remained as Kunwars.
The Bhandarkhal massacre was a political massacre that occurred in Bhandarkhal garden of Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu in 1806. The chief perpetrator of the massacre was then Kaji Bhimsen Thapa. Bhimsen instigated the massacre as investigation and trial upon the death of then reigning Mukhtiyar and former King Rana Bahadur Shah. It began when Tribhuvan Khawas (Pradhan), a member of Sher Bahadur's faction, was imprisoned on the re-opened charges of conspiracy with the British that led to Knox's mission and finally convicted with a death penalty on the charge of treason. After the implication, Tribhuvan decided to reveal everyone that was involved in the dialogue with the British on his house meeting on the night of 25 April 1806. The confession implicated Sher Bahadur Shah, Rana Bahadur's step-brother and he began to harass his stepbrother. Unable to bear desperation, Sher Bahadur killed Rana Bahadur and triggered the massacre which lasted for two weeks. The number of deaths occurred was ninety-three people.
Krishna Bahadur Kunwar after 1848 CE known as, Krishna Bahadur Kunwar Rana was the Nepalese politician, administrator, military general and minister of state. He served as the acting Prime Minister of Nepal upon the demise of his elder brother Bam Bahadur Kunwar from 25 May 1857 to 28 June 1857. He also served as the Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese Army between 1857 and 1862.
KajiBir Keshar Pande a Nepalese politician, military personnel and courtier in the Kingdom of Nepal. He was member of the Gora Pande clan of Gorkha and the son of Kaji Ranajit Pande. Bir Keshar Pande was the owner of Lazimpat Durbar. As Thapathali was abode of the Thapas, Lazimpat was abode of Pande family. At the time of the Kot massacre on 14 September 1846, Lazimpat Durbar was owned by Kaji Bir Keshar Pande and was massacred there. After which lazimpat Durbar was occupied by Kaji Mama Col.Tribikram Singh Thapa for 28 years until he left for Varanasi in 1875.
Kaji Karbir Pande was one of the sons of Mulkaji Damodar Pande. After King Rana Bahadur's reinstatement to power, he ordered the execution of Damodar Pande, along with his two eldest sons, who were completely innocent, to be executed on 13 March 1804; similarly some members of his faction were tortured and executed without any due trial, while many others managed to escape to India. Karbir Pande was among those who managed to escape to India along with his brother Rana Jang Pande and cousin Ranabam Pande.
