Dirgha Raj Prasai
The glorious Indra Jatra, thisyear, is being celebrated enthusiastically in Kathmandu on Bhadra 30th 2073 BS (15th Sep.2016). On Bhadra 1825 BS, the golden day of Indra Jatra, King Prithvi Narayan Shah concurred greater Nepal and sat on the royal throne at Hanuman Dhoka with the help of eleven Gorkha Armies and Jhyagal Gurung, after receiving 'Tika' from Kumari (Shakya living Goddess) . From then all the kings of Nepal continued the tradition of receiving Tika from Kumari during Indra Jatra.
The great Hero Prithvi Narayan Shah was born in Gorkha on 27th Poush 1779 BS and he gowned king's Crown in Gorkha Palace on Ramnawami 1788 BS. With the support of all different castes including Magar, Gurung, Sherpa, Bahun, Chetri, Kami, Damai, Sarki etc., Prithvi Narayan Shah maintained the pride of this place and did everything that could be done to create a greater Nepal. He is the unifier, the pride of Nepal.
Kumari, a baby girl, dressed in red and golden costume, is appointed as an incarnation of the goddess- Tulaja Bhawani. As part of her sheltered existence, she spends the rest of the years in a temple away from the public. Kumari is the 'virgin goddess' adored by thousands of people during religious festival. 'Living Goddesses' are chosen as infants from Buddhist community after she passes 32 tests of 'perfection' and until her reaches puberty. To become Kumari, a child has to meet specific criteria such as sporting 'eyelashes like a cow,' 'thighs like a deer,' and a 'voice as clear as a duck. Even if a child has all of the aforementioned characteristics, her astrological chart must be considered favorable to the King of Nepal. She will also be tested for signs of fearlessness and serenity before she is adorned with the title. In Nepal, Kumari is believed to be the protector from evil and the bestowal of good luck and prosperity. After the declaration of Republic in Nepal, many religious authorities criticized and demanded the restoration of monarch.
The presidential system never can adjust substituting of monarch in this pious-'Hindu and Buddha land'. The president may be party oriented man and women, Christian and Muslim and then all the religious traditions and rituality gradually can end. So, in the context of Nepal, the constitutional monarchy must be in existence because the royal institution is an identified symbol as a reserve and protective force to safeguard Nepal. In fact since 2006, Nepal’s situation has been gradually deteriorated. This is because our basic foundations are violated; consequently national unity and sustainable peace has not been achieved. The constitution 1990 was suddenly suspended without any reason by the hints of RAW, EU and CIA. Then, the constitution 2047 (1990) was suddenly suspended without any reason by the hints of RAW, EU and CIA and then forcefully declared- republic and secular state in 3rd Ashoj 2073 BS. Therefore to keep intact Nepal's sovereignty and religious traditions, constitutional monarchy and Hindu kingdom must be in existence.
Since 1768, ‘Nepal’ became a common shelter for all Nepalese people. This is the mother land for all Nepalese people spread around the globe. It was almost 100 years before Germany and Italy was unified and the restoration of the Meiji dynasty was restored that Prithvi Narayan Shah had unified 54 small fiefdoms to build a large, expanded and strong Nepal. It is remarkable that the American citizen never forgets the history of Gorge Washington, who gave freedom to the people from the British imperialism and united the United State of America after almost 30 years from the Nepalese unification (1768). The British Empire, spreading in Asia, after getting hold in India had eyed on mountainous region i.e. Nepal. It was not an easy task to fight against the British imperialistic force in the mid 18th century. As, the culture, the religion and the nationality was in a danger, which compelled Prithvi Narayan Shah to unify the Greater Nepal, including the many small Hindu states and protected Buddhism and other religions too. Prithvi Narayan Shah had kept the originality of mountainous Nepal by holding the Moon-Sun depicting flag to wave, which obliged all the Nepalese in the world.
In the ruling time of Muslim in India, English imperialist-East India Company invaded India with Christianity. They came first as traders, secondly-Bible and third was sword where they were building their own military force, secretly, to take over India and they were getting help from Great Britain to do so, and they succeeded. In such situation, the King of Gorkha-Prithvi Narayan Shah kept virgin more than 54 small Hindu states unifying sovereign United Hindu Kingdom Nepal. The people of Nepal and India always have cordial relations due to the cultural and religious resemblance. They should know that if instability persists in Nepal, it could be a bastion of terrorism posing a threat to the whole world. When in India were more than 25 nations, before Muslim and Britain period, at that time, India was not called 'Hindustan'. Being the majority Hindu people in these Indian states, British named as a 'Hindustan.' But, before 250 years ago, the great King Prithvi Narayan Shah expressed–"Nepal is true Hindustan" That is the reality of the history of the only one Hindu kingdom in all over the world.
The creator of this nation, Prithbinarayan Shah had pointed out in His golden Message-'This is not the nation gained by my trifle efforts, this is the garden of all class of flowers, and may all be aware of this.' So, it is our duty that each and every citizen of Nepal is the equal owner of this country. The Gorkha King Prithbinarayan declared 'Kathmandu' as a capital and 'Nepal' as a Kingdom and but not Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah not only brought caste- and ethnicity-based states under the umbrella of Nepal, but also laid a solid foundation for the modern state. Nepal was a “yam between two boulders” suggesting the need for a delicate balance of relationship between its two big neighbors, a fundamental rule of Nepal’s foreign policy even now. Prithbinarayan Shah’s warning that “bribe givers and takers are both enemies of the nation” is a quote that many Nepalese repeat today, pointing fingers at their new leaders.
The historical event says- after the capturing of Kirtipur, an English Platoon of 2,400 under the leadership of Killok was chased away from Sindhuli with the support from Ram Krishna Kunwar and Dev Narayan Magar, Ramchandra Prasai and others. Due to the campaign of Prthvi Narayan Shah contributed to extend this nation-Tista in the East, Kangada in the West and Ganges in the South. Prithvi Narayan Shah's policy of 'Rights of inheritors over the land'- (Jagga Mathi Raitiko Adhikar) has heralded a tremendous influence over the people. The culture, tradition, religion, religious rituals, language and attires of all ethnic groups of the nation was accepted as a common property for co-existence after the unification. Nepali language had become extensive among people of other castes, so it was transformed as the government's official language and common language of use among the Nepalese. Instead of Gorkha, the name-Kingdom of Nepal was proclaimed. There were no forcible acts to this effect. Prithbinarayan was common leaders of all Hindus and Buddhists, castes and tribes.
A strong unitary sovereign nation was created with the involvement of the indigenous people. The indigenous people will accept the existence of a unitary state to remain protected from the danger posed by our northern and southern neighbors. The culture remains intact that ties the indigenous tribes together to survive in harmony, and the Nepalese common language which is understood by all. World famous national flag is Nepalese ethnic groups’ story of pride. From the unification, the attractive national attire is Nepalese people’s identity.
It is notable that the very exercise of Nepal as an independent country was made possible only because of geographical situation of the region by Prithbinarayan Shah alongside the committed, dedicated and trusted ministers and generals belonging to the various origins. Very surprisingly, Nepal was able to stand its ground greeting with the triangular Nepalese national flag with the Sun and Moon, as an independent, unique and powerful multi-ethnics state situated in the lap of the Himalayas, even in such a vulnerable situation where such extreme colonial encroachment in South Asia was rife. People of different ethnic backgrounds seemed to have united under the umbrella of the newly emergent Nepal. In many cases, a practical policy, offering dependent states to smaller friendly principalities was adopted by the great king Prithbinarayan Shah.
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