UNIT 3 MODERN NEPAL: RANA REGIME (CASE STUDY) || CLASSROOM TASK (2082 ASHADH 25TH)

READ THE FOLLOWING CASE CAREFULLY AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW:

Jung Bahadur Kunwar Rana was born in June 1817 in Balkot, Arghakhanchi. He spent his youth and teens in different climates and terrains, Dhankuta in the east and Dadeldhura and Jumla in the far west, where his father, Bal Narsingh Kunwar, was posted as a governor. He showed little interest in books but turned relentlessly to physically demanding activities like riding, swimming, hunting, fencing and martial arts. Under the tutelage of his elders, he learnt the art of governance as a natural inheritance of his race, and like them, he too joined the army. At the age of twenty, Jung Bahadur learnt the ups and downs of court life and the swift blow of foul murder the hard way. The once-powerful Bhimsen had deceased, and his relatives and followers, including the Kunwars, were suddenly thrown out of their appointments and their properties seized. 

However, the colourful adventurer was not one to drown in self-pity. Jung went to the thick forests of the Terai to earn his living by capturing wild elephants for sale. When that brought no profit, he turned to reckless gambling, with even greater misfortune. Trying to find new avenues to make a living, he reached Banaras, and then Lahore, where his cousin Mathbar Basnet is said to have been in the employ of Maharaj Ranjit Singh. He did so, possibly, to follow Mathbar’s path, or maybe for a more romantic adventure: the ghazals, mujras and dancing girls offering love and romance, a refined heritage of the renowned city.

However, it was in Kathmandu that he got married to a Basnet girl, Prasad Laxmi, and with the dowry, he paid off his debts. The Thapas came back to power once more, and Mathbar Singh Thapa, the new prime minister, took the young man under his wings. That was both his fortune and misfortune. The weird Crown Prince Surendra, who had heard about Jung’s uncommon physical capabilities and growing popularity, was intent on finishing off the upstart. Two blatant attempts were made on his life.

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Questions: 

1. In what way is Junga Bahadur Rana’s fate associated with Bhimsen Thapa’s downfall? 

2. What attracted Junga Bahadur Rana from Benaras to Lahore? 

3. Assess the character of Junga Bahadur Rana based on the case. 

4. Examine the role of personal relationships and alliances—such as his marriage and connection with Mathbar Singh Thapa—in shaping Jung Bahadur’s rise in Nepali politics.