The 304th birth anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah is being celebrated all across Nepal today. Commonly known as Prithvi Jayanti and National Unity Day, the day 27th of Poush is being celebrated in the memory of King Prithvi Narayan and his efforts for the unification of modern Nepal.
As part of celebrations, the statue of Prithvi Narayan Shah was offered with flower garlands located near the western gate of Singha Durbar while his birthplace Gorkha made the day special with their own programmes. Most of the top political leaders including President Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice President Ram Sahay Yadav, Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Narayan Prasad Dahal the National Assembly Chairperson and Bimala Ghimire the Vice Chairperson paid tribute to the great hero at the site.
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| Source: The Rising Nepal |
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) conducted a tea reception in the presence of the Prime Minister, senior political leaders, and former prime ministers.
Shah was just 20 when he ascended to the throne of Gorkha on 3rd April 1743 AD. There were a total of 54 states in Nepal widely known as Baisi Rajya and Chaubise Rajya. Born in 1723, he played a vital role in the formation of modern Nepal through his strategies of territorial consolidation. Though he passed away at the age of 52, his work and his words “yam between two rocks” is still immortal in every Nepalese heart.
Has Nepal Never Been Colonized?
Nepal is a unique country on its own as it is the only South Asian country that had never been formally colonized. The country maintained its independence and sovereignty due to its fierce resistance by the Gurkhas and the challenging Himalayan terrain.
It was the time when the British East India Company, led by Robert Clive captured the Nawab of Bengal in the war of Passey in 1757, King Prithvi Narayan was also conquering all the small states expanding his kingdom. The East India Company afterwards expanded all over India ruling the country for the next 100 years. Reportedly, the king of Gorkha, a small state a few miles away from the Kathmandu valley also kept himself busy conquering and expanding the kingdom becoming the first king of modern Nepal.
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| Source: Namaste Nepal |
After fighting the British in the Anglo-Nepal War between 1814-1816, Nepal and the British East India Company signed a Treaty of Sugauli. Nepal lost significant territory, roughly one third of its land under the Treaty in 1816. The British East India Company actively traded with Nepal in the mid eighteenth century. Nepal supplied rice, butter, timber, dyes, gold, and oil seeds to the Company during that time. The British became quite concerned after the Gorkhas ascended their power in 1767.
Subsequently, the relationship between British India and Nepal declined in 1768 when the Gorkhas conquered the Kathmandu Valley and ruled over Nepal.
