The Rana Regime in Nepal (1846–1951): Rulers, Reforms and Resistance

For more than a century, from 1846 to 1951, Nepal was governed by a single family, the Ranas, who held the post of prime minister by inheritance while the Shah kings lived as figureheads. This chapter covers who ruled, what they did, and how opposition grew.

The Rana period has many rulers and dates. Exams usually focus on Jung Bahadur, the main laws and treaties, the notable later rulers and the end of the regime. Years are commonly cited ones; check your textbook for the exact version.

Jung Bahadur Rana (1846–1856, and again to 1877)

Jung Bahadur Kunwar, who later took the name Rana, became prime minister after the Kot Parva. His rule laid down the system of the whole period.

• Visit to Britain (1850). He travelled to Britain and France, the first Nepali ruler to visit Europe. He was impressed by what he saw and became an ally of the British.
• Muluki Ain (1854, 1910 BS). The first comprehensive legal code of Nepal, setting out rules for crime, property, caste and social relations. It is a very important exam fact. It organised society into a caste hierarchy and applied different punishments to different groups, which later generations criticised, but it was also a milestone as a written national law.
• Nepal–Tibet war (1855–56). Ended by the Treaty of Thapathali (1856), which gave Nepal certain trading privileges and an annual payment from Tibet.
• The Lal Mohar / Sanad of 1856 (1913 BS). A royal decree by which the king gave the prime minister's office to Jung Bahadur and his family heirs, and made Jung Bahadur ruler (Maharaja) of the districts of Kaski and Lamjung with the title Shree Teen Maharaja. This made the Rana premiership hereditary.
• The 1857 uprising. He sent troops to help the British, which earned the return of the Naya Muluk districts in 1860.

Jung Bahadur died in 1877. By rule of succession, power passed first among his brothers, which led to years of conflict within the family.

The later Rana prime ministers

• Ranodip Singh (1877–1885). Jung Bahadur's brother. He was killed in a coup in 1885 by the sons of another brother, Dhir Shumsher.
• Bir Shumsher (1885–1901). Took power in that coup. Under him, the Shumsher branch took over the premiership, and the main line of Jung Bahadur's family lost its position.
• Dev Shumsher (1901). Ruled for only a few months but made notable liberal moves: he opened schools, set up the first newspaper Gorkhapatra (1901), and tried to ease controls. He was deposed by his brothers.
• Chandra Shumsher (1901–1929). The most powerful and long-serving of the later Ranas. Under him: the Tri-Chandra College was founded (1918), Pharping hydropower began (1911), sati was banned (1920) and slavery was abolished (1924). He also secured the Nepal–Britain treaty of 1923, in which Britain formally recognised Nepal's independence. Politically, however, he kept strict control.
• Bhim Shumsher (1929–1932). Followed Chandra and was conservative in outlook.
• Juddha Shumsher (1932–1945). Ruled when the great earthquake of 1934 (1990 BS) devastated the Kathmandu valley. He also faced the first organised opposition and put it down harshly. He abdicated in 1945.
• Padma Shumsher (1945–1948). Faced growing demands for change and announced limited reforms, including the Government of Nepal Act, 1948, Nepal's first written constitution, which was never really put into effect. He resigned in 1948.
• Mohan Shumsher (1948–1951). The last Rana prime minister, who ruled until the revolution ended the regime.

Opposition to Rana rule

• Praja Parishad (1936). Nepal's first organised political party, founded in secret by activists such as Tanka Prasad Acharya and others. Its members distributed pamphlets and demanded reforms.
• The four martyrs (1941, 1997 BS). Four members of the Praja Parishad, Shukra Raj Shastri, Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Dasharath Chand and Gangalal Shrestha, were executed by the government in 1941. They are remembered every year as national martyrs.
• Political parties in exile and at home. In India, Nepali activists formed groups, including the Nepali Rashtriya Congress (around 1946–47), which later united with another group to form the Nepali Congress (1950). Workers' protests, such as the Biratnagar jute mill strike of 1947, showed the growing pressure.

What was life like?

The Ranas kept the country largely closed to outsiders and limited education and public life. Government and wealth were concentrated in the family, who were divided into ranks according to birth. A small amount of development took place, but on the whole most people had little access to schooling, health care or a voice in decisions. The kings were kept inside the palace, and the Ranas were the real rulers.

The end of the regime

The end came with the revolution of 1950–51 (2007 BS), which we cover in the next chapter. By then, India had become independent (1947), the British had left, and internal and external pressure on the Ranas was strong.

Exam focus

• Rana rule: 1846–1951 (104 years), from Kot Parva to the 2007 BS revolution.
• First Rana prime minister: Jung Bahadur Rana.
• First legal code: Muluki Ain, 1854 (1910 BS).
• Lal Mohar (Sanad): 1856 (1913 BS) — made the premiership hereditary.
• Treaty of Thapathali: 1856, after the Nepal–Tibet war.
• Chandra Shumsher: ended sati (1920) and slavery (1924); Tri-Chandra College (1918); Britain recognised independence (1923).
• First political party: Praja Parishad (1936). Four martyrs: 1941.
• First written constitution: 1948 (Padma Shumsher). Last Rana PM: Mohan Shumsher.

Previous: Kot Parva and the second Bhandarkhal Parva. Next: the end of Rana rule and the 2007 revolution.