Royal Palace bloodbath: A mystery

By PR  Pradhan 1 June 2001 evening is known as the black day in the history of Nepal in which the entire family of King Birendra was killed. Even after 16 years of the horrifying murder of the Royal Family, the incident is still a mystery. Of course, Crown Prince Dipendra, who was in love with DevyaniRana, but the relations was not accepted by King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, was blamed for the massacre. General Bibek Shah, retired Royal Nepal Army officer, who was the Military Secretary in the Narayanhitty Royal Palace, in his memoire, “MaileDekhekoDurwar” (The Palace that I have seen) and a fiction written by senior journalist Deva Prakash Tripathi, “MahaNisha” (Megha Dark), have claimed that Dipendra had killed his father, mother, brother, sister and also other relatives. The probe commission headed by the then speaker Taranath Ranabhat had also claimed that Dipendra had opened fire and after killing all relatives, he was shocked and committed suicide by triggering a pistol from the left part of his head. Other Royal relatives present at the Friday dinner hosted by Dipendra have also confirmed that Dipendra had opened fire. This part is clear that Dipendra was the murderer of his family, including his parents and other relatives. The motive behind such a bloodbath is also clear that Dipendra wanted to get married to Devyani against the interests of his parents. The motive was to kill King Birendra only and keep under arrest all the Royal Family members who protest against Dipendra becoming the king. Dipendra’s ultimate plan was to become the king by killing his father and making Devyani the queen. However, Dipendra alone was not able to take such a decision without provocation by some others, who were conspiring to eliminate the institution of monarchy. King Birendra, who had proclaimed in making Nepal a Zone of Peace, was a patriotic king who always struggled to keep Nepal a sovereign and independent nation. There was a cold war in between King Birendra and the Indian leaders. The Indians had felt that the institution of monarchy remained an obstacle in achieving their goals in Nepal. Similarly, some Western countries were unhappy with the restriction in conversing Hindus into the Christian religion. When some Christianity campaigners were arrested in the Eastern Nepal, King Birendra was facing pressure from some Western countries for their release. So far, the western countries were not happy with a Hindu monarchy in Nepal. Therefore, the Indian as well as the Western missions were thinking of abolishing the institution of monarchy and in this plan, Dipendra seems to have been used through his girlfriend Devyani. By analyzing the bloodbath circumstances, one can reach to a conclusion that Dipendra was encouraged to kill his father and become the king. He was further assured for being recognized as a king by those who had encouraged him to murder his father. Who were the beneficiaries from the Palace bloodbath, after 16 years, it has become clear. After the bloodbath, when there was left only the then Prince Gyanendra, according to the law, he became the King. Again, when the new King became a hurdle in fulfilling foreign interests, the 12-point agreement was endorsed in Delhi in between the political parties having belief in parliamentary democracy and the extremist Maoist party. Now, it has not remained a secret that the Maoists who had launched the “people’s war” were supported by the Indian intelligence both in cash and arms and the supreme leaders were enjoying safe shelter in Delhi and also in other parts of India. When the 1 June, 2001 bloodbath was unable to accomplish the mission, the 2006 April uprising was sponsored by India and the West making Nepal a secular, federal republic against the public aspirations. The new constitution was imposed on the Nepali people in spite of their strong opposition. The main purpose for all these political games was to make Nepal politically instable, transforming Nepal into a Christian dominated country, keeping Nepal under the Indian grip, among others. After the removal of the institution of monarchy, the country has been ruined from all sides. The country is even facing threats on its survival. We have adopted such a constitution, which will not allow political stability, which will encourage mal-governance, corruption, among others. Such a situation may lead us towards a failed state.