Dhir Shumsher Rana

Jung Bahadur Kunwar, eldest brother of Dhir

Jung Bahadur Kunwar and his brothers massacred around 29 nobles in the Kot Massacre and consolidated the key administrative posts.[8] Dhir Shumsher, the youngest brother of Jang Bahadur[5][9] was crucial in the Kot Massacre, when he struck Khadga Vikram, who had attempted to attack one of his brothers, Krishna Bahadur Kunwar Rana.[9] He received the military rank of colonel[note 1] on the subsequent day of Kot Massacre.[8] He accompanied his eldest brother Prime Minister Jang Bahadur Rana in the 1851 Europe visit.[11][12] He experienced new social entertainments during the tour of England. In one of the organized wrestling matches, Dhir defeated an English wrestling Champion.[9] In his Paris tour, he received minor injuries when he was struck by a bullet from a young girl who misfired a shot from Jang Bahadur's pistol.[13]

In the Vikram year 1910 (1853 A.D.), General Dhir Shumsher occupied the sixth position in the government among the members of the Rana family, and his yearly emoluments amounted to NPR 21,853.00.[14]

Government of Nepal declared war on Tibet on the grounds of mistreatment of Nepalese Newari traders and Nepalese representative (Nayak) in Lhasa, and Nepalese mission to Peking.[15] The Kuti front was led by General Dhir Shumsher with 4678 troops under his control.[16] On 3 April 1855, General Dhir Shumsher defeated a small Tibetan forces at Chusan and captured the Kuti front and further advanced to Suna Gompa.[17][7] His victory at Kuti front was described by Jung Bahadur as:

Your occupation of Kuti has been a magnificent feat of valour. When a commander wins a battle with heavy casualties among his men, the credit is not so great. But when a battle is won without any loss of life, it is undoubtedly a fact to be commanded. I am very much pleased at the manner in which you have captured Kuti without any harm to the men under your command.[7]

He built a logistics base in Duguna village near Listi in Nepal at the border.[16] He led an attack on the fortress of Sona Gompa which had 8000 troops. The battle was fought with great difficulty on both sides and eventually, Tibetans retreated.[16] On 5 November 1855, the Tibetan forces under General Kalon Shatra launched two simultaneous attacks in on the Nepalese camps at Kuti and Dzongka. [18] The Nepalese forces faced heavily damage in Kuti by the surprise assault and the forces retreated to the border.[18] In December 1855, Dhir Shumsher recaptured Kuti with the reinforcements sent by Jung Bahadur[18] through a multi-directional assault on the Tibetan forces.[16][note 2][19] He burned the town of Kuti before returning to Listi in Nepal.[18] Later, Dhir Shumsher estimated to British Resident C.E.R. Girdlestone that a campaign in Tibet would cost NRs. 60 lakhs more than Nepal could hope to receive compensation and indemnification from Lhasa.[20]

Dhir Shumsher was ordered by Jang Bahadur to command 3000 Nepalese troops to Lucknow, Benaras and Patna in order to suppress Indian Mutiny of 1857.[21] The Gorkhali forces restored the British authority in Lucknow and Gorakhpur and also succeeded in Bihar, Azampur, Jaunpur, Allahabad and Oudh. [22] However, Dhir Shumsher had anti-British policy[23][24] and he opposed Jang Bahadur's move to support British in the Indian Mutiny.[23]

According to the roll of succession of Ranas framed by Jang Bahadur on 10 Sudi Magh, 1924 V.S. (3 February 1868), Dhir was fourth in the position to the Prime Minister and was Commanding-General of the Eastern Command of Nepal Army.[25] In 1871, Commanding-General Dhir Shumsher received wastelands in the Eastern hill region between Dudhkoshi river and Mechi River for the cultivation of tea.[26]

Dharmakachari, the anti-corruption court,[note 3] held Ranoddip Singh and Jagat Shamsher guilty of taking bribes. But no charge was proved against Dhir Shumsher.[27]

Jagat Jang, eldest son of Jang Bahadur, a nephew of Dhir Shumsher

Jang Bahadur died on Falgun 1933 V.S. (March 1877) at Rautahat.[28][note 4] Dhir Shumsher circulated a rumour that Jang Bahadur was critically ill, upon which the Crown Prince Trailokya of Nepal and Jang Bahadur's sons rushed to Patharghatta. Dhir attended the funeral of Jang Bahadur with the Crown Prince Trailokya with whom he had quarreled throughout the way.[28] On their absence in Kathmandu, he immediately imposed King Surendra of Nepal to declare Ranodip Singh Kunwar as Prime Minister of Nepal.[29] Through this move, he destroyed the plot of Jang Bahadur's eldest son Jagat Jang and Crown Prince Trailokya's motive to force King Surendra to abdicate the throne and appoint Jagat Jang as the Prime Minister.[29] When Prince Trailokya came back to Kathmandu after the funeral, he attempted to overthrow Dhir Shumsher from political scenario with the assistance of Jagat Jang Rana, the son of deceased Jang Bahadur.[28][30]

When Commander-in-Chief Jagat Shamsher Kunwar Rana died in 1879, Dhir Shumsher succeeded him in the position. Dhir Shumsher did not want to transfer his current position of Senior Commanding-General of Western Commanding forces to Jagat Jang because the forces under Western Command were huge.[31][32] This event further incensed the relationship of Dhir Shumsher with his nephew Jagat Jang.[31] Shrivikram Singh Thapa, Sangramasur Bisht and a faction of Bharadars attempted twice in the year 1938 Vikram Samvat (1881–1882) to destroy both Ranodip Singh Kunwar (Prime Minister of Nepal) and Commander-In-Chief Dhir Shumsher Rana.[28] Both attempts were aborted, and for the third attempt, the date of execution was fixed on last day of Poush (14 December 1881).[28] In December 1881, Prime Minister Ranodip Singh went on a hunting trip to Terai.[33] The conspirating faction sought the assistance of Lieutenant Uttardhwaj[note 5] who had ancestral rivalry with the Shrivikram Singh, a member of the conspirator group. Due to the rivalry, Lt. Uttardhwaj revealed the plot to Dhir Shumsher[28] who was in Kathmandu.[33] Dhir Shumsher immediately informed his brother Prime Minister Ranodip Singh Kunwar in Terai camp to arrest the conspirators in his entourage.[33] Also, Dhir Shumsher arrested conspirators in Kathmandu on Magh Badi 2, 1938 Vikram Samvat with the help of Bam Bikram, a member of the conspiracy group.[28] On the same night, the conspirators in the camp of Ranodip Singh were arrested and brought to Kathmandu.[28] On Magh Badi 4, 1938 V.S. (January 1882), one of the conspirators, Subedar Simha Jang Pande took committed suicide by poison on the banks of Bagmati river at Teku while Sangramsur Bisht and Amrit Simha Adhikari revealed the conspiracy where Crown Prince Trailokya and Prince Narendra were involved.[28] Jagat Jung and Bambir Bikram were removed out of role of succession of Ranas.[34] Former Prime Minister Mathabarsingh Thapa's two sons – Colonel Bikram Singh Thapa and Colonel Amar Singh Thapa were also convicted aloongwith Colonel Indra Singh Shripali Tandon, Dhir Man Singh Basnyat and Kulman Singh Basnyat.[35] A lot of nobles and courtiers were beheaded, imprisoned and degraded from their caste after the Prime Minister Ranodip Singh returned on Magh Badi 11, 1938.[36]

Prime Minister Ranodip Singh Kunwar; elder brother of Dhir Shumsher

Historians John Whelpton, Ishwari Prasad contended that Dhir Shumsher was the main support to the administration of Prime Minister Ranodip Singh Kunwar.[37][5] Historian Perceval Landon described him as Chief Executive of Nepal when he was appointed as Commander-in-Chief.[7] Until his death in 1884, Dhir Shumsher controlled the real authority as Ranodip Singh had an ill health and was a fragile ruler.[38] Ranodip Singh did not act anything contrary to Dhir Shumsher and always contended him.[39] Similarly, Dhir did not allow the British authorities to receive any Gorkhali recruits from Nepal[38] while Ranodip Singh favoured it.[39] His death allowed Ranodip Singh to permit Gorkhali recruitment in British Army.[40]

As a Commanding General, Dhir Shumsher directed Subba Jayashankar Pande with the reduction of land taxes in Dang on Baisakh Badi 2, 1936 (Vikrama).[41][note 6] On Ashadh Badi 10, 1938 (Vikrama), he also redirected Subba Pande to collect land taxes of the occupied wastelands in the region. [note 7] He also reinstated the mail services at Chitwan executed from the orders of Kartik Badi 9, 1939 Vikrama (October 1882).[42]

Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, eldest son of Dhir Shumsher; later Maharaja of Kaski and Lamjung and Prime Minister of Nepal

He had 17 sons[11] and 17 daughters. The seventeen sons of Dhir Shumsher were known as Shamsher faction,[44] Satra Bhai ('seventeen brothers'), [45] or the Shamsher Rana dynasty. They began to append the name and title of Jang Bahadur Rana to their own name.[46] They became influential with five of them being Commander-in-chief of the Nepalese Army[47] Prime Minister of Nepal and Maharaja of Kaski and Lamjung in continuous succession[11] between 1885 and 1945. Similarly, only two grandsons of Dhir Shumsher became the Maharaja of Kaski and Lamjung.[48] Many historians contend that the Shumsher Ranas were responsible for the dark period in the history of Nepal.[49] Among the seventeen sons, only nine were high caste Ranas (A or B) while remaining eight were C Class Ranas who were born out of mistresses and ritually low caste women.[50] The list of seventeen sons of Dhir Shumsher are:[11]

1. Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (by sister of Lalit Man Singh Basnet[51]) (Prime Minister of Nepal)
2. Dambar Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana (by Magar lady) (Aide-de-camp general of the Prime Minister)
3. Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (by Nanda Kumari Thapa) (Commander-in-chief of the Nepalese Army)
4. Rana Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (Commander-in-chief of the Nepalese Army)
5. Dev Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (by Nanda Kumari Thapa) (Prime Minister of Nepal)
6. Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (by Nanda Kumari Thapa) (Prime Minister of Nepal)
7. Bhim Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana (by Nanda Kumari Thapa) (Prime Minister of Nepal)
8. Fatte Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
9. Lalit Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
10. Jit Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
11. Durga Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
12. Purna Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
13. Jadu Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
14. Shere Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
15. Juddha Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana (by Juhar Kumari Devi, a Rajput wife from Kangra) (Prime Minister of Nepal)
16. Khamba Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana
17. Harka Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana

Among the Shamsher factions, families of Chandra Shamsher and Juddha Shamsher were mostly A Class and later they removed all B and C Class Ranas from power in March 1934.[52]

One of daughter of Dhir Shumsher, Princess Khadga Divyeshwari Devi was married to Chautariya Lakshmi Narayan Shah of Salyan.[53] In Vikrama 1966, she received a house on inheritable Bakas-Birta tenure from King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Dev.[53]