Bhimsen Thapa

Mukhtiyar and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837

Bhimsen Thapa Chhetri audio speaker iconlisten  (Nepali: भीमसेन थापा क्षेत्री; August 1775 – 5 August 1839) was the Mukhtiyar[note 1] (equal to prime minister) and real ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837.

Sri Mukhtiyar General Saheb

Bhimsen Thapa Chhetri
श्री मुख्तियार जर्नेल साहेब
भीमसेन थापा क्षेत्री
Bhimsen Thapa Chhetri, the Mukhtiyar (equal to Prime Minister) of Nepal from 1806 to 1837
Monarch[Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah Deva]
[Rajendra Bikram Shah]
Preceded by[Rana Bahadur Shah]
as Mukhtiyar
Succeeded byRana Jang Pande Chhetri
Commander-in-Chief
Preceded byDamodar Pande Chhetri
Succeeded byRana Jang Pande Chhetri
Personal details
Born(1775-08-00)August 1775
Pipal Thok village, [Gorkha district], Nepal
Died5 August 1839(1839-08-05) (aged 64)
Bhim-Mukteshowr, Kathmandu, Nepal
Spouse(s)Satya Rupa Gaha
RelationsNain Singh Thapa Chhetri (brother)
Ambika Devi Kunwar Chhetri (sister)
Bhaktabar Singh Thapa Chhetri (brother)
Ranabir Singh Thapa Chhetri (brother)
Balbhadra Kunwar Chhetri (nephew)
Queen Tripurasundari of Nepal (niece)
Ujir Singh Thapa Chhetri (nephew)
Mathabarsingh Thapa Chhetri (nephew)
Jung Bahadur Rana Chhetri (grand-nephew)
Ranodip Singh Kunwar Chhetri (grand-nephew)
Father[Amar Singh Thapa Chhetri (sardar)|Amar Singh Thapa Chhetri (sanu)].
Military service
Allegiance   Nepal
Branch/service[Nepal Army]
RankCommander-in-Chief
UnitPung Paltan
CommandsCommander-in-Chief
Battles/wars[Anglo-Nepalese War]

Bhimsen was appointed as Hajuriya (personal secretary) of King Rana Bahadur Shah in 1797. Bhimsen went together with Rana Bahadur Shah to Varanasi, India on 1800 after the King was forced by the general people to leave Nepal. In Varanasi, Bhimsen helped the former King Rana Bahadur to prepare for his return to power in 1804. Later, Rana Bahadur dismissed and ordered death penalty to the existing Nepalese mimisters on 1804. He made Bhimsen a kaji (equivalent to a minister) of the newly formed government in 1804. Rana Bahadur's murder by his step brother Sher Bahadur in 1806 allowed Bhimsen to kill ninety-three people as criminals. After that, he was given the title of the mukhtiyar (equivalent to prime minister).

He ordered various unification campaigns in the West to increase Nepalese boundary. Kangda, Kumaon and Gadhwal kingdom was won by Nepal in the battle. His second brother General Kaji Nain Singh Thapa Chhetri died in the battle. In 1811, he was made the Commander-in-Chief of Nepalese army for the first time. In November 1814, his father General Sanukaji Amar Singh Thapa died who was defending the His niece Queen Lalita Tripurasundari was the youngest wife of King Rana Bahadur Shah and the ruling Queen Mother. In 1814, he accepted the British India company challenge to start Anglo-Nepalese War. He lost the war but remained independent from British. He built the Dharahara (Bhimsen Tower), watertaps, ponds, pavements and many temples.

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Footnotes change

  1. The position of Mukhtiyar was nearly equal to a prime minister. The first Mukhtiyar to title himself as a prime minister, as per the British tradition, was Bhimsen's nephew, Mathabar Singh Thapa.[1]

Notes change

  1. Kandel 2011, p. 10.

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