Singha Durbar: Rise and Fall of the Rana Regime of Nepal

My husband has read it and said that this books is awesome and the author has done a ton of research and all his work is cited. I am also planning to read it soon

This 426 page history of the rise and fall of the Rana dynasty in Nepal is a great read and provides much insightful accounts about the period. The author, Sagar Rana, relies on published sources, unpublished manuscripts, interviews with still living participants and also family accounts to weave a great narrative. The writing is by and large balanced and fair. Nearly as much space is devoted to the fall of the dynasty as to it's rise.Sagar starts out correctly with the rise of Prithvi Narayana Shah and relates the circumstances that led to Jang Bahadur Rana's seizure of power. He then goes through the history of each of the Rana prime ministers. He relates the circumstances of each period, including those that led to the fall of the dynasty. The internal dynamics of the large and divided Rana clan are often highlighted. There is also very good coverage of the independence movement, with interviews with many of the chief participants. Indeed the book is dedicated to B.P. Koirala. The story is not confined to Kathmandu either, unlike most histories of Nepal. What was going on in Palpa, Biratnagar, Calcutta, and Benares are brought into play.The writer, a scion of the Chandra Sumshere line, tends to cast a favorable eye on his own direct forbears. For instance, Baber Sumshere, a feared hardliner with a volcanic temper is painted as a closet liberal. General Mrigendra, a hard edged censor for the Ranas turns out to be a secret writer of salacious novels that could not be published.To a modern reader several things stand out:1. The vaunted school boy history of a Nepal that stood free and independent whilst the rest of South Asia fell under British rule is a bit of a fake. The Ranas, throughout their century long regime spent a great deal of time and effort and the blood of the poor cultivating the British. Jang Bahadur, embarrassingly helped put down harshly the first war of Indian independence. As a bonus his family picked up a good deal of loot from the rulers of Bihar, including the great number of jewels and precious stones the Ranas were known for. 200,000 Gorkhas were sent to be slaughtered in the two World Wars. Could the same policy aims have been accomplished with a far smaller contribution? Were the British paying the Ranas for the Gorkhas who enisted or for the right to recruit Gorkhas. A 2017 historical Hindi film, “The Black Prince”, shows how much emoluments were a tool of the British Raj in managing Indian royals.2. Why are there so many books about the Ranas and so very little about the 240 year long Shah dynasty?Certainly over the century long period of the Rana dynasty there was nothing there of the Shah dynasty--a blank slate with not even a marginal figure that stood out. And as one writer notes the 70 years between Prithvi Narayan Shah and Jang Bahadur Rana were filled with underage, inept or insane Shah kings.3. It is apparent in the light of history that Kings Tribhuwan and especially Mahendra were not interested in the great democratic movement sweeping India. They merely intended to replace one feudal autocracy with another, albeit one more adjusted to the times. Their background and education and foreign travels or the lack of such would not have led one to expect anything more. Just ten years later the principals involved in fighting Rana autocracy were fighting Mahendra’s autocracy. And this continued on and off for nearly a half century. Poor Nepal which for 240 years put up with the yoke of two such sorry dynasties.The book needs a good edit. There are errors of syntax and fact throughout the book. But all in all a very creditable effort, that I would recommend to readers.

Fascinating and superb work of history! The author needs to publish the remaining materials in a second book! I saw in an youtube interview that this book is actually an abridged version. Sagar Rana had a front-row seat to the declining years of the dictatorial Rana regime in Nepal. This masterpiece of a book lucidly outlines the Ranarchy and the eventual transition to democracy in 1951. Although the author's grandfather Baber Rana was the next in line to inherit the premiership, his generation of the family had democratic bent and supported the people's movement. The author has not tweaked or whitewashed any facts despite his family being the enemy number one in the reader's eyes, at least that's my impression. I hope Sagar Rana keeps writing, he is really good at it! More then courtiers and Rana family members with such first-hand accounts should add to the historiography on the dark Ranarchy. - Fellow Nepali, Rhode Island, United States

Das Buch in sich hat einpaar Schriftfehler. Englisch von Autor ist sehr schwierig am Anfang zu folgen. Hat viel Motivation gebraucht, bis ich gewöhnt war, ihn zu folgen.Er hat mehr Stolz auf seine Familie gezeigt und versucht mit sehr dune Punkte sie zu beweisen.Fakten sind von meinem Wissen sehr gut dokumentiert.Aber wo möglich er hat gezeigt er mehr KONGRESS und Rana als ein Nepalese.Dazu hat er feindliche Gefühlen gegen die echte Könige von Nepal geäußert, und politische Vorwürfe gemacht, aber wieder ohne genügenden Beweisen.

As a casual student of Indian history, this book made me realise how important it is to read up on Nepalese history. There are interesting glimpses into ancient ruling dynasties that branched North from India. and there's more on medieval times and the genesis of the Shah dynasty. The focus of the book is the SIngha Durbar and Rana rule - and it's a fascinating story - blood, sex, war, wealth - phew! what a story. And it's authentic coming from an educated informed Rana family writer. It's not partisan pro rana. worth it.

A rich collection of information.

A very good read for any body wanting to know about the Rana regime.

Great read.