The World’s Only Hindu King
King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was born on 28 December 1945 and was declared the Heir-Apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Nepal on 17 March 1970. The late King Birendra received his education at St. Joseph’s School in Darjeeling, India and went to Eton College in England. He also attended the University of Tokyo and Harvard University. He married Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and they had two sons, Nirajan and Dipendra and one young daughter named Shruti.
King Birendra was extremely popular and loved in his country. He ruled Nepal absolutely for 18 years (from 1972-1990) and justified all of his political decisions by asserting that the poor people of Nepal could not afford a multi-party democracy but instead needed a firm and decisive government. However, the People’s Movement of 1990 forced Birendra to lift the ban on political parties and hand over sovereignty to the people of Nepal. After Birendra accepted the country’s new constitution, he was forced to recognize the supremacy of the parliament. He remained as the country’s head of state but gave most of his powers to a council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Not only did the King successfully reverse his father’s legacy of an absolute monarchy but he also accepted his reduced powers with enough civility to endear him to the people.
On 1 June 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on
his entire family and killed King Birendra, his mother, two siblings,
Birendra’s
brother Dhirendra, and four other relatives before killing himself. Birendra’s
other brother, Gyanendra did not attend the fatal dinner and was crowned
as Nepal’s new King three days later.
Crown Prince Dipendra stands in the middle of this family portrait
Created by Lauren Wessler for Mount Holyoke College
Last Updated May 12, 2005