'Together, Let's Steer Nepal Ahead on Prithvipath'

Scholars and political leaders have stressed the need to steer Nepal ahead on Prithvipath, the pathway of the late King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who reunified Nepal fragmented in several princely states at a time when the British empire was expanding its footprint.

Addressing a seminar on Prithvipath in Kathmandu on Friday, former chair of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Finance Minister, Prakash Chandra Lohani (PhD), said, “That was the time when the nation-state theory was not born. Even at that time, Prithvi Narayan Shah brought people together with a collective feeling of nationality. In the spirit of inclusiveness, he inculcated the feeling among people of different ethnic, religious, cultural and sectoral backgrounds that this nation belongs to us all.


He implemented the concept of the supremacy of the people, that was another significant contribution, Lohani noted. 

Giving an example, Lohani said: King Prithvi wanted Viraj Bakheti to be his chief nobleman, but appointed Kalu Pande in the key post as public opinion was in favor of Pande.  

The late king brought the nation and the state closer and locally led all sections together for a common cause, Lohani recalled: He steered politics and administration, security, economy, culture and foreign relations as indispensable parts of statecraft.

Sagun Sunder Lawoti, spokesperson for the RPP and sociologist, said: The nation is not only land, rather it is collective of religions, cultures, languages and ethnicities.  

Lawoti said: Built on these foundation stones, Nepal remained even after Prithvi Narayan Shah’s demise, despite several challenges, ups and downs. 
On the basis of a two-pillar framework (war and diplomacy, Nepali society came into being. Prithvi Narayan Shah relied not only on the military might, but also strived constantly to win peoples’ hearts to take his unification campaign to its logical conclusion. And he created a Nepali society based on co-existence.

Dipak Gyawali, a former minister for water resources and engineer, said: The Malla kings of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur divided their kingdoms among their sons. Even Napoleon divided different countries of Europe among his brothers. On the contrary, after the success of the unification campaign, Prithvi Narayan Shah did not divide Nepal among his brethren, he kept Nepal indivisible. 

That was something that no one had done at that time, Gyawali noted: Prithvi Narayan Shah called all peoples to adhere to their faiths, their traditions, their belief systems and religious-spiritual heritages handed down through generations. 
 

He instituted a practice where people were free to adhere to their traditional belief systems and customs. Prithvi Narayn Shah formed an army, which was a new thing at that time.

Professor Surendra KC (PhD) said Prithvi Narayan Shah was far more successful and practice than the current crop of rulers.

He pointed out that people are leaving the country in droves losing all hope because our political masters holding key government positions have not even completed school education.

At the seminar held under Samriddhi Rana, coordinator of Rastrawadi Matrishakti, former lawmaker Ganga Chaudhary and Bebisa Bhandari also highlighted the contributions of King Prithvi Narayan Shah.