Nepali historian and writer Chittaranjan Nepali passed away on Monday. He was 92.

Nepali, the former Chancellor of the Nepal Bhasa Academy, died while undergoing treatment at the Chabahil-based Om Hospital.

The biographical books written by Nepali, the first recipient of the famed Madan Puraskar, on Bhimsen Thapa and Rana Bahadur Shah, are popular among Nepali readers. Nepali, whose real name was Narayan Prasad Rajbhandari, was the first to write about these two major characters of Nepali history and it is believed that further study about them started only after that.

He received the first-ever Madan Puraskar in 1956 for ‘General Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal’, a biographical book on the life of Thapa who is considered to be Nepal’s first prime minister.

Nepali, who also extensively studied Nepal’s foreign relations, has written a book about the Nepal-China border treaty as well. Similarly, he also authored some books in Nepal Bhasa.

“Chittaranjan Nepali has an unparalleled contribution to historical writing in Nepal. His books about Bhimsen Thapa and Rana Bahadur Shah hold high significance,” said historian Shankar Thapa.

Chittaranjan also contributed equally to Nepal Bhasa literature. Especially as Chancellor of Nepal Bhasha Academy, he did a lot for the language and the literature, said journalist Suresh Manandhar.

Nepali, who worked as a member of Nepal Academy, was also a former election commissioner.