Independence for India

KP Bhattarai obtained his B.A. from Banaras Hindu University and was active in student politics from nearly the age of 18. In 1942, he was taken into custody for three weeks because of direct participation in the Quit India Movement. He was also unanimously elected deputy president of the union of Nepali students at Banaras Hindu University.

Meanwhile, the movement to topple the Rana rule in Nepal was gaining ground. Some political and social organisations were established inside and outside of Nepal, despite the risk it carried. The Rana rule was well-supported by the British imperialists in India. Therefore, Nepali citizens in India actively took part in India’s freedom movement. They came in contact with famous Indian leaders like Mohandas Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lokmanya Tilak and Ram Manohar Lohia.  

The Nepali revolutionary leaders were greatly inspired by the Indian independence movement. They were against imperialism and tyranny in all forms all over the world. In this context, KP Bhattarai came into contact with BP Koirala, who remarked that the meeting was a matter of good luck for the task of introducing democracy to Nepal. The duo decided to help the Indian movement finish British rule and the Rana rule in Nepal one after another because they were inter-related and supported each other.

When India expelled the British in 1947, the Nepali people became more eager to introduce democracy to Nepal. As it was very difficult to organise a revolutionary political party inside Nepal, they used Indian territory to do so.

Founding the Nepali Congress

A political party, the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Rashtriya Congress, was thus formed under the chairmanship of Devi Prasad Sapkota in India. KP Bhattarai became the party’s general secretary. The party appealed to the Nepali people to be united against the Rana government. This appeal was covered by The Searchlight newspaper from Patna, among other media outlets. At the same time, DN Pradhan and Devrat Pariyar formed the Akhil Bhartiya Gorkha Congress. As the aim of both parties was the same, they were united on January 25-26, 1947 as the Nepali Rastriya Congress. KP Bhattarai was elected organisation secretary and also secretary of Kashi Sakha. The aim of the party was to establish a representative government in Nepal under the constitutional leadership of the king.

The Nepali Rastriya Congress made people more aware of their democratic rights. The working president of the party, BP Koirala, was invited to lead the labour strike at the Biratnagar cotton mills. The Rana government took severe action against the labour strike and arrested BP Koirala, along with some other leaders. The party’s remaining leaders assembled in Calcutta and demanded the release of the imprisoned. As there was no response from the government, the democratic movement began to spread far and wide. The popularity of the movement compelled Padma Shamsher to make constitutional reform on March 16, 1947.  

However, the democratic leaders didn’t believe Mohan Shamsher, then prime minister, would execute former PM Padma Shamsher’s declaration. After a meeting in Raxaul, BP Koirala, who had been released after a year in prison, along with Kedarman Byathit and KP Bhattarai, arrived secretly in Kathmandu from India travelling along an eastern mountain path to support the insurrection organised by the Praja Parishad. BP was arrested but KP fled in disguise as a hillside Brahmin by deceiving the police, thinking that it was impossible to foment a revolution from inside Nepal.

In August 1948, Suburna Shamsher and Mahabir Shamsher formed a party named the Nepali Prajatantra Congress, which had the aim of armed revolution. In April 1950, the parties were unified and renamed the Nepali Congress in Calcutta at the Bhawanipur conference, under the chairmanship of Matrika Prasad Koirala.

Commanding a rebellion

The Nepali Congress Party then mobilised the Mukti Sena to launch an armed revolution. King Tribhuvan took refuge in the Indian Embassy and in September 1950, an armed revolution was declared against the Rana government at the Bairganiya conference of the Congress. BP commanded the Mukti Sena in eastern Nepal and KP commanded the Mukti Sena unit that captured Udayapur on November 11, 1950 and seized Rs 17,000 along with some and some weapons. A temporary Congress government was formed there. Within a week, the Lahan tax office and some private property belonging to Mohan Shamsher was captured. Another sum of Rs 17,000 was also seized.

However, the local chief, Guman Singh, compelled the unit of Mukti Sena to retreat. But the unit gradually captured the whole belt of the Nepal Janakpur-Jayanagar railways and district Mahottari except for Jaleshwor. KP reformed roads and irrigation canals and also declared the unjust Tamasuk illegal. Thus, KP gained recognition as a successful leader, a tactful commander and a skilled reformer. On Falgun 7, 2007 BS (February 18, 1951), democracy was declared in Nepal.

A symbol of democracy

KP Bhattarrai became President of the Advisory Assembly in 1952. In the first Parliament, he was unanimously elected as the speaker. Later, he was put in prison for more than 14 years for his uncompromising stand against the Panchayat and king Mahendra’s direct rule. After the 1990 Janaandolan reestablished multi-party in Nepal, he became prime minister and was successful in facilitating the writing of a democratic constitution and holding parliamentary elections within a year. KP was elected prime minister for the second time in 1992. After the success of the second Janaandolan in 2006, he retired from active politics due to health concerns. He passed away on March 4, 2011 at the age of 86.

Now, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has a great opportunity to follow in KP’s footsteps by writing a new republican constitution. KP’s contributions to the struggle for freedom and democracy in Nepal are a grand legacy, which all of our current politicians must strive to emulate.

Dahal is Vice President of the Former MPs Forum