Jung Bahadur Rana : Letters and Handwritings
Jung Bahadur Rana Handwriting
Jung Bahadur Rana :Illiterate Rumor
Jung Bahadur Rana, Among the prime ministers of Nepal, Jung Bahadur Rana ruled for a long time. He made ‘Shri 5’ the deity of Khopa by wearing the crown of ‘Shri 3’. The worldly rule he started ended at the age of 104. Among the works done by Jung Bahadur, it has been memorable and important to please the British and return them to the new country (Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur) in Nepal. Historian Purushottam Shamsher Jabra identified Jang Bahadur as a person who could not read or write.
Jung Bahadur Rana, in his book ‘Facts of His Majesty’ (2065: 6), mentions that Jung Bahadur Rana Dhakre (unemployed) went abroad to take a job and took refuge in Pandit Amar Raj Pandey. But he could not read well. He could not even speak English in Hindi, that is, he was a illiterate.
After the death of his eldest wife, when he went to ask his sister-in-law Siddhigajendra Laxmi for help, his father-in-law reprimanded him and sent him away saying, “There is no trade, no job, no literacy.” Jung Bahadur Rana lost his job twice and became unemployed. Ganga Kharel’s article ‘A Note on the Biography and Works of Jang Bahadur Rana’ published in Sinas Journal’s (January 1999: 163-170) mentions that he lost his job in 1892 and 96 and became unemployed.
Jung Bahadur’s Audacity And Bravery
Jung Bahadur was of extraordinary ability. Even daring. Also cunning and far-sighted for his own selfishness. Jung Bahadur Rana shot dead his own uncle, the then Prime Minister Mathwar Singh Thapa. It can be read in Jabra’s ‘Facts of His Majesty’ (2065: 18-19) that Mathwar Singh Thapa made Mahasankaha Yuvaraj Surendra’s bodyguard with the intention of persecuting Jung Bahadur.
Mathwar Singh transferred Kazi Jung Bahadur to the post of Yuvaraj’s bodyguard ‘Kaptani’ again on the written order of Yuvaraj Surendra through various tricks and deceptions.
After becoming the bodyguard of Yuvaraj Surendra, Jung Bahadur had to pay many rupees. Surendra was so skeptical that he took his queens to Bagmati to play in the river. One of the queens died of a cold. He used to cut some of them with a knife and throw some of them into a well.
One day, Surendra also threw Jung Bahadur into the dug well of Lagantol. But after a while, he came down from the well. Surendra made him jump from the trident four times. Asked to take a horse from Sanghu. When the horse reached halfway through the saddle, he was asked to return from there. After Jang Bahadur succeeded in bringing back the horse from the small shallow shack that was also shaken and had no flakes in the middle, Surendra again gave him the post of Qazi.
According to ‘Ancient Nepal’ (same), one day, a newly captured drunken elephant, with the help of Mad, escaped from Khasali Hattisar and headed towards Indrachok. He started destroying shops and houses. The news reached the king. Jung Bahadur was ready when the king ordered him to seize the elephants. He climbed over the house of a shopkeeper in Indrachowk, jumped on the back of an elephant, took control of the elephant with great haste, and got the applause from the king.
When the leopard entered the house of a Newar in Jong Bahadur Jhonche Tol, he went alone to catch the leopard by the king’s order. Many tricks and ingenuity were used to control the leopard.
Due to such courage and bravery, cunning and intelligence, Jung Bahadur succeeded in becoming the lone dictator for a long time as the Prime Minister of his time.
Jung Bahadur Was Not illiterate
Jung Bahadur Rana was not a illiterate as mentioned by historian Jabra. There is evidence to support this. The proclamation issued in June 1922, compiled by historian and former administrator Bhagiraj Ingnam, has Jang Bahadur’s signature. Along with the signature, he has also given additional orders in his own signature for the implementation of the related issue.
Kumbhavati Limbuni of Pallo Kirat has also issued a personal order in addition to the order of the Prime Minister on the left side of the advertisement on the complaint filed by her husband Vajan Singh Limbu regarding the dispute over the farm since 1902 BS.
It is written in the print of the Prime Minister.
Features of his Handwritings
Jang Bahadur had written a sermon at Kankeshwari with the then powerful General Gagan Singh, who had a very close relationship with the youngest queen of the then King Rajendra Bikram Shah. Historian Gyanmani Nepal’s book ‘Mahabharat of Nepal’ (2052: 225) deals with the practice of Dharmapatra. Commenting on the letter, Nepal said, “It is signed by Jung Bahadur. The letters are as big and cursive as Learner’s ”
Moreover, Kamal Dixit in his book ‘Jung-Gita’ (2040: 3) has subtly examined the characteristic of Jung Bahadur’s letter. He wrote, “Letters like the head of a sparrow. Vichara did not know how to write a pair of letters. He is working by cutting his legs without knowing how to write half a letter – yes, chick, relative. The people who wrote this letter from UK to Nepali are Nepali. It is very difficult for Jung Bahadur to write in Nepali. Jung Bahadur did not have time to spell. A, H, H, Mr. has to work very hard to write.
But even though he was weak in reading and writing, Jang Bahadur’s mind worked. He used this ability to thwart the big conspiracies against him. He succeeded in all the conspiracies he devised.
