DHARMA RATNA YAMI
By
Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan
DHARMA RATNA YAMI
( A Political Crusader of Today’s Nepal)
Publisher of Original Hindi Version
Shankarbahadur K C
Kamal Pokhari ,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Writer
Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan
First Edition : 1954
Second Edition : 1963
Statement by the Publisher
I am publishing for the readers a biography of Yamiji written by the Famous Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan. Rahulji had written three articles titled “Nepali Leader Dharmaratna Yami” in three consecutive editions of a monthly magazine published from new Delhi in 1954 (May, June & July), by the “New Delhi Sasta Sahitya Mandal”. These articles have been combined in a book form, which gives an inside view into the life of Yamiji, and also a commentary of the political happenings in Nepal from Bikram Sanvat BS 1995 onwards.I got introduced to Yamiji not only through this book, but had the privilege of spending seven months in Jail with him in the year BS 2006.On reading this book you will realise that Yamiji moved forward by overcoming extremely tough situations & challenges. I hope that future nation servants will get Inspiration and Energy by reading this book. We are very happy to bring out the second edition today.
Shankarbahadur K C
Kamal Pokhri
10 th July, 1963.
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English Translation
I came in contact with Mrs Timila Yami, d/o of Dhamaratna Yami, on the Social Media Alumni group of the Engineering Institute where she studied , quite a few years prior to I did. She being a regular blogger and writer, I began reading her articles. Recently in February this year (2025) she posted some extracts of this book by Rahulji. We had some interaction, and then the need to translate this book from Hindi to English surfaced. I offered to do this, to which she reluctantly agreed. While translating the book, I have kept the language, tone and the tense of Rahulji intact in the English version, and resisted the temptation to smoothen the English language. This is to ensure that the originality of the book is maintained. I hope this translation will be beneficial for all those not proficient in Hindi.
Alok Kumar
May 28 th , 2025. Gujarat, India.
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DHARMARATNA YAMI
( A Political Crusader of Today’s Nepal)
Dharmaratna’s grandfather Ratnadas was a well known businessman in the Capital of Nepal He was also the Royal businessman of the Rana Tanashah Chandrashamsher for 29 years. He was handling all the procurement of goods for the Rana, which carried a sense of pride but also the risk of making losses at times.
Once Ratnadas procured Misri (rock sugar) for the Rana in very high quantity where he had six times profit. The jealous persons in the Rana’s circle complained and Rana questioned him on this. Ratnadas told the Rana that at times he also makes losses. However due to Ratnadas’s uprightness, the jealous persons in Rana’s circle complained incessantly and made the Rana go against Ratnadas. The Rana was a very cunning & sly dictator and he never attacked directly but always in an opaque or hidden manner. Once when Ratnadas incurred a loss of Rs Sixty Thousand in a deal for the Rana, the Rana ordered him to immediately deposit the amount. Ratnadas borrowed money from his relative Ghorasha Sahu, and deposited the amount, and also left the government contract. Ratnadas now ventured into a new business area of making shoes by investing fifteen thousand. The demand grew and this business took off nicely. In the meanwhile the Rana had given his contract to someone else, but the person was not able to handle the work properly. Rana met Ratnadas one day and started talking sweet and took him to his Palace – Singh Mahal, where he said that he wanted to give him the contract again. But fate had something different in store for Ratnadas before his death in 1922, Ghorasha Sahu’s daughter was married to Ratnadas’s daughter, but a businessman is never a friend of anyone !! Ghorasha started insisting for return of his loan, and when Ratnadas was unable to return, he took over Ratnadas’s house and locked it. Ratnadas’s son in law Mandas was also fighting with him which Yamiji remembers even today. Owing to these setbacks and shocks Ratnadas passed away within two months. These
unfortunate events made all the four sons of Ratnadas, viz Asharatna, Bhavaniratna, Mandas and Harshadas, like beggars on the Road. Ratnadas owned a big mansion in Lhasa, Tibet, and the family could have got shelter and support there. However his eldest son Asharatna was a big impediment to this as he wasted everything on alcohol and had become alcoholic. The second son Bhavaniratna was no help either to overcome these circumstances, He had kept a mistress from another community and used to splurge his father’s money on her, and ignored his wife, ie Dharmaratna’s mother. She used to live in her father’s home to take care of her sons in the hope of making things better for them. After coming on the road, Bhavaniratna still had some Newari business instincts and he started a shop to sell Pulses and Rice, but he was not successful as he never learnt to control
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his expenses. Both the younger brother Harshadas and Mandas went to Tibet as they did not see any hope of continuing living in Nepal. Bhavaniratna also decided to try his luck somewhere else, and he asked his wife to part with her jewellery. She did not give her jewellery very well knowing that he will give it to his mistress. Bhavaniratna somehow managed to reach Kalimpong and started work related to bicycles, but it did not work out. He went to Darjeeling and started a shop for Caps and Cycles, but he was not successful here also. At this time he got introduced to Dharmaman Sahu, a big business house owner in Nepal. Sahu employed him and sent him to his Shop in Farijong in Tibet. Though Bhavaniratna was very extravagant in spending money, he was very honest and hardworking too. After some time Sahu transferred him to his Lhasa mansion where he worked for eleven years till 1934. Dharmaratna was staying with her mother , where they led a life of hunger and deprivation, these were the first lessons for him in his childhood. When he was eight years he was sent to study in the Government Sanskrit School but this did not progress much beyond learning letters.
Dharmaratna’s family though extremely poor still had the lineage of well known distinguished business families, so they used to get some help from relatives at times. Dharmaratna’s maternal grandmother had passed away, but his step grandmother had sympathy with him and his mother, and kept him with her for sometime. She also asked one of her nephews to teach him. This also did not last very long as she could not bear the expenses. She thought it will be better if the boy starts working and earns something for himself.
Dharmaratna was sent to a Coppersmith shop where he used to operate the manual blower for a salary of Rupees Five per month. He worked there for three years. Owing to some mutual difference of opinion between two sects of Buddhists, he lost the job, as his employer and he sided with the opposing parties. Now Dharmaratna was again left unemployed.
A person named Lakshmiprasad Khardar employed the unemployed teenager on a salary of three Rupees per month where he worked for one year making Cloth shoes. Dharmaratna met an old employee of his grandfather and told him his story. This person gave him a contract to make shoes and made Rupees Thirty Five in the first month itself. This work started doing well, and he used to send Rs 6 per month to his step grandmother also. At the end of the first year of his contract he had saved Rupees One Hundred Fifty Five.
Dharmaratna’s life had sort of stabilised now. Suddenly the market was flooded with cheap Japanese Cloth shoes, with this development no one was ready to buy expensive hand made cloth shoes. The factory closed down, and the Seventeen year old Dharmaratna was again left a beggar on the roads. His step grandmother was pressurising him to get married but fortunately for him he did not agree to this. For around six months after losing the Shoe making job, he worked as a brokerage agent in Bhotahiti with the help of a friend. His younger uncle Harshadas was a
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senior writer in Mohan Shamsher’s place, but he could also not help Ratnadas, as he was hardly educated. Harshadas suggested Ratnadas to go to his father in Lhasa, but his grandmother and mother did not agree to this as they were not sure if the father will behave properly with him.They were also worried that there could be perils on the dangerous route to Lhasa also leading to new emergencies for Ratnadas. However Ratnadas
had a family lineage of Businessmen who worked and did business in Foreign lands and displayed a penchant for adventurous travels. Thus one day he stole the same Rupees One hundred & twenty one from his grandmother which he had given her earlier, and ran away from home.
He struggled for one & half months but did not succeed in getting any work, and in the process spent all the money also. He was even ready to take admission in Missionary Industrial school, but elder son of Dharmaman Sahu, Triratraman Sahu promised to give him work in his Lhasa mansion, and also gave him Rupees Seventy Five towards travel & expenses.
Dharmaratna first travelled to Tibet arund one year before my second travel to Tibet. Within six to seven months Dharmaratna learnt to speak Tibetian which was very necessary and also easy for him, as there was no other alternative for communication in Tibet. In a short time, the owner made him in charge of his shop in Farijong.
Now Dharmaratna was a trusted employee of Chhushinsa , the mansion of Dharmaman Sahu. He stayed in Farijong and Lhasa as per the needs. This is a story of Winters of 1934. Nepali businessmen faced a problem of sending money to India and getting goods from there. Around five to six days of travel from Lhasa, they were fortunate to have an Indian Post & Telegraph Office at Gyanchi. They managed to send their Cash & Expensive Goods to their Kolkatta & Kalimpong mansions from this post office. Dharmaratna started in the winter carrying One Lakh in cash, Gold worth Thirty Five Thousand, and Kasturi (Deer Musk)
worth Twenty Thousand from Lhasa towards Gyanchi. The author of this story had got to know the bloody arrogance of the Mule handler Sonam Gyanje who worked for the Sahu’s, that year when the Mule handler picked up his sword ! Dharmaratna reached Nagarche camp and stayed at the place of his Newari brother with him. Sonam never though of himself as an employee but as an uncrowned king. He scolded Dharmaratna and then took out a knife after punching him. Dharmaratna ran to the roof for taking shelter. Local persons thought that Sonam is overcome by influence of evil spirits and started treating him to remove those influences ! The house owner explained to Dharmaratna that there was no need to worry now, as the influence of evil spirits has been removed. However Dharmaratna was not convinced that the spirits will not return through the remaining three days of travel. He made Sonam travel in front of him, carrying a pistol with him all the time.
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From 1933 Dharmaratna was an employee of Chhushinsa like his father was. At one time Chhushinsa was the largest Mansion of Lhasa, but now the time had started to change for the worse. Dharmaman Sahu was a very Religious and Charitable person, but now in his old age he did not have the strength to think longer term. In addition to his regular charity donations, he took out seventy five thousand for making Vihars and Stupas in Nepal. Meanwhile in the branch opened in Laddakh, there was a loss of twenty five to thirty thousand owing to the negligence of the employees. Business was also not doing well as earlier, hence employees were not getting paid their salaries. Dharmaratna advised his colleagues to go on a strike and he himself left the job. While living in Lhasa, Dharmaratna used to visit the Chinese office there and in the process learnt quite a bit of Chinese also. After a week’s strike an agreement was reached with the owners. The owners were providing for expenses related to food and clothing, but the salary related aspects were to
be decided. The yearly salaries were fixed as follows :- his father Bhavaniratna at eight hundred, Dhirendravrij at five hundred and other employees at three hundred & sixty rupees. Bhavaniratna did not like nor approved Dharmaratna’s behaviour & attitude towards the owners, as he was a traditional gentleman who considered loyalty to his owner even more important than his life. He was worried on this count. Around seven months after this when he received the news of Dharmaratna’s mother’s passing away he felt bad and remorseful on his own actions. He could not sleep for two to three days. Dharmaratna tried to console his father and it was mutually decided that when they receive their due money, they will return to Nepal. One day Dhrmaratna had gone to the market to get some wheat fluor , when he received news that his father had shot himself dead in the basement .By the time son reached the father’s body had become cold.
The owner’s competitors tried to provoke Dharmaratna, and also the people in Nepalese embassy tried to incite him on this issue, but Dharmaratna had only one reply – that he will not trouble the owners for the tragic death of his father. Maahila Sahu (Bhavaniratna) had left three letters below the box containing the money. He wrote to the Nepalese ambassador – “ I am committing suicide om my own free will , I tried other methods like licking Diamond, and drinking Opium in Mustard Oil, now I am ending my life with the pistol bullet. No one else is responsible for this. To his brother and son he wrote that because of his own worthlessness he couldn’t do anything for them.
Dharmaratna unlike other Nepalese people was not satisfied in only speaking the Tibetian language, but made efforts tried to master it. One of the reasons was his love with a Tibetian young girl. She was in love with Dharmaratna, but could not bring herself to marry him, owning to the long history of entrenchment between Newar and Tibet. Dharmaratna wrote many poems on his Tibetan sweetheart, and in his second jail term he even wrote a long episodic poem titled “Tibet’s Answer” . Now Dharmaratna’s mind was awakened and he knew that no Tibetian girl will give her heart to a Newari when she knows that her would be Son will be a Nepali Deceitful ! He will remain stigmatized for life and will not be eligible
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for anything from his father’s property; and her would be Daughter will be called a neglected citizen of Tbetan government.
Prior to this there was another significant event in which gave a new turn to Dharmaratna’s life journey. One of the Chittagong’s revolutionary’s Annadanand Parivrajak after running away from India, managed to reach Lhasa. Dharmaratna got the opportunity to spend time with him. Parivrajak was able to convince and appeal to Dhrmaratna’s conscience that Nepalese people have to be pulled out from the insulting status of manual load carriers & soldiers, and for that obtaining freedom from the Rana’s rule was necessary. Another
positive outcome of Dharmaratna’s interactions with Parivrajak was that he started reading Political books in Hindi. He used to search whatever Hindi newspapers & books available in Lhasa and read them. If was difficult initially , but seeing the zeal in Dharmaratna’s heart, he taught and helped him in learning Hindi.
While he was in Lhasa, Dharmaratna’s independent intellect also helped him to maintain contact with Tibetian Pandits on one hand, and also be in touch with the Chinese officers. Owing to his contact with the Tibetian Muslims, he used to listen to their thoughts too. Nepalese Bhudhhists & Hindus used to maintain distance with Muslims, but Machala (Dharmaratna ) did not believe in this approach. The muslims observing this thought that Machala has turned into a Muslim in his heart and thoughts, but they wanted to reinforce this by asking him to marry a Muslim girl ! One day two senior Muslims asked Machala that now you have studied all religions, which religion do you like the best. When Machala replied that he very much liked the Brotherhood aspect of Muslims. On hearing this they asked him to pray to Allah, but Dharmaratna was not in favour of praying to anyone . The two Muslims seniors retuned disappointed !
Dharmaratna returned to Nepal in 1937 or 38, with Rs 800 of his own, and Rs 2500 of his father. He invested Rupees Three Thousand in a Shoe shop, but soon he had some conflict with the house owner who turned him out. This incident caused a feeling of detachment with world in his mind. He left the town with Ten rupees and half tola of gold. He reached Trishuli and started dressing like a Sadhu. He then went to Betravati. The route was difficult, and the Rainy season was dangerous. Around five to six hours before he could reach, a massive landslide had buried a few villages under the mountain, and quite a few persons had got carried away by the floods in the river ! However Dharmaratna was not worried due to these , and he reached the Lama of Mainchhen Gunwa. He stayed there for one & a half months and learnt Hathayoga poses and techniques. He also taught the children there. However he did not find satisfaction in this, and returned to Kathmandu. He now decided to enter Politics.
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Dharmaratna now joined Shukraraj Shastri, Muralidhar Sharma, Kedarman Vyathhit, & Gangalal to spread Political awareness among the people. Around this time Political campaigns started in the guise of organizing Religious gatherings (ie Dharmakathas) .Dharmaratna also felt the need to establish contact outside the country. He reached Palpa in western Nepal and tried to spread political awareness among the Youth there. At this time he met an ex officer of the Spy department, who had been stripped of his job. His name was Tegbahadur Malla, and he claimed himself to be a sworn enemy of the Rana’s rule now. He advised Dharmaratna to visit Rambriksh Benipury in Patna towards this goal, and also helped him with some money.
Dharmaratna reached India, and he first stayed in Sarnath for some time. Around this time Shukraraj Shastri got arrested in Nepal. Muralidhar Sharma came and met him in Sarnath. Both started planning for the further actions required for the movement. The first task they decided was to meet Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Dharmaratna presented to Nehru a grand greeting alongwith the story of Nepalese peoples’ struggles and misery. He also expressed his wish to brief Nehru on the current status of Nepal. Nehru took him to Anand Bhavan in Prayag alongwith himself. There he shared in detail the conditions in Nepal, on which Nehru said “Do something” . Dharmaratna told him that under the strict dictatorial rule of Rana, it was very difficult to do anything. On this Nehru scolded him, on which Dharmaratna told Nehru that if we were in a position to do something, we would not have approached you.
After this Dharmaratna reached Patna and met the editor of “Janata” , Benipury. Benipury supported his enthusiasm and motivated him, and suggested that he should bring some ten to twenty people and come to Tripuri Congress (1939). Dharmaratna gave statement to newspapers that “Nepalese Youth are not quiet, and we ourselves are going to Tripuri . However when he requested the Nepali youth in Kolkatta, no one agreed due to the fear of Rana ! He then reached Kalimpong and for three months he tried organizing the youth and
lecturing them. Politics had made Dharmaratna into a good Orator. At that time twenty youth agreed to work in the Prajaparishad (council of the people) , but still he could not garner enough persons to accompany him to Tripuri . For those who agreed, he could not collect adequate funds for them . Dharmaratna expressed his despair to Benipury !
Round 100 years ago when the Jangbahadur through many bloody actions took over the ancestral role of Prime Minister, the role of various kings including the present Dhiraj dynasty been rendered only ceremonial. However the Dhiraj dynasty did not tolerate this oppression of the Rana dynasty quietly. They and their followers wished the power to come into their hands again. The present king Tribhuvan though spending his life under a permanent house arrest, longed for independence in his heart. He was receiving a pension of less than One Lakh rupees for his whole familiy, but when the Praja Parishad decided to fight against the Rana’s dictatorship, and contacted the king, he helped them with money. Political organizations are short of funds, especially those who are active sympathisers with
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the oppressed people. At the same time receiving easy money in good amount is also a problem for these political organizations, as it initiates greed amongst the members. Owing to this, an internal conflict arose in the Praja parishad, and the king stopped giving money. Six months before this a conspiracy was attempted in the palace of the Dhiraj (Narayanhity) against the Rana’s dictatorship. The plan was to declare that the Queen is not well, and periodically keep informing of her condition getting worse, and then declare her condition as critical and call the prime minister to the palace,and then make him unconscious by chloroform or shoot him. After this it will be declared that Tribhuvan is now the king in power. However it was not possible to keep such secrets in the palace full of prime ministers’ spies ! The prime minister did not come to the palace when called. After two hours his eldest son Bahadurshamsher came and scolded the king, and the conspiracy died
its natural death. Sometime before this in a first in Nepal’s history, Shukraraj Shastri read the Gita in a public discourse, where Gangalal also participated. Both were arrested , however Gangalal’s father apologised to Padmashamsher and got his son released. Gangalal did not agree with this and was unhappy. Around this time Dharmaratna organised the marriage of his only younger brother. On this occasion in the gathering a Newari national song was presented which criticised the weak leaders in the country. Gangalal assumed it to
be a sarcasm on himself and immediately stood up and expressed his emotions in a verse :- “ Jaita Netadi Sable Marnu Saja Sabeko Hun Veer Nepal ka Veer Putra ….. Desh Ko Nimitt Chitama Purunu Taiyaar “ .The people were surprised at this, and when the 22 year old Gangalal left, the music gathering got over.
Five days after this music gathering, a pamphlet was taken out calling for total destruction of the Rana’s dictatorship by an armed struggle. Dharmaratna had invested a large sum of Seventy rupees, and opened a shop for selling soap, which had become a meeting point for patriotic youth and students. Tegbahadur Mall after getting sacked from the Spy department had helped Dharmaratna in all aspects. Now he was rehabilitated in his government job. In a meeting held of all intelligence officers in Singh Darbar, the prime
minister’s palace, Tegbahadur shared that the Soap shop owner was the main person involved in this, and he should be either bribed or pressurised to stop these activities. The Rana’s team members had their own secret agents apart from the government intelligence department, as they always sensed some danger for themselves. When the eldest son of prime minister Bahadurshamsher was told about this conspiracy, he remarked sarcastically and said “ why do they want to kill my aged father ?? The real power is in the hands of
Chandrashamshers’s sons, why do they not go after them ?
The brother of Martyr Shukraraj Shastri had now become as informer of the Rana’s which helped them to know about certain aspects of the Praja parishad’s activities. A meeting was held of the officers of influential families of Ranas, Thapas, & Basnets , where they requested the prime minister to give permission for using force, which will enable them to
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get all the secrets out by physically torturing all the suspects. Hearing all these news & rumours every day, the aged Yudhashamsher had become very scared, and hence he agreed for this. Muralidhar Sharma was one of the leading persons of the Praja parishad, staying in Benaras and working from there. The Rana called him on some pretext, and as soon as he reached Mimfedi. he was handcuffed and jailed. He could not resist the torture / bribing and he shared the name of eighty eight members. A few days after festival of Vijayadashami, the police started cordoning off localities after localities and started arresting these members. Owing to some writing error, Jyotiratna was arrested in place of Dharmatna, but when he wanted to run away, he was also arrested after two days.
In the Jail, experience of Dharmaratna was more or less similar to what fellow activists underwent. Among the arrested Dharmaratna’s serial number was Fifty One. The arrested persons were kept separately from each other. Everyone was guarded round the clock. To make the arrested persons confess their crimes, a school was chosen at nigh time. The prisoners were taken there one by one.
Dharmaratna was told that you have opened a broadcasting station for the Praja Parishad, in the guise of the soap shop. Dharmaratna by this time had come to know that Muralidhar had passed on all the details. Dharmaratna was very angry at the betrayal by Muralidhar. When Muralidhar was brough along for his questioning , Dharmaratna said, that remove Muralidhar from here, and then I will give my statement. The officers removed Muralidhar and asked Dharmaratna to share everything . To this Dharmaratna responded that he will write his statement himself. The officials were happy and provided him with paper, pen and ink. Dharmaratna was supposed to write everything he had heard, so he started writing his full life story, except his political experience. The officers were very happy even before reading the statement.
Next day after reading his statement the Colonel in Charge became angry and started abusing Dharmaratna. Dharmaratna now started crying and acted like a poor Newari person, saying “I am a poor person’s son, trying to make my living by selling soap, and as per your request I have written everything I know and have heard. “
Like other prisoners, arrangements were made for Dharmaratna also to give electrical shocks. The canes & bamboos were also kept ready. Many temptations were offered. It was no secret that this method to straighten out the prisoners was learnt by the Rana’s from the Britisher’s Kolkatta special branch. For fifteen days Dharmaratna was tortured. As he was very lean & thin, and did not keep very well, the officers were afraid that he may die if they continued further torture. Still they did not want to leave him without torture. Dharmaratna
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told them “okay, I will share everything tomorrow in full detail “. That whole night Dharmaratna spent thinking and then reached a decision. Next day he told the officers, that whatever he wants to say, he will only do in front of the Prime Minister or his Sycophant General Nar Shamsher . When Nar Shamsher and the Rana were ready to take his statement , Dharmaratna requested that Muralidhar & his other accomplices be removed. After this when only the three Generals remained, Dharmaratna told them – “ I was doing a job in Lhasa for making my living. I met Muralidhar in Sarnath, where he explained to me that Rana’s are exploiting us poor people and also spoiling our daughters etc etc. He kept on convincing me for may days, after which I started believing him. Muralidhar arranged for me to meet Mr Nehru and prepared the greetings letter. I was only a puppet in his hand. “ By describing such words of Murali on Rana’s Sins, Dharmaratna was successful in totally
spoiling the Rana’s opinion of Muralidhar. Now everyone’s statement had been taken. A meeting was held to review this by the four commanding Generals and other senior officers.
Whatever actions were taken in these meetings, the soldiers used to inform the news to the prisoners. A new change was being observed among these soldiers who earlier used to obey their masters without a blink. This implied that even though the Ranas did not have any imminent danger from the conspiracies in the palace, but a new danger was developing ie the power of people and their anger towards them. The head of the Praja parishad was arrested by betrayal, but he vented out fully and scolded the Ranas. Listening to his fearless talks the prisoners also felt more courageous. The soldiers were only told that the Brahmins and the Newari people wanted to end the mountainous rule of the Ranas. Now the prisoners were explaining to them that how the Ranas were looting the country and exploiting them by paying them only Rupees Eleven as salary to commit atrocities on their own country ! The soldiers started to realise this, but out of 30 to 40 thousand soldiers these things could reach only to 100 to 200 soldiers. In this meeting Dharmaratna kept on repeating that it was only Muralidhar who made them do this.
Bahudur Shamsher threatened Dharmaratna that he was still hiding something ? Dharmaratna then shared what Tegbahadur Mall has shared , “ that a few Rana’s can’t do much if all of us unite against them “. Bahadur Shamsher got very angry and arrested Tegbahadur , but released him the very next day . The secret agents have lot of information to blackmail and the rulers have to take their help also.
Kesan Shamsher asked Dharmaratna that he also has contact with Rahul ? He replied that he was his Guru on Buddhism. On this Padmashamsher said that both are rascals.
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Seven days after this during an evening , Kedarman Vyathhit (poet), Chandraman Maske, Poorna Narayan Subba, Chittadhar (poet) and Dharmaratna were called. All the five were shackled with heavy (around 4 kilograms) chains in their feet. Around a month had passed since their arrest by now.
The commanding generals had a meeting, where the King and his three sons were brought as accused persons. A few days after this a meeting was called for the Guru Purohit, Officers’s representatives, Money Lenders, and Professors. The shackled persons along with total of forty prisoners were presented in this meeting. Yudhhashamsher came in his motor car. He had to give his statement today. The king and his three sons were also called to the meeting. He had his pipe in his mouth. He read out a written statement – “ You have heard about the crimes these people have done . They had conspired to organize a bloody revolution in Naranahity to kill all the Ranas. The lowly insects wanted to damage the diamond. Shikraraj complained about us to Gandhi. ( He was a government employee and he met Gandhi without asking permission from the King, he also took approval of his translation of Brahmasutra from Malviyaji, etc; this was his crime.)”. He further read – “ Muralidhar, Kedarman, & Dharmaratna went to beg before Nehru, who is a very mean Socialist. “ Further he quoted the verses of Manu and Yagyavalkya for Treason / Rebellion , which were very harsh. Further he tried to display leniency by saying “that even though the Scriptures say this, but we need to reduce the punishment based on the current situation.” Then Yudhashamsher asked the king for his opinion and approval. The king replied “Moderate “ . On this he took a very aggressive pose , grinding his teeth and pulling up his sleeves and screaming like a Lunatic said - “ Give them Harsh Punishment “. Then he asked the Guru Purohits, and they said the punishment has to be as per the scriptures. When he asked the other participants of the meeting, one Dhamla suggested for Capital Punishment (death penalty). All the prisoners kept quiet. Shukraraj tried to say something, but Yudhashamsher threatened and stopped him , and said “ will give harsh punishment” , and removed his pipe and left the meeting in his motor car.
After half an hour , Padma, Mohan, Keshar, Anand, Shankar, Narshamsher alongwith the employee of the War Tribunal, Ratnaman Kazi, gathered to announce the decision. The paper was in the hands of ratnaman Kazi, grandfather of a dreaded prisoner Ganeshman, but it was read by another person. The sentences announced were as follows :- Shukraraj Shastri, Dharmabhakt, Dashrathchandra, Subba Poornanarayan, and Gangalal :-
Death Sentence and All properties to be confiscated. Tankprasad, Ramhari Sharma Mundi – Damal, :- Life Imprisonment, and partial confiscation of properties. Fattebahadur, Chinyalal, Ganeshman, Harikrishna Shreshtha, Pushkar Nath Upreti, Chudaprasad, Compounder Chandraman Dangol, Govindprasad, Muralidhar (traitor of the
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country and also of the people), Balbahadur Pande (age 17 years) :- Life Imprisonment and all properties to be confiscated. Jeevraj Sharma, Dharmaratna, Kedarman Vyathhit, Chandraman Maske :- 18 years imprisonment , & all properties to be confiscated Sidhhicharan Dhruvnath Dubey, Ramdas Lepten, Ganeshraj, Katakbahadur Nankmi, and Marichman :- 12 years imprisonment , & partial confiscation of properties. Chittadhar Poornabahadur M. A. & Fanindranath Hamal :- 6 years imprisonment Khardar Bhupalsingh, Vyasji Sharma Jyotiprasad :- 3 years imprisonment Parikhshit Narsingh from the Rana’s lineage was expelled from the country for life. He was granted allowance of Rupee One per day. After the announcement of the punishment, all the prisoners except the ones awarded the death sentence, were put under lock up.
As they say , when you grind Barley, the Weevil also get ground ! Especially under the Ranas’ rule this possibility was even higher than normal. Shukraraj Shastry had to face death penalty owing to this. Similarly with Jyotiprasad, whose work was only religious preaching of “Hare Rama Hare Rama”. Jyotiprasad got hold of a Khukri (a type of dagger used in Nepal) and tried to cut his neck, fortunately the injury was not very deep, and he was treated in the military hospital. Prisoners were sent to the Bhadragol jail next day. Shukraraj and
Dharmabhakt were hanged to death from a tree. Dasharathchandra and Gangalal were shot in Bhachakhusi. When Subba Poornanarayan was being taken for hanging, his sentence was changed to 18 years imprisonment and partial confiscation of property, from the earlier death penalty by Padmashamsher. With an aim to terrorise the public, the bodies of the martyrs were left hanging from the trees. However the impact was just the opposite. People started praying these trees. The tree on which Dharmabhakt was hanged was cut near its roots, and today its remains are visible only if one tries to find it with attention. Its sad that even today there is no indication or sign to help identify these places. On enquiry with a street vendor, we could get to know these landmark signs. The tree on which Shukraraj Shastry was hanged is still standing tall, the only signs are the vermillion and the flower garlands placed on it.
In Bhadragol, thirty three prisoners were kept which also included Muralidhar Sharma. The persons were kept in four rooms. Tankprasad’s life was saved only because he was a Brahmin, but he and Ramhari were given the punishment of being expelled from the Brahmin community by performing “Mundi- Damal” a Ritual which is indication of insult. They were supposed to be taken for removing their hair , but they themselves removed
their hair. Damal was considered a sign of cruel rule, hence their cheeks & forehead were not branded, but only a Red line was made. On the directions of Rajguru, they were expelled Page 16 of 2 from the Brahmin community and put in the Matwali (a lower community) community who spent only Rupees Fourteen in their weddings.
The revolutionaries who were living together twenty four hours now in the jail, started fighting with each other in the absence of any firm discipline or common principles. First differences arose between Newari & Hill people, but it didn’t remain at this ! Next was differences amongst Newaris between Shreshtha and others. Finally among Shreshthas themselves between Half Shreshthas and Full Shreshthas. One day they fought physically after which peace was established.
Among the Newars, Chittadhar, Dharmaratna, Chandraman Dangol, Marichman and Katakman Nankarmi were different and Buddhists. They said that they did not believe in the concept of untouchability and they will eat with anyone who cooks & provides food. A Newar gave a Brahmin some leftover food, on which the Brahmins started fighting. These sort of controversies and fights went on for six to seven months. By now the Cells for the prisoners were ready. The fights had died down, and now the persons started paying attention towards Reading. Only Sanskrit and Religious books were allowed for the prisoners. Dharmaratna was almost deprived of education till now. However this period of five years in the jail (40 to 45) was like a student life for him, and he made good use of this opportunity. Paper and pencil were not allowed in the prison, but one could get it in a clandestine manner. The poets and writers among the group wrote their own compositions in the spaces between the lines of the Religious books provided. The prisoners were given about 50 grams of rice, one fistful of wood, and one Nepali paisa for salt, chilly & oil etc every day. Every six months they were given a Khadi cotton cloth measuring nine hands in length and one & half hands in width. They were also allowed to get clothes from their families.
Some people like Dharmaratna started taking tutions from Murali Pandit by giving their one paisa to him. He taught them the Sanskrit texts. Tarun Poornabahadur (M.A.) had studied English more than everyone else. Easy going and idealist Tarun used to teach his fellow prisoners Economics, Geography, Mathematics and English etc. Dharmaratna tried to learn drawing from Chandraman Maske. Siddhicharan tried to make him a poet. Mahakavi Chittadhar wrote an Epic in Newari language named “ Sugat Saurabh” in addition to teaching his fellow inmates. Dharmaratna also managed to write an Epic “Arhat Nanda” similar to the evergreen masterpiece “Saunderanand” by Mashraghosh, in between the lines of the books by pencil.
In the jail, literary seminars were organized, resolution of issues also were done, lectures were also made on Politics & other topics. The space their was limited, but there was need to make the rice & Daal more tasty, therefore the prisoners started growing vegetables . A year passed in all these activities (1940). Balbahadur pande was a 17 year old youth. He died after eleven months in the jail after losing his mental balance. He belonged to the family of
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Guruji. When the doctors asked him what did he want ?, he said he wanted a pistol to kill Mohanshamsher. Balbahadur’s behaviour had started to affect the others living in the solitary cells to some extent.
In 1941 some of the prisoners started to think about how to escape from the jail and run away. Tankprasad’s group was not in favour of this idea, but Tarun was in its favour. Along with two sweepers of the jail, the work of breaking the wall was started. In the nighttime bricks were removed and replaced with mud / slush. Adequate space was created to even take out the shackles. On the night when the plan was to escape around 1-00 am, the jail authorities attacked at 12 o’clock after getting to know of the plan. One of he sweepers was
beaten so hard, that he died in six months due to the injuries. None of the prisoners admitted to taking out the bricks.
After this unsuccessful attempt, Dharmaratna and his fellow inmates focussed and got busy in the academic activities. From the time of Bhimshamsher, Khadgamansingh was imprisoned due to the accusation of “Prachanda Gorkha Dal”. He was also brough to the jail in Bhadragol around 3 to 4 months after the revolutionary prisoners came there. He was a staunch Vaishnav, ie following the religious practices associated with this stream of Hinduism. This made the situation more grave. Around two and a half years after the failed attempt of jailbreak, in 1943-44, again preparations were initiated for running away. This time Ganeshman was the lead. The earlier idea of taking out the bricks was discarded. The idea pursued this time was for a Hook attached to a rope, to jump across the wall. For this purpose the Hook was to be anchored to the wall. After practising unsuccessfully for six months, one night the Hook got attached to the wall. Ganeshman managed to jump across the wall with the help of the rope. Chandraman Compounder being a bulky person fell down and was seen by the guards. On being asked he jokingly said that he could not run away.
This was at 1-00 clock in the night. The guards after three hours asked him if he was alone , to which he said he was alone. The guards had seen the hook. By now it was almost four hours since Ganeshman had escaped. They searched for him for two to three days unsuccessfully. Compounder was sent to the Singh Darbar. Ganeshman dressed himself as a butcher going to buy a Buffalo towards Butwal, and then crossed the border to reach Nautanwa to safety.
The world war was now over, the changes happening in the world would affect Nepal also. Among the Ranas also many were dejected about the future as Padmashamsher who was going to be the next prime minister was a Humble, Generous and Timid person. Five years later on a day before the BS 2002, Bhadra Month Indra Yatra festival, except Tankprasad, Ramhari, Gobindprasad, Chudaprasad, Khadgamansingh and Chandraman Dangul, all other prisoners were released. They were to comply with two conditions, ie reporting every month to the police, and can’t leave the valley without special permission.
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After Dharmaratna reached home after his release, his grandmother started requesting him to get married. After a month, a spectacled girl came to some function. People told that she is Hiradevi, daughter of Hirakazi, a businessman from Lhasa. Discussions were on for marriage with her. Dharmaratna wrote a letter to her one day, telling her that she will face lot of difficulties in staying with a person like him who is into politics and even doesn’t have a home. Not satisfied with writing the letter, one day they met and discussed the things
openly. Hiradevi said – “if you were a bad person, you wouldn’t get into politics ?’ It was a well known fact at that time that being in politics could bring Jail, Death Penalty and Confiscation of all property. Hiradevi’s father was ready, but her step mother was not in favour. One day Hiradevi ran away from home, and both got married; however their honeymoon did not last even a month. Dharmaratna reached Kolkatta and met Ganeshman and the other Nepali revolutionaries there. He returned to Nepal after a month and a half.
Now the politics was again heating up. Under Manmohan Adhikari’s leadership the Mill workers of Viratnagar organized a very powerful strike. In 1947 the British left India. The Nepali leaders advised people to express happiness on this occasion. It was decided to organize a meeting with people of the locality and keep pictures of Gandhiji and other leaders, with Hiradevi as the Chairperson. Hiradevi was running a small school and she came to the meeting place with thirty five of her students in a procession. No political slogans were raised in the procession, and only the Hindu and Buddhist chants of Hare Ram & Tare Mam were spoken. Inspite of this Rana’s colonel threatened the meeting and Hiradevi was arrested and sent to jail along with her infant daughter Dharmdevi who was hardly 6 to 7 months. On the same day nine people including her husband were also arrested. In Patan, like Kathmandu, famous Gandhian leader Tulsi Mehar was also arrested along with his 45 partners for taking out a procession to celebrate the Indian independence. Similarly in a third town of the valley, Bhagdaon, nine persons were arrested. The prisoners were non violent demonstrators hence there was no danger of their running away from jail. These people were kept in a police station which was infested with bedbugs and fleas. When it rained the water filled below the beds. The hygiene was in a deplorable state, with urine and human excreta lying around in the vicinity. To make things worse, it acted as a shed for Cows and Buffalos too. The prisoners including the women and children also were kept here for ten days. The prisoners also went on hunger strike to protest these conditions.
Hiradevi and some other prisoners were released. The others were still kept in this dirty place, and they went on a hunger strike demanding a better place. The officials had to accede to their demand. Dharmaratna was struck with Gland fever, for which he had to be operated upon in a hospital, where he stayed for one and a half months. After this everyone was sent to Jail. During this jail journey of 6 months, they got opportunity to read and listen to Communism & Socialist thoughts in addition to Buddhism. At the same time Tulsilal M.A.
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came up with new political thoughts. During this six months in the jail, Dharmaratna wrote a brief Life history of Buddha named “Jagat Jyoti” in the Nepali hill language.
Around this time there was lot of infighting amongst the nationalist leaders of Nepal, the main issue being the ambition of becoming the leader. Both Koirala and Regami considered themselves to be the leader of the Congress. Dharmaratna wanted that both should remove their differences. He didn’t have any money, so he pawned his Buddha idol for Rupees Fifty and came to Benaras. He met the socialist leader Dr Rammanohar Lohiya. He also met for the first time with Visheshwarprasad Koirala. Ganeshman, Suryabahadur and Dharmaratna , all three of them emphasized that i) As the elections are approaching soon, its advisable to let Dilliraman Regamias the leader till then, ii) No confidence motion should not be considered to remove or retain anyone as a forceful measure. The leaders who had come to India were also told that when our partners are in jail why have you left the country ? However Dharmaratna was not successful in his mission. On this the people in Kathmandu decided that they will support neither Koirala nor Regami but remain neutral. Dharmaratna travelled to Kolkatta once more but again he returned unsuccessful. Now a new political party was floated with the name “Nepal Loktantrik Dal” whose behind the scenes operator and financier were Dhiraj, Suvarnashamsher & Mahavirshamsher. The leaders who were the public face of the party were : Suryaprasad Upadhyaya, Mahendravikram Shah, & Prembahadur Kansakar. Both Koirala and Regami opposed this party. It is quite natural for
the members working in a party which has rich financiers to face charges of taking money. Therefore the members in Nepal decided to use the improvements and constitution made by Padmashamsher to move forward. It was also decided that the centre of the party to be stationed in Nepal and only the public campaign related to be outside.
In this connection an eleven member committee called “Praja Panchayat” was also constituted, which started a campaign façade showing public adulation towards the rulers, ie the Ranas, saying that the father’s (prime minister – Rana) privilege should be passed on to the son. Within a week, the Panchayat had 1500 hundred members in Kathmandu, 400 in Patan, and 700 in Bhagdaon. It was also decided that if the Padma – Constitution is rejected by Mohan Shamsher, a satyagrah shall be organized. Rana was too clever to come under pressure. He issued a notice to ban all meetings and gatherings. The Panchayat said that the Ranas are licking what they themselves spat. His notice is unconstitutional as per the Padma Constitution. When three members of the Panchayat went to Singh Darbar regarding this, they were told by the Ruling General that the Notice is the Constitution.
Now the atmosphere in the valley towns started heating up again, as meetings and speeches were banned. In a meeting where Hiradevi garlanded the speaker, the police noted the names. The Visheshwar group was against this, but Regami and the Loktantrik Dal supported this. The Panchayat people said that if the three parties come together then they will also merge their Panchayat into the new entity. Preparation of a list was initiated in
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which around 6 to 7 hundred people registered their names. Tripurwar favoured the Satyagrah, but as his leader Visheshwarprasad Koirala opposed the Satyagrah, Dharmaratna thought he may not come forward, so he himself decided to go first for the Satyagrah. Now the Satyagrah started in all the three towns, and within a month and a half, around 3 hundred prisoners had reached the Jails. Koirala was underground at this time, but due to his carelessness he was caught in Triratna Tuladhar’s house.
The Rana’s police now had come to a barbaric level of atrocities against the protestors. They destroyed the houses and all belongings of the protestors. Even molestation and Rape were resorted to , hence no one dared to give shelter to the protestors in their homes. The protestors were running Helter and skelter but Dharmaratna disguised as a Newari Farmer was going around and carrying out the campaign. His wife Hiradevi was also involved in the organisation of the Satyagrah. The day the arrest warrant came, his son was born. At this time around 200 soldiers / policemen were surrounding their house for 5 to 6 days continuously. Finally on the fifteenth day Dharmaratna saw his son, and gave Fifteen Rupees to Hiradevi, and left the valley with four of his men. They managed to reach the Adapur station (Champaran) inside India on the fourth night at around 2 am. After another fifteen days, Hiradevi went to the Jail with her one month old son.
The Satyagrah demonstrated the people’s power but at the same time it was clear that unless all the parties came together it was not possible to challenge the Rana’s rule. Hence again frantic efforts were started to form a united front. The representatives of all the eight parties met in Patna. The elder Koirala brother Matrikaprasad was not in favour of the united front. Therefore representative of the Loktantrik Congress, Suryaprasad volunteered to combine with Regami and the Panchayat. Things again got stuck on the question of the leader for the united front. Dharmaratna went to Benaras to talk to Regami. He had a small contingent like Ranga of his own people. At the same time Visheshwarprasad Koirala had the backing of Indian Socialist leaders. The Nationalist protestors were undergoing a very tough time at this juncture. It was even difficult to get food supplies. Some of them even said that the Bhadragol Jail was better than the current struggle experience.
Dharmaratna returned to Nepal, as he did not find any benefit of staying in India. Hiradevi had also been released from jail by then. She had to show her presence every five days to the police. Dharmaratna went to the Northern border area of Shapru to teach the boys for one and half months. But these type of random activities would not help in a situation where around 400 hundred good workers of the party were in Jail. Dharmaratna wrote a letter to them explaining the situation of the country and said – “ the Leaders are fighting among themselves, the parties are inactive, but we still have Sympathy and goodwill from India with us. If the people’s enthusiasm dies, it will not be good for us. The Ranas are also keen to leave the prisoners to prevent a bad name for themselves. You all should try to come out of Jail on some minor conditions if required. The Communist China is putting its
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claim on Tibet. It is a good time to come out and do the work now. “ Dharmaratna had sent the letter to Tankprasad, but he did not show the letter to anyone. The prisoners were ready to come out on any condition, and many had given their apology and asked for forgiveness.
Satyagrah maynot have been a total success, but the people now to a large extent were not scared of the law and the jail. Around October / November 1949, Dharmaratna also started moving around openly. However the Police arrested him and kept him in the police station lock up. Hiradevi’s financial condition was very bad at this time, but she managed to send cooked food to her husband by borrowing from any source possible. After three months Dharmaratna was sent to the Singhdarbar. At this time the Satyagrah of the Visheshwar group was continuing. The arrested prisoners used to shout slogan “Ranashahi Murdabad” and people used to get excited and collect in large numbers. Dharmaratna was kept in Bhadragol jail for 3 months, and then he spent 9 months in Nakhuke jail, before he got freedom after the end of the Ranas rule.
Dharmaratna after coming out saw that everywhere it was the Four Star Congress flag which was seen now. Earlier the people used to vie for putting up pictures of Ranas- Dictators in their homes, but now they had switched to the Four Start Congress flag. However the leaders were still not united. Dharmaratna after coming out of jail started to give speeches on a continuous basis. The Congress’s Ganga-Jamuni Ministry had been formed now, but after seeing the behaviour of the ministers, the people were getting dissatisfied. Dhiraj had
come to know the condition of Dharmaratna’s home, so he sent some assistance to his wife. Tarun Koirala was authoritative, and used to move out in the capital with pomp and show. Regami’s reputation was spoiled by depicting him as a confidante of Mohan Shamsher, and he was not given opportunity to speak anywhere. At this time Dharmaratna arranged a speech by Regami in one of the meetings he was chairing. At Sanu Tundi Khel, at 2 pm Regami’s Rashtriya Congress had its open meeting, where no one took any objections to his speech. When Dharmaratna delivered his speech, he was getting thunderous applause after every sentence. The magic of Dharmaratna’s Oratory skills were on full exhibition today and it was being discussed everywhere. In the Newari dominant Nepal Valley there was no other Orator like him who could leave people spellbound by his skills. All the political organizations started inviting him to their meetings to deliver speeches, and also wanted him to become their member. However Dharmaratna Yami, who was now famously known by this name, had experienced enough of the party politics of various organizations, and did not agree to join any particular one.
In 1951, Nehru was scheduled to visit Nepal. All political parties were vying with each other to welcome him. However the common people of Nepal were highly unsatisfied with the lack of governance of the new Government in Nepal. Anyone could take undue advantage of this situation. For maintaining relations with Delhi, the government expenses had increased
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manifold. Earlier the Ranas used to loot the government funds , and now the bureaucracy was doing the same. All around the influential political persons were promoting their own family members, and corruption was all pervasive. The leftists wanted to show black flags to Nehru during his Nepal visit. Dharmaratna also had very good relationship with the Farmers front. He also wanted to participate in the Black Flag demonstration. Dhiraj called Dhamraratna and told him that it would not be proper to treat our guest in this manner. Dharmaratna managed to change the decision in the Farmer front on this, but during the night the decision was reversed again. Black flags were shown ! In the ensuing police action and shooting Tarun Chiniyakazi lost his life, and the home minister Visheshwar Prasad Koirala had to face the wrath of the citizens on this action. At the same time it became difficult for the Ranas to stay as part of this Ganga – Jamuni Ministry after this. Dharmaratna met Mohan Shamsher and told him – “ If you wish to maintain the dignity of your position and also of the Ranas, then please consider bringing all your investment in Foreign Banks to Nepal, and provide it here on interest. This will help the Industrial progress of the country at fast pace, and also help to reduce the ill-will in the people towards the Ranas. “ Mohan Shamsher was very near to getting exiled from the country. However he listened very carefully to Dharmaratna, and said – “ The suggestion is good. I will ask the others and give my reply after seven days. “ But why would the Ranas even think of returning their loot of many crores to Nepal ?
The Ganga – Jamuni Ministry was broken now. The elder Koirala brother Matrikaprasad became the Prime Minister. All the ministers were now from the Congress. On the suggestion of Dhiraj (King), Dharmaratna also became “Honorable Dharmaratna Yami” and became a deputy minister in the government, and after nine months became an “ex minister” after the ministry of Matrikaprasad was dissolved.
Dharmaratna was almost uneducated in his younger days. He was used to living in poverty from his childhood itself, and his community (Udas Newar) was called Dabbu Bania (Timid Businessmen). Dharmaratna’s life story demonstrates how a person can progress to become educated & cultured by fighting under such challenging and adverse life conditions.
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