View source for Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Nepal}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[His Highness]] [[Commanding General]] [[Sri|Shree]]{{efn|Repeated thrice}} [[Maharaja]] [[Sir]]
|name=            Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur
| honorific-suffix    = [[Rana (title)|Rana]], [[GCSI]]
|native_name = श्री ३ वीर शमशेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा
| image           = Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Sitting (cropped).png
| caption         = Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
| order           = 11th
| office          = Prime Minister of Nepal
| term_start      = 22 November 1885
| term_end        = 5 March 1901
| monarch         = [[Prithvi of Nepal|King Prithvi]]
| predecessor     = [[Renaudip Singh Bahadur]]
| successor       = [[Dev Shumsher JBR]]
| birth_date      = 10 December 1852
| birth_place     = [[Kathmandu]], [[Kingdom of Nepal]]
| death_date      = 5 March 1901 (age 48)
| death_place     = [[Kathmandu]], [[Kingdom of Nepal]]
| religion        =
|father = [[Dhir Shamsher Rana]]
|spouse = Top Kumari Devi
|children = Maharani Kirti Divyeshwari Rajya Lakshmi Devi<br>Maharani Durga Divyeshwari Rajya Lakshmi Devi
}}
[[Commanding General]] [[Sri#Repetition|Shree]] '''Maharaja Sir Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCSI}} (10 December 1852 – 5 March 1901) was the 11th<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nepal.html World Statesmen]</ref> [[Prime Minister of Nepal]]. He is remembered as a statesman who made reforms and infrastructure improvements. Bir Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana was known as ''Kailay'' in his childhood; this name was given by Jung Bahadur. His mother was daughter of [[Pahalman Singh Basnyat]] and sister of Lalitman Singh Basnyat. His mother died at his birth and he was taken care of by Putali Maharani, wife of Jung Bahadur. He spent his childhood at [[Thapathali Durbar]].
==Birth==
Bir was born to the chief of the Army [[Dhir Shumsher Rana|Dhir Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana]], younger brother of [[Jung Bahadur Rana]]. His mother was sister of Iman Singh Basnyat and Lalitman Singh Basnyat and daughter of [[Pahalman Singh Basnyat]]. The Nepalese PM Jung Bahadur Rana was asked for help by the British Raj in dealing with the mutiny, and Pahalman Singh Basnyat was Brigadier Colonel of the troops deployed from Nepal. He was given the title of Shree 1 Maharaja of Khaptad and was commonly known as Khaptadi Raja.
==Career==
[[File:Bir Shumsher with his youngest wife.png|thumb|Bir Shumsher with his youngest wife|left]]
His uncle Prime minister [[Renaudip Singh Bahadur]] was assassinated by his nephews (Khadga Shumsher, Bhim Shumsher, and Dambar Shumsher) during [[1885 Nepal coup d'état|a coup d'état in 1885]]. Thus he succeeded as Prime minister.
He then served from 1885 to 1901 and was invested as ''Tung-ling-ping-ma-kuo-kang-wang'' in 1889. During his tenure, he received [[Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale|Prince Albert Victor]], [[Duke of Clarence]], and the ill-fated [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]]. His successor for three months, at his death in 1901, was his progressive brother [[Deva Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana]].
There were many reforms during Bir Shumsher's time. Water pipes were laid, English was taught in schools and hospitals were built. He reorganized land tax and created a better administrative body. He sent a large number of troops to the British. The British gave him the title of Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Star of India]] on [[Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee]].
He started a new line of succession to the Prime Ministership of Nepal, excluding all others except the legitimate sons of Dhir Shumsher. He established [[Durbar High School]], [[Bir Hospital]], Bir Tower (Ghanta Ghar), Pathshala (School) and a sanitary system. He provided a good supply of drinking water to the towns of [[Kathmandu]] in 1891 and [[Bhaktapur|Bhadgaon]] in 1895. He established the Bir Library for the collection and preservation of valuable books and manuscripts, the postal system was reformed and many roads of Kathmandu were broadened.
Popular Nepali Congress leader [[Arjun Narasingha K.C.|Arjun Narasingha KC]]'s great-grandfather, Avivarnaman Singh, married Rana's sister-in-law. Singh was the captain of the Nepali Army and Rana was so appalled by the tall stature and appearance of Captain Khatri that he proposed marriage between his sister-in-law and Singh.
Maharaja Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana died in 1901, after ruling the country for over 15 years.
[[File:Godhaq.jpg|thumb|equestrian statue of Bir Shumsher]]
==Ancestors==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed  = no |align = center
|boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5 = background-color: #9fe;
|1 = 1. '''Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana'''
|2 = 2. [[Dhir Shumsher Rana]]
|3 = 3. sister of Lalit Mansingh Basnyat
|4 = 4. [[Bal Narsingh Kunwar]]
|5 = 5. Ganesh Kumari Thapa
|6 = 6. [[Pahalman Singh Basnyat]]
|7 =
|8 = 8. [[Ranajit Kunwar]]
|9 =
|10 = 10. [[Nain Singh Thapa]]
|11 = 11. Rana Kumari Pande
|12 =
|13 =
|14 =
|15 =
|16 = 16. [[Ramakrishna Kunwar]]
|17 =
|18 =
|19 =
|20 = 20. [[Amar Singh Thapa (born 1759)|Amar Singh Thapa (sanukaji)]]
|21 = 21. Satyarupa Maya
|22 = 22. [[Ranajit Pande]]
|23 =
|24 =
|25 =
|26 =
|27 =
|28 =
|29 =
|30 =
|31 =
}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Renaudip Singh Bahadur]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Prime Ministers of Nepal|Prime Minister of Nepal]]|years=1885–1901}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dev Shumsher JBR]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Prime Ministers of Nepal}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur}}
[[Category:1852 births]]
[[Category:1901 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:People from Kathmandu]]
[[Category:Rana regime]]
[[Category:Rana dynasty]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of Nepal]]
[[Category:19th-century prime ministers of Nepal]]
[[Category:19th-century Nepalese nobility]]
[[Category:Nepalese Hindus]]
[[Category:Nepalese members of the Order of the Star of India]]