Kot massacre
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The Kot massacre was a bloodbath in 1846, when the Queen of Nepal and her nobles clashed with the seven unsuspecting Rana brothers. Approximately 85-90 noblemen died with the seven Rana brothers wounded but victorious.[citation needed] This led to the loss of power by King Rajendra Bikram Shah and the Shah family, resulting in a puppet monarchy under Surendra Bikram Shah and the establishment of the Rana autocracy.
After three months of squabbling, a coalition ministry was formed in September 1845, again headed by Fateh Jang Chautaria. The real power behind the throne was the secret lover and favorite of Queen Lakshmidevi, Gagan Singh, who controlled seven regiments in the army compared to the three under the prime minister. Abhiman Singh and Jung Bahadur also served as commanders, each with three regiments. Plots and counterplots continued until Gagan Singh was found dead on the balcony of his palace during the night of September 14, 1846. The queen was beside herself at the death of her lover, whom she had hoped to use to elevate her own son to the throne. She commanded Abhiman Singh to assemble the entire military and administrative establishment of Kathmandu immediately at the courtyard of the palace armory (kot).
Emotions ran high among the assembled bands of nobles and their followers, who listened to the Queen give an emotional harangue blaming the Ranas and demanding that the prime minister execute the Ranas whom she suspected for the death of Gagan Singh. While Abhiman Singh hesitated, fighting broke out between the nobles and the seven Rana brothers, and Abhiman was wounded.[citation needed]
During the free-for-all that followed, swords, pistols, muskets and knives were used on all sides to dispatch opponents. Jung Bahadur and his six brothers battled all the nobles to come out victorious.[citation needed] When the struggle subsided, the courtyard was strewn with the bodies of dozens of leading nobles, the cream of the Nepalese aristocracy. The Pandey and Thapa families in particular were devastated during this slaughter.
The Kot Massacre took place because of the queen's miscalculations and underestimation of the Rana brothers. She is at fault for becoming a victim of her emotions and calling an assembly together without forewarning her nobles of what she had planned to do, instead whipping it into a frenzy of a disorganised brawl. The king was notably absent when the fighting began and Jung Bahadur was the only leader who was ready for trouble since he had gotten word that the Queen knew he was responsible for her lover's death. The extent of the carnage was apparently unexpected. Jung Bahadur and his six brothers were the only true beneficiaries of the massacre and became the sole military leaders in a position of strength in the capital. The next day, Jung Bahadur became prime minister and immediately launched a purge that killed many of his aristocratic competitors and drove 6,000 people into exile in India.[citation needed]
