Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana

Field Marshal Sir Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GBE (8 January 1892 – 7 June 1964) was a field marshal in the Royal Nepalese Army. He was the third son of Maharaja Sir Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO the fifth Prime Minister of Nepal of the Rana dynasty and Bada Maharani Chandra Loka Bhaktha Rajya Lakshmi.^[1] He was the younger brother of Shree Tin Maharaja Sir Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Sir Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana.

Family

Kaiser Shamsher married twice and had five sons and five daughters. On 20 April 1904 he married his first wife, Lakshmi Rajya Lakshmi Devi (1895– 1954), the then heir apparent and eldest daughter of King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. In 1943 Kaiser Shamsher married Krishna Chandra Devi, daughter of Mukunda Bahadur Singh of Bajura.

Later life

During his lifetime Kaiser Shamsher occupied various posts and had many responsibilities both in the civil and the military administration. In 1901 he was appointed Major General. In 1920 Kaiser Shamsher became a Lieutenant General. In 1922–30 he served as the chairman of the Kathmandu municipality. Later he was the Southern Commanding General (1934–45) and Eastern Commanding General (1945–47). Kaiser Shamsher worked as Director General of various institutions, such as the Royal Museum (1928–39), the Archaeology Department (1931–39), and the Foreign Affairs Department (1932–37). As a foreign minister of Nepal, he attended the coronation ceremony of George VI on 12 May 1937 at Westminster Abbey in London. In 1947–48 Kaiser Shamsher was appointed as Nepal’s ambassador to the Court of St. James. In 1951–53 he was Commander-in-chief. He also served as minister of Defence (1951–55) and minister of finance and administration (1952–53). In 1956 Kaiser Shamsher was promoted to field marshal.^[2] Kaiser Shamsher died on 7 June 1964 at the age of 72.

Kaiser Mahal

In 1895 Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana built the Kaiser Mahal for his son, with pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture, and European-inspired pergolas, balustrades, urns, and statues. He erected six freestanding pavilions, each dedicated to one of the six seasons of Nepal. These unique and impressive Edwardian features earned it the name "Garden of Dreams."^[3] The palace, previously home to the Ministry of Education, now houses Kaiser Library, and Sampati Suddhikaran Aayog.^[4]

Kaiser Library

Kaiser Library, as it appears today.

Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana was an avid book collector, and his personal library at the Kaiser Mahal is now open to the public.^[5] The Kaiser Library is situated in the Kaiser Mahal near the Western Gate of the Narayanhiti Royal Palace. The library, unique for its architecture, houses more than sixty thousand books,documents, periodicals and manuscripts. and is one of the oldest libraries in Nepal.^[6] From a very young age Kaiser Shamsher bought and collected books and newspapers, and visited England with his father. He was very much impressed by the government of England, as well as by the library system and the proper management of books there. Book collection was his hobby and his visit to Britain & British libraries led to the increase in the number of his books and change in the structure of his own library. From England, he brought back with him many books to Kathmandu. Access to the library was limited to the members of his family, special people of the nation and special visitors from abroad. In his will he bequeathed his library to the government, thereby making it a national property accessible to all.^[7] It was established in 1969 A.D. with the donated personal collection by his widow Krishna Chandra Devi Rana.^[8]

See also

• Garden of Dreams
• Rana Dynasty

References