Nepal had minimal precursors to the statehood. Nepal was dependent on India in all its political, economic and administrative aspects. Between 2007 and 2011, India’s economic dependence was 95 percent. Mahendrale brought it down by 60 percent. He focused all his attention on building the economic and administrative structures of the central government along with Raja Huna, who oriented Nepal towards a self-reliant economy. He made arrangements for the economy by establishing Nepal Rastra Bank and National Planning Commission. Worked to develop the economy by building physical infrastructure in cooperation with foreign nations. Indian dependency was reduced by developing indigenous industries. Veerganj sugar factory, agricultural implement factory, Janakpur churot factory, Banswari shoe factory, cement and textile industries, all were established under his leadership.

These industrialists, who were established by Mahendra, have been made companions of various governments by the Indian Chalawajima, which was formed 46 years later.

The East-West Highway was an important gift to King Mahendra. Till the said highway is not available, it will have to be used in the Taraima, one district, another district, Januparda, India. This situation can be ended by building highways with foreign cooperation. Mahendra was astute and had requested India to construct the Suruma Highway.

At the same time, India accepted Russia’s support. India also got attracted after the road from Dhalkebar to Pathalaiya was built by Rusle. Dhalkebardekhi Mechi block was made India, Hetauda Narayanghat block was made Asian Development Bank, Narayanghat-Butbal block was made Belait and Butbal Kohalpur block was made India.

Now we have discussed business diversification and adopted it as a suitable practice for the central government. The construction of Kodari Highway is a vivid example of this. This Kodari Highway is now becoming a source of hope for us. India became extremely angry after China announced the construction of Kodari Highway. When China sought to dominate Nepal, it wavered and wavered. Completed the highway construction. In this way, King Mahendra, using his diplomatic acumen, was successful in getting all-round foreign support. As far as the question of being called autocratic is concerned, it must be true that he founded democracy. However, history sometimes calls for an extremely dictatorial and autocratic governance system. I came today feeling this way.

We can see examples of many developed nations of the world where dictators ruled in the past.
Well, after 046 years of change, I re-evaluated the history. This time period covers the period from 2007 to 11 years of Indian dominance. Compared to Panchayat, democracy has suffered thousands of times more distortions. Due to pro-India policies, nationalism has weakened and the economy has become hollow.

Looking further, I found that there was only a period during which King Mahendra ruled directly, where Nepal remained largely untouched by Indian interference. Importantly, in this work he established relations with India. As of now, Indian Ambassador Mahendra was serving as the Chief Minister of Nepal.

At that time, even without the government’s knowledge, if any foreign diplomat visited, they would raise treason as an issue. Whereas during the period from 2007 to 2007, India indirectly ruled Nepal. It was normal at that time for the Council of Ministers to hold meetings in the Indian Embassy. The king’s secretary Govind Narayan Singh was operating from India. He had unlimited rights.

The role of King Mahendra in promoting nationalism is unforgettable. Jatibela had immense influence on Hindi language in Nepal, he established Nepali language as the national language and made it nationwide. He implemented the same language, same policy, same policy at that time and how far-sighted was he, which has become relevant today. Presently, efforts are being made to divide Nepal on the basis of caste and language. While he worked to create a unity for the country including on the basis of language and attire, Raja Mahendra has also made a commendable contribution in the field of social reform. In the year 2020, Bhadra 1st year, he declared the new country and adopted a policy against untouchability, casteism and gender discrimination. By announcing the 021 Salma Land Reforms, he abolished the Zamindari system and the Birta system and secured the rights of the tenants to till the land.

By modernizing Tribhuvan University, Indian books were replaced by curriculum to create conditions for higher education in Nepal.

I consider Mahendra’s move against India as the most courageous step, the action of removing 17 check posts of Indian soldiers stationed at Nepal Tibet border in 028 Salma. The then Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa came out as a patriot and in 2026, he deposed Thapalai and made Kirtinidhi Vishtalai the Prime Minister. On the issue of removal of Indian check post, he did not engage himself but made Kirtindhilai Aghi all. Kirtinidile Suruma sent a written letter to Bharatlai requesting him to take back his check post.

Since Nepal is an independent nation, he wrote a letter saying that the presence of foreign soldiers is not beneficial for us and our neighbours. Well, India should not listen to anyone. Then he made a famous speech that the treaty of 1950 had no legality. After Nepal itself made preparations to remove the checkposts, the then Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Singh came to Nepal. He said in a statement to the government that its results would not be good.

Now Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s arrival as the Indian ambassador was similar. However, after the government did not back down from its stubbornness, fearing the issue of internationalisation, the check posts were returned to India. This can be taken as a rare incident of Nepal government bowing to India. If the situation is like the one we are in now, it would be beyond imagination. The government of Nepal has still not been able to remove the consular office which was set up temporarily in Birat Nagar on the basis of a one-day permit for transport vehicles traveling through India after the Kosi barrage was demolished in 1965. Whereas the purpose of opening the said office has already ended. India did not remove the check post and imposed a blockade on Nepal in 2018. At that time, the Nepali people could not make any noise without the blockade. Indian dependence on petroleum was very low. Consumption of petroleum was also as widespread as it is now. Therefore, as the Indian blockade could not create a major impact, India was forced to retreat.

King Mahendra was ready to push Bharatlai by following each step of the chale. It reduced Indian influence in Nepal by 40 percent compared to the previous one. As a result, it is natural for India to despise them.

India has been doing dangerous publicity to establish Mahendralai as a villain in the Nepali public. The biggest trick he has used against Mahendra is the Nepali Congress and its leaders. VP Koirala, despite being a real politician, was also pro-India. He said, not once but twice, that Nepal should be an integral part of India. After all, he said, Nepal should be an independent country dependent on India. In 2017, Mahendra ousted the popularly elected government and imposed autocratic rule by banning political parties. On this basis, he has been accused of being anti-democratic, autocratic and dictatorial.

Yes, Mahendra was an ambitious king. The temptation is to rule directly on your own. ‘Kuma’ for the year 017 is the reason behind this, along with Haru. The main reason was to protect Nepal from Indian interference and influence.

VP Koirala is fundamentally a supporter of India. Congress party should be the party that born India and raised it. Therefore, as of now, it seems as if Congress and the opposition are using Koiralalai to force India to take coercive steps to save its selfish interests in Nepal. Mahendra’s every work was systematic, planned and full of foresight. 017 years ago, Gyanendra’s step brought forth the same light as I did. He had done all the preparation. His reward should be that he implemented the Panchayat rule in the country and ruled the country uninterruptedly throughout his life. If this Rastrama Mahendra showed nationalism and does not see anyone else, then now there is no option to travel on the path of Mahendra to Nepal, otherwise Nepal will have to spend a lot of time becoming a province or country.

Bed Prasad ghimire
Khijidemba 2 Okhaldhunga