Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana

Sri Maharaja, Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (17 July 1862 – 20 February 1914) was the Prime Minister of Nepal for 114 days in 1901. He was also the King of Lamjung and Kaski.

Family and early life

He was the fourth of 17 sons born to Chief of the Army Dhir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (a younger brother of the Rana dynasty founder Jung Bahadur Rana) and his third wife, Rani Nanda Kumari, daughter of Kazi Hemdal Singh Thapa (sister of Commanding Colonel Keshar Singh Shumsher Thapa).

His father and brothers had trouble maintaining a big family. The Shamshers were poorer than Jung and other cousins. To ease the burden on his father, Dev was adopted at a young age by his father's childless older brother, General Krishna Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, and was raised by him and his wife.

As an adopted child of Krishna, the governor of Palpa, Dev had a lavish upbringing compared to his siblings. The only occasions he met his siblings were during festivities and family gatherings. He was closer to the sons of Jung and spent most of his time in their palace, Thapathali Durbar. He inherited his uncle's entire wealth as well as a share of his father's. Since he was much richer than his brothers, they envied him.

Dev felt guilty of what had transpired during the coup. He was held at gunpoint by General Dhoj Narsingh Rana but was forgiven and allowed to live. He asked for the exiled family members to return to Nepal. Dhoj adopted the son of Ranodip Singh (biological father was Badri Narsingh Rana), who had to flee to India with his family along with many of Jung's descendants.

Although the coup was plotted by the Shamsher brothers, Dev did not know about it. Due to his close relationship with the Jung family, the Shamshers did not believe that Dev would participate in the coup against the Jungs. On the night that the Shamshers attacked and killed the Jung Ranas, Dev was intoxicated and slept in the quarters of Ranabir Jung. He was mistaken for being a Jung and nearly killed, but was spared when one of the killers recognized him.

When the Shamshers killed and exiled the powerful Jung family and other rival Rana families, they took control of the Jungs' immense wealth.

The British offered him a large plot of land in New Delhi (now Connaught Place), but he refused and chose to settle in Jharipani in Mussoorie instead, citing that he favored the cooler hills to the heat of New Delhi. He built a sprawling collection of grand buildings near Jharipani with huge gateways marking the entrances to what they had named the Fairlawn Palace which remained his residence until his death. The palace was later sold by his descendants and was abandoned. The ruins of the palace are still present and part of the estate has been developed for a school and residential purposes.

All of Dev's children were exiled to Mussorie with him, although they were allowed to travel back and forth to Nepal. They were only permitted to return when Juddha Shamsher became prime minister. Juddha, being very young, was raised by Dev's wife Karmakumari. Dev had agreed to the wishes of his dying father Dhir Shamsher to consider Juddha in the line of succession. The issue of Juddha mother Johar Kumari's caste remains a mystery and it is widely believed that she came from a no-caste Sanyasi (Giri-Puri-Bharati) background.

Both Dev and his wife supported Juddha and were crucial in ensuring he was in the line of succession. They have been referred to as his "foster parents", so when Juddha Shamsher eventually became Prime Minister of Nepal, he rescinded Dev's descendants' status as exiles. They were given back their palaces in Thapathali and large plots of land in the Banke and Bardiya districts of Nepal, where some of his descendants reside. They were given high-ranking military positions, and all of Dev's children and grandchildren were given allowances from the state. As a tribute to his foster mother, Juddha built a statue of her, which can be seen inside the zoo in Jawalakhel. It is the biggest statue of any female in the country. Many of Dev's descendants can now be found either in Thapathali in Kathmandu, the traditional home of the Ranas, or in Nepalgunj in western Nepal and in Dehradun in India.

Ancestry