Posted by: Khaobaadi_Netaa September 29, 2019
श्री ३ महाराज जङ्ग बहादुरका सम्पती माथी हाल सम्म कानुनी खिचलो
Login in to Rate this Post:     0       ?        

https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/jung-bahadurs-destitute-descendants/

Few in this run-down neighbourhood know that Yamjit Pratap is a descendant of Jung Bahadur Rana, who took power in a bloody coup in 1847 and founded a dynasty that lasted till 1948. But unlike other flamboyant members of the Rana clan who carry the ‘Jung Bahadur’ as their middle names, he lives in penury with his wife, ‘queen’ Narayani. 

Yamjit Pratap is the sixth generation after Jung Bahadur, tracing his ancestry through his father Shiva Pratap and forebears Chandra Pratap, Yuddha Pratap and Jagat Jung, Jang Bahadur’s oldest son. Jagat Jung was married to Tika Rajya Laxmi, the daughter of King Surendra Shah, which was how the Rana and Shah dynasties secured family ties in those days.

Yamjit Pratap’s own ancestors had settled in Parewa Danda of Sindhuli, and needed special visas to come to Kathmandu for family functions, festivals or medical treatment. Yamjit Pratap himself got a job in Biratnagar to support his family, and even bought some property. But he came to Kathmandu in the 1990s and filed a case in the Supreme Court to claim inheritance to Jung Bahadur’s property. 

The Supreme Court did decide in his favour, ruling that the property by the Manahara belonged to Jung Bahadur’s descendants. The family got back the land after 121 years but after dividing it among the many families, Yamjit Pratap got only a tiny plot, but even that plot has not been transferred to his name because of bureaucracy. He has filed three more cases, including for the land surrounding Jung Bahadur’s property around Kalmochan Ghat in Teku.

Yamjit Pratap’s son Nirakar works for an airline in Kathmandu, and can barely support the family of five. Despite this, the neighbours still call Yamjit Pratap by his royal appellation, ‘raja saheb’, which he finds quite natural. Yamjit Pratap is irritated that his children had to read history books in school that accuse their ancestors of plundering the country. 

Read Full Discussion Thread for this article