The Hidden History of Nepal -Dr. H.G. Behr Translated by : Chakana Nepami    (  From the page 56 of the book) Edited as it was published in Matina magazine.  Since 1716 Gorakh Nath Narabhupal Shah had been sitting on his throne made  of mud. He found his throne very uncomfortable , and wanted to change it with the silver throne of the Kathmandu valley at any cost.  With this aim in mind, he married many times to widen his territory and built an alliances. But he was not successful. Finally, he changed his tactics. In 1732, he sent his 10-years-old son Prithvi Narayan to stay with the king of Bhaktapur.  In a covering letter, Narabhupal  Shah requested  the king of Bhaktapur to raise his son and provide him a good education, which was only possible in Nepal . But his real intention was to place his son in the palace so that he could spy on it and gather vital information.   The Malla King of Bhaktapur took in his young guest Prithivi Narayan in a friendship and  showed him around every part of the palace. The king also let his children play with the prince of Gorkha. Prithivi  Narayan has an execlent memory, and rememberd everything that he saw. After five years, he returned to his hometown Gorkha, He had gathered much information about the reasons behind the quarrels among the valley kings, the exact quantity of military equipment and the strategic location in Nepal.  Prithvi Narayan was sure that he could conquer the pass of Nuwakot, so in the same year he sent his Gorkha soldiers to attack Nuwakot. The young prince had miscalculated or his father had underestimated the Mallas. The Malla kings banded together and their armies beat the Goarkha very badly.  Since then, the Gorkhas launched an attack to the valley every year right after the monsoon in order to possess it's wealth. But they always failed. The Gorkhas came punctually at the end of September, but they never made any headway. This went  on till 1764.  Prithvi then sent a peace message to the valley. The Mallas received this message with joy. The endless war was a strain on their resources, and it was also disrupting their business.   But Prithvi's message was a clever deception : he really did not seek peace. The Mallas came to know that it was only a ploy when the Gorkhas blocked the northern trade route. Another thing that was worried the Mallas was that the Gorkhas had come into possession of excellent arms and lots of money with which to prosecute war. The Mallas didn't  know from where the Gorkhas had got them.  The British government had supplied the weapons to the Gorkhas, but his fact has been kept hidden in Nepal history's books. The secret treaty under which this was done is still preserved in London in the archives of the East India Company.  The pact was signed by Captain Ceane and the Gorkhas. The British government agreed to supply weapons and advice, and in return the Gorkhas had to destroy the old trade routes between India and China.  The Moguls of India had a flourishing business relationship with the Mallas of Nepal, and this trade accounted for 30 percent of the wealth of the Moguls. The British want to get their hands on the riches.  According to the accord, Prithvi Narayan Shah received 800 muskets along with 21 British advisors. And in 1766, armed with British weapons and intelligence, the Gorkhas attacked Kirtipur. The people of of Kirtipur could not resist the superior arms, and two third of them were killed.  The cruel Gorkhas cut off the noses of the survivors. Till today this place is known as the "village of the noseless". The Mallas then realised that the situation had become precarious.  Jaya Prakash Malla, King of Kathmandu, was an intelligent ruler. He wrote a very touching letter to the East India Company appealing for assistance against the Gorkhas. The East India Company subsequently sent 15 very strong men under the command of the captain named Kinloch to help the Mallas. This captain was quite fond of drinking alcohol.  When the British arrived at the hills leading to the Kathmandu valley, they faked being defeated by the Gorkhas. The Gorkhas pretended to hit them and they acted as if they were wounded. Like they say in our language "Chhan daye then ya, jin khwaye then yaye." The British wanted the Mallas to think that the Gorkhas were too powerful to fight with.  Jaya Prakash Malla then looked to religion for support. A prophet told the king that the future of Nepal depend on the Kumari. And so in 1768, the festival of Indra Jatra was celebrated with extra fervour. The Nepalese drank lots of rice beer during the festivities, especially on September 13 on the day of the Chariot festival.  They did noticed that the Gorkhas had entered the city until they had surrounded Kumari Chariot. Pandemonium broke out. Jaya Prakash jumped down from the chariot with his two wives and escaped to Lalitpur.  Prithvi Narayan Shah stepped in front of the bewildered crowd and shouted, "I'm now your king. Carry on with your drinking"  Many Newars drank rice beer because they were terror-stricken. The Gorkhas put their swords to the neck of the Newars who refused to accept the new king, so they had no choice but to obey.  In the following winter, the Gorkhas also conquered Lalitpur withour any opposition. The Mallas then gathered at the palace in Bhaktapur. The palace was well defended. And following the advice of his British advisors, Prithvi Narayan imposed a blockade.   After three years, Bhaktapur's food stocks ran our. And one night , an illegitimate child of the Mallas opened the gates to the city. The valley's three kings were arrested in their bedrooms. Jaya Prakash Malla committed suicide. To show his big-heartedness, Prithvi Narayan allowed Jaya Prakash to be brought to Pasupatinath for the final rites. Bhaktapur's king Ranjit Malla, who had given shelter to Prithvi Narayan Shah, was not killed; but his eyes were put out  and sent to the Hindu holly city of Banaras. Tej Narasingh Malla of Lalitpur  did not want to exchange any words with Prithvi Narayan.  Tej Narashingh was imprisoned in a vault and walled up. A small hole was left open to pass food to him. And for tow days, a bowl rice was put near the hole. When they say that Tej Narasingh had not touched the food the hole was bricked up.  Prithvi Narayan Shah did everything according to Captain Ceane's suggestions. He said Prithvi Narayan, "The people of Nepal are very hard working and intelligent. That is why they are very dangerous. We need to strike terror into their hearts in order to control them. Don't let them come to power even after many centuries. We need to obliterate their minds the idea of ever rising up to seize power. This can only be achieved through harsh laws and violence.  Accordingly, Newars were not allowed to read, write or repair their houses. If they broke the law, they laced the death penalty. In 1770, two and half thousand Newars were killed. The second generation was thoroughly intimidated and gave up. The third generation started to forget. The tax records of 1767 show that 176 different kinds of fruits and vegetables were grown in the valley.  After Prithvi Narayan Shah took control of Nepal, the old cities began to stagnate even though so much money was pouring into the cityscape that occurred were the result of earthquake.  The British naturally benefited greatly from their cruel plan, In 1778, the Mogul Empire became bankrupt and was force to become a colony of Britian. The whole of central Asia suffered after Prithvi Narayan took over Nepal and closed the old trade routes.  Tibet's economy too was negatively affected. The depressed economy forced monasteries self-reliant. This was how feudalism emerged as a shadow  on the gentle face of the Buddha. There was a negative effect even in China.  The British were also not very happy with the Gorkhas. The Gorkhas had tested blood, and did not give up violence. In this way, they conquered all the hill states. The Gorkhas turned the countries into a "forbidden land". As long as the country remained closed up, the British were not disturbed. But in 1789 the Gorkhas become crazy and went to war with China and England.  Britain's General Ochterlony said, "We have to keep the Gorkhas busy so that other things besides conquest come to their minds."  Lord Hastings wrote in his diary in 1817. "To bring peace in Nepal, the Gorkhas must be kept busy and far from their country."  This policy led to the recruitment of Gorkhas soldiers into the British army. The Nepal government took one-third of the money sent home by the Gorkhas. It was and important source of income for the government of Nepal.  After the Gorkhas began leaving Nepal, their was peace on the frontier as well as within the country. But there was no peace in the king's palace. The Shahs fought among themselves. They didn't care about the country or the people. They remained engrossed in their own interest.  Then came the Kot Parwa, and Junga Bahadur Rana took over power from the Shah king. Last edited: 16-Jun-10 09:20 PM