July 05, Kathmandu.
The proposal to declare Sardar Bhakti Thapa a national hero has been circulating in various ministries for almost a decade. The proposal was not found in the ministry to be submitted to the Council of Ministers. Due to this, the proposal went round in Singha Durbar. Last time, the proposal reached the Council of Ministers through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The cabinet meeting held on 28 June decided to declare Sardar Bhakti Thapa a national hero.
The practice of declaring greatness has been going on in Nepal since the Panchayat period. Since 2056 BS, 4 national dignitaries have been added. But so far there are no clear criteria for declaring greatness.
Due to the lack of criteria, it has been alleged that the declaration is made under pressure and influence rather than based on a contribution to the nation. But the government's decision to declare Thapa a genius has been praised by some historians and experts in the field.
Proposal tangled in the ministry
When the criteria and scope of work were not clear, the process of declaring Sardar Bhakti Thapa as a lunatic revolved around three ministries. So far, it is not clear which ministry will propose the declaration.
The Bir Bhakti Thapa National Unity Study Center had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation demanding that Thapa be declared a Vibhuti. According to ministry sources, the ministry sent the proposal to the defense ministry saying it did not fall under its purview. An official of the Ministry of Defense informed that he was sent to the Ministry of Defense as he has a personality related to the army. After the Ministry of Defense sent the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs saying that it would not fall under its purview, the Council of Ministers declared Thapa a national hero on the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Home Ministry spokesman Janak Raj Dahal said, "It is not clear which ministry falls under the purview of proposing the declaration of merit, so we have sent the proposal according to the policy of the Home Ministry not to cover other ministries. Its scope is not clear."
The tradition of declaring greatness without any clear policy has been criticized by scholars saying that even though some deserving people have received this title, some people who have not been identified in history have been declared great.
Bhakti Thapa 17th Vibhuti
Bhakti Thapa has become the 17th national icon of Nepal. The government had declared Mahaguru Falgunananda as the 16th national hero on December 3, 2008. The 15 national dignitaries announced earlier have been declared during the reign of the king during the Panchayat rule in 2060 BS.
Cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi says that the practice of declaring national identity has started from the Panchayat. Even then, it was the Council of Ministers that made the crucial decision.
The then government declared Pasang Lhamu Sherpa as a great man on April 26, 2059 BS and Shankhadhar Sakhwa as a great man on 3 December 2056 BS. Apart from the above, Gautam Buddha, Anshuvarma, Sita, Janak, Araniko, Ramshah, Amar Singh Thapa, Prithvi Narayan Shah, Bhanubhakta Acharya, Bhimsen Thapa, Barbara Kunwar, Tribhuvan, and Motiram Bhatt are national heroes.
It is commendable to declare Bhakti Thapa a great man
During the unification of Nepal, in 1839 BS, Dalmardan Shah, Vanshraj Pandey, Jiv Shah, and others attacked Tarkughat, the capital of Lamjung. At that time, Bhakti Thapa was the commander of the Lamjunge army.
After the victory of Gorkha in the battle of Tarkughat, Bhakti Thapa was taken prisoner by the Gorkhali army and brought to Gorkha. Due to his loyalty to the country and an efficient army, Prithvi Narayan Shah's army at that time may have made him a prisoner of war. Jagman Gurung.
After bringing him to Gorkha and making him a prisoner of war, he gradually became positive towards the unification campaign. Then he started fighting on behalf of Gorkha. Gurung says that his greatness is to support Gorkha by forgetting his enmity to support the unification campaign of the country.
According to the history written by the Nepal Army. Thapa died at the age of 72 in the battle of Malau on April 20, 1872.
Thapa, a skilled and honest military officer and a staunch supporter of national security, had been proposed for declaring him a national hero for nearly a decade. Historians are happy that the government's decision on 14 June brought justice to a heroic warrior after nearly 200 years.
Historian Ramesh Dhungel says that the government has made commendable decisions in this regard despite some controversial and bad decisions. Dhungel said that it was commendable to declare Thapa a national hero even though there were few national heroes to be proud of in Nepal.
But Dhungel understands that when government officials give the title of Vibhuti from Goji under pressure and influence without evaluating the contribution, it is an insult to the deserving Vibhuti.
No one's identity, no one's name
Arani is the fifth national hero of Nepal. Aniko's name comes after Gautama Buddha, Sita, Janak, Anshuvarma based on the estimated period and not the date of announcement But Arani's characters are not found anywhere in the source of Nepali history. His name is not known for sure.
According to cultural expert Joshi's book 'Artist Araniko', Chinese sources have confirmed that he went to China from Nepal, but local sources have not mentioned Araniko's name so far.
Dr. According to Dhungel, Arani is translated from the Chinese name Valgo Anig. According to Chinese sources, even if he has gone to China from Nepal, his real name has not been identified yet.
However, it is not clear what kind of personality the government will declare a national hero. It is not possible to get a degree by not having access to the government even if one is qualified without specifying the criteria based on war, literature, religion, or any other genre.
Looking at the field of literature, Bhanubhakta Acharya and Motiram Bhatt have been declared a national heroes. But since then, the same great writers have not been able to become great. Dhungel says, "What was the weakness of Laxmi Prasad Devkota who could not become a great man and was not made?"
Even some of the greats proclaimed based on religious beliefs have not been proven by history. King Janak and Princess Sita, who are believed to have been born in Janakpur, are characters in religious stories. Even though he was an ideal character in a religious story, what did he contribute to Nepal? The issue is not clear.
V.S. History has not spoken clearly about Shankhadhar Sakhwa, who was declared a hero in 2056 BS. The locals of Kathmandu pay homage to Sakhwa in remembrance of the language genealogy that freed him from debt after the sand became gold.
But there is no scientific evidence to prove that sand itself is gold, says Dhungel. There is no mention of him in any archaeological source except for a statue of Pashupati carrying a conch. Apart from language genealogy, there is no reference to him in other genealogies as well.
Dhungel also raises questions about the criteria by which Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was declared a genius. He suggests that when declaring a person a genius, he should prepare a basis for clear criteria by mentioning his contribution to the state.
"Many of the characters have been declared geniuses in terms of accessibility," he says.
"Why didn't Subba Prahlad Gurung become Vibhuti?"
Many historical characters have not only become great but also failed to become great. Looking at the contribution of Sthiti Malla when he became a hero of Anshuvar, he is also considered to be worthy of greatness. One of them is Subba Prahlad Gurung.
Fifteen years ago today, the government had formed a committee under the coordination of Modnath Prashrati to declare martyrs and heroes. Culturologist Jagman Gurung recalls, 'Prashratiji also asked me to name a person who has made a great contribution to the nation on behalf of Gurung. I gave the name of Prahlad Gurung who was killed while presenting his heroism in the war with the British in Rajgad. But later he said that even Vibhuti could not be declared a martyr. Perhaps if there was a clear criterion, he (Gurung) would have been declared a national hero. '
Dr. According to Gurung, Prahlad is also a warrior who attained heroism along with Bhakti Thapa. The day after Thapa's death in Malau, an army team led by Amar Singh Thapa set out to attack Rajgad. In the same battle, Subba Prahrlad Gurung was martyred. Then, on 6 April 1872, Chautaria Bam Shah declared the battle of the western fort of Kangra over.
He said that the history is written by the army that the war ended with the death of Bhakti Thapa was incomplete and suggested correcting it.
Even now, the government of Nepal has given Gurung's company the city target to him, and his target is Taskuchin (golden glitter). It is said that Tas Kuchin Gurung snatched it from the flag of British captain Akhtar Lohani.
Even now, in the house of Subba Prahlad Gurung's child in Chaur village of Kaski, that mark is left and there is worship from the government guthi. Gurung explains.
