While the plane VT-COZ flew over Kathmandu valley "at a very low altitude almost brushing past the housetops, people of the capital city were showered, leaflets—from the heavens". People were shocked first, but welcomed it later with their minds and hearts when they read out the matters on the leaflets: "The liberation army forces have moved in at nine points in the country to resurrect the people, the nation and the king." It further stated,"Their (Ranas’) days are over now."
In those days when the people were given the rare opportunity of gazing up at a flying plane, the unusual and sudden sound of the humming of a plane surprised even the ruling Ranas, then enjoying a good day of gambling during the Tihar festival. Most people ran after the papers dropped from the sky. After the plane disappeared into the horizon, all the hustle and bustle of the capital city was replaced by calm, turning the festive mood into one of curiosity. Naturally, the event upset the Ranas. But the people’s minds were quietly illuminated with a flint of hope for political change in the country. The Tihar of I950 thus transformed into an occasion that celebrated the message of revolution in the country.
The events that took place in the late afternoon of November 10 really shook the core of the hearts of the ruling Rana family—rendering it a most memorable day of the Saatsal movement.
The humming of the airplane was like an "Aakashvani" (heavenly voice), as described in the Puranas, for it carried the message of the end of the dictatorial regime. The silent voice of the leaflets that were air dropped in the valley was integral in mounting psychological pressure on the Rana dictators. Many elders still remember the very day as such. In the record of history, it has clearly been mentioned that the plane DC-3 belonging to the Himalayan Aviation Company belonged to the ousted and exiled Rana, Mahabir Shumshere.
Top personalities of The Grand Council comprised of the party president and "dictators of the revolution", MP Koirala, BP Koirala and Subarna Shumshere. They had jointly decided to instruct the head of the volunteer army to strike in multiple places on the same night—at Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Ilam, among many others.
The motive was to end the century-old Rana family rule that had left the country in utter darkness. The Supreme Command Council of the Nepali Congress, as decided earlier, thought the perfect time to strike was while the iron was red hot—the very night the message of democracy was delivered to the people of Kathmandu. They didn’t waste a moment and lead a sudden attack on the Birgunj Governor’s post in the dead of night on November 10-11, 1950. Thir Bam Malla was a young cadet officer trained from Dehradun Military School in India and was the commander of the attack. The second in command were Puran Singh and GB Yakthumba. Puran Singh was an officer in Azad Hind Fauz (Indian National Army organised by Subas Chandra Bose) while the latter was an ex-army man from the Burma Rifles brigade. Both of them completed the unfulfilled task of revolution in Birgunj, Biratnagar and other areas of the eastern command, under BP Koirala himself. After the initial success, as the commander Malla, was addressing arrested persons and others in the compound of Badahakim’s official residence, he was suddenly shot by a Rana agent. Malla became the first martyr of the 1950 Revolution.
I had an opportunity to meet only one veteran of the Birgunj action—Puran Singh Khawas. When democratic change was declared, he had been appointed Badahakim (Governor) of West No. 3 district that had covered three base areas-Kaski, Tanahun, and Lamjung with Manang. During my visit, Khwas made an energetic speech that was so roaring that the morale’s of the opponents of democracy plummeted.
As time passed however, many such important events remained in the shadows; and there is very little knowledge about those who dropped the papers bearing the historic fliers from the plane or other commanders at other spots in the country.
But the airborne revolutionaries were no other than Batuk Prasad Bhattarai (Kishunji’s brother), Jayabar Pradhan, and the other veteran Bhim Bhakta Man Singh. When the plane was about to fly north with loads of papers, hand bills, posters, and tracts from Patna, the pilot had asked whether Nepal had any AA guns. In those days, only two such guns existed in Nepal. In case they were to be used, the pilots had learned the tactics of hedgehop. The pilot of the historic flight was none other than Captain Fraiser.
The historic changes came only four days later when King Tribhuvan took asylum in the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. Two days after that, three year-old Gyanendra Shah was declared the new king by the Ranas. The very same day, the entire royal family managed, quite dramatically, to get on a flight to New Delhi. The initial events sparked off a revolution that eventually heralded an end to the Rana oligarchy. And democracy dawned.
This is a glimpse of the history and historical events that paved the way to free the Nepali people from the clutches of a century-long dictatorship. Countless many other such events—great and small—are shrouded in the mystery of history; perhaps many of them are forgotten. Those who lived through it all, with intricate details have passed on by now. However, the month of November has a special date in Nepali history. Krantidiwas—the day 1951 revolution began, is not spoken much about these days. But it defines the history of this country’s revolutionary past. The state has been unable to give it due importance till this date. Even after ending the 240-year long Shah dynasty, nothing was done to commemorate the day that brought freedom to Nepal for the first time.
Lest we forget, without the first Krantidiwas, all other revolutionary movements in this country would not have had any source of inspiration, and would not have been possible.
Pokhrel was former Chief Secretary of the Nepali Congress
