Dipendra of Nepal

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Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
King of Nepal
Reign	June 1, 2001 – June 4, 2001
Born	June 27, 1971(1971-06-27)
Died	June 4, 2001 (aged 29)
Predecessor	Birendra of Nepal
Successor	Gyanendra of Nepal
Royal House	Shah dynasty
Father	Birendra of Nepal
Mother	Aiswarya

Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (June 27, 1971 – June 4, 2001) was King of Nepal from June 1 to June 4, 2001. As Crown Prince, he killed his family at a royal dinner, including the previous King, on June 1, 2001. Dipendra was also mortally wounded by what the official report characterizes as a self-inflicted gunshot to the side of the head. After the murder of his father, he officially became king for three days as he lingered in a coma.

Contents 1 Education 2 Motive for murder 3 Conspiracy Theories 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Education

Dipendra received his early education at Budhanilkantha School, Kathmandu.

He was then educated at Eton College, England. The prince had been disciplined while at Eton for selling alcohol.

After Eton, he attended Tribhuvan University in Nepal and later joined the Royal Nepal Military Academy. He studied through his master's degree from Tribhuvan University and was a PhD student in the same University. He was known to have been skilled in karate.

[edit] Motive for murder

Main article: Nepalese royal massacre

Official reports state that Dipendra assassinated family members because of anger over a marriage dispute.^[1] Dipendra's choice of a bride was Devyani Rana, daughter of Pashupati SJB Rana (C Class), a member of the Rana clan, against whom the Shah family of kings have a historic animosity. In recent times, though, Shah kings and princes have married almost exclusively members of the A Class Rana family. The Rana clan had served as the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal until 1951, with the title Maharaja, and the two clans have a long history of inter-marriages.

According to official accounts, Dipendra was denied his choice of a wife by his mother Aiswarya, and so he massacred his family in a much-publicised incident after indulging in a drinking binge. Among the dead were his father King Birendra, mother, brother, and sister. Dipendra survived comatose for three days, and was proclaimed King in his hospital bed. He died of his injuries on June 4 and was succeeded by his uncle, Prince Gyanendra^[2].

[edit] Conspiracy Theories

Some people in Nepal suspected that Gyanendra was responsible for the massacre, and that he blamed Dipendra so that he could assume the throne himself.^[1] Gyanendra, less popular than his brother Birendra, had been third in line to the throne before the massacre. He was out of town (in Pokhara) during the massacre and was the closest surviving relative of the king. Gyanendra's wife and son were in the room at the royal palace during the massacre. While his son escaped with slight injuries,^[3] his wife was injured during the incident.^[4]

Feeding the rumours is the allegation that Dipendra was mortally wounded by a gunshot to the left side of the head, while Dipendra was right-handed. Some believe that this casts doubt on whether the injury was self-inflicted.^[5][6]

Despite the fact that several survivors have publicly confirmed that Dipendra was doing the shooting, as was documented in a BBC documentary,^[7] many Nepali people still consider it a mystery. Recently a novel has been published in Nepal named "Raktakunda" which recounts the 2001 Royal Massacre.^[8] This novel looks at the incident through the eyes of one of the surviving witnesses, Queen Mother Ratna's personal maid, identified in the book as Shanta. The book, which the author says is a "historical novel", posits that two men masked as Crown Prince Dipendra fired the shots that led to the massacre. Shanta's husband, Trilochan Acharya, also a Royal Palace employee, was killed along with 10 Royal Family members, including the entire family of King Birendra.

[edit] See also

• List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time
• History of Nepal
• regicide, patricide and fratricide
• Nepalese royal massacre

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Murder and intrigue in Katmandu (World Tibet News Network)
• Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains (RWOR)
• Trapped in tradition (Frontline:India's National Magazine)

Dipendra of Nepal Shah dynasty Born: June 27 1971 Died: June 4 2001
Regnal titles
Preceded by Birendra	King of Nepal June 1, 2001–June 4, 2001	Succeeded by Gyanendra
Nepalese royalty
Preceded by Birendra	Crown Prince of Nepal 1971–2001	Vacant Title next held by Paras