Regmi Research (Private) Ltd Kathmandu: March 1, 1980.

REGHI Rl�SEARCH SERIES Year 12, No. 3

Edited by

Mc.cl1.esh C. Regmi

Contents Page 1 • Trade and Commereial Taxation in Jumla ••• 33

2. Prithvi Narayan Shah's 4- Victory • • • 2

3. Pritam Shah.of Garhwal • • • 48

Regmi Research (Privat e) Ltd Lazimpat, Kathmandu,

Telephoneo � 1 6927

(For private study and research only; not meant for public sale, distribution, and display). Trade and Commercial 'i'axatiQ.!l.j.. n Jumla Trade Regu1 atJon§l__ _f_Q.t.Jiur;u

Extracts from Thek-Thiti Settlement Order for Mugu Village, Shrawan fJadi 4, 1903 (July 18L1-6). Regmi Research CoJ.lectiot4 Vol 80, pp 253-254. ;'The ryots of the fifteen dar".s of Jumla customarily do not visit Patan (for trade). They shall observe this custom in the future also, and continue to trade in Mugu.

,ilf anybody clandestinely visits (:Fatan) from Mugu and Chhapakhola, yayments (dastur) shall-be collected from him at. the same rates as in the case of' Chhapa. i;People who visit the market ([email protected])at f'lugu from Chhapa shall not be prevent,.;d fru.i1 doin:; so by the inhabitants of Mugu, Darma and Humla•. ·., . 11 Tm inhabitants of 1'i.'ugu shall allow those from Jumla to conduct t rade in the traditional manner and collect duties {phuru) at the c ustomary rates. They shall not make any collections in excess.

.iThe inhabitants of i>�ugu shal?-- visit Tuduk for purposes of trade only Qnce (a year?) with the permission of the ..Jimmawal. -

1 • The inhabi�ants 9f Chrm,pa and Thumi who visit Mugu shall not conduc--c trade across the lekh _,reg:1-on. '. , > J I 11 The inhabitants of that area have comnlained that moDeylenders demand a payment (hatak) when they visit the nmarket (hat) 1 insist on salt procured from 'fibet in repayment of loans in foodgrains, and &.i)proprL"'te interest on (sales of) cloth, as well as interest at cornpound rates •••• No such collections shall be made in the future.

"We hereby abolish the ;jagat duty collected at Ltuns from inhabitants or 1-1ugu, 1·::aran add Dolphu who visit the Khasan region for purposes of trade. 'l1he abolition will be retroactiv,� from the Vikrama year 1891 (A.i.J. 1834). 11

·rrade HegulatiQ.ns for Tibr.ikot

Extracts from Thek-;i'hiti Settlement Order for Tibrikot, Shrawan Badi .4, 1903 (July 1846).

Regmi Research Collection� Vol 80, pp.· 329-388. The amali shall not purchase thituwa cloth and blankets at con¢essional prices. \vhile measuring them, do not add the breadth of the thumb. 34.

The amali shall not purchase hor.se s between the ages of six months and eighteen months. He shall purchase only horses of above fil_haiya (?) with the consent of the seller (rithi ?) at reasonabJe 1")rices. The amali shall purchase hawk.s at reasonable prices current in the area. He snall not corner all supplies, thereby mono_,olizing the entire trade.

The amali, bhardars and other officials (pagari) shall pay four rupees for ev ery six months f or buffaloes procured. bY them for_ the supI:ly of 111ilk. In the case of milk cows, they sh all p ay two rupees for r-=very si:c months�

People who visit Tibet shall pay wages to por-.ers at the rate of two an;ias every day.

The 16-ganda ruppe shall be used e:-:.s the unit of account while selling and purchasing foodgrain::.,, ghee, oil and salt. The·balt Trade in Humla

Bhadra Sudi 14, 1903 (September 1846)

Regmi .Research Collection, Vol 80, pp. 293-294

Traders f rom Kunda, Rask ot, :Falata and Galpha in Jumla visi tPd the village of Chalapuye in Humla to trade in <,alt. They belonged to the J'ai::.,i and .3hahi (Tri'akuri) comrnunitie� whereas the inhabitants of Chalapuye village were of ;'Bhoten U'ibetan) stock •...

� Rishiram Jaisj_, Pradip Shahi, Bardi Shahi and Hiraman:i Jaisi complain,:,;d to Kathmandu that the Bhotes of Chalap,1.ye .; i foodgrains -·• village were exchanging the r for sa· 1t at unfa,r-,:rabi� r;1.tes contrary to the customary pr&ctice. An order was then issued directing the con cerned parties to observe the customary pract�ce. Complaint of a �1halmri 'J.'raclc.r

Bhadra Sud.i 14, 1903 (September 1846) rch Collection, Vol p. 299. Regmi Resea Bo, Complaint submitted by :clarsing Shahi, a trader of Chulakot village: ,;we have, traditionally,enjoyed the privilege (rekh) of conducting trade at Limi. Recently, h o the Asya s of HUlilla and t e B� tes of' Dhigachhyapke enct_roached upon this privilege and confiscated our goods worth twenty-· one rupees." .35 ..

Rekh Rights

Extr�cts from regulations p romulgated for Jumla distric t on Baisakh Ba.di 13 , 1907. ' '-

. . \ Section 13t. 'l' he inl.ubitants of'tareas'·tcmtside Jumla shall conduct trade only at those places whe re .they have been doing so from forme r me ti st. They shall not encroach upon the rekh rights of the in.habitants of Jumla while conducting tradet. Regmi Research Colle c t_t..,o..!h Vol 80 , p. 583 . Dispute Ove:c...1.r.n_ding HL' h:t§ The trade rs of Tara-thapaula submitted th e following petition to Katlima.ndu � ;;From former times '.I we have been taking our surplus produce (badkar) to Nisi-Bhuji for trade . r-:o ob struction was caused to us .·Th ese days the inhabitants of Maikot J.o not allow us to tr avel through ':.their village, slaughte r ou r geldin1; goats, and loot our money. i;e ryots, who depend on trade for our livelihood , are thus suffering gr(.; al t y. 11

· • The government thereupon ordered the local administrator, Sar.dar- .Ha.tabir Shahi , to summon both side·.s and settle t�1e dispute . The order added, illf it is prove d. that the · mon9 y (of the traders of 'i' ara-thapaula) has been locted, punish the guilty persons and re s�ore it to the own� r s •. I t appears that p ayments collected as Jagat by the i nhabitants of Maikot from traders of Parbat and Rukum who visit Tibet to procure salt have not been included in the revenue settlement . Find out how much is actually collected in this manner , ob tain offers from prospective collectors , and submit the draft of a thek contract. 11 we shall then affix our seal on it. Regmi Research Collection Vol 80, pp . 506-50? .

Trading Right s in Lag11 and Tarap

'J.'he inhabi tants of Moplang 'Vi.llag e in Jumla used to visit Lagu and Tarap for trade. Howeve r, the inhabitants of Asi , Pansaya, Chaudhab is , and Tripurakot later contested thei r ri�ht (mh) to do so. The case came up for hearing in K athmandu . Tn the course of the he aring , r epres2ntatives of the four divisions · (dara)tmcntioned above were unable to substantiate their claim t""fiat' the inhabitants 0f Moplang village h ad no ri ght to trade hts of in Lagu and Tarap .+t was also h eld that the trading rig the inhabitants of J1..llllla and ori ginally been conferred by its former Ra ja. 36 .

A· royal or d<�r was, therefore , issued on Bhadra Sudi 9, 1903 reconfinning the right of the inhabitants of Moplang village to trade in Lagu and Tarap . Regmi Research Collectt.,on, Vol 80 , 0 0 . 535-536 �

.§ources of Com,nercial Revenue

Under the �-tl1i t:i_ system in Jumla, Mukhiya s were granted authority to appropriate revenue from the following sources as well: 1 • J-arr-1 t duties • 2. 1JilG,si and dalali duties on hawks and ho rsese. 3. One-fifth of (income from muske. 4. Honopol.y trad.·v in wax • 5. Fees for stamping clothe. Divi sion l2!lm Re:ference Tibrikot Shraw�n Badi i.:, 1903 I!I!9,, Vol 80 , pp . 329-3f,8 Soru Je stha Balli 14, 1907 RRC , Vol 80, pp. 547-551 Sija Baisakh Badi 13, 1907 EBQ, Vol 80 , pp . 551 - 55? Palata do RRC , Vol 80 , pp . 557- 573 Rakal do _ .!IBQ, Vol 80 , pp . 573-576 Sanni do .!IBQ, Vol 80 , pp . 604-1 2 Barhabi s do lIBQ, Vol pp. 625 Bo, Gwn Chaitra Sucli 7 , 1900 Itihasa-Pra�asha Vol 2 2 No . 2, pp . 273-_284-. 37.

The royal order issued on Chai tra Sudi 7, 1900 for, the Gam division of Jumla district has mentioned the rates of duties on horses and hawks at the point of sale as follows :-

Horse so : One rupee as ..m:-}c� duty One rupee as da.J.ui.. duty HJ.wks: Sahi (female) hawk ofle ss than 2 years (challe) .... Rs 4 do . betwu:m 5 and 8 years (Khadkurche ) • • • Rs 2 Ju rra (male) hawk of loss.. :.than 2 years (chalL3) • • • Rs 2 do . between 5·and 8 years (Kliadkurche) • • • 8 annas • (For a description of hawlrn of di:r'feorent age-groups , see Sthira Jung Bahadur Singh, Karnali Loka-Sanslcritio. Kathmandu : Royal i·k:pal A cademy, 2028 ( 1 971 ) , Part 2 , pp • 1 59-160) •

Jag�t Duties in Pansara On Bhadra Sudi 9, 1903o, Jaldhar Shab·i, Ram Singh Shahi and Jadhu Shahi were granted a thek for the collection of Jagat duties at Sarmip-ipal in the Pansaya division

I n Yari Villaq;e

'J.'he saine day, Sir-i;�uruboke o f Yari vi llage in Humla wa s granted a the l< for the "lollec tion ,of Jagat duties at customary ratesa. The amount payable under thea� wa s raise d from Rs 15 to I:s 17 yearly. He was instructed not to colle ct duc.ie s in exc,es s of the customa ry rate s. (Regmi Resu.rch Collec t;i_q_g , Vol 80 , p. 520) •

J"agat Duties in T:ibriko.t.._

On BhadraaSudi 9, 1903, a �hck contract was g ranted to �hani Bishnupada Padhya , Devi Cb:indra Padhya, Sharmanand.a. Padhya and Damodar Kathay�tt for the coll€ ction of Jagat duties at Ko tchyan, Dulkhus, Hariko t, Rigma , Pugma , H atya­ dhunga, Bhalubalasa and 'l'aratali in the ·r ripurakc,t (•ribrikot) divi sion (.Q.9;.�) of Jwnla llstri ct. They were instruc ted to collect these duties at cus tomary rates on s alt, �o?l, blanke ts , c�1y,., ;.1gra goat s _ c:nd othe r (Ki rana) c ommodities brought by 1:,ra.ders from '1' 1 be t, Jumla , and the Auliya (i .e. the malari2.l arGa s of the southern plains) · a s well as by Sarnal traders. The ar.1ou11t of the tl-iek was previous ly Rs 251 ; it wa s now i ncr1::as•::: d t o Rs 4o1•

The order added , ::rnclude thi s r-'-rn ount as · ins t allments Call due in the total pa�rim.mt stipulated .from the dara and transmi t it to the amali . Use the maaa customarily u sed at the local kot for m�asurin6 (in:kind puyments) collected as Jaga t from .;� u1 1ya , Samal , and other traders. If any trader trie s to evade Jagat duties and smugglea. commoditie s, c ollect twice the amount of Jagat due fr0m him.a11

(Regmi Re search Collect:i.Q.n , Vol 80 , pp . 527-528) • • 39.

Collection of Jagat Duties Bhadra Sudi 9, 1903 (September 1846) (Regmi He search C0llecti_Q.l} � Vol 80, ppo. 502-503)o. Parchhram Rant and Birchham Rant 1,-1ere given a contract (thek) for the collection of Saga_-t d:,1ties at Narupani in H'-'-kal, and at Karnukhe t in Barhabis, in Jumla districto. The payment stipulated from them under theo·contract amount to Rs 31 every ye aro. 'l'he rates we rG _1 s followso:- Descoription Rate of Jagat Du"t.x Horses ••• 1 rLrpee each • Sahi (femaleo, , ) 'iia'wks ••• 1 rupee each ••- .. -..-,J:1:.H' •i2a-- �1ale) ha wks ••e• 8 annas each Wax • • • 1 anna per dharni Blanlcets (Pakhi) .... 1 paisa each Cloth ••• 1 p.iisa per piece (thFLn) Musk -• .. 1 anna per pc:,d Othe r commo­ dities • • • 1· anna per �-load. The nrder added: "Collect t he se duties from all traders, including those of Jumla tlumla , Doti and Dullu, as w�ll as from bhoteo·oand Khamba traders , but not from those traders of Jumla wlwo. have already paic\ Jagat duty at another placeo. The amount .of Rs 31 due under the . contract will be inclurted in the payment stipulated for the entire division (Q.. �r,a ) (under the thek-thi ti system). In case any :trader attempts to evade these auties, collect an amount double the duty due from him. Capture criminals who travel through that route and hand them over to the · amalio. Cap ture runaway slaves and hund them over to their owners 11 and collect a recovery fee (Pannuni)for each such slaveo.o On Baisakh Badi 13, 1907 , the tl}fili· granted to Parchhram Raut and Bichhram Haut for the collection ·of Jagat duties, as mentioned au ove, was .terminated. The thek was then granted to_ :cadhimal Shahi , TUl.u •Kunwar and Ghud Kunwaro. Places where the duties were to be collected we re listed as Kamukhet, Bhalayapani , So..cpari, and Satipilio. Other terms and conditions were the same , except that traders from 11.chham were .. a].so mentioned as t ho se liable 40 .

to pay Jagat duties at those places. 'I'he tari ff schedule was aL.w the same , al though wi th one exception� The Jaga;t duty on Khanjj_ cloth was prescribed at one p aisa per piece (than) ; and of othe r cloth at 1 anna per piece . (Regmi Re serirch Collecti.Qp..,_ Vol 80 , p p . , 587-589)a.

Jagat Duties_ i.n r�u.311

On Bhad ra Sudi 9, 1903, a 1!}fil} contract w as granted to Thani Shivaram Padhya , Kalu Padhya, Prasuram P adhya , Jadhu Josi, Banamali Josi and hadhu ,Jo si for the collec ti on of Jaga,1 duti es at Chhirn�abebar in Hugu. The amount payable unde r the contract wa s Rs 35 a y ear . 'r he rate s we re fixed a s followsa� - . ··"' "'· Descript=h.Q!l Rate of Jagat Duty Foodgrains ·... 1 mana per manload 1 pas ar per luk� Musk • • • 1 anna per pod Wo ol ••• 1 .-anna per lukche Ghe e , oil • • • 1 abna per manload Blanke ts • • • 1 paisa each Cloth .... 1 paisa pe r piece (thain) Ka tJJlia • • • 1 � p er m�nload n, a (Regmi Research Collectio Vnl 80 1 �P• 528-530; · Itih � a V 2, Part 2, pp. 263-2b41a. · Fraka sha, ol • I '· . The inhabitants of Juml a subsequently su��itted the following petition to Kathmandu : 11li'onnaerly, th� inhabitan ts of u .J mla and Humla used to pay Jagat dutie s at one place only. Those who p aid such duties at one place were not require d ta pay them again at another placea. During the revenue settlement of the Vikrama year however, Thani Shivaram Padhya , Kalu Padhya and Ba190nam3,a li Jaisi obtained a the k contrac t· for the imposition and c olle cti-0n . of Iagat duties at Chhirnyabebar in the Mugu-Karan area, fo r which they stipulated a payme nt of Rs 85. The local peopJe have suffe red gratly because they have now t0 pay Jagat duties at Chhirnyabeb�r . The amount � tipulated unde r the. the k cannota, th ere fore t be raise d. We pray t hat the traditional a rrangement s or the inhabitants of Jumla a nd .HUinla be rec onfirmed and the Jagat duties impos·e d at. Chhirnyabebar be aboli she d." 41 •.

The following royal orde r was then issued on Baisakh Badi 1 3, 1907o= :,with effect from the revenue ye ar 1907, the inhabitants of Jumla and Hurnla need not pay Jagat duties at any place where they have not been doing so from former times. They shall pay such duties onlY. at those places where tney have been doing so from : former times. "We he reby repeal the royal order granting a thek contract �or the collection of Jagat duties at Chhirnyabebar to Thani Shivaram Padhya, Kelu Padhyr. and Banamali Jaisio. With full as surance, understand that the traji tional arrangements regarding _.I_agat duties have been reconfirmed.11 Baisakh Badi 13, 1907. (Regmi Research Colleq__t_iQ.u , Vol 80, pp .- 602-604)o. Other Sources of C om;n.3 rcj_al Revenue

On Bhadra Sudi 9, 1903oj Jimmawal Dhakti was granted a contract f or the collection c.f r eveonue from the following sources which had not been included in the lhek-thiti revenue for Jumla di strict:- Dutie s on the stamping of cloth brought for · sale by traders, �sowell as by l ocal �r other Jogis and sanyasis. A duty of one rupee on each kiln used for �he manu:(acture of bangles by people be.longing , , to the Churyada �ommuni ty . Payment stipulated under the contract amounted to R-:- 15 a year. (Begmi Research Collection, Vol 80 ,_ p ., 540).

itcl!C_ ,;:,:c,:::: �al:*ll• ,:, *,+* ' 42..

Pri thvi }!arayan Shah I s Vi ctory (Mohan Prasad KlJanal , stAngre jko Akramanama· F i i r thvi Narayan Shahko Vijaya ' �Pri t.hvi Narayan Shah'as victory i n the B r ti sh invasi i on) ,�- A ncient l·Iepal (Journal o f t he Depa rtment of Archaeology)a, �w . 14, January 1971 9 pp . 57-61 ).

Even at the time when Chr·is tLm mis sionaries had entrenched them selve s in I ndia, and some of them had even reached China, 'i'ibe t and Dhutan, built churche s there and s tarted converting Huddhist Tibetans to Chri stianity ,, Nepal was free from t heir influence .

� er, it1 17� 1 V�krariia� "'.hen Bhim3. Malla , the we '?��:' t ll­ known M1mste r o f I<:ing .l!rataj_J a li&lla of Kantipur , travelled to Kuti via Tatopani, and ine t the au thorities of the Ti be t an gove rnment with the aim o f fu rther strenc;theriing c ommercial links betwe0n �fopal and 'l'ibet and to that end, prepared t n the dra�ta. of a _ �eat;z o ? ons�l ar and legal affairs, and later v1sited .:::iln.karJong in tne company of a party of Lama:3' and held talks w-lth s overeign of that c ountry, a small party of Christian missionaries, who had visited Tibet to propagate .thei r 1.·eligion, arrive d in Kathmandu Valley with the permi ssi on of King Pratapa Mall9.., met him , and re turne,d. to through the Sindhuli .route. Cabral, leader of thes e mi s sionaries , had earlie r been t rying to locate a shorte r and more convenient route for returning to L1dia, anJ. accordingly, de cided to use' the same rc· 1 te which had been used by Bhima Malla for returninb to Kantipur from Tibet . 'r he missionari0;; we re thus ab le to vi sit Kuti ; � Digarcha and Lhasa through the Sindhuli Valley in thea•· e a ste rn hill re gion of i1e pal, and then D olak.ha, travelling along the banks of the 'l'amalrnshi, in stead of traversing the Himalayan range via Bhutan . Although the wate rshed o f the Mahabharat range , the s outhern valley s , and the inner 'l' arai w,::: re then under the c�ntrol of the Sen Kingsa, tr avell ers on both s ide s did not t::.ce any difficulty i nasmuch as King Harishara Sen, who had e staoli shed his capital at Vijayapur , and King Pratapa Halla of KiJ.ntipur, had promoted cordial relations be tween themselve s .

Having foWld out a shorter and more conve nient route for travelling betwe en India .and Tibet, the �hristian missionaries b e g an looking for a favorable opportunity t o e stablish the.ir bases in Kantipur. In 1731 Vikrama, Pratapa Malla died. He w as succ� e �ed 1?Y Nripendra Malla, who was the n a minor. Chautara �hi��ti c ontroll ed the reins o f admini stration. A t the age of 18, Nripendra Malla died (173? Vikrama ). He wa s succeeded by his younger b rother, Parthiv�ndra Malla . I n _ 1?44 Vikrama , that i s, barel y seven years after his accession to 'the trone , �ar thiv;endra Malla was poisone d to d eath . lf he people -:>f Kantipur s tarted searching for the guilty person. However, King Ji tamitra M alla o f Bhaktapur came -over to Kantipur and managed to put an end to the tense situation. rle placed Bhupatendra Malla, who was the n a minor, on the throne of Kantipur and then returned to Bhaktapur.

The Christian mis sionarie s we re then feeling frus trated because the rulers of- both Bhaktap·.1r a:r;i.d Lalttpur hated them , and the situation in '.Jhaktapur too was not favorable from their point of' view. li'i.!lally, around Vikrama, that is, during the reign of King Bhaskara 17M72alla al so named Fiahindra Sinh:-�) - son oi' Bhupatendra Malla and grand­ son of Pratapa M alla, th2 christian mis sionaries we re able to establish a base in Kantipur. By that time, peace had been re stored to so..inG exte nt in Kantipur. Later, they ·extended thei r ir.f'luence in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur whe re they found seve ral convE.!rts.

After his E..c cession to the throne in'hi s ancestral Kingdom of Gorkha, in Vikrania , Pri thvi Narayan Shah went to Varanasi with 17the99 aim of malcing preparations for the invasion of-Nepal Valley. While in Varanasi, he learnt what the white missionaries we re seeking to do i n India. After asses sing the situation in India, Prithvi Narayan Shah p1ocur.sd enough arms and re turned homea. and , as pa.ct o f his plans , attacked and occupied the forta. of Nuwakot in. 1801 Vikram. After occupying m ore · villages and fo rts in Kathmandu Valley, he launched 1-.n economic blockade . King Jaya Pral{ash M alla of Kantipur apprehended a . threat to his Kingdom from the Gorkha anny, whi ch was then tightening i ts noose around him through the blockode. Howeve r, tbe two subsequent defeats of the G orkhalis in the battle of Kirtipur b.oostod his moralea. In 1819 Vikrarna, the forces of Prithvi Narayan Shah occupied Makwanpur • . This alarmed King Jaya Prakash M alla . However, he felt much relieved when K ing Digb andhana Sen o f Makwanpur sent Kanak Sinha Baniya , onP of his Kazis� as an emi ssary to Naw&.b Kasfoi IUi �(han of Bungal wi th an a1)peal f or military assistance . Kasin Ali Khan sent a L..trgo force under the command of Gurgi Kh2 �11 to fight against the Gorkhali s . The Muslim troops commanded by Gur ji Khan, however , proved no match for the G o rkhalis , who we re trained in guerrilla warfare, even though they had bettera·weapons . The Muslim s force s finally tool;: to thei r heels. Pri thvi Nr.rayan Shah felt delighted wh�n he heard of th'3ir flight. Jaya M alla, on the other h<;nd , felt more w..lanned. Prakash

' . The Go rkhaliSa, t-rho we re ,�inning a series of vieto:·ie s, invaded Ki rtipur for t he third .time , and finally scored a victory therea. This djasheartened Jaya P rakash Malla g re atly. The Capuchin and ot her Christian mis sionarie s w ho wer� the n stay�ng in Kantipur were �ikewise feel�ng app�ehe nsi vea. Having realized that the G orkhalis were �ertain - to wipe out all the- three � alla Kingdom s of- the Valley in the ne ar future , they felt they might have to qui t Nepal in t he same way as they had had to leave 'fibet. 44.

Father Giuseppa, who was staying in a Kathmandu chu rch thought that the British would never be able to c ome b ack ' to Nepal, much less occupy i t, unless they changed their strategy quickly. A ccordingly1 he started exhorting King Jaya P rakasha MaJla, who was then rerr,aining inactive , to drive out the Gorkhalis with the military assist ance of the British . It 1,ms the policy of tbe Jritish at the time to m,ve about in the guise_of mission�ries, and once they had entrenched themselves in any terri tory , to begin t rading in goods, and finally i nterfere in its political affairs, and even invade it to ens ure European dominance when the situation appeared favorabl0 t o them. Their advice reassured Jaya Prakasha ivlalla to some extent .o ..\fter consultations in his Palace, and with the consent of :-:ing Ranajit Malla of Bhaktapur, J"aya Prakasha r-lalla sunt a de tailed message to the Governor of the C alcutta C ouncil and seeretly forwarded it along with a letter containing the recommen­ dation of Fa ther Giuseppe . The message was sent through the Chi ef o f Patna, who forwarded it to the Gove rnor at Calcutta along with his own personal letter s tressing the need for despatching an expedition to Uepal . A Special - Committee of the Cal c utta Council , afte r deliberations over the messageo, arrived at the d ecision that the British should attack Pri thvi Narayan Shah's forces. Accordingly, the C ouncil di rected Rumb oldt of Patna to send a message t0 King Prit hvi N arayan Shah asking him to.lift the bl ockade of Kathmandu Valley and refrain from attacking Jaya Prakasha Malla's Kingdom. The message warned that o therwise trs East I ndia Company would declare him an �emy and se:i.r'., troous to fight against him. In addiotion, the Council ordered Captain Kinloch, who. had just come back afte,.r winning a victory i n the battle of Tippdrah, to proceed to Patnao. King Prithvi Narayan Shah receiv0d a message from his informants in Patna to the effect that Jaya Pralw.sha Malla had sent a message to the British pleading for military assistance anci. that the British were planning to attack him soon . He , therefore , started preparing to repulse the imminent British attack. When he received a le tter containing an ultimatum from Rumboldt, he threw it into the waste-paper baslcet and despatched some Gorkhali troops under the command of Birabhadra U padhyaya, his treasurer, Kaji Varnsha Raj Pande , and Banshu Gurung , a hunter, to the Sindhuli area. In 1786 Vikrama, Nanda Muni Parsai, a resident of Jhangajhol� in Chainpur, h�� purchas�do,:;some lands at Mugi tar f'or Rs 1,200 from h.J.i1g Jagat Jaye, Malla, who hc..d succeeded Bhaskara Malla (Mahendra Sinha) af.ter the lat tero's death. His scJ;>., Kri shna Parsai had also acquired large arc�s of lands at Pakarbas and Manthali, thereby gaining fa.me as a rich and influential landlord. His son, itamachandra Parsai , had also exter.ded his influence far and wide. He was on tho side of King J·aya Prakasha Malla of Kantipuro. The Gorkhalis ,otherefore , want�d to win him over to their side. 45.

In the meantime , pilgrims returnin8 to the hill areas thro ugh Janakpur, spread rumors that a Bri tish invasion through the Sindhuli· route w;1s imminen t. Gorkhali troops commanded by Kaji Vamsha Ra j Pande, Birabhadra Upadhyay a and Banshu Gurung had the n r e:ache:d a place called Nigale , which was located at a distance of just one Kosha away fro,:.1 the Sindhuli ?ass, and startGd m"'-- intaining a s.trict / wa�ch on the movem ent of pilgrL!IlS tr,ws] ling through the Sin- dhuli route , and mal{in[: other pr·:: 1)2,r:i.tions . The pctopl ,;s of th0 Malla :,:in ::;doms we re then noting that greater t ranquillity prevailed :.;_n arE::: as conquered by . the Gorltllalis than in thosv controlled by the Malla rulerst. 'r hey also noted that the fomu..:r were better administered than the Malla Kingdo m s . 'rhcy were f\,;8.l'Jn::.; a Bri tish invasion in response to the invi tati oi.1 from Jaya Prakasha Mall a, because they kn--:w of rumors th;�, t the British had committ1;d m assacre and plund�r in certain provinces of India som e t ime ago. Tho people, therefore , f1:�1t that it would not be in their inter(;st to remain on t he side of King Jaya Prak&sha Ha11a, and that the King of Gorkha would protetct their honor and property if they offered ··whole he a rt8d coop e ration to th0 Gor-khali t roops in driving out the British. 'l' herofore, Ramachandra Prasai, the l?-ndlord of Mug�. tar , which is ·located a bout 3 .!.ill§� from the Ramechhap hill, met the Gorl:lm1i com;.nande rs wh o were camping near N igalo . He aske d them if t_here was any truth ill +be rumors that the whi1:,0 troop s we re seeking to attack through Sindhuli, and if so, w hat,they intended to d� •. He expre s sed his opinion that Gorkhali troops stationed at S i ndhuli would not a postheiti on to drive out the Bri tish. If the Gorkhali s did notrein adv ance b eyond Nigal e a nd if, for �hat matter, the British man ag8d to climb the hill and forced their way through the Sinclhuli Passt· t hey could reach N0pal V alley easily& As such, it would be good if the Gorkhalis mov1.:d beyond Nigal e and strengt hened t heir fort at Sindhuli 1-'iadi. He said, "If His M aj esty so commands, we shall supply ne cessary foo d and w ater to the best of our ability. We do not hav8 as much money as the Kazi s would wa nt us to pay. We will have to make efforts to arrange for sufficient f unds. \� c will also im_;>rGss necessary Jhara labor.a A petition to this effect was submitted in Bhadra (September) 1824 Vikrama. The petition was ·accom­ panied by a note recommending that Ramacthanura P_ra sai be won over f or tho sake of procuring nG ccssary money and rations. The petition was r ush0 d to Kirtipur through a courier.

On receivi!"lg tm,s pcti ti.on, r:�ing Frithvi Narayan Shah immodia tely sturiiI)onGd E.ama Krishna Kunwar one of his com manders, who had then movGd to Chabahi i , and ·ordered him to tak� necessary steps and proceed to Sindhuli wi th m� c'3ssa.ry troops. He sent wec:..:pons, outfits and other equipment �ene rally userl by court:.i..�rs to • Ramachandra farsai , ·:.,long with a'm0ssagc bearing the royal seal, which s tatedt, 11 We have receiVGd your petition and 0 noted it s ,contents. You h ave rigbtly enqui'i�d about rumo rs that the British are going to atta·ck . It is true that the British are goi ng to a ttack through the Sindhuli route a s an ally of Jaya Prak<'isha. No on e c an say that they wi ll spare Nepal a fter having c onquered India. G orkha and Nepal are one and the sa1ne country, with Gorak.ha nath as their common deity. The Sritish a re lil�e w olveso. If they conque reo. us, none of us will su rvive" "'.l�ou h,:.ve s·,.,1-�ge stGd that we mu st build a fort in 8iadi1i.1� i.-:•i::.di , Ii'or · ti-"e time being, however, it would be go�d to positi cn ourselve s at Ni aa1eo· itself. \1/e willo· l a tc1 1· l1c.via to move to the Sindhuli Pa�s . But the re is no need to shi i"t tc,; the plains, that is, to Sindhuli-M adi . If ti ,2 Brit:i.sh a t tack , it wi ll be . very hard to win a victory over them in tha.t area. Jaya Narayana has not mobilized ad2c1uate Jh�� Libor at Khurkot . He , the refore , are depending on your c ontribution in thi s re specto. The palis ade s have to be buil t strongly. Rs 2000 would suffi ce for the pre sent. S2e that the ra tj_on s you have a greed to procure arc suffi cie nt to meet o ur requi rements fo r contingencies also. If' you ask for lands in conside - ration of this coope ration) we will grant you a r oyal charter once, our Kazis have submi tted a recommendation to this effect after ma.king inquiries. :\Je have despatc hed ne ce ssary reinforc ements from here . For: other thi ngs, we can only rely on you .If yoµ work hard in our intere st, we 1 1 shall t ake c are of you .o

Khurko t lie s on the riGht banks of the Sunko shi --:ive r on the foo t o f the Ramechhap hill . Nig ale... is si tuatec!. at a distance of approximately 2 Kosha from Khurkot. At a di s tance of one Kosha from Khu rl-rnt lies the Sindhuli Pass on the M ahabharat rar.geo. 'I' he Sindhuli Pas s has been well known since ancient t imes. In 1824 Vikrama, the t roops o f King Pr-ithvi Narayan Shah had buil t a fo rt (Gadhi ) at this pa sso. So it has been c alled Sindhuli -Gadhio.

By the time Sardar Rama Krishna Kunwar le ft for Sindhuli with troop s af'd wea;)Ons , Ramachandra Parsai had j oined the c ourtiers with money, ra tions ,- and Jhar� laborers. The troops unde r the command of Rama Krishna Kunwar, Vamsha Raj Pandey, Birc;1bhadra Upadhyaya and Bamshu Gurung as well as the men accompanying Ramachandra Parsai, built two big forts on the Chuchure hill;;, on the right and left flanks . o f the Sindhuli Pass, and a strong i:ali sade in the foothill lyine; b eyond them . In addition, they quilt fort at the •filkethan hill lying on the Beni-Rame chhaa ngstro ong mountain rangeo. The men following Jaya l� arayan Thapa �agar, an inhabitant of liga1e , a s also the troops , we re divi d.ed into four columns . One column was deployed at Dhungrebos unde r tbe c olllinand of Eam shu Gurung. Anothe r column was despatche d to Tilkethan. Half o f theo· remaining troop s was divided into two g roup s , one c ommande d by Kamsha RaJ Pandey, and the .othe r by BirabhJ.dr'i Upadhyaya . The Dhakres under the control of J·::. ya Ha.r·ayan T})ap a Magar we re assigned - 47 . the duty of procurin1s b ees, wa sps and scorpionsc, w hile the remaining men, including those unde r the control of · Ramachand.ra Parsai , were lrn pt ready for an attack from the Briti s h .

Meanwhile:, Captain Kinloch, c omm ander of the Briti sh troops, had colleccted enou gh meri a;.1d arms. He now needed a gui dec. H e soon found one in Ramarlas Bai ragic. When Father Gui seppe sen t a mess&ge to Hamboldt warning that the Gorkhalis troops rr,.1..ght occupy K�nti..1iur if the British troop s did not. a ttaclc before the month of :�shwin , Captain Kinloch l eft f or Sindhuli wi th his expediti onary force. However, the Gorkhc: li inf o n nants in Janalcpur came to know of th€) arrival or the invading troopsc. On re ceiving this informati on, the me rchant s of .Tanakpur a nd other areas closed their shopsc. :. !h<=: n Gap to.in r:inloch reached Janakpur , he found it dif'ficul t to :�-• r·ocu re SU.i.Jplie s for his forcesc. T he b.citi sh troops, none thel ess, continued their thrust in the hope o f obtai nin;; Sll:flp lies in hill areasc. Proceeding from Dhalkebagur, they reae;hed Sindhuli-Madi via Lalgadh and the ·ban!-:.s of the Kar�ala river. At dawn , they . l eft fo r the Sindhu1i P,.1 s s with mules and porters carrying cannon and s upplies. J:. 11 their Gi ovements we re being wat ched by the GorkL-:.Lli tr9opsc. i 11c::::"while , the G o rkhali forces under the corr.:nand or' Jay::'- Ha rayan 'i' ha.pa L agar , we re de spa teh:!.ng bees , wasps and s c orpions from the Sindhuli Pass to Dhungrebasc. H a rdly had the invadin3 forces reached the poiLt down the Pass than the men ,under Jaya �arayan Thapa M a gar started 'throwing · the; bee s,' wa sps and scorpi onr with stone � and arrous at the British forces , who were; dre ssed in red a nd b l ack uni forms . Be ing stung by the · insects, tr..e _'3ri tish forces fel:il: ne rv ous. They suspectedc· that the inse ct attack had b een arranged b y the Gorkhalis. They found that G orkhali troops were actually campi ng ne arby. Thereupon, they trained thei r guns on the Sindhuli Pas s and s tarted firing . H owever, their cannon missed the target because t he big rock of Dhungreba s s tood in their way . 'r hey, the refore , had to move a little furthe r cautiously. No sooner had they reached n ear the newly-built palisade s of the Gorkhali troops thanc. they we re confronted wi th a two-pronged attack by forces unde r the comm and o f �azi Vamsha Ra j Pantle and Birabhadra Upadhyaya. There wa s panic among the British troop s . Hardly had the British troops recove red from their shock than ano Lhe r strong column under the co.,u.:w.. nd of Rama Krishna Kum-1ar , assaulted them from the re ar. The reupon,cthe British troops started running helter-skelter. However, Captain Kinloch came fo rward asking his fo rces no t to feel demoralize d. The B ri ti ch then reg rouped ancl st�.rted h�t ting back at the Gorkha�.i s. But they we r0 confro nted by ye t ano ther c olumn commanded by Vamshu Gurung , ·so that they felt dem·oralized an d started fleeing . But there was only o ne escape route , and it was th rough that route that Vamshu Gurung had attacked the Bri ti sh troops . As a re sult, feve ral British soldiers we re killed, and a few of the wounded mana ged.. to escape along wi th Captain Kinloch. That is why a very small number of 4-8 .

British s o ldiers we re taken p ri s on1::r b y the G o rkhali t roop s . After the s urrende r of th8 s e troops the Gorkha , -- lis force.d them to . carry the weapons , captured f;. orn the Bri tish forces through the pass , and later fre ed them . After treating the Gorkhali soldiers who had been wounded in thi s battle Sardar Rama Krishna Kunwar left for the Hariharpur fort . Afterwards , Prithvi fai.rayan Shah sent t ·.1rbans to hi s victo rious co1m,c..c11cle rs , ancl eel so cor.ferred a rank of honor on Ram:::.. l!handra Farsai of r-:ugi tar t hrough a letter bearing the royal seal .

Pri tam :Sh::ili of Garhwa:J_

In October 1803 , Gorkhali troop s le;d b y Amara Sinha Thapa Chau tari ya Ha stidal Shahia, C hautariya Barn Shah, and othe r leade rs invaded Garhwala. Pradyumna Shah, the Raj a of that .territory , was killed in the,bat tle of Khurbura in Janw::1. ry 1804-. Hi s brother, Pritam Shah, wa s taker: prisoner and sent in custody to Kathmandu .

(Eu.win T. Atkinson� The {Uma1 ayan Dis tricts of the No rth­ We ste rn Province s _Q.f Indi_cb., Allahabua; Horth-Western Provinces and Ou dh ::... o vcrnme nt Pre s s , 1884- e Vol IIa, pp . 61 5-616) . Pri tam Shah was accomlJ :.1.ied by fifteen of hi s men to I:,.u1m andu . On Kc:irtik Badi 7, 1862 (Octobera.1805) , the i j arudar of Bhadgaun \la s ordered to keep them in detention , not L.::t anybody visi,t them and not le t them e scape . HE:. was also ordered to g 1ve them six annas dailY for salt, _ghae and oila, as we ll as four loads of firewood and four bundles of leave s. On the same day , the Kap arde r of the royal household , Bhotu Pandea, was ordered to supply them with 1 pathi of' marsi rice , 3 pathis of hakuwa: ri ce , and 4 111::.na s of urd , peas and othe r lentils every day .

Regmi Research Collection, Vola. 19, p. 320.