KATHMANDU, Jan 12:  298th birth anniversary of late King Prithvi Narayan Shah was observed today by organizing various programs across the country.

Prithvi Jayanti is observed every year on Poush 27 of the Nepali calendar in honor of late Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. He has been credited for the country's unification.

Prithvi Narayan was the king of Gorkha when he began the national unification campaign in September 1745. After conquering Nuwakot, he annexed many other small principalities to his kingdom.

According to the Nepali calendar, Prithivi Narayan Shah was born on 27th Poush, 1779 BS (11 January, 1723 AD) in Gorkha district and was credited for unifying various small principalities to build modern Nepal. On the occasion, Acting Chief of Army Staff Sharad Giri and high-ranking NA officials offered their tributes to late King Shah by laying a wreath on Shah's statue.

Earlier, the Nepal Academy had organized a rally with a cultural procession and a carriage carrying a life-size portrait of late Shah was taken across various places in Kathmandu before turning into an assembly in front of Shah's statue in Singha Durbar.

The mass also marked the presence of political leaders, officials of the Nepal Academy, former administrators and scholars who offered bouquets to the idol of Shah. Present in the commemoration were people from various organizations such as Thakuri Samaj Nepal and Greater Nepal among others who held placards and banners and chanted slogans in praise of his unification bid.

They also demanded that Poush 27 of Nepali month be declared as the National Unity Day, the day traditionally celebrated as 'Prithivi Jayanti' as declared as a public holiday until the political change brought by the people's movement in 2006.

In their separate messages, President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli remembered Shah's contribution to the country's historic unification.

The Kamal Thapa-led Rashtriya Prajatantra Party hosted a tea reception at Nepal Police Club, Exhibition Road in Kathmandu to mark the day. Chairman Thapa addressed the event which was attended by political party leaders including Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, ruling Nepal Communist Party leaders Bhim Rawa and Subhash Nembang, NC leader Gopal Man Shrestha; and former ministers Pashupati Sumshere Rana and Prakash Chandra Lohani.

Various programs were organized in Gorkha and Lamjung districts to mark the birth anniversary of late Shah.

Nepal Army had organized a unification torch rally from January 1 to 6 along the ancient route from Gorkha to Kathmandu via Nuwakot used by late king Prithvi Narayan Shah and the Gorkha troops during the unification campaign of Nepal. The unification torch rally had started from the Gorkha Palace in Gorkha on January 1.

(with inputs from RSS) 

 
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