Today our country is in a mess. The transition to republic has not been very smooth. In this context, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s death is a big blow to our country.
Our future generations will read that once upon a time in Nepal there were four leaders who had integrity, principle and belief and who thought about the people and the country. They wanted all Nepalis to live with dignity in a democratic country. The four leaders were BP Koirala, Subarna Shumsher, Ganesh Man Singh and KP Bhattarai.
KP Bhatarai was humiliated many times by none other than his own party, Nepali Congress (NC). And to me it didn’t come out as a surprise as I had seen my father being humiliated by the party time and again. However, what came out as a surprise to me was that a great leader like Bhattarai was labeled un-progressive and undemocratic by the self-proclaimed progressives and revolutionaries within the NC. Now, that he is no longer with us, he is being admired by the same lot that criticized him and ridiculed him.
I vividly remember the events following the 1960 coup by King Mahendra. My father, along with BP Koirala and KP Bhattarai were put in prison. Subarna Shumsher went into exile. When my mother, Mangala Devi Singh, was released from prison in 1964, my family’s situation was quite bad. Those days, another NC leader Surya Prasad Upadhyaya helped my family, and those of other NC leaders who needed help. There were many NC leaders who helped us in those difficult times while in exile in India. When the then government freed my father along with BP Koirala and KP Bhattarai, Bhattarai would regularly come to our home and was quite close to our family. He was our uncle, a loving, caring uncle.
As people who had a long association with Bhattarai, I have many memories of him, both political and non-political. Politically, I feel my father became close to him after the demise of BP Koirala. Then, father wanted to reorganize NC and launch the satyagraha movement in 2042. Bhattarai was quite supportive of my father’s plan and he co-operated with him during the movement. Similarly, KP Bhattarai was one of the most important figures of the 2046 Movement that restored multi-party democracy in the country.
However, there is one incident that proved Bhattarai was not someone who would take injustice quietly. Before the 2046 Movement, at a function in the Indian Embassy to mark Nehru’s birth anniversary, my father equated the king with Nero. For this my father was charged with National Offence Act for the third time in his life. The following morning, he was arrested and taken to Charkhal Adda in Dillibazar for interrogation. Bhattarai, along with Yog Prasad Upadhyaya and Basu Rijal went to Dillibazar and chanted slogans supporting my father. Others too joined in and there was a mild lathi charge. My father was released in the evening, but the event was a precursor of what was to come—the success of 2046 Movement.
Of course, my father and Bhattarai had their differences but both of them respected each other’s views and fought for democracy in the country together. Leaving the individual differences aside, they worked together during the 2042 Satyagraha and 2046 Movement.
He always encouraged me and my sibling in what we did. During the festivals such as Ghode Jatra and Janai Purnima he would come to our house to eat simple Newari dishes that my mother cooked, of which kwati was his favorite. After the death of my parents, especially after his forced retirement from active politics, he would talk fondly of my parents and shower us with affection and love. He used to tell that he was a pure Brahmin who didn’t drink alcohol, but when he met my father, he started drinking as my mother would offer him aila (newari liquor). He was a prominent guest in all our family functions and as long as his health permitted, he attended them. And no matter where he lived, we would go straight to his bedroom and he would welcome us with a broad smile.
Of all the things Bhattarai was, he was good at managing money. As a result of which NC was able to buy the land where its present Central Office stands. Bhattari’s money management skills raised the amount from membership charges of the party.
Now that he is no longer alive, I have come to realize what he meant for me and my family. I feel a void that’s impossible to fill. As a loving caring uncle, he never made us feel the absence of our parents. He was a guardian to me and now, only after all these years of my parents’ demise, I feel like an orphan.
Writer is the daughter of Late Ganesh Man Singh
Related story
Sold in India by her own maternal uncle, girl returns home afte...
