KATHMANDU, Dec 16: The Black Day is being observed nationwide today in protest against the ousting of the first democratically elected government with the backing of the then Royal Nepal Army's power.
On Poush 1, 2017 BS, the first elected Prime Minister, BP Koirala, along with other leaders, was detained with the use of military force, and the then-King Mahendra initiated the Panchayat system of governance. Prime Minister BP Koirala, who was participating in a program organized by the Nepal Tarun Dal, along with other leaders, was arrested from the event itself and held captive in Singha Durbar for three months before being transferred to Sundarijal.
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BP Koirala and other leaders were imprisoned at the residence of the chief of the Nepalese Army's arsenal in Sundarijal, surrounded by walls. This prison later became known as the Sundarijal Detention Center. During his imprisonment there, BP Koirala wrote several works, including the short story collection ‘Swet Bhairavi’ and novels such as ‘Modiain’, ‘Babu, Aama Ra Chhora’, ‘Sumnima’, Tin Ghumti’, and ‘Hitler Ra Yahudi’.
After the events of Poush 1, BP Koirala, along with the then-Speaker Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, ministers, and party leaders such as Ganesh Man Singh, Surya Prasad Upadhyay, Diwan Singh Rai, Ram Narayan Mishra, and Yogendra Man Sherchan, were imprisoned at the Sundarijal Detention Center. On September 9, 2004 (Bhadra 24, 2061 BS), the detention center was declared and inaugurated as the BP Museum.
Today, Tarun Dal and others are observing this day as Black Day, marking the attack on democracy. On this occasion, the Nepali Congress, Nepal Tarun Dal, and other affiliated and well-wisher organizations are set to organize various programs across the country to observe the Black Day.
