Rebel Rana writer who survived the noose

KATHMANDU, Aug 23: He was born with a silver spoon and was destined to rise swiftly in the army ranks, being the bearer of the most powerful surname of his time. But fate had other things in store for Diamond Shumsher Rana, 92.

Rana became a pariah in his own community for publishing a novel during the Rana regime when rulers loathed public education and kept a tab on writers to check the spread of awareness. To make matters worse, the novel exposed the intrigues and bloodshed that brought the Ranas to political prominence.[break] Published in 1948 in the twilight years of the 104-year oligarchy, Basanti, a novel that spans from pre-Rana period to the Kot massacre and the rise of Jung Bahadur, earned him powerful enemies in the government, but endeared him to the fomenting anti-Rana movement to the extent that he was eventually asked to lead an anti-Rana rally in the capital.

The rally that he led despite being a serving army captain earned him death sentence. It took the political change of 1950 to save him.

“It was a narrow escape from death,” said Rana on Sunday at his residence in Kupondole.

The diabetic who underwent heart surgery six months ago after suffering a major stroke following the death of his wife struggled to remember dates and names of events and people who turned him into a writer, something he never considered becoming.

Rebel insider

Rana was born on July 5, 1918, at Tansen Durbar when his grandfather Sher Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana was the governor of Palpa.

After looking at the newborn´s birth chart, a family priest told his father Buddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, an army colonel, that his name must start from the Nepali letter ´Da´, thus leading to the name Diamond.

Rana received no formal education and following family tradition joined the army.

By the time he became Army Captain, Rana had become exhausted arguing among family acquaintances that giving people their freedom was the only way to prolong the regime´s life. He eventually devoted his energies on writing a book about the Ranas.

“Being a Rana myself, I naturally had sympathy for the Ranas. Basanti was a warning to them that by hindering development they were creating a fertile ground for a revolution,” he explained.

Publishing Basanti wasn´t easy, though. Knowing that the rulers would not permit him to get the novel published, Rana left for Banares where he got 2,200 copies printed. Though the book introduced him as a writer, it was Seto Bagh or The Wake of White Tiger that he wrote during six years of imprisonment from 1960 to 1966 at Nakkhu that gave Rana the real taste of success as a writer.

“At Nakkhu, there were 200 political prisoners including Girijababu,” said Rana who was an active member of the Nepali Congress from 1954 to 1987. “Writing was the best thing one could do,” he said. Published in 1970, Seto Bagh turned out to be a huge success.

“It was also successful commercially. To be honest, it was the book´s commercial success that turned me into a writer,” he said.

Rana now lives solely on the royalty of the seven novels that he eventually managed to pen, and Seto Bagh has been translated into English, Japanese, German and French.

The novel that recounts the end of Jung Bahadur and the rise of his brothers at the cost of Jung Bahadur´s sons has been criticized for historical inaccuracies. For this, Rana has an explanation. “You can´t expect a book written in prison without reference materials to be historically accurate,” he said.

1,000 bighas to tillers

During BP Koirala´s premiership from 1959 to 1960, senior Nepali Congress leader Subarna Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, who had inherited 20,000 bighas of land proposed to BP that the land be taken by the government and given to the tillers.

“It was not BP´s policy to confiscate the property of Ranas, as he believed that assuring security to property would encourage the Ranas to bring money they had sent to India back to the country. But he consented to Subarna Shumsher´s proposal,” Rana said.

“BP asked me what he thought about the proposal. I told him I was also willing to give 1,000 bighas of land that I owned in the Tarai to the tillers,” said Rana, who was a fresh entrant in the party at that time. The magnanimity of the two Ranas was eventually accepted. The land was acquisitioned by the government and eventually handed over to the tillers.

But this was not all. Rana also gave and additional 45 bighas of land he owned in Bithuwa, Rautahat, to the tillers.

“To this day, the tillers come to my house and express gratitude,” he said.

Does he regret his decision to part with such huge swathes of land?

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I earned as a writer what I could never earn as the owner of a thousand bighas of land,” said Rana, who takes pride in his ability to raise and educate his children with the royalty of his books.

“My daughter, son-in-law and grandson are doctors,” said Rana, whose son has taken retirement from government service.

“I raised a family by writing books. I gave my children good education. I have no qualms about the choices I made,” he said.