NATIONAL 5 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Force For Unity

The army has played a major role in building modern Nepal under astute and skilled commanders like Kaloo Pandey

By AKSHAY SHARMA

"Nepal is known abroad for its feared Gurkha warriors and Mount Everest," says Diego Mamambio, a tourist from Chile. Less known to foreigners — and many Nepalis, too — are the contributions of the Royal Nepalese Army to nation building.

When King Prithvi Narayan Shah embarked on his campaign to unifying petty principalities into modern Nepal, the top army personnel were known as Kazi, Sardar, and Kapdar. The Kazi played the chief role in the army and not every Kazi was given the status of commander-in-chief.

King Prithvi Narayan’s reign saw the reorganization of the army. The Kazi was given the power of the commander-in chief. Kazi Kaloo Pandey is said to have been the first commander-in chief of the Nepalese army. The son of Bhim Raj Pandey, Kaloo was born in Gorkha. He had three sons, Bansharaj, Ranasur and Damodar and a daughter, Chitrawati.

Kaloo Pandey was a well-known tactician and had a clear understanding of the complexities of warfare. He was known to have contained the attack of the Chaubise kingdoms that stood in the way of the unification campaign.

In 1642, Kaloo Pandey set up a crucial meeting between King Prithvi Narayan and Lamjung’s King Ripumardan Shah, which proved pivotal to the unification campaign. "This was possible because the king of Lamjung’s son, Bir Mardan Shah, and Kaloo Pandey’s son Bansharaj were childhood friends," writes Bhim Bahadur Pandey. This meeting assured Lamjung’s support for Prithvi Narayan Shah’s unification drive.

During the third attack on Nuwakot, Kaloo Pandey led the Gorkha troops by the Sinchet-Gorhku-Mahamandal-Eksish route and emerged victorious. This laid the foundation for the unification of Nepal. The rag-tag Gorkha army that was just beginning to emerge before the unification campaign was trained by Kaloo Pandey.

Kaloo Pandey played an important role in containing the Kathmandu-Tibet trade route as part of his integration plan. By taking Sakhu and Nagarkot, Kaloo Pandey had the valley within sight of his musket. The troops were able to capture the territory from Panchkhal to Dudhkoshi.

The Chaubise kingdoms, which were against Prithvi Narayan Shah’s unification policy, attacked Siranchowk, Gorkha in 1755. Kaloo Pandey is credited with repelling the army and scaring away the Chaubise kingdoms for good, writes historian Baburam Acharya.

The Malla kings of Kathmandu valley were devising a plan to counter the Gorkha campaign. Kaloo Pandey believed the Gorkhalis should create a rift between the Malla kings before launching a full-scale attack. However, the young King Prithvi Narayan Shah ordered Kaloo Pandey to mount an attack on the city of Kirtipur right away. The combined forces of the Malla kings wiped out 1,200 Gorkha soldiers, along with Kaloo Pandey.

It is recorded that the King of Kathmandu, Jaya Prakash Malla, took Kaloo Pandey’s head. His weapons were hung in the temple of Bagh Bhairab at Kirtipur where they are said to be until this day. The Gorkha army took Kaloo Pandey’s body and cremated it at Dahachowk.

Kaloo Pandey was a key aide to Prithvi Narayan Shah in the integration of Nuwakot, Belkot, Kaladom (the Nagarkot area), Thadhi and Dudhkoshi. He was a reputable citizen of the Kingdom of Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah wanted to encourage closer relations between the rising courtiers of Pandeys and Shreepalli Basnyets.

Prithvi Narayan Shah decided to give Kaloo Pandey’s daughter, Chitradevi’s, hand in marriage to Shivaram Singh (Tripali) Basnyet. Basnyet was killed in the unification drive at a place called Shanghachowk, north of Dolalghat in Sindhupalchowk.

So Kaloo Pandey’s daughter was married to his son Kehar Singh Basnyet. It was from here that the famous proverb "the shield of a Pandey and the sword of a Basnyet" became popular.

Bansharaj, the eldest son of Kaloo Pandey, was born in 1738 in Gorkha. After the death of his father at Kirtipur, King Prithvi Narayan named him commander in chief. He had two sons, Kanak Singh and Rana Bam Pandey. Bansharaj fought valiant battles in Makwanpur, Timal and Sindhuli (1762), Kirtipur (1764), Chihandada (1766), Pauwa Gadhi (1767), Tanahu (1770) and Lamjung (1783).