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A real retold story
"Deliverance of Justice the Chandra Shamsher way"
This week I wish to provide soft material to my dignified readers within and without. The thought is to ease the societal burden of our readers, if any, by presenting stories that give an inkling into the past history of the country which have yet to be recorded in our archives.
One such anecdote, in its say retold form, by an intimate business-man cum intellectual would be in the fitness of things to be reported here in a lighter vein.
Though the write up is being presented in the form of a story, however, the idea behind is to facilitate our booklovers to get to know as to how the deliverance of justice was conducted in the good old days of the Rana oligarchy.
The Ranas were well known for strict discipline, tough in their behavior and more so were acclaimed here and there for their pre-emptory orders that took the form of a law and could not be challenged in any court of law.
The friend went on to say…..
It was then the sovereignty of the Rana Prime Minister, Shri 3 Chandra Shamsher. It so happened that in a remote village, Mangal Tar-the other side of the famous ROSHI River located Far East of Kathmandu, lived a family that comprised of father and a son. Stories have it that the father and the son were not in good terms but then have had to live together.
As the luck would have it, the family had a land problem and the issue was drawn to the apex court. In those days, for the final hearing of the case one have had to come to Kathmandu.
So one fine morning the father and son proceeded towards Kathmandu and since the distance was too long, have had to stay underneath a tree for a whole night.
As the divine intervention would have it again, the father was slit by a world acclaimed Nepali Knife called, KHUKURI, while he was asleep during the night.
Next morning, people of the area were surprised to see the father being killed by some unknown person with a sharp knife. It was a merciless murder. The throat of the father was slit with the knife. People, as is usual in the villages, surrounded the place where the cold-blooded murder had taken place. The son, out of nervousness, ran having the same knife in his hand, which was sufficient enough to make him the real slaughterer. Circumstantial evidences were enough and the son later pleaded guilty but to no avail. He continued to convince the people and the court in Kathmandu that he was not the killer of his own father. "How can I kill my own father|", he used to question those who pointed fingers at him. However, out of frustration for having overly grilled, the son now began telling all and sundry that he was the killer and that he had killed his father while he was asleep. A case emerged now that of self-admission that facilitated the court proceedings to act upon in a much easier manner that would have been just the other wise had the son rejected the guilt.
In those days, the Ranas have had a system to penalize the murderer in a different manner. It some what resembles the way the Arabic rulers used to torture the murderer prior to awarding capital sentence.
The son, the acknowledged killer but not yet convicted by the court, in our case too was decided upon by the highest court headed by the prime minister, Chandra Shamsher, himself that he be hanged on a particular day. The system prevailing in those days was also the accused or the person to be hanged was toured around the main thoroughfares of the city with much fanfare so that others watching the event could draw a lesson as to what happened to a killer or for that matter a wrongdoer of such a magnitude.
The son was thus made to move around the city and the people thronged to see this man's plight. The son, the accused, had already become a lifeless person, let's suppose.
Interestingly enough, the Ranas used to run the administration through the employment of sleuths, eavesdropper and spies around the city all along in order to get the real information that would later support the rulers on how to proceed. This means that Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher too had plenty of sleuths posted in the city who were supposed to tell him of the events or happenings in the locality. In this case also when the son was being toured around the city, sleuths and spies were doing their job secretly.
Later when the crowd came to today's what is Bhotahity-close to Ason and Ratnapark, some one in the crowd murmured in a low voice that "a kind soul is being sacrificed for nothing".
The posted spies, thank the Almighty, could hear this low voice and suddenly came into action.
The detectives in the informal dress began interrogating the person who had said so of the man to be hanged. The interrogators asked as to why he among the crowd of many had spoken that a kind soul….
Later upon serious interrogation, the person saying in low voice said, "Look, I am a Brahmin. I have killed the father. The person accused of killing is in effect innocent. The reasons were that I knew that the father and the son were not in good terms with each other. In addition to this, I have had a minor tussle with the deceased one over the land issue. The fact is that when the father and son proceeded for Kathmandu, I too chased them keeping a comfortable distance. During the night, I killed the father and left the knife in such a fashion that people would suspect the son. Thus I did my job. I killed. This is my self-admission. Free the one who is being alleged to be the killer".
The secretarial machinery came into rapid action. The message was later conveyed to the prime minister. The son was summoned to the Premier's place. Chandra Shamsher asked for forgiveness for having declared him the guilty. Thus the innocent soul was saved from being hanged and the real one was penalized.
The entire story does tell the mode of deliverance of justice in the Rana days. It also tells that how a system or a system of governance is best kept better informed by the sleuths and informers roaming in plain dresses. This story also explains the importance of the spies in the smooth functioning of the administration.
Finally, it also explains that though the Ranas were rough and tough towards the laymen, however, what also becomes pretty clear that should the situation demanded, the Ranas apologized for their mis-readings and tried to correct their rulings through appropriate reforms.
End text.
I thank my friend for narrating this story which I suppose would enlighten many of us who wish to learn about how the Ranas administered the nation more so in the sector of justice.
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