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Nepal Travel Guide: 3,920 reviews and 10,570 photos

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The
Death Of Vishnu


Apparently
outraged by royal disapproval of his choice of bride, the Crown Prince of
Nepal massacres his family, plunging the mountain kingdom into crisis 
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<td width="100%">BY KARL TARO GREENFELD/KATHMANDU</td>
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Sunday,
Jun. 03, 2001

The docile palace guards, trained more for fawning servitude than martial
prowess, had no way of knowing that the Friday-night comings and goings of
Nepal's huffy Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, would turn out to be the prelude to a
dynastic catastrophe. When the Crown Prince and his cousin Prince Paras, 27,
arrived at the palace for the royal family's regular Friday dinner, they were
dressed casually in khaki slacks and polo shirts and had already had a few
drinks. The two were notorious prowlers of the Kathmandu night-life circuit,
regulars at the X-Zone nightclub and the Bakery Cafe, where they were at the
center of a swirl of hip kids and young adults whose preferred mode of
transportation is a Lexus SUV and whose favored intoxicant is locally
processed hashish. By the time the night was over, the two would become
central figures in the succession to a throne traditionally occupied by a
reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Until Friday, King Birendra, the Crown
Prince's father, was the god's avatar.
Nepal is defiantly individualistic, to the point of setting its clocks 15
minutes ahead of neighboring India's and practicing a syncretic, resolutely
devout brand of Hinduism. But it has always been a bit of an international
afterthought. Sandwiched between subcontinental superpower India and
Chinese-occupied media-darling Tibet, Nepal has developed such a muddled
identity that it now comes across as merely a staging ground for Everest
expeditions and a destination where stoned Western hippies can score killer
brownies.
As for the Nepalese, particularly those who live in the capital, Kathmandu,
the bewildering influx of Westerners combined with a new generation of
Nepalese who party like Westerners has left them wondering what will become of
the formerly elder-respecting, ancestor- worshipping, opposite-sex-avoiding
youth. Traditionalists and monarchists lay blame for the nascent dissolution
on the liberalism engendered by a 10-year-old democracy that has already seen
10 Prime Ministers. King Birendra ruled Nepal as an absolute monarch until
1990, when he was forced by violent protests to step down in favor of a
constitutional monarchy. But critics have assailed the new democratic values,
saying they encourage people to do whatever feels right, regardless of the
consequences: dump the Prime Minister, take a bribe, kiss your partner before
marriage. Indeed, corruption scandals plague the current government of Girija
Prasad Koirala. If the monarchy were still absolute, the critics griped, then
the traditional values would prevail.
Yet the crime that now stands as the most heinous and shocking in Nepalese
history was perpetrated in the innermost sanctum of that monarchy. At about 9
p.m. Friday, the mustachioed Crown Prince took his place at the teak dining
table in a room that could accommodate 50 people, its pink walls hung with
temple and landscape paintings. After pouring himself another drink, he began
arguing with his parents, shouting at his mother, Queen Aiswarya, who didn't
approve of the Crown Prince's romance with longtime paramour Devyani Rana, 23,
the daughter of a former Foreign Minister of Nepal. The Crown Prince was
furious that his family wanted him to marry Priyanka Shaha, a princess of
royal blood. His sister Shruti scolded him to "stop slurring your words!
You're the future King."
According to a high-ranking official, the Crown Prince then retired to his
sleeping quarters, where he changed into camouflage fatigues and equipped
himself with an American M-16 rifle and a revolver. Using a private corridor
to return to the dining room, he barged in, firing a burst that killed his
parents and shooting 12 others in the room. Among those fatally injured were
the Crown Prince's younger brother, Nirajan, and his sister Shruti. He then
turned the revolver on himself, firing a .38-cal. slug up through his temple,
the bullet exiting the other side. The shooting spree took less than 30
seconds.
When palace aides dashed into the room, they found that the King's head had
been blown nearly in half, and the Queen's body was unrecognizable save for
the sari she had been wearing. Eight of the victims, including the King, were
declared dead on arrival at the Royal Nepal Army Hospital. Five of the six
wounded were listed in critical condition. But Shruti had been prophetic when
she had admonished Dipendra. The next morning, in a coma and sustained by
life-support systems and respirators, the Prince who killed the King was
enthroned as King. The Privy Council declared that his uncle, the King's
brother Prince Gyanendra, the father of Prince Paras, would serve as regent.
The Crown Prince and Paras had become increasingly close in the past few
months, and the two shared a disregard for what they saw as plebeian laws.
Nicknamed the Killer Prince, Paras was involved in at least four hit-and-run
fatalities and several incidents of discharging firearms in public places.
Despite a public outcry last year, the King refused to revoke Paras' royal
immunity from prosecution. The facts that Paras and his family emerged from
the shooting spree virtually unscathed, and that it is his branch of the
family that will benefit the most, have prompted much public frustration.
Indeed, if the Crown Prince dies, as his critical condition presages, Paras'
father--the current regent--is next in the line of succession, which means
Paras would become Crown Prince and, eventually, King.
For now, the murderer of Vishnu ascends Vishnu's throne. This legally valid
though morally repellent succession--along with widespread disbelief of the
official version of events that has the Crown Prince acting alone--has
precipitated a constitutional and societal crisis in an already fragile
democracy. "If the King himself has been deprived of justice," asks
rickshaw puller Buta Misir, "then what can we poor people expect?"
In Kathmandu over the weekend, agitated crowds gathered around the palace, and
there were reports of panic buying of staple foods and gasoline. During the
royal funeral procession, grieving citizens stoned the Prime Minister and
other government officials, blaming them for not doing enough to protect the
King.
Birendra had made the transition from absolutism gracefully, staying above
factional politics and striving through literacy programs and public works
efforts to project an image of the royal family as a discreet, benevolent
force. Ambassador Keshav Raj Jha, a former Chief of Protocol, recalls that
when the King visited Italy in 1994, he traveled by unmarked bus and stopped
at McDonald's for coffee and snacks. "He refused to allow his security
detachment to tell people who he was," says Raj Jha. "He waited in
line just like the other motorists."
Now Nepalese are left with a comatose King who killed his father and a
regent with a high-handed disdain for the democratic process. The Shah
dynasty, proprietors of a 250-year lineage, has been virtually eradicated in a
few bursts of gunfire. Nepalese are still pondering the gruesome narrative of
the massacre. But their longer-term question is: Into what kind of society is
our mountain kingdom evolving?
 

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Last visit to Nepal: Dec 1969
Intro Written Sep 10, 2002
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Comments (26)

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tompt Oct 18, 2004 at 10:25 AM

We just visited Kathmandu, 30 years later, but some pictures could be taken now...
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herzog63 May 30, 2003 at 12:03 AM

Thanks for sharing this trip!! I think there would be lot's of changes by now! My trip was in the mid 80's! Great pictures Joe!
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SumTingWong Apr 27, 2003 at 7:10 PM

Amazing photography! Man, Nepal in the 1970s, really awesome!! I'll be in Nepal later this year, I hope to see the difference from your photos to Nepal today. Well done!
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tamirros Apr 20, 2003 at 4:32 PM

beautiful pictures of Kathmandu, Joe!!!
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Mandy23 Aug 8, 2002 at 9:27 AM

interesting reading
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kenHuocj May 18, 2002 at 7:06 PM

a thought provoking commentary - much appreciated ;-)))
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JudyinPA May 16, 2002 at 5:08 PM

Tragic and still great photos
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yeah_baby Feb 8, 2002 at 4:58 PM

interesting page!
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kristineb Feb 7, 2002 at 3:31 AM

Really enjoyed reading this - interesting!!
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globetrott Dec 10, 2001 at 3:17 PM

excellent pics in the travelogues !