Dipendra of Nepal 313161 223630705 2008-07-04T23:55:26Z 70.22.22.242 {{Infobox_Monarch |name =Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah |title =[[King of Nepal]] |image =[[Image:dipendra.png]] |reign =[[June 1]] [[2001]] &ndash; [[June 4]] [[2001]] |coronation = |predecessor =[[Birendra of Nepal]] |successor =[[Gyanendra of Nepal]] |suc-type =Heir-Apparent |heir = |consort = |issue = |royal house =[[Shah dynasty]] |royal anthem = |father =[[Birendra of Nepal]] |mother =[[Aiswarya]] |date of birth ={{birth date|1971|6|27|mf=y}} |place of birth = |date of death ={{death date and age|2001|6|4|1971|6|27|mf=y}} |place of death = |buried = |}} '''Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah''' ([[June 27]] [[1971]] &ndash; [[June 4]] [[2001]]) was [[Kings of Nepal|King of Nepal]] from [[June 1]] to [[June 4]] [[2001]]. As Crown Prince, he [[Nepalese royal massacre|killed his family at a royal dinner]], including the [[Birendra of Nepal|previous King]], on [[June 1]] [[2001]]. Dipendra was also mortally wounded by what the official report characterizes as a self-inflicted gunshot to the side of the head. After the murder of his father, he officially became king for three days as he lingered in a coma. ==Education== Dipendra received his early education at [[Budhanilkantha School]], Kathmandu. He was then educated at [[Eton College]], England. The prince had been disciplined while at Eton for selling alcohol. After Eton, he attended [[Tribhuvan University]] in Nepal and later joined the Military Academy, Kharipati. He studied through his master's degree from Tribhuvan University and was a PhD student in the same University. He was known to have been skilled in [[karate]]. ==Motive for murder== {{main|Nepalese royal massacre}} Official reports state that Dipendra assassinated family members because of anger over a marriage dispute.<ref name=one/> Dipendra's choice of a bride was [[Devyani Rana]], daughter of Pashupati SJB Rana ([[C Class (Nepalese aristocracy)|C Class]]), a member of the [[Rana dynasty|Rana]] clan, against whom the Shah family of kings have a historic animosity. In recent times, though, Shah kings and princes have married almost exclusively members of the [[A Class (Nepalese aristocracy)|A Class]] Rana family. The Rana clan had served as the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal until 1951, with the title [[Maharaja]], and the two clans have a long history of inter-marriages. According to official accounts, Dipendra was denied his choice of a wife by his mother [[Aiswarya]], and so he massacred his family in a much-publicised incident after indulging in a drinking binge. Among the dead were his father [[Birendra of Nepal|King Birendra]], mother, brother, and sister. Dipendra survived comatose for three days, and was proclaimed [[kings of Nepal|King]] in his hospital bed. He died of his injuries on [[June 4]] and was succeeded by his uncle, Prince [[Gyanendra of Nepal|Gyanendra]]<ref name = "BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1366170.stm BBC News] South Asia.</ref>. == Psychological profile == Dipendra was a loner. Palace protocol dictated that he never received love from his parents, the reigning [[monarch]]. He was raised inside the royal palace by the crew of military officers. While growing up, the sense of isolation never left him. Dipendra wanted to prove his worth to his parents he was never close to. He wanted to win their approval, if not their love. But this sense of forbearance never left him. That is until he found the love of his life in [[Devyani Rana]]. She was older in age to Dipendra by couple of years. In Nepal and many parts of South Asia, this romantic arrangement between an older woman and a younger man is socially unacceptable. Furthermore, his mother queen [[Aiswarya]] who had all the say in each decision the [[Shah dynasty]] took for the last 50 years, sounded a total rejection to his choice of bride. He was a hardcore drug user. It is hard to say if this continual use of drug heightened his sense of paranoia, but it is suffice to say that he was a mentally ill person. The only one who would listen and empathize with Dipendra was [[Devyani Rana]], alas forbidden fruit. At first, he had some allies within his family who would support his choice of bride. But once the final decision was made by his mother queen [[Aiswarya]] to reject [[Devyani Rana]] as wife of Dipendra even to the point of stripping his claim to the throne, he saw everyone inside his family as his enemy. == Conspiracy theories == Some people in Nepal suspected that [[Gyanendra of Nepal|Gyanendra]] was responsible for the massacre, and that he blamed Dipendra so that he could assume the throne himself.<ref name=one>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2001/06/23/tlnap23.xml Death of a dynasty]</ref> Gyanendra, less popular than his brother Birendra, had been third in line to the throne before the massacre. He was out of town (in [[Pokhara]]) during the massacre and was the closest surviving relative of the king. Gyanendra's wife and son were in the room at the royal palace during the massacre. While his son escaped with slight injuries,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1371524.stm Nepal's errant crown prince]</ref> his wife was injured during the incident.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1410793.stm Nepal queen leaves hospital]</ref> Recently, a Nepali writer, Ashutosh Shrivastav, in his article published that India and Nepali political parties could jointly have committed this crime [http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=3609]. The writer has exposed the Indian expansionism over Nepal[http://newsblaze.com/story/20080619175135tsop.nb/topstory.html]. This is a developing story and more news is expected to come. Feeding the rumours is the allegation that Dipendra was mortally wounded by a gunshot to the left side of the head, while Dipendra was right-handed. Some believe that this casts doubt on whether the injury was self-inflicted.<ref>[http://rwor.org/a/v23/1100-99/1107/nepal_royals.htm Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains]</ref><ref>[http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/features/nepal252/index1.html Fear is Ruling Here]</ref> Despite the fact that several survivors have publicly confirmed that Dipendra was doing the shooting, as was documented in a BBC documentary,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1375097.stm Nepal survivors blame prince]</ref> many Nepali people still consider it a mystery. Recently a novel has been published in Nepal named "Raktakunda" which recounts the 2001 Royal Massacre.<ref>[http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_333.pdf Nepali Times]</ref> This novel looks at the incident through the eyes of one of the surviving witnesses, Queen Mother Ratna's personal maid, identified in the book as Shanta. The book, which the author says is a "historical novel", posits that two men masked as Crown Prince Dipendra fired the shots that led to the massacre. Shanta's husband, Trilochan Acharya, also a Royal Palace employee, was killed along with 10 Royal Family members, including the entire family of King Birendra. ==See also== *[[List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time]] *[[History of Nepal]] *[[regicide]], [[patricide]] and [[fratricide]] *[[Nepalese royal massacre]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2001/6/13-2_3.html Murder and intrigue in Katmandu] (World Tibet News Network) *[http://rwor.org/a/v23/1100-99/1107/nepal_royals.htm Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains] (RWOR) *[http://www.flonnet.com/fl1813/18130100.htm Trapped in tradition] (Frontline:India's National Magazine) {{s-start}} {{s-hou|[[Shah dynasty]]|June 27|1971|June 4|2001}} {{s-reg|}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Birendra of Nepal|Birendra]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[King of Nepal]]|years=[[June 1]] [[2001]]&ndash;[[June 4]] [[2001]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Gyanendra of Nepal|Gyanendra]]}} {{s-roy|np}} {{s-bef|before=[[Birendra of Nepal|Birendra]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Crown Prince]] of [[Nepal]]|years=1971&ndash;2001}} {{s-vac|next=[[Paras, Crown Prince of Nepal|Paras]]}} {{end}} [[Category:Nepalese monarchs|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:Old Etonians|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:Royal suicides 1880 to present|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:Suicides by firearm|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:1971 births|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:2001 deaths|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:Deaths by firearm in Nepal]] [[Category:Nepalese spree killers]] [[Category:Nepalese regicides|Dipendra of Nepal]] [[Category:Suicides in Nepal]] [[ar:ديبندار بيكرام]] [[de:Dipendra]] [[et:Dipendra]] [[es:Dipendra de Nepal]] [[fr:Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev]] [[hr:Dipendra, kralj Nepala]] [[id:Dipendra dari Nepal]] [[it:Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev]] [[nl:Dipendra van Nepal]] [[ja:ディペンドラ・ビール・ビクラム・シャー・デーヴ]] [[no:Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev]] [[pl:Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev]] [[pt:Dipendra do Nepal]] [[ru:Дипендра]] [[fi:Dipendra]] [[sv:Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev]] [[zh:狄潘德拉]]