The Unification Battles

Kazi Kalu Pande, the Gorkhali commander, chalked out a strategy to mount a sudden attack against the defenders from an unexpected direction without giving the enemy opportunity for counterattack. When Kazi Kalu Pande began to climb up from the North, it was dawn of the 26th of September 1744. The defenders of Nuwakot were still sleeping. The Gorkhali forces reached Mahamandal, a tactical outpost in Nuwakot, and mounted a surprise attack there. Shankha Mani, the commander of the defenders, began to encourage his panic-stricken soldiers to stand up and fight against the Gorkhalis, but to no avail. He himself took a sword, charged forward and wounded a few Gorkhali soldiers. He had already sustained injuries. He advanced towards Dal Mardan Shah, brother of Prithvi Narayan Shah, and challenged him. Dal Mardan Shah was just 13 years old. Dal Mardan Shah answered the challenge and with a swift strike on Shankha Mani’s head, killed him on the spot. Kalu Pande’s plans had proved successful.

Another group of Gorkhali soldiers led by Chautaria Mahadam Kirti Shah, another brother of Prithvi Narayan Shah, crossed Dharampani but met with strong resistance. The battle continued for a while and ultimately the Gorkhali forces prevailed. Many defenders died and the remaining fled.

The third group, led by King Prithvi Narayan Shah himself, began to advance swiftly towards Nuwakot Gadhi (fort) after receiving news of the capture of Mahamandal. The death of Shankha Mani had taken the wind out of the defenders’ sail. They began to flee towards Belkot instead of fighting. Kazi Kalu Pande reached Nuwakot with a small contingent of forces. Mahodam Kirti Shah also arrived. King Prithvi Narayan Shah entered the Nuwakot Gadhi fortress. Nuwakot was annexed to the Gorkha State. The first foothold in the process of unification of Nepal had been secured.

The Battel for Kirtipur

Over the next few years, this success was followed by a deliberate and practical strategy to lay general siege on the Kathmandu Valley from all directions. Another important step in the initial unification campaign was the conquering of Kirtipur, the fortress in the southern part of Kathmandu valley. Gorkhali troops had failed twice to secure Kirtipur. King Prithvi Narayan Shah changed his plan and encircled and blockaded the whole fort. A six-month long siege by the Gorkhali forces created panic among its inhabitants. The Kirtipur Commander, on 12th March, 1766, opened the gates of the fort at mid-night and surrendered to the Gorkhali forces. Kirtipur was annexed to Gorkha without any battle.

Similar blockade tactics also helped secure Makawanpur, south of Kathmandu Valley. Well known names like Mohaddam Kirti Shah, Surpratap Shah, Dalamardan Shah, Rana Rudra Shah, Nandu Shah, Kaji Bamsa Raj Pandey, Kaji Kehar Singh Basnyat, Kaji Nahar Singh Basnyat and Kaji Abhiman singh Basnyat were dispatched with about 1,100 fighting troops to encircle the Makawanpur fortress by the dawn of 20th August 1762.

King Digbardhan Sen and his minister Kanak Singh Baniya had already sent their families to safer grounds before the encirclement of their fortress. The Gorkhalis launched an attack on 21st August 1762. The battle lasted for eight hours. King Digbardhan and his minister Kanak Singh escaped to Hariharpur Gadhi. Makawanpur was thus annexed to Nepal.

After occupying the Makawanpur Gadhi fort, the Gorkhali forces started planning for an attack on Hariharpur Gadhi, a strategic fort on a mountain ridge of the Mahabharat range, also south of Kathmandu. It controlled the route to the Kathmandu valley. At the dusk of 4th October, 1762, the Gorkhalis launched the attack. The soldiers at Hariharpur Gadhi fought valiantly against the Gorkha forces, but were ultimately forced to vacate the Gadhi after mid-night. About 500 soldiers of Hariharpur died in the battle.

Nepal – The Land and the People

Nepal lies along the mountains of the central portion of the Himalayas. This rectangular piece of South Asia has acted as an important bridge linking two ancient civilizations of the Asian continent – China in the North and India in the South. The land slopes downwards from the almost impenetrable and mighty Himalayan wall of the North until it reaches the Southern fertile Tarai plains. The narrow track of Tarai plains was once covered by thick tropical forest known as the Char Kose Jhadi. This malarial curtain kept settlements out until recently when the forests started being cleared and people from all directions came to settle down, making it the fastest growing habitated area in the country. India lies to the South of the Tarai. The river Mechi flowing from North to South is the Eastern border and the river Mahakali makes up the Western border of Nepal. Nepal was once much more extensive and included the present-day Indian Kumaun and Gadhwal and all the hill country West to the river Sutlej.

Between the Himalayas and the Tarai plains lie two mountain ranges running from West to East broken only by streams and rivers that run from North to South. These natural furrows have acted as natural barriers against the movement of people from one part of the country to the other which meant that the isolated communities could enjoy their own unique lifestyles without hindrance from others. The Mahabharat range reaching up to 10,000 ft in height takes up the largest area of the country and most of the Nepalese live on the slopes and valleys of this range. The Chure or Siwalik range, a single file of sandstone hills running from the East to the West, not exceeding 300 to 600 feet from the base, is the outer border of the mountainous ranges. The Tarai lies to the South of Chure and serves as the rice bowl of Nepal today.

The Nepal Himalayas consist of four major massifs making the formidable Northern wall throughout the length of the country-Nanda Devi (25,700 feet); Dhaulagiri (26,826 feet); Gosainthan (26,305); and Kanchanjunga (28,156 feet). The 29,028 feet Mount Everest lies roughly midway and gives off no main ridges.

The climate of Nepal varies according to the landscape. Farther North, between the Great Himalaya and the Tibetan marginal mountains, lie the Bhot valleys, which resemble in almost every respect the Tibetan landscape. The Bhot valleys offer a typically tundra climate, with cool summers and very cold winters. The Southern Tarai and inner valleys have a hot, humid, tropical climate. The centrally located mountain and hilly areas offer conditions between these two extremes. In spite of the great variations available, the climate can generally be described as temperate.

The mountains stop the monsoon winds blowing from the Southeast providing the country with plenty of rains from June to September. However, the winds get drier as they flow West making the Eastern parts wetter than the West. Small amounts of winter rain are also brought by winds from the Arabian Sea. Due to the influence of topography, great variations in the amount of rainfall are found even in rather small localities. The rain shadow areas of the Tibetan plateau, which contain the Northernmost parts of Nepal, get very little rain, some years not at all. Given the narrowness of the rectangle, as the breadth of Nepal does not cover more than five degrees in latitude in any part, the range in climate is striking. The climatic variations offer a sanctuary for a wide variety of plant and animal species. The biodiversity is one of the richest even though the area of the land mass is small.