Category: Miscellaneous

 

 

Henry Thoby Prinsep, History of the Political and Military Transactions in India during the Administration of the Marques of Hastings 1813-1823 (Two Volumes) (London: Kingsbury, Parbury and Allen, 1825)

Many of the writings of Henry Thoby Prinsep (1792–1878), an English official of the Indian Civil Service, are credible. His writings on the origin of Sikh power in Punjáb (1834), the discoveries in Afghanistan (1844), social and political conditions of Tibet, Tartary, and Mongolia (1852) are a few of them.

To Nepalese readers, his book History of the Political and Military Transactions in India during the Administration of the Marques of Hastings 1813-1823 (Two Volumes) (London: Kingsbury, Parbury and Allen, 1825) is of special significance. This is the enlarged edition from the narrative published in quarto in 1820 under the administration of the Marques of Hastings. It gives one of the very early analyses of the Anglo-Nepal War (1814-1816), which ended with a peace treaty that established the sovereignty of East India Company over many territories under the Nepalese control. The book is generally considered by the British side to be a trustworthy narrative of the political and military events of that time in Nepal, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Poona, Nagpoor, Jypoor, Pindarees, and other places of importance in the central India. The preface to the book highlights “its utility as an authentic exposé of the events of the period not having been superseded by any of the publications which had since appeared.”

The author teats the Nepalese part of the history in this book as a special case: “The state of Nipal has purposely been reserved for separate mention, both because its situation and the circumstances which brought it into contact with the British government have no direct connection with the state and powers of central India and because the conduct of their nation, which made war inevitable, even before Lord Hastings had set foot in the country require more specific explanation than suited the cursory view of the condition of other powers taken in the proceeding chapter.”

The book is not set to find “any consistent relation of the means and gradations by which the Goorkhas had risen to power, in the mountainous tract stretching between the plains of Hindoostan and the highlands of Tartary and Tibet. Suffice it to say, that when Lord Hastings took charge of the supreme government [in 1813], he found their dominion to extend as far as the river Teesta to the east and westward to the Sutlej; so that this nation was then in actual possession of the whole of the strong country which skirts the northern frontier of Hindoostan.” 

The author, however, describes “[t]he hill rajas, whom [the Goorkhas] had successfully conquered and displaced, were more ignorant, selfish tyrants, on bad terms with their subjects and neighbours, but most of all, with their own relations. Thus, while there was amongst them no principle of combination for mutual defense against a common enemy, not one of the petty principalities was sufficiently strong or united within itself to be capable of substantial resistance.”

Henry Thoby Prinsep also gives his reflection on Prithee Nurayun Sah, the main architect of the Goorkha expansion. He states that Prithee has “the merit of establishing the system which raised this nation to power. Taught by the example of our early victories in Bengal, he armed and disciplined a body of troops after the English fashion; and after a struggle of more than ten years, finally subjugated the valley of Nipal by their means in 1768. The Moorshedabad Nuwab (Kasim Ulee Khan) attempted to interfere in 1762-3, but sustained a single defeat under the walls of Mukwanpoor; and the British government was not more successful in an effort made some years after …”. The later is a reference to Major Kinlock’s expedition undertaken at the recommendation of Mr Golding, the British commercial agent at Betia. He feared that “the success of the Goorkhas would ruin the trade he carried before with Nípal; it had been interrupted for three or four years in consequence of the subjugation of Mukwanpoor.”

The book begins with an analysis of the political economy of the overall military transactions in India. There is an impressive 54-page introduction in which Henry Thoby Prinsep describes relations of the British with native Indian powers, their alliances, subsidiary, and protective. He is very clear as to the natives’ disposition towards British and of states subject to their influence. This helps readers to understand the regional setting of the Anglo-Nepal War of 1814-16. Chapter II deals with the causes of the Nepal War more closely. The first campaign of 1814 is dealt with in Chapter III. Chapter IV builds on the first campaign and elaborates subsequent military strategies of both the countries. The second campaign, the extended war and its intensity, its overall effect, and the process of peace negotiation have been captured by the author in Chapter V. Here the author also describes Hastings’ terms of peace. The Nipalese side in particular refuse cession of Terai. This leads to break-off in negotiation and the initiation of fresh overtures. There is an effort to modify the terms of treaty mediating further concessions. However, Kathmandu refuses the ratification of the peace treaty. Following this development, General Octerlony, the English hero of the war, takes to the field.

Giving an account of Turanee border disputes, Prinsep deals with Sarun frontier and the Gourakhpoor and Bootwal cases. There are references on the proceedings of Sir G. Barlow and Lord Minto, and further aggressions of the Nìipalese. Included is the story of the Indian occupation of 22 villages of Sarun, appointment of a commission by the Governor General, and the resolution of the government on the result of its investigation. Goorkhas counter the occupation of Bootwal by the British. Thus begins the Nepal War and its first campaign. The book also deals effectively with the resolution of Governor General to attack Kumaon in the far west. Prinsep writes about the desperate attacks of Nepal’s hero, Bhugtee Thapa, on Dethoul, his defeat and death. The surrender of another hero, Umur Singh, is another painful event. Notwithstanding the glorious aspects of the Nepalese soldiers, the Anglo-Nepal war was lost to the British. 

The author is very clear when he says “the uniform success which had hitherto attended the Goorkhasproduced, in January 1815, an effect on the public mind in the independent portion of India which is more easily imagined than described. Although jealous, naturally, of our preponderance, and suspicious to a degree of any relinquishment of the pacific policy, the native [Indian] powers had so little knowledge of the strength and resources of the Goorkhas, that the war at first excited little sensation.” The preparations of the British side, notes the author, “might have been assimilated to the measures taken in 1812 against the Rewa chief,” a small princely state at central India at that time.

The anticipation and cautiousness with which the British viewed Nepalese soldiers was made very clear. Referring to the Goorkhas, the author says: [t]hey were an experienced as well as a brave enemy: they had been continuously waging war in the mountains for more than fifty years, and knew well how to turn every thing to their best advantage. Caution and judgment were therefore more required against them than boldness of action or of decision; but most of all, that power of intelligence and discrimination which is never without a resource in circumstances the most unexpected.” It is clear from the book, and the account of the war given there, that the Goorkhas were very good warriors, but they were not very critical in the assessment of the enemy on the other side.

The war was a hasty decision. According to Prinsep, the Goorkhas were not clear as to what extent they wanted to go and how. While they decided to “hazard a breech with the British government,” they “never speculated on rousing it to such exertions as they witnessed in the first [military] campaign.” “Notwithstanding their early successes, therefore, they very soon repented of the rash measures by which they had brought themselves into so hopeless a contest. Even when at the height of their prosperity, the immensity of the preparations, and the perseverance of their enemy, convinced them their cause was desperate; and they would willingly have given up every object in dispute, could they by that means have brought the war to an honourable termination. They were prepared also for some sacrifices, if such should be required.”

A letter, which was sent to Kathmandu and intercepted by the British after the fall of Nalapanee, clearly mentioned that the Goorkha commander “was consulted as to the policy of giving up the Dehra Doon and the hilly tract west of the Jumna, in addition to the contested lands on the Saurn and Gourukpoor frontiers.” The person writing the letter was no other than Umur Singh Thapa, a proud commander of the Nepalese side. “That chief’s opinion was adverse to any cession of hill territory.”

The instability in the power spectrum of Nepal was foreseen by the author in very clear terms. Following the ratification of the peace treaty, the King of Nepal died of the small pox. He was a young king who was neither a crucial decision-maker in the war nor in the peace process. When he died on the 20th of November, 1816, he was succeeded by his infant son, Raj Indur Bikrum Sah. The author’s calculation is that “[t]his event contributed to fix more firmly the authority of the party of the General Bheem Sein, by giving him another lease of uncontrolled dominion, pending a second long minority [government].”

Goorkhas. At one point, the author notes, “[i]t is a saying of the Goorkhas that every tree is a mine of gold.” An important caution that must be maintained in reading the book, however, is that this is the perspective of a civil servant of an enemy state explaining how they slashed another fierce, indigenous power that had the tendency to know no bounds at the frontier. The rest is a very informative reading.

 

 

 

Francis Buchanan Hamilton, An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal and the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha (Edinburgh: Longman, 1819)

The book of Francis Buchanan Hamilton An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal is the second book in English ever written on Nepal’s history. The first is the 1811 book by Colonel William Kirkpatrick, which was worked on before 10 November 1793.

Hamilton spent fourteen months in the country, during 1802-1803, mostly in the vicinity of Kathmandu, as a low profile visitor of the British government. He spent another two years along Nepal’s tarai frontier. Apparently, the intention behind his mission was to report to the authority back home about his findings on the state and people of this Himalayan country. The book of Hamilton is the only account which discusses the entire country of Nepal and does not limit itself to the Kathmandu Valley or its vicinity.

As a foreign visitor, Hamilton “employed to obtain information, so far as [he] prudently could, without alarming a jealous government or giving offence to the Resident, under whose authority [he] was acting.” He had some support of Colonel Crawford, at that time surveyor-general in Bengal, with several drawings of Nepal and valuable geographical surveys and maps. The account of Nepal by Kirkpatrick which was already published by that time had provided him with certain definite background to proceed.

Hamilton worked with some Nepali and Indians to trace out the details about the tribes, the physical features of the country, laws and government and the various princely states that formed the unified Nepal. Trained as a physician, he seemed to be good in geography, zoology and botany as well. That helped him a lot in making his study visit a success.

Hamilton divided his book in two parts. Part I has two chapters. Chapter I deals with the inhabitants of Nepal. Here he deals with what he describes as Hindu colonists from ‘Chitaur’, ‘Asanti’ and ‘Chaturbhuja.’ Attempts have been made here to describe the Hindu tribes east of the Kali River here. There are descriptions on Brahmans, their diet, festivals and offspring. He has specific mentions about Rajputs, and adopted and illegitimate low tribes in the Hindu community. This follows his general observation on the customs of these mountain Hindus east of the Kali, and those west of it. Then he provides details about Magars, Gurungs, Jariyas, Newars, Murmis, Kirats, Limbus, Lapchas and Bhotiyas. The later group has been described by him as tribes who occupied the country previous to the arrival of Hindus. Chapter II is about the nature of the country, the plains, hills and mountains, their production, animal and vegetables, cultivation, climate, rivers, and so on. Chapter III devotes to laws and government of Nepal. There are orientations on courts and forms of proceeding, punishment, provincial government, revenue and endowments, state officers and military establishment. They all make the book interesting reading.

In Part – II, there are two chapters. Chapter I has four sections – each dealing with Sikkim, the dominions of the family descended from ‘Makanda Sen’, Raja of Makwanpur, and the history of Nepal Proper previous to the conquests by the ‘Gorkhalese’, and the countries belonging to the Chaubisi and Baisi Rajas. Chapter II deals with the countries west of the River Kali. The second part is a valuable record on distinct political units of Nepal including Sikkim, Sen Dominions, Nepal Proper, Baisi-Chaubisi and Kumaon-Garhbal-Barh Thakuri. There are notes on twelve petty chiefdoms in the western Himalayas. The book describes Nepal as it stood previously to the war with the British, commencing in the end of the year 1814. There are interesting information in Part – II as well.

The book of Hamilton stands out as the best of the early accounts of Nepal. Beginning the first part, the author describes Nepal, a name celebrated in Hindu legend, as the country in the vicinity of Kathmandu, but as it stands now it means the whole territory of the unified Nepal. East from the Nepal Proper, he notes, the mountains are chiefly occupied by Kirants, who are frequently mentioned in Hindu legend as occupying the country between Nepal and ‘Madra’, the ancient denomination now called ‘Bhotan.’ Towards the west again, according to Hamilton, “the country between Nepal and ‘Kasmir’, over which the present rulers of the former have far extended their dominion, in the ancient Hindu writings is called Khas, and its inhabitants Khasiyas. I am told, that, wherever mentioned in ancient records, like the Kirats, their neighbours to the west, the Khasiyas are considered as abominable and impure infidels.” 

For any reader, this book is a window of knowledge about many important aspects of Nepal at that point of time. While the book is very useful, there are many factual errors, hearsay and misinterpretation. One significant example is his thinking that the Khas people are different from the mountain Hindus. They are the same lot in Nepal, but with different levels of reception of Hindu values. His reference that Hindus of mountains arrived there following invasion by the ‘Muhammedan’ king of ‘Dili’ is another mistake of fact. Hamilton noted that the king wished to marry a daughter of the Raja of ‘Chitor’ or ‘Chitaur’, celebrated for her beauty, and the offer was denied. There is simply no truth in the story. Maybe there are unknown exceptions, but most of the rulers he described as Hindu colonists from ‘Chitaur’, ‘Asanti’ and ‘Chaturbhuja’ have been indigenous rulers, and the story of their connections with these places have been willful fabrication for political benefits.

Similarly, Hamilton described the mountain Hindus as “deceitful and treacherous people, cruel and arrogant towards those in their power, and abjectly mean towards those from whom they expect favour.” This is too subjective a statement for anybody. He has a very low opinion about the Khas people for unstated reasons. He described them as “abominable and impure infidels” as noted above.

Many of these errors could be attributed to the informants who assisted Hamilton with information and helped him make judgments. But more than that Hamilton had a skeptical attitude about the rulers of Nepal, and those who assisted them to rule the country. The ‘Gorkhalese’ were victorious people, and were considered expansionist as well. As a jealous British official it was natural that his misgivings about the rulers and their associates had some effect in his writings as well. 

 

 

 

 

The book of Eden Vansittart, Notes on Nepal [Calcutta: 1896] was published about 110 years after the publication of Giuseppe de Rovato’s account of the conquest of Nepal Valley by Gorkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah. Vansittart was the captain of the 2/5th Gurkha Rifles and had the opportunity to know Nepal and the Nepalese in the perspective of the Gurkhas as well.

By the time the Notes on Nepal was written, several literatures on the hidden country of Nepal had already been published – the most significant, in terms of coverage and comparatively more thoroughness, being the researches of British Resident Brian Hodgson. Vansittart had been much benefited by the perspective of all these early authors. At the time this book was written, Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana, the founder of Rana regime, was already dead. Prime Minister Bir Shamsher was running the show after the assassination of Ranodip Singh in 1885 who had succeeded Jung Bahadur upon his death.

Eden Vansittart covers a wide range of topics in the Notes on Nepal in fifteen sections that the book has been divided into, giving treatment to a host of diverse issues. The book has been introduced by H. H. Risley, an official of the British Indian civil service at that time. Starting from general descriptions of Nepal and its geography, Vansittart describes the major zones of the country, river basins, population, crops and minerals, and international trade. Both the history of Nepal Valley up to conquest by King Prithvi Narayan Sahi and the subsequent development have been described briefly in the book. The author introduces King Prithvi Narayan as “a person of insatiable ambition, sound judgement, great courage, and unceasing activity” and his Gurkha principality as inhabited entirely by Magars, Gurungs, Thakurs and Khas “with a sprinkling of the menial classes.”

While Eden Vansittart describes the four- year Gorkha conquest with a broad outline (from the first seize of Kirtipur in 1765 till the fall of Bhatgaon in the commencement of 1769), he admits to being “quite ignorant of the details connected with the several sieges and engagements,” and the number of troops engaged either on the Nepal Valley or the Gurkha side during these four years. He deals with the conquests that continued even after the death of Prithvi Narayan Sahi. Vansittart mentions “the most heroic bravery [of the men of Kirtipur] in the defence of their capital.” He describes King Gainprejas [Jaypakash Malla] as high spirited and heroic. It is no doubt that he is influenced by Giuseppe de Rovato’s Account of the Kingdom of Nepal in setting his tone. He mentions the gallantry of the King of Tanahung, a Chaubise principality, without giving his name.

Vansittart states that the population of Nepal is estimated by the Nepalese at around 52,00,000 to 56,00,000. However, he says most writers, whom he presumes are correct, estimate it to be about 40,000,00. Until this time, 1896, it appears Nepalese hills had not started importing salt from India. As Vansittart writes, “the salt is packed in bags forming loads of about 15 Lb each which are brought across the snows fastened to the backs of sheep.”

Captain Vansittart also describes Nepal army as he saw it. He notes that the country has a standing force of 30,000 soldiers. There are soldiers on leave of almost the same numbers, who “enter the ranks and take the place of others who in turn lie by for a year or two.” All regiments are armed with locally manufactured Martini-Henrys or snider or muzzle loading percussion cap Enfield rifles. As regards to their efficiency, he says “there is no doubt that the material is good, and for defensive purposes in their own hills and forest, the soldiers would fight well and be formidable foes.” The weak point in Nepal army is “the officers, who are generally either very old men long past their work, or very young lads.” Notwithstanding this comment, Vansittart also describes the Jung Bahadur- led force which quells the Mutiny in Awadh and the performance of the Nepal army led by Dhir Shamsher in the War with Tibet in 1854. Referring to a parade held in Kathmandu on 6th March 1888, he observes that “108 guns marched past the Prime Minister, and it is therefore only natural to conclude that the Nepalese are strong in this branch.” This certainly indicates that the Army was still a powerful one by the prevailing standards.

Vansittart has separately dealt with the Aboriginal tribes of Nepal, which follows a section on the military tribes. The first group comprises of the Magars, Gurungs, Newar, Sunuwars, Khambus, Yakkas, Yakthumbas, Murmis (Tamangs/Lamas) and Lepchas. He quotes Brian Hodgson in saying that the “transit from the north into Nepal was constantly made before the Thibetans had adopted … the religion and literature of Buddhism.” When he deals with the military tribes, the Khasas come as the first group to be followed by Magar, Gurungs and Thakur. He does not include ‘Thakurs’ in the group of Khasas. Also added are the Limbus, Rais and Sunuwars. Here Vansittart cautions: “the prejudice which existed against them would seem rightly to be dying out rapidly. Nagarkotis and Murmis have also been discussed in the book as military tribes.

About early immigration in Nepal, Vansittart notes: “The most ancient records would seem to prove that Nepal was originally inhabited by Mongolians probably from one of the great waves of Mongolian conquest which spread through the breath of Asia from east to west, some side wave washed over the bleak snows of the mighty Himalayas, into the fertile plains and valleys of Nepal. Finding here a cool and bracing climate and a fertile soil, this mass of Mongolians settled down and adopted the country as their own.” Similarly, he talks about historical evidence of the existence in Nepal, long prior to the advent of Sakia Simha of Hindus from the plains from India, “Daughter of [King] Ashok being married to the descendent of a Chettri, who had settled there centuries before.” Vansittrat does not seem to be aware of the Khas people and their pre-Vedic existence – who migrated to the country via the western Thibet and adjoining territories – rather than India he was quick to link them with. It is clear that he has the influence of many earlier writings, which described Khas people according to the story given to them by the ruling elites at that time.

The book is certainly a valuable reading. It covers a wide range of descriptions on Nepal. It is good to study this book along with some other writings of Vansittart to get a complete understanding of his perspective on Gurkhas and their country. Judged by the time it was written, it definitely was an informative work.

 

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was the first renowned European who reached Central Asia and India between 343-323 BC. The British exploration, which began about the end of the 18th century triggered by the East India Company, is quite new.

Cornélius Wessels’ Early Jesuit Travelers in Central Asia: 1603-1721 [The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1924] gives an insight into the often forgotten pioneering travel and discovery by Jesuit missionaries in Central Asia, especially Tibet. The book is not on Nepal as such. However, some stories included in the book also have some interesting references about this country.

Written by Cornélius Wessels, who was a Dutch Jesuit, it is an anthology of geographical, historical and cultural information collected by the Jesuit visitors during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The book is also a valuable source of information for anyone interested in the early exploration of the Himalayan region. The great Himalaya trail is one of the longest and highest walking trails in the world. Winding beneath the world’s highest peaks and visiting some of the most remote communities on earth, it passes through lush green valleys, arid high plateaus and incredible landscapes. When the book was first published in 1924, it was said to be notable and was read with interest by all concerned. Even now, for whom the history matters, the book offers interesting insights.

Wessels analyses the travel accounts of Bento De Goes (1602-1607) who is mainly remembered as the first known European to travel overland from India to China, via Afghanistan and the Pamirs. The account of Antonio De Andrade (1624) who was the first known European to have crossed the Himalayas and reach Tibet, establishing the first Catholic mission on Tibetan soil, is another story in the book. There is an other interesting account of the Tsaparang Mission (1625-1640). At the time of the Mission, it was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guje in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh. The Khasas of Nepal had ruled the country for a long time.

The book also has additional accounts of Francisco De Azevedo (1631-1632), Stephen Cecilla and John Cabral (1626-1632), John Gruber and Albert D’orville (1661-1664) and Hippolyte Desideri (1714-1722). The most interesting journeys are those of Stephen Cacella and John Cabral who visited Gyantse and Shigatse, John Grueber and Albert d’Orville (1661-64) who travelled from China through eastern Tibet to Lhasa to Kathmandu and then went on to India, and of Hippolyte Desideri (1714-22) who travelled from Kashmir along the Tsangpo to Lhasa. Desideri was in Lhasa during1716-1721. The book also includes a comprehensive map of such travels by Dutch cartographer C. Craandijk.

John Cabral was the first European to traverse Nepal. He left Shigatse (now the second largest city in Tibet) in 1628 and traveled through Nepal on his way back to the Jesuit mission at Hugli on the Ganges Delta. “It [the object] was, in the first place, to discover this new route through the Kingdom of Nepal, in order that the mission might be continued through it, as the road through Cocho [Cooch Behar in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas] is so dangerous and uncertain. I have also come [to Hugli] to settle some affairs in connection with this mission, which I think may become one of the most glorious of the Society of Jesus; it is the gate to the whole of Tartary, China and many other pagan countries.”

“The road to these countries is not through Cocho but through Nepal, which borders on Mogor [Mughal empire]. In Patana [Patna] and Rajmol [Raimahal] the road is perfectly safe and is used by many traders. The king gave me a captain to conduct me to Nepal. The latter carried letters and presents for the king of Nepal requesting him to help me in whatever I might need, as he esteemed me highly. This was done by the King of Nepal and very kindly he directed me to Patana.”

Some seventy pages are devoted to Hippolyte Desideri alone in the book of Wessels. He travelled by the Kuti road to Nepal, reaching Kathmandu from Tibet in December 1721. It was a little before the Gurkha conquest of the Kathmandu Valley. After a brief stay in the Valley the journey continued to Patna and onwards through India to Madras. The description of Nepal, which is one of the earliest yet discovered, is unfortunately brief.

Nepal has been mentioned here and there. The three cities of Nepal – Kathmandu, Patan and Bhatgaon - is set forth with the customary fullness, while the character, religion, language and dress of the people are likewise passed in review. Desideri points out that the country became closed to the foreigners after the Newar dynasty was overthrown by Gorkha ruler. Nevertheless, it has been mentioned that one Pandit Hariram, Explorer No. 9 of Montgomerie (Journey to Shigatse) managed in 1871 to cross the Thung La, and left a dramatic description of the sufferings he endeared on the mountain, which he attributed to emanations from the soul. At one place, further down in the plains of Nepal, he also mentions about deadly Ol [Aulo in Nepali], which he describes as a sort of influenza active during summer, which takes many lives every year.

At times, Desideri seems to be opinionated as well. He relies on many hearsay information. He describes about the wandering Lamas or mendicant monks, and others who profess magic and make money in the Himalayan region. There is a reference on the free use they make of implements formed from human bones, such as trumpets, drums, cups and rosaries. He also gives a reference of the corpse of a Nepalese who was rescued from the water. The person had died at Kuti and had been thrown into the river, by some Tibetans, with the object of stealing the skull and turning it into a goblet. About Newars, he says, “all have deceit written on their faces. … They are cowardly, mean and vagarious, spend little on their food, and are dirty in their habits.” However, he states that the people of Nepal owed no allegiance to any foreign power.

Cornelius  Wessels’ Early Jesuit Travelers in Central Asia is a must read book . It is clear these travelers were writing about people who were pagans in their eyes. Nevertheless, it has wealth of information to help us understand the Himalayas and the people living there, as well as the point of view of these missionaries travelling abroad to preach in the name of Jesus.

Cecil Bendal, A Journey of Literary and Archaeological Research in Nepal and Northern India During the Winter of 1884-85 (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1991) (Originally published by Cambridge in 1886)

The book A Journey of Literary and Archaeological Research in Nepal and Northern India is a window on some very important aspects of the region’s rich cultural heritage. To a Nepalese reader, the study of inscriptions and colophons in this book is as much important as the study of several such historical objects by Daniel Wright, Bhagwanlal Indraji, Harapada Das Chattopadhyay, Sylvain Levi or K. P. Jayaswal in the past. It is a little yet remarkable piece of work.

Written by Cecil Bendall, a senior assistant at the University of Cambridge in the department of Oriental MSS from 1882 to 1893, the book is based on many Sanskrit manuscripts collected by the author for the University Library from north India, Nepal and Bombay with a grant from the Worts Fund in 1884–5. Before Bendall, in the 1870s, Daniel Wright, surgeon to the British Residency at Kathmandu Nepal, had collected a large number of Sanskrit manuscripts from Nepal. The new book of Bendall goes forward in this pursuit.

Bendall arrived in Kathmandu on November 9th of 1884. Before reaching Nepal, in India, he had consultations with Pandit Dr Bhagwanlal Indraji, whose researches in Indian antiquities, chiefly published in the Indian Antiquary, were well known both in India and Europe. In his prefatory statement, Bendall cautions that his study will seem “very partial and meager, if compared, for instance, with the admirable accounts and extracts given in the reports of Professors [Peter] Peterson and Ramakrishna Bhandarkar.” His visit to Kathmandu was short. Time was an important factor in the study. However, the book deals with classified lists of MSS personally collected by the author, tough list of MSS from Bombay, notes on particular MSS acquired, and notes on MSS in private possession. They bring many new facts about Nepal to light.

In Kathmandu, the author occupied the travelers’ bungalow belonging to the Government of India. He was first acquainted by the Resident with the Durbar explaining the purposes of archaeological search. His conversation with Pandit Indranand, the son of the late Pandit Gunanand, who helped Dr Daniel Wright to compile the History of Nepal was very helpful during his stay in Kathmandu. He helped Bendall with necessary guidance in his pursuit, especially in visiting several of the more distant localities of archaeological interest. He also profited much by the cordially rendered assistance of the Residency Mir Munshi Durga Sharan Mishra – an Indian native. Bendall was able to study numerous historical inscriptions and Nepalese literatures. He was also able to acquire several MSS in the valley.

The author was favoured with an interview with the Prime Minister Runoodeep Singh as well. In his preface to the book, Bendall remembers him, even though he was already slain during the disturbances in Kathmandu in November 1885. His remark that “whoever may be the new rulers, I trust they will be no less ready than the late Premier to afford a courteous reception to scholars” – shows that the Premier had been supportive to the research undertaken by him. He also sent him a number of coins to examine.

It is interesting to find from the book of Bendall that the Prime Minister of Nepal had a wonderful library. Bendall says: “I did not, however, enter the room in which the books are usually kept, but the whole collection, consisting of many thousands of MSS, was brought for me from the palace to the Durbar school building. So much trouble having been taken for my convenience, I made no enquiries as to the library room itself. Possibly the books are usually stored in one of those small rooms in which some of the best Indian collections of manuscripts (e.g. that in the splendid palace at Oodeypore) are even not kept and which contrast so curiously with European ideas of a commodious library. If this be the case, we must hope that educational progress, now, we trust, commencing in Nepal, will extend to the affording of still greater and more regular facilities for the study of the unique literature of the country preserved in this collection of MSS, in many respects, as we shall see, the finest in India.”

“As to the obliging library staff, I will only say that, however, the books are kept, they are found with a quickness that many a European library cannot equal.” Referring to Daniel Wright’s 1875 comment that the subject of schools and college in Nepal may be treated as briefly as that of snakes in Ireland, Bendall makes a point: “now we have at least one building in which both English and Sanskrit, and, as I have every reason to believe, well taught.”

At one point when he was visiting a temple of Narayan in ‘Khaumar-tol” in Bhadgaon, Bendall comments, “I regret that the crowd of idle followers who pursued me into the quiet little courtyard where the inscription, with some others of later date, was fixed, so disturbed the tenants of the ‘Math’ that, on returning to take a copy, I found the door closed against me. I generally found, I may observe, that, in Nepal, where Tibetans and Chinamen attract no notice, the mere dress of a European is sufficient to draw a train of 30 or 40 idlers, which would soon be doubled if an object like a photographic camera were produced.”

At another point he noted that his success in searching MSS was greater than I expected, but his negotiations were, he feared, interfered with by the officiousness of the Nepalese ‘Mukhiya’, or guard in attendance on him. As a general rule he noted he had nothing to complain of in the demeanour of these men; on the contrary, on several occasions, so far from acting as spies or standing in the way of his investigation, they were of great use in overcoming the stupid prejudices against strangers manifested especially by the Buddhists of this country.

In a footnote, Bendall points out that the people of Nepal seem stronger and far more active than most of the inhabitants of India. Appendix I of the book has a table of inscription with the original text and translation in English. Appendix II includes the revised chronological tables of the Kings of Nepal. The index of the book chiefly deals either the names of persons and places visited. The titles of MMS (not the name of their authors) are included, and printed in italics, in case where some special notice  or citation is given in the text. They all make the book very useful to the studentd of Nepalese studies.

William J. Kirkpatrick, An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul [New Delhi: Manjusri Publication House, 1969] [First published in 1811]

The Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul : being the substance of observations made during a mission to that country in the year 1793; illustrated with a map, and other engravings by Colonel William J. Kirkpatrick is the first book on Nepal’s history and its people in English.

Given its time-space context, the book is an outstanding piece of work. No Englishman before Major Kirkpatrick had passed beyond the range of lofty mountains which separated the secluded valley of ‘Nepaul’ from the north-eastern parts of Bengal – the seat of the East India Company. In 1792, when Kirkpatrick had the opportunity to reach ‘Khathmandu’ – the oldest capital in the South Asia, there were very few vague and unsatisfactory reports about the country. These casual reports were made by missionaries and itinerant traders who passed by ‘Khatmandu.’ The country was still terra incognita or an unknown place. Kirkpatrick visited the place with a mission. He was not alone. He was accompanied by Samuel Scott as his deputy, a few army majors, two companies of ‘Sepoys’ and ‘Moulavee’ Abdul Kadir Khan, an employee of the Company government in Bengal, who had resided in ‘Khathmandu’ for sometime before.

The period of Kirkpatrick’s residence in ‘Khathmandu’ was only seven weeks. By the time the book was published he was already a colonel. He came here as the representative of Lord Cornwallis, the Governor General of the Company, to mediate in the dispute between China and Nepal in the context of Sino-Nepalese War (1788-1792). The period of his stay was too short for the job that he had undertaken. Besides, it commenced “under circumstances peculiarly unfavourable to that free kind of research which alone can lead to accurate information.” However, by the time Kirkpatrick reached ‘Khathmandu’, the country had already concluded a treaty with the Chinese which entirely superseded the necessity of the proposed meditation. Nepal no longer needed the Company to fight out Tibetans and Chinese.

The treaty alluded to was never formally communicated to the British Government. In any case, Kirkpatrick made a point in his notes that the treaty just signed was not honourable to the rulers of Nepal. The Nepalese were eventually compelled to become a sort of protected state of China. It was his finding that a little more firmness on the part of the ‘Khatmandu’ government would speedily have compelled the Chinese to solicit the accommodation they needed, as they had suffered greatly during the war from sickness and scarcity, and were not less impatient to quit Nepal, than the ‘Nepaulians’ were to get rid of them.

Along with this critical message to modern readers, Kirkpatrick tried to furnish a complete account of Nepal in the book: the form of the government in existence in ‘Khatmandu’; its revenue and military establishments, its civil and religious institutions, the customs and manners of the natives of their population, their arts and manufactures, their commerce, their learning and languages; and finally, the political and natural history of the country, and so on. Describing Nepal as the only ‘Hindoo’ country which had never been disturbed, far less subdued, by any ‘Mussulman’ power, Kirkpatrick has noted that –

“In one essential particular, nevertheless, these mountaineers appear to me to be very prominently discriminated, and that is by simplicity of character universally observable amongst them. I am aware that this is a feature, which, with a few exceptions, more or less strikingly marks the ‘Hindoo’ character throughout India, but whether it be owing to the secluded situation of ‘Nepaul’, or to some cause still more operative, the simplicity which distinguishes the inhabitants of this rugged region is manifested no less in the superior than the lower ranks of people, appears in all their modes of life, whether public or domestic, little of ostentation or parade ever entering into either, and is very generally accompanied by an ‘innocency’ and suavity of deportment, by an ease and frankness in conversation, and I am disposed to think too, by an integrity of conduct not so commonly to be met with among their more polished or opulent brethren.”

Kirkpatrick admits that on some of his statements he could not but be extremely vague and defective, and that his opinions on others would necessarily be no less liable to error. In fact, there are several such errors in his book. As an example, it is mainly Kirkpatrick who erroneously set the tone of history that princes ruling Nepal for many centuries were ‘Rajepoot’ (and therefore not the Khas people) and the various classes of ‘Hindoos’ appeared in Nepal in all periods to compose a great proportion of its population (and therefore they were not natives to the land). He does not cite any piece of evidence to support his finding, but instead acknowledges that he failed to find a general resemblance in manners and customs between this part of its inhabitants, and the kindred sects in the plains of India. He also notes that “the characteristics which separate them, whether in point of manners, usages, or dress, [with those of the other ‘Hindoos’ in the plains] are so faint as to be scarcely discernible in a single instance…” Apparently, Kirkpatrick honestly believed what the local informants said to him. He had no time to look into the matter with some gravity.

In his account of Nepal, Kirkpatrick describes the route from ‘Munniary’ to ‘Hettowra’, from ‘Segouly’ to ‘Hettowra’, ‘Hettowra’ to ‘Khatmandu’, ‘Doona’ to ‘Khatmandu.’ His descriptions about the valley of ‘Nepaul’ with cities of ‘Khatmandu’, Patan, ‘Bhatgong’ and ‘Kirthipoor’, the temple of ‘Sumbhoonath’, the surrounding mountains around ‘Khatmandu’, and the ‘Bhamutty’ and ‘Bishnumutty’ Rivers are first such accounts in the history of Nepal in the perspective of a visiting alien soldier. He also tries to explain name, climate, season, soil and general face of the country. His sketch of historical ‘Nepaul’ and its boundaries, extent and several divisions must have been of significant importance to the rulers of the British India at that point of time. Here and there, Kirkpatrick has emphasized the diversity among the people among the people of Nepal, and the apparent differences that he could see among them and the ruling elite during his stay in ‘Khathmandu.’

The book comes with a rich appendix of thirteen historical documents. It contains official papers and letters relating to major Kirkpatrik’s mission. It also includes the account of the invasion of ‘Nepaul’ by king Prithivi Narayan Shah. This account has been extracted from Father Giusceppe’s Account of Nepal published in the second volume of the Asiatic Researches. They all are extremely important to modern readers of Nepal’s history.

 

 

Hodgson also writes about speedy disposal of court cases in Nepal. However, if his finding is related with the grievance of Poet Laureate Bhanubhakta Acharya [1814-1871], who had a civil case at Kumarichok Court in Kathmandu, the finding may have been too polite. 

The two volume Miscellaneous Essays relating to Indian Subjects by Brian Houghton Hodgson [London, Brian Trubner and Co., 1880] is a rare collection of essays relating to Nepal, India and Tibet. These essays were published in Bengal Journal and also in other sources on different dates. Most of these essays were his original contribution little benefited by the materials published earlier.

Hodgson [1800-1894] was a great researcher. Apart from the essays in this collection, he published numerous notes on the ethnology and natural history, especially in the Journal of the Asiatic Society. Several collections of his essays and notes were also independently published like the 1874 essays on the languages, literature and religion of Nepal and Tibet, the 1847 study on the Kocch, Bódo and Dhimál tribes, and the 1841 illustrations of the literature and religion of the Buddhists. Hodgson had the opportunity to serve as an assistant to the British Resident in Nepal since 1820. In January 1833 he was appointed the third British Resident himself. He served there until 1843 but was also linked with Nepal and its former territories for many years in different capacities before and after his assignment in Kathmandu. Being fluent in Nepali and Newari, the resources that Hodgson produced on Nepal are numerous. A 2004 book edited by David M. Waterhouse explains his contribution to the Himalayan studies with all seriousness that it deserves. He was of course a pioneer in this area.

The collection Miscellaneous Essays covers a diverse range of topics in different sections. Volume I focuses on the Kooch, Bódo and Dhimál tribes, their vocabulary, grammar, origin, location, numbers, creed, custom, character, and a condition with a general description of the climate they dwell in. It also describes the Himalayan ethnology. This covers comparative vocabulary of the languages of the broken tribes of Nepal, vocabulary of the dialects of the Kiranti language, grammatical analysis of the Vayu language including its grammar. There is an analysis of the Bahing dialect of the Kiranti language including the Bahing grammar. Hodgson has also given the profile of the Hayu and Kiranti tribe of what he describes as belonging to the central Himalayas.

Volume II deals with many diverse topics, mostly unrelated with each other. Examples include the descriptions on the Indo-Chinese borderers and their connection with Himalayas and Tibetans, the Mongolian affinities with the Caucasians, and the comparison and analysis of Caucasian and Mongolian words. There is an effort to describe the route of Nepalese mission to Pekin with remarks of the watershed and plateau of Tibet route from Kathmandu, which is in central Nepal, to Darjeeling now in India. Hodgson also deals with the seven coins of Nepal and the native method of making paper.

Brian Hodgson is the first scholar writing about the administration of justice in Nepal. Volume II of the Miscellaneous Essays gives some accounts of the system of law and police as recognized in the state of Nepal at that time. There are two sub-sections under this title on the law and police, and the law and legal practice of Nepal as regards familiar intercourse between a Hindu and an outcast. The work on the legal system was to help British India and its traders to deal with the status of the rule of law in Nepal. It was intended to enable them to secure justice in cases which the British residency had to settle conjointly with the Nepalese courts. These facts were collected based on the questionnaire that Hodgson framed to receive answers from different respondents knowledgeable about the justice system of Nepal. Some Indian Brahmins at the British Resident’s Office were used to work on them. It was a secret process. Nepal’s pundits who were judged most capable of replying were consulted for information. These two papers (before their inclusion in this book) were submitted by Hudgson to the Asiatic Society and subsequently reprinted in Volume XXVII of the selections from the Records of the government of Bengal.

Referring to the system of ordeal being practised in Nepal to settle disputes, Hodgson writes: “The names of the respective parties are inscribed on two pieces of paper, which are rolled up into balls, and then have Puja offered them. From each party, a fine or fee of one rupee is taken. The balls are then affixed to staffs of reed, and two more are taken from each party. The reeds are then entrusted to two of the Havildars (beadles) of the court to have to the Queen’s Tank; and with Havildars, an examining officer of the court, a Brahman, and the parties proceed thither, as also two men of the Chamakhalak Caste. On arriving at the Tank the examining officer again exhorts the parties to avoid the ordeal by adopting some other mode of setting the business, the merits of which are only known to themselves. If they continue to insist on the ordeal each Havildars each holding one of the reeds, go, one to the east and the other west side of the tank, entering the water about knee-deep. The Brahman, the parties, and the Chamakhalaks, all at this moment enter the water a little away, and the Brahman performs worship to Varuna in the name of the parties, and repeats a secret text, the meaning of which is that mankind knows not what possess in the minds of each other, but that all inward thoughts and past acts are known to the gods Surya, Chandra, Varuna and Yama and that they will do justice between the parties in this cause.”

“When the Puja is over, the Brahman gives the Tilak to the two Chamakhalaks, and says to them, “Let the champion of truth win and let the false one’s champion lose.” This being said, the Brahman of the parties come out of the water and the Chamakhalaks separate, one going to each place where the reed is erected. They then enter the deep water, and at the signal given, both immerse themselves in the water at the same instant. Whichever of them first rises from the water, the reed nearest to him is instantly destroyed, together with the scroll attached to it. The other reed is carried to the court, where the ball of paper is opened, and the name read. If the scroll bears the plaintiff’s name, he wins the cause; if it be that of the defendant, the later is victorious.”

Hodgson also writes about speedy disposal of court cases in Nepal. However, if his finding is related with the grievance of Poet Laureate Bhanubhakta Acharya [1814-1871], who had a civil case at Kumarichok Court in Kathmandu, the finding may have been too polite. The Poet Laureate complained by way of a poem that the court officials continued to detain him saying “tomorrow, …tomorrow and tomorrow” – delaying the final hearing on the petty charge against him. He pleaded that this was very unjust, and that justice delayed was justice denied.

The Miscellaneous Essay is a wonderful collection. It has a wealth of information. Hadgson has obliged the Nepalese legal scholars much by providing information on what may be described as the classical legal system of Nepal. The system was revised only after the promulgation of a new civil code in Nepal in 1854.