Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Palace Politics: Zenana Life in the Late Colonial Princely State, c. 1890–1947
- 2 Reading the Role of Women in Succession Disputes: Kenneth Fitze's A Review of Modern Practice in Regard to Successions in Indian States
- 3 A Discourse on Desire: The Politics of Marriage Alliance in the Hindu Zenana
- 4 Breaking (Male) Hearts: The Role of Love, Colonial Law and Maternal Authority in Two Disputed Royal Marriages in Early Twentieth-Century Kathiawar
- 5 Troubles in Indore, the Maharaja's Women: Loving Dangerously
- 6 From ‘Pardah to Parliament’: Dynastic Politics and the Role of Royal Women in Postcolonial India
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Epilogue
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Palace Politics: Zenana Life in the Late Colonial Princely State, c. 1890–1947
- 2 Reading the Role of Women in Succession Disputes: Kenneth Fitze's A Review of Modern Practice in Regard to Successions in Indian States
- 3 A Discourse on Desire: The Politics of Marriage Alliance in the Hindu Zenana
- 4 Breaking (Male) Hearts: The Role of Love, Colonial Law and Maternal Authority in Two Disputed Royal Marriages in Early Twentieth-Century Kathiawar
- 5 Troubles in Indore, the Maharaja's Women: Loving Dangerously
- 6 From ‘Pardah to Parliament’: Dynastic Politics and the Role of Royal Women in Postcolonial India
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In early June 2001, the Nepalese royals convened at the state residence in Kathmandu for a family dinner as they did every third Friday of the month. As in the past, the event was to be a leisurely private affair with the playing of billiards, rounds of cards and the enjoyment of food, liquor and conversation. It was a chance for the members of the large extended family, both old and young, to come together for an evening's entertainment in the spirit of tradition, duty and unity. What, however, began as a routine gathering soon turned into a tragic blood bath, when rounds of gunfire reverberated through the palace halls. Several members of the royal family were shot to death suddenly and inscrutably. Bringing to mind historic images of the brutal demise of the Romanovs, the Nepalese media initially presumed the massacre to be the handiwork of leftwing, Maoist radicals who were attempting to overthrow the monarchy. In actuality, the insurgency had occurred within the ranks of the royal family itself. Crown Prince Dipendra had shot his father, King Birendra, his mother, Queen Aishwarya, his brother, sister and several other relations, before turning his weapon upon himself. As one news outlet described the ‘brief and violent incident’:
The rampage lasted some one and a half minutes, during which the crown prince walked in and out of the room where the royal family was gathered, firing his weapon continuously.
At one point, Shahi said, Dipendra aimed at his mother, Queen Aishwarya. The crown prince's younger brother stepped in the way, pleading for Dipendra to stop, but Dipendra instead shot his brother several times in the back and then fired the fatal shots at the queen.
Later media coverage of the happenings exposed the role of courtly women, marriage politics and intra-clan rivalry as motivations for the violence. According to eyewitness accounts, the Eton-educated Dipendra had wished to marry the daughter of a prominent Nepalese Minister and aristocrat, Devyani Rana, who was herself actively engaged in her father's campaigns.
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- Information
- Courtly Indian Women in Late Imperial India , pp. 183 - 190Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014