Ban on Political Parties by the King in 1961 A.D

King Mahendra formed a government under the chairmanship of Subarna Shumsher Rana on December 7,1957. On November 17, 1958 A.D the king promulgated the constitution known as the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1958. The general election was held in the same year. The Nepali Congress Party obtained 74 seats out of the 109 seats. Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal. The Nepali Congress led a single party government. However, very ambitious king Mahendra deposed the B.P. Koirala government on 1960 A.D., imprisoned B.P. Koirala and other leaders and banned the political parties and their activities. The king dissolved the parliament using article 55 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1958. This undemocratic act of King Mahendra on December 16, 1960 is regarded as the 'Black Day' in the history of Nepal.

The names of the ministers fo the cabinet formed on May 27, 2059 A.D who were dismissed by King Mahendra are given below:

1. B.P. Koirala (Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala)
2. Subarna SJB Ran
3. Ganesh Maan Singh
4. Surya Prasad Upadhaya
5. Ram Narayan Mishra
6. Kashi Nath Gautam
7. Parasu Narayan Chaudhary
8. Shiva Raj Pant
9. Prem Raj Angdembe
10. Surya Nath Das Yadav
11. Lalit Chanda 
12. Dwarika Devi Thankurani
13. Min Bahadur Gurung
14. Jaman Singh Gurung
15. Yogendra Man Sherchan
16. Newa Bahadur Malla
17. Dr. Tulsi Giri
18. Shiva Prasad Shah
19. Dewan Singh Rai 
20. Hora Prasad Joshi, and 
21. Tribeni Prasad Pradhan

King Mahendra dismissed the popularly elected government on December 16, 1960 and the leaders who opposed the king's undemocratic act were tortured and detained.

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Socia-Economic and Political Achievements Between 1951-1961 A.D ( Contd....)

Administrative and Political Sector

The first democratic decade witnessed political instability due to frequent changes in governments. Even, the elected government of the Nepali Congress under the leadership of B.P. Koirala lasted for seventeen months. Despite frequent obstacles to forming and having stable governments, some of the major reforms in the field of political and administrative sectors were as follows:

1. Multi-party democratic system was practiced.
2. People got freedom to form political parties.
3. Nepal became the member of the UNO, and the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
4. First democratic constitution was framed in 2015 B.S.
5. Formation of the Election Commission and the first general election started in 2015 B.S./1958 A.D.
6. First people's elected government was formed.
7. Nepal's diplomatic relations flourished.

Socia-Economic and Political Achievements Between 1951-1961 A.D ( Contd....)

Social Sector

1. The Radio Nepal, began its broadcasting.
2. First women's college was opened at Dillibazar in Kathmandu.
3. Many feudal duties and obligations such as forced and unpaid labour, etc were removed.
4. Dayabirsingh Kansakar established the Paropkar Anathalaya ( Orphanage).
5. English education started for common people.
6. The number of educational institutions reached 4,191 form 355 during the Rana period.
7. The Supreme Court was established.
8. A bill to end the Raja-Rajauta system was introduced.
9. Foundation of the Tribhuwan University.
10. Inauguration of Law College in Kathmandu.

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Socia-Economic and Political Achievements Between 1951-1961 A.D

The first democratic decade remained very productive in socio-economic and political development. We can discuss some of the achievements in the following headings:

Economic Sector

1. 5-year plans for development started.
2. System of annual budget was introduced for the first time in Nepal.
3. Establishment of the Nepal Rastra Bank (Central Bank of Nepal) and the Agricultural Development Bank.
4. Construction of the Tribhuwan Highway and several other roads started.
5. Domestic and international aviations started.
6. Telephone and telegram services started.
7. Forests were nationalized.
8. Diversification of tax was introduced and Birtaland was eliminated.
9. Establishment of the RNAC currently the Nepal Airlines Corporation.
10. Formation of the Nepal Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC).

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Political Situation and Condition in Nepal between 1951 A.D-1961 A.D ( Cont...)

 In the meantime, the Nepal Praja Parishad, the Nepal Communist Party, and other various organisations jointly formed a United People's Front ( Janatantrik Samyukta Morcha)  and demanded to form an all party government that would include all the democratic forces. On the other hand, Dr. K.I Singh revolted against the cabinet of Matrika Prasad Koirala. However, Dr. Singh failed in his mission. He fled to Tibet for refuge. At the same period, Bhim Dutta Pant who was leading of united front against the Ranarchy expressed his critical dissatisfaction with the government activities. He framed his political agenda on land ownership rights to the people, rights and interests of the people, and law and order as well as security of the people, and then started a revolutionary political movement. However, he was declared a terrorist, arrested and killed in Dadeldhura district in 1954 A.D.

After the suppression of the above-mentioned revolts, king Tribhuwan formed a five-member advisory government under his leadership. It was outright rejected by the democratic forces, and opposed by India. The government was dissolved in 1954 A.D. Again, a five-member ministerial cabinet under the leadership of Matrika Prasad Koirala was formed. Twelve secretaries supported the five-member cabinet in carrying out various administrative and political activities in different departments. The continued internal political misunderstanding, lack of support to the government, and unhealthy competition among political forces to run the government let to the dissolution of the Matrika Prasad Koirala-led government in 1955 A.D. King Tribhuwan died in 1955 A.D and Mahendra became the king. He immediately formed an advisory body and then started his direct rule. In 1956 A.D,  cabinet was formed under the leadership of Tanka Prasad Acharya, the President of Praja Parishad. It too got dissolved after six months in 1957 A.D. Again, a cabinet was formed under the leadership of Dr. K.I. Singh and that too could not serve the government long. It was dissolved in 1958 A.D.

Political Situation and Condition in Nepal between 1951 A.D-1961 A.D

After the end of the 104-year-old Ranarchy through the joint effort of the democratic forces and King Tribhuwan, a new wave of politics float across Nepal. After the historic Delhi Agreement, King Tribhuwan returned to Kathmandu on 15 February 1951 A.D and declared democracy in Nepal. A democratic government was formed between the Nepali Congress and the Ranas. The ministerial cabinet approved the 'Interim Constitution' on March 30, 1951 A.D. The Constitution represented the spirit and right of the Nepalese people. The constitution also included the directive principles of state policy, fundamental rights and freedom of the citizens. The council of minister was responsible to the king.

The Ranas were attempting to restore their autocratic power. The ministers representing the Nepali Congress felt that the presence of the Ranas would not provide suitable political and administrative conditions to put into practice the spirit of the constitution. Therefore, on November 11, 1951 A.D, the ministers from the Nepali Congress Party resigned. It compelled Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher and other ministers from the Rana side also to resign. After the resignation of Mohan Shumsher and his cabinet, king Tribhuwan invited and directed Nepali Congress President, Matrika Prasad Koirala, to form a 14-member ministerial cabinet or government.

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Causes of Failure of the Rana Rule

1. Autocratic and dictatorial rule of the Ranas, misuse of the state's fund, resources and authority.
2. Lack of support to the Rana rule from the people, and the conflict and conspiracy among the Ranas for power and privilege.
3. Classification of Ranas in A,B and C classes; and opposition to the A-class Ranas by the C-class Ranas.
4. Awareness in Nepal about the despotic rule of the Ranas, and the revolution against the Ranas by the unity of the people, democratic forces and King Tribhuwan.
5. Impact of the independence of India the Second World War, and the support provided by India directly and indirectly.
6. Dramatic escape of King Tribhuwan to Delhi, the Tripartite Agreement, declaration of democracy, and the formal end of the Rana rule.