Bhimsen Thapa

The Chinese once made war upon us, but were reduced to seek peace.

Bhimsen Thapa (August 1775 – 5 August 1839) was the second Prime Minister of Nepal. He ruled between 1806 A.D. to 1837 A.D. as a Mukhtiyar, which is equivalent to the position of Prime Minister, the nation's governing head.

Quotes

One is born in this world in order to undergo the fruits of actions performed in past life. After the fruits of such actions are undergone, the soul is separated from the body. It then departs to another world to undergo the fruits of actions performed by it during its residence in the body. This is the way of the world.

Historian Baburam Acharya attributes the above idea to Bhimsen Thapa in the letter of minor King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah to Kaji Ranajor Thapa dated May 1814 (Sunday Jestha Sudi 4, 1871 Bikram Samvat). Source: page no. 3 of (Regmi Research Series (1971) Year 3 Vol. 1 "King Girvan's letter to Kaji Ranjor Thapa")

• Through the influence of your good fortune, and that of your ancestors, no one has yet been able to cope with the state of Nepal. The Chinese once made war upon us, but were reduced to seek peace. How then will the English be able to penetrate into the hills? Under your auspices, we shall by our own exertions be able to oppose to them a force of fifty-two lakhs of men, with which we will expel them. The small fort of Bhurtpoor was the work of man, yet the English being worsted before it, desisted from the attempt to conquer it; our hills and fastnesses are formed by the hand of God, and are impregnable. I therefore recommend the prosecution of hostilities. We can make peace afterwards on such terms as may suit our convenience.
  • To King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah as quoted in book History of the political and military transactions in India during the administration of the Marquess of Hastings, 1813–1823, Vol 1

• If Tibetans and Firangis [i.e. foreigners or, in the contemporary context, Englishmen] meet and trade with each other, our ryots and traders will lose their employment and result will not be good.
  • As quoted in book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• ...irrespective of castes, creeds or position in the society, all are same in the eyes of law.
  • As quoted in page 184 of book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839

Quotes about him

• Thus, has perished, the great and able statesman who for more than thirty years had ruled this kingdom with more than regal sway, just two years after his sudden fall from power in 1837-prior to which event the uniform success of nearly all his measures had been no less remarkable than the energy and sagacity which so much promoted that success. He was indeed a man born to exercise dominion over his fellows alike by the means of his command and of persuasion. Nor am I aware of any native statesman of recent times, except Ranjit Singh, who is, all things considered, worthy to be compared with the late General Bhim Sen of Nepal.
  • Quote by his political rival British Resident Brian Houghton Hodgson on his Report to Deputy Secretary with the Governor-General, dated July 30th, 1839. Page 176 of book Hunter, William Wilson (1896), Life of Brian Houghton Hodgson, London: John Murry 

• If I die the nation will not die, but if Bhimsen dies the nation will collapse.
  • Quote by King Rana Bahadur Shah of Nepal on page no. 189 of book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• Nepal is Bhimsen and Bhimsen is Nepal.
  • Quote by British writer Perceval Landon on page no. 189 of book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• Bhimsen was the only man in Asia who braved to protest submission to colonists.
  • Quote by German writer Karl Marx on page no. 189 of book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• His was a life of contrast and no Greek tragedy has ever presented a more dramatic catastrophe than his fearful end.
  • Quote by British writer Perceval Landon on page no. 177 of book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• He was the first Nepalese statesman who grasped the meaning of the system of protectorate which Lord Wellesley had carried out in India. He saw one native state after another came within the net of British Subsidiary Alliance and his policy was steadily directed to save Nepal from similar fate.
  • Remarks by an English writer in the book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839
• ....at thirty-seven he was tall, his figure spare, his countenance animated. His eyes revealed quick inteligence.
  • Remarks by British Resident Lt. Boileau in the page 112 of the book Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839

• He did not succeed in 1814-16 war with the British, but the Thapas love him nonetheless because he tried so hard to control those pesky imperialists, overseeing military battles and negotiating treaties himself while trying to beat down Hodgson.
  • Remark by Nepalese-Canadian essayist Manjushree Thapa in Nepali Times