TIME LINE

• Born in Biratnagar in 1925
• 1948: Koirala founds the Nepal Mazdoor Congress, which later became the Nepal Trade Union Congress
• 1952: Koirala becomes the President of the Morang district Nepali Congress
• 1960: Imprisoned by King Mahendra following the 1960 royal coup
• 1967: Released from jail, is exiled to India along with other leaders and workers of the party
• 1979: Returns to Nepal
• 1975-1991: General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Party
• 1990: Actively takes part in the Jana Andolan which results in establishment of multi-party democracy
• 1991: NC wins 112 of the 205 seats in multi-party elections. GPK becomes the leader of the NC parliamentary party and is sworn in as Prime Minister
• 1994: With divisions in the party and defection of 36 members sympathetic to K P Bhattarai, Koirala loses vote. Koirala resigns. King Birendra dissolves parliament
• November 15, 1994: CPN-UML wins most seats in the House of Representatives and Man Mohan Adhikari becomes the prime minister of a minority government
• Koirala engineers the fall of Surya Bahadur Thapa. Heads NC minority government
• December 25, 1998: Koirala heads a three-party coalition government with the CPN-UML and NSP
• May 3 and May 17, 1999: General Elections held. NC wins again after deep divisions within UML. Heavy defeat of leftist parties
• 2000: Koirala becomes Prime Minister for the third time after forcing KP Bhattarai to resign. It is the ninth government in 10 years
• June 1, 2001: King Birendra and other royal family members massacred
• June 4, 2001: Prince Gyanendra becomes King
• July 2001: Maoists step up war. Koirala quits after being unable to mobilize the army. Deuba succeeds
• 2001 November: Maoists end four-month old truce with government, declare peace talks with government failed. Launch coordinated attacks on army and police posts
• Novermber 22, 2005: 12-point agreement signed in New Delhi
• 2006 April 24: King Gyanendra agrees to reinstate parliament following weeks of violent strikes and protests against direct royal rule. GP Koirala is appointed prime minister. Maoists call a three-month ceasefire
• 2006 May: Parliament votes unanimously to curtail the king’s political powers. The government and Maoist rebels begin peace talks
• 2006 May 2: Koirala announces new cabinet including himself and three other ministers from the Nepali Congress
• 2006, June 16: Rebel leader Prachanda and PM Koirala hold talks - the first such meeting between the two sides - and agree that the Maoists should be brought into an interim government
• 2006 November: The government and Maoists sign a peace accord, declaring a formal end to a 10-year insurgency. The rebels are to join a transitional government and their weapons placed under UN supervision
• 2007 January: Maoist leaders enter parliament under the terms of a temporary constitution. Violent ethnic protests erupt in the south-east; demonstrators demand autonomy for the region
• 2007 April 1: Koirala re-elected as Prime Minister to head a new government composed of the SPA and the CPN (Maoist)
• 2007 December: Parliament approves abolition of monarchy as part of peace deal with Maoists, who agree to re-join government
• 2008, May 28: Nepal becomes a republic
• 2008, July 21: Two months after the departure of King Gyanendra, Ram Baran Yadav becomes Nepal’s first president
• 2009, May 4: Caught in row over dismissal of Nepal’s army chief, country’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, resigns Terms as Prime Minister
• 25 April 2006 - 18 August 2008
• 22 March 2000 - 26 July 2001
• 15 April 1998 - 31 May 1999
• 26 May 1991 - 30 November 1994

LAST DAY'S FUNERAL

Somnath Bastola

SUNSARI: Bansi Mehata of Dewangunj, Sunsari, is 100. And today, he wished he had died earlier.
"Girijababu has said many times that he started his political career form my house," Bansi said, overwhelmed. "Oh, whom will I call Girijababu now?"
Girija Prasad Koirala first met Bansi in 1950 when his elder brother, BP Koirala, took him to Dewangunj. Although Girija Prasad Koirala would not drink milk from Bansi's house -- BP later punished him for that -- the farmer became famous for being an inspiration to the Koirala brothers.
During his early political career, Koirala used to frequently ride a bicycle to Mehata's house, which is one-and-a-half-hours away from Biratnagar.
It was Girijababu who, in 1951, became a guardian and admitted Bansi's eldest son, Balkrishna, in Biratnagar's Adarsha High School. "Girijababu used to say that we will form the government one day, and so we should educate our children."
Tears flowed from his eyes when he recalled Koirala embracing him after being released from jail in 1969. The two were together in India during exile.
"Girija Prasad Koirala was a confident and courageous leader and the void created by his death cannot be filled," he said.
Even at 100, Bansi renews his party membership every year, but now he is worried how the Congress party will remain united. "A courageous, confident and friendly leader like Girija is rarely born," he said. Bansi last met Koirala two years ago in Biratnagar, after his sons insisted. Girija Prasad Koirala, who was instructing government officials, rose up and escorted Bansi inside his home.
"I hope a peaceful Nepal is established," Bansi said. "It was Girijababu's wish. Only then can his soul can rest in peace."