Ex-President Yadav launches Rana's 'Singha Durbar'

KATHMANDU: Former President Dr Ram Baran Yadav released a book 'Singha Durbar' penned by Sagar Shumsher JB Rana amid a programme on Friday.

The 413-page book is divided into three parts presenting historical anecdotes and facts starting from the introduction of Nepal and its people and later chronicles the modern monarchical system of the country – which was not well known to outsiders until the first Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana made an official visit to the UK during the reign of its Queen Victoria.

Published by the Rupa Publications India and distributed in Nepal by the Educational Book House Kathmandu, the book also delves into the detail accounts of the decline of the Jung families and the rise of the Shumsher families.

The book accounts the oligarchy Rana rule spanning 103 years from Jung Bahadur to Mohan Shushmer Rana.

The book priced at Rs 795 carries the namesake which is the name of the main administrative enclave of the country.

On the occasion, former President Yadav expressed his concern over the eroding reading culture among the youths especially when it comes to learning the history of our land.

Similarly, writer Sagar Shumsher JBR, who is also the Vice-President of the Nepal Art Council and the direct descendant of one of the Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Rana, said that the book could offer information on how our ancestors fought against the foreign forces to protect the sovereignty of Nepal and we could draw inspiration from these historical facts.

The book also narrates the first-hand account of how the Nepali Congress waged the anti-Rana movement from exile in Varanasi (Banaras) in India as the writer and his families lived the political turmoil in the home country.