2020-02-19 Wed

Democracy Day refers to the Nepali holiday on February 19th, which is called “Prajatantra Diwas” in Nepali. It looks back to the day in 1951 when the Rana Dynasty was overthrown after a century in power. It is of great importance in Nepal’s history since the long-reigning Rana Regime held such absolute sway over the nation. A new king, named Prithvi Narayan Shah led the movement to topple the Ranas.

Before the Ranas came to the throne, Nepal was really an assortment of divided mini-states rather than a unified nation. It was this diversity and division that allowed the Ranas to more easily take control of the government. During the reign of one of the Rana monarchs, Janga Bahadur Rana, there were even mass killings and other intolerable abuses of power.

Finally, in 1951, popular uprisings succeeded in overthrowing the Rana Dynasty once and for all. There were martyrs who died in the conflict, and they are honored on Democracy as national heroes. The new freedom following escape from the rule of the Rana kings opened up an opportunity for democracy and for a fair, non-discriminatory government.

The above note was issued by the new government in the year 1951. The early banknotes which were issued between 1945 and 1955 during the rule of King Tribhuvan were not put into circulation by a Central Bank which did not exist in Nepal at that time. The issuing authority was the treasury which had the name Sadar Muluki Khana. Therefore the notes of king Tribhuvan were not signed by a bank governor, but by a Khajanchi.

These early notes were printed by the Indian Security Press in Nashik and do not have any security features, except for the watermarks and the special paper on which they are printed. The note depicts Bhairavnath Temple in Bhaktapur along with a coin Coin above Elephant and Mountains in the background whereas; the reverse depicts a scene of the Himalayas, the coat of arms of Nepal in the center and a conch below the watermark window.

Image Courtesy: enacademic.com