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Nepal Government Crisis: 75 Years Ago Nepal Could Have Been a Part of India – What Pranab Mukherjee Wrote About King Tribhuvan’s Offer, Nehru, and Indira Gandhi

  • Writer: Tanisha surajwani
    Tanisha surajwani
  • Sep 10
  • 2 min read
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 Nepal Government Crisis: Nepal today might have been an Indian state if former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had accepted King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah’s proposal. Considering the global situation at the time, King Tribhuvan wanted Nepal to merge with India and had formally placed this offer before Nehru.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee mentioned this incident in his autobiography The Presidential Years. In the book, while reflecting on Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Indira Gandhi, he highlighted that every Prime Minister has their own unique style of leadership, even when they belong to the same political party. On the matter of King Tribhuvan’s offer, Mukherjee explained Nehru’s stance and also speculated on how Indira Gandhi would have responded if the proposal had been made to her instead.

What did Pranab Mukherjee reveal in his book?In the 11th chapter, titled My Prime Ministers: Different Styles, Different Temperaments, Mukherjee wrote that each Prime Minister had their own approach. For instance, Lal Bahadur Shastri took a completely different direction from Nehru. According to him, perspectives on foreign policy, security, and internal governance could vary significantly among leaders of the same party.

Mukherjee noted that Nehru handled the Nepal situation diplomatically. He wrote, “The Rana rule in Nepal was replaced by monarchy, but Nehru wanted to see democratic governance there.” About the merger offer, he further mentioned, “Interestingly, King Tribhuvan suggested to Nehru that Nepal could become a province of India, but Nehru declined, arguing that Nepal was a sovereign nation and should remain one.”

Nehru vs. Indira Gandhi’s styles of leadershipComparing the styles of Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Mukherjee observed, “If Indira had been in Nehru’s position, she would have seized the opportunity—just as she did with Sikkim.” It was during Indira’s tenure that Sikkim officially became a part of India.

Nepal’s current turmoilAt present, Nepal is facing severe unrest. For the past three days, chaos has gripped the country—raging from Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Presidential Palace to the Prime Minister’s residence and various government offices. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has already resigned and is reportedly preparing to leave the country. The young Gen-Z population is especially furious after the government imposed a ban on social media platforms. Although the ban has since been lifted, anger among the masses hasn’t cooled down. Protests have engulfed Nepal for three consecutive days, with the youth leading the movement against their government.

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