Kathmandu, Sept 9: The 111th birth anniversary of BP Koirala, the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal, is being celebrated by organising a variety of events across the country today.
Koirala was born on Bhadra 24, 1971 BS. He led the establishment of Nepali National Congress in 2003 BS during his exile in India to end the then autocratic Rana regime. This played an important role in the establishment of democracy in 2007 BS.
While in exile in India, BP participated in India’s freedom struggle and was active in it with a vision that after the independence of India it would be easy to establish democracy in Nepal.
After the success of the 2007 revolution, BP became the home minister in the Rana-Congress government led by Mohan Shumsher. Koirala then became the first elected Prime Minister after the Congress won a two-thirds majority in the 2015 general elections. During his premiership, he abolished land tenure system and introduced progressive land reforms with the notion that the land should belong to the tiller.
However, on Poush 1, 2017 BS, the popularly elected government was overthrown by the then King, putting Koirala and other leaders in Jail.
Koirala was released from prison for medical treatment in 2025 and then lived in exile in India for eight years. He returned to Nepal with the policy of national unity and reconciliation on 16 Poush 2033 BS. His policy led to a referendum on the choice between multi-party system or reformed Panchayat system three years later. However, the democrats lost amidst allegations of rampant fraud by the then ruling side. BP however accepted the referendum results. He passed away on Saun 6, 2039 BS due to throat cancer.
Apart from his contribution to the field of politics, BP Koirala is also a very popular figure in the field of Nepali literature. He has more than 18 creations to his credit, including novels like the very popular ‘Tin Ghumti’, ‘Modi Ain’, ‘Hitler and Jew’, and ‘Sumnima’. Similarly, he has two collections of stories ‘Shwet Bhairavi’ and ‘Doshi Chashma’.
The Sundarijal Prison, where the Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament and Ministers of the first elected government were imprisoned, is now serving as BP museum. The museum has various collections depicting the life and contributions of the late leader.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of BP Jayanti, the Nepali Congress, its sister and well-wishing organizations and the BP Museum are scheduled to host a variety of programs to commemorate the life and contributions of late BP Koirala.
