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From Nalapani to Kalapani

Where Nepal’s banner once waved

<figure><img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d174b9c7e80680e0ac75bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The ramparts of Kangra Fort were so formidable it was impossible for enemy troops to scale. A siege was the only way to try to defeat the forces inside. Photos: ALISHA SIJAPATI</figcaption></figure>Nepali Times reporter Alisha Sijapati spent a month retracing the Gorkha expansion beyond the Mahakali River more than 200 years ago. The Gorkha Empire was on a warpath, and the British East India Company saw it as a threat to its own expansionist ambitions. This five-part series looks at the bravery of the Gorkhali troops under its legendary generals to defend the newly-conquered territory, but also the historical memory of an oppressive rule. The <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/beginning-of-the-end-of-the-gorkha-empire/">first part appeared on 25 September</a>, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-start-of-the-anglo-gorkha-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">third</a> instalment will be published in this space on 8 October. The fortress at Kangra looks majestic in the rain, as monsoon clouds drift across its stone ramparts like lace curtains. The lush green mountains appear fresh after a night of rain, as though newly painted. Spread across 190 hectares on a ridge overlooking the Kangra Valley and a sweeping view of the Beas-Sutlej Rivers, there has been a fort here for more than 1,000 years because of its strategic location. The fort had been invaded and defended many times before the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/Nepalis-waited-200-years-for-country-to-be-proud-of,2939" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gorkhali army</a> arrived in the early 19th century. The sprawling fortress is still impressive because of its sheer scale, and must have felt impregnable to those who occupied it at various times, and impossible to take over for those attacking it from below.  “Kangra Fort was built in such a way that any enemy force would have been easily spotted, and its approaches were so steep and the walls so formidable that it was almost impossible to scale,” explains Sandeep Badoni, a historian based in Dehradun. <figure><img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d174d9c7e80680e0ac75cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Walking towards the huge main gate, visitors are still awestruck not just by the walls towering above them but also by what warriors must have felt more than 200 years ago as they went into the many battles that were fought here. Over various periods in history, Kangra had been occupied by the Katoch kingdom, housed a Mughal garrison, was held briefly by the Gorkhalis and then the Sikhs, followed by the British. This was also the place where the Gorkhali general Kaji Nain Singh Thapa was shot by the defenders in 1809, eventually bringing to a halt Gorkha expansion westwards, and changing the course of Nepal’s history. The Gorkhalis retreated to its territories to the east, only to be attacked by the East India Company five years later. <figure><img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17509c7e80680e0ac75djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Built by the Katoch, one of the 14 medieval ruling clans of present day Himachal Pradesh and Jammu regions of India, the fort was damaged in the 1905 earthquake. Even though what remains standing now is only one-third of the original complex, it is still one of best preserved archaeological sites in the region. The descendants of the Katoch rulers today maintain a small museum at the fort dedicated to their king, Sansar Chand II of Kangra, who in 1786 fought a war with the Mughal emperors to reclaim his family's heritage. For 115 years the Kangra Fort had been occupied by the Moghuls before Sansar Chand finally retrieved the historic fort in exchange for two other sites nearby. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lest-we-forget/">Lest we forget</a>, David Seddon <figure><img width="1000" height="667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17549c7e80680e0ac75ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Katoch king restored the glory of his ancestors after much bloodshed, but peace was still elusive because he was also looking to expand his territory. There was friction between rival clans in these rugged mountains and that spilled over into open hostilities -- even as word came of the rapid advance of the Gorkhalis from the east. A series of attacks and annexations followed, and a ruthless Sansar Chand took over the states of Chamba, Mandi, Kutlehar, and others surrendered. The remaining smaller principalities formed a federation to have a common defence, and invited the Gorkhalis, who by then had already occupied Garhwal and Kumaon, to subdue what they considered Sansar Chand’s “terror”.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tales-of-courage-and-suffering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tales of Gorkhali valour</a> and martial prowess had preceded them, and the smaller kingdoms found it expedient to lean on what they thought was a stronger invading force from Kathmandu as a bulwark against a ruthless and ambitious neighbouring king. Nepali historian Dinesh Raj Panta says that the Gurkha Empire's Kangra war against Sansar Chand and Punjab’s Ranjit Singh marked the bitter end of its expansion and conquest because in those two kings the Gorkhalis finally met their match in terms of fighting spirit and cunning. “The Gorkhalis were already well known for their bravery and shrewdness, but Sansar Chand’s trickery and Ranjit Singh’s military strategy proved superior to the capacity of the fractious courtiers in faraway Kathmandu to plan an effective the military campaign to retain the territory they conquered,” Panta says. The first battle in 1808 between the forces of Sansar Chand and the Gorkha army en route to the Kangra fort was fought 50km away at Mahal Morian, which the Gorkhalis won. Sansar Chand fled to his palace at nearby Tira Sujanpur. Led by Bhakti Thapa, the Gorkhalis were in hot pursuit, and Sansar Chand fled again: this time to Nadaun, his pleasure resort 28km away. Nadaun did not have the fortifications to withstand a Gorkhali assault, so Sansar Chand fled further west to Kangra to make a last stand against the invaders. Kangra was so unassailable, and a frontal attack would be so costly, that the Gorkhalis had to lay a siege that lasted four years. <figure><img width="2011" height="1323" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17569c7e80680e0ac75fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Sansar Chand used that time to try everything in his power to ease the Gorkhali stranglehold. He tried to entice General Amar Singh Thapa with a bribe, and even offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to the young king Girvan Yuddha Shah in Kathmandu.Amar Singh Thapa and Kathmandu shunned these offers, making it plain to Sansar Chand that they were not there to negotiate. But even as the Gorkha siege of Kangra dragged on, General Amar Singh Thapa still refused to order a fussilade of cannon fire at the ramparts in preparation for an assault -- even though he had a good vantage point from an adjoining hill. The reason was that, being a devout Hindu, the Gorkhali general did not want to provoke the ire of Goddess Ambika, whose shrine was located inside the fort. Instead, he built another temple at his own base to the Goddess Jayanti, and waited for Sansar Chand to surrender. This temple stands to this day on a bluff two hours uphill from the fortress at Kangra, and has become a pilgrimage site for Indian tourists. The siege dragged on for four years, and impatience was boiling over among the small hill kingdoms who started to think the Gorkhalis were not as strong as they thought they were. The Gorkhali rank and file was also getting weary, and back in Kathmandu 1,500km away, Bhimsen Thapa, the Mukhtiyar General (Prime Minister) of Nepal, was also getting increasingly irritated by the delay in taking over Kangra Fort. He desperately needed a victory to strengthen his own position in the intrigue and conspiracy-ridden Kathmandu court against rival clans, and he decided to send his brother Nain Singh Thapa to Kangra to oversee a swift victory.  <figure><img width="675" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17599c7e80680e0ac760jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When Nain Singh Thapa arrived on the Gorkha frontlines in Kangra, he wanted to attack the fort right away, but Amar Singh Thapa cautioned him to wait and strategise first. Nain Singh was a man in a hurry and led his troops to the gate of the fort, where he was shot. Historian Dinesh Raj Panta says, “Bhimsen Thapa had two sides to himself, an arrogant man before the Anglo-Nepal war and a deflated person after the Kangra defeat. Grief and anger over his brother's death consumed him."“Bhimsen Thapa blamed Amar Singh Thapa for his brother being killed in action in Kangra, but also blamed himself,” Panta explains. As it turned out, the Gorkha defeat in the 1816 war also led to the downfall and death of Bhimsen Thapa.Amar Singh Thapa was eventually able to gain control of the main gate at the fort. The Gorkhali troops stormed inside, and started climbing up the steep slope to the upper levels and their khukri drawn. The Katoch king put up a fierce resistance. When asked to surrender, he made a request to let the women, children, and the elderly safely evacuate Kangra, after which he promised to surrender the fort to the Gorkhalis.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/diary-of-a-nepali-soldier-in-france/">Diary of a Nepali soldier in France</a>, Shree Bhakta Khanal  <img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d175c9c7e80680e0ac761jpeg.jpg" alt="">He convinced Amar Singh Thapa to give him a week to complete the evacuation of civilians. However, this turned out to be just a ploy to buy time to negotiate with his long-time rival, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab even though the two did not see eye to eye with each other. Disguised as a woman, Sansar Chand fled the fort to rendezvous with Ranjit Singh, and offered him the fort in return for repelling the Gorkhalis. This was a shocking turnaround for the Gorkhalis. Not to be outdone, Amar Singh Thapa also offered Ranjit Singh riches in return for spurning an alliance with Sansar Chand, but the king of Punjab already had his eyes on a bigger prize: the territory east of the Sutlej. Having heard of the capabilities of the Gorkhali war machine, Ranjit Singh knew he would one day have to fight them himself. And that day soon came in September 1809. Ranjit Singh’s Sikh troops that had come to the aid of Sansar Chand confronted the Gorkha army at Ganesh Ghati, a few kilometres south of Kangra Fort. This is still remembered more than 200 years later as one of the fiercest battles ever fought in the entire campaign. <figure><img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d175f9c7e80680e0ac762jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The Kangra war was so ruthless that even today, there is competition between Indians of Khalsa and Gorkha origin regarding who between them are better warriors,” explains Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, a former Indian Army officer commanding <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lest-we-forget/">a Gorkha regiment</a>. “The answer is that they are both the best warriors in the world."Ranjit Singh had brought a 12,000 horse-borne cavalry to the battle of Ganesh Ghati and had amassed 72,000 soldiers against a much smaller Gorkhali force. The Gorkhalis were sick, hungry, war weary and far from home but they still put up a stiff resistance. But, vastly outnumbered, it was a swift, but bloody battle, and 200 among the Gorkhali forces who had retreated to the Ganesh Temple at the battlefield were attacked and burnt alive. Ranjit Singh then allowed Amar Singh Thapa to surrender with arms, regarded as the highest honour from the Sikh king. Even today, Amar Singh Thapa and his bravery in this battle is mentioned on plaques at Kangra.‘The Sikhs were going for the kill, but the Grokhas put up such a brave fight that Ranjit Singh was thoroughly impressed,’ writes Jyoti Thapa Mani in her book <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2016/03/22/the-sharp-edge-of-history/">The Khukri Braves</a> that recounts the battles. Thapa Mani is herself a descendant of a warrior in the original Gorkha army in 1790. She adds, ‘In the Gorkhalis he saw great fighters -- brave and sincere. He wanted them and ended the battle diplomatically.’ Ranjit Singh took over Kangra Fort after ousting the Gorkhalis, but did not really defend it against the next invading force, which was the British East India Company. <figure><img width="1087" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17629c7e80680e0ac763jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1515" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161120/636d17659c7e80680e0ac764jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kangra represented the westernmost reach of the Gorkha empire, and the Gorkhalis retreated from this point back across the Sutlej River to Arki in Garhwal. Five years later, the Anglo-Nepal War started in 1814 and Amar Singh Thapa lived to fight another day against the East Indian Company.The next chapters in the history of this region was the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/collateral-benefits/">valiant</a>, but ultimately futile, Gorkhali defence of their forts in Malaun, Nalapani and Jaithuk, which will be the subject of the next three episodes in this series.      _________________ <h2>Back in Kathmandu</h2> As war raged on 1,500km away to the west, the infant king Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah in Kathmandu presided over rival Thapa, Basnyat, and Pande clans who were constantly vying for power.  The war on the western front was to figure prominently in this competition between the families, with one blaming the other for defeat, some taking all the credit for conquests, and all of them waiting to exact revenge on the others.  In 1799, when he was only one-and-half years old, Girvan Yuddha's father, Rana Bahadur Shah, had been forced to abdicate the throne in his favour to become an ascetic.  But in 1804, egged on by the British, he returned to the court and became regent for Girvan Yuddha. After his reinstatement, Rana Bahadur began to exact revenge on those who had tried to keep him in exile.  On 25 April 1806, he was beheaded by his half-brother Sher Bahadur Thapa. Dowager Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari took over the regency, while her uncle Bhimsen Thapa became the Muykhtiyar General (Prime Minister). He remained the de facto ruler of Nepal till 1837.  Lalit Tripura Sundari was the daughter of Nain Singh Thapa, hailed a martyr after his death at the Kangra Fort. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/turning-a-shrine-into-a-temple-of-learning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">temple she built in Kathmandu</a> was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and has been renovated. Girvan Yuddha was a teenage king when the Anglo-Nepal War took place in 1814-16, and he died soon after, aged 19. Bhimsen Thapa himself started falling from grace after the Sugauli Treaty, was imprisoned, and died by suicide in his jail cell in 1839.

The Gorkhali defeat at Kangra

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

The streets of Patan are alive this month with lavender jacaranda trees under rain-washed skies as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-red-god-rises-again-in-patan">the chariot of Rato Matsyendranath</a> is pulled across town. This is the festival of the rain god, and inevitably the heavens opened up and pre-monsoon showers pelted the chariot as it started being pulled in Pulchok last week. Thousands of devotees, onlookers and the chariot procession organisers thronged the streets on the first day last week. The rhythmic cymbals and drums exuded a vibrant energy as the enormous four wheels turned and the chariot lurched.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  The<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Red-rain-god,3141"> red rain god</a> has Hindu and Buddhist antecedents, alternatively called Bungadya and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-gravity-defying-chariot-festival"> Karunamaya</a> — reflecting Kathmandu Valley’s syncretic mixture of the two religions.&nbsp; “Bungadya is a profoundly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/marketing-the-intangible">intangible form of heritage</a>,” explains heritage expert Monalisa Maharjan. “It embodies traditional knowledge,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reviving-nepal-s-craft"> artisanal skills passed down through generations</a>. Local communities and specific families have specified roles in being custodians of the heritage, ensuring their survival over the centuries.” There are many legends and stories about this annual tradition. Lichhavi king Narendra Dev is supposed to have brought Rato Matsyendranath from Assam to Kathmandu Valley to convince Guru Gorakhnath to lift a spell that created a two-year drought in Kathmandu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1503" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Matsyendranath was Gorakhnath’s mentor, and upon seeing him, the serpents were released, unleashing the rains. The chariot festival honours the return of this life-giving rain. The deity is seen as an icon for thriving agriculture, t<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon">he arrival of monsoon</a> showers, and the welfare of the community. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain">The reign of the god of rain</a>, Vidhu Prakash Kayastha Till this day, the Rato Matsyendranath festival is no ordinary celebration. Patan does not sleep for a month as the chariot is pulled through various neighbourhoods. It unfolds at a state level with the president (formerly the king) attending the climax of the Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel later this month.&nbsp; The intergenerational transmission of tradition is unique in the world, and the reason the festival is one of the most vibrant cultural expressions that thrives despite inroads of modernity. The other unique aspect is that it is a transnational festival, binding Patan with Guwahati in the Indian state of Assam.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  “Unlike Nepal, where the deity commands grandeur and devotion, many in Assam are unaware of Rato Matsyendranath,” says Khagen Sharma of Gauhati University, which convened <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-assam-connection-revived">a symposium in February in Guwahati on the rain god</a>. Attending was a delegation led by Lalitpur Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan, organisers of the festival, and builders of the chariot. After the symposium, a committee was formed to explore and revive the tradition in Assam as well. Although the team had planned to visit Nepal this month, logistical challenges delayed the trip. Still, there are plans to build a Guru Matsyendranath statue in Assam to reestablish regular worship practices in the Guwahati shrine.&nbsp; The vines used to build the chariot in Patan are sourced from the jungles of Assam. But Sharma notes that in recent years unclear regulations have blocked the official import of the vines, although they are still brought to Nepal informally. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204">chariot making</a> has also had a taste of modernisation in recent times. In the past, even a single nail or piece of steel was avoided. But over time, the wooden structure, particularly the shaft between the wheels, has been replaced with bronze. When that too proved unstable, metal clamps were introduced, which have become a pragmatic compromise.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="998" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Another welcome change is the focus on safety. Builders climbing the chariot’s tower now wear harnesses and there are efforts in crowd control. The most visible change in recent years has been the involvement of Patan’s enthusiastic youth in the festival — the tradition is now passing to a new generation. Says Matsyendranath expert Vidhu Kayastha: “There is more energy, the young people in red t-shirts this year were very organised, these modern touches aren’t diluting our culture, they’re keeping it alive in new forms.” He adds, “We are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home">reconnecting with our roots</a>, we have more resources, more awareness than ever before. We must not be swept away by western values that may not serve us, and in some ways, cause more harm than good. We must revive our own culture.”&nbsp;