Reign
Mahendra was crowned on 2 May 1956. He succeeded Tribhuvan as king of Nepal.
On 15 December 1960 he suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, dismissed the cabinet, imposed direct rule and imprisoned then prime minister Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and his closest government colleagues. Mahendra instituted a Panchayat hierarchical system of village, district and national councils, a variant of guided democracy. He pursued a foreign policy of neutrality between China and India.
Mahendra was made a British Field Marshal in 1960. Mahendra implemented a land reform policy, which provided land to many landless people. The Mahendra Highway (also called East-West Highway) that runs along the entire Terai belt in southern Nepal was constructed during his reign. He played a key role in making Nepal a member of the United Nations.
Read more about this topic: Mahendra Of Nepal
Famous quotes containing the word reign:
“Here reign the simplicity and purity of a primitive age, and a health and hope far remote from towns and cities.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In order to prove a friend to one’s guests, frugality must reign in one’s meals; and, according to an ancient saying, one must eat to live, not live to eat.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)
“Their Cause was gen’ral, their Supports were strong,
Their Slaves were willing, and their Reign was long;”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)