Dev Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana - Deposition and Exile

Deposition and Exile

He was deposed by his brothers and sent into exile in India. He was succeeded by his brother Chandra Shamsher. He was first exiled to Dhankuta as governor of East Nepal hence he was also known as the 'Dhankute Maharaj' but he later fled to Ilam and Darjeeling.

Dev Shamsher sent a message to the League of Nations informing them of his exile and the good work he had been doing in Nepal, but nothing came of it. Chandra Shamsher made a special request to the British to look after Dev Shamsher and to ensure a comfortable retirement so as to ensure that he would not interfere with Nepal matters ever again. The British offered him a large plot of land in New Delhi, which is now the Connaught Place/Connaught Circle but he refused choosing to settle in Jharipani in Mussoorie instead citing that he favored the cooler hills to the heat of Delhi. He built a sprawling collection of grand buildings near Jharipani with huge gateways marking the entrances to what they had named the Fairlawn Palace which remained his residence until the day he died. Fairlawn Palace in Jharipani Mussorie was later sold by his descendants and was in ruins for a long time. The ruins of the Palace are still present and part of the estate has been developed for a school and residential purpose.

All of Dev Shamsher's children were in exile with him in Mussorie although they were allowed to travel back and forth to Nepal. It was only during the time of Prime Minister Juddha Shamsher that they were allowed to return back to Nepal. Juddha Shamsher being very young was raised by Dev Shamsher's wife Karmakumari. Dev Shamsher had agreed to the wishes of his dying father Dhir Shamsher to have Juddha in the line of succession. The issue of Juddha Shamsher's mother Johar Kumari's caste remains a mystery till date and it is widely believed that she came from a no-caste Sanyasi (Giri-Puri-Bharati) background.

Despite this both Dev and his wife were very supportive to Juddha Shamsher throughout and were crucial in ensuring him in the line of succession. They were like his foster parents. So when Juddha Shamsher eventually became Prime Minister of Nepal he called back all of Dev's descendants in exile back to Nepal. They were given back their palaces in Thapathali and large plots of land in Banke and Bardiya districts of Nepal where some of his descendants still reside. They were once again enlisted in top military position and all of Dev's children and grandchildren were given allowances from the state. As a tribute to his foster mother, the wife of Dev Shamsher, Juddha Shamsher later built a huge statue of her which can be seen inside the premises of the present day Zoo in Jawalakhel. It is the biggest statue of any female in the country. Much of Dev Shamsher's descendants can now be found either in Thapathali in Kathmandu, the traditional home of the Ranas, or in Nepalgunj in western Nepal and in Dehradun in India.