Kathmandu, Jan 11 : Prithvi Jayanti and the National Unification Day was celebrated today with national significance by remembering the ‘Divyopadesh’ of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the architect of modern Nepal.
The Divyopadesh is the collection of the famous sayings of the late king Prithvi Narayan Shah, which are relevant even today. Today is the 296th Prithvi Jayanti (296th birth anniversary of Prithvi Narayan Shah).
This year the Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day was celebrated with national significance as the government also announced a public holiday today on the occasion and also organised a formal programme to commemorate the Day. The practice of celebrating the Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day at the state level was abandoned by the successive governments after the Second People’s Movement in utter disregard of the contribution of the late king in the unification of Nepal.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba , Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, Chief of Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri, among other dignitaries attended the programme commemorating the Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day here today.
Former government minister Modnath Prashrit, who is associated for long with the campaign advocating for celebrating the Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day, was very pleased with the participation of high dignitaries of the state in the programme. “We would like to thank the government for declaring a public holiday on this Day and for celebrating it at state level,” he said.
Prithvi Narayan Shah who was the king of Gorkha when he launched the national unification campaign in September 1745 AD after conquering Nuwakot annexed many other small principalities to his kingdom, thus launching the national unification campaign.
Chancellor of Nepal Academy Prof Ganga Prasad Upreti said that true tributes to the builder of the nation would be to bring into practice his precepts contained in the Divyopadesh. He sees the need of Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day should be celebrated nationwide and not just one ministry or the Academy.
Pandit Bishwa Prem Bhattarai praised the government for reviving the celebration of the Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day and thus respecting the national unifier, Prithvi Narayan Shah, albeit late.
“The government should not forget a national hero who bagun the national unification campaign in the name of federalism and republicanism,” said Sarad Dahal, president of the National Unity Party.
Artist Santosh Panta is also happy with the government’s decision to announce public holiday on Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Jitendra Narayan Dev underlined the need of studying PN Shah’s Divyopadesh in new light. He said it was equally relevant at present also. Minister Dev said that the national unification day would have real meaning only if we could accommodate all the languages, religions, culture, customs and ethnicities in a single string of national unity, as reflected in the late king’s saying ‘Nepal is a garden of many flowers.’
Meanwhile, the Unified Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist) organised a colloquium on the theme, ‘Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day’, today. Speaking on the occasion, party president Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani said Nepal would not be in existence today had Prithvi Narayan Shah not unified it, calling on the government to recognise this fact and make an objective evaluation of the late king’s contribution. Former minister Dilnath Giri, political analyst Dr Surendra KC and constitutional expert Dr Bhimarjun Acharya among other speakers also highlighted the contribution of Prithvi Narayan Shah and the relevance of his Divyopadesh.
President and PM garland PN Shah’s statue : President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba garlanded the life-size statue of the builder of the nation, Prithvi Narayan Shah, at a ceremony held in front of the west gate to the Singha Durbar here today.
Today marks the 296th Prithvi Jayanti (birth anniversary of PN Shah) and the National Unification Day.
Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeetendra Narayan Dev, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Bikram Bahadur Thapa, Minister for Supplies Jayanta Chand, Chief of the Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri, the Chancellors, Vice-chancellors and member secretaries of various academies, and Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, the Chiefs of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police and government high officials also garlanded the late king’s statue.
Likewise, the representatives of various organisations and members of the general public offered bouquets and garlands at the statue of the unifier of modern Nepal on the occasion. A contingent of the Nepalese Army offered a guard of honour to the President. Prithvi Jayanti and the National Unification Day is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety from this year after the government announced a public holiday on this Day after a gap of 11 years.
-RSS
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