Nayanepal ko hero haru

When Dasarath Chand heard about his death sentence he showed no reaction of fear. Laughing, he said, in Hindi, “What is the stuff of life after all?” He had been educated in India and often spoke Hindi even to us. When Ganga Lal heard that the rest of his friends had gotten only life imprisonment, he had cynically said, “Throughout Juddha Shamsher’s life” (implying that Juddha would be assassinated soon enough).



Dasarath Chand and Ganga Lal were kept in Singha Darbar till 14 Magh [25 January]. There was sweeper named Ram Maya who swept and cleaned their room. Dasarath’s lover, Juliana, had died of tuberculosis in Palpa. One day he told Ram Maya, “Ram Maya, my friends have many relatives and friends to weep for them after they are executed, while I do not have a single person in this world to weep for my dead body. Ram Maya, will you weep for me after I have been put to death?”

On 15 Magh [26 January], Dasarath Chand and Ganga Lal were taken to Shobha Bhagwati late in the evening. As they passed near Ganga Lal’s house, he shouted to his wife, “Hasina! Hasina!” at the top of his voice. Her name means “always joyful and cheerful”, and he had written poems about her.

When they reached Shobha Bhagwati, they both washed their hands and mouths in the holy water of the Vishnumati River. When they asked to pray and offer homage to the holy mother, Nara Shamsher, who had gone there with two executioners, had no objection. They prayed, saying “we have lit an eternal flame for the motherland, don’t let it be extinguished.”

Then they were led to two posts erected at the confluence of the Vishnumati and Bhatakhusi Rivers. Dasarath Chand was tied facing north, and Ganga Lal was tied facing west. Nara Shamsher asked Dasarath Chand for his last wish, which was “to see the end of the Rana Regime and the advent of democracy”. Then General Nara asked Ganga Lal to beg for mercy. He replied that he would never beg for mercy since he had done nothing to be pardoned for. Rather, the Ranas should ask for pardon for committing unjust slaughter. Nara Shamsher, shaking with nervousness and his mouth running dry, remained silent.

Dasarath and Ganga Lal then talked about who should be shot first. Dasarath wanted Ganga Lal to be shot first, but Nara wanted to shoot and torture the older prisoner, Dasarath, first, so as to terrify the younger Ganga Lal into begging for mercy, thereby robbing of his dignity. He wanted to show the people that Ganga Lal was devoid of any principles. Juddha, and Dasarath was aware of this. Therefore Dasarath requested them to shoot Ganga Lal first. Ganga Lal, understanding what was in Dasarath’s mind, said, Dai [older brother], set your heart at rest, I’ll never beg for mercy, never, no matter what happens”.

Two strong Podes [a low Newar caste] had been specially trained to shoot them, and that day they had been given large amounts of liquor to drink, so they were quite drunk. One of them was told to shoot at Dasarath’s knees first. He went close and shot him. Dasarath grimaced but did not cry out in pain; instead he shouted “Down with the Rana regime”. Ganga Lal also joined in, so that their slogan echoed into the distance. Nara Shamsher flew into a rage and ordered the Pode to shoot at Dasarath’s thigh. The pain was unbearable, and Dasarath struggled violently. Unable to bear Dasarath’s torture any more, Ganga Lal screamed at them, “If you have the guts, kill your father [tero bau; tero is the derogatory form of 'your'] with a single bullet!”

Nara, literally shaking with anger, took aim at Ganga Lal’s knees and shot. Ganga Lal just shouted back at them, “You unjust and cruel wretch!” The Pode then shot Dasarath on the side. Nara wanted Ganga Lal to see that. Ganga Lal, in a frenzy, shouted all sorts of abuse at Nara, and then Nara fired again, hitting Ganga Lal below his knee joint. Dasarath was still struggling. After some time, the Pode fired his fourth bullet in Dasarath’s chest, finally killing him.

Then Nara himself aimed him third bullet at Ganga Lal’s thigh and fired; Ganga Lal struggled. The second Pode, who had only watched silently till then, was asked to take final aim at Ganga Lal. He started to weep and refused to shoot. They tried to mollify him and to persuade him to shoot, but he still refused. Then the first Pode was told to do the dirty work instead, but he also lingered and started making all sorts of excuses, saying that it was impossible to shoot at close range, and that he could not hit the target from a distance, he also refused to shoot. He was literally shaking with fear at the ghastly sight. They finally persuaded him to shoot from a distance, and Nara Shamsher himself helped him hold the pistol steady in his hand. Two bullets were fired successively, hitting Ganga Lal in the stomach and the side.

And so, two days after Dharma Bhakta was hanged, Ganga Lal and Dasarath Chand were shot on the bank of the Vishnumati River near the temple of Shobha Bhagwati.

[excerpt from Living Martyrs: Individuals and Revolution in Nepal by James F. Fisher]