Nobody knows the true motive behind Krishna Lal Adhikari's writing of Makaiko Kheti ("The Cultivation of Maize"). Was it merely an agricultural guide, or was it a veiled political satire aimed at mocking the then ruler of Nepal, Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana? The Rana regime was convinced it was the latter, and ordered the book destroyed and sent Adhikari to prison, where he died three years later. Although no one had the chance to read the book, Makaiko Kheti became infamous, with only a few surviving quotes. To this day, its true content remains unknown.
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Chandra Shumsher, just like his predecessors, ruled Nepal with an iron fist. His uncle Jung Bahadur Rana had seized power in a bloody coup in 1846 and his family quickly tightened its grip on the nation. They effectively sidelined the Shah monarchy, installing a line of hereditary Rana prime ministers who assumed the title of maharaja. Although the Ranas’ rule was long-lasting, it was all but stable. Power struggles among brothers, nephews, and uncles fueled a cycle of conspiracies, coups, and assassinations.
Chandra Shumsher himself rose to power by first orchestrating the murder of his uncle Sri Teen Maharaja Ranodip Singh, and then removing his brother Dev Shamsher in a swift coup d'état. Despite his despotic reputation, Chandra Shumsher's rule was marked by a paradoxical blend of ruthless power plays and progressive reforms. His abolition of slavery and the outlawing of sati, the practice of burning widows on their husbands' funeral pyres, were radical shifts in Nepalese tradition and culture. He also played a pivotal role in securing the Nepal-Britain Treaty of 1923, which not only acknowledged Nepal as a sovereign state but also solidified its strategic alliance with Britain, ensuring the nation's independence at a time when much of South Asia was under colonial rule. However, these reforms and treaties did little to diminish the autocratic grip of the Rana dynasty. The ruling family continued to amass wealth and power, while the general populace remained largely disenfranchised.
Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
At that time, there was much censorship and any author who wished to publish a book had to first get it approved by the Nepali Bhasha Prakashini Samiti (“Nepali Language Publication Committee”). The committee would review the manuscript and, if deemed appropriate, grant permission for publication. Anyone caught publishing or printing a document without this permission faced a fine of 50 Nepalese rupees. If the work contained content considered offensive to the Rana dynasty, all copies would be seized by the Samiti and typically destroyed.
Krishna Lal Adhikari was a government official who worked in the Office of Foreign Affairs. Adhikari was reportedly inspired to write a book about maize cultivation after reading an Indian book his friend gave him. Following due process, Adhikari submitted the manuscript of his book to the Nepali Bhasha Prakashini Samiti and received their permission to publish it.
Krishna Lal Adhikari
Shortly after the book was published, two pundits at Chandra Shumsher’s court accused Adhikari of using the guise of an agricultural manual to launch a covert attack on the Rana regime. They alerted the Maharaja to what they claimed were double entendres and subversive remarks hidden within the text. For instance, the references to "Nepali dog" and "English dog" in the context of loyalty, as well as the descriptions of pests as "red-headed insects" and "black-headed insects" destroying crops, were flagged as veiled insults. The pundits argued that these terms were not merely about animals or pests but were instead aimed at Chandra and Bhim Shamsher, who were known for wearing red and black turbans, respectively.
Adhikari’s observation that the native dog fiercely defends the maize crop from thieves, while the English dog, despite its refined appearance, fails to ward off intruders, was interpreted as a critique of Chandra Shumsher’s westernization. Chandra’s fondness for foreign customs and disdain for traditional Nepali values were seen as the underlying target of this allegory. Nepali scholar Prem Raman Uprety explains that Chandra himself "symbolized the ease and comfort" of the English dog, while the "ill-clothed, ill-fed, and poverty-stricken Nepali people represented the bhote kukur (native dog)." The native dog was thus viewed as an embodiment of true Nepali martial masculinity, unrefined but resilient, in stark contrast to the pampered English dog, which symbolized a Rana aristocracy that had grown weak and effeminate.
In 1920, the same year Makaiko Kheti was published, Krishna Lal Adhikari was sentenced to nine years in prison. The court offered to reduce his sentence to six years if he handed over all 1,000 copies of the book to the government. Adhikari complied, returning 999 copies, but one had gone missing. Those 999 copies were promptly burned by the authorities, erasing nearly all traces of the controversial text. The missing copy was never found.
No court records have survived to shed light on how Adhikari defended himself or whether he admitted to the charges of treason. What is known is that his imprisonment took a severe toll on his health. He contracted tuberculosis while incarcerated and succumbed to the illness three years later. Legend has it, that while on deathbed, the guards took him out one day for a sunbath. While lying on the ground, Adhikari scratched a curse in the dirt with his fingers— “Doom for the Ranas”.
Anti-Rana sentiments were already on the rise, especially among the educated elite, including members of the Rana ruling class who had begun to support democratic ideals. These individuals, inspired by the broader movements for independence and reform across the subcontinent, were eager to see Nepal freed from the grip of the Rana dynasty. Many had been influenced by their involvement in the Indian independence movement and had spent time in exile, where they organized and strategized for the liberation of their homeland.
Political parties such as the Praja Parishad and the Nepali Rastriya Congress emerged from this exiled community, with the express goal of bringing about military and political revolutions in Nepal. The collapse of British rule in India in 1947, which had provided the Ranas with a powerful ally, left the regime vulnerable. Without British support, the Ranas’ control over Nepal became increasingly tenuous, and opposition forces gained momentum.
By 1951, just four years after India's independence, the Rana dynasty was overthrown in a swift and decisive revolution. King Tribhuvan, who had been a symbolic figurehead during Rana rule, returned to Nepal as the reinstated monarch, marking the end of more than a century of autocratic Rana dominance.
References:
# The Book on Makai Parba, Spotlight Nepal
# Maze on maize, The Himalayan Times
# The Ranas and the Raj, Historia
# Sanjeev Uprety, “Masculinities of Jang Bahadur and Chandra Shumsher: British and Nepali representations”, European Bulletin Of Himalayan Research
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