Some 9 years ago the world was stunned to read and hear the shocking news of the murder of Nepalese King Birendra and 8 other members of the royal family. The murderer was Crown Prince Dipendra who shot his parents, other close family members and then shot himself. He died after three days and the monarchy went to his uncle. At that time various conspiracy theories were related to the killing. The incident till today is considered mysterious.But from day one it was evident that there was some outside involvement and help due to which all this gruesome tragedy took place. One of the maids of the palace also claimed to have seen two men dressed as the Crown Prince shooting the Royal family. But the inquiry committee in spite of all the doubts shrouding the incident made the situation simple by giving a decision that it was the action of the Crown Prince.
Now, the former military secretary of the late King Gen Bibek Shah disclosed in his memoir The Palace, as I Saw It that India may have incited the killing of Royal family. The reason behind this conspiracy was that India provided arms and training to Nepalis anti-monarchy Maoist insurgents. Secondly, King Birendra wanted the Nepalese army to have sophisticated weapons from other countries but India pressurised the King to buy their weapons. These were becoming the sore points between the two countries. The underlying factor seems to be that King Birendra realised that India was playing some game and had hidden agenda by training Maoists. He considered the sovereignty of his state in danger, and may have tried to distance itself from India. Gen Bibek Shah also mentions that India not only trained Maoists but Tamil Tigers and Mukti Senas in their training facilities. How and why the tragedy of the Royal family happened may still remain a mystery, and be considered a matter of the past. No one may take an initiative to disclose the secrets of such a deplorable act. But one thing is crystal clear that India is involved and continuously interferes in the affairs of its neighbours to the extent of destabilising it. If Maoists, Tamil Tigers, Mukti Senas have been trained by India, then today its role regarding its neighbours needs to be closely watched for any restlessness and anti-government movements.
ANWAR MUKHTAR
Rawalpindi
