Knowra Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (1920–1972) was king of Nepal from 1955 until his death. He dissolved parliament in 1960 and established the partyless Panchayat system.
Panchayat system : Nepal’s partyless political system, established under King Mahendra in 1962 and organized around councils called panchayats. Mahendra made this system the institutional basis of royal rule after dissolving parliament.
B. P. Koirala : Nepalese politician and writer who became the country’s first democratically elected prime minister in 1959. Mahendra dismissed Koirala’s government and imprisoned him during the 1960 takeover.
Tribhuvan of Nepal : King of Nepal from 1911 to 1955, whose return from Indian exile helped end Rana rule in 1951. Mahendra succeeded his father after a political transition shaped by Tribhuvan’s restoration.
Queen Ratna of Nepal : Queen consort of Nepal from 1955 to 1972 and Mahendra’s second wife. She was queen during Mahendra’s reign and remained a prominent royal figure afterward.
1960 Nepalese coup d'état : King Mahendra’s 1960 seizure of power, which dissolved parliament, banned political parties, and imprisoned political leaders. This decisive action ended Nepal’s short experiment with parliamentary government under his reign.
Nepalese general election, 1959 : Nepal’s first nationwide parliamentary election, held in 1959 and won by the Nepali Congress. Its elected government was dissolved by Mahendra the following year.
Rana dynasty : The hereditary prime-ministerial dynasty that governed Nepal from 1846 to 1951 while its kings held limited authority. Mahendra ruled after the Rana oligarchy fell, amid continuing disputes over who should govern.
King Birendra : King of Nepal from 1972 to 2001 and Mahendra’s eldest son and successor. As heir and successor, Birendra embodied the continuity of Mahendra’s royal government.
Constitution of Nepal (1962) : Nepal’s constitution promulgated by King Mahendra in 1962, establishing the partyless Panchayat system and strengthening royal authority. It gave legal form to the political order Mahendra created after the 1960 coup.
Royal coup : A sudden seizure of political power carried out by a monarch or in the monarch’s name. Mahendra’s 1960 action concentrated executive and legislative authority in the crown.
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