Unification Era Diplomacy

Yuba Nath Lamsal

Foreign policy and diplomatic conduct in the pre-unification era of Nepal was basically categorised into two broad types—relationship with principalities within what once used to be a unified Nepal and relationship with Tibet, China and principalities of India. While the relationship and diplomacy with states within Nepal were characterised by suspicion, treachery, deceit and rivalry, the relationship with Tibet, China, and the Indian states was based on the strategy for survival, which mainly sought to defend the territorial control and protect trade especially with Tibet. The trade with Tibet was the main source of income and each state always scrambled to control the trade with Tibet. The state that controlled the trade route to Tibet also controlled the revenue. Several wars were, thus, fought with Tibet in different interval of time basically for trade interest.
Strong Malla Kingdoms
Nepal was divided into over 50 tiny principalities prior to the unification of Nepal. Three Malla kingdoms—Bhaktapur, Kantipur and Patan—were richer and more affluent than other states due mainly to trade with Tibet. ‘Baise’ (twenty-two) and ‘chaubise’ (twenty-four) states used to envy the affluence, power and cultural superiority of the three Malla kingdoms. Gorkha, in particular, was the poorest of all. According to German historian Dr. Hans-Georg Behr, in a book Nepal Geschenk der Gotter” (Nepal Gifts of the Gods) “Since 1716 Narabhupal Shah had been sitting on his throne made of mud. Dr Behr further says “Narabhupal found his throne very uncomfortable, and wanted to change it with the silver throne of the Kathmandu valley at any cost.”
The superior economic status of the Malla kingdoms was due to their control over the trade and supply of silver coins to Tibet. Chaubise kingdoms wanted to control the trade route to Tibet so that they could also share revenue. But they were so weak that they did not even think of defeating the Malla kingdoms. Moreover, chaubise kingdoms had bitter rivalry among themselves, which prevented them from collectively fighting with the Malla kings.
Narabhupal Shah of Gorkha had once attempted to attack Nuwakot, the key trade route to Tibet. However, he was badly defeated by Kathmandu’s king Jaya Prakash Malla’s force. Dr Behr says after the defeat, Narabhupal changed the tactics and sent his 10-year-old son Prithivi Narayan to stay with the king of Bhaktapur Ranjit Malla ostensibly to attain a good education, saying it was ‘only possible in Nepal’.
According to Dr Behr, but his real intention was to place his son in the palace so that he could spy on it and gather vital information and Ranjit Malla showed the young guest every part of the palace and let him play with Malla children. After five years, Prithvi Narayan Shah returned to Gorkha with much information on exact quantity of military equipment and the strategic location.
Knowing well that without superior arms and ammunitions, Kathmandu could not be conquered, Prithvi Narayan Shah embarked on a journey to Benaras where he made friendship with the king of Kashi and through him established contacts with East India Company. He acquired some modern weapons and brought them home. Most historians are of the view that he acquired weapons with the help of the king of Kashi. However, Dr Behr differs with other historians and says that Prithivi Narayan Shah acquired weapons from the British. Dr Behr says: “The British government had supplied the weapons to the Gorkhas, but this fact has been kept hidden in Nepal’s history’s books. The secret treaty under which this was done is still preserved in London in the archives of the East India Company. The pact was signed by Captain Ceane and the Gorkhas. The British government agreed to supply weapons and advice, and in return the Gorkhas had to destroy the old trade routes between India and China.”
However, Prithvi Narayan Shah was still cautious enough on the motive and role of the British, who had eyed on the lucrative trade with Tibet, which until then had been under Kathmandu’s monopoly. Historian Baburam Acharya is of the view that cautious Prithvi Narayan Shah made an arrangement that royal priest Gajaraj Mishra would remain permanently in Benaras to watch the activities of East India Company and inform any kind of potential threat from the British.
Upon return from Benaras with weapons Prithvi Narayan (Dr Behr says ‘Prithivi Narayan Shah received 800 muskets along with 21 British advisors’) planned to launch offensive against Kathmandu. Prior to this, he decided to weaken Kathmandu economically, for which the areas surrounding the Valley had to be conquered. At the same time, Gorkha made friendship with Lamjung, Tanahu and Kaski so that they would not pose any kind of threat to Gorkha during its Kathmandu mission.
Prithvi Narayan Shah adopted the strategy to divide the Malla kingdoms, for which he offered friendship with Bhaktapur and Patan. Gorkha’s friendship offer was a diplomatic maneuver not to allow the Malla Kings to be united because Gorkha was no match if the three Malla kingdoms joined hands.  While he kept the Malla kings divided and neutralised other kingdoms, Gorkha launched an attack on Nuwakot and took control of the main trading route with Tibet. Leo Rose in his book ‘ Nepal Strategy for Survival’ says Gorkha was in a position to cut off all commerce between Kathmandu and Tibet but Prithvi Narayan Shah refrained from doing so. Instead he launched diplomatic offensive forcing Kathmandu to acknowledge Gorkha’s authority over the trade route with Tibet. Accordingly, Kathmandu, under pressure from its own merchants as well as diplomatic onslaught from Gorkhalis, signed a treaty with Gorkha in 1957 accepting joint authority of Kathmandu and Gorkha over Tibet trade route.
With Tibet’s refusal to acknowledge the Kathmandu-Gorkha treaty of 1957 citing the reason that Lhasa was not consulted, the arrangement did not materialise causing friction between Gorkha and Kathmandu. Kathmandu’s king, under pressure from merchants, opened an alternative route via Kuti, which was also soon blocked by Gorkha. Being diplomatically and politically isolated as well as economically weakened, Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought military help from the East India Company to counter Gorkha’s onslaught. Taking it as an opportune moment to control Nepal’s politics and business, the British dispatched troops led by Captain Kinloch to support Kathmandu.  Shrewd Prithvi Narayan Shah got the report in advance probably through Gajraj Mishra and ambushed the Kinloch’s force in Makwanpur, hence, forcing the British troops to return. Before any late, Gorkha took control of all areas around the Valley and finally seized all the three Malla kingdoms, thereby, declaring Kathmandu as the capital of unified Nepal.
Prithvi Narayan Shah then turned to Lhasa to revive relations and trade that had strained after Gorkha seized control over trade route. Nepal sent a delegation to Lhasa to settle the issue and bring back the trade and bilateral relationship to the earlier state. Accordingly, an accord was signed under which Nepal would supply new coins to Tibet replacing the old Malla coins and the trade between the two states would continue in accordance to the earlier terms. Prithvi Narayan Shah, then, tried to manage the East India Company, which had been susceptible from Gorkha’s continued territorial expansion. Sensing Nepal’s receptive tone, East India Company sent a delegation headed by James Logan to negotiate with Kathmandu and pressed for providing Indian merchants route for trade with Tibet. However, Prithvi Narayan Shah rejected the British proposal fearing negative consequences on Nepal’s trade with Tibet. Nepal’s rejection annoyed the British and this animosity grew in such a manner that ultimately caused war between Nepal and East India Company in 1814 putting an end to Nepal’s territorial expansion campaign.
Military doctrine
Nepal’s diplomacy during the unification era was basically guided by military doctrine. Nepal during the unification era followed military diplomacy and had a little time to spare for other aspects of diplomacy. The concept of ‘ yam’ and ‘equidistance’ coined by Prithvi Narayan Shah was the diplomacy based on military doctrine, which was necessary at that time when Nepal was a military state. The ‘yam and equidistance’ concept has guided Nepalese diplomacy even today, although this concept has a little relevance in the 21st century’s democracy. But Prithvi Narayan Shah’s other ‘wise counsels’ continue to provide an important basis for Nepal’s foreign policy and diplomacy even today.