Love And Death In Kathmandu
Who killed King Birendra and his family? Evidence points to a crown prince gone berserk over a love affair. Not only does the new ruler, King Gyanendra, have to win over the people, he also has to address the unpopularity of his own son. Report from a country in crisis.

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COVER STORY: KING BIRENDERA'S MURDER

Gorakhnath Math
Twist Of Faith

An eerie silence envelops the Gorakhnath Mandir, the centrepiece of Gorakhpur and just a short drive from the Nepal-Uttar Pradesh border. As the world's last surviving Hindu king, Birendra was a symbol of tradition for the math here. He looked upon Mahant Avaidyanath, the religious and temporal head of the Gorakhnath monastery, as a guru. The relationship was a legacy of history.

Yet in the aftermath of the murder Gorakhnath was in the news for a strange reason. As the story goes, Gorakhnath, the god-like figure who is credited with being the creator of the math, appeared as a sage before Prithvi Narayan Shah, the first king of modern Nepal. He vomited curd and asked Prithvi Narayan to eat it. The king threw the offering to the ground.

TEACHER IN TRAUMA: Avaidyanath says he has lost a confidant

Angered, Gorakhnath cursed the king saying his 10 fingers symbolised the number of generations that would rule. The 11th would be the last. Birendra, and now Gyanendra, are the 11th generation after Prithvi Narayan.

Avaidyanath, a former BJP-backed MP, is understandably sombre at his disciple's death. "Till a few years ago," he recalls, "people in Nepal would celebrate Makar Sankranti only after their king made an offering at Gorakhnath." King Birendra's last visit was on November 30, 1992: "The king himself drove down from Kathmandu. They were such a simple family."

To Avaidyanath and the VHP-the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh is a fraternal organisation in Nepal-the king was also a trusted ally. As the ageing monk-politician recalls, "At the time of the amendment of the constitution in 1990, I was in Nepal. I asked the king to ensure the continuation of the Hindu state, the Hindu king and a ban on cow slaughter. He readily agreed."

In Gorakhnath and beyond there is a dogged refusal to accept the evidence against Dipendra. RSS' K.S. Sudarshan and Shiv Sena's Bal Thackeray suggest an ISI conspiracy. Meanwhile, the head priest of Gorakhnath is wondering how he can help his newly elevated disciple, Gyanendra, and the disciple's subjects.

--Subhash Mishra

MetroScape

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