Mukhtiyar in the context of "Bhimsen Thapa"

The Kingdom of Nepal (Nepali: नेपाल अधिराज्य) was a Hindu kingdom in South Asia, formed in 1768 by the expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom, and disestablished and replaced by the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008. The king of Nepal served as its head of state, and it was also known as the Gorkha Empire (Nepali: गोरखा अधिराज्य), or sometimes Asal Hindustan (Nepali: असल हिन्दुस्तान, lit. 'Real Land of the Hindus'). The kingdom was founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha monarch of the Shah dynasty who claimed to be of Thakuri origin from chaubisi.

After the invasion of Tibet and plundering of Digarcha by Nepali forces under Prince Regent Bahadur Shah in 1792, the Dalai Lama and Chinese Ambans reported to the Chinese administration for military support. The Chinese and Tibetan forces under Fuk'anggan attacked Nepal but went for negotiations after failure at Nuwakot. Mulkaji Damodar Pande, who was the most influential among the four Kajis, was appointed after the removal of Bahadur Shah. Chief Kaji (Mulkaji) Kirtiman Singh Basnyat, tried to protect king Girvan Yuddha Shah and keep former king, Rana Bahadur Shah away from Nepal. However, on 4 March 1804, the former king came back and took over as Mukhtiyar and Damodar Pande was then beheaded in Thankot. The 1806 Bhandarkhal massacre instigated upon the death of Rana Bahadur Shah, set forth the rise of the authoritative Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa, who became the de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. During the early nineteenth century, however, the expansion of the East India Company's rule in India led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816), which resulted in Nepal's defeat.

The Rana dynasty (Nepali: राणा वंश, romanized: Rāṇā vaṃśa, Sanskrit: [raːɳaː ʋɐ̃ɕɐ], Nepali: [raɳa bʌŋsʌ]) was a Chhetri dynasty that imposed authoritarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead, and making the Prime Minister and other government positions held by the Ranas hereditary. The Rana dynasty is historically known for their iron-fisted rule in Nepal. This changed after the Revolution of 1951 with the promulgation of a new constitution, when power shifted back to the monarchy of King Tribhuvan.

The Rana dynasty were descended from the Kunwar family, a nobility of the Gorkha Kingdom. Due to their marital lineages with the politically reigning Thapa dynasty (of Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa) from the early 19th century, the Ranas gained entry to central Darbar politics. The Ranas were also linked to a minor faction of the Pande dynasty of Gorkha through the Thapa dynasty.

The Bhandarkhal massacre (Nepali: भण्डारखाल पर्व) was a political massacre that occurred in Bhandarkhal garden of Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu, Nepal in 1806. The chief perpetrator of the massacre was then Kaji Bhimsen Thapa. Bhimsen instigated the massacre as investigation and trial upon the death of then reigning Mukhtiyar and former King Rana Bahadur Shah. It began when Tribhuvan Khawas (Pradhan), a member of Sher Bahadur's faction, was imprisoned on the re-opened charges of conspiracy with the British that led to Knox's mission and finally convicted with a death penalty on the charge of treason. After the implication, Tribhuvan decided to reveal everyone that was involved in the dialogue with the British on his house meeting on the night of 25 April 1806. The confession implicated Sher Bahadur Shah, Rana Bahadur's step-brother and he began to harass his stepbrother. Unable to bear desperation, Sher Bahadur killed Rana Bahadur and triggered the massacre which lasted for two weeks. The number of deaths occurred was ninety-three people (16 women and 77 men).

The position of the Prime Minister of Nepal (Nepali: नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री, romanized: Nepālko Pradhānmantrī) in modern form was called by different names at different times of Nepalese history. In the early reign of the Shah dynasty, the Mulkajis (Chief Kajis) or Chautariyas served as prime ministers in a council of 4 Chautariyas, 4 Kajis, and sundry officers. These Bharadars (officers) were drawn from high caste and politically influential families such as the Pande, Basnyat, and Thapa families. The nobility of Gorkha was mainly based from Chhetri families and they had a strong presence in civil administration affairs.

In 1804, a single authoritative position of Mukhtiyar was created by Rana Bahadur Shah which carried the executive powers of nation. Mukhtiyar held the position of head of the executive until the adoption of the title of Prime Minister in November 1843 by Mathabar Singh Thapa who became Mukhtiyar as well as Prime Minister and the Chief of the Nepalese Army. During the Rana dynasty, the position of prime minister was hereditary and the officeholder held additional titles – Maharaja of Lamjang and Kaski, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Nepal and Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Nepal.

The Kunwar family (Nepali: कुँवर परिवार) was a noble Khas-Chhetri family in the Gorkha Kingdom and the Kingdom of Nepal. The Kunwars were linked to the Thapa dynasty and family of Amar Singh Thapa by marital lineages and, thus, to Pande dynasty through the Thapa dynasty. Three branches of the Kunwars; Ramakrishna, Jayakrishna and Amar Singh Kunwar were formed with opposite political aspirations. Bal Narsingh Kunwar (of Ramkrishna section) supported Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa while Chandrabir Kunwar (of Jayakrishna section) supported Bada Kaji Amar Singh Thapa due to their marital relations with those families. Later, the Ramakrishna section of the family including Amarsingh established the Rana dynasty of Nepal and styled themselves as Rana Rajputs while Jayakrishna most section remained as Kunwars.

The Pande family or Pande dynasty (also spelled as Pandey or Panday) (Nepali: पाँडे वंश/पाँडे काजी खलक; pronounced [paɳɖe] or [pãɽẽ]) was a Chhetri political family with ancestral roots from Gorkha Kingdom that directly ruled Nepali administration affairs from the 16th century to 19th century as Mulkaji and Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister). This dynasty/family was one of the four noble families to be involved in active politics of Nepal together with the Shah dynasty, Basnyat family and Thapa dynasty before the rise of the Rana dynasty. The Pande dynasty is the oldest noble family to hold the title of Kaji. This family was decimated from political power in 1843 CE in the political massacre by Prime Minister Mathabar Singh Thapa as a revenge for his uncle Bhimsen's death in 1839.

The family is descended from nobleman Ganesh Pande of the Gorkha Kingdom. Kalu Pande and Tularam Pande were descendants of Ganesh Pande. Pande dynasty and Thapa dynasty were the two chief political families who alternatively contested for central power in the Nepalese court politics. The Pande family was divided into two sections, Kala Pandes and Gora Pandes, who were always aligned to opposite political factions. The Pande aristocratic family of Gora (White) Pande section was connected to Thapa dynasty through daughter of Chief Kazi Ranajit Pande, Rana Kumari who was married to Kaji General Nain Singh Thapa and to Rana dynasty through Nain Singh's son-in-law Bal Narsingh Kunwar. The Pande family of Kala (Black) Pande section was maritally linked to Basnyat Family through Chitravati Pande who married Kaji Kehar Singh Basnyat.