There are eight reasons King Birendra is still popular in Nepal today.

Certainly, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was Nepal's most beloved king. Many people who have known and seen the monarchy in Nepal know King Birendra still believe him to be “the king”.  But, why is King Birendra so popular in Nepal? From 1972 to 2001, the Shah dynasty ruled Nepal under the 10th king, King Birendra. King Mahendra's son Birendra received his highest education from Harvard University. In 1972, King Mahendra passed away, and he was crowned king. He is the most loved and popular king Nepal ever knew.  Although he achieved excellent things, many people criticised him too.

 Despite this, he is still adored by many Nepalis for eight reasons:

1.  He established a diplomatic campaign

 India, China, and the Soviet Union exerted constant political pressure on him after he became king. He was still able to preserve Nepal's independence despite that. In October 1973, he went to India for the first time as king, and two months later, he went to China. He avoided Nepal's separation from Mustang during the revolt. Nepal-China ties reached new heights after Khampa insurgents fighting against China were disarmed. People recall King Birendra for his lengthy effort and commitment to the formation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asian Food Reserve.  He also managed to establish the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu during his rule.  He was successful in forging diplomatic ties with a further 46 nations, bringing the total number of nations with which he has diplomatic ties to 96. He also bolstered Nepal’s neutrality stance by pushing Nepal as a UN Zone of Peace.  He argued that because Nepal was situated between two Asian nations, it should maintain good ties with them.

 2.  He promoted peace in Nepal

 In the United Nations conference, he recommended that Nepal be proclaimed a zone of peace, taking into account Nepal’s historic peace status, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, and its historical policy of non-alignment with any foreign powers.  116 nations that are members of the UN supported this proposal. In 1986, he developed a peacekeeping training camp.  In 2001, this was converted into a training institute for peacekeeping personnel, which was later named Birendra Peace Operations Training Centre in Paachkhaal, Kavre.  In the end, this institute was reformed into the training agency that Nepal used to send trained peacekeeping forces to the UN. King Birendra effectively disarmed the Khampa rebellions and settled them in the northern Himalayan area in 1974 by providing land, money, and citizenship to individuals who surrendered their guns and confiscated firearms.  Those who did not surrender would so be barred from travelling to the Tibetan territory.  King Birendra is also credited with stopping the use of the army to stop the Maoist movement in the country, which would have made the situation worse and broken up the peace in the country.

 3.  He helped preserve the environment.

 King Birendra was considered a nature enthusiast and ardent promoter of environmental protection.  During his tenure, the government began to promote nature conservation.  In response to the significant decline in rhinoceros populations brought on by the Terai migration and the scale of poaching, the government established an anti-rhino poaching squad with 130 armed personnel and a network of guard stations throughout Chitwan. The Chitwan National Park was established in 1973 and its boundaries established in December 1970 in order to prevent the extinction of rhinos through a legal structure. To protect tigers in the country, a 368-square-kilometer area was designated Royal Karnali Wildlife Reserve in 1976. In 1982, it was renamed Royal Bardiya Wildlife Reserve. He also contributed to the formation of Langtang National Park, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Sagarmatha National Park, and other locations.

4.  He brought economic changes

 On December 28, 1975, King Birendra constructed a trolley bus system in Nepal with the assistance of China, focusing on sustainability and environmental protection. Following in his father’s footsteps, he established industrial estates in Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Butwal, Bhaktapur, Dhankuta and Birendranagar.  King Birendra was initially credited with developing the plan for Kathmandu's Melamchi water project. During his tenure, Gorakhali Tyre Industry, Udayapur Cement Industry, Nepal Metal Company, and Nepal Pharmaceuticals were all formed.  King Birendra steered the Pashupati Area Development Trust in his favor. To produce dead-burned magnesite and talc powder, the Nepal Oriental Magnesite facility was built in April 1979 in Lakuri Danda, Dolakha District, with joint investment from the Nepal government and Orissa Industries, India. In 1983, he was able to establish a Nepal-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission, which brought in significant foreign investment.

 5.  He established many airports and roads

 In 1972, a number of studies found that connecting rural and mountainous areas by road was more expensive than connecting them by air. As a result, the government at the time used a strategy to connect rural areas to airports and only build roads where there was a lot of traffic. In 1973, this program was used to establish airports in Baglung (Balewa), Dhorpatan, Mahendranagar, and Rukum Chaurjahari. Several other airports were established in the years that followed. In a similar vein, the Lamosangu-Jiri road that leads to Solukhumbu was completed in 1985 with assistance from the Swiss government.

6.  He worked for agriculture promotion

 The government placed a significant emphasis on agriculture promotion during King Birendra's tenure. Consequently, by 1990, approximately 90% of the population was involved in agriculture either directly or indirectly. In addition, China supported the 1985 establishment of Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper under the Companies Act. He also boosted agricultural areas and agricultural labour supply and increased food supplies, leading to greater nutrition.  From 500,000 tons in 1961 to nearly 1 million tons in 1991, corn production increased. In 1982, Lumbini Sugar Mills was developed with China's technical assistance. The first rubber plants were planted in Jhapa, Illam, and many other areas of eastern Nepal after Gorakhali Rubber Industries was founded.

 7.  He promoted democracy

 King Birendra held a referendum to decide between a party-less Panchayat system and a democratic system with multiple parties during his reign. In the referendum, the Panchayat system received 54.99 per cent of the votes.  He then divided the nation into five development regions to create balanced development and visited each division once a year; the visits were discontinued after the 1990 democratic movement.

 He also readily accepted the Panchayat system's demise in 1990 as a result of the movement. King Birendra always followed the rules of the constitutional monarchy and never strayed from his bounds, despite his past as an autocratic ruler and the constant pressure he faced from supporters and royal members. King Birendra was always there when the country was having a political problem. His strong governance can be ascribed to the mid-term elections in 1994 and the general election in 1999. In order to ensure that he did not go beyond the bounds of the constitution, the king frequently sought assistance from the Supreme Court regarding any political issues pertaining to the constitution. He established a system in which the monarch and prime minister met at his palace every Thursday to discuss state problems.

 8.  He established a policy for the national development

 King Birendra implemented a road development programme based on population and daily road traffic, as well as linking rural regions to airports.  He reformed various government organisations to achieve developmental goals.  He emphasised road construction, cleanliness, and scientific and technical training. A comprehensive assessment of the national planning agency resulted in the restructuring of the National Planning Commission in 1972, followed by minor revisions in 1987.  Agriculture, education, and environmental protection dominated the government's strategy.

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