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A Life in Public Service

A Life in Public Service

Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy by the Former Minister of External Affairs of Nepal | Political Memoir & South Asian History

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa
,
Prawin Adhikari
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In 1960, King Mahendra Shah summoned a twenty-four-year-old Nepali PhD student in California to serve as the Member Secretary of National Planning Council. In the extraordinary six-decade long career that followed, Bhekh Bahadur Thapa witnessed first-hand the enormous challenges, as well as the heartbreaks and triumphs, of nation-building in Nepal. He revisits those times, offering deeply personal observations into the transformation of his country, from a feudal protectorate under the rule of the Rana dynasty to its current-day manifestation as a boisterous federal democratic republic. An ‘insider-account’ in the truest sense, A Life in Public Service is a fascinating, intimate look at the modern-day governance of South Asia’s oldest nation.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: Jan/2026

ISBN: 9780143478461

Length : 384 Pages

MRP : ₹699.00

A Life in Public Service

Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy by the Former Minister of External Affairs of Nepal | Political Memoir & South Asian History

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa
,
Prawin Adhikari

In 1960, King Mahendra Shah summoned a twenty-four-year-old Nepali PhD student in California to serve as the Member Secretary of National Planning Council. In the extraordinary six-decade long career that followed, Bhekh Bahadur Thapa witnessed first-hand the enormous challenges, as well as the heartbreaks and triumphs, of nation-building in Nepal. He revisits those times, offering deeply personal observations into the transformation of his country, from a feudal protectorate under the rule of the Rana dynasty to its current-day manifestation as a boisterous federal democratic republic. An ‘insider-account’ in the truest sense, A Life in Public Service is a fascinating, intimate look at the modern-day governance of South Asia’s oldest nation.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa became the Member Secretary of Nepal’s National Planning Council at the age of 24 and then went on to become the Secretary of Finance and the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank during King Mahendra’s reign. Dr. Thapa also served as the Finance Minister during King Birendra’s reign. Tasked with these responsibilities before age 40, he then turned towards diplomacy, serving as Nepal’s ambassador to the US, as the UN Resident Coordinator in war-torn Sri Lanka, and as Nepal’s ambassador to India, always seeking to establish Nepal’s proud place in the larger world. He served as the Foreign Minister during the last years of the monarchy in Nepal, and most recently served as the Nepal coordinator of India-Nepal Eminent Persons Group to smooth out relations between these two neighbours

Prawin Adhikari

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