Women of Nepal

Shailaja Acharya

Former Deputy Prime Minister
Former vice-chairperson of Nepali Congress
Born in 1942 in Morang, died in 2009 in Kathmandu

Shailaja Acharya worked among top political figures and lived a true politician's life, but nonetheless failed to become a successful leader in the eyes of the common Nepali. Thus, she ended her life as unwanted, excluded, and perhaps the most misunderstood of Nepal's female political figures.
She was born on 8 May, 1942 in Biratnagar, Morang, as the eldest daughter in her family. Her mother Indira and Father Pinaki Prasad belonged to a well-to-do family and she had no problem in acquiring the best education available. She joined a local school in Morang where she completed her schooling.

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (BP), Girija Prasad Koirala and Matrika Prasad Koirala were Acharya's maternal uncles. She was daughter of Indira, who was Matrika's younger sister. Matrika is a half-brother of BP and Girija. Acharya never agreed to follow Matrika's pro-Panchayati doctrine, but was instead lured by the dream of democracy from BP. Thanks to the political environment within her family and BP's dashing personality she found herself involved in the never-ending battle for democracy.

In 1961, at the age of 18, Acharya stood in the mass in Tundikhel and raised a black flag in protest of King Mahendra's coup when British Queen Elizabeth II visited Nepal. This was indeed an unbelievable step, when even senior leaders were not sure how to protest against the coup. Acharya's move led to a three year prison term, marking the beginning of a career in politics and a life-long struggle.

After competing her schooling in Biratnagar, she joined Padma Kanya Campus for graduation, then Banaras Hindu University of Varanasi in 1965 where she completed her master's degree in Sociology. Acharya was quite active at the university, organizing Nepalese people and spreading information about the undemocratic political system in Nepal. She chaired the Democratic Socialist Youth League, established to organize Nepali students, in 1972. Besides this, she was a studious woman and very interested in art, culture, and philosophy. According to Nepali Congress (NC) leader and her contemporary, Pradip Giri, Acharya was well-known in the university on account of her intelligence and simplicity. "She was my inspiration to politics. I'm indebted to her," Giri has stated in one of his articles about her.

Acharya worked as chairperson of Tarun Dal for a long time. Around 1974 she was a supporter of the NC's plan to raise an armed revolution against the Panchayati system. She even went to the India-Pakistan border to purchase rifles for the purpose.

She carried the Koirala family's ideology, especially that of BP, at personal, theoretical, political and sentimental levels. For Acharya, BP was the only person worthy of respect in the whole NC, a belief she retained throughout her life.

She did her best to be as independent a person as possible and never married. Her party and the people were all she needed in her life and she could not find the time to even think about her own family, considering the party her family. Acharya faced criticism and mockery for her celibacy but never compromised to become the wife of an influential political leader who might undermine her capacity as a successful leader. Pradip Giri remembers, "In Sanskrit it is said that a woman, an ivy and person in power cannot remain independent. Shailaja had to undergo many tragic incidents because of it."

She did not personally stand for women's rights, but her activities, speeches and dedication were an inspiration for many women leaders. Her involvement was one of the reasons behind the large number of women participating in the 1990 movement.

After coming back from India, under the "National Reconciliation Policy" in 1976 with BP and Ganesh Man Singh, Acharya attached herself to the constitutional monarchy. Time brought with it much change but she remained dedicated to the party's line. She was of the opinion that a party's line cannot be changed easily, according to the 'direction of the wind'. The party discarded its age-old doctrine overnight without taking such fundamental issues to discussion. The time and direction of political polarization changed so rapidly it gave her no time to keep up.

In 1982, BP died and the party slowly removed itself from his philosophy. The influence of others in the party grew and the rule of doctrine remained only on papers.

Senior NC leaders remember Acharya's contribution in bringing leftists together and holding meetings of democrats and leftists prior to the 1990 People's Movement. She played an instrumental role in bringing democrats, leftists and Indian leaders to the residence of Ganesh Man Singh, which resulted in the formal announcement of the move for democracy. The unprecedented collaboration of the two major poles of Nepal's politics eventually put an end to the 30-year-old Panchayati System and replaced it with multi-party democracy.

But it almost marked the end of Acharya's political career. The doctrine of socialism and democracy became feeble in the party after the political change of 1990 and she began to realize intra-party polarization was not in her favor as it left her with no place in the party.

In 1991, Acharya was appointed minister for agriculture, forest and soil conservation and extended small but considerable development packages for people of Morang and Ilam. But she was forced to resign after only seven months due to her candid expression on deep-rooted corruption in the party and ministry.
She was elected a member of Parliament in 1994 from Morang 7 and held the portfolio of minister for water resources. In 1997, she took the bold step of promulgating a new policy on power purchase agreement. Eventually she became Nepal's first female deputy prime minister in 1998.

But although she was elected vice president of the party in 1996, she had no hold over party leaders.

In 1999, Acharya led a team of NC workers who wanted party purification. She had intended to hold a peace walk for her purpose, but the situation only worsened and ended in division of the party.

In the same year, Acharya contested in the parliamentary election in Morang, but her own party leaders played a role to defeat her. This was the beginning of a series of sabotage attempts made on her political career.

In 2000, she was elected a central committee member in the NC's 10th general convention in Pokhara. She began a movement to revitalize BP's forgotten principles but was in the minority and her efforts proved futile. Acharya had the energy and potential to lead the NC, but was not ready to compromise with all the elements involved which held influence in the party. Her straightforward, candid, and somewhat egotistical nature prevented her from making her own lobby in the party. Her political contributions remained history and she was considered little more than an opposing force within the party.

As a consequence Acharya decided to stay away from the party. She also fell ill, further widening the crevice between her and party leaders. She and her close relatives were more concerned about obtaining financial assistance for her medical expenses than becoming involved in power politics. Her brother Pradip Acharya and her family remained by her side during her last days. Her dedication to politics, serving seven years of jail, nine years in exile and two years working underground was forgotten by her party, such that her relatives were forced to beg for money for her treatment. Party leaders failed to visit Acharya even as she breathed her last breaths.

The NC suddenly accepted a republic as its formal line making other political factors so happy several of its top leaders were showered with congratulations. But many committed party workers refused to accept the overnight shift, including Acharya who criticized the party's change of colors before she was hushed up. The conflict led to a life of seclusion and mental exile. She was nominated for the post of Nepal's ambassador to India. But internal dispute within the party became so rough her poor health was used as a pretext to prove her unfit for the job. This was a shock and insult for Acharya whose health quickly deteriorated afterwards.

She was not only defeated in politics but also within her family, inheriting little of her parental property. She had accumulated a small plot of land while in Varanasi which she sold in order to buy another piece land for house construction at Bhanisepati of Lalitpur. She had no regular income and the money she had was not enough to complete the house, so an unusual contract took place.

According to one of her close relatives, Acharya agreed to transfer ownership of her house to the daughter of a fellow NC leader, who she loved as her own, on the condition she would complete the house and Acharya would get rent money from it. But the deal was never realized and she lost her money. She later dreamed of constructing a shelter in Pokhara, under the influence of her spiritual teacher Avadut Bhagwan Ram, which also turned out to be incomplete. She spent her last phase of life in an apartment at Chabahil, Mitrapark.

Acharya's illness, treatment and death will remain an unsolved mystery in Nepal's political history. She was under close observation of one of her trusted ones, another daughter of the aforementioned fellow NC leader. Many top doctors were on hand and she remained under doctors' direct supervision for 18 months. She was admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital once she returned from Bangkok where she underwent many tests and was diagnosed with many different diseases. But no one knows who prescribed the high doses of medication, generally given only to acute mental patients, to Acharya. The medication eventually caused irreparable damage to her health and she finally bid farewell to selected relatives, her party, and her country on 12 June, 2009. Cause of death given was Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia. Major political party leaders paid their respects to Acharya's family after her demise.

Nepotism is not a new phenomenon in NC history. But although Acharya was Girija's niece she was always neglected in the party and struggled more than those by another name. She was considered a rival among other candidates of leadership in the Koirala family. The dramatic change in power-sharing in the NC after her demise may hint at who was behind the total destruction of such a committed party worker. It remains a mystery who wanted to destroy her and why, as she possessed neither big property nor a great deal of power.  

Sadly, it is almost certain the truth behind what happened to Acharya will never be revealed as most of her important documents have disappeared, according to family sources. But regardless of this, Acharya will always be remembered in Nepali politics as a woman who spent her entire life with a dedication to her party and politics, rather than a politician on a quest for power and benefits.

Written by Razen Manandhar.