Sher Bahadur Deuba

Some Unknown Facts About Sher Bahadur Deuba

• Sher Bahadur Deuba is a Nepali politician with a political career spanning more than 5 decades. He is one of the most-respected politicians in Nepal and served as the Prime Minister of Nepal 5 times.

• He supported the ideology of the Nepali Congress since his childhood and became active in student politics.

• In 1960, he protested against the Panchayat form of government which was implemented after the suspension of all political parties by King Mahendra of Nepal.

• From 1965 to 1968, he served as the chairman of the Far-Western Students’ Committee in Kathmandu, Nepal.

• In 1971, he founded the Nepali Congress’ student union known as Nepal Students Union and remained its President until 1980.

• During the 1980 Nepal national referendum, he campaigned for multi-party democracy.

  

• In the 1985 Nepalese Civil Disobedience Movement, he played an active role.

  

• In 1988, he went to London, and in 1989, he studied Political Science at the London School of Economics (LSE) under the program ‘research fee’.

• Professor Fred Halliday, a scholar with a specialization in Arab nations, helped him with his research. He did not need to attend any classes; however, he was permitted to study at LSE Library and study under the guidance of a professor.

• Scottish International Party gave him a scholarship to study in London which was later discontinued. He worked as a translator for BBC Nepali and lived at Natraj restaurant. A few Nepali people also sent him money.

• In London, he campaigned to raise awareness about the Nepalese revolution of 1990 and returned to Nepal after the revolution to actively participate in politics.
  

  

  

• On 12 February 1996, he signed the Mahakali Treaty with the then-Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in Delhi, India. ^[6]The Himalayan Times

• His attempt to revive peace in the country failed as the peace talks with Maoists failed after Maoists backed out of the talks.

• On 27 November 2001, he imposed the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act and declared the State of Emergency in the country.

  

• During his stint as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the second time, he appealed to King Gyanendra on 22 May 2002 to dissolve the parliament and hold the parliamentary elections on 13 November 2002 which was accepted by the King.

• Nepali Congress terminated him from the party on 26 May 2002 by alleging that he acted without consulting his cabinet and party.

  

• He was arrested in April 2005 on corruption charges related to a link road project related to the Melamchi drinking water project near Kathmandu.

• He was given a punishment of 2 years of jail time on 26 July 2005 by the Royal Commission on Corruption Control (RCCC) which was set up by King Gyanendra in February 2005. The commission also fined him 90 million Nepalese rupees.

• When he was in jail, his wife, Arzu Singh Rana, gave an interview and said that they had to change 14 homes in one decade due to the civil unrest. ^[7]United We Blog

  

• Supreme Court of Nepal scrapped RCCC on 13 February 2006 and declared its orders invalid following which he was released from jail.

• Between 1965 and 2005, he spent almost 10 years in jail on multiple occasions.

• He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and he became the first Nepali person to receive such an honour. ^[8]The Kathmandu Post

• His wife and son are also members of the Nepali Congress. ^[9]Lokmat ^[10]Nepal News

• In 2022, he visited India and held talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the India-Nepal Boundary issues. ^[11]Outlook

  

• On 9 September 2025, during the Nepalese Gen Z protests, protesters attacked and set fire to Deuba’s house. Both Deuba and his wife were injured in the incident and were later taken into police custody.