page_title: Chhetri
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chhetri / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Miniature portrait painting of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa (1775-1839) of Nepal, dated 1839, Nepal. Opaque watercolour with tooled gold on wasli. Size: 32.7 x 24.8cm. The inscription reads (transliteration and translation) as shri janaral kamandar in cheef bheem sen thapa ka 63 varshko samwat 1896 saal maa khaichiya ko (Shri General Commander-in-chief Bhimsen Thapa, aged 63 years, painted in Samwat 1896 [1839 AD]). The title given to him, instead of prime minister, refers to his position when declaring war on the British as commander-in-chief. This portrait produced in the year of his death seems most likely to be in commemoration of him. The portrait must have served patronage for nostalgia by showing him in his prime. The painting is currently in the private collection of Peter Blohm.
context_page_description: Chhetri, historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community some of whom trace their origin to migration from medieval India. Chhetri was a caste of administrators, governor and military elites in medieval Khas Kingdom and Gorkha Kingdom. The nobility of Gorkha Kingdom were mainly based from Chhetri families and they had a strong presence in civil administration affairs. The bulk of Prime Ministers of Nepal before democratization of Nepal belonged to this caste as a result of old Gorkhali aristocracy. Gorkha-based aristocratic Chhetri families were Pande dynasty, Basnyat dynasty, Thapa dynasty and Kunwars.
  Khas Chhetris were traditionally considered a division of the Khas people with Khas Brahmin. They make up 16.6% of Nepal's population according to the 2011 Nepal census, making them the most populous caste or ethnic community in Nepal. Chhetris speak an Indo-Aryan Nepali language as mother tongue.
context_section_description: They are thought to be connected to the Khasas mentioned in the ancient Indian literature and the medieval Khasa kingdom.
  In the early modern history of Nepal, Chhetris played a key role in the Unification of Nepal, providing the core of the Gorkhali army of the mid-18th century. Bir Bhadra Thapa was a Thapa of Chhetri group and leading Bharadar during Unification of Nepal. His grandson Bhimsen Thapa became Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister) of Nepal. Swarup Singh Karki, a leading politician and military officer, belonged to Chhetri family. Abhiman Singh Basnyat of Basnyat dynasty and Damodar Pande of Pande dynasty were both members of Chhetri caste. Jung Bahadur Rana, founder of Rana dynasty also belonged to the Chhetri community.
  During the monarchy, Chhetris continued to dominate the ranks of the Nepalese government, Nepalese Army, Nepalese Police and administration.
caption: Bhimsen Thapa, a leading Chhetri Mukhtiyar (Prime Minister).
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