Nepal’s King Suggested That Nepal Be Made An Indian Province, But Nehru rejected It: Pranab Mukherjee Memoir

The late President Pranab Mukherjee says in his autobiography, 'The Presidential Years,’ that the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru rejected an offer to make Nepal a province of India, reports News 18.

"After the Rana rule was replaced by the monarchy in Nepal, he wished for democracy to take root. Interestingly, Nepal’s king, Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, had suggested to Nehru that Nepal be made a province of India. But Nehru rejected the offer on the grounds that Nepal was an independent nation and must remain so,” writes late Mukherjee in his latest autobiography.

In chapter 11, under the heading 'My Prime Ministers: Different Styles, Different Temperaments', Mukherjee opined that "had Indira Gandhi been in Nehru’s place, she would have perhaps seized upon the opportunity, like she did with Sikkim".

The late President also expressed his views on former Prime Ministers and Presidents of India, “Every PM has his or her own style of functioning. Lal Bahadur Shastri took positions that were very different from that of Nehru. There can be divergent perceptions among PMs, even if they happen to come from the same party, on issues such as foreign policy, security and internal administration,” he mentioned.