Mr. Koirala established and led Nepali Congress, since 1947, fought against one-century-old autocratic Rana regime. Koirala led popular movement that transformed Nepali society into a democratic one in 1951. Even amidst political upheavals after the change, he successfully led the Nepali Congress that won landslide victory in the first ever-democratic election held in 1959. On his election as the Prime Minister he was congratulated for his success to form a unique inclusive cabinet which stands as a model till today. B P Koirala started his political career in India, where he joined the independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi as a dedicated cadre of Indian Socialist Party. He believed that democracy is indivisible and Nepal’s democratic future would have only been possible once India would get her independence from British Rule. The family rule of Ranas had a relation with British India. Being a son of brave and ideal father, Krishna Prasad Koirala, who was also a dedicated Gandhian leader and had contributed to Indian Independence Movement, BP was arrested and given a rigorous imprisonment by Ranas and the then King Mahendra for twelve years in Nepal and more than two years in Indian Jail by British India. Altogether, he spent fourteen years of his life in solitary confinement. In addition to his friendly association with freedom fighters of Independence Movement of India, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Jagjivan Ram and others, Koirala also had a close intimacy with World’s Socialist leaders like Willy Brandt (former Chancellor of West Germany), Clement Attlee (former Prime Minister of England) to name a few. Nonetheless, he had also supported democratic movements in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (the then Burma) and elsewhere in the world as he considered the indispensability of democracy. He was the vice-president of Socialist International and as one of the founders of Asian Socialist Conference. Mr. Koirala participated actively in the first bureau meeting of the Conference in Tokyo, Japan 1954. He did his best to organize Kathmandu bureau meeting of the Conference in 1958 that was the first of such international conference in Nepal. As a leader of these institutions, Mr. Koirala had delivered messages of peace, freedom, social justice and ideals of humanity which were wholeheartedly revered by the then world community and is still regarded as an ideal footprints for the democratic socialists in the present day world.

As Prime Minster, he maintained the best of relations with the immediate neighbors- India and China. Galvanizing the traditional relations into modern with the people at the center of governance, his government widened the areas of cooperation and developed relationship with the United Kingdom and the USA. He diversified Nepal’s diplomatic relations with various countries of the world including Israel, Austria, Singapore and Pakistan. Nepal was the first country in the region to welcome the establishment of Israeli Embassy in Kathmandu in 1960. Such was the speed that in eighteenth months, the Koirala government established diplomatic relations with eighteenth countries.

B P Koirala’s message to the world community regarding the role of the United Nations to uphold the principles of multi-polar world proved to be farsighted. Addressing the 15th regular session of United Nations General Assembly as the first Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Koirala had stressed the representation of China in the world organization as he remarked – “Mr. President, I cannot help out referring to the question of the representation of China, which stands in a class by itself. In our opinion, the United Nations can neither become universal nor can it reflect the political realities existing in the world today until the People’s Republic of China is given its rightful place in the organization”. B P Koirala called upon the United Nations to turn its attention increasingly towards the solution of the pressing economic problem in various regions. He told the UNGA then, “it is the economic disparity between the rich and the poor people within the nations that is the source of much friction and tension”.