Rishikesh Shaha was a Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

ese writer, politician and human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 activist.

Political career

Shaha was a member of Nepal Prajatantrik Party 1948-1949. 1951-1953 he was the general secretary of Nepali Rastriya Congress. He then became general secretary of the joint Nepali Congress

Nepali Congress

The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...

-Nepali Rashtriya Congress front until 1956. Shaha was Minister of Finance 1960-1964. In 1962 he became chair of the Constitution Drafting Commission. 1967-1971 he represented the graduate constituency in the National Panchayat. In the panchayat, he was one of the most prominent advocates of democratic reforms.

Diplomatic career

Shaha was the Nepalese ambassador to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 UN 1956-1960. In 1961 Shaha was elected by the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

 to chair the International Commission for investigating the death of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld

Dag Hammarskjöld

Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...

, who had suffered an air crash over Congo. Shaha was one of the candidates to succeed Hammarskjöld, but was defeated by U Thant

U Thant

U Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961....

. In 1962, Shaha was appointed special ambassador.

Academic work

Shaha lectured in English and Nepali at Tri-Chandra College 1945-1948. During the period 1947-1948 he served as chief inspector of schools 1947-48.

Shaha served as visiting professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...

, New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1970. In 1971 he served as Regents' Professor at Berkeley University, USA. He was a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...

, Washington. D.C. and the East-West Center

East-West Center

The East–West Center , headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States....

, Honolulu.

Shaha authored several works of Nepalese politics and history.

Organizational work

Shah was also the founder of the Nepal Council of World Affairs and in 1988 he became the founding president of the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON). Later, he left HURON.