Dev became the Prime Minister of Nepal on 5 March 1901 (1957
Falgun 15). He claimed his heredity from his late brother Sri 3 Maharaja, Prime Minister
Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR), and received the "
Laal Mohur", the official stamp of the
King of Nepal from then-King
Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah. According to the traditions of the Rana family, relatives were appointed to high office. •
Chandra Shumsher JBR became Chief of the Army •
Bhim Shumsher JBR became Western Commanding General • Fathe Shamsher JBR became Eastern Commanding General • Jeet Shamsher JBR became Southern Commanding General • and
Juddha Shumsher JBR became Northern Commanding General Dev kept his brother Fathe Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana as Hujuriya General (Chief of the Prime Minister's bodyguard) and his nephew General Gehendra Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana in his post of spy-chief and head of police. Gahendra was one of the most powerful people at the time, placed his allies in all the high positions of the police force since the time of his father, Prime Minister
Bir Shamsher JBR. Dev appointed his brother Sher Shamsher as the Chief of Staff to then-King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah and built a palace for him. In the same year, Sher was appointed as the first director of Nepal's first national newspaper
Gorkhapatra, which is still the government national daily. His brothers' envy led them to overthrow him in 1901 when he had become Maharajah. Dev was satisfied with the "Universal Education" (
Aksharanka Shiksha) plan prepared by
Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh, King of
Bajhang. Dev remarked in
Gorkhapatra, "If anyone wishes to satisfy the prime minister, it should be with the works like this, not flattery". The publication of
Weekly Gorkhapatra started in May 1901 (B.S. 1958. Vaisakha 24). Within a short period of time the paper progressed well and started publishing bi-weekly, before becoming a daily issue due to its popularity. An iron ore mine was constructed in Thosay during Dev's time. The Thosay bazaar is 15 km away north from
Manthali, the headquarters of
Ramechhap district. Iron from this area was used to manufacture weapons that were used in the war against
Tibet. Trekkers pass through this Thosay bazaar on their way to Mt. Sagarmatha (
Everest) (
Gorkhapatra Daily, 16 January 2002). During his short tenure, Dev Shamsher was known as "The Reformist" for his progressive policies: he proclaimed
universal education, began to build schools, took steps to abolish
slavery, and introduced several other
social welfare schemes. He also made improvements to the arsenal at Nakkhu (south of
Kathmandu). As a democratic person, he took the advice of his nephew General
Gehendra Shumsher, established a parliament, and built a big hall in his
Thapathali Durbar like his uncle,
Jung Bahadur. He proposed a system of universal public primary education, using Nepali as the language of instruction, and opened
Durbar High School to children who were not members of the Rana clan. His call for reforms did not entirely disappear; a few Nepali-language primary schools in the
Kathmandu Valley, the Hill Region, and the Tarai remained open, and the practice of admitting a few middle- and low-caste children to
Durbar High School continued. Dev was also responsible for introducing a campaign in Kathmandu,
Bhaktapur, and
Patan to fight corruption, as well as introducing a cannon shot at midday to let people know the time. He organized a ladies court like his late uncle Jung Bahadur, and was the first person to introduce
Gorkhapatra (which is still the national daily newspaper) to Nepal. He made his "Sindure Yatra" royal proclamation eight times in cities like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot, and Kakani. Sources claim that his lifestyle was lavish; in his short 4-month regime, he introduced gambling for two months, along with
bhajan from 3-5 p.m. and
silent movies from 8-10 p.m. Unlike his predecessors, Dev, as a reformist, drew parallels with the
Tokugawa shogunate and he likewise emulated the reforms of the
Meiji Restoration of Japan. He also planned to send Nepali youths to Japan for higher studies. Wisteria, chrysanthemums, persimmons, and chestnuts were imported as seeds from Japan by one of the students who studied agriculture there. He learned about the modernization programs of Japan since 1868, the famous Meiji Ishin, the government policy, and the
Meiji Constitution, and realized Japan was becoming a powerful nation in economy and national security. Dev regarded Japan as his model, and was convinced by the ideas of a
constitutional monarchy and the
parliamentary system. He was unable to implement his plan during his rule, but the next prime minister,
Chandra Shamsher, sent students to Japan in April 1902. ==Family life==