Nepal's Rana prime ministers passed the office brother to brother by a roll; in 1934 the ruler struck off the sons of low-caste mothers, and their sons joined the party that opposed it

Jung Bahadur Kunwar seized power after the Kot massacre on the night of 14 September 1846. On 6 August 1856 King Surendra made the offices of prime minister and commander-in-chief hereditary in his family, passing to his surviving brothers, then his sons and nephews. After Jung Bahadur died, his brother Ranoddip Singh ruled until 1885, when he was assassinated and his nephews of the Shumsher branch took power and killed many of Jung Bahadur's sons. To settle feuds over the roll, Chandra Shumsher (1901 to 1929) split the clan into three classes. A class sons of legitimate wives could reach the highest posts. B class sons, usually of second wives, could rise only to colonel. C class sons of lower-status wives and concubines were barred from dining with the others. On 18 March 1934 Juddha Shumsher struck all C class Ranas off the roll, including some of his own sons, and sent them to distant districts. Rudra Shumsher, commander in the west and in line to be prime minister, was sent to govern Palpa. Hiranya Shumsher, removed that day, had a son, Subarna, who was treasurer of the Nepali Congress from 1947 to 1949; Prakash's son Mahabir was among its founders. Rana rule ended when Mohan Shumsher was stripped of his titles on 18 February 1951.