What is intriguing is that why King Gyanendra has so far remained as a voiceless spectator?

-Sambhu Shrestha, Chief editor, The Dristi Weekly, Kathmandu 

It should have been some twenty years that I entered into the vocation of Nepali journalism. Even prior to joining this sector, I used to work for some Kathmandu newspapers by being in Palpa, my hometown, in western Nepal.

Basically, I like better to call myself a "political animal" for prior to be in the newspaper journalism, I had been working with a communist party then led by Dr. Keashar Jung Rayamajhi. Dr. Raymajhi was a well-known communist giant and that since he too hailed from the same hometown and, I had logical reasons to support him and his cause. More so Dr. Raymajhi has had strong influence in Palpa. It was this reason primarily that I stick to his party for quite some time. My Left leaning too could have been a strong link in between Raymajhi's party and myself.

Nevertheless, the party split and the other half of the party brought out one weekly called Madhyam, the Medium, and the remaining half decided to run a weekly which was named Dristi.. This Dristi weekly later became the mouthpiece of Dr. Raymajhi's splinter.

Later around 1987, I came in close contact with the then antiestablishment Marxist-Leninists, ML, and our political wavelength tallied. By this time Dr. Raymajhi was already a sinking horse and I had the reasons to quit his party for I preferred to work for a party that was active and vivacious.

The ML later nominated me for fighting elections to the post of Mayor of Palpa but lost the battle.

Still later, when Raghu Pant, now a minister in Deuba's cabinet, was arrested, the ML decided to bring out yet another weekly, Prakash-Light, which was also banned by the government.

It was around this time that I handed over the Dristi weekly to my new party, the ML, which began its periodical in an institutionalized manner.

The Dristi weekly which I have been editing since several years is a weekly that is fully institutionalized and practicing professionalism in truest sense of the term. To recall, I returned the investments of the ML whatever the party had in the Dristi weekly some seven or eight years ago.

At the moment, Dristi has also become commercial.

When I joined journalism, it was a time when there had been a mission and hence we used to call it "mission journalism". The mission was the overthrow of the then regime.

Now it is an undertaking attached with professionalism. We have had lesser number of newspapers then but today the numbers have swelled. The time is different now because parties are not disqualified by laws of the land and the media is free to write any thing under the sun.

During the Panchayat days, Nepali media lacked professionalism. It was not in agenda even. What was there was only mission-journalism. Since it is a democracy now, one is forced to strike a balance in between ideas, finance, circulation and technology and embrace boldly the competitive market that is very much there. Myself being the member of the UML party, I have added responsibilities in my shoulders in that I can't exceed my limits prescribed to me by the party. This party-string more often than not has come as a stumbling block ion my desire to go independent while presenting views and analyses. Neither I can afford to do so nor I have a desire to exceed the limits.

Regarding my differences in the Korean labor tittle-tattle with the minister, as a media man and that too a responsible one, I concluded that I must write stories in order to educate the government and alert them that it was a sector that had been cheating innocent and poor Nepalese brethren by demanding hefty amounts for a job in Korea and other destinations. The minister and the party perhaps took it in a different manner. I did my job well. I have no regrets.

I simply wanted to let the people know that the Man Power agencies have a nexus with the government, political parties and the bureaucrats which allow them to squeeze the laymen while offering jobs abroad. I just wanted to expose this illicit nexus and nothing more than that.

As of the country's politics, I tell you that none of our leaders could over the years prove themselves as honest and dedicated ones. The country is in the ruins and the people are feeling the brunt of their dishonest actions. It is their appetite for the chair in Sing Durbar that has brought the country to this disorganized state. The problems are the same and no body knows who will sort out the problems confronting the nation?

As regards the Maoists insurgency, let me be frank with you in saying that the Maoists have been all along successful in their politics and the strategies acquired to cope with the challenges from the other camp. Their preference for the United Nations is simply for securing international recognition from the comity of the nations. The moment the UN enters into the scene, the terrorist tag on them will have no meaning, as a matter of fact. However, if they are really not a terrorist outfit and that if they really were fighting for a political cause then they should come to the talk-table at the earliest. But then what is also true is that if the UN was there and still the talks failed would be a fatal situation for the Maoists. The Maoists must understand the message beneath these lines.

As far as India's role is concerned, it is there for all to see. Evidently, Nepalese Maoists are enjoying support from India. As they have taken shelter there which naturally forces one to conclude that they enjoy India's political backing. Intriguing though it might appear, however, the fact that what India wants by providing protection to the Maoists in its territory is crystal clear. It appears that by making Nepali politics unstable for an indefinite period, India wants to secure her hidden interests in water resources and matters of security. In the same vein, India wants to show the world that Nepal's security situation stands at the worst level by managing a perennial fight in between the Maoists militia and the Royal Nepal Army. Whosoever is being killed in the process is a Nepali citizen, this we the Nepalese people have got to understand before it is too late!

What about the role of the King?

Well, I understand that the King is well abreast of all these issues and problems. However, what is more than intriguing is that why he has so far remained as a mute spectator?

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