Tighten the belts as difficult days have begun knocking our doors

Kishor Shrestha, Chief Editor The Jan-Aastha Weekly

Incredible though it may appear, I presume that I would have been the smallest of all, in terms of age, among those to be sent to imprisonment while being in grade two of the primary school and that too under charges of "State Offence". This perhaps better explains my entrance into national politics at a very tender age.

I entered into journalism profession some eighteen years ago as a reporter of the Dristi weekly then edited by Raghuji Pant, now a minister in Deuba’s cabinet. However, some editorial freedom issues prompted most of the employees at the Dristi to resign the weekly en masse. This was an event at a time when the UML was in government for a nine month period some ten years back.

Later, my colleagues and me ventured to run The Jan Aastha weekly, a Wednesdayer, which has already crossed its ten-year publication record.

Even prior to entering into journalism, I was in politics beginning class two in Dhading district and continued till class nine in a Lalitpur school. While in Dhading, one of my teacher was Rajendra Pandey, a UML leader. I was picked by then ML for being the class monitor at class two for the party activists considered that top students could do politics in an efficient manner. This is how I plunged into politics. Add to this my father was a very close friend of Siddhi Lal Singh, a communist leader of national repute.

When I was in class Nine, I was sent to NAKKHU jail and since then I should have been the guest of that prison cell several times, which later encouraged me to construct a house of my own close by the same jail. Look ! The jail where I have spent so many good days and months is just down my house.

Journalism when I joined the profession? Yes, it was then exclusively a mission and nothing more than that. The mission being the overthrow of the erstwhile regime. The agenda was clear to us all and thus we worked in that regard with total devotion.

I continued with my studies even if I had joined the media profession and was concurrently a student leader of the Lalitpur student union.

I was an aggressive student and thus naturally this spirit I subscribed in the journalism sector as well. I strongly believed in media freedom and thus convinced my fellow colleagues that unless we aggressively forwarded our demands, the state was not going to bend.

Later after the restoration of the democratic system, I went to Pokhara and dug out a case that was related to the (in)famous Namita-Sumita rape-murder scandal.

After bagging considerable success in the Pokhara episode, I ventured to visit Mustang and met the local accredited principality King, Jigme Parwal Bist, and penned a story that was related with the pains and the sorrows of Mustang.

I consider journalism as a challenging job and I am of the opinion that this profession demands the courage to chase the events that are news, which has a national bearing. To get such news, believe me, I am ever prepared to get that for the benefit of my valued readers.

For me, journalism is not only exciting, but it is a profession full of romanticism. The tragedy with me is that mine is a weekly indeed. The volume of news, exciting ones indeed that I get on a day-to-day basis can’t be put in one single issue. I need a broadsheet daily, which I can’t afford financially.

Professionalism? Yes over the years’ professionalism in this area has increased. You could see people entering into this sector for jobs. This sector has now job potentials. This is encouraging for those who wish to join this profession. But then yet, comparatively speaking, Nepali professionalism is yet to attain a height that could match with those of the others. However, there is nothing to panic. Time will automatically favor the profession.

Nevertheless, I have some reservations the manner tom-dick and harry are joining this profession. There has to be some sort of filtering process so that only genuine personalities could join this profession. The free-for-all entry into journalism has its own sort of negative impact, which is there for all to see.

Talking of the weeklies’ contribution, let me tell you frankly that it were the weeklies only that contributed tremendously in the restoration of the system now in place today. The fact is that those who supported and fought for the system are the ones deliberately neglected by the state. Why it is so is beyond my imagination.

Talking of politics, I conclude that we have had enough of leaders but not a single Statesman who could guide the country with proper vision. We have had some but they already left for their heavenly abode. The tragedy is that even the King is under controversy.

At times I think that "we the people" too are to be blamed for our taking of the things as they are. We took pride in our never being under a colonial rule. Or else, look China and Japan and Korea! Unless a sort of epoch making tragedy doesn’t befall upon a nation, the nation perhaps can’t develop. Look, how China, Japan and Korea have developed over these past decades. The fact is that we have never faced difficulties of higher dimensions as other countries have had to at one critical point of their nation’s history.

If Gehendra Shumsher could make a Machine Gun some hundred years ago, why it is that Nepal even today can’t produce a pin? This well speaks of our dedication and motivation towards making the country self-reliant.

As of the UML, I think that the party is damaging itself. The damage of the UML is certainly the gain of the Maoists. Rough estimates have it that about 60% of the UML cadres have either already joined the Maoists insurgency or were in a mood to support their cause.

Regarding the Maoists, well, I think that to consider the insurgents will smoothly surrender their arms will be a foolish conclusion. They will not do that easily. The RIM factor is there and I don’t think that the bosses at the RIM will allow the Maoists to do so. The RIM can’t tolerate such a surrender. It would be better if some countries, which house the RIM, headquarters in their capitals to convince their own nationals to exhibit compassion in Nepal’s case.

Nor it is that the Maoists are weaker force as is being given to understand by certain quarters. No, they are still a force to be reckoned with. The morale of the Maoists is still very high. This is not an exaggeration.

I see India can play a very positive role in settling the Maoists issue if she so desires. However, I doubt that India will extend her all out support in this regard. It is not surprising therefore to watch that as and when Nepal is politically unstable, India suddenly becomes active for some "mysterious" reasons.

The option of a constituent assembly is not that a bad proposition. Okay, if we differ on this option, let’s clear it through the conduct of a referendum! Let the results of the referendum and that of the CA be binding upon all compulsorily. The Maoists too must accept the people’s verdict even if it goes against their preference.

In sum, I conclude that for Nepal and the Nepalese people, hard and extremely difficult days lie ahead. In our fight with the Maoists, the one who is losing is a Nepali itself. This internecine fight in between the Nepalese is all pre-planned by some, I presume.

Let’s tighten our belts as difficult days have begun knocking the Nepali doors.

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