Nepal rebel journalist assaulted, questions raised on govt attitude towards the press

Kathmandu's tightly knit journalists' circle is reverberating with the shock waves generated by a merciless assault last month on well-known rebel journalist, Devendra Gautam, 32. Gautam was attacked by several men armed with iron rods on a crowded street in the Nepalese capital on August 18 and nobody believes that the incident was anything but a calculated move to silence a crusading voice.The irony of the attack, which has raised alarming questions on the Government's attitude towards the fourth estate, is that it occurred only a day after the Royal Press Commission - especially constituted to upgrade Nepali journalism - made its report public.Gautam has been a relentless champion of independent journalism. Each time Gautam brought out a paper it was banned by the Government, but he always came up with a ploy to get around the ban. Readers of Gautam's Nepal Post - a weekly that was banned last year - grew accustomed to seeing their paper every Wednesday under different mast-heads. Soon after the Post was axed for allegedly involving the monarchy in a public controversy - it next appeared as Current which Gautam dictated from prison. Other short-lived versions of the Post were: Khasokhas (truth), Rasayan (tonic), and Kusum (flower).The implacable Gautam borrowed registrations from fellow journalists and came out with more publications - Naya Upahar and Jana Marga. The last of Gautam's publications to fall victim to the censor's axe was Mayalu which was banned last fortnight - on the first anniversary of the closure of Nepal Post. "I have always come out strongly against those who have constantly stood between the king and the people. And it is they who are now trying to read false meanings into my headlines so that they can have an excuse to ban me forever," said the bearded Gautam.Nepalese journalism appears to be passing through a phase of assertive adolescence. Apart from the Government-owned national dailies - the Gorkha Patra and the Rising Nepal which receive adequate financial support from the Government, all the privately-owned papers are bedevilled by poor finances and ill-trained editorial staff. The stridency of criticism against the Government and the bureaucracy is not backed by a commensurate degree of objectivity in reporting that is essential for credibility. The Government, on the other hand, is clearly embarrassed by the growing chorus of criticism. There are over 80 dailies and weeklies - a number far in excess of the needs of 14 million people whose literacy rate is only 20 per cent. Thirty-eight 'irregular' publications have been shut down in the past year, but this hasn't deterred journalists like Gautam from waging a quixotic battle against the authorities.Expose: Observers in Kathmandu, however, feel that Gautam has been victimised for his outspokenness. In the past few months he has opened out on all fronts: accusing the police of being unable to restore law and order (the generally peaceful Himalayan kingdom has witnessed a series of unprecedented kidnappings and murders this year), rapping the Russians repeatedly on what has come to be known as the '84-boxes scandal', and writing exposes on Kathmandu's bigwigs. "This has made it difficult to pinpoint who was behind the beatings since Gautam was making a lot of powerful people angry," said a journalist.Gautam (left) Rana and Pandey : chorus of criticismBut the ferment in the Nepalese press is clearly related to the Government's recent crackdown. "Recent events make a mockery of the Government's avowed objective of bringing about a healthy growth of journalism," editorialised the English dailyMotherland. Even papers subsidised by the Government have refused to toe the official line."The press has turned out to be more than just a financial liability to the Government," says Shirish Rana, 30, the energetic editor of a popular English fortnightly National Star. Rana's paper was among the "irregular 38" publications that were shut down earlier this year. So far, his efforts to convert the Star's registration into a daily or a weekly has met with little response from the authorities. Rana belongs to a new breed of journalists who believe that a newspaper enterprise has to be commercially viable to be independent. Other publishers are, however, skeptical about newspapers being able to raise money through advertisements. "Businessmen are wary about printing their advertisements in our paper because our paper is not exactly pro-establishment," says the publisher of a vernacular daily.Public Support: But perhaps no other paper has received as much public support as the recently banned, immensely popular weekly Pratidhwani. The paper had recently taken its readers by storm with its incisive contents and larger format. Gokarna Dev Pandey, one of its editors, who was himself a victim of assault last month, feels that the Government grew nervous because of its growing popularity. Investigative stories and bold headlines helped boost street sales - and this appears to have rattled the authorities. Pratidhwani today appears under a disguised mast-head it shares with a sister publication Samrakshat.The present laws in Nepal pertaining to the press do not guarantee the kind of press freedom that is possible in a full-fledged democracy. Journalists are allowed to take their grievances to a district court but, according to a persecuted publisher, "it is the same establishment that mans these tribunals". There is no uniform application of these laws to all the papers, says Rana.Newspaper vendor in Kathmandu: brisk salesMany journalists feel that the Royal Press Commission report released last month does not advocate any concrete solutions. "Recommendations at first glance are hazy, but some clauses do pose a big challenge to the Government," says the editor of a Kathmandu-based paper.Though the Nepalese press is gradually heading towards professionalism, it will be sometime before the papers acquire the kind of credibility that will make them a force to reckon with. If the Government-owned papers are characterised by their blandness, most of the privately-owned papers are equally guilty of sensationalism, and subjective verbiage. The low credibility of some of the privately owned papers is exacerbated by their overt allegiance to foreign interest groups. As the tug-of-war between the Government and the press continues, media-men in Nepal, at least for the time being, are compelled to literally subscribe to the dictum: "Publish and be damned."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 8, 2013 10:12 IST--- ENDS ---

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Nepal rebel journalist assaulted, questions raised on govt attitude towards the press

Kathmandu's tightly knit journalists' circle is reverberating with the shock waves generated by a merciless assault last month on well-known rebel journalist, Devendra Gautam.

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