History in (not such) a hurry
When the Nepali Times morphed into a weekly newspaper from an e-platform in 2000, it was met at first with initial skepticism as the few English weeklies that existed back then had changed hands, declined in quality, or just faded into oblivion.
However, this new paper swiftly made its mark as it brought on board a panel of writers and journalists whose reportage covered the nation’s socio-political struggles with insight and acumen. Nepal at this time was going through the curse or blessing of interesting times -- a turbulent transition from a monarchy to the planet’s newest federal republic.
This boldness was at odds in a country where journalism had historically faced censorship. The editorials and articles were well researched and unequivocal, speaking for the disenfranchised and for those who were tortured, killed and disappeared by both the Maoists and the Army. Nepali Times never compromised on fundamental issues like human rights, and even today continues to demand an inquiry into war crimes.
Well known writers and influencers such as C K Lal, Prashant Jha, Dewan Rai, Anil Chitrakar, Thomas Bell and Manjushree Thapa (to name a few) have written for the paper. The Nepali Times archives give us a window onto 20 years of our nation’s socio-political and cultural history: the decade-long bloody civil war which led to 16,278 deaths, the peace process, the restoration of democracy, the promulgation of the new constitution that finally got written but is already contentious and why this is so, the nomination of our first President, the earthquake, the Blockade, the birth of the federal states, the political upheaval in the Tarai, load shedding and the hero Kulman Ghising who busted the darkness imposed on the nation by the power mafia.
I have enjoyed the film column by Sophia Pande, Sewa Bhattarai’s art reviews, and Lisa Choegyal’s writings that take us back to a time when Nepal was still Shangri-La and not the paradise lost it is today. Nepali Times also covered cultural activities and happenings: Nepathaya’s nationwide peace concert tours during the insurgency, Jazzmandu, book
launches and reviews, various literature, film and theatre festivals, the Kathmandu International Art Festival, Photo Kathmandu, the Kathmandu Triennale and reviews of art exhibitions in the city’s galleries. The preservation of Nepal’s tangible and intangible heritage has also been an area of focus with the Times.
Nepali Times has consistently covered the critical issue of climate change and its ramifications for a country where the melting of Himalayan glaciers can displace populations and create climate refugees. But my favourite pieces in the Nepali Times are those by The Ass, which are befittingly featured on the back page. It gives us the opportunity to laugh during the darkest hours of our nation’s history, and at the absurdity of the Nepal’s present-day politics.
Sangeeta Thapa is Director of the Siddhartha Arts Foundation and Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu.