mediaharsha

By Harsha Man Maharjan Here media politics has nothing to do with political parties. What I say media politics is the politics of main media organizations in Nepal. My focus is to know which media issues they give emphasis and which they neglect. I am sharing my experience of going through news cutting we have in Martin Chautari Media Documentation Centre ( http://www.martinchautri.org.np/ ) We have news cutting on different media issues. I tried to figure out the volume of articles and news according to subjects: State Media, Working Journalists., Foreign Direct Investment in Media and Media Monopoly. Cuttings on the welfare of working journalists were the lest among the four. This is the subject on which journalists related organizations conducted seminars in five star hotels. How journalists could voice their grievances in their own media. They even can not publish their grievances and problem in others’ newspapers. We know that media sector flourished in Nepal after 1990. But the c...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Zade said this in her blog on Feb 19 2007: Happy PraJaTanTra DiWas!! Nothing really. Its just a great day, the sun’s shining ah but again everyone’s after the King’s “Baktabya”. But well, let me not talk of things I have no expertise on..So Happy Prajatantra Diwas Everyone! And For bloggers, I wish this Freedom of Expression Last for ever and ever!! And my day began with this day..So enjoy!! http://zade.wordpress.com/ I don't know how to answer her. I want to write more about Falgun 7. So here is my experience and idea about Falgun 7. I have celebrated many Falgun 7 as Democracy days. Nepal celebrated 57th Democracy day on 19 February 2007. During my school days I used to praise King Tribhuwan for fleeing Delhi, sacrificing his happiness and supporting the Anti-Rana movement. I saw nothing wrong to declare him the father of Democray or Rastrapita or Father of the country. blah.blah. I got this impression from text books on history I read in my school. My holi...

BY Harsha Man Maharjan 1 February 2005 brought crisis in Nepali media. For new media especially blogs and websites it was an opportunity. It is in fact an irony. They flourished when the king smother Nepali media and declare the state of emergency in the country. He ordered Nepali media not to do anything against the letter and sprit of his proclamation. Military personals performed actions of editors in newspapers, radio etc. In this adverse and undemocratic condition big media houses: Kantipur Publication, Nepal Samacharpatra, Rajdhani, The Himalayan Times etc kowtowed before Military orders. They opted to appease the king than the public. Only few magazines and weeklies opposed the king’s order in different ways. The media that fully rebelled at that time were few websites: www.insn.org ; www.radiofreenepal.blogspot.com ; www.blog.com.np; etc. Not only people in abroad but also people having online access in Nepal knew about the country from these media. Khoj Patrakarita Kendra (Cen...

Harsha Man Maharjan In Nepali context, journalism in vernacular languages mean journalism in Newari, Tharu, Maithali and other languages, except Nepali and English. They have similar problems. They lack audiences. Their market is small. Hence their journalism is no mainstream journalism. Main theme that cover them is Bhasa Anurag (Passion of Language). I encountered the word Bhasa Anurag in Kamal Prakash Malla’s book on literacy criticism in Nepal Bhasa, Nali Swana. He used this word to describe the first stage of literacy criticism that only celebrates earlier Nepal Bhasa writers. At this stage criticizing the writers was impossible. Critics were more emotional. I think that journalism in vernacular languages in Nepal, too are glorifying their past, and using less ink on criticizing their weaknesses. Today the circulation of the Nepali daily Kantipur is more than 2 lakh. There are many readers in Nepai language. It happens only after long time. It happens only at the cost of vernacula...

By Harsha Man Maharjan These days I am in a dilemma. I have a question? Why does some body open a library? In Rana period we know Ranas incarcerated few Nepalese for opening a library. We have named it ‘Library Parba’. Today some libraries are barring readers from using their books. Could you believe this? But it is a reality. It is happening in Kathmandu. Visit Nepal Bharat Sanskritik Kendra Library Indian library in RNAC, New Road you will find this. It happened on a day few years ago. I used to visit the library whenever I had time. On the day, the guard there bars me from using books. After I kept my bag he requested me to show my student card. I searched my card inside my bag. I showed him my card. Yet he did not allow using books there. He informed me that my card had no valid date. At that time I was waiting the result my BA III year’s result. So I could have a valid card unless I doctored it or get forged card. I put my problem to officials there. They were ...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Madhesh is in fire. A wildfire. Many think it is an inevitable incident. They think the state has always neglected Madheshis grievances. Others think it a design to bifurcate Nepal into principalities. I too believe Madheshis were living with grievances and they have rights to vent their grievances. My interest in this issue, made me read Bhaskar Gautam’s unpublished article, Sahabhagita abam Pratinidhimulak Sahabhagita and Madhesh (Participation, Representational participation and Madhesh). In this article he has written on the issues of citizenship, language issue and so-called Nepali nationality. From it I learn a lot about the issue. History shows 30 years of Panchayat system never left its doctrine of one language and one dress. This way it never heeded people with other cultures. There was no hope for Madheshis in these years. Even 12 years of Democratic exercise did nothing to balm their wounds. Madhesh always remained as an internal colony of Nepal. 23 La...