P Kharel

Opinion scribes for newspapers might be commended, condemned or ignored for what they write. Categorised as contributors with specific deadlines for filling fixed space for views in black and white, columnists in countries with more than three centuries of press history are commissioned as columnists of daily, biweekly, weekly or fortnightly type, other time-specific terms. Most publications rope in weekly and fortnightly columnists, though Nepal bears an intriguing aspect pertaining to this aspect. Barring some chief editors keen on airing regular bylined views, the “privilege” is often granted as a big favour rather than an acknowledgement of a scribe’s credentials.

Thanks to Radio Nepal, I debuted as a weekly topical broadcast commentator in 1974. Topical commentaries used to be broadcast immediately after the evening news bulletin in English. The stint lasted for about two years. As per Radio Nepal’s briefing, each comment consisted of about 600 words, for which the fee given was Rs. 60 as against Rs. 50 for a 1,000-word write-up to The Rising Nepal.
Marathon innings

As a weekly topical commentator, I have written two columns — sports and entertainment — for the Realm magazine published by Basanta Chaudhary in 1984-85, the incentive being a free hand and a princely remuneration. Towards the mid-1990s, Chaudhary’s highly readable Independent weekly hooked me for nearly five years to contribute a fortnightly view piece on news media in addition to a weekly sports column until taking up the editorship of TRN.

The fee given was comparably the best. Gopal Das Shrestha, publisher/editor of The Commoner, had invited me to contribute to the country’s first English daily, founded in 1956, but I withheld myself because TRN and Shrestha’s paper were both English dailies and hence immediate competitors.

South India’s top-notch English daily, the Deccan Herald, contacted me in early 1990 when I was winding up my charges as the country’s first full time correspondent in New Delhi, with an offer to write two fortnightly analyses on major current events in Nepal, for which the pay was half the monthly salary I drew from TRN as executive editor.

With the private sector venturing into publishing broadsheet dailies within the first two years after the 1990 restoration of multi-party system in Nepal, the space allocated for opinions increased markedly. However, more does not necessarily mean better. Chief editors are extremely reluctant to write weekly columns, unless they had previous records of wielding their pens in such deadline-demanding regularity. Nothing unusual, as they are expected to skipper a masthead by monitoring their paper contents comparing with those of competitors, and being on constant lookout for news and clues for stories.

Editorials, not necessarily written by chief editors, represent another category of views —institutional stand on specific issues. This is the general practice everywhere unless a news publication makes do with skeleton and overstretched staff members. TRN is no different. Its founder editor Barun Shumsher Rana used to write an editorial whenever there was an abruptly acute shortage of hands due to bedridden staff members and others who were on leave in connection with other reasons.

For many years, Mana Ranjan Josse wrote five editorials every week. On assuming the paper’s leadership in 1976, he stopped writing editorials unless some major issues came up. As editor, he wrote few but significantly important editorials, including the one on the referendum announcement in 1979 and when Nepali Congress leader BP Koirala died in 1982. He toyed with the idea of carrying only one editorial a day instead of two. Eventually, he introduced the policy — something maintained to this day. The Gorkhapatra followed suit.

This scribe wrote regular editorials when serving as TRN’s executive editor. On being appointed chief editor, he, too, reduced the frequency of editorial contributions. Special occasions like formation of new governments and completion of their first 100 days, drew the editor to contribute editorials.

In 1991, Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi troops into Kuwait and announced the annexation of the oil-rich tiny sheikhdom as his country’s province. The US quickly prepared for ejecting the Iraqi troops from Kuwait. But it delayed action. So I wrote an editorial on the US stand: “More Smoke Than Fire”, which the American Embassy’s cultural wing at New Road prominently displayed in window case for passersby to take a glance at it.

Apparently, Washington was soon to start the action against the invaders in Kuwait. When the Soviet Union engineered a military coup in Afghanistan in winter 1979, Western capitals pro-actively supported the various Mujahedden groups that sprang up overnight to harass and embarrass the foreign communist troops there. Moscow ignored the Afghan history of rejecting, repulsing, expelling and defeating all foreign aggressors.

Slow at learning

After a decade, the Russians left Afghan soil. In late 2001, however, Washington could not resist invading the Taliban-ruled poverty-stricken least developed South Asian country. Two decades later, it withdrew without any glory from that irrepressible Islamic nation. This scribe, as corroborated in the black and white columns of TRN, reminded every few months that the Afghans would eventually compel the foreign forces to quit, and it proved accurate. Those that ignored history met the painful embarrassment they now are inevitably regretting.

Any analyst can go wrong. I am no exception. But many major international issues have been accurately presented, including the assessment that Saddam Hussein, contrary to the Western claim in 2003, did not possess the banned weapons of mass destruction; and that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would continue ruling against Western move to topple him, thanks to Sino-Russian support.

What next? Bangladesh in South Asia and Indonesia in South East Asia deserve attention for the potential they carry as fast emerging economies. African labour supply to China could be significant within the next two decades. Chinese will be a language remarkably popular in the next few decades because of China’s new status expected to outstrip the US as the world No. 1 economy before the end of this decade.

At the same time, China will emerge as a formidable military power — stronger than any European power. The world’s most populous country is already a presence to reckon with in the triangular superpower world.

The formally announced US-India-Japan-Australia Quad will meet its match in the yet-to-be-declared but already fast emerging Russo-China-Pakistan-Iran alliance. Sabre rattling and high pitch propaganda blitz will be part of the propaganda and information disorder in the ensuing times.
That would all the more jack up the significance of free, fair and independent press.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)