Anuradha Sharma - The target was Kanak Mani Dixit but the axe fell on 'Himal Southasian' in Nepal
Murky politics in
Nepal and a personal vendetta appear to have combined to close down a liberal,
pan-regional news and analysis magazine that has been in business for 29 years.
Last month,
Kathmandu-based Himal Southasian announced that it will suspend publication from
November. The August 24 announcement by the Southasia Trust, which publishes
the quarterly magazine, said “suspension was the only option” because of
“non-cooperation by regulatory state agencies”. Grants meant for Himal
Southasian were not being approved, work permits for non-Nepalese
editorial staff were not renewed, and there were unreasonable delays in
processing payments for international contributors.
The announcement came
four months after the magazine’s founding editor, Kanak Mani Dixit, was arrested by the Commission for the Investigation of
Abuse of Authority – Nepal’s apex constitutional body for corruption control –
on charges of “irregularities” related to a transport cooperative board that he
is chairman of. Dixit was released 10 days later, after the Supreme Court described his custody as “illegal”.
Himalayan blunder?
In 2013, Dixit led a
delegation at Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepal’s government, to protest against
the proposed appointment of the bureaucrat Lokman Singh Karki as the chief
commissioner of the anti-corruption body.
Dixit was accompanied
by Shambhu Thapa, a lawyer and civil rights activists. They were opposed to
Karki being appointed to that post because he had been previously found guilty
of suppressing the People’s Movement, and was also tainted with regard to a
gold smuggling case. But Karki went on to
take over as commissioner in May, 2013. In September, 2013, the Department of
Revenue Investigation, reportedly at the behest of the anti-corruption body
that Karki now headed, raided Thapa’s law firm. Dixit’s arrest came
two-and-a-half-years later.
“There is revenge
behind it,” journalist Ameet Dhakal said about the twin cases, writing in Setopati, an online news
magazine that he edits. The attacks on Himal Southasian are
said to be an escalation of the same vindictiveness. CK Lal, a
Kathmandu-based political columnist and a vocal critic of Dixit’s, said the Himal
Southasian founder was the main target “because he has angered very
powerful people” with his activism. Lal, who spoke to Scrollover
the phone, added: “He developed political interests in Nepal…[In politics,] you
earn supporters, but also gain enemies.”
So, while the aim was
Dixit, the axe fell on Himal Southasian, which was a soft target.
The pan-regional magazine, being a niche publication, enjoys little mass
following despite its fame throughout South Asia. “It has nothing to do with
Nepal’s politics as such,” said Lal. “This apart, the magazine’s agenda does
not particularly endear itself to the masses either. For example, in its
support for Kashmir, or Tibet, it is pitted against India and China, angering
nationalists on both sides.”
“Nobody cares much for
it [Himal Southasian] here,” added Lal, explaining why there’s little
public opinion on the recent crisis facing the magazine. “The authorities did
not risk anything by targeting it.” Dixit conceded that
his Nepal-based activism was the primary reason behind the closure of the
magazine. “My Nepal-based activism, including against Maoist violence,
autocratic kingship, against Hindutva defined into the new constitution, the
definition of federalism and lastly the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as
the head of the anti-corruption commission, has been the primary reason for the
closure of the magazine," Dixit said in an email to Scroll.
‘India hand’?
“Geopolitics is at
play,” said Lal. In Kathmandu, it is
widely believed that Karki’s elevation as commissioner of the powerful
anti-corruption body was facilitated by Indian intelligence officials. Karki is
still believed to work closely with them. Many see him as an “India plant”, one
reason why politicians are afraid of risking his wrath, said a person at the
Southasia Trust, who did not wish to be identified... read more:
http://scroll.in/article/816874/the-aim-was-kanak-mani-dixit-but-the-axe-fell-on-himal-southasian-in-nepal