Radio Nepal Turned Sixty-Eight

Radio Nepal Turned Sixty-Eight

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Radio Nepal turned 68 on April 3, 2018 (Chaitra 20). Sixty-seven years ago in 1951, newly introduced democracy gave birth to the Radio Nepal. Since then, Radio Nepal had ups and downs in its life. It did not have much time to grow up in the democratic environment in 1950s. Then, it went under the tyrannical rule for 30 years from 1960 to 1990. However, it came back to work in the democratic system, and ultimately in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008. The Shah-Rana despotic rulers had not only denied Nepalese folks any Radio Stations but also even listening to the foreign radios made a crime punishable by several years of imprisonment before 1951.

The long struggle of patriotic Nepalese shedding a lot of blood ended the autocratic Rana hereditary portion of the Shah-Rana rule in 1951, and set up a democratic rule in 1951. Immediately, Radio Nepal came to exist as the people’s radio because the people’s movement gave birth to it, and it survived on the people’s sweat.

Radio Nepal did not have a long childhood as the Shah dynastic rule: the main root of the autocratic rule remained thanks to the then NC leader BP Koirala, who accepted the continuation of the Shah portion of the Shah-Rana repressive rule believing ending the 104-year long Rana prime ministerial rule attached to the Shah dynastic rule means the end of the oppressive rule, which was wrong, as the future events had demonstrated.

The future events clearly demonstrated that the Shah dynastic rule was no less cruel and oppressive than the tyrannical prime ministerial rule of the Rana species. So, the Radio Nepal had been crippled for 30 years, and it could not grow, as it should have been thanks to the short political vision of BP who vehemently opposed the NC leaders and colleagues in the democratic movement that wanted to finish off the tyrannical rule no matter whether it was of the Shahs or Ranas once for all.

For his wrong vision, and surely of his erroneous decision, not only BP himself suffered from the bane of political life but also caused his colleagues too undergo the same political condition, and made many political cadre and even leaders lost their lives to the tyrannical rule of the Shah kings.

Not even Radio Nepal turned to 10 when the despot King Mahendra seized the Radio Nepal from the people’s rule and disabled it and ultimately made it to be his mouthpiece and his sycophants in 1960. Mahendra stopped Radio Nepal from airing the news and views in other languages including Nepal Bhasha, and made it to speak only the so-called Khas language, which became Nepali. Thus, Mahendra crippled it and made it the monopoly of the Shah rulers denying the people to have the impartial, independent and decent news and views.

Radio Nepal breathed a great sigh of relief in 1990 when Nepalis rose up against the authoritarian rule of King Birendra, and shoved him within the four walls of the palace in 1990. Thus, Nepalis did not let the Shah king remained an unbridled ruler, and freed Radio Nepal from the shackles of the tyrannical ruler.

Radio Nepal became the people’s radio again. It got the opportunity of serving the folks that had nurtured it. However, the newly elected rulers did not show sincerity to Radio Nepal and tried to make it their mouthpiece and speak and air whatever they wanted. It has happened especially during the nine-month rule of the democratically elected communists in 1994.

After the reintroduction of democracy for the second time in 1990, Radio Nepal lost its monopoly on the radio broadcasting, as about 400 FMs radio came to exist. However, Radio Nepal remained the national radio and the most reliable source of news and views on every sector of the people’s lives after the new life it received in the democratic setup.

Then came the waves of privatization of the State-owned enterprises. Some politicians and even ministers: fans of the privatization came up with the idea of selling the Radio Nepal to a private company. It would have been the death of the people’s radio that has been so fondly nurtured for such a long time, and that has been serving the people except for the period when despots hijacked it, and kept it under their control.

Fortunately, Radio Nepal remained in the State sector and would remain as the people’s radio probably forever. Most of the fans of privatization have also realized the need of Radio Nepal for impartial news and views in the State sector. Radio Nepal has been only the radio that aired the reliable and dependable news, as most of the radios have been for airing the most appealing, pleasing and sensational news without verifying the consistency and dependency of news and views.

Again the head of the authoritarian ruler rose up challenging the people’s rights to information and the independence of the Radio Nepal. The Shah authoritarian rule demonstrated its deep-seated root of oppressive nature, and again the Radio Nepal became the first victim of the despotic rule in 2000s. However, Nepalese folks not only stopped the dictatorial rule but also even cut off the head of the oppressive rule.

Now, Radio Nepal is as free as any bird that could fly and roam in the world of freedom. It has been airing the news and views in several national languages. All Nepalis of different ethnic groups, culture, faiths and languages have enjoyed the most up-to-date news and views the Radio Nepal has been airing.

Currently, Nepal Radio has been branching to the seven provinces. It would soon have its branches at the provinces airing the news and views about local politics, culture, and religion in the local languages.

So, Radio Nepal would be soon operating in provinces, and at the center, too. Then, folks would have the opportunity of listening to the local and federal Nepal Radios. They would be serving the local folks with news and views in their languages. It is the beauty of the republic and democracy in which every folk is treated as equal. Nobody is above or below anybody but everybody is on the same level thanks to the republic and democracy.

Radio Nepal had to suffer as everybody in the country from the non-visionary decision of the NC leader BP Koirala in 1950s, many youths had to sacrifice their beautiful lives for all Nepalese folks to have the rights to live honorably again and again. Finally, Nepalese removed the despotic element of the rule forever, and people would have the rights to live and die, as they want. The time of the oppressive rulers denying Nepalis even listening to the foreign radios had gone long ago, and the media freedom has been the order of the day.

April 3, 2018