An Ideally Assertive Editor

Gokul Prasad Pokhrel, who passed away on January 1st, was chief editor of the Gorakhapatra daily when Nepal was preparing for its first (and till date last) referendum which was to decide the political system suited for the country—by retaining existing partyless Panchayat system ‘with suitable reforms’, or opting for a multiparty structure similar to the ones practiced in India and the United Kingdom. King Birendra had announced the referendum, responding to the student agitation witnessed in early months of 1979. It was around that time I was recruited as a sub-editor for the Nepali language daily. And Pokhrel was the first editor I met. Bharat Koirala, Gorakhapatra Sansthan’s chairman-cum-general manager, also introduced me to the Rising Nepal editor, Mana Ranjan Josse (MRJ). 

Together with Koirala, who already had a stint as the editor of Gorakhapatra, Pokhrel and Josse formed a troika—known for their assertiveness. Their views were patiently listened to by the senior royal palace officials who obviously were in regular contact with the king. Needless to emphasise, the king in that era wielded considerable authority in the state affairs. And every now and then, state functionaries, located at Singha Durbar to formally govern the country, invited (‘summoned’ would not be the right word) the troika for consultations on emerging national issues. Campaign period leading to the referendum voting (2nd May 1980) lasted for about ten months. While newspapers in the private sector (there were no privately-run radio networks) enjoyed unfettered freedom to write about the boons of the multiparty system, the official media outlets, however, quickly began to feel the euphoric start would not last long.

Slowly, high-placed officials found it expedient to unofficially advise the official media heads to be supportive to the partyless campaigners. The minister holding information portfolio at the time purportedly urged the troika to be sympathetic to the status quoists. But since ministerial persuasiveness appeared at variance with the monarch’s desire to genuinely understand public perception of—and commitment to—democracy in the kingdom, Koirala, Pokhrel and Josse expressed their disagreement instantly. They were even ostensibly prepared to quit their posts, an action that would have been a huge embarrassment to the transitional government.     

Gentle & unassuming

MRJ remembers, through a social media post, his friend and colleague Pokhrel as the “most gentle and unassuming journalist.” And in his view, Pokhrel belonged to “modern Nepal’s first generation of newsmen.” This statement contains an eloquent tribute to a person with whom he had an enviable camaraderie. And, as MRJ has further noted, Pokhrel wore many hats including that of founder and chair of Nepal Press Institute (NPI). 

Now a couple of points about NPI. This institution was founded in 1984 and I happened to be in the core team that initially ran NPI’s flagship training programme (10-month course) for men and women aspiring to be journalists. My association with Pokhrel which began at Gorakhapatra continued for several years through NPI. Many of us today can fathom how much relentless efforts were required to convince the authorities under Panchayat dispensation about the usefulness of such an entity for a forward-looking society. Fortunately, persuasive Pokhrel received active support for this pursuit from several journalists including influential Bharat Koirala and seasoned editor Gopal Dass Shrestha of ‘The Commoner’, the kingdom’s first English language daily. Shrestha represented the private sector where news outlets were freer to report events and offer independent views on contemporary issues.              

Incidentally, there is a separate story on how the NPI project got expedited. Ironically, it came in the form of an unpleasant incident: Pokhrel was once suspended from the editor’s duty, in the 1980s. It was related to a timeless news report on the country's national museum and its prized possessions. Those included guns and military equipment that Nepali soldiers had snatched from their foes during Nepal’s war with Tibet (circa AD 1788).There was nothing wrong about the reportage itself, but the timing of its publication was not considered right : the story got into print literally on the eve of an official visit to Nepal by China’s president Li Xiannian. 

Incredibly true

In the opinion of palace officials, it was a deliberate act and amounted to great awkwardness; hence they insisted for an instant ‘action’. Although it was his colleagues at the reporting unit directly responsible, editor Pokhrel took the moral responsibility, and agreed to be suspended in order to facilitate an investigation. Incredible but true, Pokhrel refused to be disheartened. On the contrary, he utilised that ‘free time’ to push through his dream project. He rightly argued that journalism skills need to be imparted to the emerging generation who would eventually cater to the needs of the expanding media sector. This was how NPI was born, in 1984. Anyway, the suspension notifications issued to him and three other journalists were rescinded afterwards. As is clear, that particular unforeseen incident turned out to be a silver-lining as far as NPI is concerned.

Pokhrel’s commitment to a free press always remained steadfast and discernible. He knew free press was feasible only in a democratic environment. And he would not hesitate to express his belief whenever necessary although he was perceived to be the least vocal member of the troika. One striking example of this occurred in July 1982. When BP Koirala passed away the king’s press secretary summoned the heads of official media organisations to the palace to discuss the quantity and quality of the coverage it deserved, the troika from Gorakhapatra Sansthan openly hesitated to demonise the works Koirala had done as prime minister (1959-60), and the political role he played afterwards. Pokharel’s interview to Naresh Fuyal of Baarakhari online, published on 29th December 2018, contains some of the relevant information pertaining to the palace discussion at that time. 

As far as I recall, upon return from the palace meeting, Pokhrel promptly put pen to paper and produced an editorial to be printed in the next day’s newspaper. The editorial comment visibly hailed Koirala’s contributions for the country. To the intelligentsia of that time, it was a remarkable stand coming out from the newspaper traditionally recognised as official. As a junior colleague in Pokhrel’s editorial team, I was close enough to learn about the assertiveness of my boss and other members of the troika. Their works and bold stand continue to be a source of inspiration.  

 (Adhikary is a journalist active since 1978 and writes on regional issues. dhrubahari@gmail.com)