Scared Nepal’s media

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that he feared the power of the pen. Perhaps he said true. It has rightly been said that pen is mightier than sword and perhaps it is this fear of the pen that the holders of the pen are killed or maimed. These enemies of the pen do so in order to gag the voice that the pen at times creates panic among them. The fear factor of being exposed perhaps encourages the criminal minded people to kill the holder of the pen.

The fact is that we the Nepalese, more so in the media sector, have been losing our colleagues, senior or junior, at a very fast rate. If this rate is not checked on time then a day will soon come when the holders of the pen will become a rare commodity in Nepal. The likelihood thus remains.

The fact is also that, as the old Nepali saying goes, it is not that the “old lady” has died, but one should take into account that the Lord of Death’ has already entered to our houses.

Uma Singh, our professional colleague working in Janakpur, was killed mercilessly by some unidentified men on the early evening of January 11, 2009.

Why she was killed and that too so brutally? And for what she have had to embrace such a horrifying death are some of the questions that remain yet unanswered. However, what has become clear by now is that Uma Singh was killed only because she had a very strong pen in her hand and that her pen perhaps terrified the enemies of the bold pen to the extent that they preferred to obliterate her persona for ever. Uma is no more with us. She is a history now.

We at this paper were not introduced to this distinguished lady, however, whatever we have heard of her is that she was full of vigor and energy and had made it a point that she would jolt the conservative Nepali society of the Terai plains.

Late Uma Singh stood firmly against the prevailing societal evils in Terai. She fought till her last breathe against the dowry system that prevails in the Terai plains.

Though she herself belonged to upper caste Rajput family but yet she fought for the entire society that even today remains under the grip of the evils and wanted the society to come out from the prevailing evils there.

She was killed. We lost one of our distinguished colleagues. The killing spree must come to an end now.

The government has already declared that she is a martyr now. A welcome decision. Fine. However, will the mere martyr declaration heal the wounds of the media men of this country? Will such a declaration assure the “living” media men that they were safe now onwards? More over, will such a declaration could console the old lady, mother of Uma Singh? Perhaps not. Mere allocation of one million Nepali rupees to the surviving family men of late Uma will further add salt to the wound.

Under one pretext or the other, we are losing our professional colleagues here and there. The government instead of nabbing the merciless culprits instantly declares the slain media men or women as a martyr. Will such a declaration console the hearts of the members of the bereaved family? Certainly not.

Uma Singh, prior to her forced departure from this material world have had to swallow two very very bad news. The first one being the sudden disappearance of her father and second being the similar fate of her brother who was married to a lady from neighboring Indian town-Sitamarhi.

She lost two of her immediate guardians yet she consoled her mind and soul concluding that one fine morning she will locate her lost nearest and dearest relatives.

However, that was not forthcoming. The lost ones never reappeared. Her wish to see them physically present in her front remained a cry in the wilderness.

While writing scathing stories against the prevailing societal order in the Terai plains, she lost her own life. This was too much for the family of the late Singh’s.

With late Singh’s demise, the entire Nepali media sector remains shocked. If the trend that continues today, each and every media men/women should ask him/her now as to whether he or she is the next target of the unidentified killers?

We appreciate the bold initiatives taken recently by the Federation of Nepalse Journalists as regards the mysterious killing of Uma Singh.

We express our sincere condolence on the sudden demise of our professional colleague Uma and would appreciate the government’s steps if it could locate the culprits and bring them all to book! Sooner the better. We don’t want to lose our colleagues any more under any pretext or the other. Enough is enough.

Posted on : 2009-01-20 20:32:49

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