The fourth Himal Media Mela on Friday, 25 July coincided with the 25th anniversary of Nepali Times, and workshops throughout the day focused on how the media can increase its reach and revenue in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. In his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-reboot">opening remarks</a>, Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit spoke about the accelerated changes in the media sphere, and how legacy media exists in the digital space. “Big Tech has gradually dismantled the structures of content moderation,” said Dixit. “Algorithmic authoritarianism has polarised society, fuelling conflict and intolerance.” “The forces undermining democracy and freedom of expression through disinformation and fake news are the same people who are also vaccine and climate deniers, warmongers who cheer genocide, fan flames of ultra-nationalism and sectarianism,” Dixit continued.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250725050756_cf765c9e446e9a9b325ba8562b57446112e8751b8cf8d546b5d75031a46554f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250725050756_cf765c9e446e9a9b325ba8562b57446112e8751b8cf8d546b5d75031a46554f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1385" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025"> <figcaption>Welcome address by Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit. All photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  However, even as operators of social media platforms are increasingly controlling how and to what degree the audience is able to connect with news and journalists, digital networks can also be a means of uniting against oppression and promoting public interest journalism. So controlling the internet because it has become violent is not the solution. Rather, Nepal should seek strict guidelines and their compliance, not by punishing journalists using irrelevant laws, as has been the case lately. “When we block platforms — along with the untruth, the truth also disappears,” noted Dixit. In her keynote, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-will-never-be-out-of-fashion">Manisha Pande</a> of digital portal Newslaundry in India underscored the increased significance of journalism in the age of social media and AI. “In a democracy, journalism and access to clear, credible information is like access to clean water,” said Pande. “It is what allows people to make sensible electoral choices and it makes all the difference between a democracy and an autocracy.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160732_57f331e6fe568fa0b114412e69793a182e10f9f1a526ca5325fa0be2ed9f1b01.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250726160732_57f331e6fe568fa0b114412e69793a182e10f9f1a526ca5325fa0be2ed9f1b01" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>Keynote speaker Manisha Pande of Newslaundry. </figcaption> </figure>  But the media industry finds itself in a financial crisis today, brought on by social media as well as economic collapse since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly, Newslaundry which was launched in 2012, is a 100% ad-free: no Google ads, no corporate ads, no political funding, and fully sustained by subscribers, allowing them greater independence. In an age when facts do not matter, journalism needs to be more proactive and go where the audience is. Said Pande: “We need to use the internet and social media tools we have to repackage traditional journalism in a way that is interesting to the audience.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160748_2041be8704d2347b2dedac87a4814dfa26b686808889f5b70371bf98d9a9842f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250726160748_2041be8704d2347b2dedac87a4814dfa26b686808889f5b70371bf98d9a9842f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025"> <figcaption>Networking during the Himal Media Mela 2025.</figcaption> </figure>  Designing a new digital space for journalism Echoing her sentiment was Anup Kaphle of Rest of World as he led the first session, Designing a New Digital Space for Journalism. “You have to meet your audience where they are, which is on their phones and social media,” said Kaphle, also noting that social media can be a “double-edged sword that is excellent for distribution but also vulnerable to misinformation.” Kaphle was previously Chief Editor of The Kathmandu Post, and has held Editorial positions at Buzzfeed, and The Washington Post. His talk focused on how newsrooms can evolve to thrive in the new digital media environment, and the need to accept that fact that how people consume text has fundamentally changed.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160744_f332b61bdf6dc7317dd960a2682f91f3aa594347c3aec2b484b5a8654207c74e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250726160744_f332b61bdf6dc7317dd960a2682f91f3aa594347c3aec2b484b5a8654207c74e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> <figcaption>Himalkhabar editor Santa Gaha Magar with speaker Anup Kaphle of Rest of World. </figcaption> </figure>  The attention economy was a big focus of the talk. Most people are watching short form content on their phones - think TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts. “Every journalist should be able to go on camera and summarise their story in 30 seconds,” said Kaphle, also pointing out that building a loyal community of readers comes from consistency, quality, and trust Kaphle also emphasised the need to think about revenue, beyond the obsolete model of relying only on ads, and instead build diverse income streams, such as user generated revenue. He gave examples of the New York Times' metered paywall, where users get a certain number of free articles a month, and then The Guardian, which does not have a paywell but make convincing appeals for voluntary support from readers. There are also others that put most, or all of their content behind a hard paywall. An adjacent model is memberships, where paying members get access to events, behind-the-scenes, newsletters, or early access to content.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160744_a0d0029a1584fbd5367b3dc03776c16c54dd97f3a7a8164f8f0e23a1eef2ac1e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250726160744_a0d0029a1584fbd5367b3dc03776c16c54dd97f3a7a8164f8f0e23a1eef2ac1e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> </figure>  “More and more newsrooms are opening up to their audience, talking to them about what kind of problems they would like to be solved,” said Kaphle, adding that publications with particularly loyal audiences may also think about merchandising —— think The New Yorker totes. In the meantime, there are a few fundamental things that make a story worth paying attention to. Can stories help readers understand complex information? Do stories add unique value? Are there news needs that are not being met? Are you tracking if, and when, your audience is reading? Do you have a journalistic mission that you are transparent about? TikTok and Journalism Meanwhile, Emad Zafar, head of communication from TikTok South Asia, said that while advertising models have put pressure on journalism, TikTok has emerged as a platform that promotes more democratised content.&nbsp; That has meant that even nations that call themselves democratic have put a blanket ban on the platform, citing concerns of privacy, national security, and safety. Nepal also banned the platform in November 2023, saying the social media platform is spreading social discord, but lifted it last year.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160748_a21a30928e26e5f4f63f6f89f4fa7fc47cbbdeb1e94b3b31a57d720ae7ead08a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250726160748_a21a30928e26e5f4f63f6f89f4fa7fc47cbbdeb1e94b3b31a57d720ae7ead08a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> <figcaption>Karan Parihar of TikTok South Asia.</figcaption> </figure>  Despite being banned in numerous nations, including the most populous country in the world, the numbers that represent the platform are staggering. One in eight people across the world are on TikTok, creating 66,000 videos every minute. One billion people are on the platform every month.&nbsp; These figures make it clear why the platform is so important for journalists to get their content out to a much larger audience, said Karan Parihar of TikTok South Asia.&nbsp; Mamta Siwakoti, TikTok’s Trust and Safety Program Manager, explained the platform’s community guidelines and how journalists can use the platform, even as misinformation has become a major concern for users. TikTok has 21 fact-checking partners, which provide the platform with verified and real time information.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160732_407aeb7d1f657b6aac8451795da0353aad8baa9b6839930aa1cc9087395e29ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250726160732_407aeb7d1f657b6aac8451795da0353aad8baa9b6839930aa1cc9087395e29ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1367" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>TikTok’s Trust and Safety Program Manager Mamta Siwakoti.</figcaption> </figure>  “Freedom of expression needs to be balanced with human rights,” said Siwakoti. “We consult experts while creating community guidelines, so that it serves our wider purpose of safety and security of our users.” Design and niche content Swarup Nhasiju Shrestha’s Design Sense for Journalists focused on shooting high quality video stories. Nhasiju is the creative head at V-Chitra advertising agency, and has done design and layout for many Nepali newspapers. “Your objective is to stop the scroll - nobody has the time to read anymore,” said Shrestha. He listed out the main types of shots and what they do for the story. A closeup of the face shows the subject’s emotions, a wide shot gives context to what is happening, and an unusual shot can show the subject in a different perspective. Cut every second that doesn’t move the story forward.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160736_b44d99be23087ee79eac0bc0fff39a75e000263a4bedc80c44eb32295bf4089a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250726160736_b44d99be23087ee79eac0bc0fff39a75e000263a4bedc80c44eb32295bf4089a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>Designer Swarup Nhasiju Shrestha of V-Chitra advertising agency during his session.</figcaption> </figure>  Shrestha also emphasised the importance of audio. “The audience may forgive shaky video, but not bad audio.” As for text on videos, short sentences, in sans serif font, in black and white, is the easiest to read. Thumbnails are the new front page of a newspaper should have faces, action, and high contrast. In the meantime, a main piece of content can be split up into 3-4 minute ‘mini’ pieces that are less than a minute long. These get the most views, and can funnel viewers to the longer videos. And counterintuitively, release trailers after the main video. This way, anyone who sees a trailer and is interested, can go watch the main video right after. Also talking about high-impact video content was Sojan Prajapati of Kathmandu ko katha who started out with an aim to inform the public about culture and heritage.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160736_822c94baf230a97d92d3dad3f77c2db47d0d987aedac5ee62c2a4dba47479f91.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250726160736_822c94baf230a97d92d3dad3f77c2db47d0d987aedac5ee62c2a4dba47479f91" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>Sojan Prajapati of Kathmandu ko katha.</figcaption> </figure>  In his session, Niche Content Creation, Prajapati told the audience how he has also used his platform ‘Speak up Nepal’ on Instagram for social issues, went on to push 21 petitions to the House of Representatives, 11 of which are yet to be discussed, while four have been resolved. The main purpose of journalism should lie in reinstating hope and faith in citizens in a world which is constantly consumed by negative rather than positive news, he said. “Virality and vulnerability have a connection. There should be positive reinforcement for something good. You just have to be genuine for content creation, genuineness pays off well.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160748_8671ccafef079346e3fb3ae3a06129089e38be807be28d4ff63b1caec65dfada.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250726160748_8671ccafef079346e3fb3ae3a06129089e38be807be28d4ff63b1caec65dfada" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160748_9d0f6bfeda6cfc73ed16aa2cf6308a67d2e58b239ac81c4cda144fa9e0cd6e62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250726160748_9d0f6bfeda6cfc73ed16aa2cf6308a67d2e58b239ac81c4cda144fa9e0cd6e62" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> </figure>  Future of the news In the last session of the day, The Future of News, Sundeep Narwani spoke about how AI and journalism intersect, and that AI can help journalists in copyrighting, social media captions, editing and translation that help reduce the cost of human resources. Generative AI, in turn, is getting more refined as we feed it with more data. Perplexity and Gemini in particular are competing to become real time search engines.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160748_74c59cba8159f704dadf6fe8f53532c8cbe1ccb15387da6c0788d7d2abc51085.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20250726160748_74c59cba8159f704dadf6fe8f53532c8cbe1ccb15387da6c0788d7d2abc51085" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="HImal Media Nepal 2025"> <figcaption>Sundeep Narwani spoke about AI and the future of journalism.</figcaption> </figure>  “Agents are beyond bots. A lot of things will become automated, making things serious and sensitive, even leading to loss of jobs,” said Narwani while also urging users to be careful of biases. Even search engines such as Google have been found to favour certain subjects while powerful figures have had the platform remove or clean their names. This was in line with a session earlier in the day where Naresh Newar showcased a fake video demonstrating the power of AI, and how it could be misused, urging media institutions to come up with guidelines, to not rely overly on these tools.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160736_9270a6f0c5b70d6ce5dccb78bc1d24682b28cf0008ea4aadea689eb3ecececa3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250726160736_9270a6f0c5b70d6ce5dccb78bc1d24682b28cf0008ea4aadea689eb3ecececa3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>Tech writer Naresh Newar.</figcaption> </figure>  Pollster Madhu Acharya of Sharecase Data Initiative had sobering but optimistic insights. Comparing Nepal Media Survey results of the past year, Acharya deduced that tv had the most viewership in Nepal, but 20% of its revenue was coming from YouTube, while radio was the most trusted, even though it is seeing a rapid decline in audience, and those who remain are mostly older men. Newspapers, on the other hand, was still one of the most trusted sources, however, it is the source of news for only a little over 5% people. More surprisingly, it is the younger crowd between 18-24 who are reading newspapers the most. On the other hand, online outlets are the new mainstream with most readers between 35-59. Social media has the largest engagement with YouTube, Facebook and TikTok leading the race. In fact, 11.1 million Nepalis are watching YouTube daily, but these platforms have the lowest level of trust.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250726160736_c08e5abacdf87f66f21bd4f1ff05567d9dcd63271e34adce04b121dbeafdcc4b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250726160736_c08e5abacdf87f66f21bd4f1ff05567d9dcd63271e34adce04b121dbeafdcc4b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025 NT"> <figcaption>Madhu Acharya of Sharecase Data Initiative presenting the latest findings of the Nepal Media Survey.</figcaption> </figure>

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The present and future of news

हिमालमिडियाले हरेक वर्ष मनाउँदै आएको हिमाल मिडिया मेलाको यो चौथो संस्करणमा उपस्थित सबैलाई स्वागत ।&nbsp; महिनै पिछे विश्वव्यापी सूचना र सञ्चार प्रणालीले अर्को फड्को मारेको हुन्छ। विगत २ महिनामा नै एआई-संचालित उपकरणहरू अचम्मसंग फैलिएका छन।&nbsp; सामाजिक सञ्जालका प्लाटफर्महरुले पाठकहरूलाई परम्परागत समाचार प्रदायकहरूसंग जोडिदिने क्रम जानिजानि घटाउँदै छन।&nbsp; बिग टेकले कन्टे्ट मोडरेसनको संरचना एक पछि अर्को गर्दै हटाएका छन ।&nbsp; यो एल्गोरिथ्म-मय अधिनायकबादले समाजलाई ध्रुवीकृत गर्दै, द्वन्द्व र असहनसिलतालाई बढावा दिएको छ। कलम चलाउने बितिक्कै झम्टी हाल्ने, बोल्योकि क्रोध र ईर्ष्या बर्षिहाल्ने। &nbsp;पत्रकारहरुलाई शत्रु ठान्ने, “१२ भाई” भनेर चिढ्याउने, “डलरबादी” भन्दै धम्क्याउने, “पत्रुकार”को बिल्ला लगाएर ट्रोल गर्ने क्रम बढ्दै छ । तर त्यही नै डिजीटल संजालहरु फेरि उत्पीडनसँग लड्न एक्यबद्यता जुटाउने, र सार्वजनिक हितको पत्रकारिता फैलाउने माध्यम पनि हुन। त्यसैले, अब इन्टरनेट उग्र भयो भनेर त्सलाई नियन्त्रण गर्दा, प्लाटफोर्महरु ब्लक गर्दा — असत्यसंगै सत्यपनि गुम्छ ।&nbsp; कसरी डिजीटल माध्यमहरुमा उपलब्ध अवसरलाई रक्षा गर्दै सामजिक संजालमा हुने उपध्रोलाई नियमन गर्ने। नेपालमा कडा गाइडलाइन र त्यसको पालना खोजिनुपर्छ, बिद्युतिय कारोबार एन प्रयोग गरेर पत्रकारलाई सजाय दिएर होइन। अंग्रेजीमा भन्ने गरिन्छ, अहिलेको नेपालमा सान्दर्भिक होला: “The exercise of my freedom should not violate yours”. Welcome everyone to this fourth edition of Himal Media Mela. The fact that most of you have paid to be here is proof that you value these interactions at a time of accelerated change in the media sphere.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250725060748_949591d168fbf38f0e1d39b377b1cba0daeabd526ec387e64cc7eb7820ac9802.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250725060748_949591d168fbf38f0e1d39b377b1cba0daeabd526ec387e64cc7eb7820ac9802" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2025"> </figure>  On World Press Freedom Day this year, Reporters without Borders published a map of the world in which each country was colour coded in varying shades of red to match the degree of press freedom there. Most of Asia was a sea of red. Only Japan, Korea — and Nepal — stood out as lonely white islands. Even so, we in Nepal cannot take our freedoms for granted. The forces undermining democracy and freedom of expression through disinformation and fake news are the same people who are also vaccine and climate deniers, warmongers who cheer genocide, fan flames of ultra-nationalism and sectarianism. Swimming against this tide, and fighting the good fight through brave, independent journalism is Manisha Pande of Newslaundry from a neighbouring country to our south with a name that begins with the letter ‘I’.&nbsp; Manisha, we are honoured to have you here, eager to listen to you, and be inspired by your journalism. Welcome.&nbsp; This year’s Media Mela will not dwell too much on the challenges faced by journalism. We all know what they are. So, instead of talkshops, we will have workshops. How can we cover the most important stories that affect the daily lives of Nepalis in such a way that it is watched and read to build public opinion and spur policy reform?&nbsp; In an age when facts do not matter, journalism has to be more proactive and go where the audience is. यसै अवसरको उपयोग गर्दै हिमालमिडिया र यसले लिने नयाँ बाटोको विषयमा अलिकति कुरा पनि राखि हाल्छु। हिमालमिडिया अब मुनाफा वितरण नगर्ने कम्पनीको रूपमा परिणत भएको छ। यसले अझ धेरै &nbsp;व्यक्ति, संस्थाहरूसँग जोडिन र सहकार्य गर्न सहज हुन्छ भन्ने विश्वास लिएका छौँ। यो नयाँ non-profit company मार्फत् हाम्रो पत्रकारिता अझै फराकिलो हुनेछ। समावेशी बन्नेछ। An advance thank you to all the workshop speakers for your time, thank you everyone for participating, and thank you to TikTok for powering this year’s Himal Media Mela. There was a social media post the other day in which someone said (and I quote): “Himal Media Mela powered by TikTok? TikTok requires no attention span, while Himal articles require substantial attention span. This is a bit like a Diabetic Convention powered by Lumbini Chini Karkhana.” जे भएपनि, अन्तमा: आजको कार्यशालाहरुले हामी मिडियाकर्मीहरूलाई एउटा नौलो मौका दिने अपेक्षा राखेका छौँ – कसरी डिजिटल औजारले पत्रकारलाई दिएको उपायहरु सिक्न । धैर्य गरेर सुनिदिनु भएकोमा धन्यबाद। एक पटक फेरि सबै सहभागीहरूमा हार्दिक नमन र स्वागत।&nbsp;

Kunda Dixit

Journalism Reboot

Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

The American military action in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro Moros may redefine Nepal’s geopolitics as it juggles between three world powers, India, China and the United States.&nbsp;
Nepal’s interim government is busy preparing for elections on 5 March, and it was late issuing a statement on the American intervention in Venezuela, but the country may have to re-evaluate how it deals with its immediate neighbours and the global power.
“How does Nepal avoid being the next Ukraine or Venezuela? Small countries shouldn’t go around irritating big neighbours. And when big neighbours really get upset, they usually put up a moral fig leaf justifying their miltary action,” says energy economist Dipak Gyawali. “What we see with Venezuela today is bereft of such moral content, essentially banditry which in today’s day and age is unacceptable. Neither the rising new powers nor much of the Global South will take this lying down.”
International relations experts have said that there is now a new world order in which rules-based diplomacy has been thrown out of the window, and the world has been carved into America leading the western hemisphere, Russia is allowed to do what it wants in Ukraine and Europe, and China’s sphere of influence is now the Indo-Pacific.
Foreign affairs expert Nischal Pandey says there is a lesson for smaller nations like Nepal: “We have to be aware of the sensitivities of the major powers in the vicinity.”
There is also a lesson for smaller resource-rich countries not to give an excuse for intervention with poor governance and political instability due to inequity. In Venezuela’s case it was throttling democracy and not using its immense oil-wealth to uplift its people.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration’s abduction of a sitting president of a foreign government regardless of the dictatorial nature of his regime and Venezuela’s volatile internal politics, is illegal and breaches the international order that has been in place since after World War II and its devastation on humanity.
While Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, and threats against Colombia, Cuba and Greenland have brought international condemnation, here in Nepal it has not been taken as seriously as it should.
Says Amish Mulmi, author of the book All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China: “Some of the reaction on social media has been that of glee over the fall of a dictatorial Communist government on the other side of the world. However, the government statement about fully respecting the principles of sovereignty and the Charter of the United Nations is a strong statement that makes clear Nepal's position on the matter.”
“The abduction of Maduro is a clear sign of Trump's America ensuring its sphere of influence through might and a warning to toe the line,” Mulmi adds. “It also infringes on the sanctity of borders and the preservation of sovereignty. Trump's actions reek strongly of a bygone era of imperialistic control and resource capture.”
Venezuela has 17% of the world’s reserves of crude oil, even though refining this heavy tar-like oil will be costly, and is possible in only a few places including Texas.
“This has to do with a larger political economy of oil, the unravelling of pax Americana and the post-World war II order. This is USA’s heavy-handed response to remain on the top as well as to partly solve its debt of $39 trillion,” explains Gyawali. “But this is not going to help: China is far ahead, Russia has recovered from its 1990s low point, and manufacturing capital has moved away from America. So controlling only financial capital - and using military power so brazenly - is not going to work.”
The might also be specific lessons for Nepal as a smaller country with vast water resources. While water, unlike oil, is renewable, India’s interest in Nepal’s hydro resources cannot be ignored. Ironically, America’s capture of Venezuelan oil reserves could exacerbate climate breakdown and the melting of Himalayan glaciers, which will put Nepal’s water resources in jeopardy in the coming decades.
The only way to deal with this for Nepal and downstream India will be to build reservoirs on rivers to store monsoon precipitation, and that makes water a strategic commodity for the future.&nbsp;
“If we continue in the current mode of hydropower-biased water resources development ignoring irrigation, flood control, navigation, fisheries, tourism and other benefits, India will get the free benefit of regulated water while we pay the upstream environmental and social costs. History will blame our elected leaders for having undersold our resources,” adds Gyawali, who served as water resource minister in the early 2000s.
As for a larger geopolitical lesson: “We in Nepal are fortunate in having not one threatening hegemon but two superpowers India and China: they don’t agree with each other, but do agree on a peaceful Nepal for their own security. However, our current political leaders are irritating both the neighbours, unlike since the centuries past when our rulers looked solely after Nepal’s core interests and our neighbours knew that.”
American intervention in Venezuela also calls for strengthening of our institutions and diplomatic outreach. Nepal has been a non-aligned state, and for all its history has tried to follow a policy of equidistance between India and China. The difference with Venezuela is that Nepal has to deal with two giant neighbours, and not just one.
Says Mulmi: “It is no more only about balancing great power relations but also about benefiting from them. But that will be increasingly difficult as international law and the principles of sovereignty are encroached upon.”

Might might be right, after all

At Budhanilkantha School Ujwal Thapa was a few years my senior. He was a quiet person who kept to himself; I didn’t know him very well despite being related to him because of that introversion and natural shyness. What we did have in common, coming of age in the 1990s, is our generation, GenX, which became weary, inured for the most part, to Nepal’s famously unstable politics.&nbsp; Counting the events of this past September, GenX has, astonishingly, lived through three people’s revolutions, one armed conflict, a flawed but hard won constitution, and a major earthquake. Ujwal Thapa, one of Nepal’s most cherished Gen Xers, despite his previous, youthful reticence, did not long remain a complaisant bystander against the backdrop of these extreme upheavals.&nbsp; By the mid 2000s he had become deeply political, but without the equivocation that so often accompanies politics. Thanks to his lived experience, he came to believe that the youth of Nepal are the key to our future. He believed in discerning wisdom (bibeksheelta), innovation, and nurture. He inspired entire generations, young and old, including GenZ, before his untimely death due to Covid in 2021. He was only 44.&nbsp; By the time of his passing he had started a tech company, and employed and mentored scores of youth. It is important to note that only after he had made a significant contribution to civil society did he turn towards politics, founding and then stepping back from the Bibeksheel Nepali party, which has now, after several complicated mergers and splits, been integrated into the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). When the Ujwal Thapa Foundation set out to make a documentary on his life three years ago, no one could have known that it would premiere at such a crucial point in Nepal’s social and political history.&nbsp; Everything that Ujwal Thapa believed in still holds true. I think he would have been proud to see the youth of our country, GenZ, stand up for themselves, peacefully. He would have been grieved at the state condoned bloodshed, and, believing in non-violent protest himself, been deeply shocked by the savage revolution that followed.&nbsp; Most of all, I wonder how he would have reacted to the publishing of the blatantly elitist RSP proportional representation list - the party that many had pinned their hopes on, and that Bibeksheel Nepali has ultimately been absorbed into. That party now seems like it may be a chip off the rotten old block, ruled by men endorsing rampant nepotism, and outnumbered by people without scruples.&nbsp; Many of the names on the list and the rankings, in particular, disrespect the very spirit of a provision that was created for those competent individuals who would not otherwise be able to contest elections, due to lack of monetary and social capital, but whose marginalised voices are vital for inclusive policy making. There is still time for real inclusion, to embrace a more bibeksheel path, before the March elections.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa’s own, firm, ethical stances are clear in the The Man Who Shook Our Minds, translated loosely from the Nepali title Dimaag Ghhochne Manchhe. While long, at almost two hours, it is filled with thought-provoking and sage counsel. The film also offers very real insight into how Ujwal Thapa evolved into the icon he is today.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> <figcaption>Stills from the documentary.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>  It isn’t easy making a documentary after the passing of the primary subject. While there are many talking heads, the people featured, friends, family, fellow activists and senior politicians are all eloquent in their descriptions of Ujwal Thapa and his transformation from an engaged, civic minded entrepreneur into a committed political leader who among many other commendable things, believed in putting women first, and understood the crucial necessity for a welfare state that would serve its people. The main man is not deified, he is humanised.&nbsp; The feature is punctuated, and leavened, with moments of real humour as his infamous bluntness and occasional domestic haplessness are gently exposed. Another strength of the film is the profound love story between Ujwal Thapa and his brave, brilliant, incredibly resilient wife, Erica Adhikary, the heroine to a real life hero, and a major force behind the making of this film, alongside many of his stalwart wellwishers and friends, old and new.&nbsp; Sushila Karki, the Prime Minister, was present at the premiere of the film with members of her Cabinet. Candid and sincere in her opening remarks, she said she had wanted to attend the moment she heard about the film. She had known Ujwal Thapa, and she had mourned his loss, praying for him during his illness. She wished that leaders like him were here today to show us the way forward in a time of need. The film opened in theatres on the 9th of January, and is an essential viewing experience for anyone who cares about Nepal’s future and wants some insight into how they might make a difference.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He realised that being a civic minded citizen just isn’t enough. To make a real difference, one also needs to be principled, insightful, entrepreneurial, creative, self motivated, able to speak truth to power, uncorruptible, practical, well prepared, and, perhaps, most importantly, able to step back from holding power even after attaining it.&nbsp; The saying by Plato that goes “He who does not desire power is fit to hold it” was surely meant for people like Ujwal Thapa. One can only hope that in the near future more people embodying this description will, however reluctantly, come forward to lead Nepal. Ujwal Thapa worked hard to enable this, they must be out there. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veO1yVM4pS4?si=f0Lcbs1wasyqfnK1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> The Man Who Shook Our Minds is being screened at QFX cinemas across town. Sophia L Pandé is on the Ujwal Thapa Foundation Advisory Board. She is a writer, art-historian and filmmaker, advising on the economic and social potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries. She is Director of Development at the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, and Founding Director of The Kalā Salon, a non-profit space for the arts.

The Man Who Shook Our Minds

Did <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/1921-rendezvous-mallory-pumori-and-everest">George Mallory</a> and Andrew Irvine of the 1924 British Expedition reach the top of the highest mountain in the world? It has been more than a century after the two climbers were last seen just 300m below the summit. And 26 years ago Mallory’s remains were found on the North Face of Everest, while Irvine’s boot was located at its base.&nbsp; Some doubt that the two could have reached the top with the level of equipment and clothing of the time, but others are convinced that at least one of them made it but had an accident on the way down.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Panuru Sherpa on the top of Mt Everest with a client in 2002. He has climbed the peak 16 times.</figcaption> </figure>  Among those who believe Mallory and Irvine were the first to climb Mt Everest, and not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on">Hillary and Tenzing in 1953</a>, are the Nepali guides who took part in the research expeditions in 1999, 2001 and 2004 to find clues about Mallory and Irvine. Mallory’s body was found 8,125m on the North Face in 1999, and Irvine’s detached foot and sock with his initials inside a leather hob-nailed boot was found in 2024 in the Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face. Various expeditions have recovered a mitten, an oxygen cylinder, and ice axe from that expedition. “I believe they reached the summit, and fell on the way down in the dark and bad weather,” says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sherpaland-co-usa">Panuru Sherpa</a>, who has climbed Mt Everest 16 times, including on the northern route taken by four British expeditions in 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1933. “They were making good progress past the Second Step from where it is a much easier hour-and-half to the summit. A climber who reaches that point below the final pyramid does not turn back.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="864" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Mt Everest North Face in China which early expeditions took because Nepal was closed till 1950. The red line is the classic route to the peak, the dotted line is probably what George Mallory and Sandy Irvine took in 1924 to avoid the formidable obstacle of the Second Step.</figcaption> </figure>  Panuru is convinced that the location of Mallory’s body and Irvine’s ice axe shows that the two had not lost their way on their descent. He told Nepali Times in Denver, where he now lives: “Mallory’s body was not decomposed even after 75 years, and his exposed back was white like marble. One of legs was broken, and there was an altimeter and letters written to his wife Ruth in his pocket.” He remembers the search team was happy to locate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/mountains-of-books">Mallory</a>, but it was unable to find one of the three cameras believed to be with the duo that could have held the proof that the two, or at least one of them, had indeed been the first to climb Everest.&nbsp; There was a deep wound around Mallory’s waist, which could have been caused during the fall by the rope which was still found tied around his body. Mallory’s remains were covered in stone slabs at the site after a brief ritual, Panuru recalls. A 1975 Chinese expedition reported seeing the body of a Western climber, which was probably Mallory, near their Camp VI. There are rumours in climbing circles that the Chinese also found a camera, but that the negative could not be developed. Everest summiteers have said the Second Step’s 45m overhanging cliff at 8,610m would have been “essentially insurmountable”, and it is only possible today because the Chinese fixed aluminium ladders to the rock face in 1975.&nbsp; But Panuru agrees with other mountaineering historians who believe Mallory could have decided to take a route below the northeast ridge and bypass the Second Step, following the advice of fellow team member Ed Norton who set the then world record by reaching 8,572m. The other finding that could indicate that Mallory reached the top was that a photograph of his wife Ruth which he intended to place at the summit was not in his pocket.&nbsp; EVEREST CONNECTION Panuru is the son of Nima Tsering Sherpa, who was a part of the 1953 expedition to Mt Everest that made Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay the first climbers on the world’s highest peak. Nima carried loads for that expedition up to the South Col. Nima had eight sons and a daughter, Panuru is the sixth, and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-most-prolific-mountaineering-clan"> most of his siblings are also climbers</a>. After the successful 1953 expedition, Nima spent time grazing yaks, growing potatoes and raising his family in Phortse. He joined expeditions to support the family. The young Panuru would meet mountaineers who stopped by at the family’s tea house in Phortse. He has walked the Jiri route to Kathmandu many times, and his eldest brother who worked for Mountain Travel Nepal got him a job as a trekking guide. Panuru ended up joining expeditions, climbing Everest from both sides multiple times. Panuru Sherpa’s brother Danuru was the youngest member of the 1999 expedition, and a year earlier had first climbed Everest from the Nepal side when he was only 18. The siblings are now chefs at the Sherpa House in Colorado.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="523" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Brothers Panuru and Danuru Sherpa are now working in Golden, Colorado, and lead occasional climbing trips in the Rockies and Alaska.</figcaption> </figure>  In 2001, both brothers were members of another expedition composed of 20 foreign and 21 Nepali climbers led by David Hahn that tried to find Irvine in the same area of the North Face, guided by the discovery of Irvine’s ice axe in a 1933 expedition as well as sightings of what was believed to be his body near the ridge above. No more clues were found then, or in 2004 when Danuru returned for another search expedition. Remnants of Irvine and Mallory’s Camp VI were found at 8,600m during the 2001 expedition, only about 300m from where Mallory’s body was located.&nbsp; “It was probably dark when Mallory fell because his snow goggles were in his pocket,” says Danuru, who has taken part in the three search expeditions on the north side and is also convinced the two fell on their way down after reaching the summit. Altogether 13 people died on Everest during the three expeditions that Mallory was involved in, of which nine were Nepali porters, cooks and guides who were hired in Darjeeling before the march-in. “Chomolungma and Sherpa are synonymous,” says Danuru. “It was Chomolungma that made the Sherpa people famous globally, and it was Sherpas who made it possible to climb Everest.” Konrad Anker, who led the 1999 team that found Mallory’s body, doubts that one or both the climbers reached the summit in 1924, mainly because of the difficulty of climbing a cliff at 8,600m with the kind of gear they had.&nbsp; “It is possible, but unlikely they climbed the Second Step with 1920s equipment, but even getting to that altitude back then was an incredible accomplishment,” he has said. After the expedition, Anker and Panuru worked together to set up the Khumbu Climbing Center to upgrade the technical skills of Nepali guides. Panuru has also trained hundreds of fellow Nepali guides, and many of them regard him as a mentor. Panuru knew the need for better training because he himself had been badly wounded during a fall into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall in one of his early expeditions in 1992 and had to be evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu.&nbsp; But the very next year, he was back on the mountain. He climbed Everest from the north with a Korean team in 1994, and a year later got to the top again from the north side with an American expedition. He summited again from the Nepal side in 1996, and nearly died in an avalanche on the north side that killed a fellow Sherpa in 1997.&nbsp; So far, Panuru has climbed Everest 16 times, Cho Oyu 14 times from both sides, Xixapangma four times, five other eight-thousanders in Nepal, and Ama Dablam six times. He was the first Nepali to ascend Gurla Mandhata in Tibet. After emigrating to the United States, he has climbed Mt Denali (6,190m) in Alaska three times while also being a part of a volunteer rescue team.&nbsp; Irvine’s boot was found by an expedition led by American climber Jimmy Chin in the Rongbuk Glacier, probably transported there from the base of the face by the movement of ice in the past 100 years. Asked why he climbed Everest 16 times, Panuru echoes George Mallory: “Because I was there.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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