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The image of journalist Suresh Rajak, who was killed during the royalist movement on March 28 this year, comes into my mind as the world marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists 2025. Rajak lost his life in a horrific fire incident in suspicious circumstances while he was filming the demonstration from inside a house for a television channel. Despite the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) forming an investigation committee and repeatedly demanding a state-led inquiry, a proper investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible has yet to begin. In this article, the writer first provides an overview of journalist killings in South Asia, including Nepal, in 2025, followed by an analysis of the current status of justice for slain and disappeared journalists in Nepal. Finally, the article examines the underlying causes of these incidents and explores possible ways to ensure accountability and protect journalists.

Together with Rajak, South Asia witnessed the killing of nine journalists in 2025, according to a report from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) published on 1 Nov  2025. The IFJ also confirmed that by November 2025, India recorded the highest number of journalist killings in South Asia, with four journalists—CH Naresh Kumar, Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, Raghvendra Bajpai, and Mukesh Chandrakar—losing their lives in targeted attacks, bombings or crossfire incidents. In Bangladesh, two journalists—Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin and Khandaker Shah Alam—were killed, while in Pakistan, two media workers—Abdul Latif Baloch and another unidentified journalist—lost their lives. If we look at the global picture,  a total of 99 journalists have been killed so far in 2025, according to the IFJ’s latest statistics. More than half of these deaths—50—occurred in Gaza, Palestine, followed by eight in Ukraine and six in Sudan.

According to UNESCO, 85 percent of journalist killings remain unpunished worldwide. As the majority of journalists killed this year were reporting from war zones, the prospects for justice in these cases are even slimmer.  Globally and regionally, impunity remains the norm rather than the exception.

Let’s return to the case of Nepal. In 2024, Nepal witnessed another tragic killing of journalist Suresh Bhul (30). While local authorities claimed that cattle theft was the reason behind the lynching, reports from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed that Bhul had been receiving threats from local elected officials due to his activism for the right to information and his critical stance on local governance issues.

Decades of impunity

During the decade-long Maoist insurgency (1996–2006) and the post-conflict period, journalists were often targeted by both warring sides and political actors. According to Freedom Forum, 23 journalists were killed between 1996 and 2016—14 during the conflict and nine after the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) of November 2006. Also, the period witnessed enforced disappearance of three journalists during the period, per data from the Freedom Forum. The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has varying data. According to the FNJ, a total of 38 journalists were killed and four had become victims of enforced disappearances up to 2018. Since then, two more journalists—Suresh Rajak and Suresh Bhul—were murdered in 2024 and 2025, respectively

Despite the long list of journalists killed in Nepal, justice has been delivered in only a handful of cases, with convictions achieved in just a few—Dekendra Raj Thapa, Uma Singh, Birendra Shah, Arun Singhaniya and Yadav Poudel. Journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa, abducted and killed by Maoist cadres in 2004, finally received some semblance of justice after 17 years when the Dailekh district court, on 12 Dec 2021, sentenced perpetrators  to life imprisonment. In the case of Uma Singh, a radio journalist murdered on 11 Jan 2009, the Janakpur high court upheld the Dhanusha district court’s verdict, sentencing  culprits to life imprisonment with property confiscation. Progress was made in the 2007 killing of journalist Birendra Shah, with Narendra Faujdar arrested on 27 Oct 2024, and Hareram Prasad Kurmi on 10 Sept 2020, while few other perpetrators had already been sentenced to life imprisonment. 

In another landmark verdict, the Janakpurdham high court, on 21 Sept 2022, sentenced the culprits  to life imprisonment for masterminding the 1 March 2010 murder of media entrepreneur Arun Singhaniya.  In the case of Yadav Poudel, a journalist killed on 3 April 2012, in Jhapa, the appellate court in Ilam, on 8 July 2014, sentenced the perpetrators to life imprisonment. Further, cases of slain journalist Jagat Prasad Joshi and media entrepreneur Jamim Sah remain sub judice in court whereas cases related to the killing of journalists Krishna Bahadur Sen and Gopal Giri are pending before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), reflecting long delays in transitional justice mechanisms. For the remaining majority of cases, the justice process has not even begun.

Justice delayed, justice denied
According to the research article ‘Understanding journalist killings’ by Sabine C Carey and Anita R Gohdes, published in 2020, journalists are frequently targeted because their reporting exposes corruption, human rights violations, organized crime or other politically sensitive issues that may threaten the power, reputation or interests of local authorities and influential actors. Such reporting can challenge entrenched networks of power, making journalists vulnerable to intimidation, threats or lethal attacks. Interestingly, the majority of these cases do not lead to prosecution, largely due to a combination of factors, including the lack of political will on the part of the state, weak law enforcement, insufficient legal protections and an overall lack of accountability.

Way forward

The way forward to address impunity for crimes against journalists in Nepal begins with recognizing and celebrating the rare successes where justice has been achieved, such as in the cases of Dekendra Raj Thapa, Uma Singh, Birendra Shah and Arun Singhaniya. Next, the processes of TRC and other transitional justice mechanisms must be expedited to resolve pending cases like those of Krishna Bahadur Sen and Gopal Giri. Simultaneously, the justice process should commence for the majority of unresolved killings and disappearances, including long-standing cases such as Milan Nepali, Iswor Budhathoki and Suresh Bhul. Strengthening investigative capacity, shielding judicial processes from political interference, protecting witnesses and prioritizing prosecutions even in remote areas are essential for breaking the cycle of impunity.

The author is a media researcher based in Nepal

That Bipin Joshi’s fate was an excruciating personal affront and experience culminating in an unimaginable denouement is unquestionable. His family’s natural concern ending in Bipin’s untimely demise is likewise heartbreaking. My sincere condolences and prayers to them all!

Yet, as tragic as Bipin’s passing is, and as troubling as successive governance of Nepal has been, one ought not—I would even say one cannot—ascribe all blame on the government, the nation, or diplomacy per se, as some writers have done. But I am not blaming them: this has been a flaming, contentious, protracted and emotional issue which—nonetheless-should be cautious with any criticisms.

The external affairs ministry of each citizen’s home country has the prime responsibility to find the right connections and to employ the appropriate mechanisms to seek release of particular hostages. And--whether we like it or not—some countries have more clout than others as a result of experience, connections, funding, effort and cultural insights.
The Government of Nepal’s situation and efforts should be understood in proper context: not as an excuse, rather as the reality within a Gordian Knot of expectations.

Specifically, as can be expected, the government faced emotional entreaties by immediate family as well as supporters and broader public. Diverse levels of ministerial and bureaucratic experience and competence vis à vis hostage negotiation within a highly vicious environment confronted government, demanding:

• Focused ability to deal with unexpected events emanating from official international relationships and practices.
• Focused reliance on personal, sustained propinquity with similar level authorities in all countries which may host Nepali students and workers.
• Ability to directly deal with extreme conflict scenarios, combined with a willingness to search for, enlist and learn from knowledgeable and suitable experts from outside the government. Naturally, there must already be an a priori vetted list of suitable people, though additional focused specialists may also be called on.
• Intense ethnocultural and religious insights.

In this specific circumstance, it was incumbent on the government, i.e. relevant Minister, Ambassador, allied diplomats and related experts, to have sought connections in other countries which have communication with Hamas, while recognising that Gaza also has other militant groups (i.e. Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Astal Militia; Abu Shabab militia) with whom few countries can claim communication. Twelve other countries also had their citizens killed, injured or abducted; and some were better prepared to undertake presumably lengthy efforts to retrieve their nationals.

Diplomacy within such an egregious, volatile conflict can be extremely complicated. Unrelenting internal pressure within Israel to get its own hostages out first is an unenviable but necessary focus by its government. Thus, the context was complex, tragic, and heartbreaking; as of now, it still remains unstable.
Some countries have had much more intensive and/or longer-term collaboration with Israel than others, with several being more strident in their efforts.
Whoever may have been officially involved in seeking the release of Nepalis was therefore up against any combination of:

• Parties at war prioritising their own when seeking release of hostages or prisoners.
• Realisation that, at best, only a few might be released at any one time.
• Closer relationships with Israel by some other nations, with some exerting extreme pressure that only their status, relational longevity and skills could support.

Few negotiations, if any, have been straight forward, and encompassed some combination of:

• Dealing directly with Israel
• Dealing directly with another country that had better connections with and/or within Israel
• Dealing directly with another country that had connections with Hamas (e.g. USA and Qatar. Thailand also had official talks with Hamas by a group coordinated by parliamentary speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha. The group conveyed to Hamas that the citizens were not party to the conflict, but instead part of the around 30,000 Thai laborers who work in the Israeli agriculture sectors. While some had been captured, about 39 were killed in the attacks and about 8,600 repatriated to Thailand). It should be noted that Wan Noor, being an Islamic scholar, may have had advantages. How many other countries’ representatives had thought of having a Muslim expert on their team?
• Dealing directly with Hamas.

Most difficulties actually arise once the preceding is determined, i.e. the (or an) appropriate intermediary or direct contact group is verified. That aspect confirmed, priorities become development of trust via a patient, step by step process of considerable preparation. A snippet of this (Infinity Loop for Optimising Development of Empathy) was outlined in the 1993 updated edition of my book “Fancy Footwork: Entrapment in and Coping with the Nepali Management Model” (Ratna Pustak Bhandar; Kathmandu). Most importantly, this is not a one-day process, rather an iterative effort, building upon hours and days of calm exchanges, slowly evolving trust by building mutual rapport and understanding of each other’s perspective.

Some have suggested that one's religion prevented the ‘Western world’ from caring about a Hindu captive. Such a perspective is unfair, as there were hostages from 13 countries and many—of various religions—died in custody, let alone in the Oct 7 attack at Be’eri. Finding avenues for obtaining release of any hostage is, and has been, a very complex affair.

Other criticism exists regarding allowing students to travel and work in conflict-prone areas instead of prioritizing citizens’ safety. In this sense, Israel has actually provided many Nepalis with earning and learning opportunities whilst engaged in normally safe and useful work. Over 30 years ago Israel had established a highly securitized border which, while having proved to have been exceptionally effective, unfortunately became lax; and the IDF admitted to gross human errors by neglecting intelligence reports. Immediately after the incursion, Israel evacuated 200,000 people from border areas shared with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. In this respect, acknowledgement must be afforded to the GoN for having precautionarily flown out from Israel, within 4 days of the incursion, over 300 of its citizens.

But even a few interior areas distant from Gaza—Eilat, Tel Aviv, even Jerusalem—had drone and rocket attacks. Thus the area of the students’ work had remained safe up to Oct 7.

But if such restrictions were to be formalised, how would the government have prevented over 5000 Nepali (mainly construction) contract workers dying in certain Asian countries; and over 70 Nepalis recruited—some surreptitiously—by Russia, dying in the war with Ukraine. How much effort has the government made to stem such enticements to its citizens? What alternatives currently exist to satisfy a decent living for the families of these citizens? Again, while I am not absolving GoN, the complexity of negotiating in a context of extreme violence demands the symbiotic consideration and understanding of the above points.

It began like a spark—a few viral posts, a digital storm of frustration—and then, in less than 48 hours, entire governments fell in Nepal. Similar protests, revolts and revolutions are erupting across continents, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and beyond. What once took decades of blood and barricades, this new generation accomplished with hashtags, livestreams and open-source strategy.

To the older world, it looks impossible—even suspicious. Surely, some whisper, there must be a “deep state” behind it. Surely, no revolution can succeed without a charismatic leader, a party or a manifesto. They forget: this is not history repeating itself—this is history rewriting itself. GenZ is not waiting for a leader. They are the leader—collectively.

The death of representation

For centuries, humanity has lived under the illusion of representation — governments, kings, parties and parliaments all claiming to “speak for the people.” In reality, they spoke over the people—governing through distance, hierarchy and fear. The digital age shattered that illusion. Technology has exposed what was once hidden—the corruption, the manipulation, the spectacle of power feeding upon itself. The youth who grew up online, whose first teachers were memes, open data and AI chatbots, have no patience for deception. They are subconsciously tired of 'power over people'. They want 'power with people'. They may not yet articulate it in manifestos or doctrines, but their message is unmistakable: “We are done being governed.”

48 hours that shook the world

What took the French Revolution years of bloodshed and the Arab Spring months of protest, the GenZ revolution in Nepal did in two days.

• How?
• Because networks move faster than armies.
• Because code travels quicker than bullets.
• Because consciousness, once shared, cannot be contained.

These uprisings are not about replacing one ruler with another—they are about rejecting the very idea that anyone should rule.

Governance sans government

For the first time in human history, we possess the tools to organize without centralized authority. Imagine digital direct-democracy platforms built on blockchain, AI moderators ensuring fairness and open-source decision-making systems where every voice counts—instantly and equally. This is not a utopia. This is a prototype.

From community-managed food chains to transparent public budgeting through smart contracts, from AI-powered education to global data-driven healthcare—governance without government is already emerging in fragments. GenZ will simply connect the fragments.

The only dilemma ahead

The only dilemma GenZ faces now is a psychological one—they have shaken the old systems, but they may not yet fully see the vision of government-less governance. In moments of uncertainty, they risk falling back into the same old representative traps—supporting one or another version of the systems they just overthrew.

The challenge, therefore, is not to revert, but to reimagine. The future demands that GenZ move forward, not sideways—that they design governance beyond governments, coordination beyond control, and community beyond hierarchy. If they dare to continue the experiment, they might just complete the democratic dream humanity began dreaming centuries ago.

From voting to evolving

Democracy, as we know it, was built for a slower world—when messages took weeks to travel and citizens met once every five years to vote. But GenZ doesn’t wait five seconds to express themselves.

They are building an always-on democracy—participatory, responsive, transparent. They will not vote once and surrender. They will live in a continuous loop of co-creation, decision, feedback and correction—a living, breathing organism of collective intelligence. AI will not rule them; it will serve them—as a neutral tool to manage data, not to manipulate truth.

The end of fear

Every system of control has thrived on fear: fear of chaos, fear of punishment, fear of one another. But the GenZ revolution is not born of fear—it is born of clarity. They have realized that humanity’s greatest experiment—government—has reached its evolutionary limit. It cannot evolve faster than the world it tries to govern. It cannot think collectively enough to solve collective crises.

The liberation that philosophers only imagined and (godless) religions only promised is now a technological possibility: a world without rulers, where cooperation replaces coercion and community replaces authority.

A global self-reboot

The GenZ uprisings are not the end of civilization. They are the upgrade. Old systems will resist, of course. Power never surrenders easily. But no wall can hold back a generation that speaks in code, builds reality in the cloud and dreams beyond flags and borders. The real question is no longer whether governments will survive—it is whether they are still necessary.

In the near future, we may look back on presidents, parliaments and police states the way we now look at feudal lords—relics of a primitive stage in human evolution. And somewhere, between a livestream and a blockchain vote, a GenZ coder will whisper the words that mark the dawn of a new civilization.

The festival of Chhath, which typically begins six days after Diwali-- the festival of lights-- is not only a celebration of devotion but also a symbolic act of fighting against water pollution. Devotees stand and take dips in the water while offering prayers to the Sun god, believing that their closeness to water connects them with the divine and that the benevolent Sun God blesses their families.

As a matter of fact, Chhath aims to unite people in the fight against the environmental hazards. The four-day long festival, which observes the third day as Sandhya Arghya (evening offering), and the final day of Usha Arghya (morning offering), is celebrated on the banks of rivers or ponds. The very essence of this festival rests on the cleanliness of the surroundings, the Ghat and the water. The devotees undertake a rigorous fast of more than 36 hours, offering prayers to both the setting and the rising Sun while standing in the water. They take holy dips and present Prasad to the Sun during both offerings. 

Selection and cleanliness of Ghat

The male members of every family have a solemn duty to reserve an area at the Ghat, the bank of watercourse, by drawing a circle or square in the sand in which their respective family members could take shelter (in sitting mode) on the third and fourth day, that is on the day of evening and morning prayers.  

As there is fair struggle among devotees to secure the best spots, every family reaches with broom and hoe tools to clean and reserve an area at the Ghat. The Chhath spots come alive with the sparkle of hundreds of lit earthen lamps and bulbs used in well-designed tents. 

It has become a common practice to use Sound boxes and other musical instruments to play devotional songs and music to please the gods. However, the devotional songs do not necessarily cause disturbance in society. In Nepal, there have been no cases filed against Chhath Puja organizers for causing noise pollution or disturbance due to these songs. However, in Mumbai, India, every year some members of society file cases against Chhath organizers for audible disturbances caused to residents near Juhu Beach argues Kathryn C Hardy in her work Indian Sound Cultures, Indian Sound Citizenship (2020) published by University of Chicago Press.  

In Nepal's Terai/Madhesh, it is considered auspicious to use cow dung to purify the sand or worshiping spot. Cow dung is valued for its purifying properties, cleansing the area and preparing it perfectly for worshiping the gods. 

Among many values associated with the festival, the value of ‘Suddhi’ (cleanliness) stands out as a fundamental principle, deeply woven into the spiritual and social fabric of the celebration.  Cleanliness, or 'Shuddhi' in Sanskrit, is not merely a physical state but a spiritual and moral concept. It encompasses purity of mind, body, and environment, reflecting a holistic approach to living in harmony with oneself and the cosmos. This principle finds profound expression during the festival, which serve as occasions to purify and rejuvenate both the individual and the community. 

Honouring pure waters 

The Chhath festival glorifies the importance of pure waters. It exemplifies how clean water is central to this festival. Millions of devotees converge at the confluences of sacred rivers and ponds to observe the festival and to offer their prayers to the Sun god. 

The devotees take dip in the holy waters, believing it cleanses them of sins and purifies their souls. This spiritual cleansing is complemented by the meticulous efforts to keep the sites clean and environmentally sustainable, reflecting the deep-rooted connection between spiritual purity and environmental stewardship. 

The festival not only emphasizes on maintaining pollution-free waters but it also advocates for the conservation of soil to sustain life.  During the Chhath festival, there is a message to stand for soil conservation so that it remains fertile for future generations, ensuring abundant crop production globally to prevent famine and malnutrition. Devotees are seen worshiping God to bless them with fertile land so their households can be abundantly nourished with food. 

SDGs

The festival advocates for pollution-free soil and water, cleanliness of ponds and rivers, prayers for agricultural productivity, equality among devotees, and the use of organic foods in Prasad. Women play a central role throughout the festivities. In one way or another, these practices support and reinforce the goals of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including "No poverty", "Good Health and Well-being", "Clean water and Sanitation", "Sustainable cities and Communities", "Gender equality" and "Empowering women in decision making process." 

Eco-friendly 

This eco-friendly festival strictly prohibits the use of non-biodegradable materials. For example, bamboo products, crucial for the ceremonies, are preferred for their biodegradability, showing devotees' deep commitment to environmental sustainability,' argues Akanksha Yadav and Vinita Chandra, in their journal article titled “Chhathi Mai in popular imagination: Exploring narratives, worship and rituals in North India”, published in Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary studies in Humanities.  

The devotees believe that their prayers reach and are addressed by the God when they offer them standing in pure waters. They feel their devotion is incomplete unless they pray while standing in clean water.  The link between Chhath festival and cleanliness extends beyond ritualistic practices to societal norms and values. Cleanliness is not only encouraged for personal well-being but also as a mark of respect for others and the environment. This ethos is reflected while preparing offering food ('Prasad') to deity and then consuming it as a divine blessing, underscoring the sanctity of cleanliness in all aspects of life.

Way forward 

Although its been nowhere prescribed for bombarding of crackers to celebrate Chhath, these days people are seen cracking crackers and ultimately contributing in air pollution. This could be taken as adverse impact of modernization on Chhath. 

The festival serves as powerful reminders of the importance of cleanliness as both a spiritual practice and a social responsibility. Through rituals, customs, and everyday behaviours, the devotees ought to uphold the principle of cleanliness as integral to their way of life, fostering harmony within themselves, their communities, and the natural world.

Its high time we uphold the purity principle of the Chhathfestival throughout the year, keeping our waters and soil clean and actively combating environmental hazards. 

(Jha is author of Beneath the Sun: Equality for Everyone, The Spirit of Chhath Festival)