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We have all heard about blood and organ donations. But donate hair? Yep, whether you have heard about it or not, you can donate your hair right here in Nepal.

Earlier, cut hair that accumulated in salons and parlors in Kathmandu were disposed off as waste. This was until Koshish Nepal, an NGO, joined hands with Mayas Beauty Parlor to collect hair from willing donors and turn them into wigs for those who have lost hair for medical various reasons. “Koshish Nepal makes wigs for cancer patients or those suffering from hair loss for other medical reasons,” says Sujina Silpakar, the NGO’s president. The organization, established a year and half ago, is first-of-its-kind.

Lalitpur’s Manisha Dulal, 26 had donated her hair in December 2019 before going to Australia. “The concept was still very new back then. It was by pure chance that I found about Koshish online and decided to donate my hair.”

 Another donor Anjita Pathak, 25, from Chitwan also donated her hair for the first time in August 2019. “I was wanted to donate but was struggling to find the right channel before a friend suggested Koshish Nepal,” she says, adding that she plans to donate again.

Namrata Pradhan, 25, also from Chitwan, has a similar story. She also donated her hair to Koshish Nepal through Mayas Beauty Parlor a year ago. “I have witnessed hair loss in cancer patients many times. I thought the least I could do for them is give them my hair,” she says. 

Mayas Beauty Parlor and Koshish Nepal had also co-organized a hair donation campaign in 2019. “As far as I know, we’re the first and only salon facilitating hair donation in Nepal,” says Gita Giri of Mayas Beauty Parlor. According to Giri, Koshish Nepal has a team of doctors and nurses who oversee the health of potential hair recipients and determine if they are ready for the wigs.

Giri says Nepali women from as far afield as the US and Australia have been in contact, expressing their interest in hair donation. “The response has been overwhelming. Now even men can donate their hair,” she adds. The donors also get certificates.

“It’s a win-win: We do not charge for hair-cut and the needy patients get hair for free,” Giri says. 

It’s not an easy process though. Hair from around 15-20 donors is needed just to make a single wig. Altogether, it takes 3-4 months to prepare. Six or seven people had been donating their hair on each event before the Covid-19 outbreak put a stop to it.

As the concept of hair donation is still new, people have many misconceptions about the process, Giri explains. Most people do not know about it and even when someone wants to donate, they are skeptical about whether their donation will reach the intended beneficiary.

“I initially had my doubts, but then Koshish Nepal was a credible organization. They even gave me a certificate,” Pathak, the donor, adds. Other donors also express their satisfaction and laud the transparency in the process.

To maintain such transparency, videos and photos of the donated hair are regularly posted on social media and the donors are informed. Lack of funding is the main crutch for the charity work. “There is a high demand of hair from cancer patients but with our limited funding and resources, we’re struggling to meet the demand,” she says.

Fearing the outbreak of Covid-19 in local communities, Bhaktapur municipality has barred hosting the iconic ‘Ghintang Ghishi’ dance organized in the area every Gai Jatra. Also, the municipality will not allow the burning of effigies during the ‘Gatha Muga:’ festival. A meeting held at the municipality office on July 14 decided to celebrate Gai Jatra only as a formality this year, and to not organize any cultural event that would draw a big crowd, says Sunil Prajapati, the mayor of Bhaktapur. 

Gai Jatra is celebrated in all three districts of Kathmandu Valley but compared to Kathmandu and Lalitpur’s one-day celebrations, Bhaktapur’s nine-day Gai Jatra is a grand affair of carnivals, cultural processions, and native ethnic dances. As it is celebrated for nine days, it is also called “Gunhi Punhi” in Nepal Bhasha.

In the first day, people who have died in the year are mourned and remembered. Family members of the deceased parade the town with the photographs of their loved ones and effigies of cows. Other spectacles include men cross-dressing as women and children dressed as Gods. Following the procession is usually a group of dancers moving to a unique rhythm, sticks in their hands, in what is the ‘Ghintang Ghishi’ dance.

While the first day starts with paying homage to the deceased, the third day of Bhakatapur’s Gai Jatra kicks off the week-long celebrations of comedy, jesting, satirical performances as well as cultural dances including the Devi Naach, Bhairab Naach, Faankdali Naach, Okhal Naach, Maak Pyaaka Naach, Gaincha, Mhekha Pyakha, Khya Pyaakha, and Khicha Pyakha.

Apart from the first day, most dances in the festival are exhibited at night. “But Bhaktapur municipality has decided not to allow any of these dances to happen this year,” Prajapati informs. Similarly, the ban extends to celebrating the Gatha Muga:/Ghantakarna festivals. The fear is that these festivals too could draw hundreds, or even thousands, at the same time. As the number of those infected with Covid-19 in Kathmandu valley keeps increasing, these festivals could otherwise turn into hotspots for the virus. “We are thus barring all traditional and modern celebrations that involve gathering of many people,” Prajapati says. 

The municipality had consulted culture experts and historians before deciding to celebrate Gai Jatra as a formality, Prajapati informs. This year, the Gatha Muga: festival falls on July 19 while Gai Jatra will be celebrated starting August 4.

Most Indian TV news channels and many Indian newspapers have limited knowledge of Nepal. Earlier, they used to have resident reporters in Kathmandu, who made some effort to understand ground realities here. These days, most Indian media outlets don’t have such knowledgeable reporters in Kathmandu to bank upon. They rather rely on their New Delhi-based sources for second-hand (and often inaccurate) information on Nepal. This leads to inaccuracy in reporting. But even more than a lack of knowledge, it is their constant chase for eyeballs and salacious headlines that make them overstep journalistic norms. 

Nepal has been a victim of many such inappropriate and biased Indian reporting in recent times. During the 2015 earthquakes, the Indian news channels portrayed their country as a ‘savior’ of Nepalis, suggesting Nepal would have been helpless without its help. They also inflated the damages. This self-important attitude of the Indian media resulted in a ‘Go Back India’ campaign. The same condescending attitude was on display during the blockade later that year. Often, the Indian media appeared to be repeating the fodder the South Block provided them rather than trying to find the truth themselves. 

To be fair, the bulk of the Indian broadcast media is not very objective about events inside India too. They display a clear political bias. The channels that question the official line can be blacked out. Yet perhaps time has come for India to better regulate its private broadcast outlets—at least when it comes to their coverage of events outside India. In fact, the Press Council of India has spelled out that as media play an important role in molding public opinion and developing better understanding between countries, “objective reporting so as not to jeopardize friendly bilateral relations is therefore desirable.” 

‘Objective reporting’ is all that is needed. Indian journalists’ flouting of this government guideline has repercussions on India’s image in smaller countries in the region and on vital bilateral relations. Rightly or wrongly, people in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan see these Indian channels as representatives of the Indian government. As these channels have mass appeal, whenever they broadcast something objectionable about one of the smaller countries, these countries fear that the entire region is being misinformed. And this high-handed attitude of the Indian media is seen as yet another evidence of ‘Indian hegemony’.  

Journalists have biases too. But why would Indian journalists misrepresent these countries that mostly have amicable relations with India? Nepal is not China (India’s main strategic rival) or Pakistan (its chief antagonist). So if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious about his ‘Neighborhood First’ policy, why not ask these channels to be more careful in their reporting so as not to damage India’s image in the neighborhood? Isn’t that in India’s interest, too? Again, we are not asking these Indian channels to always give ‘positive spin’ to stories from here; only to balance things and make sure their reporting is accurate. If this small step can help improve India’s image in the neighborhood, why not?  

“Media plays an important role in moulding public opinion and developing better understanding between countries. Objective reporting so as not to jeopardise friendly bilateral relations is therefore desirable,” reads one of the norms of the Journalist Conduct issued by the Press Council of India in 2019.

Not just India, such code of conduct bars journalists from nearly all countries from reporting on matters harming friendly bilateral ties. The media are instead expected to play a positive role in the conduct and formulation of foreign policy. Recent news reports on Nepal by Indian TV channels, according to experts, is a serious breach of the journalist code of conduct, and the Press Council of India should thus take action. Such reports damage bilateral relations instead of contributing to better understanding between the two countries.

An Indian TV news channel had reported on how the Chinese envoy to Nepal was trying to ‘honey trap’ Oli, in what read like a fictional story. This invited outrage not only in Nepal but also India. The Press Council Nepal (PCN) has drawn the attention of its Indian counterpart on the report. The PCN is also closely monitoring the contents of Indian news channels on Nepal. “It would be easy for us to take up the matter with the Indian side if Nepal government filed a complaint with the PCN, which in turn could be forwarded to the Indian Press Council,” said PCN acting chairman Kishor Shrestha. In the past two decades, the number of television stations has mushroomed, posing a challenge to the norms of accuracy, journalistic ethics, and probity. Not only in Nepal, there has been huge criticism of Indian TV stations in India, too.

In the recent case involving the prime minister, discussions are underway in Nepal about what the government can do to counter such fabricated news stories. Nepal has dispatched a protest letter to the Indian government, objecting to the story, but it yet to get a response. Nepali Ambassador to Nepali New Delhi Nilambar Acharya reportedly spoke to the owner of Zee, the offending news station, and reports suggest the station has apologized. But that is insufficient, says the Nepali side.  

Ban no solution

Senior journalist Dhurba Hari Adhikari says Nepal can seek legal remedy on such fabricated reports, but the question is: should it? “Our embassy in New Delhi can consult legal experts and file a case against the news channel but it is better to resolve it diplomatically, as the legal battle will be long and costly,” he says. Adhikari says the role of Nepali mission in New Delhi is vital on such issues.

In immediate response, Nepali cable operators decided to ban (later removed) Hindi news channels. As a temporary measure, the ban can be justified, say media experts, but also impractical in the long run.

“Showing your dissatisfaction is a symbolic act. Yet a blanket broadcast ban on Indian television channels is not a long-term solution as their content is also easily available on the web,” says media expert Laxman Datt Pant, who heads Media Action Nepal.

According to Pant, there are three ways to tackle Indian media’s fabricated stories on Nepal. First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could take the initiative to start dialogue with Indian authorities. Second, we could communicate with the Indian Press Council and the Broadcasting Authority, arguing the broadcast content violates ethical standards and the two countries’ media laws. And, third, Nepal’s media and Nepal-India relation experts could provide insights on how such fabricated stories hurt bilateral relations in general and the Indian establishment in particular.

In India, private television stations fall under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is regulates the content on private satellite channels. For the purpose, the ministry has an Inter-Ministerial Committee headed by Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The Indian government cannot dictate the content of its television stations as the constitution of India grants them full freedom of speech and expression. But it can seek clarification and urge correction or removal of objectionable content. “Compared to print and other outlets, there is more government control on Indian broadcasting media. In 2016, the Indian government had banned the NDTV for 24 hours. So the Indian government can do something meaningful whenever a broadcast media breaches its norms,” says Media expert and educator Dr Kundan Aryal.

Two-way street

Aryal points to the need for extensive discussions among media persons and other sections of the society about the negative coverage of Indian TV channels. “The problem with Indian news channels is that most of them do not have correspondents here so their observation is weak. They rather depend on high-level sources in New Delhi who often misguide them,” Aryal says.

Nepal can also ask organizations such as the International Federation of Journalists to take up the issue with India. Speaking with AP1HD television, senior journalist P. Kharel said Indian laws bar the media from any reporting that could hamper India’s relations with other countries. So Nepal also has the option of taking up the issue with India at the official level.

Despite objectionable coverage by some India media outlets, Prime Minister KP Oli’s baseless remarks on Nepal-India relations, according to experts, will weaken Nepal’s claim that Indian media are carrying inaccurate stories on Nepal. On July 13, he claimed without any evidence that the birthplace of Lord Ram is in Nepal and not India. Expressing his dissatisfaction over the PM’s remark, Aryal, who once served as PM Oli’s press advisor, said such statements could weaken the country’s position on Indian media coverage of Nepal.

“What sort of a statement was it, anyway? Was PM Oli trying to compete for attention against Indian TV channels?” Aryal questions.