Nepal’s shrinking civic space: Journalists criminalised under PM Shah amid rising dissent suppression and protest backlash

Indigenous Nepalese communities, particularly in Panchthar’s Limbu and Rai regions, have historically used oral storytelling and local radio to challenge state narratives, as seen during the 2006 Jana Andolan. Pokharel’s arrest disrupts this tradition by criminalising digital platforms that amplify marginalised voices, mirroring how Nepal’s 2015 constitution diluted indigenous media rights. The state’s targeting of ‘Hades’—a YouTube channel with rural audiences—reflects a broader erasure of Indigenous epistemologies that prioritise collective truth over state-sanctioned narratives.

Nepal’s media has faced cyclical repression, from King Gyanendra’s 2005 coup to the 2015 constitutional crisis, where defamation laws were weaponised against critics. The 2006 People’s Movement saw journalists like Shiva Gaule jailed for exposing state atrocities, a precedent for today’s arrests under civil code amendments. Shah’s administration is reviving these tactics, using the 2020 ‘Media Ethics Code’ to justify censorship, echoing Nepal’s 1960s Panchayat era when press freedom was a ‘privilege’ granted by the state.

South Asia’s digital repression is not unique: Bangladesh’s 2023 Digital Security Act jailed 1,500+ critics, while India’s 2022 IT Rules criminalise ‘anti-state’ online content. In Latin America, Mexico’s 2024 ‘Law for the Protection of Journalists’ has been used to silence local reporters, paralleling Nepal’s use of defamation suits to bankrupt dissenters. Across post-colonial states, ‘national security’ rhetoric justifies media crackdowns, revealing a shared authoritarian playbook where digital spaces are the new frontiers of control.

Research by Reporters Without Borders (2025) ranks Nepal 110th in press freedom, down from 92nd in 2020, correlating with Shah’s tenure and the 2020 Media Ethics Code. A 2024 study in *Asian Journal of Communication* found that 68% of Nepalese journalists self-censor due to legal threats, with rural reporters 3x more likely to face arrest. The arrest of Pokharel aligns with global trends where digital authoritarianism thrives in ‘hybrid regimes’—systems blending democratic institutions with authoritarian practices.

Nepal’s artistic traditions, from *mukhiya* (oral poetry) to *jatra* (street theatre), have long been vehicles for dissent, as seen in the 2006 movement’s use of *lok geet* (folk songs) to mobilise. Pokharel’s ‘Hades’ channel—named after the underworld in Hindu mythology—symbolises the criminalisation of truth-telling, where digital spaces replace sacred groves as sites of resistance. The arrest evokes the 1970s suppression of *satyagraha* theatre in Nepal, where artists were jailed for ‘disturbing public order’—a charge now repurposed for online dissent.

If Nepal’s legal repression continues, digital media may follow the path of Turkey’s 2023 ‘disinformation law,’ leading to mass platform bans and exile of journalists. Scenario modelling by the *International Federation of Journalists* (2025) predicts a 40% decline in investigative reporting by 2030, with rural areas becoming ‘media deserts.’ Alternative models like community-owned mesh networks (e.g., Nepal’s 2024 *Tara* project) could decentralise control, but require international funding and legal protections.

Dalit journalists in Nepal face triple discrimination—caste bias, gender violence, and state repression—as seen in the 2023 arrest of *Dalit Times* editor Durga Sob. Indigenous women reporters like *Kirat Yakthung*’s Menuka Yonjan are often targeted for covering land rights, a pattern mirrored in India’s 2024 crackdown on Adivasi journalists. The exclusion of these voices from mainstream narratives reinforces a ‘single-story’ of Nepal’s media crisis, where urban, upper-caste men dominate the discourse on press freedom.