By Narayan Prasad Mishra 

I have been contributing articles to People’s Review since September 8, 2020, writing on various topics every week without a break. September 8 of this year marks five years of my continuous contribution. Despite some health challenges, I am grateful for what I have been able to accomplish. I take joy in completing this milestone and sincerely thank Mr. Pushpa Raj Pradhan, the Editor-in-Chief of the paper, for his trust and encouragement. I may not be able to write as frequently as before due to some health issues, rather than my advanced age. However, I will continue to do my best for as long as I can.

Over the years, I have written unwaveringly about the painful truths of Nepal’s decline—chronic corruption, shameless misgovernance, and the suffering of its people—as well as the ways to overcome them, guided by my conscience. All that I have written has been guided solely by the sincere intention of serving the country and its people, without any expectation of personal gain. At no point did I harbor any intent to cause harm to anyone. I have never aligned myself with any political party or ideology. My sole commitment has been to truth, justice, and the desperate need for reform in my beloved country. 

I know that most newspapers and media in Nepal are linked to political parties and serve as their mouthpieces, whether their actions are right or wrong. They support their masters at the expense of the country and the people, defending them in every possible way and benefiting in return. They rarely publish independent writing like mine that differs from their political ideology, and they never publish anything that goes against the interests of their political masters. To them, that is their ethics of journalism. That is their righteousness (Dharma). To me, that is entirely opposite to its ethics and righteousness, as I learned that truth cannot be separated from its ethics. 

I also know some honest media outlets and courageous journalists who serve the nation with integrity and exceptional dedication. They portray the grim reality of a declining country based on truth and facts without any bias toward anyone. The purpose is not to discredit or harm the country, but to awaken concern and inspire its progress. They put their lives, careers, and comforts at risk to speak out against the wrongdoings of the government and political parties for the welfare of the people. Occasionally, they may be wrong in their presentation. I believe this happens not intentionally, but because they rely on incorrect information they have received and trusted.

Among them at present, I consider Birendra Jairu to be the most prominent. I do not know him personally and have never met him. He is a journalist, producer, and presenter who currently hosts the live televised talk show Sidha Kura Janata Sanga (Straight Talk with the People) on News 24 Nepal. Through Sidha Kura, he addresses pressing current affairs with direct and fearless reporting on government corruption, bureaucratic failures, public grievances, and policy controversies. His presentation is mainly based on Citizen-centered journalism that encourages the public to voice grievances and seek to take action, including bringing attention to issues like the plights of domestic workers abroad. Almost all his episodes reflect a bold commitment to truth and public advocacy. So I love him and admire his honesty, dignity, and courage

A picture of Birendra Jairu’s News 24 Direct Talk with People TV Program appeared on YouTube on August 3, 2025. 

Some weeks ago, I watched a revealing episode of Sidha Kura (Direct talk with people) titled “Oli Government’s Dishonesty, Face-Hiding Condition of Gagan and Bishwa Prakash! In Search of a Notorious Cheater in Japan.” (ओली सरकारको बदमासी, गगन र बिश्व मुख लुकाउँदै! जापानमा नामूद ठग खोज्दै सिधाकुरा). It exposed the deep rot within the government, highlighting scandals such as the Gokul Banskota corruption case, the Visit Visa corruption case, and a rumored attempt to draft a bill that would allow ministers and the prime minister to raise their own salaries at will. The episode pointed to a broader pattern of dishonesty under the Oli administration.

In this context, Jairu also discussed the similarities in conduct between the Nepali Congress Party and the Nepal Communist Party (UML), emphasizing that there is little meaningful difference between the two. He highlighted corruption cases involving bribery for ministerial appointments, the selection of general managers for public organizations, chairmanships of various boards, and even nominations for parliamentary candidacy.

He recalled high-profile bribery cases involving figures such as Raj Kumar Shrestha, Raj Narayan Pathak, Dhaka Kumar Shrestha, Gokul Banskota, and Khum Bahadur Khadka. He also addressed the intolerance and hatred directed at Hridayendra Shah, the ex-Nawa Yubaraj—the 23-year-old grandson of King Gyanendra, a gentle, smiling, lovely boy —by his corrupt opponents, who baselessly criticized his blog about his visit to Jumla, a non-political topic. He also presented a lengthy fraud case involving a notorious Nepali conman named Sundar Shrestha, a restaurant owner in Japan, who deceived a large number of Nepalis by giving them false hope of job placements in Japan. His presentation was stark, disturbing, and honest. 

On August 21, 2025, I also watched his episode titled “Grand Conspiracy Against Ravi! Is Indira a Human Trafficker, Not Lekhak? Moves to Oust Her. Will Upendra Be Sent to Jail?” (रबिमाथि भयङ्कर षडयन्त्र! लेखक होइनन् इन्दिरा मानव तस्कर? हटाउने तयारी । उपेन्द्र जालान जेल?). In this episode, he boldly exposed the government’s sinister motives: to serve its own self-centered interests by attempting to remove Indira Rana from the post of Deputy Speaker through impeachment, not for any genuine wrongdoing, but because she is one of the members of the Commission. In doing so, they could secure a majority in the Constitutional Commission in her absence—since she represents the opposition—and then appoint their own cronies to the vacant positions in constitutional bodies. 

At the same time, he revealed the declining state of the Nepal Electricity Authority, which suffered losses of more than five billion rupees after the removal of its highly regarded chief, Kulman Ghising, and the subsequent appointment of the current head, Hitendra Dev Shakya. In this context, he presented a clear picture of the government’s ill intent in state affairs—pursuing personal gain at the expense of the nation’s development and the people’s welfare. However, there is still controversy over the profit reported under Kulman Ghising and the loss reported under Hitendra Dev Shakya at the Nepal Electricity Authority. Both claim to be correct, but one of them is undoubtedly wrong.

As I watched, I grew more and more sad. What more needs to be said to open the eyes of the public? Jairu’s voice echoed what I—and others like me—have been saying for years. All the topics and examples may not be the same, but the root causes of the downfall of this country remain unchanged: evil motive, corruption, irregularities, mismanagement, nepotism, favoritism, and overall unbearable bad governance. According to published reports, even the Nepal Red Cross—a humanitarian organization affiliated with the international umbrella body—has not been spared from the plague of political power-sharing.

Still, the people remain silent. Millions of party followers, young and old, fail to see the truth and serve the ruling parties like loyal slaves. Their tolerance of political criminals, their unwillingness to challenge the status quo, and their apparent fear or apathy toward the truth have become even more frightening than the corruption itself. It is no longer just the leaders who are guilty; it is also the silence of the masses that sustains the decay. How can a country improve when its citizens refuse to raise their voices, even as their dignity, opportunities, and future are stolen from them every day?

I confess—I feel discouraged. Disheartened. After dedicating countless hours and writing hundreds of articles that spoke only the truth, I have begun to question the meaning of it all. Have my words made any difference? Were my warnings too gentle, the facts too easily dismissed, or the readers too indifferent? Today, I find myself asking: What is the use of speaking and writing in a nation where truth and merit are ignored, and the country’s upliftment is of no concern?

Nepal today does not lack people who see the truth. It lacks people with the courage to act on it. It lacks citizens willing to say “enough” to power-hungry leaders who exploit their positions while the public continues to suffer in silence. This culture of quiet submission sustains the cycle of corruption, scandal, and failure. It is not just governments that fail; it is societies that tolerate failure that perish slowly from within.

I do not regret writing the truth—I never will—but I now understand that truth alone is not enough. It must be met with conscience, resistance, and the courage to confront power—no matter the cost. Unless the people rise—not for a party, not for an ideology, but for the nation itself—Nepal will continue to spiral deeper into despair. With sorrow, I realize that my lifetime may pass without seeing Nepal blossom into a truly developed and disciplined nation. What makes it even more painful is knowing that this failure is not the work of fate, but the result of the greed and incompetence of its leaders and their blindly self-centered followers

narayanshanti70@gmail.com