By Narayan Prasad Mishra
My beloved wife Shanti and I were never involved in politics in life – neither in royal politics, Panchayat politics, or multiparty politics. We both were pure professionals. We both loved – equality, freedom, and justice. That was the meaning of our democracy. We worked strictly following that principle. We looked at the things based on that criteria. We wrote our writings – articles, poems, or books- based on them, which undoubtedly witnessed our opinions and principles and never negotiated with anyone for our advantage by leaving our conscience. We were not biased toward any political system – Panchayat or Multiparty and evaluated them based on our beliefs. We were not blind supporters of any system.
Shanti had to work with then Royalties – Crown Princess Aishwarya, Queen Aishwarya, and Princess Princep with official work assignments – in the Nepal Red Cross, International Women’s Year Committee, 1975, Nepal, Investigation Center, Royal Palace (Jaanchbooj Kendra, Rajdarbar) I never had to work with them. Except that, we never had any close links or acquaintances with them. We never enjoyed any benefits because of their links or blessings – position, land, house, cash, etc. Still, because of the official links mentioned above with Royalties, some misinformation peddlers played a condemnable role in defaming Shanti, portraying her as a Royal stooge during the 1990s movement and creating unwanted problems in the Tribhuvan University Central Library. In this process, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, the present parliamentarian of the UML and then the administrative staff of the university, was also wooed against us.
I still remember feeling very sad and disturbed; Shanti and I went to the then UML office, located at Putali Sadak – Dillibazar alley, to report the truth and present our view. We got this address from Bharat Mohan Adhikari, the leader of another communist party situated at Teku, where we mistakenly thought Krishna Gopal belonged. We were received well in the office by some attendants and taken to a dark room, where we met their leaders, Mohan Chandra Adhikari and Jeevraj Ashrit, sitting on a bed. Later, we were taken to another small room attached to it, where we met Madhav Kumar Nepal, who I believe was the topmost leader. We found him very knowledgeable, active, understanding, polite, logical, kind, loving, and curious. He listened to us attentively, asked questions to clarify the matter, and told us that he found us reasonable, honest, and rational. He promised to inquire about the incident and thanked us for visiting their office. However, we didn’t follow up with him later and never met him again.
Based on the love, affection, and help we received later, and even now, from Krishna Gopal Shrestha, I firmly believe that the misinformation peddlers were responsible for the trouble in the library, not Shrestha. God knows who did it and what they aimed to achieve. Nevertheless, we suffered without any valid reason. We feel that our Library, our child, also suffered greatly in the absence of the parental love we have provided since its inception. But what can we do? Everything unfolded like a tragic accident because of the misinformation peddlers and their blind followers. Shanti, the creator of the Library, who loved and cared for it as if it were her own child, left the Library with a heavy heart. This is a history that is very heartbreaking for me to remember. Even now, tears flow from my eyes when I recall it.
I became the deputy registrar of the University on April 4, 1975 (2031 Chaitra 22), being the first in the open examination. At that time, I was the most senior deputy registrar among the then-existing four deputy registrars. Because of this, I was the rightful claimer of the vacant post of Prashasak (administrator), special class. But I was a helpless citizen of the country and was not linked with the Panchayat power holders or royalties. So, I could not get the vacant post of Prashasak, which I was supposed to get according to the then-existing rules and regulations. Instead, the post was given to Keshab Prasad Regmi, my junior colleague at University service, though he was much older than me. I was despondent and disturbed by this injustice. I petitioned all the possible places – Royal Palace and Panchayat leaders. No one paid attention to my cause. At the same time, I happened to see the late Mukunda Shumsher Thapa, the defense secretary, the cousin brother of the late Nara Pratap Thapa. He considered me like his Guru brother, as my father was the most respected and beloved Guru of Nara Pratap Thapa. In the course of our talk, he asked about my life, activities, and problems. I told him about the injustices done to me, such as not receiving my due promotion. He said he had an excellent relationship with the then Prime Minister Marich Man Singh Shrestha. So, if I wanted, he would talk to him about my problem and possibly solve it.
I agreed that it would be OK if that were possible. He asked me to contact him after a few days. I met him later as he asked me. Then he mentioned he had received a troubling response from Marich Man as soon as Marich Man heard my name, which he had never experienced before. At the same time, he asked me what the reason could be. I couldn’t think of an instant answer and tried to recall the incident that might have caused this reaction. Suddenly, I remembered that once, when Marich Man was the education minister, he asked Shanti to reappoint a problematic staff member named Saket Bihari Thakur, whose service had been terminated by the university at Shanti’s recommendation due to his negligence and harmful activities. Shanti politely refused, explaining the serious issues involved. The person was an Indian citizen and later became Nepali. It seemed he had become close to Marich Man and served him in some way. It seemed that since then, Marich Man had turned against us, influenced by that misinformation peddler.
Unfortunately, the same terminated person was reappointed by Ram Chandra Bahadur Singh, the Vice-Chancellor, with the direction of Prime Minister Shrestha. The same misinformation peddler participated in the relay hunger strike at the main entrance of the University Library, demanding Shanti’s resignation from her position as the library chief in 1990.
A photo of the relay hunger strike against Shanti Mishra. Saket Bihari Thakur is on the fourth from the left.
One can imagine how influential the misinformation peddler is in the country. During the Panchayat era, I was not promoted. I was a notable sufferer of that period. However, I obtained a position in 1990, 15 years after my previous promotion, following the fall of the Panchayat system. Still, blinded individuals and misinformation peddlers label us as Royalists and Panchayat followers whenever they see an opportunity to harm us with those accusations. What can we do except lament when some people believe it, not opening their eyes to see the reality clearly displayed in the mirror and to read our life and writings – articles, poems, stories, novels, and books based on equality, freedom, and justice without any fear from anyone?
Recently I met an individual from the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) who holds a high position in the Prime Minister’s office. I was warmly welcomed, and we had an excellent conversation about some important library work despite my concern that misinformation peddlers might sow misunderstandings between us. This concern stems from my past experiences and people’s tendency to believe misinformation rather than trust their own judgment. It’s like having perfectly fine legs that everyone can see, yet misinformation peddlers in Nepal might falsely report that you are lame. Even in such cases, if people believe the misinformation, I don’t see a way to dispel misunderstandings.
There are many instances of our suffering due to the actions of misinformation peddlers. The incidents described here are only a few among them. I doubted whether we lost our jobs 9 and 14 years before our retirement age because of the misinformation peddlers. I believe many good people have had similar experiences. Even top leaders and politicians may have suffered from it. According to our history, Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa lost his honor and life due to the misinformation peddler. According to the rumor, the misinformation purveyors played a significant role in creating misunderstandings between King Mahendra and Prime Minister B. P. Koirala and changed the political history of Nepal. Once, I wrote about Shiva Pratap Shumshere Thapa, the father of Nara Pratap Thapa, our ex-foreign secretary and ambassador to India, who was driven out of the Kathmandu Valley (Desh Nikala) by the command of Bhim Sumshere Jung Bahadur Rana, the Shree Teen Maraj, the Rana Prime Minister, due to the misinformation peddlers. Misinformation peddlers may have caused significant harm to the country and its people. Therefore, everyone should be cautious and wise in scrutinizing and evaluating the information they receive. All individuals should be wise enough to verify whether the information is accurate or not.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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