LOGIN DASHBOARD

    Features

    The Wire

    3 MIN READ

    Police arrests poet for alleged support of Biplab

    Nabin Bibhas, April 26, 2019, Kathmandu

    Police arrests poet for alleged support of Biplab

      Share this article

    Over 300 have been arrested since the government labeled the Maoist Group a criminal outfit earlier this year

    (Rasuwali Kabi Facebook)

    Thakur Prasad Timilsina, alias Rasuwali Kabi, is a writer from Rasuwa district who has published articles and poems in various media outlets. His most well known work is a poetry collection titled 

    Nachamkieka Aagoharu.

    On April 15th, at around 10:30 am, Kabi was drinking tea and chatting with friends at a tea shop in Balaju when about a dozen Armed Police Force (APF) officials barged in and demanded that he come with them for an interrogation. They accused  him of being a supporter of the Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplab’ led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), which has recently been labeled as a criminal outfit.

    A full body search was conducted on 27 year old Kabi, after which APF handed him over to the Balaju Police Station.

    Rasuwali Kabi, 27 year old writer and poet. Photo Credit: Rasuwali Kabi Facebook page

    The next day, on April 16th, five of Kabi’s fellow poets and friends visited him in Balaju.

    “The police are going to file a case of sedition against the Kabi,” said Jwalamukhi Lamichanne, who met with the police regarding Kabi’s arrest.

    “They said that his books are the reason why he has been arrested.” Lamichanne added.

    The police allegedly searched through Kabi’s room, and found books related to Karl Marx, Mao and Biplab in his possession.

    Arguing that Kabi’s arrest was arbitrary and unjust, a group of writers handed over a memorandum to the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu district on 16th April, demanding his release. Senior writers Narayan Dhakal, Rajan Mukarung and Hangyug Agyaat were amongst the many who took part in the memorandum handover.

    On April 19th, campaigners held a program titled Abhibyakti Shwatantrataka Laagi Nagarikharu in Kathmandu. They asserted that Kabi’s arrest was a breach of civil rights and a crackdown on freedom of speech.

    “Water, food, and freedom of speech are basic rights that people need in order to live,” said writer Aahuti at the program. “We strongly condemn this government violation of people’s rights, freedom of speech must be respected.”

    The police allegedly searched through Kabi’s room, and found books related to Karl Marx, Mao and Biplab in his possession.

    Writers Rajan Mukarung, Dharmendra Bikram Nembang, Saral Sahayatri, Ramchandra Shrestha, Sojho Gaunle, Bibhuti Bhattarai, Nabean Tiwari and Rajeshwari Subedi were present at the program and expressed solidarity with Kabi, demanding that the government stop breaching on people’s freedom of speech.

    Kabi is amongst the over 300 writers, CPN party leaders and cadres who have been arrested in the past couple of months regarding their association with Biplab. Hemant Prakash Oli, alias Sudarshan, was the highest ranking party official who was arrested. Oli is a CPN standing committee member and has published numerous books, including a jail memoir.

    It is not only those who are directly involved with Biplab’s party who have been targeted— Raj Bahadur Kunwar, former senior vice chairman of Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh (Progressive Writers Association) was arrested on 15th April and released soon after.

    “I was with friends who had come to Kathmandu for medical treatment. The police took me to a room at a hotel in Sundhara and pressed me to name CPN leaders so that they could be arrested. I did not agree to do this, and the Teku police let me go later that night,” said Kunwar.

    According to Prakash Dumre, chairman of journalists close to CPN, journalist Jitendra Maharjan is being held in police custody at the Teku station, while  journalists Gopal Chand, Ganesh BK, KB Gurung, Karna BK have been released on bail.

    Insurgency-era practices

    During the Maoist insurgency, the police and the Royal Nepal Army targeted writers. Writers Krishna Sen Ichchhuk and D. Kaudinya were killed after being arrested by the police, while many others were taken into custody and eventually released.

    Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ led CPN (Maoist) activities were criminalized by the government during the insurgency. Ichchhuk and Kaudinya lost their lives because the government believed that the writers were close to the Maoists.

    Pushpa Kamal Dahal is now the co-chairman of the ruling party, and the fact that he is in support of the same censorial regime that banned his own political activities with regards to Biplab is a fact that many have noted with irony.

    The Nepali constitution protects freedom of expression, and any Nepali citizen should technically be allowed to freely express their political opinions. But it appears that the incumbent government is following the footsteps of the various governments led by Surya Bahadur Thapa, Girija Prasad Koirala, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Gyanendra Shah, and the Panchayat system at large where any and all critique is thwarted with an iron fist.



    author bio photo

    Nabin Bibhas  Nabin Bibhas has worked as a journalist for a decade, and closely follows Nepal's politics. He is the author four collections of essays, poetry, and short stories. He tweets @NabinBibhas



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    COVID19

    Opinions

    3 min read

    Fall from grace

    The Record - April 25, 2020

    Ordinances may have been scrapped but Oli’s credibility as the nation’s leader has reached a point of no return

    Explainers

    9 min read

    Video clip of anti-India demonstration being circulated on social media is six months old

    Sanjog Shiwakoti - May 17, 2020

    Fact-checking viral video clip reading “Students in Butwal stage huge demonstration against India claiming Kalapani and Lipulekh is ours”.

    Features

    6 min read

    Shallow fakes tell half-truths

    Aishwarya Baidar - April 23, 2021

    Shallow fakes, where videos are edited to remove context andpresent statements in a different light, are just as dangerous as deep fakes.

    Features

    4 min read

    The court’s course correction

    The Record - July 27, 2020

    The court’s decision to reopen Ranjan Koirala’s case brings hope of restoring public faith in the judiciary

    Explainers

    The Wire

    6 min read

    Communist government moves to curtail civil liberties

    Supriya Manandhar - June 15, 2018

    Two new policies look set to curb dissent

    Explainers

    7 min read

    Murderous MPs, and the PM gives an etiquette lesson

    The Record - October 20, 2019

    The week in politics: what happened, what it means, why it matters.

    COVID19

    News

    4 min read

    As daily Covid-19 death count hits a record high, govt scrambles to respond

    The Record - August 21, 2020

    By not focusing on contact tracing and other measures, the government is missing the whole point of clamping lockdowns

    Features

    COVID19

    5 min read

    Swindled sugarcane farmers stage protests in the Capital amidst Covid crisis

    The Record - December 13, 2020

    After suffering injustice for years, the farmers have finally descended on Kathmandu to press their demands

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy