Explainers
2 MIN READ
The ultimate revenge of the hill bureaucrats
Pennered
verb, e.g. I don’t want to be pennered from Nepal
To be ‘pennered’ means to be expelled from Nepal for tweets that cause ‘social discord.’ It refers to the May 2016 case of Robert Penner, a Canadian national who was kicked out of Nepal for tweets in Nepali that, according to the Department of Immigration, violated the terms of his visa. For those who were upset with Penner, the fact that he tweeted in Nepali and that too at a troll-level intensity, was particularly enraging. To be ‘pennered’ for Robert Penner meant that he was forced to leave Nepal permanently. However, ‘being pennered’ has taken on a wider meaning. It has come to generate self-censorship and acts as a way of stopping commentary or criticism on ‘sensitive’ issues. Fear of being kicked out of Nepal like Penner has stopped many foreigners based in Nepal from discussing, writing, tweeting or commenting on anything remotely controversial in public. The list of topics that pennering has curtailed includes anything to do with the upper-caste and social inclusion, politics, the current government, Christianity, and corruption. Fear of being pennered particularly applies to long-term foreigners who plan to stay here for a long time and are here on work, marriage or educational visas.
Being pennered is arguably the ultimate revenge of the hill bureaucrats, likely the same people who have suffered – like many Nepalis – visa humiliations and deportations at the hands of Western countries. But why should we care about the pennering of some foreigners? Because it has set a trend: Nepalis have seen their rights to protest, criticize and speak out curtailed too on issues ranging from the building of roads to medical education to the state’s response to rape cases. This isn’t new in Nepal and rights always have to be fought for, but this government and this bureaucracy seems particularly in love with ‘pennering’. And there is no told-you-so glee to be had in discovering that some of the same people who supported the first peneering are now, albeit in different ways, being pennered themselves.
:::
We welcome your comments. Please write to us at letters@recordnepal.com
The Record We are an independent digital publication based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our stories examine politics, the economy, society, and culture. We look into events both current and past, offering depth, analysis, and perspective. Explore our features, explainers, long reads, multimedia stories, and podcasts. There’s something here for everyone.
Features
Photo Essays
3 min read
With changing time and demand, the pottery makers of Bhaktapur are slowly replacing traditional ways with modern technology.
Features
Photo Essays
9 min read
Bhaktapur shows how prioritizing community ownership over foreign aid can help in reconstruction even as Kathmandu remains locked in a confusing mess of national and international stakeholders.
Perspectives
Popular
Recommended
7 min read
Commissioned by Mahendra, the image of Prithvi Narayan with his index finger raised perfectly encapsulated the Panchayat’s driving refrain of ‘ek raja, ek bhes, ek bhasa, ek desh’.
Longreads
16 min read
Despite conservative attitudes forcing women indoors, Nepali women in the early 20th century often broke convention and took to the streets on their bicycles.
Perspectives
6 min read
When we hide behind ji, dai and didi, ageist and patriarchal relations take over the workspaces, and that is hard to shake off.
Interviews
10 min read
Part 1 of the conversation with educator and psychologist Madhav Khatiwada on the need for improved mental health infrastructure in Nepal.
Features
Recommended
Popular
10 min read
As more Nepalis learn Mandarin, Chinese students are also learning Nepali, providing an opportunity to develop people-to-people relations between the two neighbors.
Features
8 min read
A festival in Dolpo showcases the culture of the region and tests the political commitments of the state.