Take the short journey of English dailies in Nepal. Currently, there are three private English national dailies in the market, in addition to a government-owned newspaper and a daily tabloid, which was launched recently. In case of the English newspapers in Nepal, the most important (and equally intriguing) question is: Who reads them?
Going by the current sales trends, mostly the school- and college-going crowd and the upwardly-mobile middle class; plus niche market readers. The growing popularity of the English dailies can partly be attributed to the declining status of Nepali language among the youngsters. Today, Nepali teens are more adept at counting in Arabic numerals than Nepali digits, just as they feel more at home with Hollywood (and an increasingly Anglophilic Bollywood) movies rather than with the slow-to-adapt Nepali films.
Another important reason is that after the 2006 Jana Andolan and 2007 Madhesi Uprising, many communities have shunned Nepali as their mother tongue, which they feel was imposed upon them by the expanding Gorkhali state. But nor do they seem very keen on teaching regional languages like Maithili and Awadhi, which, in their view, have limited use. Instead, people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds seem to have warmed up to English, which has come to be seen as a ‘neutral’ language that Nepalis of all hues and backgrounds can bring to use without the burden of any historical baggage.
They are also pushing their children to better understand the universal lingua franca. Not that the boys and girls need any prodding. As it is, the exponential growth of satellite television and internet, both fighting for the attention of the rapidly growing youth population of the developing world, has ensured that the young generation is more exposed to the vast entertainment industry that is predominantly based on English language.
This is the climate that all English dailies in Nepal will have to compete in. Of course, a bit of competition is always good. Not only has the growth of media in general—and English media in particular—improved pay and perks for working journalists, it has also resulted in better products, both in terms of language and content. As the competition increases (and it’s a one-way street), English papers in the market will have to continuously improve their products if they want to remain relevant. Sub-par products will struggle for their existence. For everyone’s good.
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