When is comedy a crime?
On Kuma Sagar, Sajan Shrestha and the limits of comedy
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 178 of KALAM Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.
We don’t have any paid supporters this week but we did welcome quite a few free readers. Welcome to you all and I hope you will enjoy reading this weekly epistle. As always, please reach out to me with your thoughts, comments, criticisms. All are welcome.
In this newsletter:
Mukkumlung protests turn violent as security forces crack down
Over 600 queer activists gather in Kathmandu for LGBTIQ+ meet
Nepal votes in favor of UN resolution on Ukraine, US sides with Russia
Recommendations
The deep dive: When is comedy a crime?
Mukkumlung protests turn violent as security forces crack down
Despite an agreement between protestors and the government, protests have continued in eastern Nepal over a planned cable car. On Thursday, February 20, security forces and activists clashed in Taplejung district when the latter attempted to enter the cable car construction site. Police responded with baton charges and tear gas after the protestors turned “unruly.” News reports say that 13 people — 11 police personnel, one protestor, and a taxi driver — were injured in the scuffle, but protestors dispute those figures, saying many more from their side were hurt.
Again, on Saturday, clashes broke out in Phungling, Taplejung district, as protestors held a torch rally. Police allege that the protest turned violent, and footage from the scene does show protestors hurling fire indiscriminately. Footage also shows police personnel beating up protestors and locals alike, even entering people’s homes to thrash them with batons. The local government then issued a prohibitory order to calm tensions.
Some context, if you are lost. Construction is underway on a cable car linking Kaflepati in Taplejung district to the Mukkumlung (or Pathibhara) temple. The construction is led by IME Group, a conglomerate owned by businessman Chandra Dhakal. Ethnic Limbus, however, have opposed the cable car, saying it will harm their cultural and religious sentiments and will not benefit locals. Limbus are largely animists and believe that the entire hill on which the Mukkumlung temple is located is sacred. They further believe that the cable car is one more attempt by the Nepali state to erase their ethnic identity and religion and subsume it under a Khas-Arya Hindu identity. Not to forget, the cable car will have far-reaching consequences for the environment and wildlife. For more, read the newsletter below:
So, despite a deal being struck in early February, why are protests continuing? Well, protestors say that the government violated the terms of the talk and the deal was just a tactic to buy time and wait them out. They’re now demanding negotiations with Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak himself. Lekhak has started discussions, not with the protestors but with Members of Parliament from the area. Cable car construction, which was supposed to be halted while the committee was working, has continued, leading to more suspicion that the government is not serious about holding up its end of the bargain. Hence, the protests.
It does not seem like there will be a resolution to the protests soon. For one, the government does not appear sincere in its negotiation. It seems to be squarely on the side of business interests, given how security forces have been mobilized to quell protests. No one from IME Group is involved in discussions, so the government appears to represent IME Group. But the Pathibhara cable car is not a government project; it is privately led. The longer the government drags out this issue, the risk of violence only escalates. Already, radical groups are attempting to use the issue to further their own agendas. If Home Minister Lekhak does not take serious steps to reach out to the protestors and find a middle way forward, Mukkumlung will quickly grow out of hand.
Dear readers,
Thank you to all of you who have put your faith in me and endorsed me with your hard-earned money. If any new readers would like to support me, those abroad can click the link below while those in Nepal can click this link for more information on how to become paid supporters.
Your support allows us to keep this newsletter going, invest in more reporting, and pay our reporters fairly. All of the support you show us will go right back into making the newsletter better! Your support means the world to us!
Over 600 queer activists gather in Kathmandu for LGBTIQ+ meet
On Monday, February 24, the 10th International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) Asia conference kicked off in Kathmandu, bringing together hundreds of queer activists from around the world. The conference sought to build a movement against the rising tide of anti-LGBTIQ+ sentiments across the globe, especially given the positions now espoused by the United States. Since taking office, the administration of US President Donald Trump has come out harshly against queer individuals, asserting that there are only two genders and embarking on a series of actions that penalize the transgender community.
At times of crisis, it is a good thing that the queer community is attempting to come together and support each other. Even better that they did it in Nepal, which is attempting to brand itself as a tourist destination for the LGBTIQ+ community. But as we’ve written before, there is still some way to go before Nepal becomes wholly queer-friendly for Nepalis and tourists.
For one, the Supreme Court might have decreed that the government start maintaining a separate register for same-sex marriages, but there is much resistance to this from the bureaucracy. Despite advances in law, Nepali society remains largely closed off. Queer identities still encounter resistance and even outright discrimination and violence. There is also confusion among older generations and bureaucrats regarding gender identities and sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians are often seen as part of the trans community and identified as “third gender” or “Other”, when they identify wholly as men and women. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli admitted in September last year that he “did not know much” about the issue. The spectrum of sexuality is something that Nepali society at large remains ignorant about.
Still, such conferences are a good opportunity for Nepal to learn from others and bring more visibility to Nepal’s queer community. At a time when the US, traditionally one of the most prominent supporters of the queer community, has slashed funding across the board, Nepal’s queer organizations will need to seek out funding elsewhere. That won't be easy, given the rise of right-wing politics among Nepal’s development partners. But the queer community will persevere, as it has always done.
Nepal votes in favor of UN resolution on Ukraine, US sides with Russia
After years of supporting, supplying, and arming Ukraine, the United States under President Donald Trump has seemingly switched sides, now backing Russia. Trump's affinity for strongmen like Russia’s Vladimir Putin is well-known, and it seems that he is now acting wholly by Putin’s playbook. The Trump administration has offered bizarre deals to Ukraine, including one where the US demanded $500 billion in rare earth minerals as repayment for all the aid it had given Ukraine so far. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to a similar deal after the US dropped the $500 billion demand. Zelenskyy hopes to receive a security guarantee from the US, which is unlikely to happen. But Ukraine hopes that a financial interest for the US might act as a security blanket in the face of any future Russian aggression. With Trump, who knows what will happen? He’s already called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and blamed Ukraine for starting the war.
While all of this was happening, on February 24, Monday, Ukraine proposed a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly, “Advancing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” The resolution, put forward on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, called to protect “the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” The resolution passed with 93 countries, including Nepal, in favor; 18, including Russia, the United States, and Israel, against; and 18, including India and China, abstaining. The United States is now standing alongside countries like Russia, Belarus, Hungary, and North Korea. I’m glad that at least Nepal has maintained a coherent foreign policy. It is, of course, in Nepal’s interest to support the territorial integrity of a small country being relentlessly bullied and invaded by a much larger neighbor.
Recommendations
Article: The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians by Evan Ratliff, WIRED
Video: Nepal's Gen-Z Officers, नेपालका जेन-जी अधिकृत : के सोच्छन् ? के भन्छन् ? by Sudheer Sharma
Book: Notes on the synthesis of form by Christopher Alexander
The deep dive: When is comedy a crime?
Image generated with Leonardo AI
On February 9, over two weeks ago, an episode of the Sushant Pradhan podcast was uploaded to YouTube. Pradhan is a popular podcaster who interviews a wide array of guests, much like the Joe Rogan podcast or any other podcast featuring dudes talking to mostly other dudes over a few hours. This particular episode featured three guests — Sajan Shrestha, Sujan Zimba, and Utsav Sapkota. I didn’t know who they were, either, at the time, but I believe they’re comedians and content creators who are pally with the host. Their conversation turned to the popular singer Kuma Sagar and they began to joke about his Newa (Newari) accent. Shrestha sang one of Kuma Sagar’s songs in a heavily pronounced mock Newa accent, making fun of the way he pronounces certain words. The episode ended with the three of them concluding that Kuma Sagar was great and that he was a “legend.”
Little they did know what kind of hot water they had just landed in. Some very vocal members of the Newa community were outraged. They said that such a mockery of Newa people amounted to “hegemony” and a kind of “cultural terrorism,” and that podcasters had insulted all of Newa culture. Social media blew up with posts calling out the podcasters, often not very nicely. There were death threats and rape threats, particularly to Shrestha and his family. Pradhan was asked to take down the episode and he did so without protest. Shrestha issued a public apology, stating that he had no intention of hurting the Newa community’s sentiments. But Newa activists have continued to insist that there needs to be legal action against the comedians, formally requesting the police to file a case against them for insulting the Newa community. No formal complaint has been registered yet. Instead, the police are working to reconcile the two parties.
This is not the first time the Newa community has pursued police action against a comedian. Back in 2022, comedian Apoorva Kshitiz was similarly persecuted and even jailed for over a week for his comedy set, making jokes about Newa women and Nepal Bhasa. He, too, apologized publicly and took down the video of his comedy set, but he was still charged with caste-based discrimination and disturbing communal harmony. Kshitiz was eventually found “partially guilty” by the Kathmandu District Court and fined Rs 10,000.
But it is not just the Newa community that takes offense at jokes. In 2019, filmmaker Milan Chamling ‘Chams’ Rai filed a defamation case against comedian Pranesh Gautam for a mocking review of his film, Bir Bikram 2. Gautam was jailed for over a week and charged with cybercrime under the Electronic Transaction Act. He was released on bail, and over two years later, the Patan District Court eventually acquitted him of all charges. Even before Gautam, American comedian Stephen Colbert attracted the ire of Nepalis when, in 2011, he joked about the Bhaktapur Kumari and again in 2014 when he made fun of Nepal’s uniquely shaped flag. (All records of these videos seem to have been scrubbed from the internet. There are no news articles either.) Nepalis, by and large, seem to have very thin skin when it comes to others making fun of them.
Whenever these cases arise, those offended claim that allowing one person to get away with such demeaning jokes could open the floodgates to more jokes that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and cause real damage to the community. Given historical precedent, the Newa community is especially sensitive about its culture and language. Newa culture was long suppressed under the Rana regime and during the Panchayat. Newa people are still mocked for their accented Nepali, a remnant of Mahendra-era Panchayat policies that prioritized Nepali over all other native tongues. So, it is not illogical for the Newa community to be upset at the perpetuation of those same slights.
Those on the opposite end argue that free speech should include the telling of jokes, especially if the intention is not to harm but to entertain. Jailing people over offensive jokes can have a cascading effect where anyone could potentially be jailed over anything. After all, not everyone finds the same things funny. Free speech is a cornerstone of democracy, and it sometimes includes speech that is not palatable to everyone or even offensive to some.
While I understand that the sentiments of the Newa community were hurt, I tend to agree with the latter group. Jokes should not be punished by jail time. Shrestha’s mockery of Kuma Sagar’s accent was in terrible taste. Even if it was a joke, it was a very poor one. The “joke” was just making fun of an accent. Even in the US, a country that upholds free speech over all else, a joke with a stereotypical Chinese or Indian accent would invite much criticism and denouncement. It could even lead to social media “cancellation.” But no one would be jailed for the joke. And that’s how it should be.
Let’s take a quick detour here to neighboring India, where a similar case has been in the headlines. On February 9, the same day as the Sushant Pradhan episode, an Indian YouTube show by comedian Samay Raina featured guest Ranveer Allahbadia, a content creator known as Beer Biceps. Allahbadia made a crass joke, asking a contestant on the show, “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and stop it forever?” The poor sap, too, didn’t know what he had gotten into. The show offended Indian moralists so much that a police report was lodged against Raina and Allahbadia, and they were both prohibited from uploading any more content to the internet by the Indian Supreme Court.
This case doesn’t involve an entire community but again, the outrage here is that some people were offended by Allahbadia’s crass joke. And again, instead of boycotting the Allahbadia and Raina, protesting their work peacefully, there were death threats and rape threats. Police action was pursued against them, despite their public apology and taking down all content. It always seems like what happens across the southern border, almost always finds its way into Nepal. But Nepal has a long history of satire and mockery. An entire festival, Gai Jatra, is dedicated to making fun of people in power, including politicians and the ruling elite. Writers like Bhairav Aryal satirized Nepali culture and our way of life. Cartoonists like Batsyayan have been making fun of politicians in the newspapers for decades. We know what it’s like to laugh at others; we just don’t seem to like it when others laugh at us.
But, you might say, good comedy makes fun of power, which is what Gai Jatra, Aryal, and Batsyayan do. It punches up, never down. People like Sajan Shrestha and Apoorva Kshitiz were not punching up; they were making fun of an indigenous community that has a long history of discrimination and stereotyping. Yes, that too is true. Too often on the internet, insults and personal attacks are disguised as “dark humor.” But that still shouldn’t mean jail. In the US, comedian Dave Chappelle has been loudly criticized for his jokes about the trans community. There have been protests, both on and off social media, but no one has sought jail time for him. That is what we need to learn from, not what is happening in India.
The thing is, with the wide reach of the internet and the easy infamy that can be found through shocking or controversial content, there will always be something out there that offends us. People will say foul, crass, demeaning, and insulting things. The most powerful man in the world will call your country a shit-hole and that will not even be in the top 20 of the most offensive things he’s ever said. It is a sign of maturity to take it in stride and move on. If you truly believe that the things being said are harmful to your community, then you can exercise your own free speech to criticize them, boycott them, and protest against them. Marshall the power of the internet to call them out, shame them, and cancel them. That, too, is your right. But no one should be going to jail for a joke, no matter how poor it is.
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly.
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please consider sharing it with others who might enjoy weekly updates from Nepal or consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading KALAM Weekly! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.