Friday, May 13, 2016

Dharmaditya Journalism Award

Dr Rabin Man Shakya
President, Newah American Buddhist Association

Although there are journalism awards galore in Nepali language journalism,  "Dhuswan Bishwobhoomi Award" and "Dharmaditya Journalism Award"  are  the first and second  journalism awards in Nepal Bhasa journalism so far.  Dhuswan Bishwobhoomi Award  was given to late Nepal Bhasa journalist Elvis Joshi of the Sandhya Times daily newspaper. Well, there are quite a few other Nepal Bhasa awards too, but they are confined to Nepal Bhasa literature, arts and music.

Journalism awards work as a catalyst for journalists and reporters, inspire them to work with more vigor, more effectiveness and and with more zeal. For a long time, there has been a conspicuous absence of any journalism awards for Newah journalists.

"Dharmaditya Journalism Award" was founded couple months ago by Newah Journalists Forum, Lalitpur in memory of Dharmaditya Dharmacharya who was the first journalist of Nepal Bhasa. Commencement of these Awards definitely filled the void.

And it goes without saying that launching of journalism award by the Forum for the Newah journalists is a praiseworthy and commendable step. Sincere and dedicated efforts must be carried out so as to give continuity to these awards, because in Nepal a number of awards are announced but they   tended to fade away after couple of years.

At a time when a number of Nepalese literary and journalism awards were launched and named after deceased parents of the riche rich, the fact that this one is named after the first Newah journalist in itself adds a big significance of the award.

Not long ago, the first Dharmaditya Journalism Award was awarded to Nepal Bhasa journalist Suresh  Kiran Manandhar who is the chief editor of popular Nepal Bhasa daily newspaper "Sandhya Times".

This is a fitting acknowledgement of a journalist who for over last two decades has devoted himself as a true, sincere and dedicated Nepal Bhasa journalist.

Journalist Suresh Kiran who was born in 1967 is a graduate in journalism from the Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Tribhuvan University.

Suresh Kiran who was also editor of Nepal Bhasa daily newspaper "Bishwabhumi" is also known as a poet and satirist.

Suresh Kiran is also a laureate of literary awards like Parijat Srijanshil Purashkar and Rastriya Pratibha Puraskar.

Likewise, journalist Suresh Kiran was also awarded with the Nationalities Indigenous National Journalism Prize - 2072 BS recently.

There is no doubt that Dharmaditya Patrakarita Shirapa is a glowing tribute to late Dharmaditya Dharmacharya who was the first journalist of Nepal Bhasa.

It is to be noted that "Buddha Dharma" was the first printed publication in Nepal Bhasa and it was brought out by Dharmaditya Dharmacharya which was nome de plume of Jagat Man Vaidya (1902-1963).

Due to lack of conducive political atmosphere to bring out publications in Nepal, the first Nepal Bhasa magazine was published in Kolkata, British India.

The first Nepal Bhasa magazine "Buddha Dharma" was morphed into "Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa " in 1927. The first Nepal Bhasa magazine devoted to the issues of Theravada Buddhism and problems facing Nepal Bhasa. It was an effective voice that was instrumental in inculcating values of language and giving a platform for struggle against repression of Theravada Buddhism.



* Dr Shakya is advisor, Nepa Chhen, Portland, USA
and also State Education Director, NRNA-NCC-USA, Oregon Chapter

1 comment:

  1. The purpose of this article is to disseminate information about Dharmaditya Journalism Award in Nepal Bhasa journalism.

    ReplyDelete

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